Techno-News Blog

by Paul Fain, Inside Higher Ed

Accreditors and the department of education are in charge of determining whether a distance education program meets federal requirements for faculty interaction. The inspector general recently has issued rebukes to both the feds and a regional accreditor for their review of competency-based programs related to this question. Previous audits from the inspector general have questioned whether some competency-based programs should be classified as correspondence courses. That question appears to be at the center of the office’s inquiry into Western Governors, which is a nonprofit.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/01/15/education-departments-inspector-generals-high-stakes-audit-western-governors-u

By David Nagel, Dian Schaffhauser; THE Journal

The numbers are in for our first annual K-12 IT salary survey. While budgeting frustrations hamper much of IT’s work, there’s also a sense that the work they’re undertaking is important. $63,776. That’s the average annual pay for an IT professional of any rank, type of school or district or years of experience in this salary survey. Whether that sounds low to you or high, keep reading. As we’ve learned from hundreds of K-12 IT people who have shared details of their jobs, there’s more to your work than a single number.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/01/13/2016-salary-job-satisfaction-survey.aspx

by Bravetta Hassell, Chief Learning Officer

Massive open online courses were hot last year — growing by more than 17 million students since 2014. Growth is still climbing, as is perceived value and prices. Driven by increased platform connectivity and device-based computing adoption, as well as the emergence of online and collaborative learning and technology personalization, Reportlinker estimates the MOOC market to grow by nearly $7 billion by 2020. Self-paced courses are getting a boost. About half of all courses listed on Class Central don’t have a start date per se, which indicates a growing trend toward customer-friendly services. “In 2016, we can expect to see a lot more credentials and credits,” Shah wrote in edSurge.com post. “But as MOOC providers try to aggressively monetize, early adopters may find that critical components of the learning experience will no longer be free.”

http://www.clomedia.com/articles/6673-why-you-should-care-that-moocs-had-a-great–

By Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

A survey of the shared design elements and emerging practices of competency-based education programs by Public Agenda, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates and Lumina foundations, gives perhaps the clearest view yet of competency-based education in U.S. higher education. According to eCampus News, the more than 170 respondents had near universal agreement on four design elements: using clear, cross-cutting and specialized competencies, having measurable and meaningful assessments, creating proficient and prepared graduates, and being learner-centered. The most commonly experienced challenges of developing CBE programs include using data systems that are automated and compatible with one another, designing pricing models to be compatible with financial aid, and securing the confidence of external stakeholders in the quality of the credential.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/national-survey-provides-first-clear-look-at-competency-based-ed/412134/

by Adam Gordon, Forbes

Omni-learning continuously and digitally integrates all real and virtual learning sites –classroom, workplace, customers’ premises and beyond. The concept owes much to data-tracking adaptive feedback systems that have emerged in other industries, for example Fitbit wearables that track health and fitness activity and provide ongoing interaction with peers and feedback to doctors. Or, similarly, Waze (a Google company) which aggregates continuous distributed peer imputs about the state of traffic into knowledge that guides driver choices. Kaganer and Aurrichio isolate three key features of omni-learning: Continuous and Cross-Context. Learner-Led. Data-driven.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamgordon/2016/01/14/executive-learning-iese/#2715e4857a0b677b408a2b41

By Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology

Four technology and innovation experts discuss the hottest trends in higher ed tech this year. What should be on your education technology radar? We asked four higher ed leaders to opine on everything from accessibility and competency-based education (CBE) to wearables and virtual reality. Here’s what they told us.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/01/13/9-ed-tech-trends-to-watch-in-2016.aspx

by Cade Metz, Wired

Udacity, the online educational service founded by artificial intelligence guru and ex-Googler Sebastian Thrun, is offering a new set of tech degrees that guarantee a job in six months or your money back. Starting today, the Silicon Valley-based startup is attaching this money-back guarantee to four of its online courses, courses designed to train machine learning engineers and software developers that build apps for Google Android devices, Apple iOS devices, and the web. These online courses typically span about 9 months and required about 10 hours of study per week, and they’re priced at $299 a pop. That’s about $100 above the company’s usual fee, but the idea is that students will also work closely with specialists that can help them prepare for interviews and find a job after their degree is complete.

http://www.wired.com/2016/01/udacity-coding-courses-guarantee-a-job-or-your-money-back/

