Techno-News Blog

by Carl Straumsheim, Tomorrow’s Professor

The key to making online students focus on their course work may be making procrastination as unenjoyable as possible, according to a study out of Cornell University. It’s a familiar problem to anyone with a deadline and a computer: the assignment is open on the screen, half-finished, but is quickly lost in a stack of web browser tabs. Upon rediscovery (with an accompanying pang of guilt), the procrastinator resolves to buckle down and type out the last few paragraphs — right after clearing the notification that just popped up and checking just one more website. Richard W. Patterson, a Ph.D. student in policy analysis and management at Cornell, wanted to see if software could reduce procrastination and, as a result, improve students’ grades.

http://cgi.stanford.edu/~dept-ctl/cgi-bin/tomprof/enewsletter.php?msgno=1413

By Mike Bush, ABQ Journal

The ability of New Mexico’s public and private colleges and universities to offer online programs beyond the state borders just increased considerably and includes target states from coast to coast. In addition, New Mexico students who take distance education courses from institutions in those other states can now rest assured that the programs meet high, uniform standards. The state Higher Education Department announced this week that the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education – of which New Mexico is one of 16 members – unanimously approved New Mexico for membership in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement.

http://www.abqjournal.com/586393/news/nm-online-classes-will-go-out-of-state.html

My fellow procrastinators, you cannot procrastinate in these classes and expect to pass with flying colors. Online classes require participation throughout the entire class. If you wait to work on anything, you will get far behind and you can kiss that 4.0 goodbye. So if you are constantly battling your own laziness, I would recommend you either not take the class or you use it as a way to fix your problem. After each of my online classes, I had become a much more diligent student–they forced me to actively participate. Go for those online classes, but be cautious, you will have to work harder than usual.

http://statenews.com/article/2015/05/online-summer-classes-opinion

Online classes, convenience does not mean easier set up

by Patrick Murphy, Ft Wayne Journal Gazette

Online degrees are more common and accepted part of the educational landscape, according to career counselors and people like Jennifer Schramm, manager for workforce trends and forecasting with the Society for Human Resource Management. “More and more employers and job applicants are realizing the opportunities available online,” Schramm said. “And company executives and human resource professionals feel more comfortable considering and hiring individuals who obtained these types of degrees later in life.”

http://www.journalgazette.net/business/Stigma-over-online-courses-has-gone-away-6634536

by Paul Terry, ATD

Every agency has requirements for training and professional development. From keeping Baby Boomers at the top of their game to getting a new generation of federal employees up to speed, talent development leaders need to align training with the mission and objectives of their agencies. However, most government agencies are at a crossroads. Learning and development (L&D) remains a critical need, but budgets continue to tighten. Consequently, a growing number of agencies are turning to a cost-effective, online learning environment to ensure training mandates are met while saving budget dollars. Indeed, online learning is not only economical, but when used as part of a blended solution, it is proving to be more effective than traditional training.

https://www.td.org/Publications/Blogs/GovLearning-Blog/2015/05/4-Steps-to-Smart-Online-Learning-at-Your-Agency

Community of practice helps faculty and staff step into role of online learnerby Lika Balenovich, University of WisconsinLisa Hebgen and other TeachOnline@UW participants shared their lessons learned during mini-presentations after the Fall 2014 workshop. This past year, more than 20 faculty and instructional staff received another chance at being a student — a role reversal that allowed each of them to explore the opportunities and challenges facing today’s online learners and instructors. As participants in UW-Madison’s inaugural TeachOnline@UW learning community, participants from eight schools and colleges came together to learn and share strategies for designing and teaching quality online courses. Over 12 months, they met and completed online coursework to learn how to better design and manage courses with specific learning goals, and to explore the use of new tools to help their teaching and their students.http://news.wisc.edu/23774

By Doug Oakley, The Oakland Tribune

McClymonds and Oakland Technical high schools in California will share a $5 million grant over five years to grow computer science and engineering programs, courtesy of tech giant Intel. With the Intel grant, the Oakland Unified School District this year has accepted about $28 million from organizations interested in sponsoring different programs this year including an $11 million grant from the Atlantic Philanthropies to develop pathways to careers in the health industry and a $5 million grant from the David and Lucille Packard Foundation for early learning. Intel will help the two schools develop curriculum, buy computers, train teachers and offer employee mentors and job shadowing programs. Officials hope it will produce 600 college ready graduates who will seek college degrees and careers in engineering and computer science.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/05/14/intel-computer-science-049/

By Meris Stansbury, eCampus News

According to over 70 education IT specialists, current LMS functionality is great for administrative tasks, but doesn’t provide support for the new learning approaches in today’s schools. The next generation digital learning environment (NGDLE), says a new EDUCAUSE report, will need a “Lego” approach, where components are built that allow individuals and institutions the opportunity to construct learning environments tailored to their requirement and goals.“What is clear is that the LMS has been highly successful in enabling the administration of learning, but less so in enabling the learning itself,” wrote the report’s authors. “The challenge is to build on the value of an LMS as an administrative tool by retaining what works, but not be bound to an outgoing model of teaching and learning. [This] NGDLE is what should come after the LMS era.”

