Techno-News Blog

by Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica

The new year is almost here, and that means it’s time for the bi-annual Google Tracker, our roundup of all of Google’s news, rumors, and acquisitions. Hopefully it paints a clearer picture of what will happen with the company in the future. We’re not really predicting launch dates or guaranteeing that everything in this article will launch in 2015; we’re outlining a list of projects and initiatives currently underway at Google HQ. Think of it as a big “to-do” list for Google—things can be delayed, moved around, or canceled, but to the best of our knowledge, this is a good synopsis of the company’s current goals.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/12/google-tracker-2015-everything-google-is-working-on-for-the-new-year/

by Matthew Albright, The News Journal

There are plenty of companies in Delaware who are keenly interested in students seeking computer science degrees. Whether it’s J.P. Morgan Chase seeking cybersecurity experts and technicians to run their massive data operations or PSEG Nuclear that needs experts to maintain its important computer infrastructure, many companies say they are having a hard time finding employess with specialized computer skills they need. AP Computer Science could be a huge boost for students seeking those skills. The class teaches students some of the fundamentals of programming and coding, and could give them a head start into a computer science major in college. The problem, though, is that most schools don’t have enough students who are interested in taking the class to justify the cost of administering it or pulling a teacher aside for it. That’s why the state has started offering the course online.

http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/education/2014/12/29/state-offering-ap-computer-science-online/21011295/

by Yorkshire Post

Almost a million people have signed up to take free online courses offered by leading UK universities, figures show. Business, health and language are among the most popular subject areas for “massive open online courses” – known as MOOCs – offered through a UK-based “hub” and women are more likely to join than men. The statistics come from FutureLearn, the first UK-based site to offer free classes provided by top universities across the country including Warwick, King’s College London, Sheffield and the Open University as well as Trinity College Dublin and Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. In total, there are almost 800,000 learners on the site, the data shows. Around 58% are women, and over 70% of students signing up already have a degree or higher.

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/main-topics/education/education-more-turning-to-online-learning-1-7024581

By JESSICA FARRISH, The Register-Herald

Mabscott Elementary School students are putting down their pencils and papers and picking up their iPads as the second year of the iRaleigh Initiative takes shape in district classrooms. Through Showbie — an iPad app that fifth-grade math teacher Emily Greene pioneered at Mabscott — students are completing assignments exclusively with the iPad and getting immediate help with homework from their classroom teachers.

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/e45c434a57f54783a7bb147f29d4f5f5/WV–Tablet-Based-Assignments

by Dhawal Shah, EdSurge

At TechCrunch Disrupt this year, Coursera Co-Founder Daphne Koller claimed that 2014 is the year MOOCs will come of age. An ecosystem has now developed around MOOCs: hundreds of people employed full-time (the big three–Coursera, Udacity and edX–employ more than a hundred people each), thousands of people involved in the creation of MOOCs, many millions in funding, and, importantly, millions in revenue.

400+ UNIVERSITIES. 2400+ COURSES. 16-18 MILLION STUDENTS.

This year, the number of universities offering MOOCs has doubled to cross 400 universities, with a doubling of the number of cumulative courses offered, to 2400. 22 of the top 25 US universities in US News World Report rankings are now offering courses online for free.

https://www.edsurge.com/n/2014-12-26-moocs-in-2014-breaking-down-the-numbers

By Lindsay Kelly, Northern Ontario Business

An emerging area generating interest amongst employers is the transition to online content. Rocca-Cirelli said it’s surprising that more businesses and organizations haven’t already made that change. “I find there’s still a culture shift that has to exist for both the post-secondary system and industry to adopt online training 100 per cent in Ontario — more, I find, than in other provinces,” she said. “We’re getting there, but when you look at provinces such as Alberta, they’re way ahead of the curve when it comes to online training and education.” Online education and training are particularly beneficial in Northern Ontario where distance can prevent people from attending training sessions in person, she added. Online content has a greater reach, while people can remain in their home location.

http://www.northernlife.ca/news/localNews/2014/12/27-creative-learning-sudbury.aspx

by eMissourian

Snow days at St. Francis Borgia Regional High School this winter will no longer be a goof-off day for students. The Catholic co-ed high school is implementing a new “eLearning Day” policy which allows teachers to post lessons online and students to continue their learning at home.  “With our 1 to 1 technology in place, we felt it was time to take this next step,” said Principal Dr. Kevin Mabie. “Our teachers have worked to design potential lessons for these eLearning Days.”

http://www.emissourian.com/local_news/washington/sfbrhs-implements-new-elearning-days-teachers-can-now-post-lessons/article_3bc7d6b7-6ea4-5b8d-b7a9-1fd3b91a19e9.html

By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑADEC, New York Times

Hundreds of students fill the seats, but the lecture hall stays quiet enough for everyone to hear each cough and crumpling piece of paper. The instructor speaks from a podium for nearly the entire 80 minutes. Most students take notes. Some scan the Internet. A few doze. In a nearby hall, an instructor, Catherine Uvarov, peppers students with questions and presses them to explain and expand on their answers. Every few minutes, she has them solve problems in small groups. Running up and down the aisles, she sticks a microphone in front of a startled face, looking for an answer. Students dare not nod off or show up without doing the reading.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/27/us/college-science-classes-failure-rates-soar-go-back-to-drawing-board.html?_r=0

by Vicki Davis, Edutopia

The person who never makes mistakes never makes progress. As we embark on new journeys in 2015, remember that there’s truly nothing new under the sun and learn from what has gone before in 2014. For if we cannot inhale the fresh wind of progress, we will surely asphyxiate in the stale wind of yesterday’s exhale. So here’s my pondering on the stories, conversations, and stats of 2014 that suggest trends in education. I hope you’ll add more about the trends you see.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/2014-year-in-review-vicki-davis

by Post-Journal

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed a bill into law authored by state Sen. Catharine Young, R-C-I-Olean, chair of the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources, that will help bring more academic enrichment and opportunities to classrooms across the state. Senate Bill 5509-C calls for the creation of a statewide online and blended learning program. It addresses the need for new technology and teaching systems that will change the classroom experience for students by providing them with access to unique courses and innovative instructional methods. Virtual learning programs include online courses as well as blended learning initiatives that combine both a physical location with online resources. They provide schools with cost-effective opportunities for students to access coursework and educational resources otherwise not available.

http://www.post-journal.com/page/content.detail/id/657738/Cuomo-Signs-Online-Learning-Bill.html

by PBS NewsHour

Minerva is a highly competitive liberal arts college without a single classroom, much less an ivy-trimmed campus. The dormitory is on one floor of this old apartment building Nob Hill. Students will spend the first year here, and then the subsequent six semesters living and studying in six different cities around the world. Next year, they head to Buenos Aires and Berlin. But the professors don’t go with them. In fact, they can be anywhere, including home, because they see their students exclusively online, via a proprietary software platform called the Active Learning Forum. It fosters a face-paced, engaging, seminar-style class. No lectures allowed. Studies show students only retain about 10 percent of what they learn this way two years later.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/virtual-seminars-lower-tuition-minerva-schools-offers-online-alternative-college/