Why Network? They say one of the best assets in job searching is a broad network of qualified and professional individuals. Higher education is important in finding employment–and the pay off for overall earnings is excellent. Those who earn a bachelor’s degree will earn an average of 2.27 million dollars over their lifetime–nearly a million dollars more than those with only a high school education. However, most experts agree that simply earning the degree may not be enough. In a survey of over 3,000 individuals employed in management and accounting, nearly 85% said that they received their job through networking. In today’s competitive employment market, it’s who you know that will open up endless possibilities in career, and possibly lead you to a dream job. As undergraduate students looking towards the future, expanding your network of professionals, professors, students, and future employers is the focus of their remaining year in school. MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), as we know them, are not equipped with the same networking opportunities that the traditional university experience offers. The iQ Social platform, however, has revolutionized the online university. Not only does the iQ Social platform allow for student networking, but it may offer more […]
Doctors Without Borders is an international humanitarian organization that provides aid, medicine, and large medical projects in countries burdened by war and endemic disease. The organization has over 36,482 employees, doctors, and volunteers in over 70 countries. Doctors without Borders is incredibly successful in what they do, making dramatic changes in the lives of thousands of individuals and communities. Many grassroot organizations are similar to Doctors without Borders in that they are committed to making a difference, and being as efficient as possible in their projects. However, running a non-profit organization is not an easy task, and it’s not uncommon for many well-meaning organizations to go under simply because of a lack of organization. Organizations big or small require an effective platform for communication, collaboration, and oversight of its volunteers. Here are three ways in which the iQ platform revolutionizes communication for the modern grassroots organization: Communicate with Volunteers Effective and meaningful contact with volunteers is probably the most important aspect of the non-profit framework. Communication keeps the wheels of the organization turning, and keeps productivity forward-moving. NGO presidents must oversee all employee and volunteer work, placement, and the latest project advancements. With iQ technologies, organizations can now: Use instant […]
Where does online learning fall short? Why don’t discussion boards alone help cut it for online communication? What “piece” is missing in online education that could remove distance from distance learning? Something “Unnatural” about forced discussion boards What most educators have come to know is that student-to-student communication is vital to learning. Teachers know that proper discussion, reflection, and sharing of ideas between a class of students is necessary for a full understanding of material. But what happens when students are no longer between the same walls of a classroom? What happens when the miracle of technology has allowed students who ordinarily cannot obtain higher education, can now receive education through an online institution? The answer for many online courses is asynchronous communication. The majority of online courses require some sort of discussion board as the only requirement for peer-to-peer communication. The prompt typically goes as follows, “What are you thoughts on _____? Comment and respond to at least three other posts.” There’s something unnatural about forced commentary on another person’s view, especially when there’s no back-and-forth dialogue. US News Education talks about the experience that most have with online discussion boards, “each of us had to write one researched […]
The question is often asked within a business of any size: what can lead to a more effective workplace? What leads to a faster innovation in ideas? What will make this business more successful? The answer: a fostering of workplace communication, collaboration, and community. A simple fact of all humans is that we are all social beings. This has remained true throughout history, no matter how strongly modern-day bureaucracy tries to fight personal contact. The fact is that all humans have a desire to communicate with others, form personal relationships, and have the opportunity to share their ideas with others. Today, cramped work environments and isolated cubicles often cut off from effective communication between individuals who sometimes only sit a few feet away from each other. Just like our learning environment in primary and secondary education, we grow and thrive on collaboration and socialization with our peers. This is where ideas are spread, innovation is facilitated, and productivity is multiplied. So, in today’s modern workplace where technology is the center of our attention, how do co-workers conspire to come up with better, more creative, and more innovative ideas while still being equally productive in their day-to-day duties? Our answer: a […]
A recent article by the Boston Consulting Group found that social and emotional skills can be fostered by the use of online education platforms. Although many may find this hard to believe at first, the study found that the customization of online school and the many online social outlets make it easier for students to form student-to-student relationships, and therefore increasing their social skills. The research goes on to say that the technology revolution has allowed those with no access to traditional universities with not only a quality education, but social skills that may bring them a long way. BCG describes, “Education technology can personalize learning, engage the disengaged, complement what happens in the classroom, extend education outside the classroom, and provide access to learning to students who otherwise might not have sufficient educational opportunities.” This specific type of social learning is given a name, Social and Emotional Learning, or SEL. As described in the research, SEL has ordinarily not been taken seriously as a motivating factor in traditional education. However, recent studies suggest that the implementation of SEL has lasting effects for it’s students. “Social and emotional skills can strengthen the labor force, boost academic performance, and produce long-term […]
