There are all kinds of students that come to you.

Some of them you hardly have to tell them once and they’ve got what you’re saying. These people will take whatever you throw at them, digest it, and then respond correctly back at any question you can throw at them. Others would benefit from more repetition, having the material broken up into smaller pieces and being more methodical.

Some students are good at math. Some are good at verbal comprehension. Some are good at both. Some are not particularly good at either.

Some students jump at the opportunity to ask questions. Others wait for their fellow classmates to do the asking.

Some are afraid to clarify if you say something that doesn’t make sense to them. Some will challenge you as if they were arguing a case before the Supreme Court.

Some have reviewed the material the night before, had a good breakfast, and are ready to go. Others didn’t get enough sleep and are thinking about other things.

Some have advanced degrees and have completed graduate school. Others just barely got their GED.

Some students prefer to figure things out on their own. Others prefer you to tell them how to do it.

You never know, from class to class, what sorts of students you will have. But no matter what kind of student is in your class, they all benefit from learning together, and online review classes can help you and help them.

It allows them to go through the material at exactly the pace they need to, whether that’s fast or slow. Whether that’s once, or ten times.

It allows them to answer questions and get instant feedback. It allows them to watch the material again if they don’t get it right, and improves their confidence in their knowledge when they do get it right.

It allows them to collaborate with their fellow classmates, to ask questions, or to try to explain what they believe to be true.

It allows you to understand the challenges your individual students are facing, and to tailor your class to your students needs.

Isn’t that amazing? We think so. Call us today at 407-982-7940.

Online education for Real Estate Schools

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I just got a phone call from the company that repaired my computer last week.

Yes, I had somebody else repair my computer, even though I knew what was wrong (the power supply), and how to do it myself (order and install a new power supply). I’ve just been breaking and fixing computers all my life, thank you.

As it turns out, I didn’t know as much as I thought I did. After the technician completed his diagnosis, it turns out that the motherboard also had a bad capacitor on it. Great job – I’m glad that that got caught and done right – saved me time and frustration.

At any rate, I picked up the phone and an automated voice recording on the line told me that my computer was ready for pickup, and gave me several helpful options for scheduling a pickup. This would have also been great, except, I picked up my computer last week. And, it’s the third call I’ve received about this.

Feeling a bit annoyed, I hung up, got back to work, and contemplated how many more times this would happen before the system gave up. If the person who had fixed my computer had been making the call, I just don’t think that this would have happened. That would have been nice.

Score? Humans: 1, Computers: 0.

Automated systems are great. When technology works, it’s like your magical assistant that’s always by your side. But that can also give you the illusion that you could simply run technology systems without giving it any more thought or anybody working on them at all.

Except it never works that way. Computers may be good at repetitive tasks, but human pride is a funny thing. I was taught that too much of it is bad. But somebody who takes pride in their work? That person does the best job for you every time.

In the study of economics, shadow work refers to unpaid labor in the form of self service. Pumping your own gas. Booking your own airline ticket. Operating complex equipment without training. Sure, it sounds like it’s all fun and games, and oh, so efficient, but are there any possible consequences? A 2007 study found that 38 percent of the American work force felt fatigued.

I wonder what that number is for business owners. Have you ever felt like there just were not enough hours in the day to get everything done?

Specialists such as travel agents can be pretty helpful. Sure, it can be nice to feel like you’ve got a good understanding of what the current airline prices are after hours spent over weeks of research. But it sure stinks when you show up at the airport and realize that you booked the wrong day, that you were running behind and didn’t have time to get through the self-service kiosks, or end up on a 12 hour flight in the seat right next to the bathroom.

I hope that none of those have happened to you before, I’m embarrassed to admit that they sure have to me.

I actually used a travel agent last time I booked. Yes, they still exist, and it was a great experience. It saved me time, aggravation, I got helpful suggestions from somebody who does this all the time, and even without factoring those in, I’m not even sure that it costed me anything more. Just like you, I appreciate transparency and knowing I’m not being taken for a ride, but I also like service.

