Polls can be a powerful tool when it comes to ones education. Polls have been used as a popular method of surveying the public, whether it be in a newspaper or on a website. We use this information to gather opinions and feedback from a wide range audience, which can help students make school related decisions, such as teacher or class comparisons. Students can also use polls as a useful way to gather research for school projects, such as surveying the amount of hours students spend studying, or the impact of lack of sleep on test scores. This ease of access to public opinion enables students to effectively and accurately produce information, making the research process more convenient for students. When students have tools they can utilize, student productivity and inspiration will increase. iQ technologies offers a tool where students can create a poll at the tip of their fingertips. They also have control over the audience of the poll, with a feature to share with the public or just one’s network. iQ technologies also offers a variety of visible features to help students organize their data and research, such as Graphical display of responses in bar or pie charts, […]
Educause, a nonprofit organization focusing on the improvement of higher education, presented an article in regards to some of the concerns of online education. Over the years, there have been many obstacles the world of online education has come across, and we have had the online world attempt to defeat these obstacles. Educause has done some recent research as to what exactly these obstacles are. According to the article, one of the biggest dilemmas online programs face is the balance between satisfying the needs of the student (the individual learner) and the needs of the university. Educause describes this balance, “Absolutely crucial is the distinction between the needs of individual learners and the needs of the institutions—colleges and universities—that are currently in the business of teaching students and awarding degrees.” In addition, Educause begins to breakdown what the needs are of the student. Students, after all, are not all the same. There are three major “types” of students who are all involved in the online learning environment, and therefore it is important to recognize the three different motives of online students. There are: “-Some want to learn simply for learning’s sake.” For those who are learning, “just to learn”, there […]
With 18 million individuals each year leaving high school and moving up to a four-year college, it’s a wonder how each one of them will pay for the high costs of tuition. Sure, there are scholarships and if you are lucky, your parents, but what about the students who don’t have any of that and have to pay for it all by themselves? The obvious answer is student loans, which are now more than ever easier to obtain, but is it worth it? In an article by Peter Coy entitled “Student Loans: Debt for Life”, Coy makes the argument that college could not be worth it. As of 2012, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced that student debt had passed $1 trillion. Not only that, the average cost of an out of state college is around twenty five thousand dollars, which does not include the cost of living and books. With the high cost of tuition, many students are regretting finishing their degree. Christina Mills, 30, of Minneapolis, is one of those students. Mills worked for a non-profit organization at the time and you can only imagine her reaction when she found out her student loans would be 1,400 dollars […]
As college tuition continues to rise, the possibility of attending a 4 year college for many students begins to fade away. After the 2008 recession, the entirety of the nation had taken a huge economic hit, especially affecting college bound students. We witnessed a rapidly increasing university tuition, disabling thousands of students from considering a 4-year college. Today, students still continue to struggle to pay for college, but the reasons may not be the same as they have been in the past. For example, according to recent research by College Board, the rate of tuition increase has slowed down significantly over the last couple years. In fact, over the past year (2013), the average tuition for public universities has only increased by 2.9 percent, one of the smallest increases for over 30 years. So, why are students still struggling to afford college? Instead, according to College Board, it is the lack of financial aid that has caused many students to fall under. Grants, scholarships, and many other forms of financial aid have failed to keep up with the tuition rise, leaving a much greater ‘net’ price for college paying families. This is not only for public colleges, but for private […]
Each year, 18 million individuals begin studying at a four-year college or at a place of higher learning. However, it is estimated that there is a total of 37 million Americans who have some college education but have not finished their degree simply because, as Dr. Robert Mendenhall puts in his article, Don’t Let Excuses Stop Your From Finishing Your Degree in 2014, “life simply got a hold of them”. But, is this true? Can you not finish your degree because you can’t afford it or simply because you don’t have the time? In Dr. Robert Mendenhall’s article, he puts to rest all of the common thoughts and myths that individuals have that prevent them from finishing their degree. The first myth he puts to rest is probably the biggest one when it comes to people dropping out of college; I can’t make it to class. Too many people, they might think this is the case. They might work and have a full time job or they could simply have a family they need to take care of. However, we live in a time where many things can be achieved over the Internet, and the same goes for your degree. […]