Aaron Skonnard is the CEO of Pluralsight, an online education company that offers a variety of video training courses for software developers, IT administrators, and creative professionals through its website. Skonnard shared with us 5 industry trends that are rising in the world of education technology, collecting his data from sources dedicated to following technology trends, such as the Global Industry Analysis, edTech, and the Clayton Christensen Institute. Here are the top five education trends in 2015: 1) Online corporate learning: According to the Clayton Christensen Institute, the corporate e-learning market is expected to increase about 13 percent annually until 2017. What is causing this sudden increase? Companies have now started initiating online training and education for their employees. Just like the sudden increase in popularity for online higher education, corporations have now taken advantage for what our world of education technology has to offer. 2) Skills Measurement. Keeping up with your student’s progress is the key to to track learning. In order to track progress, consistent testing, or “skills measurement testing” allows employers and educators to help their students succeed. But what changes are being made? According to Skonnard, “In conjunction with the building momentum in online corporate learning, […]
The resistance to change for many educators has been strong, and understandably so. For centuries, the education system has remained in the traditional classroom, mostly absent from most modern technology. For the K-12 classrooms, only the most simplified technology, such as laptops and computers have made it into the lives of young students. Why? Research has shown over and over again that communication between students and teachers will consistently improve learning for students. Quality collaboration for students allows them to more deeply understand the material as well as teach the material to others. This traditional way of education has remained the same for a reason. However, with tuition on the rise and a broader population with lack of access to higher education, traditional classrooms are no longer a plausible option. In fact, the rapidly paced advancements in technology, there are many pressures from the world that simply demand the education system to “get with the times”. With the ever-increasing progressions in technology, there are solutions for unaffordable college tuition, and the populations who cannot reach education institutions. The world is now pressuring education systems to meet the demands of the world, including technological advancements and more globalized students. It’s time […]
As the technological revolution ensues, more and more college students rely on technology to thrive in school. In fact, nearly 75% of college students (from a sample of 500, research carried out by Pew Research Institute) say that they rely on technology to complete school work. These numbers are just from students enrolled in traditional classrooms, and where we find even more technology centered students are on e-learning campuses. As of currently, over 12 million students take one or more online classes, and in 2014, nearly 3.5 million students took entirely online classes. With the vast amount of millennials taking a shift towards technology education, we have to ask ourselves, what about technology is appealing for students? The answer is simple. Technology brings upon an entirely new set of tools that students are now able to utilize. Technology creates an incredible convenience for students as well as gaining them access to an entire world of information at their fingertips. Students are now able to excel in school more than ever before, now contributing to new discoveries and research, instead of just reading about it in textbooks. One popular technology source is the mobile application for smartphones. Mobile applications allow for […]
Traditional classrooms are based on a synchronous learning platform, in which students all learn the same material together, all at once. Traditional education has laid its grounds on this same foundation for centuries. For the most part, this style of education has worked for our young learning generation. However, as college becomes increasingly expensive and as students from all ages become busier with work, time restraints, and even children, this traditional classroom has proven to be inadequate. Instead, more and more college students have looked towards virtual classrooms for their higher education. However, being that online education platforms are for asynchronous learning, there are many questions as to how this very different style of learning works. According to several studies by Virtual Classroom, there are several proven advantages of a non-traditional classroom, and students have proven to be satisfied. Learning when convenient for you One of the obvious advantages of asynchronous learning is that the classroom is built around a student’s schedule. Students who have busy schedules, whether it be working full-time, or having to raise a family, have the ability to learn when it is convenient for them. Time conflictions are no longer a barrier for student’s learning. In […]
Hundreds of bands and solo artists across world have searched for a way to reach their fans more easily and efficiently. iQ technologies offers a platform that gives artists the capability to interact with their fan base. With more fan base interaction, the artist can gather feedback and apply that to their career. For musicians who wish to announce upcoming shows, iQ technologies offers several features to broadcast events. By creating an event, you can inform your followers of the date, time. and location of your occasion. Within seconds of posting your event, followers will instantly view the event from their live feed, allowing your post to reach the maximum amount of fans. iQ Event Management allows for these unique settings, and more: •Google Map integration •Invitation management (target specific connections & areas such as groups and networks) • Events publishing to activity streams • Share event on Facebook or Twitter • Support for recurring (repeating events) •Event custom fields management • Upcoming and past event management • RSVP management (attending, not attending, maybe, not responded) • Past event management user management (did attend, did not attend) • Event notification management • Assign other owners/admins to an event • Full […]