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Welcome to the home page of. . . .
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(Please excuse cryptic version of our e-mail address - it is like this to avoid SPAM) |
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Our Mission
...is to gather information about work on interactive teaching and to make it known to interested parties.
Beginning in 1985 the founders of Better Education Inc. began working with ideas on a new tool for teaching. Their vision was a way for a teacher to teach regular classes with the same personal attention and interaction as it is possible to give to every student in a small group.
Vision
"What can a teacher do in a class of 3 to 5 students that is difficult to do in a class of 30?"
Our vision was a new type of networked computer tool that makes all these things easier to do in normal class sizes.
We called it a Classroom Communication System (or CCS) !!!!!
Recent Changes at bE
We invented "Classtalk" - the classroom communication system, which we designed, prototyped, and researched with the help of National Science Foundation grants. Subsequently as we made & sold Classtalk systems, we realized that we would never have enough capital to do the job properly. So, in 1997 we signed an agreement with Texas Instruments (TI) to help develop better systems. As a result during last year TI began showing prototypes of an advanced new classroom communication system at major educational conferences.
Other companies are also entering the arena. Some years ago we sold three Classtalk systems to the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). Subsequently HKUST obtained funding from the Hong Kong government to develop a simpler low-cost wireless system and produced the PRS in conjunction with a local Hong Kong company. Recently, bE sold the PRS in addition to Classtalk. In addition, a small Texas company called "eInstruction" began to produce a system (the CPS) which competes directly with the PRS.
Because of the growing choice in tools for interactive teaching, we decided at the end of 2000, that our efforts were no longer critical in this area. Accordingly, we have now formally passed-on the baton and have made the transition out of manufacturing and selling systems.
This step will enable us to re-focus our energies and increase our efforts in helping to build the community of people involved in interactive teaching. The issues of effective pedagogy, curriculum, and teacher education, are substantial and complex, and there is much that remains to be resolved in these areas. We look forward to contributing.
More Information
Much of the information on this site is historical and is in the process of being updated.
We welcome your comments.
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