KP Supports CTE Month Knowledge Challenge Contest with ACTE

KP Education Systems is launching a nationwide knowledge challenge in partnership with The Association of Career & Technical Education (ACTE) on our concept-driven mastery system, KP Compass. During the month of February, KP will be hosting this event to help foster growth in the association’s membership through our online learning platform.

Working with ACTE, we placed five learning modules covering these topics: About ACTE, About CTE, Programs and Services, Policy & Advocacy, Career Readiness, Workforce and Development & Industry. ACTE will be promoting these learning modules to all its members during CTE month. Teachers will be able to read about these topics and test themselves in KP’s state-of-the-art Automatic Remediation and Mastery System (ARMS). Participants will be competing with other teachers nationwide, and prizes / recognition will be awarded to the top 20 participants. They will also be competing as representatives of their region against other regions, and the top region will be recognized.

Overview video of CTE Month on KP Compass


Try it out for yourself at ctemonth.kpcompass.com or kpacte.com

The online platform that participants will be logging into, KP Compass, is a fun and creative way for people to learn. The information presented in these five ACTE learning modules has been in publication for years. It has been on websites, pamphlets, magazines, newsletters, e-mails and journals. The information is out there but the audience needs a creative and fun way to learn it. KP Compass is designed to take information such as ACTE’s (or as you would find in a standard textbook), break it into individual bite-sized concepts, and apply an online mastery system to test user knowledge. Through KP Compass, learners will become engaged in the content in ways they never have before. It’s the same old information but presented in such a way that people will want to learn it. During the CTE Month Knowledge Challenge, as members learn more about ACTE and CTE, they will become active and engaged.

One major advantage of KP Compass is its accessibility. Using HTML 5, the platform can be delivered on any internet enabled device with a modern browser. Learners can use desktop computers, laptops, iPads, tablets, iPods and smartphones to access the content and test their knowledge. Mobile access is critical in a modern platform as more and more 21st-century students turn to smartphones and hand held tablets for their learning needs.

Immediate feedback is highly important to drive the students forward in their learning track. KP Compass is designed with concept driven mastery in mind. Students master individual pages and get feedback ask they test their knowledge over and over again through our use of abundant assessments. Over 250 questions were included for these five learning modules. Using the ARMS component of KP Compass, learners get immediate feedback on their growth and areas of deficiency. A random test is generated from micro test banks associated to each page of content. As the student tests, pages are identified and passed (remediated out) if they answer the questions correctly, while failed pages remain in their working bin and students are prompted to review the content and retest over those concepts. The students are given a knowledge level for the given learning module and their individual concepts so they can have a fairly accurate representation of how well they know the information.

As they test, they level up their knowledge from Novice, Apprentice, Scholar and then eventually Guru. They gain knowledge points through the entire process and will also level up their K-Bot (Knowledge Bot). Kromey the K-Bot is their personal knowledge assistant and travels the world to various cities to dig up knowledge as they test. Kromey also levels up and gets better parts as the students do better on the tests. Compass employs subtle game-theory principles to help drive the learner forward in their education experience. The key to making a good game system is to put it in the background and not make it take center stage, which is where most education implementation of gaming systems fail.

Watch a video of how Michelle Green used the system at ACTE 2011 when we debuted the system.


During CTE month, teachers will compete on a national scale to see how they rank in their knowledge about CTE. Regions will also be in competition for national recognition. In CTE as with all learning, friendly competition will drive achievement, foster growth, and ultimately improve knowledge and awareness of the ACTE organization.

For more information about KP Compass and KP ARMS, please contact KP at 800-701-6323 to see how you can use this technology to create the next generation textbook, e-book, iBook2 in your school, organization or business.

ACTE Knowledge Challenge results are in and they are incredible!

By: Nai Wang

The first major run of the KP Compass Automatic Remediation and Mastery System (ARMS) was a success at the Association for Career and Technical Educators 2011 conference! What better way to test out a new student-centered learning system than with a bunch of teachers at a national conference?