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/05/13/post-lms-era-437/

By Alice Steinglass, eSchool News

Learning to code is about more than career readiness. It’s about helping students make sense of their digital world. Recently, there has been a lot of discussion around the importance of coding in the K-12 classroom. Should it be compulsory for all students? An elective? Reserved for those students considering a computer science major in college? The answer may come down to supply and demand. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2020, there will be 1.4 million computing jobs and only 400,000 computer science students to fill those roles. This represents a gap of one million jobs that will go unfilled, and amounts to a $500 billion opportunity lost.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/05/14/learn-code-639/

By David Raths, Campus Technology

Despite being a strategic priority for IT, digital asset management has been a slow process at Smith College. Here’s how IT and the library are working together to meet their DAM goals. Like many liberal arts colleges, Smith College (MA) has found progress on digital asset management (DAM) infrastructure slow going. “We have been talking about it for almost eight years,” said Thomas Laughner, director of educational technology services (ETS). DAM gained a higher profile four years ago when it was listed as one of eight priorities on an IT strategic plan. “That really got the ball rolling,” he said.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/05/14/getting-it-and-libraries-on-the-same-dam-page.aspx

by iSchool Guide

A recent poll suggested that schools are increasingly integrating the use of mobile devices in the classroom. It was also found that 45 percent of educators said allowing students to use these devices produced positive results, while nearly 75 percent of students believe every student should use a mobile device in school for learning. Non-profit group Project Tomorrow released a new survey, which suggested that schools are increasingly allowing students to use mobile devices during school days. The 12th annual Speak Up Research Project surveyed thousands of educators from 8,000 schools and 431,000 students to achieve a better understanding of how mobile devices impact learning, Kristin Decarr of Education News reported.

http://www.ischoolguide.com/articles/11781/20150512/poll-45-educators-mobile-device-usage-class.htm

by Jeffrey Young, Chronicle of Higher Ed

Four liberal-arts colleges on Monday formed a consortium to share information about their experiments with online education, and more members may soon join in. The focus is not on bringing down the cost of education, but on improving online-teaching projects — whether all-online or hybrid courses — by sharing experiences and collaborating. The premise is that liberal-arts institutions have goals and methods for going online that are different from those of research institutions. “There’s a steep learning curve to figuring out how to use this technology with our students, and with our teaching style,” said Douglas Johnson, an associate professor of psychology and director of the Center for Learning, Teaching, and Research at Colgate University, a founding member of the group. By working together, he said, “we can save each other from reinventing wheels.”

http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/new-consortiums-mission-improve-liberal-arts-teaching-online/56621

by Sramana Mitra, Huffington Post

The exorbitant cost of higher education is a recurrent topic of conversation, concern, and discontent these days. Against that backdrop, an announcement from edX and Arizona State University caught my attention last week. ASU and edX announced a program called Global Freshman Academy: The Global Freshman Academy (GFA) will give learners anywhere in the world the opportunity to earn freshman-level university credit after successfully completing a series of digital immersion courses hosted on edX, designed and taught by leading scholars from ASU. By allowing students to learn, explore and complete courses before applying or paying for credit, the Global Freshman Academy reimagines the freshman year and reduces academic and monetary stress while opening a new path to a college degree for many students.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sramana-mitra/how-to-dramatically-slash_b_7257134.html

by JORDAN MADDOX, Herald and Review

A proposal moving through the General Assembly could bring an end to snow days for Illinois school students. State Sen. Michael Connelly, R-Lisle, is the Senate sponsor of legislation that would create a three-year pilot program for selected school districts. The program would give students of three chosen districts up to five days of online learning while not at school instead of a snow day or other reasons that cause a school to close. One reason for the proposal is to cut down on the number of days students have to come back to school after the year should have ended for summer. Peg Agnos, executive director of SCOPE, an organization that focuses on students and school districts in parts of Cook and Will counties, supports the measure but said there is still a lot left to do “because it’s a pilot, and we have not done it yet in Illinois.”

