Techno-News Blog

By Mamie Jõeveer, Games and Learning

A set of concerned parents-turned-entrepreneurs decided to get in the rink with other educators worldwide who have been fighting to improve academic performance. Their entry into the rink came by way of the technology based educational program, TurtleDiary.com. It was a feeling of being unsatisfied by the quality of educational resources available online for children, and a desire to take action rather than sit on the sidelines, that led Neetu Saini and Permender Singh to put in the hours and launch TurtleDiary.

http://www.gamesandlearning.org/2014/06/13/when-concerned-parents-become-developers/

by Chronicle of Higher Ed

“Although educational outcomes for online education are closely scrutinized,” Moody’s says, “advancements in technology, online curriculum, and quality controls have made online education a more accepted and marketable tool for educational delivery. The entry of elite universities into distance learning, albeit primarily through non-credit-granting courses, will help legitimize this form of delivery and reduce the stigma that has historically been associated with distance education.” Bottom Line: With one in four college students enrolled in some type of online learning, American higher education has shown that it can adapt to changing technology and student preferences.

http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/colleges-embrace-of-online-learning-is-a-credit-positive/79845

By Joshua Bolkan, THEJournal

Only 17 percent of high schools do not currently offer any online classes and more than 40 percent are offering online courses in English language arts, history, math or science, according to the latest report from Project Tomorrow’s Speak Up report. Based on online survey responses from more than 400,000 teachers, administrators, students and community members, the latest report, “The New Digital Learning Playbook: Advancing College and Career Skill Development in K-12 Schools,” examines attitudes about technology’s role in preparing K-12 students for higher education and careers. The reasons principals who participated in the survey cited for offering online classes include offering remediation, at a rate of 66 percent, Keeping students engaged, at 63 percent and to provide credit recovery options, at 61 percent.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/06/11/report-83-percent-of-high-schools-offer-online-courses.aspx

By Leila Meyer, Campus Technology

One of the country’s largest engineering programs has implemented virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) so its students can access industry standard engineering software tools from any computer, anywhere they are connected to the Internet.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/06/12/georgia-tech-engineering-students-use-virtual-desktops-to-access-specialized-tools-anywhere-anytime.aspx

by Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame announced that it has joined the edX Consortium as a charter member. A not-for-profit partnership of leading global universities, edX is committed to innovations in online and blended learning, improving access to education, and researching effective learning for use on and beyond college campuses. Currently, edX members offer more than 200 open online courses to learners worldwide in a range of academic areas, including engineering, the humanities, natural sciences, computer science and public health. Notre Dame will use edX courses – along with educational media, innovative tools and strategies and the data they yield – in the service of effective teaching and learning.

http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?ID=65597

By Paul Fain, Inside Higher Ed

The term “adaptive learning” can mean many things, even to colleges that have begun experimenting with it. A broad definition is the use of software — often driven by data collection — to create a more individualized learning experience for students. Experts say adaptive learning has promise in tailoring coursework and supports to students, which could boost retention and graduation rates. The language around the technology “seems to be up for grabs,” said Peter Stokes, executive director of postsecondary innovation at Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies. The distinction between “adaptive” and “personalized” learning is unclear, he said. Even old-fashioned tutoring or extra-credit projects can be called personalized learning, as can data-driven courseware that morphs in response to each student.

http://www.click2houston.com/news/money/In-state-students-getting-squeezed-out-at-public-universities/26453602

by Ian Barker, Beta News

How the cloud is changing higher educationCloud usage is changing more and more areas of our lives. You might expect the education sector to be at the How the cloud is changing higher education of this and a new infographic linked below released by digital marketing specialists Pulp-PR shows how it’s being affected. A key finding is that four out of five students are expected to take some or all of their classes online by the end of this year.

http://betanews.com/2014/06/12/how-the-cloud-is-changing-higher-education/

By Graphite, Common Sense Media

Common Sense Media’s service Graphite, which offers independent ratings and reviews of learning apps and websites, has compiled this list of its top apps that help students create digital media. For a listing and reviews see the URL below.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/05/15/7-fantastic-apps-for-making-media.aspx

By Vicki Davis, Edudemic

Twitter is an incredible tool for any classroom,if you know how to use it. Teachers like Karen Lirenman and Kathy Cassidy show us how even very young children benefit greatly from the safe online connections through their teachers. If you’re still not convinced read the 100 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom right here on Edudemic. In my new book Reinventing Writing, I share many of the best practices for the effective classroom use of Twitter. Now that you want to use Twitter, here are the essential apps, hashtags, and tips to help you to work efficiently and get the most out of your tweets.

