Techno-News Blog

September 30, 2014

E-Learning Through Smart Watches – Finding Possibilities

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by Training Zone

Transition from Desktop to mobile is still in process, there is a large portion of the industry which still struggling to develop content for mobile devices. Now a new challenge emerged to develop content for micro screens. The companies which are already in developing content for mobile devices may not face it as difficult as those who don’t. Still it is a great challenge to deliver content developed in different styles of content presentation such as animations, diagrams, images etc. Above all challenges, it has great potential to reach more learners anywhere for more time of the day with wide range of subjects. We can expect applications to come-up in the smart watches market to deliver learning content.

http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/blogs-post/what-about-surplus-learning-budgets/187738

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Protecting Student Privacy in Online Learning

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by Ozier Muhammad, The New York Times

Schools are increasingly using online learning technology. Advocates tout its use in tailoring lessons to each child’s pace and ability as a revolution in education. But privacy advocates have warned that the vast amounts of personal data students generate with the products can be misused. California, for instance, is set to pass the first law prohibiting companies from selling students’ personal information or using it for marketing purposes.

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/09/24/protecting-student-privacy-in-online-learning

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Admin give 7 scalable tips for common challenges in online learning

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By Meris Stansbury,eCampus News

Report outline challenges, tips from college and university officials implementing online learning programs online-learning-challengesAccording to recent polls and surveys among college and universities that are either in the final stages, or have fully implemented, online learning courses and platforms, there are a number of common, well-defined challenges and trends experienced by IT departments and faculty. The good news is: there are also scalable tips. The data comes from a recent UPCEA and NASPA report on thoughts from higher-ed leaders on the challenges and emerging trends in online education.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/online-learning-challenges-772/

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September 29, 2014

What to Ask Before Joining an Online Learning Program

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by D. Frank Smith, EdTech Magazine

Students looking to achieve a work-life balance while expanding their higher education horizons have plenty of options today, thanks to the growth of online education. Universities have been making online education more accessible, attracting students who want to fit education into their busy schedules. To help orient students interested in pursuing an online course, Online Schools Center, a distance-learning resource organization, has created a seven-question infographic quiz linked below covering the basics on what’s involved with online education.

http://www.edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2014/09/what-ask-joining-online-learning-program-infographic

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Online Learning is Just as Effective as Traditional Education, According to a New MIT Study

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by Lauren Landry, BostoInno

Researchers’ findings have been published in the International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, and co-author David Pritchard, MIT’s Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics, knows they will be controversial. The group, comprised of researchers from MIT, Harvard and Tsinghua University, completed a before-and-after test on students taking “Mechanics ReView,” an introductory mechanics course offered on massive open online learning platform edX. Researchers then conducted a similar test on students taking the class residentially, discovering: The amount learned is somewhat greater than in the traditional lecture-based course.

http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2014/09/24/mit-study-how-do-online-courses-compare-to-traditional-learning/

link to IRRODL article:

http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1902/3009

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8 Websites for Free Online Learning

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By Trent Hamm, US News

One of the biggest benefits of the Internet is the huge amount of information we all have available at our fingertips. Yet the biggest challenge for many of us is making sense of all that information. There are many opportunities for learning, but the information is often spread out in various places and not presented in an organized way that makes learning easy. Thankfully, several organizations – both nonprofits and businesses – have jumped into this niche and have developed online courses that draw upon this vast wealth of available knowledge. These eight free websites allow you to take educational courses in the comfort of your home, expanding your knowledge and understanding of the world at your convenience.

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/my-money/2014/09/23/8-websites-for-free-online-learning

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September 28, 2014

College Campuses Get An “F” In Cybersecurity

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by Abigail Wang, PC Magazine

BitSight Technology used external data that involved identifying the type of malware infections that struck the schools to rate the groups of universities’ performances on a scale from 250 to 900. The Big 12 had the best security rating with 661 while ACC performed the worst at 588. Overall, however, colleges and universities seem to fail to adequately address security challenges. BitSight notes that the security rating of the education sector as a whole is alarmingly lower than retail and healthcare, two industries that have suffered recent serious data breaches. The schools that did demonstrate a higher performance rating have a dedicated CISO or Director of Information Security on staff, which is crucial for better security on campus. As the school year progresses from September through May, security performance dips drastically due to the increase of students and devices on campus. These institutions also experience high levels of malware infections, including the Flashback malware that targets Macs, as well as adware and Conficker.

http://securitywatch.pcmag.com/security/326921-college-campuses-get-an-f-in-cybersecurity

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Co-Teaching a Blended Class Across Universities

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Tom Gleeson, Inside Higher Ed

Last term I co-taught a graduate class in advanced groundwater hydrology with Grant Ferguson (University of Saskatchewan) and Steve Loheide (University of Wisconsin – Madison). It is mostly win-win for students and professors, but I’ll describe some of the disadvantages below. Instead of being a MOOC , the course is a SPOC – a small, private, online classroom.

https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-beta/co-teaching-blended-class-across-universities

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Where Does the LMS Go From Here?

