TEDx speakers highlight the need for innovation in higher education.
(Boston, MA) May 9, 2011 - ConnectEDU was the proud sponsor of the first annual TEDx event at Brown University on Wednesday evening. TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) is an annual conference where presenters such as Bill Gates, Malcolm Gladwell, and Google’s Larry Page give short talks on “ideas worth spreading.” TED has spawned a global movement of independently organized conferences called TEDx events. Brown’s TEDx event focused on innovation within the higher education space. Needless to say, ConnectEDU was thrilled to support the focus of this event based on our devotion to developing technology that enables learners, educators, and employers to innovate.
(Boston, MA) May 9, 2011 - ConnectEDU was the proud sponsor of the first annual TEDx event at Brown University on Wednesday evening. TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) is an annual conference where presenters such as Bill Gates, Malcolm Gladwell, and Google’s Larry Page give short talks on “ideas worth spreading.” TED has spawned a global movement of independently organized conferences called TEDx events. Brown’s TEDx event focused on innovation within the higher education space. Needless to say, ConnectEDU was thrilled to support the focus of this event based on our devotion to developing technology that enables learners, educators, and employers to innovate.
One speaker, Professor Deak Nabers, touched on a theme particularly close to our mission. Professor Nabers, a Brown University English Professor, spoke about the need for longitudinal data in order to evaluate the effectiveness of college courses. Nabers stated that while he can evaluate how well a student does on the specific (and self-admittedly esoteric) items listed on his syllabus, he has no idea whether or not his class helps his students prepare for the next English class they take, let alone prepare to graduate and enter the working world. He called on Brown to help him evaluate the things “outside of his box” (his box is comprised of mid 20th century American Literature) in order to provide him with more feedback for his teaching. While he noted that innovation is sometimes a taboo word within the bureaucratic and traditional space of academia, he urged his fellow academics to look outside their respective boxes and demand data on how their classes fit into a student’s learner lifecycle.
ConnectEDU specializes in tracking student data from high school, through college, and on to their career. ConnectEDU’s CoursEval software helps colleges like Brown create, deploy, and analyze longitudinal surveys geared to evaluate courses and faculty instruction. CoursEval also integrates into the ConnectEDU platform, so that colleges can evaluate more than just individual performance of students over the span of a course—they can evaluate beyond the span of a course. We’re excited to work with leaders like Deak Nabers to move our mission forward and continue to support innovation in the education space.
The TEDx videos from all speakers at the Brown event will be available online soon. Click here to watch Deak Nabers and more.
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