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<title>Haaze.com / new5Valerij / Published News</title>
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<pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Smart TV&'s sell big globally, not so much in the U.S.]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=smart-tvrsquos-sell-big-globally-not-so-much-in-the-u-s-</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=smart-tvrsquos-sell-big-globally-not-so-much-in-the-u-s-</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
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<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=smart-tvrsquos-sell-big-globally-not-so-much-in-the-u-s-</guid>
<description><![CDATA[More than a fifth of all television sets sold in 2010 were smart TVs, according to the research firm DisplaySearch, which says the numbers signal that &amp;''a quiet revolution in TV viewing&amp;'' is gaining a foothold.How &amp;''quiet&amp;'' the revolution is depends on whether you pay any attention at all to the media, which is rife with coverage of the rise of network-connected (and otherwise &amp;''smart&amp;'') televisions. But quiet or loud, DisplaySearch says the category will continue to grow at a fast clip a4&quot; from 2.5 million sets on 2010 to more than 10 million in 2014.Total TV shipments grew by a &amp;''staggering&amp;'' 17 percent in 2010&amp;8211'to more than 247 million &amp;8212' representing &amp;''the best growth seen since the start of the flat panel TV transition,&amp;'' DisplaySearch reported.Sales in North America, however, were nearly flat as those screens, rising by just 0.4 percent through 2010&amp;'s first three quarters. Much of the growth came in Japan and in emerging markets. Part of the problem in North America (besides continued skittishness among recession-battered consumers) is that prices remain relatively lofty as features are added to TVs: LED backlights, 3D, Internet connectivity. Prices fell by 22 percent in 2009, compared with a drop of just 6 percent in 2010. LED-equipped sets will continue to increase their market share in 2011, rising to about a fifth of all sets sold as prices fall.About half of all the sets sold worldwide were LCD TVs.The &amp;''quiet revolution&amp;'' could get a lot noisier once the market for smart TVs settles down and leaders emerge. For now, there is a baffling array of options, from simply buying an Internet-connectable set to buying a Google TV or Roku box to relying on Hulu, iTunes, or Netflix, or any number of combinations of those. Programmers, cable companies, and Internet upstarts are waging turf wars, the outcome of which is hard to predict.Fortune&amp;'s Jessi Hempel writes today that there is great promise in the smart-TV world, but &amp;''for the moment, all that promise translates into a proliferation of new boxes and services that are impossible to compare.&amp;'' For now, we have &amp;''a Web TV experience that feels a bit like the Internet circa 1998, before publishing companies embraced the Net and Google arrived to help us find and instantly consume the stuff we&amp;'re looking for.&amp;''Next Story: Vizio launches Google TV line and Theater 3D HDTVs Previous Story: On the GreenBeat: Khosla backs Ciris Energy, new solar shelters provide emergency powerPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Google TV, Roku, smart TVsCompanies: DisplaySearch          Tags: Google TV, Roku, smart TVsCompanies: DisplaySearchVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Test-prep company Knewton takes online courses to next level: university]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=test-prep-company-knewton-takes-online-courses-to-next-level-university</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=test-prep-company-knewton-takes-online-courses-to-next-level-university</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>new5Valerij</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=test-prep-company-knewton-takes-online-courses-to-next-level-university</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Knewton, a company that provides personalized help to boost scores on tests such as the GMAT, is taking online education to the next level: It will now power actual university math programs for Arizona State University (ASU) students.The announcement marks a shift for the New York based startup company, which to date had only provided test-prep programs. ASUa4a4s decision to use online, instructorless remedial education raises the question of just how much new technologies could disrupt the traditional university model.ASU students who score below a certain threshold on the math portions of a preliminary assessment will be required to use the Knewton-powered adaptive-learning program. The web-based program will generate homework assignments based on each studenta4a4s individual proficiency levels and learning styles, and adapts as students score better in a certain type of problem. Based on the data from the online program, ASU will also provide virtual and in-person tutoring. Once students demonstrate college readiness in mathematics, they will advance into ASU instructor-led math courses. The university hopes this will boost retention and graduation rates.In addition to the remediation program, ASUa4a4s two introductory math courses will also incorporate Knewton. Course professors can assign individualized homework through Knewtona4a4s platform, such that a certain percentage of incorrect answers on a preliminary problem set will trigger additional problems catered to a studenta4a4s personal weaknesses.Knewton&amp;'s move into higher education core curriculum is one that CEO Jose Ferreira tells us was in the business plan from the beginning. It&amp;'s a step along the path to launching an open, adaptive-learning platform that Ferreira hopes will be used by students and content producers of any subject. Such a platform could provide individuals with an educational profile that tracks their proficiency levels and learning styles across disciplines, not unlike the way Facebook tracks a persona4a4s ever-changing social profile. The platform could also be used as a discovery engine for the most effective curriculum. a4AWe can algorithmically determine who has the top performing content,a4 Ferreira says. a4AIf 10 people create the best content on how to convert fractions to numerals a4 we can psychometrically determine what is most effective.a4Ferreiraa4a4s ambitions are big, but not everyone thinks improving education is a matter of data and algorithms.Karin Forssell, Program Director of the Learning, Design, and Technology Masters Program at Stanford University says adaptive learning engines might prove less effective outside of clear-cut subjects like math. a4AThe bigger question is, what happens when you move from the disciplines where there are &amp;''right&amp;'' answers (traditionally more lecture- and test-based) to those in which argument and interpretation are key (generally more discussion- and essay-based),a4 she wrote in an email to VentureBeat. a4AAssessing those a4fuzzya4a4 subjects by computer is extremely challenging.a4Ferreira acknowledges that not every subject can be taught with adaptive-learning engines, but he says only the most abstract like philosophy and complex law fall out of its purview. And the usefulness isna4a4t limited to hard sciences, he insists, as is evidenced by the fact that ASU recently asked Knewton for reading and writing programs as well. a4AIf people can agree on what proficiency means, it can work with Knewton,a4 he says.Jennifer Carolan, associate partner at New Schools Venture Fund (not a Knewton investor) and former high-school history teacher, says adaptive-learning technology has promise in the humanities. a4AGreat teachers break down their subjects into learning bits which can become the basis for adaptive learning engines,a4 she wrote in an email to VentureBeat. a4AWhile ita4a4s true that math and the hard sciences are more conducive to this format, there is still a lot of learning bits living in the heads of great English and history teachers that could populate adaptive learning engines in the humanities and facilitate faster learning there as well.a4Knewton is backed by a long list of angel investors, including Ron Conway, Reid Hoffman and Chris Dixon, and has raised a total of $21 million since its first round of financing in 2008. The company, which was named a 2011 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum at Davos, aims to launch a first version of its open API for programmers in March or August and hopes to have a version that is usable by any teacher or content creator by some time in 2012.Next Story: Verizon&amp;'s wired broadband soars to 150 megabits a second Previous Story: On the GreenBeat: Sierra Club sues over solar plant, LDK Solar takes $33 million stake in Solar PowerPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: adaptive learning, Arizona State UniversityCompanies: KnewtonPeople: Jose Ferreira          Tags: adaptive learning, Arizona State UniversityCompanies: KnewtonPeople: Jose FerreiraMatt Bowman is the program director for VentureBeat's events. He is a freelance event producer and writer covering the global Silicon Valley and formerly served in the Teach For America Corp.VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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