Techno-News Blog

By Joshua Bolkan, THE Journal

More than a third of all malware events in 2014 occurred within the education sector, according to NTT Com Security’s 2015 Global Threat Intelligence Report (GTIR). The report, which analyzed more than 6 billion attacks for trends, points to the rise of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) programs. “[C]onnecting large amounts of users to public networks through a variety of devices (laptops, tablets, smartphones), cyber criminals know to target this vulnerable audience segment, resulting in this sector having the most detected malware-related events,” according to a news release. “Students and staff use these vulnerable networks to check grades, schedule meetings, log into financial assets and more, opening up their personally identifiable information to criminals.”

http://thejournal.com/articles/2015/06/23/report-ed-sector-target-of-more-malware-events-than-any-other.aspx

By Lee Shearer, Athens Banner-Herald

Students and teachers in some University of Georgia introductory biology courses experimented with using a free digital textbook instead of expensive paper texts in fall 2013 courses, and liked it. About 86 percent of nearly 700 students surveyed after the courses said their online textbook was as good as or better than a traditional paper textbook. But that experiment was just a fraction of what’s coming, according to Houston Davis, executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer of the University System of Georgia.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/future-digital-textbooks-563/

By Laura Devaney, eCampus News

A recent survey of 28,000 students yielded three specific factors that could influence online academic performance, with many stakeholders saying online student success really depends on effective learning design. Based on the survey results and statistically valid samples, Eduventures issued three recommendatdions to help institutions focus on online student success.

1. Align online courses with objective design standards to improve performance

2. Launch a pre- and post-design quality assurance process to ensure objectives and expectations inform every aspect of the student experience

3. Optimize the use of a learning management system to enhance the student experience

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/online-student-success-382/

By Meris Stansbury, eCampus News

Usually, the higher-ed industry has a reputation as being one of the slowest adopters of new technology. But when it comes to open source software (OSS), campus IT departments are ahead of other industry and consumer tech adoption curves, says Scott Wilson, service manager of OSS Watch at the University of Oxford. “On the face of it, higher education has been relatively quick to realize the benefits, notes Wilson. “Over 50 percent of higher education institutions use open source, both on the server and on the desktop. And one of the great open source success stories in higher education is the Moodle Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).”

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/open-source-campus-767/

By Laura Devaney, eSchool News

New legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate would support innovative methods to give students access to the internet and digital tools outside of classrooms. The Digital Learning Equity Act of 2015, introduced by Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), would support pilot initiatives that increase student access to digital resources, increase student, parent, and educator engagement, and improve students’ chances to participate in new learning models. It also provides for a national study of data related to the digital divide, including barriers to students’ home internet access, how educators confront that reality in their classrooms, and how no at-home internet access can impact student engagement.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/06/23/bill-internet-plans-784/

by eSchool News

On a typical day at Lee Mathson Middle School in East San Jose, California, students can explore the inside of a volcano via a three-dimensional, holographic image. The Mathson students are just completing their first year learning with the zSpace STEM lab, which includes a set of student virtual reality stations and a teacher station, each outfitted with an interactive stylus as well as a wide variety of educational software ranging from science and physics to engineering. Virtual-holographic images can be “lifted” from the screen and manipulated with the stylus. The impact of zSpace for students and teachers is exciting, particularly because many students using the system have special needs, and have experienced frustration learning in the traditional way.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/06/24/san-jose-virtual-093/

By Sean Buckley, Fierce Telecom

United States Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) have introduced the Digital Learning Equity Act of 2015 as a way to improve broadband access and close what they call an education gap for all students. A key focus of the act is the recognition that access to a broadband Internet connection is an important enabler for students to get access to new personalized learning options made available through online and blended learning. The Digital Learning Equity Act of 2015 aims to narrow this growing divide by supporting new methods to ensure students stay connected and extend access to digital learning opportunities when they leave the classroom.

http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/senators-look-close-broadband-gap-schools-digital-learning-equity-act/2015-06-22

by Noelle Phansalkar, Outer Places

Since the recent surge in virtual reality development, experts from all fields have been eager to study its potential impacts. Most recently, Conrad Tucker, Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Design at Penn State, conducted a study to test whether using virtual reality would have a significant impact on online learning. Tucker selected the Oculus Rift for his purposes, undoubtedly due to its relative inexpensiveness and accessibility. He also fitted participants with a haptic glove, which allows the wearer to simulate the feel of virtual objects. The participant sample consisted of 54 undergraduate engineering students who were tasked with assembling a virtual coffee pot from a number of disparate pieces. Half undertook this task with the help of the virtual reality hardware, while the other half used a simple computer program. The results were unsurprising; the mean completion time for the control group was 49.04 seconds, while the mean time for the group using V.R. was 23.21 seconds – less than half the time.

http://www.outerplaces.com/science/item/9154/virtual-reality-helps-bridge-the-gap-between-online-and-in-person-learning

by Marketwatch

The MOOC’s market is exhibiting great potential to grow exponentially over the next few years. In 2015, the technology is poised to see substantial uptake due to the growing number of connected devices, high enrolment rates in MOOCs, the increasing acceptance of MOOCs based training in enterprises around the globe and the increasing demand for low cost, high quality and globalised education. Consumer devices such as smartphones, tablets, wearable gadgets and eReaders are currently enjoying high adoption rates across the globe. With the ever increasing number of connected devices, MOOCs has the potential to disrupt higher education through widespread uptake of distance learning.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/massive-open-online-course-mooc-market-2015-2020-meducation-distance-open-e-learning-in-higher-education-enterprise-2015-06-22

by Bob Sullivan, CNBC

Udacity has abandoned the idea of giving classes away to huge numbers of people in favor of “nanodegrees”—boot-camp style, short-term programs with a laser-like focus on preparing students for a career. Nanodegree subjects include Web developer, Android developer, iOS developer … you get the picture. What you don’t get is a huge student loan debt. Udacity classes start at $1,200 for a six-month program. “Our form factor, delivery over the Web and mobile, makes it very affordable. And we’ve decided to do that away from the traditional university system,” Makhijani said. The school has also added an Uber-like version of peer reviews, digital age teaching assistants, which lets students grab virtual roving experts and get one-on-one feedback that was sorely missing from initial MOOCs.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102771114