Archive for the ‘Online Education’ Category
Landmark Studies Document the Power of Energy Education
Posted: March 15, 2012 at 7:04 am
ATLANTA, March 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- APOGEE Interactive, Inc., a 20 year leader in providing online energy education and analysis applications for utilities, announced today the results of three studies conducted over the past two years investigating the impact of energy education and competitions on energy use. Researchers set out to document changes in usage where the Apogee online energy education tools are integrated into the utility's billing and/or metering system. Results were an impressive range of energy reductions from an average of almost 4 percent for users of online bill analysis self-assessments to over 20 percent when competition and social media were included. These studies, conducted by industry visionary Joel Gilbert, P.E., and lead investigator Lei Wang, Ph.D., used the industry-standard methodologies for calculating energy impacts.
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The first study sought to answer, "Do customers performing an online energy audit use less energy as a result?"This study, conducted with a major east coast investor owned utility and confirmed as accurate by their M&V consultants, produced some eye-opening outcomes. It considered hundreds of thousands of billing records for more than ten thousand customers comparing a control group to the treatment group of customers using Apogee's online audit. Conclusion: Across all sizes of customers, savings was a remarkable 4 percent.
A related and interesting finding of this study, which has major implications for utilities with energy efficiency or demand response program goals, was that users of the online energy audit were 5 times more likely than the general population to participate in the utility's energy efficiency programs.
According to study director and Apogee Chief Software Architect, Joel Gilbert, the findings merit serious consideration as utilities contemplate programs intended to balance cost-effectiveness with impact."The slogan goes, 'An educated consumer is your best customer,' and that is what our research confirms. The cost of a self-audit is pennies compared to hundreds of dollars for an in-home visit by a professional auditor," explained Gilbert.
Another study, performed with a large investor owned utility in the southeast, quantified impacts resulting from in-home energy audits conducted onsite with professionally trained energy auditors. In this case, annual energy use before the audit was compared quarterly for a period of one year following the audit. Progress reports showing the impact of having made changes to the home or behavior post-audit were mailed to customers. On average, a 7 percent reduction in energy use was documented.
The last study, performed with a municipal utility in the southeast, looked at a school-to-school competition to reduce energy use in the school facilities through behavior alone. This 2 year competition using interval meter data for the 13 schools enabled students, teachers, and administrators to consistently track an astonishing 12 percent year-on-year weather-adjusted reduction in kWh using nothing more than behavior students and teachers turning things off when they were not needed. The three best performing schools topped 20 percent energy savings. Prize money was computed as a portion of the energy cost savings produced for the school as a result of lower energy bills.
Overall, Gilbert and Wang found that energy education, fueled by inexpensive communication and accelerated by competition, are the low-hanging fruit of the energy efficiency challenge.In an age where dependence on foreign oil threatens our national security, and escalating energy costs weaken customers' ability to pay their bills, it is imperative utilities do all they can to leverage low-cost and effective means of changing customer behavior.
Study authors Gilbert and Wang will conduct a webinar sharing details of these studies and answers to questions about their findings and future plans on Tuesday, April 10th at 2:00 PM Eastern. There is no cost to participate, but the event is limited to the first 100 registrants. Click here to register.
About APOGEE Interactive, Inc.
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Landmark Studies Document the Power of Energy Education
Is Online Education Right For You? – Video
Posted: March 14, 2012 at 5:36 pm
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Is Online Education Right For You? - Video
Education Transformation: Collaborize Classroom
Posted: at 5:35 pm
SANTA ROSA, Calif., March 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Democrasoft, Inc. (OTC: Pinksheets: DEMO) today announced two major milestones for Collaborize Classroom, the company's flagship online collaborative education platform.
The first milestone, the launching of over 20,000 individual Collaborize Classrooms by teachers around the world, has been accompanied by an equally significant advance: the delivery of nearly 1.5 million individual topic-based lessons to students via the Collaborize Classroom platform. Many of those lessons were shared via the Collaborize Classroom Topic Library, a free, growing global repository of over 2,500 lesson topics that enables teachers to share the best and most effective individual lessons they create with other teachers around the world. This sharing capability includes a peer-rating system to help teachers quickly identify the most interesting and appropriate lessons for their own students.
With just a few clicks, topics on almost any subject from the Collaborize Classroom Topic Library (http://library.collaborizeclassroom.com) can be copied to any Collaborize Classroom anywhere in the world for all grade levels.
