Education Technology
Pearson | April 06, 2022
Northeastern University's Bouvé College of Health Sciences is teaming up with Pearson, the world's leading learning company, to deliver a set of advanced nursing degrees online, in formats that are heavily work- and practice-oriented. The programs connect learners with clinical teaching faculty, peers and real-world projects through a mix of specially designed anytime/anywhere asynchronous learning and two clinical intensives hosted on Northeastern's vibrant Boston campus.
The Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degrees offer focus on an Advanced Practice Nursing Specialty. In the MSN, learners have three concentration options:
The Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) track, which advances training for a wide range of mental health services for adolescents, adults and geriatric populations
The Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) path, to provide primary care services across the lifespan
The Adult Gerontology Primary (AGPCNP) track, which prepares learners for advanced practice roles in the care of adults over 18 years of age and geriatric patients in primary and preventive care (outpatient and community based) settings
The program meets the requirements for the student to take the national boards for certification as an Advanced Practice Nurse within their chosen specialty area of practice or study.
These advanced nursing programs are affordable as well as accessible. Students may choose to participate in the program on a full-time or part-time basis. Full-time students can complete the program in 24 months.
Northeastern University is known for experience-driven learning. The online nursing programs will include simulations, augmented reality (AR) and the option to pursue projects that are workplace-integrated; connected to real-world, on-the-job initiatives.
The new MSN program will launch in Fall 2022.
"Here at Bouvé, students are prepared for a career of professional excellence and leadership through advanced educational opportunities that differentiate them from their peers within the health sciences and health-related fields, The Master of Science in Nursing courses leverage innovative AR technology and our faculty expertise in simulation education to replicate real-world situations and challenges our nurse professionals would solve on a daily basis. Clinician-patient connection is critical to our experiential curriculum, and our students have myriad opportunities to apply what they learn to real-world settings."
-Carmen Sceppa, Dean of Bouvé College.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for nurse practitioners is projected to grow 45 percent from 2019 to 2029, among the fastest-growing occupations. At the same time, the U.S. could see a shortage of up to 124,000 physicians by 2034, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.
"We are excited to partner with Pearson to help address the global shortage of nurses, Together we deliver distinctive experiential and job-relevant learning experiences that position graduates for successful, rewarding and vital careers."
-Deanna Raineri, Vice President and Senior Vice Chancellor at Northeastern University.
"We are honored to continue our commitment with Northeastern University, and also our commitment to learners everywhere, Our partnership dates back to 2007 and this is a next step in our continuing efforts to build a comprehensive and deep partnership with Northeastern to serve learners through world-class, flexible opportunities to pursue advanced degrees."
-Kees Bol, managing director, Pearson Online Learning Services.
Through this partnership, Pearson will provide comprehensive online program management (OPM) services including marketing, recruitment, student support and retention, and a 24/7/365 helpdesk. Pearson has worked with Northeastern University for the past 14 years, supporting a host of online learning programs from an online MBA program to online master's programs in Tax and Finance.
About Pearson
At Pearson, our purpose is simple: to add life to a lifetime of learning. We believe that every learning opportunity is a chance for a personal breakthrough. That's why our c.20,000 Pearson employees are committed to creating vibrant and enriching learning experiences designed for real-life impact. We are the world's leading learning company, serving customers in nearly 200 countries with digital content, assessments, qualifications, and data. For us, learning isn't just what we do.
About Northeastern University
Founded in 1898, Northeastern is a global research university and the recognized leader in experience-powered lifelong learning. Our world-renowned experiential approach empowers our students, faculty, alumni, and partners to create impact far beyond the confines of discipline, degree, and campus. Our locations—in Boston; the Massachusetts communities of Burlington and Nahant; Charlotte, North Carolina; London; Portland, Maine; San Francisco; Seattle; Silicon Valley; Toronto; and Vancouver—are nodes in our growing global university system. Through this network, we expand opportunities for flexible, student-centered learning and collaborative, solutions-focused research.
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Education Technology
Afficient Academy | March 31, 2022
A perfect storm is brewing at the country’s K-12 schools as teachers and parents struggle to support children who have fallen behind. Facing resource-strapped educational systems exacerbated by the pandemic “learning loss,” parents are seeking alternatives. In response to increasing demand and queries, Afficient Academy, provider of AI-based K-12 learning programs, today released data proving that students learn 2-5 times faster with Afficient than with traditional school.
By harnessing AI, Afficient’s patented Afficient Methodology helps identify gaps in children’s learning and provides intelligent and self-paced learning paths to not only close the gaps, but also help children dramatically improve learning effectiveness to reach A/A+. Research data (https://www.afficienta.com/timetocomplete/) from Afficient students verified that it has enabled 90% of its students to ace one grade level of content in just two to four months. Many students have exceeded their grade level and advanced ahead of their schools’ curriculum.
