Techno-News Blog

By Molly Schulson, eCampus News

After analyzing its own gender problem, Google launches code initiative to expose young girls to coding. Usually when someone visualizes coding, they think of a male doing it — a la the movie “Social Network.” Rarely does a woman’s face pop up in one’s imagination when thinking of a computer scientist. When Google recently looked at their company’s composition and realized that women only accounted for 17 percent of its tech employees, they wondered why. After much research, Google then decided to create an initiative called “Made with Code” to attempt to balance the gender scale.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/technologies/google-code-girls-268/

By Denny Carter, eCampus News

Budgets for A/V equipment aren’t falling, campus officials say, but they’re not rising either. It’s that budgetary stagnation that leaves many in higher education at a loss for how to approach A/V upgrades that modernize school facilities and make the college or university more appealing to prospective students. Up-to-date — or even cutting edge — A/V systems can be a powerful recruitment tool as prospective students tour campuses before making their final decisions. In other words, good audio and video can be an effective money maker for colleges and universities of every size.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/technologies/av-campus-cheap-298/

By Jiaxi Lu, Washington Post

That’s the promise given by the first version of an app called MindRDR, designed by This Place studio. To use this app, which is free to download, you will also need a pair of Google Glass, and a headset made by the biosensor company NeuroSky called the MindWave, which costs about $120. Dusan Hamlin, the chief executive and founder of This Place, said in a statement that MindRDR could enable some people with disabilities to interact with the world using Google Glass. Here’s how the company claims it will work: Users will need to relax and concentrate when they are trying to take a picture, says the company. The app will analyze user’s brainwaves through the process, and when the level of focus crossed a threshold, MindRDR tells the Glass to snap a photo.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2014/07/11/will-you-be-able-to-take-a-picture-with-google-glass-by-just-by-thinking-about-it/

By Leila Meyer, Campus Technology

Students in the University of Southern California’s School of Engineering no longer need to crowd into busy computer labs to access the specialized software they need. The school has implemented remote access to both Windows and Mac software, so students can do their work from anywhere using their own laptops. And they can access both platforms with a single user account, so the school’s IT team doesn’t have to manage separate Windows and Mac user profiles for thousands of engineering students.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/07/10/managing-anytime-anywhere-access-to-windows-and-mac-apps-at-usc-engineering.aspx

By Dian Schaffhauser, THE Journal

Miami-Dade County Public Schools — the fourth-largest district in the country — is working through its ABCDs as it pursues a voluminous infusion of technology into learning. That’s how Superintendent Alberto Carvalho described the digital convergence taking place in the district he oversees. That’s also roughly the order in which each phase of the plan is unfolding. As CIO Debbie Karcher explained, the “A” stands for applications and content that can be accessed at any time on any machine. “B” is for broadband that would deliver a good access experience at every school. “C” — for connectivity — called for a massive implementation of wireless in all of the schools. “Every school, every square foot of our district has wireless in every room,” she said.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/07/10/2-tactics-for-1-to-1-and-byod-ready-wifi.aspx

By Leila Meyer, THE Journal

Many states have been implementing new teacher evaluation systems in an effort to improve teacher effectiveness, but those evaluations have little meaning unless they are accompanied by individualized professional development and support, according to a new report from the School Improvement Network, a provider of professional learning and training resources for educators. The report, “Beyond Teacher Evaluation: Prioritizing Teacher Instructional Effectiveness with Meaningful Professional Development,” examines state policies on teacher professional development related to evaluations, with the goal of helping state and district leaders implement teacher evaluation and support policies that have a meaningful effect on teacher effectiveness. “For evaluations and observations to have a meaningful impact on educators and the students they teach, educators must have the personalized resources and support they need to improve practice and spur professional growth,” said Chet D. Linton, CEO and president of School Improvement Network, in a prepared statement.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/07/10/report-teacher-evaluations-meaningless-without-supporting-pd.aspx

by Stephen Baker, Edutopia

Kidsedchatnz is a weekly Twitter chat between New Zealand classes and students, every Thursday at 2:00-3:00PM. It is organised by seven New Zealand teachers via Twitter, each taking a turn to run the chats. Each week, a topic is chosen, and 5-10 discussion questions are generated on that topic. All topics and questions are posted on the Kidsedchatnz blog prior to the chat so that students can prepare beforehand. The teacher in charge is responsible for picking the topics, generating the questions and moderating the chats on the day. Moderating involves posting the questions and encouraging conversation between the students.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/school-wide-twitter-chats-stephen-baker

