At DEMO, a company called Cerego just launched a new adaptive learning system for English speakers who want to learn a new language: iKnow! Think Rosetta Stone, but online, with a brain, and mashed up with a social network. Using a specialized algorithm tailored to the individual learner, iKnow! can accelerate knowledge acquisition by having you review items at the optimum point in time – that moment right before you’re likely to forget it. At launch time, iKnow features the English and Japanese languages, but it’s not restricted to just those two – iKnow can support any language. That’s because iKnow is an open learning platform, starting with languages and progressing to any content domain. Right now, third parties (including the U.S. government) are using the platform to train diplomats in the field. The content they produce will soon become available on the platform for anyone to freely use and remix.
About iKnow
Decades of research on learning patterns in the fields of cognitive science and neuroscience have shown that the there is an optimum time to review what you’re studying in order to absorb and retain the information. It’s the moment right before you’re about to forget what you just learned. But when is that time? It’s hard for us to know when that moment is, but iKnow’s software does. It’s also personalized to you – iKnow!’s rate and approach are different for each individual. To calculate this particular rate, the software starts off assuming you’re an “average” learner. As you respond to questions, the speed, accuracy, difficulty of the question and other considerations are taken into account to calculate what your ideal rate of learning – a degree above or below that initial average.
Listening To A Word On iKnow
In addition to the pure educational aspect of the program, iKnow! is also a social network where learners can add their own content for others to study. This content can include lists of words (parts of the body, days of the week, etc.). Users can also import data from sites like YouTube, flickr, and popular Japanese video sharing site, Nico Nico Douga. Structured data like that from Freebase can be imported as well. This content can be incorporated into the program and used by everyone.
At launch time, Cerego announced that they would soon open their learning APIs so developers can build their own custom applications and content for any topic using the iKnow! technology. For more information, visit www.iknow.co.jp.