“As a father of three children, and having seen serious deficiencies in many educational programs, I leveraged my Silicon Valley, teaching, and entrepreneurial roots to launch Afficient Academy with the vision and belief that modern technology can greatly enhance the effectiveness of learning, Now, our students’ data has proved that our AI-powered programs can not only improve learning efficiency by 2 to 5 times, but also lead to much better learning quality. I hope this new generation of technology-based educational programs reach and help a great number of students achieve ‘A’ efficiently.”
- Dr. Jiayuan Fang, Founder and CEO.
Afficient: Giving Students the Joy of Learning
The first Afficient program launched in 2015. Today, over 15,000 students have learned better and faster with Afficient Math (Grades 2-12) and Afficient English (Grades 2-8). Afficient’s adaptive, self-paced programs gift each child the joy of learning by allowing them to learn according to their ability, and not age nor school grade. This is liberating as students compete against themselves to be the best they can be.
Angelina Chen’s Afficient Math journey started in May 2021. Her parents noticed gaps in her math understanding, gaps verified by her Afficient diagnostic test. Although a 3rd grader, she started at Grade 2 in math to help fill in those gaps. Straightaway, Angelina excelled. In less than six weeks, she completed all coursework for Grade 2. She’s now an Honors level student and finished Grade 5 math — all this in just seven months. In addition to helping Angelina grow her math skills, her parents love the flexibility of Afficient’s online program, especially helpful since Angelina started in the midst of the pandemic.
4th grader Andy Wang’s skill gaps in math were impacting his confidence. So his parents enrolled him in Afficient Math in October 2021, where he began his journey in 3rd Grade math. In only five months, he has finished Grade 4 math. His parents report that Andy now gets straight As on his math school tests—and he likes math more than before. And best of all, his confidence level has gone up too.
How the Afficient Methodology Works
After a complimentary diagnostic test, each child gets an individualized AI-based program that adapts to their academic level. Intelligent algorithms guide the child through learning paths optimized to help them reach A/A+. Rather than having to wait for worksheets to be graded manually, students receive instant feedback. And while each child works independently, live teachers can help them get “unstuck” when they encounter learning difficulties. Because the learning is interactive, fun, and rewarding, students are motivated to make persistent progress and advance to excellent academic levels. Afficient enables students to build solid foundations, succeed in school entrance and placement tests, get into advanced courses in school, and get better grades in school – all with less time and stress.
Accredited by The Accrediting Commission for Schools, Western Association for Schools and Colleges (ACS WASC), Afficient provides:
Customized weekly assignments that are automatically generated. Students know how much they need to accomplish in a week and can always do more.
Courses that are results centric. Students always know how far they are from reaching their grade-level goals. They are guided through their work until they achieve A/A+ goals.
Alignment with Common Core standards. What students learn from Afficient Academy directly helps them get better results in school.
About Afficient Academy
Afficient Academy, a leading provider of AI-based K-12 learning programs, offers computerized Math and English programs that greatly improve learning efficiency and quality. Founded in 2014 to help students “Achieve ‘A’ Efficiently,” Silicon Valley-based Afficient Academy has helped over 15,000 students with its market-proven, self-paced learning programs powered by its patented “Afficient Methodology.” After a complimentary online diagnostic test, students get individualized AI-based programs that adapt to their academic levels. Intelligent algorithms guide students through learning paths that are highly efficient and optimized to help students reach A/A+. Live teachers provide support to help students in their self-learning process. Interactive, fun, and rewarding, Afficient programs motivate students to make persistent progress and achieve excellence. Over 90 percent of Afficient students complete one grade level with an A/A+ in two to four months.
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Talent Development
ThinkCERCA | March 30, 2022
Personalized reading platform, ThinkCERCA announced a partnership with NWEA, a not-for-profit organization that supports both students and educators. ThinkCERCA offers differentiated reading and writing lessons that are based on research-oriented methods of developing language and literacy skills in students.
"After being inspired by teachers doing amazing work with NWEA MAP data inChicagoPublic Schools, I left the district to make rigorous personalization and data-informed, student-centered learning doable for all teachers. We're excited to partner with NWEA, one of the original advocates for supporting teachers in personalized literacy instruction."
-Eileen Murphy, ThinkCERCA's founder and CEO
ThinkCERCA collaborated with NWEA early this year to develop a tool to help NWEA Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) users identify relevant ThinkCERCA lessons for their students. The tool allows educators to:
Browse the ThinkCERCA library with the help of search terms and language that mirror the ones used in NWEA MAP reports
Connect requirement and strengths of students as seen on NWEA MAP reports with the lessons on ThinkCERCA’s platform
Identify the most ideal ThinkCERCA lesson type in the targeted level and instruction area to meet the needs of the students in the best way possible
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