Techno-News Blog

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

A consortium of 10 colleges and universities and nine non-profits is aiming to get more women and girls of color involved in science, technology, engineering and math fields. The new National STEM Collaborative will develop tools and online workshops, train hiring managers and others in addressing bias, build a database of programs to support women of color in STEM majors and highlight research to derive best practices. The work will be led by Center for Gender Equity in Science and Technology (CGEST), based at Arizona State University. The center’s executive director, Kimberly Scott, will run the program. Scott founded CompuGirls, a technology program for girls in grades 8-12 to learn about digital media, game development and other technical areas.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/09/23/collaborative-to-plot-pathways-for-women-of-color-in-stem.aspx

by Seb Murray, Business Because

A growing number of online and flexible MBA programs have reported year-on-year growth in applications, more than traditional part-time and executive courses — highlighting the swelling appeal of digital degrees among business students. The surge in application volume for business schools’ online MBA programs is reported in the annual Application Trends Survey by the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC), owners of the GMAT entry test. GMAC said the trend for students to opt for digital MBAs is related to survey findings that indicate a shift in employer tuition assistance. This year, both part-time and executive MBA programs expect fewer students to have financial backing from their bosses.

http://www.businessbecause.com/news/mba-distance-learning/3473/edtech-online-mba-applications-outstrip-traditional-formats

By Digital Arts UK

FutureLearn is kicking off free online courses for pros across branding, design, animation, VFX and more. The courses have been created using £200,000 of funding from government quango Creative Skillset. FutureLearn, which describes itself as the only UK-based MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) platform, will allow creative pros to learn skills from brand storytelling to animation techniques from professional bodies and universities. Courses beginning in the next few weeks include Digital Storytelling: Filmmaking for the Web, Brand Storytelling: How to Use Narrative to Sell, An Introduction to Screenwriting, Film Production, and How to build a Sustainable Fashion Business.

http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/news/creative-business/free-online-courses-for-designers-artists-creative-pros-offered-by-futurelearn/

by Natalie Kiteroeff, Bloomberg

For all their problems, free online classes may have a net positive effect on your career. A new study shows that most people who took a free massive open online course, or MOOC, say it helped their careers, including by getting them a new job or helping them start a business. “This type of research illustrates the possibilities MOOCs offer to change the educational landscape,” write the authors of the study, published Tuesday in the Harvard Business Review. The study was conducted by researchers at Coursera, an online education platform, and professors at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Washington, who have taught MOOCs.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-23/want-a-new-job-take-these-online-classes

by IBN Live

Search engine giant Google and online education company Udacity on Monday launched IT courses in India, branching outside the US to tap the country’s millions of software developers scrambling for jobs. The pair teamed with Indian conglomerate Tata to offer online technical training courses, focusing on teaching software developers to build apps for Android, the Google-backed mobile operating system. Costing 9,800 rupees a month, the degrees will take between six and nine months to complete, with lessons from Google instructors based in the United States. Students will get 50 per cent of tuition costs back on graduation.

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/tech/google-launches-online-it-courses-in-india-1107658.html

by Michael Bernick, Fox and Hounds

The California community colleges, at the Chancellor’s Office level and among individual colleges, have been taking the lead, actively studying the certification and badge system. A recent mapping effort by the Sector Navigators staff among the Colleges detailed the growing number of certifications. In Advanced Manufacturing, for example, the mapping effort found over 170 certifications being issued by independent entities, including 80 separate certifications by the National Center for Construction Education & Research, 52 certifications by the National Institute of Metalworking Skills, and 17 certifications by the American Society for Quality. Beyond the certifications is the growth of “stackable certifications”. The idea behind stackable certifications is that a worker can gain certifications in several specialties to expand job options.

http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/2015/09/the-role-of-certifications-and-badges-in-californias-workforce-world/

by George Anders , Forbes

Although Coursera got its start in Silicon Valley, the Mountain View, Calif., company has attracted an increasingly global user base in the past three years. Currently, 51% of Coursera’s learners are in emerging markets, up substantially from the mid-20s at Coursera’s start. Koller notes that while the U.S. still provides the company’s largest pool of learners, the site’s next three countries, in terms of user popularity, are China, India and Brazil. All three are in emerging markets where English isn’t the national language, Koller observes. Eager to make the most of such opportunities, Coursera is stepping up efforts to provide more local-language content in Asia and Latin America.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/georgeanders/2015/09/22/courseras-hunt-for-feedback-reveals-a-divided-world/

By Michael Hart, Campus Technology

Even though tablet purchases are on the rise among college students, most of them still prefer to use laptops for learning. At the same time, overwhelming majorities of students believe tablets will serve more and more educational functions in the future. According to a new Harris Poll conducted for Pearson, 52 percent of college students now own tablets. That is up from 45 percent in 2014. However, only one in 12 (8 percent) college students aged 18 and 19 (typically freshmen and sophomores) said they use a tablet every day for their school work, while two-thirds (66 percent) use a laptop every day for school.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/09/23/poll-most-college-students-prefer-laptops-over-tablets-for-school.aspx