Received June 2, 2023
The democratization of digital technology has been underway for some time now. In today’s world, it would be hard to understand human life without the influence of technology. Moreover, the pandemic has led to the rapid adoption of digital tools to enable various activities to continue remotely, such as virtual meetings, hybrid education, and remote work. Most of these trends continue even after the pandemic has receded. However, with the growing reliance on technology in daily life, not all disciplines were prepared for this context, and some still need to be adapted. STEM* communication and assessment, in particular, have been challenging areas to adapt to the digital environment. This is where Wiris has made significant strides, with the aim of making people’s STEM work more meaningful.
Wiris is a math and science software company that aims to simplify the work of STEM professionals by creating tools that facilitate writing, communicating, and assessing math using digital technology. Our products aim to enable users to have the best experience in STEM, and we accomplish this by integrating our products into all environments to make it as seamless as possible. Currently, Wiris offers two primary products: MathType and WirisQuizzes. MathType is a software program that enables the creation of mathematical notation to be inserted into both desktop and web applications. One of its most valuable features is handwriting recognition. On the other hand, WirisQuizzes is an authoring and assessment tool that allows educators to create and deliver math assessments online. Virtual learning environments often pay little attention to tools for mathematical content creation [1], and WirisQuizzes aims to address this need.
WirisQuizzes interface: Example of a dynamic question with random variables.
Wiris’ beginnings date back over 25 years ago when a group of mathematics students at the Faculty of Mathematics and Statistics (FME) of the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), myself included, worked out research projects that coalesced into enough know-how to launch a company. A few years later, as the company evolved, its primary goal was to improve and develop digital tools specialized in STEM subjects. Wiris released its first product, Wiris CAS, in 2002, an online-based computer algebra system that quickly became popular in mathematical environments. Over the years, Wiris collaborated with academic institutions and publishing houses, and by 2007, the Wiris product family started to flourish, including the first versions of our web-based formula editor (known by then as Wiris editor) and our mathematical assessment tool (WirisQuizzes). In the upcoming years, we continued evolving our products, migrating them to Javascript, and integrating them into popular LMS and HTML editors. The company merged forces with Design Science in 2017, and Wiris editor was rebranded as MathType, becoming a leading solution for mathematical equations. WirisQuizzes also evolved and became compatible with popular LMS systems, and added features such as random learning units [2].
The 2020 pandemic had a significant impact on Wiris. Even prior to it, the use of technology in the classroom was a growing trend and a significant concern in educational centers. The lockdown forced the acceleration of this trend as educational institutions globally had to adapt their teaching methods to virtual environments. Most education institutions shifted their learning formats to online or hybrid models, resulting in an unprecedented revolution in education. Both Wiris’ products played a critical role in this digital transformation regarding STEM subjects. MathType experienced more than 400% growth during the lockdown months, and many educators opted for WirisQuizzes to assess their STEM subjects. During Covid, Wiris offered MathType for Google Workspace for free to provide free service to millions of math and science teachers and students who required assistance during a stressful situation. Given the success, we rapidly adapted and integrated with Google Slides by the end of 2020, achieving the perfect solution for educational institutions.
The usage of both products has continued to increase even after the pandemic, demonstrating the sustained demand for digital solutions in STEM education. To put this into perspective, we have experienced incredible growth in MathType users from half a million to double-digit million users, and the figure continues to grow at a fast rate.
Our progress does not end here. As technology continues to advance, Wiris recognizes the increasing opportunities to improve STEM education and make it more accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds. The company aims to remain at the forefront of the EdTech landscape, which is evolving at a breakneck pace with the integration of AI into everyday life. We will continue to look ahead and work towards our mission by leveraging all that technology has to offer.
As we expand technologically, Wiris is also rapidly growing in terms of team members. From 2018 onwards, the company has experienced accelerated growth, and today we are about 100 employees with offices in Barcelona and Long Beach, California. We stand out for promoting and harnessing the potential of talent by providing opportunities for individuals and helping them develop their skills to reach their full potential. We believe this is the key to our success and what maintains us at the forefront of the EdTech landscape.
References
[1] D. Marquès, R. Eixarch, and C. Aguiló, Edición de fórmulas matemáticas en los EVAs, 2015. 17 Jornadas para el Aprendizaje y la Enseñanza de las Matemáticas. pdf.
[2] Á. Mora, E. Mérida, and R. Eixarch, Random learning units using Wiris quizzes in Moodle, International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology 42 (2011), no. 6, 751-763. Link.