We had over 75 participants and many of the top 10 reported the addictive nature of the game, which had them leaving the conference with an intimate knowledge of ACTE and CTE in the process. I interviewed two teachers on the final day of the contest. Each expressed their desire to achieve and get to the next level as they learned more about CTE through the 5 modules designed by ACTE.

Michelle Green, a first time ACTE attendee, speaks about how she used the testing system on her iPhone and watched Kromey, our mascot, level up as she answered questions correctly. Having placed 7th, she lost the challenge but she left the conference a winner for knowing more about CTE than she ever thought possible.



Marcy Oxford, a technology director for her school district, expresses to me how she lost sleep while playing the challenge. I watched her move up the ranks throughout the day since as she was determined to win. She recites the knowledge she gained about CTE and recalls her experience as she spent Friday playing through the quiz on her iPhone.



I also spoke to two other teachers about their experience over the phone. First place, Andy Williams, and 11th place, Rey Monoz. Rey was instrumental in the game as he took a commanding lead on the first day of the challenge. I was curious to see whether his lead would cause other players to give up or inspire them try harder. By Friday, his lead had been knocked down to 11th place. Rey stated that he was addicted to the leveling system and wanted to see what happened next as he took the tests and gained Knowledge Points. He teaches game design in high school and expressed how he loved the way we implemented our game mechanics and resulting algorithm.

Andy Williams was determined to win; he took the lead Friday night and continued playing into Saturday. He said he started out hurrying through the test, but since he was getting poor results, he went back and studied the material and tested again. He claims that he knows more about ACTE now after mastering all five learning modules. He was shocked by how quickly he was able to see his results and leader board updates after taking the tests on his iPad. He found it very logical and easy to go back to areas he needed to study as he became more and more involved in the process of gaining points and leveling up. He sees great application of this system in the classroom. Determined to get first place, he consistently monitored the leader board throughout the conference and took more tests as people came close to his position.

Listen to the phone interview with Andy Williams.

What is KP ARMS

KP ARMS is a revolutionary new piece of technology created by KP Education Systems. An integral part of KP Compass’s online LMS structure, ARMS focuses on the students’ experience through the remediation process, focusing on mastery rather than grades. Unlike typical online tests and quizzes, which give feedback only on incorrect responses, ARMS uses a series of algorithms to guide students through the learning process with remediation.

ARMS takes the content provided by the instructor and the system randomly selects questions from each concept page making it a true random assessment of their knowledge. Once graded, the student will be told which areas they passed and which ones they need to revisit. Knowledge Points are acquired to level up Kromey, the page and the unit plan. As the students level up through novice, apprentice, scholar and guru, Kromey travels in a select city to better and better places, signified by area attractions or monuments. The K-Bot system is designed to give the student a secondary level of reinforcement and a sense of accomplishment.

The teacher will get reports of the students’ knowledge levels in each module and identify areas of deficiency. This is very brief description of KP ARMS and the K-Bots. To see a detailed description, please click here.

The birth of a conference challenge

KP has been working on a new system of assessing knowledge. When ACTE mentioned that they wanted to bring more technology to the conference, we jumped in with the idea of challenging its members with a competition on the new learning system. ACTE and KP worked together to create a unique challenge for the conference attendees. This is how we did it.

Six months prior to the conference, KP completed the KP ARMS. Two months prior, KP finalized the algorithm and began a series of beta testing. During this time ACTE defined 5 learning modules, each containing on average 5 topics. The information was gathered from various existing sources as Catherine Impertore and Jonathan Miller wrote nine challenging questions for each topic.

Once all the information was assembled, KP imported it into KP Compass and brought the server online over the course of two days to start testing. One week prior to going live, finishing touches were made to give online instructions for ACTE users since this was not in a controlled classroom environment.

With this part of the process done, it was now just sit and wait. We didn’t know how many teachers would enter and go through the experience. If the participation is successful, we will roll this out on a national scale and create competitions between regions and states.

Conference results

The system went live on preconference day, Wednesday. On Thursday after the announcement of the contest, over 100 people signed into the system, but only a few ventured out to take the test and play the game. Ray Munoz took a commanding lead of 2000 Knowledge points by the end of the night. I was fearful that his lead would discourage others to try since the majority of participants showed under 200 points.

