USA working on it for over four years ,” she says . “ I assumed leadership of Academic and Instructional Technology in August 2013 and that ’ s when we started asking ourselves : what are the main important problems ?” Srba worked to radically disrupt the ways in which APUS delivers its e-learning programs , first developing a strategy to leverage APUS ’ s deep data insights to fully understand and prioritize the initiative .
“ We ’ ve taken a different approach over the past four years . We ’ ve been looking at technology that can aid online students in terms of retention and success ,” explains Srba . “ Students , especially as they ’ re becoming younger and younger and taking online courses , require a digital experience .” Under her team ’ s direction , APUS has turned to interactive adaptive technology with machine learning to create a student centered experience that is both rigorous and engaging . “ We have gone with an adaptive engine that allows us to scaffold the student and their education ,” she says . APUS ’ s system applies machine learning to a student ’ s performance to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses . As a result , it “ is able to serve up that information to you just in time . Just at that moment that you need it . Nothing more . Nothing less . It gives [ them ] a chance to be successful and
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“ Students , especially as they ’ re becoming younger and younger and taking online courses , require a digital experience ”
— Dr Karen Srba , VP Academic & Instructional Technology , APUS www . gigabitmagazine . com