A Redmond-based company is providing innovative ways to challenge the brain and expand knowledge with the click of a mouse.
Harbinger Knowledge Products Inc., whose U.S. headquarters is located in downtown Redmond, specializes in creating e-learning software for trainers and educators, providing fun and efficient ways to learn.
The company’s leading product, Raptivity, is a software that enables instructors and trainers to build interactive e-learning content with games, puzzles, simulations, three-dimensional objects, e-books, videos and “virtual worlds” that bring subject to life.
“Research shows that interaction enhances the knowledge retention and that’s where the trainers and educators saw the advantage,” said Seema Chaudhary, president of Harbinger. “(Raptivity) makes learning more interactive and fun.”
Chaudhary, who is a Redmond arts commissioner, said online universities and corporations, like Honda, Century 21 and the University of Phoenix, are the main clients of Raptivity.
Raptivity uses a myriad of fun ways to get the information across to students or employees and then the testing part is just as fun, Chaudhary said.
Raptivity’s tests are patterned after popular game shows, like “Who Want to be a Millionaire” and “Jeopardy.”
“You can use e-books and 3-D cubes to teach students or employees and then use the games to see how much they comprehend,” Chaudhary said.
Chaudhary, who lives on Education Hill with her two children, Sohum and Sruejun, along with her husband, Ashay, said she is planning to give a presentation on Raptivity to the Lake Washington School District. She says it would be a great learning tool for local teachers.
It is also a good training tool for new employees for corporate companies, according to Morris Mutal, training coordinator for Gensco, Inc. in Kirkland
“Our team members tell us they find the courses informative, engaging and fun. With the Raptivity package and the ability to easily add quizzes and tests, we can provide the right balance of interactivity to hopefully prevent producing boring courses. There is such a variety of interactivities that we are only limited by our imagination.”
Chaudhary started up the Redmond branch of Harbinger in 2002 and the company continues to grow each year, Chaudhary said. The Redmond office is under the umbrella of its international corporation, which is located in India. Chaudhary met Vikas Joshi, who is now the chairman and managing director of the India-based Harbinger Group, while studying at the State University of New York, where she earned her Master’s of Landscape Architecture in 1989.
After working several years in urban planning and design, Chaudhary decided to reunite with Joshi and start up a Harbinger office in Redmond. She became an instant leader and is now the president of one of the fastest-growing companies in the world. Recently, Deloitte LLP named Harbinger one of the 50 fastest growing technology firms in India.
Raptivity is just one of the many products offered by Harbinger, Chaudhary said. Harbinger recently released a presentation program YawnBuster, which is designed to bring PowerPoint slides alive with group activities, such as audience polls, games and competitions. Another Harbinger product is TeemingPod, which creates more social interaction through such things as real-time user discussions, opinion polls and viewer rankings.
Harbinger is located at 16770 NE 79th Street, Suite 100. For more information, call 425-861-8400 or visit www.harbingerknowledge.com.