By Friday morning, I witnessed a complete change in the standings. Four others took the lead with 5000 points, and the race got heated throughout the day as new participants decided to challenge the leader and rapidly moved up the ranks. When Friday night hit, things slowed down and settled around 8000 points with Andy Williams in the lead. I noticed throughout the night as people crept up to Andy’s position that he would jump ahead to maintain his lead over the challengers.

As we drew closer to the closing general session the 2nd through 5th place standings kept changing throughout the morning as Conference attendees contended for 2nd place. It was heated all the way through the keynote speaker. I announced the winners after Eric Chester performed his final act and Jim Comer rapped his gavel, officially closing the 2011 ACTE annual convention. In the end, over 150 people signed in and looked over the content, 75 participated in the mastery system and 15 made it past level 5. The top 10 took the tests an average of 30 times, gaining over 92,000 Knowledge Points.

One piece that teachers didn't see is the Teacher Dashboard. If you would like to see the results from that vantage point, please contact me.

The Future of KP Compass

The exercise we went through with ACTE has proven two things. First, with KP Compass’s framework, it is very easy to create a knowledge challenge for just about any organization. Secondly, participants who actually use it benefit from the remediation and mastery system and gain knowledge of the organization. I can already envision using this system to help promote organizations such as FCCLA, DECA, SkillsUSA as well as state and regional organizations. National competitions can be created with state and region rankings as compared to the individual level as demonstrated at this conference. In the near future, we may open up a new division that handles nothing but SRO and non profits… but that is still a under development.

I am personally excited to see the results and to hear feedback from users. I can use this knowledge as we expand our technology into other markets with publishers, vendors and individual teachers through our LMS, KP Compass.

Nai Wang
Founder & President
KP Education Systems

KP Education Systems sponsors ACTE 2011 and launches the conference quiz.

KP Education Systems, a leader in education technology for Career and Technical Education, is sponsoring this year’s innovative technology at the Association for Career and Technical Educators (ACTE) conference in St. Louis. ACTE has elected to use mobile technology in the form of an online conference guide. This guide, powered by Eventmobi, can be used by attendees to completely replace the printed program guide, and it allows them to search sessions, create a schedule, connect through social media, and contact other members, speakers and exhibitors.

See a video demonstration of the ACTEMobile site.



Visit the ACTE Event site at kpacte.com

At the same time, KP is launching its new “cloud- based” Learning Management System (LMS) called KP Compass. KP Compass empowers students with an individualized personal learning environment designed to provide an enriching learning experience through unique KP technology. This new approach to content delivery and mastery, called the KP Automatic Remediation and Mastery System (KP ARMS), takes curriculum concepts, which can easily be changed and rearranged by the teacher, and asses student knowledge using a test that is automatically generated based on the content presented. This smart system knows which concepts the students have missed and which ones they have mastered. Students will be remediated with only the concepts they’ve missed. When they are finished, they will gain Knowledge Points and be presented with a mastery level, which they can improve on subsequent tests. Teachers will see reports of the students’ growth throughout the unit so that they can address any areas of need.

Can Culinary Arts Be Taught Online? Yes it Can!

Culinary Arts Online: “a success story”

Using technology to facilitate distance learning is not a new concept. Culinary arts, a hands-on career and technical education field may seem to be a different story but does not necessarily need to be so to enable students to learn practical skills for a trade, career advancement and potential for further degree attainment.

Scottsdale Community College has proven through effective use of technology using Sous Chef and KP Compass combined with designed curriculum that culinary arts can be taught online to provide an opportunity for students to obtain a certificate of completion while enabling those that are outside the usual student profile to go forward with a degree. SCC students receive the instruction on the necessary skills through computer access and produce products required to show skills established.

By adopting an online model of instruction, schools can now provide an opportunity for students who otherwise would not have access due to time or geographical constraints to learn culinary arts. The direct result of this for SCC was a significant increase in their Full-Time Student Equivalent (FTSE).

