Techno-News Blog

By Don Norman, Technology Review

Ever talk to someone at a party or conference reception only to discover that the person you are talking to is constantly scanning the room, looking this way and that, perhaps finding you boring, perhaps looking for someone more important? Doesn’t the person realize that you notice? Welcome to the brave new world of wearable computers, which will tread within the uneasy space bounded by continual distraction, continual diversion of attention, and continual blank stares along one border; and focused attention, continual enhancement, and better interaction, understanding, and retention along the other. Google’s latest hardware toy, Glass, which has received a lot of attention, is only the beginning of this challenge.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/517346/the-paradox-of-wearable-technologies/

By Tom Simonite, Technology Review

Connecting more TVs to online content could shake up how people get their entertainment. Google launched a two-inch-long device costing $35 at an event in San Francisco today. The device is meant to bring the 200 billion videos watched online each month to regular TV sets. Called the Chromecast, the device resembles a regular USB thumb drive, but plugs into a television’s HDMI port and connects to a home Wi-Fi connection. Once a Chromecast device has been installed and connected, it is possible to control it using Google’s YouTube app or an online player on an Android or Apple smartphone or tablet, or with a laptop, as long as that device is on the same Wi-Fi network. The Chromecast device then fetches video content from the Internet itself. Through the Chromecast it is possible to turn on a TV, change the volume, pause, skip, and play content.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/517406/google-launches-a-dongle-to-bring-online-video-to-tv/

by Michelle Rhee-Weise, Clayton Christensen Institute

It’s unfortunate that SJSU’s daring experiment was cast in the media as such an epic failure because critics of online education will be all too eager to use this as proof that online courses cannot compare to what occurs within the classroom. The sad fact is that institutions of higher education have never done an exceptional job of dealing with students underprepared for college. Remember: the Udacity trial was concurrent with edX’s pilot partnership with SJSU in which MIT course materials were being used to flip the classroom in an introductory SJSU Circuits course. Students watched the online edX materials (lectures, quizzes, virtual labs) at home and then met with SJSU lecturer Khosrow Ghadiri in the classroom to go through problem sets together. That course experienced a remarkable improvement in its pass rate, shooting upward from 55 percent to 91 percent. The blended learning environment created in the SJSU-edX pilot program was a testament to the need for personal guidance and support when it comes to working with MOOC materials.

http://www.christenseninstitute.org/try-try-again-udacity/

by SARAH WHITE, Lifehack

It seems like these days you can learn just about anything online for free, but of course some of that information is better than others. The good news is there are plenty of reputable places to educate yourself online for free, and here’s a good 20 of them to get you started.

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/20-places-educate-yourself-online-for-free.html

By Tanya Roscorla, Center for Digital Education

When it comes to education technology, the next generation of teachers is getting a steady supply of knowledge and practice. But like anything, technology must be integrated well to help students learn. In today’s teacher preparation programs, college professors balance technology with content and knowledge, focus on context, emphasize classroom practice and use appropriate technology tools for different tasks. Here are some more details on these four key elements that make up today’s digital teacher preparation programs — programs that give students a chance to learn about and practice teaching in a supportive environment so that when they start teaching full-time, they’re better prepared for the challenges that lie ahead:

http://www.centerdigitaled.com/news/How-to-Prepare-Teachers-for-Digital-Education.html

By Tanya Roscorla, Center for Digital Education

At the University of California at Davis,  Norman S. Matloff, a computer science professor,  says that the STEM  shortage is  really a web of deceit designed to trick the whole country. “There’s a giant deception, a huge public relations concerted effort being engaged on the various parties with a vested interest to implant in the American consciousness this idea that we have a STEM labor shortage,” Matloff said. Many positions in these fields don’t even require a college degree, much less a doctorate. In fact, less than five percent of jobs in the technology field call for high levels of knowledge. And the technology field has seen success stories at a high level from people who never earned a college degree.

http://www.centerdigitaled.com/news/STEM-Labor-Shortage-Myth-or-Reality.html

By Tanya Roscorla, Center for Digital Education

Students and faculty aren’t so sure that they will really be saving money by moving to e-textbooks.  Digital texbooks are gaining ground in education, as shown by a study released by the Book Industry Study Group earlier this year: Students’ preference for print text over digital dropped from 72 percent in November 2011 to 60 percent in late 2012.  And a recent EDUCAUSE study finds that students and faculty value lower-cost textbooks — though they aren’t sure that the current digital textbook model will drive prices down.

http://www.centerdigitaled.com/news/E-Textbooks-Report-Questions-Cost-Savings.html

By Steven Mintz, Chronicle of Higher Ed

The most important challenge involves a shift in the way students consume higher education. Instead of attending a single institution, students receive credit in multiple ways, including from early-college/dual-degree programs, community colleges, online providers, and multiple universities. Students are voting with their feet, embracing online courses and undermining core curricula, which served as a cash cow, by turning to alternate providers, and pursuing fewer majors that require study of a foreign language. As a result, colleges must become more nimble, entrepreneurial, student-focused, and accountable for what students learn. I am a historian and far better at interpreting the past than forecasting the future. Nevertheless, I will go out on a limb and predict 15 innovations that will alter the face of higher education over the next 36 months.

http://chronicle.com/article/The-Future-Is-Now-15/140479/

by Katrina Schwartz, Mind/Shift

Khan Academy, best known for its free online library of video tutorials, is using the summer months to offer in-person teacher trainings in places like Chicago, New Orleans, and Redwood City, California. The workshops are integrating what teachers and Khan Academy staff have learned over the past few years while experimenting with different ways of integrating videos and Khan assessments into classrooms. “Now that we are a couple of years in it, we have enough evidence of really great teacher practices that we are trying to share with a broader audience,” said Khan Academy President Shantanu Sinha, at a training workshop in Redwood City earlier this week.

http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/07/khan-academy-offers-trainings/