# Savivo

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Savivo
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Savivo.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savivo
> Source revision: 1351505485
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

**Savivo** is a Danish [e-learning](/source/E-learning) [company](/source/Company) based in [Copenhagen](/source/Copenhagen). The company was founded in 2006, and is known for their [educational games](/source/Educational_game), which has millions of users around the world.

Savivo started out developing content for [web browsers](/source/Web_browser), and has since embraced [smartphones](/source/Smartphone) and [tablets](/source/Tablet_computer) running on [Android](/source/Android_(operating_system)) and [iOS](/source/IOS).

## History

Savivo was founded in 2006 by company [CEO](/source/CEO) Stephan Stephensen. The name itself reflects the philosophy of the company. Savivo is a [portmanteau](/source/Portmanteau) of the words savvy and vivo, the [Spanish](/source/Spanish_language) word for [life](/source/Life).

The company's first project was the first educational game, Mingoville English, which purpose is to help children learn [English](/source/English_language). Mingoville English was designed and developed as part of a project initiated by Denmark's IT Center for Education and Research under the auspices of the [Danish Ministry of Education](/source/Danish_Ministry_of_Education).

In 2008 Savivo developed [SkoleMat](/source/Savivo#SkoleMat), a series of [math](/source/Mathematics) games. SkoleMat is designed to cover the entire [Danish Folkeskole](/source/Danish_Folkeskole_Education) from [pre-school](/source/Pre-school) up to lower [secondary education](/source/Secondary_education). In 2012 the first part of SkoleMat, called Mondiso which covers first to third grade, was released in English.

In 2009 the [Portuguese](/source/Portugal) government appointed Savivo to integrate Mingoville English on half a million of [Intel](/source/Intel)’s [Classmate PCs](/source/Classmate_PC) in Portugal. 1.000 Classmate PCs were also sent to [Botswana](/source/Botswana).[1] The same year, Savivo joined the Chilean government's *Chile habla Ingles* campaign,[2] to combat English illiteracy in Chile. Within two weeks of the campaign, more than 200,000 Chileans signed up for Mingoville English.

In 2011, Savivo approached all major [telephone companies](/source/Telephone_company) in Denmark, e.g. [TDC](/source/TDC_A/S), [Telenor](/source/Telenor), [3](/source/3_Mobile#Denmark_and_Sweden) and [Telia](/source/TeliaSonera) to enable their Math app for mobile phones to be streamed for free to all school children in Denmark.

In 2012, Savivo entered a partnership with the Danish publishing house [Gyldendal](/source/Gyldendal),[3] a partnership where the two companies will develop new digital learning content and gain a larger presence abroad.

In 2013, Savivo saw international success. The [iPad](/source/IPad) version of Mingoville Preschool was well received in China, where it held the first place in the highly competitive Chinese app market. In the beginning of September, Mingoville Preschool started a similar rise to the top in [Latin America](/source/Latin_America). The app occupied the top 3 positions in [iTunes'](/source/ITunes) education category in a number of countries, e.g. [Argentina](/source/Argentina), [Venezuela](/source/Venezuela) and [Colombia](/source/Colombia).

## Stephan Stephensen

With a background in business, Stephan Stephensen's first foray into e-learning was a program designed to teach refugees Danish.[4] He is responsible for the company's [learning philosophy](/source/Philosophy_of_education) and proponent of e- and [m-learning](/source/M-learning) in all their incarnations. The potential of m-learning in various areas of the world, like Africa, is something he continues to explore.[5]

## Learning philosophy

Savivo utilizes various teaching approaches in their apps. Besides using [gamification](/source/Gamification) elements to increase the time children play the games, Savivo is a proponent for [learning through play](/source/Learning_through_play). Savivo's approach is structured and uses both dialogue and visual elements to stimulate learning.

According to a report created by a series of consultants and [Copenhagen Municipality](/source/Copenhagen_Municipality),[6] students feel challenged by Mingoville English and think they learn more English from playing the game. The strong focus on dialogue between child and game are used to explain topics and subjects in a dynamic way.

## Products

Year Title Platform(s) Win/Mac iOS Android 2006 Mingoville English 2008 SkoleMat 2012 Mingoville Fun Clock 2012 Mondiso 2013 Mingoville Preschool 2013 Mingoville Storytelling

### Mingoville English

Mingoville English is Savivo's biggest program, with over 2.000.000 users around the world. It combines a set of 10 missions, totaling hundreds of English exercises and games, with a virtual world where children can talk and play together. In the virtual world, the safety of the children is guaranteed thanks to Savivo's Safe Chat-system,[7] which only allows pre-approved words to be used.

Mingoville English features voice acting with voice actors from both [North America](/source/North_America), [Australia](/source/Australia) and the [UK](/source/UK). Native voice actors ensure that the children are exposed to as authentic an English experience as possible. Mingoville English was developed with the assistance of English teachers and the program has a comprehensive system for handling [lesson plans](/source/Lesson_plans), [homework](/source/Homework) and [grading](/source/Grading_(education)).

While Mingoville English is the flagship of Savivo, the universe and activities have spun off several other games and apps. Most notably the Mingoville Preschool app, which shortly after release climbed the [Chinese](/source/China) [App Store](/source/App_Store_(iOS)) and claimed the first place.[8]

Though Mingoville English was developed for web browsers, a new and enhanced version of Mingoville English is being developed for both web, iOS and Android.