KP Culinary Arts with KP Compass enables post-secondary institutions to create online and hybrid classes for trades-orientated curricula. Students in this hybrid model come to class with the base skills in place and ready to refine their skills because they review content assigned by the instructor, complete assignments and take tests outside of class. Instructors then used their instructional time in the online classroom to take the student to a higher knowledge level and address any additional refinements.

Read the full story click here

Can Culinary Arts Be Taught Online?

Yes it Can! A School Success Story.

Using technology to facilitate distance learning is not a new concept. Since the early 80s, learning over the computer has been the solution for students who lived in isolate, rural areas with limited educational resources.  Academic subjects such as science, math and language can easily be taught through a computer-based medium.  

For culinary arts, a hands-on career and technical education field, it is a different story.  Students are learning practical skills for a trade and they need to practice those techniques, often under the supervision of a master craftsperson.  In CTE fields, learners can’t just read about a subject and master it; they have to be shown the skills by a teacher. Technology has augmented education over the years and it has application even in a hands-on CTE subject. 

Scottsdale Community College (SCC), located in Scottsdale, AZ, has proven, through effective use of technology and a very thorough curriculum, that culinary arts can be taught online. SCC students received the instruction on the necessary skills at home or in a computer lab. 

For the past three years, SCC has been piloting KP Culinary Arts Online for their culinary arts courses.  Using the Sous Chef and KP Compass, instructors designed courses that fit their 101-104 class structure.  The digital “books” were custom created to fit the needs of the institution with text, video, activities, and tests. 

Karen Chalmers, Program Director for Culinary Arts at SCC envisioned classes without borders.  "By adopting an online model of instruction, we can now provide an opportunity for students who otherwise would not have access due to time or geographical constraints to learn culinary arts.  The direct result of this for SCC was a significant increase in our Full-Time Student Equivalent (FTSE).

KP Culinary Arts with KP Compass enables post-secondary institutions to create online and hybrid classes for trades-orientated curricula.  Students in this hybrid model come to class with the base skills in place and ready to refine their skills because they review content assigned by the instructor, complete assignments and take tests outside of class.  Instructors then used their instructional time in the classroom to take the student to a higher knowledge level and address any additional refinements.

Upon completing a module, the students will know which concepts they have mastered and which areas they need to work on to gain the next level of mastery.  The program can be used by any device with a web browser, such as laptops, iPads and smart phones.

“Access is key.  Providing access through technology increases the pace of skills development and helps teachers focus on taking students to the next level of understanding.  The precious time instructors have with their students can be used to create those key aha moments rather than to address material that students can and should learn on their own,” said Nai Wang, founder and president of KP Education Systems.

KP Education Systems (KP) Signs Deal with American Technical Publishers (ATP)

For Immediate Release

KP Education Systems (KP) Signs Deal with American Technical Publishers (ATP)

Phoenix, Arizona – May 3, 2011 – In the form of an alliance, KP and ATP will be focusing their efforts to create online digital content for ATP’s publications.

For the past year, ATP has been looking at various ways to bring their publications to the digital age with online tools. With Compass, KP’s new online delivery vehicle, ATP can quickly and easily build online modules for their titles.

“This alliance represents a synergy between our two companies. We at KP have our heart in career and technical education (CTE) and it was just a natural fit to bring our technology to ATP,” says Nai Wang, founder and president of KP Education Systems.

ATP carries over 70 titles in “the trades” education, and they have a stellar reputation for quality and technical accuracy. With an over 100-year tradition, ATP’s publications have been used to train the American labor force. In addition, ATP has demonstrated their devotion to modern and sustainable practices by recently completing a gold certified LEED headquarters building outside of Chicago. By applying what they have learned from their technical experience, ATP has invested in their future and the future of their community. The best practices were incorporated not only in the building’s design, but also in the very curriculum that they publish for their clients on sustainable construction. The building is quite literally a shining example of Knowledge in Practice.

KP developed the nation’s leading multimedia curriculum for culinary arts. KP Culinary Arts (known as the Sous Chef) was a groundbreaking piece of software in 1999. By starting with the intent to go purely digital, KP has continuously grown in the digital frontier and remained leaders by heavily reinvesting in technology. KP has innovated technologies specific to career and technical education that help students to be engaged and invested in their learning. The end result has been KP Compass, an online system that is easy-to use, allowing students to learn technical skills faster while prompting them to achieve mastery in their chosen field.