We all know that asking questions is one of the most important steps a student can make to become successful. Whether it be to specify an assignment or to clarify a learning concept, questions are the only way for a student to keep moving forward and be productive. In an online setting, the atmosphere in which a student can easily and accessibly ask questions is often removed, leaving students feeling disconnected. We have found a solution to this distance learning in a series of features that are made to specifically enhance a student’s collaborative experience. Students using IQ education solutions can now ask questions to an entire online community, reaching a vast amount of students at one time. This feature will quickly increase the chances of any question being answered in a quick, time efficient manner. IQ also wants to allow students to be able to target specific, relevant audiences when asking questions. Students can post to specific groups, categories, and topics to ensure the right audience is being reached. These are just some of the great question management features IQ has to offer: -Post a question to everyone, a group or select category within your network -Post questions on […]
Student-to-student collaboration is an essential aspect of student learning. When students learn to share ideas and thoughts, they will learn the material faster and more thoroughly. Students from an online class, or even an in-class environment, may not get the chance to have this collaboration experience. By creating practical learning solutions, we have made it easy here at IQ. Students can now easily set up events particular to a certain class, a lecture, or even just a small study group. This way of collaboration encourages students to not only attend these events, but to lead and engage other students to take part. Aside from events related to learning material, students can also create detailed events linked to social events, musical events, any other sort of event. With the enhancement of detail and organization, students will more likely attend these events,creating an environment in which students feel more connected. These are just some of the event management features IQ has created into the online learning experience: -Integrating aspects of the platform (e.g., events, connections, and alerts) a user has a single view of the day, week and month. Events can be monitored and users can provide feedback on if they plan […]
Instant messaging has become quite the popular way of communication these days. Hundreds of thousands of people communicate with one another through some sort of electronic device, whether it be through Facebook or through a cell phone. People use instant messaging as a way of getting a hold of people for social means, business, or even emergencies. The world of instant messaging has created a direct passage way for people to get a hold of one another, with quicker feedback and communication. If we apply this communication feature to the lives of students, it may play a big part in creating a successful learning environment. Student-teacher communication is essential to student success. Students often have quick questions for teachers that can be quickly answered, but teachers aren’t always available to answer them. Students can now send a quick message to their teacher, receive instant feedback, and continue on their assignment. Similarly, students have a need to collaborate with peers and share ideas or questions. Student-to-student collaboration creates an environment in which students find themselves knowing material better from helping peers. Since students can’t always get a hold of one another face to face, instant messaging is a perfect solution. Students […]
Social Media—it’s used on daily basis by millions of people all over the world. With Facebook now having over 1.3 billion monthly active Facebook users, it’s hard to find someone who hasn’t already been submerged in the world of social media. With all the uses of social media, why not use it to benefit education? When incorporating social media into the online classroom, it creates a strong framework in which students can interact, communicate, and learn with other students and teachers. Students often fall behind when they are in an environment that lacks communication. Without the essential communication and interaction students need to be successful, they find themselves feeling lost and disconnected from their learning environment. The secret to a successful student is a connected learning environment. Aside from the strong framework social media creates, the incorporation of social media into the classroom of students motivates and encourages students to learn. As of September 2013, nearly 73% of 18-29 year olds use some sort of social media. Teens and young adults have become incredibly tech-savvy, making social media the perfect solution to student education. Students who are using social media for online classes are motivated to share, collaborate, and learn […]
Our world is constantly changing. Everything from the latest discoveries in medicine, to ground-breaking innovations in aircrafts. Our learning systems, too, are changing. In order to assure that we receive the best possible learning tools and systems, we must keep up with the latest trends in education technology. According to the Post University, there are 7 higher education trends that have built momentum around the way we teach and learn. These include: • Online education innovation will accelerate: Such strategies will feature several key benefits for students –namely, robust support services, high interaction with instructors and students, and outcome-based learning. Much of this innovation will continue to be led by smaller institutions, for-profits, and community colleges, which have spearheaded many online education developments to date. • The adult learner population will continue to grow: The U.S. Department of Education’s 2010 statistics show that approximately 25 percent of college students nationwide are over age 20. As a result, adult learners will continue to become a crucial part of the overall future of higher education. Educational institutions will be under increasing pressure to better meet the needs of adult learners, who must balance work, school, and life’s other responsibilities. • The traditional […]