Since its official launch in January of 2011, Collaborize Classroom has been steadily gaining recognition and high marks from teachers, students, the education industry and technologists.
"Collaborize Classroom has quickly become part of a worldwide effort to adapt education to the 21st century needs of students everywhere," says Richard Lang, CEO of Democrasoft. "Reaching these milestones validates for us and for the education and technology communities that Collaborize Classroom is recognized by teachers themselves as a way to increase their effectiveness and make their jobs easier."
Collaborize Classroom (http://collaborizeclassroom.com), available free of charge to all grade levels, gives teachers the ability to extend in-class conversations to private and secure online sites accessible by any Internet browser or from any iPhone, iPad or iTouch. Teachers post topic-based lessons on any subject in their own Collaborize Classrooms and invite their students to participate in online group discussions, usually after school.
The Collaborize Classroom platform has sustained a 25% average monthly growth rate since its official launch in January 2011, and its momentum has been noticed by District Administration Magazine, which named Collaborize Classroom one of its Readers' Choice Top 100 Products for 2011. Edudemic.com readers also called it one of the Top 100 Best Web 2.0 Classroom Tools.
"These awards are particularly satisfying because they originate from good teachers who feel helped rather than threatened by 21st century technology in their classrooms," said Lang.
Good Magazine's "Future of Learning" series also featured Collaborize in a video called "Sharing the Wisdom of We" that highlights Collaborize Classroom's contribution to education. The video is part of a documentary series entitled "Future Learning".
For more information about Collaborize Classroom, or to schedule an interview with Democrasoft senior management, please contact Mark Kithcart at: mkithcart@collaborizeclassroom.com or call 888-993-8683 x 706.
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Education Transformation: Collaborize Classroom
House OKs some education reform, limits scope of online classes
Posted: at 5:35 pm
DES MOINES The Iowa House rejected online education as proposed by Gov. Terry Branstad in the final vote of a marathon debate on education reform Tuesday night.
Instead, House members adopted a plan that limits the number of school children that can enroll in fully-online courses to 900 students statewide and restricts outward open enrollment from any single district to 1 percent of its total enrollment. It also requires the Iowa Department of Education to develop a statewide online education program.
This does show some good-faith compromise, said Rep. Jeremy Taylor, R-Sioux City, an English teacher who has been skeptical of the 100 percent online leaning proposal since debate on the education reform package began in earnest earlier this year.
House members rejected an amendment from Democrats that required a student receive a maximum of 50 percent of their coursework online.
But lawmakers delayed a vote on the overall reform package until this morning when they are supposed to run a technical amendment to the bill.
Lawmakers took up the bill just after 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon and didnt finish debate on the measure until 11:49 p.m. House rules dont allow for votes to take place between midnight and 8 a.m. The package, if approved today, would go to the Senate which has its own reform bill but could choose to pick up the House version.
In addition to online learning, House members rejected Branstads proposal that required prospective teachers to have a 3.0 GPA for admission to a teacher preparation program and required teachers to maintain that GPA for graduation by a 77-20 majority.
Rep. Guy Vander Linden, R- Oskaloosa, said the requirement was an unnecessary intrusion by the Legislature into the decisions that are best left up to the people who run the programs.
Cecil Dolecheck, R-Mount Ayr, said raising the requirements to get into teaching programs could help raise the public perception of teachers and help teachers garner public support for wage increases.
The House plan did keep a controversial third-grade retention option as part of an overall early childhood reading program and it kept a series of tests as proposed by the governor, despite the attempts by Democrats to make changes from on both plans.
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House OKs some education reform, limits scope of online classes
Online Learning Leader Advanced Academics Named Innovator of the Year for Text-to-Speech
Posted: at 5:35 pm
OKLAHOMA CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Advanced Academics, a nationally recognized provider of online education for secondary students, has been named Innovator of the Year by The Journal Record, a leading Oklahoma City business publication. Advanced Academics was recognized for adding text-to-speech capabilities to its proprietary R.O.A.D.S.TM learning management system (LMS). The company will be honored at an awards ceremony at the Renaissance Tulsa Hotel & Convention Center in Tulsa, Okla., on April 5, 2012.