Technology is a key component to nearly every facet of education, but it is especially practical in CTE. As students prepare to enter the workforce, they demand an educational environment rich in technology that mirrors the real world. As KP and ATP move forward with their alliance, they intend to carry out this vision. “It is imperative that digital curriculum is carefully designed. We need to create multi-dimensional learning environments to satisfy for our rapidly evolving 21st century learner. Anything short of that is a disservice to our youth” said Nai Wang. With ATP’s wealth of expertly authored content and KP’s innovative approach to digital learning, the future looks bright not only for both companies, but also the skilled workforce of America.

Social media in education 2011: Using Twitter, Facebook and blogs in the classroom from high schools to colleges

Below are some useful links to resources I found during my investigation into using social media tools in education. Since technology changes rapidly, I was frustrated to discover that much of the information was dated prior to 2008. It was difficult to find current and relevant information on today’s uses of social media, so I compiled a list of the best sites and resources that I have found to save you the trouble of sifting through outdated material. Many of these resources are dated 2008 but the tips and techniques can be translated to 2011.  

In the future, I will come up with a guide of my own as I delve further into integrating social media into the classroom. Enjoy the links and I hope you find my presentation to be helpful in engaging the 21st century learner in your classroom.

This article came from my two hour presentation at a teacher conference for culinary arts educators called FENI (Food Educators Network International).  I was charged with the task of bringing educators who wouldn't normally use these social tools and find a practical use at the conference.  It was a overwhelming success in both having teachers use these tools at the conference and then further bringing it home into their classroom.

Presentation Materials

Nai's amazing PowerPoint - The PowerPoint used during the awesome presentation! Sorry, video clips not included.
Web 2.0 Cheat Sheet - A sheet defining social media tools to be used by teachers at the conference.
Technology Assessment - A short survey of how teachers familiarity with common social media tools.
Technology Survey Results Spreadsheet - A Google spreadsheet with all the entries tabulated for you stats geeks. Interesting.
Evaluation fillable form - This form was used to evaluate our presentation. If you did not fill one out, do so and be brutally honest. I promise I won't cry.
Video of Social Networking for Administrators - This one hour presentation was made to the administrators of Alabama on how to integrate social media into their schools and I also spoke on cell phones in the classroom.
VIDEO of The World is Connected presentation - The long awaited presentation video. At 5 minutes into the presentation, you will notice something cool pop up in the lower left corner. Watch it, share it with friends, tear it apart, it's there for you to watch and be entertained by.
Nai's Article in Techniques Magazine - For the curious, here's my article from my interview with ACTE.
Nai's podcast with ACTE Techniques - For those who cannot get enough of my voice and want to hear me blabber on about education's future with technology.
VIDEO of the Twitter contest winner - This great video was taken of the raffle winner. It describes how a teacher who grew up during the moon landing embraced social media and signed on for the first time and contacted her students.

Articles

WSJ Bakery using social media - A really great article showing how a bakery is using social media to bring a personalized experience to its patrons. I referenced this during the presentation.
WSJ Burger place using custom food - A good article about how a burger joint differentiates itself using social media tools.
David Kassan iPad - An artist using an iPad to create amazing works of art with just his fingers.

Websites

Interesting Ways to use stuff in education - A great web resource full of great ideas, some dated but still applicable to today's classroom.
Classroom 2.0 - A community of teachers searching for better ways to use web tools in the classroom.
Engadget - A gadget person's dream site for the latest news on everything geeky.
7 Free social media tools for teachers - A good site showing some free tools.
Social tool videos in plain English - A great source for short, fun, easy- to- understand videos on social media tools such as Twitter and Wikis.