http://www.edudemic.com/twitter-best-practices-educators-reinventingwriting/

by Steve Kolowich, Chronicle of Higher Ed

The online-education boom has made technology vendors powerful. So powerful, in fact, that some university officials say it’s getting harder and harder to update their technology without placing themselves under the sway of outside companies. Now four major research universities are trying to promote strength in numbers. They are creating a consortium, called Unizin, that they hope will help member institutions innovate on their own terms. The four institutions are Colorado State University, Indiana University, the University of Florida, and the University of Michigan. Unizin will negotiate contracts with technology vendors for products and services that many universities already buy individually. But instead of implementing the technologies locally, member institutions will get a set of “sewn-together services” from Unizin in exchange for dues, says Bradley C. Wheeler, vice president for information technology at Indiana.

http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/4-universities-band-together-to-share-and-protect-digital-resources/53269

By Joshua Bolkan, Campus Technology

The “2014 Global Survey of Students” compiled responses from more than 20,800 students at 37 institutions in the Laureate network. Students from 21 countries participated in the survey, which sought student opinions on what universities would look like in 15 years. More than two-thirds, 68 percent, of students surveyed said they believe the university of the future will offer “free online libraries where students can access course materials and books and other reference tools,” according to a summary of the findings. Fifty-nine percent told researchers they “believe that students will utilize social media platforms to learn and in turn to teach other students,” and a 43-percent plurality said they believe universities will offer free online content for most courses.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/06/09/report-students-expect-future-universities-to-be-flexible-accessible-career-oriented.aspx

by Steve Marcus and Anant Agarwal, Huffington Post

If education used to be considered Spam — something people stocked up on that was designed to artificially last forever — then today it’s organic, non-GMO, locally raised kale — a more-fulfilling, more sustainable product that should be consumed fresh and restocked frequently. The only viable model to produce successful, happy, productive people is through true lifelong learning, defined as a continuous, self-motivated pursuit of knowledge for both professional and personal improvement. There are no “educated” individuals — only individuals whose education is ongoing. The good news is that new learning opportunities are more plentiful, accessible and affordable than ever, and more options are being released daily for example, free massive open online courses (MOOCs). While nearly half of you will likely be employed in jobs that do not require a college degree, your path to continuous education is at your beck and call, and all you have to do is take the initiative.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-marcus/learning-the-real-meaning_b_5475461.html

by Clifton Parker, Tomorrow’s Professor

Online education is changing the way we learn, where we learn and how we think of higher education. Stanford Online is pioneering advances in teaching and learning at Stanford – and beyond – as its new report, “2013 in Review,” describes. The 32-page document reveals the explosive growth at Stanford Online – 1.9 million people from almost every country in the world have registered for one or more courses, and learners have spent more than 4 million hours engaging with Stanford Online courses since the fall of 2012.

http://cgi.stanford.edu/~dept-ctl/cgi-bin/tomprof/enewsletter.php?msgno=1339

By Martha Slack, Edudemic

The recent 3D printing explosion on the educational market has left many educators wondering how they can afford to integrate this technology into the classroom. Most schools do not have the luxury of purchasing a 3D printer but still want to provide the experience for their students. 3D pens made their debut on Kickstarter this year as an affordable 3D printing option. After the initial investment of the pens, they are an incredibly affordable tool for classrooms. The pens allow students to illustrate – in 3D – concepts in math, history, art, design, and chemistry, giving them a tangible means to explore complex ideas.

http://www.edudemic.com/3d-pens-classroom/

by Aaron Skonnard, VentureBeat

Teaching coding languages and skills is a critical need in today’s technology-infused society, but we’re falling behind in the talent wars. Even though programming jobs are some of the best paying in the world, the gap of qualified developers and programmers is only projected to increase in the next several years. In fact, it’s estimated that there will be 1 million jobs left vacant by 2020 because of this alarming lack of qualified developers. The lack of qualified talent in the computer science field has created fertile ground for the growing number of coding boot camps popping up across the nation. While boot camps can assist with providing new skillsets and helping fill the talent gap, they are still somewhat limited in what they can offer. Here are a few reasons why e-learning is a better alternative.