Advanced Academics added text-to-speech functionality to R.O.A.D.S. 3.0, the companys newest version of its learning management system, released this fall. Based on technology from leading online text-to-speech provider ReadSpeaker, this innovative text-to-speech tool improves the online learning experience by reading documents and written course content aloud. This allows students to match the delivery of course content to the way that they learn best. The text-to-speech feature is especially important for visually impaired students, those with aural learning styles, or students for whom English is a second language.
"Advanced Academics is honored to be named an Innovator of the Year by The Journal Record, said Jeffrey A. Elliott, Advanced Academics president. Finding new and better ways to use technology to help students graduate from high school and succeed in life is primary to our mission. Adding text-to-speech capability to our learning management system broadens access, allowing more students to thrive in an online learning environment.
The Journal Record Innovator of the Year award is intended to recognize individuals and organizations that exemplify the innovative spirit by taking a great idea and turning it into a functioning business. Past awards have gone to non-profit organizations, biotechnology companies and agricultural enterprises.
For more information about Advanced Academics online learning programs, call 1-866-235-3276 or visit http://www.advancedacademics.com.
About Advanced Academics
Advanced Academics, a leader in the field of online learning, partners with schools and districts in 30 states across the country to offer customized online solutions that uniquely serve each customer. Advanced Academics programs have proven to be successful in providing flexible learning opportunities for students in grades 6 through 12 and increasing overall academic performance. Since 2000, Advanced Academics has offered comprehensive middle and high school courses, highly qualified and state-certified teachers, and a web-based learning management system that enhances student learning. A part of DeVry Inc. (NYSE:DV - News), Advanced Academics is accredited by the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI) and the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC), and meets the standards for National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) eligibility. For more information, visit http://www.advancedacademics.com.
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Online Learning Leader Advanced Academics Named Innovator of the Year for Text-to-Speech
Iowa House OKs some education reform, limits scope of online classes
Posted: at 5:35 pm
DES MOINES --- The Iowa House rejected online education as proposed by Gov. Terry Branstad in the final vote of a marathon debate on education reform Tuesday night.
Instead, House members adopted a plan that limits the number of school children that can enroll in fully online courses to 900 students statewide and restricts outward open enrollment from any single district to 1 percent of its total enrollment. It also requires the Iowa Department of Education to develop a statewide online education program.
This does show some good-faith compromise, said Rep. Jeremy Taylor, R-Sioux City, an English teacher who has been skeptical of the 100 percent online leaning proposal since debate on the education reform package began in earnest earlier this year.
House members rejected an amendment from Democrats that required a student receive a maximum of 50 percent of their coursework online.
But lawmakers delayed a vote on the overall reform package until this morning when they are supposed to run a technical amendment to the bill.
Lawmakers took up the bill just after 3 p.m. Tuesday and didnt finish debate on the measure until 11:49 p.m. House rules dont allow for votes to take place between midnight and 8 a.m. The package, if approved today, would go to the Senate which has its own reform bill but could choose to pick up the House version.
In addition to online learning, House members rejected Branstad's proposal that required prospective teachers to have a 3.0 GPA for admission to a teacher preparation program and required teachers to maintain that GPA for graduation by a 77-20 majority.
Rep. Guy Vander Linden, R- Oskaloosa, said the requirement was an "unnecessary intrusion" by the Legislature into the decisions that are best left up to the people who run the programs.
Cecil Dolecheck, R-Mount Ayr, said raising the requirements to get into teaching programs could help "raise the public perception" of teachers and help teachers garner public support for wage increases.
The House plan did keep a controversial third-grade retention option as part of an overall early childhood reading program and it kept a series of tests as proposed by the governor, despite the attempts by Democrats to make changes from on both plans.
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Iowa House OKs some education reform, limits scope of online classes
ARC Training Student Elaine Hickey studies with Arc Training on the move – Video
Posted: March 13, 2012 at 11:10 am
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ARC Training Student Elaine Hickey studies with Arc Training on the move - Video
ARC Training Student James O Sullivan works for IBM and talks about online education – Video
Posted: at 11:10 am
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ARC Training Student James O Sullivan works for IBM and talks about online education - Video
E-mini Trading Market Recap 03/12/12 – A Business With Trading – Video
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E-mini Trading Market Recap 03/12/12 - A Business With Trading - Video
Fed Day Trading Forecast – Video
Posted: at 11:10 am
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Fed Day Trading Forecast - Video