Recognition that motivates every person in your school — staff and students
Karma works for education teams in two directions at once — peer recognition for teachers, administrators, and EdTech staff to feel seen and valued, and classroom engagement for students to stay motivated in remote and hybrid learning. All inside Slack and MS Teams.
1853
New students joining Karma classrooms every month
30%
Increase in student focus when behaviour-specific praise is used consistently in class
2736
Schools and institutions using Karma for classroom engagement
321k+
Students engaged via Karma in MS Teams and Slack classrooms
Education teams work harder than most — and get recognised less than almost anyone
Teachers, EdTech staff, and education administrators carry enormous loads. The gap between the effort they put in and the recognition they receive is one of the most persistent — and most fixable — problems in the sector.
What changes with Karma
- Recognition frequency changes team dynamics — teams that give kudos regularly communicate better, collaborate more, and build stronger connections across departments
- Morale improves most for the people who work hardest and get seen least — content creators, curriculum designers, and support staff who rarely receive top-down praise
- Adoption is fast because it lives inside tools the team already uses — no separate platform to onboard, no new habit to form for a team already stretched thin
- Tangible rewards tied to peer recognition give appreciation real-world value — points that convert to gift cards or experiences mean recognition has weight beyond words
The challenge
- Teacher appreciation week happens once a year — meaningful recognition needs to happen every week to actually change how people feel about their work
- EdTech teams span content, engineering, and product — recognition rarely crosses those department lines, so contributions stay invisible
- Remote and hybrid schools lost the staffroom culture that used to sustain morale naturally — without replacing it with anything digital
- Student engagement in remote classrooms dropped sharply without the physical cues — attendance, participation, and effort all suffered
How Alef Education built a recognition culture across 450+ people in Abu Dhabi
An Abu Dhabi-based EdTech company serving 1.5 million students across 14,000 schools worldwide — and using Karma to keep their own team recognised, connected, and motivated.
14154
Karma points issued in one year
570
Rewards purchased all time
1225
Achievements received
Read the full storyIt's more collegial among people because they have more instances of sharing Karma than before. The unexpected was the bond that teams created among each other.
Recognition for staff. Engagement for students. One platform.
Every feature works across both contexts — peer kudos for the staffroom, instant feedback for the classroom. Try the live classroom demo below, then see how the same mechanics translate to staff recognition.
- See how it works
Peer-to-peer recognition
Behaviour-specific praise that works in both directions — teachers recognising students for attendance and participation, staff recognising colleagues for going above and beyond. The same kudos mechanic, two contexts.
Instant feedback
Immediate recognition helps academic performance and promotes motivation, self-regulation, and self-efficiency — allowing students to close the gap between current and desired performance in real time. For staff, the same principle applies — a timely kudos matters more than a quarterly review.
- See rewards
Rewards catalog
Schools configure student rewards (call from the Head Teacher, Amazon vouchers, certificates). EdTech teams configure staff rewards (gift cards, charity donations, extra days off). Both draw from the same points mechanics — students and staff earn, then choose what matters to them.
Values alignment
Every kudos is tied to a school or company value — making it easier to recognise values-centric behaviours and embed them into daily classroom and team life. Over time, the recognition data shows which values are actually being lived versus which remain aspirational.
- See milestones
Milestone automation
Workiversaries, birthdays, and teacher appreciation week celebrations automated — so staff recognition happens on the right day without anyone having to remember. Achievement badges unlock automatically based on real activity for both staff and students.
- See analytics
Dashboard & analytics
The leaderboard visible to all students creates positive peer accountability — encouraging participation without singling anyone out negatively. For staff, the same dashboard surfaces morale trends, values adoption, and recognition equity across departments.
What drives academic engagement?
Select the best practices below.
5 out of 5
Increased motivation & values adoption
Students are working harder to get Karma points. The dashboard is visible to all students, which encourages everyone to get on the board — but more importantly, to work towards the school values. Which means our students are learning.
5 out of 5
Improved student engagement
Our students are loving it, and compete for points by turning up for lessons and doing their work! We have found Karma invaluable to our success for keeping students engaged with teaching and learning.
5 out of 5
A new way to give praise
We give Karma for attending lessons on time, returning assignments and active engagement. We needed a way to give students praise the same way they would receive it in the physical classroom.
More reviews at our wall of love
Frequently asked questions
How do schools and EdTech companies recognise staff and boost morale?
The most effective approach is peer-to-peer recognition built into the tools staff already use — Slack, MS Teams, or Telegram. Karma lets teachers, administrators, and EdTech staff give kudos in their team channel tied to school values. Points accumulate toward rewards, milestones fire automatically, and culture analytics show where morale needs attention.
What are good teacher appreciation week ideas for administrators?
The most impactful ideas are public, peer-driven, and specific to each teacher's contribution. Run a recognition campaign in the school's Slack or MS Teams workspace — encourage staff to give kudos to colleagues who've made a difference, set up a group reward toward a shared celebration, and post a leaderboard of top contributors. Karma can automate a milestone message for Teacher Appreciation Week and award bonus karma points, turning a single week into a visible team-wide moment.
Can Karma be used for student recognition in classrooms?
Yes — Karma works for classroom engagement via MS Teams and Slack. Teachers award karma points to students for attendance, assignment completion, and active participation. Students see a shared leaderboard, earn rewards configured by the school, and experience the same positive recognition mechanics that research shows improve engagement and reduce disruptive behaviour. Over 2,700 educational institutions use Karma for this purpose.
How does Karma improve student engagement in remote learning?
Karma provides immediate feedback — the single most effective driver of academic performance in remote settings. Teachers give behaviour-specific praise directly in MS Teams or Slack, students accumulate points tied to school values, and a leaderboard visible to the whole class creates positive peer accountability. Schools report significant decreases in disruptive behaviour and increased participation rates across remote and hybrid classrooms.
How do EdTech companies improve employee engagement?
EdTech companies face a specific challenge: their mission is improving education, but internal team culture can suffer from the same problems as any fast-growing tech company. Karma bridges this by making recognition feel like a natural extension of the values EdTech teams already hold. Alef Education, a 450–500 person EdTech company in the UAE, issued over 14,000 karma points in a single year after rolling out Karma across their Product, Tech, and Content teams.
Ready to get started?
If you're ready to get started with Karma, sign up now and explore the benefits of the recognition for your team. You can also reach out for a free demo.