We do get questions, so here we will try our best to answer some of them.
- How does EduCAD™ differ from testing?
- Testing is performed after the student is supposed to have mastered a subject area. In general the testing process seeks to grade how well a student has mastered the required material. EduCAD™ philosophical base is different in that it is used before the subject matter is taught. This allows the teacher to teach to the student, rather than to a plan that may not be properly aligned with the student’s progress.
- There is no grading?
- Again, EduCAD™ comes at the beginning of the Learning Cycle™. The goal is to ensure that a student is taught what they need to know, when they need to know it. By teaching to the student, concepts are presented once the student has a solid foundation on which to accept them. A student can not "pass" or "fail" an EduCAD™ session, so there is far less anxiety in taking EduCAD™. The end result of EduCAD™ is not a result, but a detailed contour map of what the student's base of knowledge is, so that they can be taught from that base.
- Is it reasonable for EduCAD Learning Solutions, Inc. to think that schools will adopt these changes?
- It has been said that there is nothing so uncommon as common sense. We have taken a common sense approach that says that the best way to teach any specific student is to make sure that they are ready to learn. In order to know if the student is ready to learn it is necessary to diagnose where the student is. EduCAD™ is not a magic bullet, but a tool to do a specific job; diagnose what the student does and doesn't know. There have been a number of studies done by others that show that a student, when properly prepared to learn, learns better (see Students and Proper Nutrition). We believe that it is common sense to ensure that the student has a complete understanding of the base concepts before attempting to teach new ones. EduCAD™ is the tool that we have developed that will allow teachers to know when the student has that base.
- I want to use it!
- The question is, "When will it be available?" EduCAD Learning Systems, Inc. will start making the EduCAD-ST product available in a Public BETA in the Jan 2008 timeframe. Yes, we want it out there, but before we release it we must be assured that it functions at 100% efficiency. We can't afford to have the system generate misinformation for even one student. That means that we must undergo a rigorous Alpha and Beta program that will encompass thousands of students, and our detailed analysis of the results (without personal identifiable information) before we will feel secure enough to release it. To understand how serious we are, EduCAD has been over ten years in development to this phase. The version that went into the first Alpha was version 3. We entered the second Alpha test with version 3.4 and then moved to version 4.0 during the Alpha test period. Public Beta with a larger group of students in early 2008 will be based on version 4.2. Realistically, we don't expect a commercial release of the product until Summer 2008. If you are interested in participating in the Beta, please feel free to register for the Public Beta at socratictutor.com.
- Alpha release? Beta release?
- Version 1 and version 2 of EduCAD™ were working models that were designed to provide theory. The first Alpha validated the ability to properly execute the transversal of a field of study. The second Alpha validated using the transversal and generation engines to create a product that would provide the learning portion of the Learning Cycle™. The Public Beta version shall be a release of the second Alpha product with the inclusion of a very limited transversal engine (to be put in place just prior to commercial release). The initial Alpha was released to a small controlled subject group of about 300 students in grades 5-8. The second Alpha was also released to a different group of 300 students in a controlled environment between the grades of 5-8. The Public Beta will be released in phases to individuals and groups based on a schedule of updates over a six month period. Additionally we will increase the number of people involved in the public Beta on a daily basis in a controlled way to ensure that we are also testing server load. The anticipated size of the final Public Beta group is 250,000 unique students in both individual and educational institution settings.
- Aren't you being overly paranoid?
- On May 21, 2001 the New York Times ran an in-depth article (reprinted here) discussing issues with standardized tests from established companies that were proving to be flawed. In the article there was the following quote: "I wanted to just throw them out and hire a new company," said Christine Jax, Minnesota's top education official. "But then my testing director warned me that there isn't a blemish-free testing company out there. That really shocked me." While we are not a testing company, we want to be 100% positive that EduCAD™ is never considered to be part of a statement like that. We would rather go slower, and be assured of getting it right, rather than rush to market and improperly inform a teacher or parent of a students knowledge.
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