Harvard School technology now out as SaaS app

CAMBRIDGE: A method, called Spaced Education, developed by Dr. B. Price Kerfoot, Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School is now part of a license agreement.

Spaced Education, Inc has signed an exclusive license agreement with Harvard University for a new learning technology that was developed and used at Harvard Medical School.

The company will market its software as a service (SaaS) solution to individuals, educational institutions, course providers and enterprises that want to offer courses based on the Spaced Education methodology.

It utilizes a simple question and answer format, delivered in short daily bursts to the learner and backed by a proprietary algorithm that adapts the content based on how an individual performs.

"Our early studies showed that traditional online learning generates only limited long-term retention of knowledge and is poorly accepted by learners," said Dr. Kerfoot. "To address these problems, we incorporated two research findings from the field of psychology (the spacing effect and the testing effect) into a new method of online learning based on a question and answer format."

"Spaced Education, Inc. has developed and launched an online service and website which puts this learning technology at the core of a social learning community. Learners can sign up for a wide range of courses, many for free, and receive their courses in a simple question and answer format, delivered on a regular schedule via email, the web, or a mobile device. Proven in more than 10 peer-reviewed randomized controlled trials (RCT) led by Dr. Kerfoot, Spaced Education has been shown to change behavior and to be effective, efficient, and well-accepted by learners. As it claims in a press note, it shows effectiveness by 50 per cent increase in clinical knowledge in a study of 480 physicians. Also claimed are learning benefits of Spaced Education persist for two years in study of 206 physicians." the company states.