By Brian Witte, US News

Advanced Placement, or AP, classes have traditionally offered high school students the opportunity to pursue a more rigorous education, as well as the opportunity to enhance their college applications and to earn course credit. The rise of online education, however, has provided students with new avenues for accomplishing these same goals. Given that time is often a student’s most precious commodity, which path should he or she take – the AP class or the online course? If you are facing this dilemma, keep the following three considerations in mind.

http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/college-admissions-playbook/articles/2016-01-12/choose-between-ap-online-classes

By Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

In its annual list of top IT issues, Educause encourages college and university IT leaders to divest, reinvest, and differentiate in 2016. A panel of experts — including IT and non-IT leaders, CIOs, and faculty members — curated the list, organizing the top 10 critical areas of focus into groups based on these three major challenges. Susan Grajek, vice president of data, research, and analytics at Educause, is the lead author on the IT issues report and a companion report that details the top 10 strategic technologies that institutions can use to address the divest, reinvest, and differentiate challenges. In announcing the publications, Grajek highlighted the power of information technology to help institutions gain a competitive advantage, especially through analytics and ed tech.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/what-are-educauses-top-10-it-issues-and-technologies-of-2016/411980/

By Alexandra Pannoni, US News

Just because a program is online doesn’t mean it will be easier to get into, experts say. The first step adults need to take to complete a bachelor’s degree online is to apply. Undergraduate Seamus Yarbrough decided to apply to the University of Florida Online​ in 2014 because he wanted to finish his bachelor’s​ degree while working.​ ​ While the 28-year-old says the application process was pretty streamlined and easy, he still had to submit the same kinds of admissions materials, like transcripts, he needed ​when he applied to the school as a potential on-campus student​ years ago. ​The Tennessee ​resident, a paralegal, had to wait about two months to learn he was accepted.​ Applicants should consider the following when applying to top undergraduate online programs.​

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2016-01-12/4-tips-for-adults-applying-to-top-online-bachelors-degree-programs

by Ryann K. Ellis, ATD

The growth rate for self-paced e-learning in the United States is now negative at -2.7 percent, according to the recent Ambient Insight report, The 2015-2020 Self-Paced E-Learning Market. According to Ambient research, U.S. revenues will drop from the $21.3 reached in 2015 to $18.6 billion by 2020. But is this good news for other learning tech options that have been positioned for growth? “There is ample evidence that consumers are opting for mobile learning products instead of e-learning, and this is cannibalizing revenues in the segment,” Ambient Insight chief researcher Sam Adkins. This is known as product substitution in market analysis.

https://www.td.org/Publications/Blogs/Learning-Technologies-Blog/2016/01/Does-a-Slow-Down-in-Self-Paced-E-Learning-Signal-Growth-for-Other-Learning-Technologies

by Tristate Homepage

In western Kentucky, schools were closed Monday, but in Webster County it was a day of learning. The online road was clear for Webster County High Sophomore Kari Wood, even when the real roads weren’t. “This is, actually, my English test,” she says referring to what she was working on Monday afternoon. Webster County Schools had their first “Link 2 Learn” day. Students did assignments through an online program in it’s first year. Up to five “Link 2 Learn” days can be used on snow days. “I had done my Chemistry homework. I’m working on my English right now,” says Wood. “My students have a link on our website that shows them their assignments to do. It also has websites they can access,” adds Sebree Elementary Teacher Lori Gonzalez.

http://www.tristatehomepage.com/news/local-news/webster-county-students-continue-learning-online

By Michael Hart, THE Journal

The University of Central Florida (UCF) and Educause will partner in the fourth version of a massive open online course (MOOC) on blended learning. The course titled “BlendKit2016: Becoming a Blended Learning Designer” will be available starting in late February. The university and the nonprofit will jointly offer the free course and Instructure will provide access to it via its Canvas online learning platform. The course is intended to help educators as they create their own courses that include a combination of face-to-face and online learning experiences. BlendKit2016 will be facilitated by designers Rohan Jowallah and Baiyun Chen from the UCF Center for Distributed Learning.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/01/11/newest-version-of-mooc-on-blended-learning-opens-in-february.aspx

By Arnie Fertig, US News

If you’re unemployed, online classes can be a cheap way to show potential employers that your skills are fresh. “The world of work is changing faster than ever before, whether because of technology, automation or globalization. So, people need to keep up,” says Dennis Yang, CEO of Udemy. He’s right. In today’s economy, virtually nothing is done the way it was 20, 10 or even five years ago. And that applies to the way we learn as well. If you are unemployed, taking online courses and gaining certifications can be an inexpensive way to demonstrate that you possess the initiative to keep yourself up-to-date. Companies, such as Udemy, Coursera and LinkedIn’s Lynda, are among the major players in the diverse, growing and still-being-defined territory of online learning. Each has a different payment model and platform type. But they offer viable ways for you to learn a new skill, design or master a piece of software, figure out how to begin a business and more.