http://herald-review.com/news/local/education/e-learning-may-replace-snow-days/article_7b9aa3f2-dfad-5906-8e26-c8eb94a7d830.html

by Kia Kokalitcheva, Fortune

A recent startup sells online classes by big name celebrities. Aspiring actors already look to Dustin Hoffman for how to perform in front of cameras. Now they can get a more formal acting lesson from the Oscar Award winner. MasterClass, a startup premiering Tuesday, sells online courses about a variety of topics taught by experts and, in some cases, celebrities like Hoffman and tennis star Serena Williams. The company is debuting with only a handful of courses, but expects to add more soon. In the last few years, online courses have gained traction with students because of the convenience of learning from home and their lower cost. Companies like Khan Academy, Coursera, Udacity, and Udemy have all attracted big followings for their classes, which are led by both well-known academics as well as little-known professionals.

http://fortune.com/2015/05/12/class-dustin-hoffman-serena/

by the Hechinger Report

Two weeks ago I wrote about the overwhelming research evidence that community college students aren’t doing as well in online classes as they are in face-to-face traditional classes. Students are failing in higher numbers and getting lower grades. That remains true, but it isn’t the whole story. Peter Shea, who is the associate provost of online learning at the University of Albany—SUNY, contacted me to share his research findings. Community college students who take online courses are more likely – 25 percent more likely to be exact – to complete their two-year associate degree or some sort of certificate than students who didn’t take any online classes. Not only are online course takers more likely to graduate, they’re more likely to graduate sooner than students who don’t take any online classes, Shea also found. He presented this research in a working paper at the American Education Research Association conference in Chicago in April 2015. “It’s a bit of a paradox,” said Shea. “They’re doing worse at the course level, but at the program level – despite lower grades – they’re finishing.”

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/05/11/the-online-paradox-at-community-colleges

By Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

New research into the most effective elements of massive open online courses and other digital learning models find the human elements to be critical. eCampus News reports peer interaction improves outcomes and instructor input, through course design or the actual teaching and facilitation of course concepts, is essential. The report also covers the evolution of online course technology, discussing the currently emerging “fourth generation,” which includes adaptive learning and competency-based models, according to the article.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/human-connections-important-for-online-courses/396232/

by Louis E. Newman, et al; Tomorrow’s Professor

Our experience has reinforced one overriding lesson: integrative learning is as much about pedagogy as about curriculum, as much about the culture of learning and collegiality as about specific programs. At Carleton, integrative learning thrives when faculty and staff working collaboratively and with strong administrative support see themselves as collectively responsible for the learning of their students in ways that transcend specific courses, departments, or programs. The distinctive practices of integrative learning are not self-sufficient or easily transferable from one institutional setting to another. They thrive only in a context where collaboration, risk taking, and modeling are actively fostered and rewarded.

http://cgi.stanford.edu/~dept-ctl/cgi-bin/tomprof/enewsletter.php?msgno=1411

By Stephen Noonoo, eSchool News

First preview of K-12 Horizon Report notes big ed tech shifts. This year, BYOD and makerspaces have their stars on the rise—they could be in 20 percent of classrooms by year’s end. And over the next few years, 3D printing, adaptive software, and even wearable technologies in schools could do the same, according to an advanced preview of this year’s K-12 Horizon Report, an annual trendsetting look at the current state of technology and learning produced by the New Media Consortium

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/05/11/horizon-report-trends-844/

by Malcolm Brown, et al, EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative

In partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, EDUCAUSE explored the gaps between current learning management tools and a digital learning environment that could meet the changing needs of higher education. Consultations with more than 70 community thought leaders brought into relief the contours of a next generation digital learning environment (NGDLE). Its principal functional domains are interoperability; personalization; analytics, advising, and learning assessment; collaboration; and accessibility and universal design. Since no single application can deliver in all those domains, we recommend a “Lego” approach to realizing the NGDLE, where NGDLE-conforming components are built that allow individuals and institutions the opportunity to construct learning environments tailored to their requirements and goals.

https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eli3035.pdf

By Michael Stratford, Inside Higher Ed

After a concerted push over the past several months from liberals and progressive groups, Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign appears to be on the cusp of embracing a debt-free college plan. The Democratic front-runner’s campaign manager promoted the idea last week during an interview on CNBC. “What voters are looking for is someone to be a champion for everyday people,” the campaign manager, Robby Mook, said. “For young people, that’s debt-free college.”

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/05/11/push-liberals-debt-free-college-gains-traction-2016-democratic-campaign