At Ninebricks, we don’t consider ourselves a self-service platform. We consider ourselves to be your partners. We’ve helped schools to quickly build high quality products that increase their revenue. Quickly, meaning, up and running within weeks – not 6 months or a year down the line, maybe, depending on if your computer-whiz, brother-in-law’s nephew is up to it or how far you get in all of those computer books you ordered from Amazon.

We’ve helped schools to quickly add value to their business, and improve student satisfaction with their instructor. We’re able to do that because it’s not something that we’re leaving you and your students on your own to manage. We’re here with you every step of the way, from course concept all the way to delivery. We support both you and your students, not with automated phone calls or politely suggesting that they search through our extensive ‘knowledge database’, but, with actual people who help them figure out why they can’t log in or access a module. Feeling supported is an amazing thing.

At the end, you get a better product, a better business, happier students, and less fatigue all around.

Ready to talk about how we can help you make this happen? Give us a call at 407-982-7940 and we’ll get you going.

What is it that a student is trying to do when they ask you if they can record your class? Is the student creating some sort of study aid, based on your teaching? It’s not that easy to listen to a voice recording, it’s hard to find specific sections to focus on or move through easily.

Could you help that student to create an even more valuable resource than a voice recorder could? Would such a resource be valuable to all of your students?

Call us at 407-982-7940, we’ve got some ideas for you.

Online education for Real Estate Schools

We live in interesting times. Breathless headlines talk about how the robots are getting ready to put us all out of jobs any day now. Sure, I have days where I wish that it were true. Could it be possible to just record an instructor and let students learn from the recording without an instructor?

No. Think about it this way. Facebook is an amazing way to communicate with your friends. But is it a substitute for getting together for lunch or coffee? Not really. It has a place, but it doesn’t replace.

Same idea. If most students were good at learning without an instructor, then teachers would have been unnecessary as soon as books were invented, and online learning classes would have already taken over the industry. Instead, you know as an instructor that most students find that the online experience is lacking. It lacks structure, it lacks an environment of learning, it lacks interaction with classmates, it lacks the ability to ask questions, it lacks … you, the instructor, the relationship you create with your students, and the environment that you create together. These are things that happen when you put people in the same room – with no laptops and cell phones off – not interacting through the internet. Does self-learning work for some people? Sure, if they can sit down, read, and structure their own learning and work well in isolation, they may not need an instructor or their classmates, all they really needed was the book. But, not for most people. For most, learning is a lot more enjoyable and more effective when done together.

Your students know it too, and they tell you this all the time. They could have taken the class online, but they came to class because online learning is not a substitute for teaching. Video classes have been around for a while, correspondence classes mailed on VHS, or even video streaming classes with remote instructors have been happening for decades. Nothing new here. Most students don’t like them, they never finish them, they never learn the material. When it comes to learning, you know that you just can’t beat face to face instruction. And you can’t beat the learning environment that a classroom creates.

So then why do online video?

Simple. While it doesn’t replace, there is a place for it. We think that the thing that everybody’s been getting wrong up until this point is that it’s always been either / or. Either in-class instruction, or online/distance learn-it-by-yourself. But, for the first time, consider the option of: both.

Both in-class, and online.

Do you give students handouts? Many instructors use handouts to help students remember specific points. What if you could give your students a handout that could speak to them? If they could hear it, and it could ask them questions? Making sure that they understand the material and can apply it? What if that handout could remind them of the stories you told in class to illustrate the points, what if that handout was you? I think that that would be just about the most amazing handout ever. Think about online video supplements as a set of handouts that your students can use to really hammer the points across. Handouts don’t replace classroom instruction, but they have their place.

Until now, putting together this material has always been a complicated and expensive undertaking. But, today, you can do it. At Ninebricks, we strive to help you.

The best technology has always been the technology that you don’t have to think about. It doesn’t cry for your attention or tell you what you did wrong. It stays at your side, and assists you without you even having to think about it. That’s what working with Ninebricks does for you.

And how does your school benefit from working with us? Working with us means more confident, more prepared students. Higher first-time pass rates – we’ve seen schools that use similar techniques hit 90% first time pass rates – that’s right: 90%. What would that mean for your school? Higher revenues. Higher enrollments. More confident students. More repeat business. More referrals. More knowledgeable agents entering the industry.

Ready to talk about how we can do this for you?

Online education for Real Estate Schools