Neuroscientist and Educator Establishes UQ Life to Fulfill Vision of Easing the Process of Kids Starting School

PALO ALTO, Calif., May 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — For many parents it's a daunting experience.

It's the first day of school for their young child and the parents are about to turn over the care of their son or daughter to a vast and unfamiliar institution.

The teacher, of course, does not always have much more information on the background of the new student other than a name on an official form.

But we know that every child is unique.

That's why parents often fear that their child won't "fit in."

These children became of special concern to Dr. Maureen Dunne, an Oxford educated cognitive/developmental neuroscientist, entrepreneur and Rhodes Scholar. During her years working to improve the lives of children, she has addressed this problem by creating innovative adaptive learning technologies.

Maureen can tell your readers, listeners or viewers how to show up at the first day of school fully prepared with documentation to help the teacher know about your child's unique needs and capabilities.

Her goal is to help the millions of preschool children be prepared for school by equipping them with an accessible and personalized high-quality school readiness program — installed conveniently on the learner's tablet or computer. This goal is a shared one. Especially in light of the current "preschool" movement in New York and at least six other states, as well as robust evidence that access to early learning resources predicts success later in life.

Maureen observed that when parents had the ability to convey what they knew of their child's interests and learning abilities –the teacher then had the tools needed to get the child off to a good start.

Maureen envisioned the impact of a support network of school, families and other important influencers, such as tutors and experts that are completely connected—collaborating and coaching via technology, in encouraging each individual child.

That is why she founded UQ Life, a Palo Alto-based educational technology company (www.uqlife.com). Maureen's vision is to enable all kids to discover their talents while playing entertaining games (that really work as an assessment system).

"It's so important," Maureen says, "for kids to have someone cheering and believing in them at an early age. The UQ Life learning platform allows the parent to always be aware of a child's progress and what he or she is interested in — whether that is science, learning to code or creative talents such as art and music. We have also developed methods so that parents can interpret both the emotional and learning results of their child so that they can arrive on the first day of school with a clear developmental snapshot of their kids."

She adds, "Parents are given insights and tips to help support the child's advancement as they progress through developmental milestones. They also can help support and encourage their child's specific strengths and interests."

Therefore, in addition to being primarily a game-based assessment system, UQ Life offers real-time personalized guidance and teamwork in reaching targeted learning goals. For instance, UQ Life's safe, private social features allow for live in-game participation, remote tutoring or real-time coaching, and the ability to influence the child's game experience both cognitively and creatively… from any networked device anywhere in the world in real time.

Teachers feel this is a service that is fulfilling an important need to close the gap in learning methods and information shared between the home and school.

Theresa, for example, a 1st grade teacher in Santa Clara County, California, says: "It was amazing to talk to Sean's mother about his enthusiasm for building things both on and offline. She recently shared Sean's (developmental snapshot) report which was great…I felt I could relate better to his likes and dislikes and the things he seemed really good at."

Maureen Dunne can tell your followers how to turn hours of their children's, at best, unproductive screen time (Kids spend on average 7.5 hours online each day) into time that enhances their love of learning while sharing this time with their families.