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Carl Straumsheim, Inside Higher Ed

Faculty members and students want their future learning management systems to be customizable and full of features, but a new study finds they still use the systems’ basic functions most often. The report, produced by Eden Dahlstrom, D. Christopher Brooks and Jacqueline Bichsel at the Educause Center for Analysis and Research, provides an overview of faculty and student opinions about a piece of educational software present at virtually every college and university in the U.S. The researchers pulled data from last year’s Core Data Service survey, which collects information about institutions’ IT use, as well as two surveys of faculty members and students conducted this year, summarizing the responses of more than 27,000 respondents at hundreds of U.S. institutions.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/09/23/educause-gates-foundation-examine-history-and-future-lms

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September 27, 2014

Key strategies for tablet success

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by Laura Devaney, eSchool News

It seems tablets are in more classrooms, in more districts, each day. But as experience shows, simply purchasing and distributing tablets doesn’t mean students will be more engaged with their learning, and it doesn’t guarantee teachers will embrace tech-enabled instruction. Implementing tablets and leveraging the tools to support teaching and learning goals might be easier with the right approach, according to Doug Fisher, professor of educational leadership at San Diego State University and teacher leader at Health Sciences High; Nancy Frey, professor of educational leadership at San Diego State University and teacher leader at Health Sciences High; and Alex Gonzales, technology leader at Health Sciences High.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/09/22/strategies-tablet-success-930/

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Indiana on forefront of Online CPA training

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by Sherry Slate, The Journal Gazette

The Indiana CPA Society this summer became the first state professional organization to allow certified public accountants to go online for competency-based learning courses to earn some credits required for license renewal. The CPA Center of Excellence pilot program, approved by the Indiana Board of Accountancy, is scheduled to run through the end of 2015. It allows CPAs to use up to two online classes – or 16 hours – toward continuing education requirements. “We just strongly feel that this is the direction education should be headed,” said Dave Shatkowski, spokesman for the Indiana CPA Society.

http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20140921/BIZ/309209905

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U. of Wisconsin-Madison using Google Glass for academic feedback

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by Stefanie Botelho, University Business

“Instead of marking the paper and posting the solution, we can record personalized videos for each student,” explains Michael Gofman, finance professor from the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “We’re not just showing their grade and what they did wrong, but how they can improve in the future. The technology was the perfect fit for the problem.” After only one semester of using the technology, student evaluation scores that measure the quality of feedback in Gofman’s corporate finance course jumped to 4.69 (on a scale from one to five, five being the highest)—an increase of 38 percent from the year before and 22 percent higher than the average for all business courses at the same semester. By using Google Glass, Spencer gave more nuanced and detailed feedback to students, touching on mistakes, what they did well, and how to build on what they’ve learned.

http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/u-wisconsin-madison-using-google-glass-feedback

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September 26, 2014

From Cell Phone Bans to BYOD

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By Christopher Piehler, THE Journal

Christopher PiehlerA couple of years ago, the first and last word in mobile devices for education was “iPad.” The Apple tablet’s dominance of the ed tech market has been gradually eroded by an armada of Android and Microsoft tablets boasting lower prices, easier enterprise management and integrated access to the Google or Windows cloud ecosystems. These days, though, with districts across the country preparing for online assessments that require keyboards, it’s no coincidence that the most-purchased category of device is the notebook, with the Chromebook especially popular. But the era of one device dominating classrooms is over.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/09/17/from-phone-bans-to-byod.aspx

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7 resources for student collaboration

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 12:21 am

By Laura Devaney, eSchool News

Collaboration is increasingly emerging as one of today’s top skills. Part of the 4Cs, it is needed in K-12 classrooms, in higher education, and in the workforce. Students who leverage technology to build collaboration skills are building strong college- and career-ready skills. More and more classrooms are going mobile, whether that is through school-issued laptops or tablets, or via BYOD initiatives that allow students to bring and use their personal mobile devices in school.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/09/19/resources-student-collaboration-543/

