1. Reached over 1,250,000 students with our readiness assessment - SmarterMeasure (formerly known as READI)
2. Changed company name from DECADE Consulting to eLearning Tool Box.
3. Have operated for ten years as a zero-debt company!
4. Went through a complete rebranding from eLearning Tool Box to SmarterServices that included new logos, colors, literature, websites, displays, and product names.
5. Grew client base consistently every year for the past decade.
6. Created 3 fully functional profitable solutions.
7. Secured 10 state wide contracts.
8. Successfully became the industry leader in assessing student readiness.
9. Secured contracts with the 5 largest for-profit schools.
10. Experienced no turn over - only adding to current staff but no one left the company. 

10 Milestones in 10 Years - Happy Birthday SmarterServices

As reported this week in The Washington Post the Encyclopedia Britannica has stopped the presses and will cease production of its print based books.   After 244 years of production of one of the world’s most respected information resources, the publisher must now change its way of doing business.  When I first heard this news it evoked some sentimental sadness.  I remember the great joy each time that my family would get a new set of encyclopedias or the annual edition of the Year Book.  OK, so I was one of those geeks who enjoyed learning.  Well, I still enjoy learning, but it is rarely in the form of a book that I hold in my hand.  After going down memory lane for a couple of minutes I was then jolted back to reality by the realization that as a business owner, I must realize that no business – however well-established or well-respected, can continue doing business the same way forever.  Visions of Woolworths, Oldsmobile, and Polaroid flashed through my mind. 

So what are we at SmarterServices doing to remain relevant?  We are listening.  Listening to you.  We are listening to the expressed needs of our clients and then envisioning services that can be done in a smarter way.  The evolution of all of our services has been prompted by the suggestions of our clients.
•    Just over ten years ago we listened as there was a need expressed by the US Army for an online learning readiness assessment.  Now over 1.25 million students have benefitted from the SmarterMeasure Learning Readiness Indicator.
•    Then as distance learning exploded we listened to schools as they needed an efficient way to find online faculty.  Now over 12,000 online faculty have created searchable profiles in SmarterFaculty.
•    Next we listened as schools needed a smarter way to collect student perception data.  Now over a half million course evaluations have been submitted through SmarterSurveys.
•    Most recently we listened as schools requested a way to ensure online student authenticity and learner integrity.  We will soon be releasing SmarterProctors. 

What will we be doing next?  We are not sure, but we are listening to you to find out.  Let us know how we can help you be smarter as you educate learners.

Reflections from Company President - Dr. Mac Adkins

Are we a nation of cheaters?  Do all students cheat (even if a little bit) on a high stakes exam at some point while getting their education?  With the recent incidents of cheating exposed nationally, media is asking the question, is cheating an epidemic?  Noted in a recent Washington Post article, cheating has been going on since civil service exams in ancient China.  So while it may not be a recent phenomenon, students have gotten creative.  Also in the article, Christine Probett from San Diego State University who has studied the methods student use to cheat, gives her list of the most creative ways to steal answers.

Updated Classic Methods

• Notes inside brim of baseball caps
• Notes inside label of water bottles
• Fake “Coke” bottle labels with notes printed where ingredients, etc. should be printed
• Having another student take exam in their place (easier now with larger class sizes)
• “Clickers” (sometimes used in class for quizzes, attendance, etc.) - students who skip class give their clickers to others so they get credit
• There are many videos on YouTube which provide step-by-step cheating techniques, so that in itself is yet another method

New “High Tech” Methods

• Distracting teacher and pulling out cell phone and taking photo of exam
• Texting someone in/outside class for answers
• Google-ing for answers
• Organized groups of students working together to “memorize” a question or two and collaborating to recreate the exam
• The Internet also enables access to lots of material that can make plagiarism much easier.

Don't try this at home, kids.

A Nation of Cheaters?

Released in May 2011, from the Instructional Technology Council, the 2010 Distance Education Survey Results: Trends in eLearning: Tracking the Impact of eLearning at Community Colleges, offers seven issues of relevant regulatory and legislative activity that are currently impacting the trends in distance learning.

1. State Authorization for Institutions Offering Distance Education to Out-of-State Students
2. Increased Scrutiny of For-Profit higher Education Institutions
3. Broadband Techology Opportunities Program (BTOP)
4. Failure to Enact the American Graduation Initiative
5. Passage of the TAA Community College and Career Training Grants Program
6. The Department of Education's National Education Technology Plan
7. The 2008 Higher Education Opportunites Act (HEOA)

Learn more by reading the full report.

2010 ELearning Trends - Instructional Technology Council

According to a recent study, Cheryl J. Wachenheim, an associate professor of agribusiness and applied economics at North Dakota State University, her economics online students may be cheating for final exams since they aren't proctored and the temptation of cheating seems to high to pass up.  A faculty member teaching both on ground and online classes, Wachenheim fears students in an online environment may be cramming assignments and homework into the final weeks of a self-paced course thus retaining very little if any information in preparation for the final.  With limited time, students may be more likely to cheat since they are able to use external resources such as open books and notes during tests with no consequences. Read the full article published in The Chronicle here.

Testing Integrity is a hot button in the world of online learning environments.  Cutting edge technologies have flooded the market but can be costly, require bulky devices, and in many cases have raised the proverbial "Big Brother Eyebrow".  What happened to a real, live, human being proctoring an exam?  Many schools do require students to have proctored final exams.  However, in some cases they are asked to find the proctor themselves.  Really?  "Sure, I think my "Aunt Sally" can 'proctor' my test"...you get the picture...where's the objectivity?

SmarterProctors is a database of individuals who are available all over the United States to proctor exams.  Graduate students, clergy, teachers, notaries, librarians, unbiased individuals ready to proctor a high stakes exam at a local library, office, or church.  Creating a profile is free.  Proctors set their fees and fees are paid through our secure and user-friendly system.  To learn more go to SmarterProctors.com.

Testing Integrity - Real People Proctors