Earlier today, Intellext™ and AOL announced the launch of the AOL@SCHOOL desktop sidebar, designed to help K-12 elementary school students with their homework, but without having to search the open Web for the answers. Instead, this smart application proactively returns relevant content from hand selected educational resources related to the topic the student is working on - whether it be online, in a word processing or other desktop application. Students can also actively use the sidebar for deeper research into their homework topic.
The desktop sidebar was created using Intellext’s next-generation Watson™ contextual search technology in conjunction with AOL@SCHOOL’s search engine. Students can have the sidebar installed for free at school or home, and the tool can interpret the topic the student is working on and automatically find safe, age-appropriate and relevant search results from AOL@SCHOOL’s collection of the best K-12 education content on the Web. 数据挖掘研究院
In a conversation with Dr. Jay Budzik, co-creator of Watson™, he noted the partnership has been a terrific opportunity to private label the contextually relevant search technology. By using a content publisher of high-quality educational resources such as AOL@SCHOOL, they have created an engaging learning environment while ensuring safe search for kids, presenting results without commercialization. 数据挖掘研究院
“This software will transform the way that students do their homework,” added Mark Stevens, AOL's Education Director and General Manager, added “At AOL@SCHOOL, we are dedicated to making learning fun and engaging while keeping kids safe as they surf the Web.” 数据挖掘研究院
While librarians may argue that students need the process of research to learn, today's educators are growing increasingly frustrated that traditional online search tools are not able to return the most relevant or safest results, and see this tool as a more efficient research tool for students. Since the tool proactively returns matching topics as the students get deeper into their work, they are exposed to related concepts they may not have discovered by researching on their own. The student then can dig deeper into the new materials and learn more actively. Product research showed the relevant content returned in the sidebar gets used in a different manner by students, and more frequently, added Budzik. 数据挖掘研究院
You can learn more about the tool and download the AOL@SCHOOL sidebar here. 数据挖掘研究院