By Katie Lepi, Edudemic

Using data to drive learning outcomes isn’t a new concept, really. For as long as teachers have been giving students assessments, the assessments and results have been used by both students and teachers (even if only loosely) to determine how to move forward. What needs to be reviewed more? What was covered/studied well? Learning analytics takes this concept and kicks it up a notch. Well, more like a thousand notches, especially if you’re considering things like adaptive computer based testing that changes as students use it. The handy infographic linked below takes a look at the four levels of learning analytics, which can be easily applied in your classroom whether you’re using a ton of fancy-schmancy technology or none at all.

http://www.edudemic.com/4-levels-learning-analytics-graphic/

By Jason Cross, Edudemic

If you are thinking I am joking, the United States recently recognized League of Legends as an official sport so they could issue visas to players, just as they do for sports like the NBA. And yes, there are even fantasy leagues where you can put together teams of your favorite League of Legends competitors and earn points for your virtual team online. And with millions in prize money and sponsorships for players, more and more people are pursuing competitive gaming careers. You no longer need to be a programmer to get a job in games. You can now select from hundreds of related careers like announcer, PR representative or business development director.

http://www.edudemic.com/competitive-gaming-school-sports-programs/

By Katie Lepi, Edudemic

We know there are a lot of teachers out there using technology in their classrooms. We also know there are a lot of teachers who aren’t – whether they can’t due to financial constraints or just flat out don’t want to (or some combination thereof). The handy infographic linked below draws on information from the Pew Internet and American Life survey and addresses teacher’s attitudes on technology in the classroom.

http://www.edudemic.com/tech-attitudes-infographic/

By Carl Straumsheim, Inside Higher Ed

Colleges and universities, higher education associations and ed-tech companies aren’t always in agreement on issues facing academe, but on the topic of “net neutrality,” they are sending a clear message to the federal government: Don’t touch the internet. One by one, many of these stakeholders have declared their support for net neutrality, the concept that all traffic on the Internet should be treated equally, whether generated by academic research, reputable news outlets or streaming video. That idea appeared to be cemented in a set of regulations approved in 2010 by the Federal Communications Commission, but an appeals court earlier this year found those rules illegal, casting the future of internet regulations into confusion.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/07/11/higher-education-and-library-groups-present-net-neutrality-principles

By KIRK CARAPEZZA, WGBH

Would you attend a college that sends you around the world to live in different cities while taking all of your classes online? Check out a report on The Minerva Project on WGBH’s higher education blog, On Campus. Minerva Project CEO Ben Nelson is banking on the notion that the world is ready for a new and different kind of university. “If you want to have a student experience that is around the concept of a campus, sheltered environment, go to your local football games, fraternities, you have plenty of options,” Nelson said. “But if you want to go to school while really immersing yourself in the best the world has to offer, we are your only option.”

http://wgbhnews.org/post/minerva-project-mixes-online-learning-world-travel

by David Raths, Campus Technology

When the University System of Georgia announced a partnership with Coursera last year, officials at Kennesaw State saw it as an opportunity to give more learners a pathway to higher education as well as drive enrollment for the university. To establish a process that would operationalize credit awards for MOOC participants, in March 2014 KSU created a Virtual Assessment Center (VAC), which processes fee-based portfolio submissions from MOOC students and routes them to departments for evaluation. The university can now offer courses that are open to the public, but also give professionals a clearly defined pathway to credit and potential entry into degree programs.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/07/10/finding-a-way-to-operationalize-credit-for-moocs.aspx

By Tanya Roscorla, Center for Digital Education

Roughly half of teachers lack professional development for the technology that’s coming into their schools, according to the latest Speak Up survey data from Project Tomorrow. And that’s unacceptable, said Joseph South, deputy director of the Office of Education Technology at the U.S. Education Department. In a Congressional briefing on Monday, June 2, South said we can’t move forward with a digital transition if our teachers aren’t prepared. “We need our teachers and our leaders to have the right sort of support so that they can be effective,” South said. In a North Carolina focus group, about 20 science and math teachers debated how to prepare teachers best for the digital transition so that schools can move forward. That’s an age old question, but CEO Julie Evans of Project Tomorrow has at least three ideas to prepare teachers.

http://www.centerdigitaled.com/news/3-Ways-to-Prepare-Teachers-for-a-Digital-Transition.html

by Joab Jackson, PC World

Python has surpassed Java as the top language used to introduce U.S. students to programming and computer science, according to a recent survey posted by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). Eight of the top 10 computer science departments now use Python to teach coding, as well as 27 of the top 39 schools, indicating that it is the most popular language for teaching introductory computer science courses, according to Philip Guo, a computer science researcher who compiled the survey for ACM. The three largest, most popular online class providers—Coursera, edX and Udacity—also offer introductory programming courses in Python, Guo found.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2451880/python-bumps-off-java-as-top-learning-language.html

