The core mission of most charter schools is to prepare their students for college, and these schools are using new devices and Internet applications to help get students ready to learn about the technology they’ll be using in higher education and beyond. How can these new technologies be used in schools—charter and otherwise? And how could these new concepts change the educational landscape?

Course management systems

Colleges and universities all over the world have developed online course management systems to help students and instructors keep track of classes, conduct class discussions and projects online, and provide a way for assignments and projects to be turned in for grading. As K-12 schools integrate online elements into education, course management systems can provide parents with a direct line to their children’s teachers and give students a way to study and receive tutoring online. Not every child can stay after school, and not every parent can travel to their children’s schools to participate in parent-teacher conferences. But a course management system could help bridge the gap that distance and other circumstances create for students and their families.

Online content

Higher education has used the Internet to provide content for their students, as well as for the general public: sites like TED and Academic Earth provide free, easy-to access educational opportunities to anyone with an internet connection. For younger students, online content can allow rural or inner-city children to visit far-away and historically significant locations, to communicate with other classes, and to see the world first-hand without leaving the classroom. And introducing online content and other learning tools to students will prepare them for the use of the Internet when they enter college.
Social networks and collaborative learning

One of the benefits of social networks is the ability to connect with groups of people regardless of distance. And social networks have become an effective tool of online education. Facebook provides resources for student engagement and collaboration, and other social networks being used in education as well.

The value of social networks to charter schools is two-fold: for students in low-income neighborhoods, access to the Internet can provide resources that might be out of reach financially. That access can in turn help prepare students for college by introducing them to other students they might not otherwise encounter. Socialization is an important part of the college experience, and giving students the opportunity to meet students from other locations and socioeconomic groups can facilitate both learning and awareness for every student involved.

As changes in higher education are guided by technology, K-12 schools must prepare their students for the reforms they’ll face in college. Some charter schools maintain that they’re meeting this challenge by integrating technology into their learning curricula—and it’s a trend that other schools may want to follow.

Hunch vs Let Simon Decide

Hunch’s most direct competitor is probably Let Simon Decide, which takes a more mathematical approach to decision-making (although Hunch does a lot of statistical analysis in the background).  What separates Hunch from Let Simon Decide, though, is the entertainment and social factor. You’re not leaving your decisions in the hands of just a computer, but have the input of thousands of people who’ve been in similar situations, which is actually quite comforting.

Let Simon Decide, another decision support system (DSS) that uses more complex algorithms as well as a personality test to help people make decisions, was mentioned twice in this article.  What is amazing about this article is two things.

First, Simon has only out of beta for slightly over a month and it is getting international recognition from one of the most popular and credible news organizations in the world.  Simon’s mention in CNN is acknowledgement that Simon is a major player in the field of decision science and decision support systems.

Second, this article reflects the development of an industry around helping people make  sound, smart and rational decisions.  With the recent collapse and turmoil in the financial markets, housing markets, credit markets and auto industry, it has become apparent that millions of people from Harvard educated CEOs to recent college grads have been making some pretty bad decisions. 

Please visit both Hunch.com and LetSimonDecide.com to compare how they support sound decision-making. Let us know your thoughts.

LOS ANGELES – 5 May 2009, my good friend, Ricardo Solar, had a lot more than cinco de Mayo to celebrate yesterday.  His site, Let Simon Decide®, that my team at inQbation™ worked so hard on for the last 6 months, was featured prominantly by Jason Kincaid in TechCrunch.  Jason’s article, “LetSimonDecide Takes on Life’s Tough Choices,” is an excellent description and tribute to what Ricardo has accomplished in the past two years.

For those of you who don’t know, TechCrunch is the world’s leading authority on Silicon Valley’s Internet startup, venture capital and mergers & acquisitions space.

TechCrunch was founded [by Michael Arrington] on June 11, 2005, as a weblog dedicated to obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies. In addition to covering new companies, we profile existing companies that are making an impact (commercial and/or cultural) on the new web space.

An Internet startup getting profiled in TechCrunch nowadays is like an MBA getting featured in The Wall Street Journal in the old days.  Thanks to Michael Arrington, Jason Kincaid and TechCrunch and congratulations to Ricardo Solar, Let Simon Decide and my dedicated team of web developers at inQbation™.

Well done and wishing all involved the greatest success.