Using the Scientific Method for the Education System

Posted 11/27/2013 in Uncategorized

The experimental method–known to many scientists as the best scientific method out there. The experimental method is widely applauded for its ability to create the most accurate results in studies. But the method isn’t just for testing medicine anymore, researchers are now starting to take the experimental to the world of education. Why? Researchers found that simply using “hunches”, “guesses”, or whatever feels like the right way to teach, doesn’t always work. In order to improve our students’ performance, we need to support our teaching methods with data and hard evidence. The Institution of Education Sciences has taken up the opportunity to test out the experimental method in the classroom. In fact, the institution has performed over 175 studies. These studies, based on the principles of the experimental method, use randomization to guarantee reliable outcomes. With the use of randomization, researchers are able to divide a group of volunteers into an “experimental therapy” group or the “standard therapy” group. By randomly assigning volunteers into groups, it eliminates the chance of there being a placebo effect. Thanks to the incorporation of science into the education field, scientists have been able to make some interesting discoveries. For example, a new study found […]

Classroom Discussions– from your online course

Posted 11/22/2013 in Uncategorized

The discussion of class material is a necessary learning tool that is often overlooked by most online learning management systems. Students frequently are unable to discuss what’s being taught in classes with other students and can’t ask beneficial questions concerning certain classes. Online students have a need to share ideas about specific classes with specific audiences, and they seldom can have these needs met. IQ, however, has a solution. Groups are a great way to reach a more targeted audience. Create groups that are public or private and manage the invites and attendees. Group admins can choose who can invite other members to the group and whether others on the network can join the private group without an invitation. Students and teachers have the ability to post rich media to the group activity streams. Members can: • Create private groups (by invitation only) • Create public open groups • Create secret groups (not listed in directory) • Full post and comment functions within groups • View recent activity posts • View recent discussions posts (activity) • Use optional group directory listing • Archive or remove groups • Share group activity within stream (only those in groups see posts) • Distribute […]

iQ: Student Collaboration Features

Posted 11/16/2013 in Uncategorized

iQ is able to solve the issues that comes along with distance learning. With most online courses, collaborating with other students is limited. With iQ, you can easily message other students, join study groups for specific courses, and participate in video group studies with peers. Students can not only interact with fellow students from the same course, but can interact with students from any course. These are just some of the ways iQ can provide optimal collaboration between students and teachers: iQ Technologies provides a series of functions and services that are aimed at surfacing public conversations that occur in a iQ social environment. These services include hashtags, shared posts, trending topics, RSS, likes and comments. The iQ platform is built to evolve the experience of discovering and participating in conversations that are happening in real-time, therefore, enabling users quick access and filtering of posts by topic, media type, audience and periodicity. The community Blogs, Events, and Groups features allow users to share content to external channels publicly or privately. More than discovering content, the iQ platform enables users to share content seamlessly to Google+, Facebook, and Twitter. Conversely, users can migrate content from their consumer social accounts directly into […]

Tuition Costs Have Exceeded Inflation

Posted 11/14/2013 in Uncategorized

As everyone knows, college tuition is rising so quickly you might miss it if you blink. But could it be that the rate of tuition has actually exceeded the rate of inflation? According to Dr. Richard Vedder, it has. Jasmine Evans, a writer for “Diverse” magazine, uncovers, “According to a report by the Delta Cost Project, tuition for a public four-year institution in 1970 was $358 per semester. If tuition had grown in pace with inflation, the average tuition at public colleges would have been $2,052 in 2010. Instead, the average per semester tuition at public colleges and universities was $6,695 in 2010.” How could this be? According to Dr. Richard Vedder, a Professor at Ohio University, it’s simple. Colleges see no reason to lower their tuition costs, as the competition to get into colleges is too high. Professor Thomas Epenshade, has another theory. When colleges are entirely focused on granting degrees, hiring more staff is essential. With the increase in staff, comes with higher costs, leading to higher tuition. This dramatic increase in tuition brings many implications. Students who must take out student loans feel pressured to pursue a career that can pay off that debt, but not necessarily […]

Technology’s Innovative Advances in Education

Posted 11/07/2013 in Uncategorized

In a recent BBC video, the latest innovative technology made specifically to advance education in classrooms. BETT, British Educational Training and Technology, hosted an international fair in the UK. Teachers and students from all around the world came to see the many new technological advances offered in education. Companies such as Google, Lego Education, ITS learning, Panasonic, and other technology companies were present and displayed all that was to offer in the technology world. Promethean, an education technology company displayed their newest tablets and interactive boards to students and teachers. Promethean’s tablets provide students with hands on learning and a mobile learning system. Elmo, a company that produces sophisticated and high-tech document cameras, revealed their latest product. The newest Elmo camera displays documents to an entire class and has an option to mark the document from the computer. These are just some of the amazing technology innovations trending world-wide. Stephen Heppel, a professor at Bournemouth University, stated, “technology has opened the door to a world of learning…we’ve gone from a world where we chose the technology and gave it to the students to a world where they bring the technology to the door.” Incorporating technology into the world of education […]