By Avi Wolfman-Arent, Chronicle of Higher Ed

William Baker, director of the Bernard L. Schwartz Center for Media, Public Policy, and Education at Fordham, proposes a space for nonprofits on the web, akin to the bandwith reserved for public broadcasting. William F. Baker has no quarrel with net neutrality, the principle that says all Internet traffic should be treated equally regardless of substance or source. “Since it looks like we’re heading toward some form of a two-speed American Internet,” Mr. Baker wrote, “why not take some of what the big players will be paying to ISPs for a fast track to consumers and use the money to make sure public media, not-for-profits, and tech innovators get bailed out of the slow lane?”

http://chronicle.com/article/One-Professor-Schemes-to-Keep/147589/

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

Information security in the education segment is becoming more demanding, and as a result the tools and tactics necessary for securing schools is churning. A recent presentation at Gartner’s Security & Risk Management Summit laid out 10 “top” technologies and approaches security professionals should consider adding to their security portfolios.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/07/08/report-10-security-functions-coming-to-the-forefront.aspx

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

Susan Ravizza, an associate professor of psychology and director of the Cognitive Control Neurolab at Michigan State studied non-academic Internet use in an introductory psychology class with 500 students. Their working theory was that heavy Internet users with lower intellectual abilities (defined by ACT scores) would do worse on exams. They found that to be true; these students did do worse. But the same was true for those with higher ACT scores. Both groups had lower test scores. The results have impact beyond the idea of imposing policies on classroom device usage (an idea Ravizza is opposed to). Eventually, the researchers may come up with strategies for helping people ignore screen-oriented distractions by educating them on the impact, comparable to on-going efforts to remind people not to text while driving.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/07/08/research-the-proof-is-in-multi-tasking-in-class-reduces-test-scores.aspx

By Joshua Bolkan, Campus Technology

Worldwide device shipments, including mobile phones, PCs, tablets and unltramobiles, are on pace to increase 4.2 percent this year over last to reach 2.4 billion units, according to the latest forecast from market research firm Gartner. That growth will be enabled, in part, “by a relative revival of the global PC market,” according to Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner. PC shipments, which include desktop, notebook and premium ultramobile devices, declined 9.5 percent in 2013, but are on pace to contract by only 2.9 percent this year, according to the company. Traditional PCs, which include desktops and notebooks, will continue to drop more quickly, declining 6.7 percent this year and 5.3 percent in 2015, according to the company.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/07/07/report-smartphones-continue-to-surge-as-pc-decline-slows.aspx

By Elizabeth Redden, Inside Higher Ed

This type of teaching goes by many names – COIL, online intercultural exchange, virtual exchange, globally networked learning, telecollaboration. In this context they all mean more or less the same thing, and that thing is broad: the use of technology, any technology, from email to social media sites to video-chat software to blog platforms to wikis – to facilitate class discussions and do collaborative course assignments across national borders and time zones. The course exchanges can be synchronous or asynchronous, or involve a combination of both. COIL is often described as an alternative to study abroad, a low-cost, easy substitute of sorts for that 90 percent or so of undergraduates who never go overseas. Asked if it’s oversold in that way – after all, study abroad has been characterized as a particularly high-impact educational experience – Rubin said the problem with the language of “alternative” is it suggests a COIL class would be study abroad’s equal. Generally speaking it’s not, he said, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a potentially powerful learning opportunity in itself.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/07/09/faculty-use-internet-based-technologies-create-global-learning-opportunities

by Mimi Ito, boingboing

We’ve heard a lot of talk these days about open educational resources and online courses and how these platforms can make high-quality learning available for all. The code.org campaign has been touting the potential of online courses to teach kids how to code. Khan Academy has been the darling of the tech industry because of its potential to disrupt existing models of educational content delivery. It turns out, though, that these offerings are mostly serving already wired, well off, and highly educated families. True “disruption” and access beyond the echo chamber of the digital elites requires more than creating sophisticated educational content and building high-end online learning platforms. We need to spend less effort escalating the tech and bandwidth intensiveness of these platforms and more on meeting diverse kids where they are in their local communities with the resources they have on hand.

http://boingboing.net/2014/07/07/what-open-learning-looks-l.html