The need
Never before have students held so much information in
the palm of their hands. The problem is no longer finding
information but rather filtering and sorting the abundance
of information on the Internet to find the rare gems which
can unlock their understanding.
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Students can be overwhelmed by:
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Too many search results.
While Google has made searching the web more efficient, many students still struggle to make sense of search results. Pages and pages of web links are presented with little relevance to each student's
leanring needs.
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Information not appropriate to their grade level​​
The information provided by these web resources may be too difficult or too simple for each student's learning level.​ Students learning about physics in Grade 7 have very different learning needs than those students in Grade 12.
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A poor presentation of new information
The modern web has the ability to present and teach information in a uniquely engaging way. Many websites continue to present information in a static or non-engaging way which may hinder a student's motivation to learn.
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Information focussed on educators rather than learners
Many of the educational websites are focussed on the needs of educators. While in an ideal world the needs or educators and learners would be complimentary, this is not always the case.​
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Resources behind paywalls
Many of the best resources on the Internet are behind paywalls. How often have learners tried to search for information and found their search results overwhelmed with sites such as study.com with expensive subscription fees?
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The solution: lurnt
Lurnt puts the control back into the hands of the people who best understand their needs: the learners themselves. Modelled after reddit.com, the self-proclaimed front page of the Internet, Lurnt allows students to share resources they find on the Internet as well as their own original content (OC) which other students can use to better understand a topic they are learning. Other users (refered to as lurnrs) can upvote and downvote these shared links depending on how helpful, useful or engaging they are as well as leave comments for other lurnrs.
The advantage
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Information is currated by students
Students best know their own learning needs. Lurnt allows the best results to be ranked and currated by its users rather than dubious AI algorithms or educators.
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Students can find information at their own learning level
Resources will be rated by students according to how relevant they are to students at various grade levels. No longer will students who are in Grade 12 have to waste time sifting through Grade 5 level resources and vice versa.
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Real world engagement
Students developing their own resources as part of a class project (such as a mitosis stop motion video or rap) can see how their creations can help and engage other students. No longer will projects just be for marks and sit on a classroom wall for only a few students to see.
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A real learning community
Lurnt is a place for learners and gives more control and agency to those who should be at the center of the learning process: the learners. Previously, teachers found and posted resources on LMSes such as Moodle or Google Classroom. Now students from many schools can find, create and share resources with other students.
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