Twitter

Twitter in education resources - A teacher- compiled list of Twitter resources in 2009. Great stuff.
100 tips, apps and resources for teachers on Twitter - An extensive list of tools and tips.
Twtpoll - Poling on Twitter made easy!
Thoughts on Twitter in academia - A blog post with some poignant thoughts on use.
Twitter writing exercises - A blog post of a teacher who tried Twitter for an assignment and the results.
Can Twitter be used in education - A paper presented in 2008 on microblogging
UT Dallas Twitter experiment - YouTube video of an ABC news feature. Great video and is a must watch.
Twitter for Teachers - Why use Twitter in teaching and learning document.

Wiki

Wikispaces - You are here! A wiki server that gives free accounts to educators!
10 Best Practices on Wiki in Education - The title describes it all. This 2008 post on using wikis in education.
Wikia - A place for everything not Wikipedia. This is a great example of what a fan-driven wiki site should be. There is more information on Harry Potter, Glee and Star Wars here than you could ever think possible. The true definition of FANATIC!
Wiki Etquette - A sample etiquette document submitted by a school for proper use of wikis.
WikiPatterns - Spot a bad pattern before it becomes worse, ways to spot and prevent bad online social behavior.
Wikis in the classroom examples - Some examples of wikis used in a classroom.
Why we wiki - A slide show depicting the reasons to use wikis at school.
5 Strategies on Wikis - A short, concise article showing how one would use wikis in the classroom.
Wiki on Classroom wikis - Yet more proof in the pudding. Good ideas found here.

Facebook

100 ways to use Facebook in the classroom - Great tips and ideas (mostly post secondary).
Do's and Don'ts of Facebook in secondary - A good list of suggestions on proper use and ideas.
Using Facebook to strengthen communication - A short article by a teacher with some helpful suggestions.
Useful Facebook apps - A list of 25 useful education orientated apps for Facebook. Dated 2008 but still useful.
Facebook's very own appstore for education - Hundreds of apps with an education focus right on Facebook's page.
Article Facebook keeps classes on schedule - An article from Feb 11, 2011 on how Warren County PS uses Facebook to communicate to students and parents during snow days.
Article Tampa Bay schools wrestle with role of social media - A good article pointing out the struggle of schools accepting this medium. No real good solutions found but it is a step in the right direction.
Birdville HS Watauga MSl Birdville ISD - A school and a district who have successfully integrated Facebook.

Blogs

Web 2.0 on Blogs - Excellent compilation of links pertaining to the use of blogs in education. If it wasn't dated 2008, this would be all I need.
Blogs in the Classroom - Good links and examples on blog use in the classroom.

KP Compass Designed to Work with iPad and other Tablet Devices.

iPad 2 & KP Compass

There is no need for an app for that!

KP Education Systems announces iPad and tablet support for KP Compass using their native web browser. It is not necessary to install any plugins or special apps for teachers and students to use KP Compass with KP’s curriculum such as KP Culinary Arts and KP Food Science. Any device with a web browser such as tablets, laptops and netbooks all use the same engine, thereby creating a unified look and feel. Unlike other online based curriculum, KP Compass was built from the ground up with the iPad in mind.

Xoom & KP Compass

KP Compass, KP’s newest edition to their line of technology products, allows KP’s curriculum and content to be plugged into this technology. KP Compass creates a Personal Learning Environment (PLE) for the student and the teacher. The teacher can use KP Compass to compose unit plans and assign them to students.

Unit plans can include a wide array of content which can be remixed and changed at the teacher’s discretion. Vocabulary and tests are automatically generated for the student. Additional content and questions can be added to KP Compass. Students can access the content from anywhere with an internet connection and build their PLE.

At the end of each unit plan, the students would go through an auto remediation engine. Each unit plan is set to a mastery level as opposed to being graded on a point scale. The teacher determines the criteria for each level of knowledge and sets the maximum number of test attempts that each student can make. As students continue to learn, their level of comprehension is assessed with “Knowledge Points” and categorized as one of three levels: Novice, Scholar, and Guru. This style will give students an incentive to continue to learn, comprehend, and achieve a higher assessment rating. As the students complete their unit plans, their PLE will continue to grow.

KP Compass offers an interface that is intuitive and easy-to-use for both the teacher and the student. Please contact KP today for an online demonstration.