### Mingoville Fun Clock

Mingoville Fun Clock is an [app](/source/Mobile_app) designed to teach children how to tell time. Mingoville Fun Clock features voice actors in English, [Chinese](/source/Chinese_language), [French](/source/French_language), [Italian](/source/Italian_language), [Spanish](/source/Spanish_language), [German](/source/German_language), [Dutch](/source/Dutch_language), [Danish](/source/Danish_language), [Swedish](/source/Swedish_language) and [Norwegian](/source/Norwegian_language).

### Mingoville Preschool

Mingoville Preschool is designed to introduce children aged 4–8 to their first English words and phrases. The activities included in Mingoville Preschool range from variations of [memory games](/source/Concentration_(game)) to [word puzzles](/source/Word_game).

### Mingoville Storytelling

Mingoville Storytelling is a [storytelling](/source/Storytelling) app, in which children are encouraged to listen to stories set in the Mingoville universe, retell them and finally write their own stories using any of the unlocked pictures and their own voice.

### SkoleMat

SkoleMat comprises three parts, *Mondiso*, *Hexaville* and *Pitropolis*. Each part has a unique theme to engage the children and which ties into the exercises.

#### Mondiso

Mondiso, which is for students ages 6–8 years, introduces children to basic math such as [addition](/source/Addition), [subtraction](/source/Subtraction) and [multiplication](/source/Multiplication). The game is set on the island of Mondiso, which is inhabited by strange and colorful monsters.

Mondiso is available in both Danish and English.

#### Hexaville

Hexaville covers the [curriculum](/source/Curriculum) for ages 10–13 and teach children about [geometry](/source/Geometry), [equations](/source/Equation) and [coordinates](/source/Cartesian_coordinate_system). Hexaville takes place at a [Harry Potter](/source/Harry_Potter)-inspired school with witches, ghosts and magic.

Hexaville is only available in Danish.

#### Pitropolis

Pitropolis, for the 13- to 16-year-old, expands of the two previous parts and teaches about [economy](/source/Economy), [Pythagoras](/source/Pythagoras#Pythagorean_theorem) and [fractions](/source/Fraction_(mathematics)). In Pitropolis the player follow the young people Alex and Monica, and their everyday lives.

Pitropolis is only available in Danish.

## Awards and conferences

- **2007** Stephan Stephensen attended the New Media Days in Copenhagen.[9] The topic of his talk was "Can internet advertising provide education to children?".
- **2011** Stephan Stephensen attended the Learning Without Frontiers' Sunday Service,[10] where the topic of his talk was "Learning English in a Virtual World".
- **2011** Savivo was awarded the Danish Mobile Award,[11] in recognition for making an extraordinary impact on mobile technology.
- **2013** Savivo won the “Best MoBiz and innovative Enterprise Award” at the [Global Mobile Internet Conference](/source/Global_Mobile_Internet_Conference).[12]
- **2013** Savivo will attend the Language Show Live in [London](/source/London).[13] The topic of their talk will be "The impact of gamification on education".
- **2013** Stephan Stephensen wil speak at the Media & Learning conference in Brussels.[14]

## Notes and references

1. [Mingoville Is On Half A Million ClassMate PCs Called Magalhães](http://onokah.blogspot.dk/2008/12/mingoville-is-on-half-million-classmate.html)

1. [Chile habla Inglés. Retrieved 2013-09-10.](http://www.chilehablaingles.com/)

1. ["Gyldendal allurer sig med Mingoville", *BogMarkedet*, August 16, 2012](http://bogmarkedet.dk/nyheder/gyldendal-allierer-sig-med-mingoville)

1. [Savivo Media Kit, Copenhagen 2013, p. 3](https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/savivo-blog-assets/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Savivo+Media+Kit.pdf)

1. [*Mingoville team is going to Egypt to explore new partnership on the African continent* - Mingoville.com](http://old.mingoville.com/es/company/news/44-mingoville-is-preparing-to-go-to-egypt.html)

1. [*Analyse og vurdering af ITiF-læremidler*, Copenhagen 2010, p. 119](http://www.digitalelaeremidler.dk/media%289283,1030%29/Analyse_og_vurderign_af_ITiF-l%C3%A6remidler_2010.pdf)

1. ["*Mingoville: The safe virtual world*" - From Savivo's blog](http://blog.savivo.com/2013/07/25/mingoville-the-safe-virtual-world/)

1. ["*Preschool triumphs in China*" - From Savivo's blog](http://blog.savivo.com/2013/04/15/preschool-triumphs-in-china/)

1. [New Media Days 2007](https://www.flickr.com/photos/newmediadaysdk/2716714148/)

1. [Learning Without Frontiers](http://learningwithoutfrontiers.squarespace.com/lwf-teachers-with-tech/)

1. [Mobil.nu](http://mobil.nu/blog/nyheder/her-er-alle-vinderne-fra-mobil-awards-7623)

1. At the 2013 Global Mobile Internet Conference in Beijing, Savivo was awarded the ["Best MoBiz and innovative Enterprise Award"](http://beijing.thegmic.com/cn/wp-content/themes/gmic/CMIC-BEIJING-2013/pic/zhuanchang-mobiz4.html)

1. [Language Show Live exhibitor list](http://www.languageshowconnect.co.uk/page.cfm/Action=Exhib/ExhibID=8543/loadSearch=233693_220)

1. [Media and Learning contributors](http://www.media-and-learning.eu/contributors)

## External links

- [Savivo's official website](http://www.savivo.com/)
- [Savivo's official blog](http://blog.savivo.com/)

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Savivo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savivo) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savivo?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.