Chifro Studios: September 2014

Priceless Harbingers of Priceless Learning: Teachers

by Unknown

Apr 2009

The education given by Aristotle to Alexander played a pivotal role in shaping him (the young prince of Macedonia) into the formidable emperor known as ‘Alexander the Great’.

It was the teachings of Chanakya that guided Chandragupta in his life as Chandragupta Maurya – The greatest of the Mauryan rulers.

It was the teachings and guidance of your teachers that has made you into a successful person today.

To put it in a lucid manner, the role of teachers is an important one for mankind, irrespective of great emperors or normal persons.

The roles of teachers therefore can’t be undermined in any manner. So, it befits all students to accept the role of their students into making their lives.

Countless success-stories can be mentioned, but let’s take two of them as examples: The renowned writer Jhumpa Lahiri and our former-president A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.

Muthu Iyer – This person was the teacher of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam during his elementary school years. In his website: www.abdulkalam.com, he fondly remembers his elementary school days when his teacher, Mr. Iyer gave him a three-page long exercise for improvement of handwriting even though he taught a different subject.

Born as Nilanjana Sudeshna, Jhumpa Lahiri’s kindergarden teachers addressed her as Jhumpa. The writer fondly remembers that her nickname became the source for ‘Gogol’ the central character in her novel The Namesake. She, herself, has played the role of a teacher by taking classes on creative writing at the Boston University and the Rhode Island School of Design.

These two accounts – the former one being a nostalgic recollection and the latter one being a short snapshot – are nothing but two gateways leading to the world of thoughts – Thoughts about the role of teachers in our lives.

Irrespective of learning theories, styles etc. information-dissemination would have been quite pointless had there not been teachers.

A Neanderthal would have not evolved had he not taught the knowledge of weapons to his fellow Neanderthal. An Egyptian architect would have wasted his knowledge had he not collated multiple assets of his knowledge using Hieroglyphics. A scientist would have wasted his lifetime of efforts of analysis had he not passed on the information to his students.

At a closing note, all the above simply forth the following fact in different manners and forms: Teachers are priceless!

Are There Apps That Have Used Learning Analytics for Their Basic Homework

by Unknown

Apr 2009

According to Sara Rathburn, a quiz is a versatile teaching medium because it:

· Provides information

· Gathers information about the degree to which children are meeting their learning goals

M/s Rathburn has been associated with the Colorado State University as the Professor of Geosciences during the time-period: 2007 – 2013.

Can this be equated with the core concept of Learning Analytics?

Well, the opinion of m/s Rathburn comes quite close to upholding the essence of Learning Analytics but it can’t be accurately affirmed whether or not her opinion is just a way of mentioning Learning Analytics.

This blog’s context is not about Learning Analytics solely in the first place but rather it is about the question: Are there any applications that have been created after an intensive analysis on the lines of Learning Analytics?

2014 – The mobile-application market does have numerous apps in existence which provide an online platform for the implementation of Learning Analytics. However, the answer to the question put forth in the previous paragraph can be put forth in one single sentence: There are indeed applications that have been created while keeping in mind the core essence of Learning Analytics.

With multiple applications having already implemented an online platform for Learning Analytics, researchers are started to look at the next step: Is it possible to undertake Learning Analytics at a real-time basis for every application before it gets created?

The answer is now present on Google Play Store and it goes by the name: Quizoholic. The fact that this application has been created after an intense Learning Analytics session is testament to the analysis of multiple surveys and teaching approaches having been conducted on a global scale. One particular constructivist approach titled CORI (Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction) has been particularly instilled in the core functionality of Quizoholic. Therefore, the quizzes have been designed in a manner which motivates users through different cognitive strategies.

CORI, technically an instructional program, was conceptualized initially as a project of the National Reading Research Center (NRCC) with the implementation site being two universities: Maryland and Georgia from 1992-1997. Today it stands as a successful instructional program with multiple research projects to its name – needless to say all being successful. Two examples have been given below.

· The 7-year Reading Engagement Project (Collaboration between the University of Maryland and Frederick County Public Schools)

· The 5-year Real Engagement Adolescent Learning (REAL) (Collaboration between the University of Maryland and St. Mary’s County Public Schools)

Quizoholic is also different from the rest of its existent brethren because it employs the concept of Andragogy under which:

· One can learn at the pace at which one wants to

· One is not coerced into learning; he/she takes up learning when ready when he/she wants to

· Irrespective of having numerous quizzes modeled on multiple categories, the application is learner-oriented

It may not be incorrect to say that Quizoholic is also vested with the four important attributes of the Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle. This is because this application allows users to:

· Engage in an extremely interesting activity of attempting a quiz

· Takeaway price reflections and sub-conscious learning from those engagements

· Learn subconsciously from those engagements

· Experiment with the newly gained knowledge

On a closing note, an impartial analysis of this application leads to one single conclusion which is that the developers have undertaken an intensive session of Learning Analytics before actually going ahead with the actual development cycle. Various tenets of multiple learning theories have been included in the creation of this application and it simply answers the question: Are there any applications that have been created after an intensive analysis on the lines of Learning Analytics?

A Cognitive Gateway to Learning

by Unknown

Apr 2009

Did you know that the Japanese woman Misao Okawa is the oldest woman alive?

Can you name the American novelist who accurately predicted his cause of death?

Ever heard of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper in the world?

The answers to all these questions and more will now be at your fingertips with Chifro Studios’ newest application Quizoholic.

‘Knowledge’, said Shakespeare ‘is the wing wherewith we fly to heaven’. Knowledge is power, the source of every logical decision or action taken by us. In this world of technology, knowledge is just a click away. Everything that we need or want to know is available in the palm of our hands. Technology has thus changed our lives in unthinkable ways.

A part of this digital era, Chifro Studios nurtures the vision of transforming the field of education with the help of technological innovation. Its newest offering Quizoholic, is a positive step in this direction. True to its name, Quizoholic offers an exhaustive palette of knowledge that lures the users to challenge themselves and hone their intellect.

Cognitive processes are a very important part of learning. The act of knowing, understanding and remembering is paramount when it comes to a student’s development. In fact, not only a student, but the ability and potential of each one of us are dependent on our cognitive powers. The reason why quizzes have sustained their popularity over the years is precisely due to the cognitive challenges involved in them. We are never tired of quizzes; simply because, we are never tired of putting our mental capabilities to test.

This is exactly what Quizoholic validates by offering a platform that presents knowledge in a fun and informative way. A collection of numerous MCQs on various subjects, users are never tired of exploring this game. They can set new challenges everyday, revisit and drill the information-storehouses in their brain without compromising on fun.

Quizoholic is perfect for all age groups. While it can be a learning tool for everyone, it is especially beneficial for the students. As a student, we never liked mugging up. A large part of our student life is spent on memorizing huge chunks of information. This process is tedious and tiresome. Quizoholic offers a relief from this by presenting knowledge in non-traditional ways. The format of a game allows the users to lose themselves without being conscious of the mental workout involved.

Quizzes compel us to retrieve the information already stored in our brains and also motivate us to learn what we do not know. Motivation, Assessment and Memory are the three important principles involved in a quiz game, all of which are essential for learning. Keeping in mind the effectiveness of quizzes and multiple choice questions as learning tools, Quizoholic incorporates the same in a versatile manner. In other words, Quizoholic not only allows you to assess what you already know but also instigates you to go beyond what has already being mastered.

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Friday, 5 September 2014