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/articles/2016-01-12/how-to-impress-employers-with-online-courses

By Meris Stansbury, eCampus News

Extended campus sees initial course enrollment spike thanks to a six-part, administrator-led strategy. Boosting course enrollment for online learning may seem easy, but for an extended campus that relies not only on adjunct faculty, but funding from tuition, boosting course enrollment is not always the no-brainer it’s made out to be. According to a new report, that’s what Brigham Young University’s (BYU) Salt Lake Center administration came to find as it tried to keep itself financially afloat by offering the same portfolio of courses they offered from the year before, as well as offering courses that were filled to capacity at the main campus—some 46 miles away in Provo, Utah.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/administrators-course-enrollment-715/

by Amy Ahearn, edSurge

A growing number of schools and nonprofits are building their first online courses. If you’re considering migrating your professional development program, curriculum, or training online, you’ll quickly be asking: “What platform should we use?” With a huge array of choices—Canvas, Oppia and Udemy, just to name a few—on the market, it can be hard to narrow in on the best fit for your budget and learning goals. Many companies make bold statements about their ability to “personalize” instruction or generate rich learning analytics. Which claims should you believe, and which you dismiss as entrepreneurial hype?

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-01-10-how-to-choose-the-right-tools-for-your-online-course

by Claire Rigby, the Guardian

Some systems help teachers track students’ progress in real time, enabling them to spend more time with those who need extra support. Many systems also allow teachers to make their own curriculum. But there is a long way to go until adaptive learning is standard in schools. Teachers will probably have to be trained in how the systems work to ensure students receive the benefits of adaptive education.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/10/geekie-educational-software-brazil-machine-learning

by Roshan Choxi, Tech Crunch

In 1984, educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom published research on a new method of teaching, commonly called Bloom’s 2 Sigma Problem. Wikipedia summarizes it: “The average student tutored one-to-one using mastery learning techniques performed two standard deviations better than students who learn via conventional instructional methods — that is, “the average tutored student was above 98% of the students in the control class.” The term “2 Sigma” comes from the result of the study, which showed that students who were provisioned with a combination of one-on-one mentorship and mastery learning performed two standard deviations (“sigma”) higher than students in a conventional classroom setting. Several technology startups have launched “online mentorship” products in the last five years. Udacity added “coaches” to their online programs in 2013, while Pluralsight acquired HackHands and Udemy partnered with CodeMentor earlier this year.

http://techcrunch.com/2016/01/09/how-startups-are-solving-a-decades-old-problem-in-education/

By Melissa Burns, Stanford

All responsible students always try to stay on top of useful things for college and treat their studies very seriously. If you use iPhone or iPad you can choose from a large variety of useful applications which are sure to help you study harder, tackle necessary assignments, organize your time better than ever. So let us see what applications are the most appropriate for modern students and note a few ones which are worth using.

http://collegepuzzle.stanford.edu/?p=5006

by Michael Cooney, Network World

If you are a computer scientist and have any thoughts on developing human brain-like functions into a new wave of computers, the researchers at the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity want to hear from you. IARPA, the radical research arm of the of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence this week said it was looking at two groups to help develop this new generation of computers: computer scientists with experience in designing or building computing systems that rely on the same or similar principles as those employed by the brain and neuroscientists who have credible ideas for how neural computing can offer practical benefits for next-generation computers.

http://www.networkworld.com/article/3020490/open-source-tools/intelligence-agency-wants-computer-scientists-to-develop-brain-like-computers.html

by Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica

It’s that time of the year again—welcome to the Google Tracker! This is a bi-annual series where we recap every ongoing project (that we know about, at least) inside of Google’s sprawling empire. Though from now on, perhaps we should say, “Every ongoing project inside of Alphabet’s sprawling empire.” “Google” is now a mere company inside of “Alphabet,” the newly formed umbrella company created by Google’s founders. Most of the Google side projects we’ve been tracking in the past have been spun off into companies inside of Alphabet, but rest assured we’re still keeping track of everything. As always, the Tracker is a big roundup of previous announcements, rumors, and a bit of speculation.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/01/2016-google-tracker-everything-google-is-working-on-for-the-new-year/