http://venturebeat.com/2014/06/07/5-reasons-you-should-forget-the-coding-bootcamp-study-online-instead/

by LORI ANN COOK-NEISLER, The Pantagraph

At Illinois State University, Heartland Community College and other schools across the country, students are taking a lot of summer classes — without setting foot on campus/ “Online classes are really hot in summer,” said Sarah Diel-Hunt, associate vice president for academic affairs at Heartland, no pun intended. The greater flexibility such classes provide make them particularly popular in summer when students are working, doing internships or traveling. This summer, ISU is offering 263 online classes, including multiple sections of the same courses. Less than half that number are offered in the spring and fall semesters, said Danielle Lindsey, director of academic services at ISU. Lindsey said the number of on-campus summer courses has decreased about 30 percent since 2010, while summer online courses have increased about 50 percent in that time period.

http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/education/summer-online-classes-are-hot/article_b4d86141-0d81-5e67-bf35-e9519127b09d.html

By Peter Schworm, Boston Globe

Almost three-quarters of students who enrolled in the first year of online classes under a joint Harvard-MIT initiative were from outside the United States, demonstrating the global reach and growing popularity of the large-scale open courses.  Of the 842,000 students who registered for the free online classes offered by the edX initiative in the 2012-2013 school year, just 28 percent were from the United States. About 13 percent were from India, followed by the United Kingdom, Brazil, Canada, and Spain. The most typical edX student was a male with a bachelor’s degree who is 26 or older. But less than 1 in 3 students fit that profile, researchers found, suggesting there is a broad array of different types of students.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/06/06/nearly-three-quarters-online-students-harvard-mit-are-from-outside-report-finds/BuZiQngGDHkpwEWwLEhMrM/story.html

by Udemy

Americans are increasingly turning to technology-focused online courses to develop tech skills and find success in the current job market, according to findings from the first-ever Udemy Skills Index. The Skills Index, an analysis of trends in American skills development based on data from Udemy’s top 100 paid online courses, found that technology courses have the highest enrollment numbers of any subject among Udemy students in the United States. In a recent survey of more than 7,000 Udemy students, 73 percent reported a desire for skills improvement as the main motivation for signing up for classes. A majority (52 percent) of American Udemy students sign up for technology courses, followed by business and design courses. Udemy’s most avid technology students are new to the workforce: young people aged 25-34, followed by those aged between 35 and 44. More than 30 percent of Udemy students consume their courses via iPhone, iPad and Android mobile devices.

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/americans-honing-tech-skills-compete-120000179.html

by Avi Wolfman-Arent, Chronicle of Higher Ed

In 2011, Tim Peterson was your archetypal frustrated academic. He’d just landed a paper in the journal Cell but had grown disillusioned with the publishing process after nine months of back-and-forth among his team, the reviewers, and the editors. he taught himself to code. And finally, on May 14, all that thinking and coding converged to form a website, Onarbor. The site is intended as a publishing and funding platform for academics, kind of like a Kickstarter for scholarly work. Among its features is that it allows donors to support projects with either Bitcoin or Dogecoin. Onarbor is designed to circumvent the traditional mechanisms of peer review by fostering a community of user-reviewers modeled on the popular tech-help website Stack Overflow. There, users earn reputation points based on the quality of their responses.

http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/frustrated-scholar-creates-new-route-for-funding-and-publishing-academic-work/53073

By Carl Straumsheim, Inside Higher Ed

Administrators at the Georgia Institute of Technology are optimistic but “not declaring victory” after one semester of its affordable online master’s degree program in computer science. While the program has been well-received by students, administrators are still striving to solve an equation that balances cost, academic quality and support services. “We’re not all the way there yet, but I couldn’t ask for a much better start,” Zvi Galil, dean of the College of Computing, wrote last month in an email to Georgia Tech faculty on the one-year anniversary of the program’s announcement. The initiative has been closely watched since last spring’s announcement — and not just because of the dramatic savings it offers compared to the university’s on-campus program. A three-credit-hour online course costs less than a single credit hour of face-to-face education — $402 versus $472, based on spring 2013 tuition rates. The goal is to get much larger than a traditional program could sustain, but also much smaller than the average MOOC.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/06/06/one-semester-students-satisfied-unfinished-georgia-tech-online-degree-program#sthash.i7q8TuTw.dpbs

By Michael Sharnoff, eCampus News

Although the majority of Vine video clips are for fun and personal use, educators and administrators in higher education could capitalize on the growing popularity of this social media application. Striking the right balance of engaging, quality academic content online is challenging, and the following suggestions to incorporate Vine can help enhance your university’s presence.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/universities-media-vine-249/