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10 ways ed-tech tools promote academic honesty

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By Andy Trus, Campus Technology

Instructors need to be familiar with methods that make cheating far more difficult than traditional paper and pen homework assignments, and how to check for signs of cheating in their class. With the help of sophisticated ed-tech tools, instructors can easily check for signs of cheating and employ methods to crack down on student dishonesty. The following tactics help provide peace of mind when it comes to academic honesty and ensuring that students maximize their learning potential. These best practices can be used for homework, quizzes, or exams.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/tech-academic-honesty-329/

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September 25, 2014

Watch this cartoon to finally understand quantum computing

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by Joseph Stromberg, Vox

There are few topics more intimidating than quantum computing. For one, the key principles involved — like, for instance, the idea that atoms can exist in two different states at once — are utterly bizarre. And the concept of a quantum computer is so different from the computers we use everyday that the field as a whole can seem impenetrable. Helpfully, the folks at PhD Comics have made this excellent cartoon that explains the field in six minutes. Using basic terms, it clearly describes the all the key ideas: quantum mechanics, qubits, entanglement, interference, and the possible applications of these machines.

http://www.vox.com/xpress/2014/9/21/6750727/quantum-computing-video

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Lack of encouragement a barrier to girls pursuing a career in science, math, new study suggests

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by Payments Business

MasterCard is launching a national campaign to bring more girls and women into the tech field. In partnership with Ladies Learning Code , the cross-country program will see more than 700 girls (ages 8 to 13) and their parents take a free, six-hour introductory coding class, held simultaneously across the country November 8th. The University of Waterloo , another partner, will also participate by hosting a Python-language coding workshop aimed at students who are in non-STEM disciplines in an effort to introduce a variety of students to coding in a supportive and female-friendly environment. In addition, MasterCard is working with the Centre for Education in Math and Computing (CEMC) and the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo to introduce a first-of-its-kind free online teaching and learning resource in 2015 that will be open to everyone. The courseware is designed to help students learn to program and support teachers in their daily classroom work.

http://www.paymentsbusiness.ca/News/Sep192014_MasterCard.htm

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EdX launches new high school initiative

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by Zareen Choudhury, the Tech (MIT)

In a new initiative for edX, last Tuesday, the online platform spearheaded by MIT and Harvard launched 26 new courses aimed at high school students, according to The Boston Globe.  The new subjects offered include English, computer science, algebra, calculus, and several Advanced Placement (AP) courses, such as AP Environmental Science and AP Biology. According to edX, fourteen institutions were involved in developing these courses, including MIT, Rice, the University of California Berkeley, Georgetown, and public high schools such as Weston Public High School.

http://tech.mit.edu/V134/N39/highschooledx.html

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September 24, 2014

What students really think about learning online

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by Susan Lafky, eSchool News

After recently posting two pieces about being an online teacher on the Middlebury Interactive Languages’ blog, I realized something was missing from the conversation: the voice of the students actually taking the digital classes. So I polled my German language students, asking one simple question: “What do you like most about learning German online?” Participation was completely voluntary, and I was pleasantly surprised by the number of students who took the time to respond. When reviewing the students’ comments, some clear themes emerged. One of the bigger themes was how much the students value self-paced learning. I have found that with many students, a self-paced structure actually enhances independence, responsibility, and confidence.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/09/19/students-learning-online-593/

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Why Open Education Matters Video Competition Winners Announced

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by US Dept of Ed

What would you do if you thought you had a solution that would make a high-quality education freely available to anyone with a computer or cell phone, help instructors build new teaching skills and get credit for their accomplishments, and also greatly reduce costs for schools, families and students? You’d want to tell the world! That is just what the nearly one hundred videographers who entered the “Why Open Education Matters” video competition, co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, spent part of this summer doing.

http://www.ed.gov/blog/2012/07/why-open-education-matters-video-competition-winners-announced/

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Report: 4 in 10 Wristworn Devices Will Be Smartwatches by 2016

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By Joshua Bolkan, Campus Technology

Four out of every 10 devices worn on the wrist will be smartwatches by 2016, according to a new report from market research firm Gartner. That prediction follows a swell in the smartwatches available to consumers as the number of companies offering the devices has increased from just two a year ago to seven with a device either currently on the market or about to ship.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/09/17/report-40-percent-of-wristworn-devices-will-be-smartwatches-by-2016.aspx

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