Techno-News Blog

February 16, 2016

NMC Horizon Report Reveals Top Tech, Trends, Troubles in Higher Ed

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BY TANYA ROSCORLA, Center for Digital Education

An annual report provides a snapshot of what could be in store for higher education leaders in the next five years. Sevices that detect and respond to human emotion could be coming to higher education in the next four to five years. The NMC Horizon Report 2016 Higher Education Edition looks ahead at important technology developments like this one, along with challenges and trends to accelerate technology adoption. In a report released Thursday, Feb. 4, NMC and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative give higher education leaders a big picture look at what could happen with technology in their field so they can use it to help inform their strategic planning.

http://www.nmc.org/publication/nmc-horizon-report-2016-higher-education-edition/

http://www.centerdigitaled.com/higher-ed/NMC-Horizon-Report-Reveals-Top-Tech-Trends-Troubles-in-Higher-Ed.html

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February 15, 2016

PwC tells universities to adapt or perish

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by Tim Dodd, Financial Review

There are clear signs that digital disruption is transforming universities and leaving behind those that can’t adapt fast enough. Not surprisingly this seems to be more apparent to students, who come from the generation of digital natives, than to many university academics and administrators. Last week the Australian Higher Education Industrial Association, the registered employer organisation for higher education providers, published a report it commissioned from PwC titled Australian Higher Education Workforce of the Future. It explores what the employment model for universities is likely to be 10 or 20 years hence, when the full impact of digital disruption, as well as other change-makers like fee deregulation and increased competition, will have hit.

http://www.afr.com/leadership/careers/pwc-tells-universities-to-adapt-or-perish-20160204-gmm2ek

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New On-line Classes and Models

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by David, RealClimate

My free online class on Coursera.org entitled Global Warming I: The Science and Modeling of Climate Change has already served 45,000 people (started, not finished) in the four times that it’s run. Now it’s set up in a new format, called “on demand mode”, which allows people to start, progress, and finish on their own calendars. This would be an advantage if a teacher wanted to use the material to supplement a class; there are no longer any time constraints built into the Coursera system to prevent that.

http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2016/02/new-on-line-classes-and-models/

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You don’t need an Ivy League degree to make a lot of money in these fields

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By Jillian Berman, Market Watch

Graduates of top-tier schools who major in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) don’t earn much more than graduates of schools that are easier to get into, according to research from Michael Hilmer, an economist at San Diego State University, and Eric Eide and Mark Showalter, economists at Brigham Young University. But for students who major in business or liberal arts, where you go to school matters — business majors from top schools make 12% more than those from midtier schools and 18% more than their colleagues from bottom tier schools, for example.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/you-dont-need-an-ivy-league-degree-to-make-a-lot-of-money-in-these-fields-2016-02-02

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February 14, 2016

Penn State professor looks to incorporate virtual reality for online classes

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by Matthew Grillo, The Daily Collegian

Following Penn State’s continued advancements in online education, Conrad Tucker is hoping to blend virtual reality with online classes. Tucker, an assistant professor in engineering design and industrial engineering at Penn State, received a research grant from the Penn State Center for Online Innovation in Learning. “The importance of online and digital learning is only going to expand as we move toward a more connected world,” Tucker said.

http://www.collegian.psu.edu/news/campus/article_3afd7250-cb84-11e5-91d8-bb9da8a079e0.html

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King’s College head: ignoring online education is big danger

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By John Elmes, Times Higher Education

Ed Byrne, president and principal of King’s College London, believes that any university not exploring the world of distance education will find itself in “real trouble” because no institution is “immune to disruption”. Speaking during a debate at education company Pearson about online learning’s impact on global higher education, Professor Byrne said: “If I look ahead and think of the range of things universities do, we’re going to have to have superb technological environments everywhere – whether it’s in e-education…or on-campus [education]. He said he hoped that “the need for accelerated, exponential change will be met by the sector”. But he added: “I think places that just ignore all this – business as usual, nothing changes – will be in real trouble in every aspect of what they do.”

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/kings-college-head-ignoring-online-education-big-danger

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5 Tips to Improve Writing in Online Classes

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by Bradley Fuster, US News

Online classes typically require more written communication and interaction than oral participation. Unlike face-to-face classes, which often credit oral participation, online courses generally rely more on written work for grading and assessment purposes. As students submit assignments from the same devices they use to communicate for instant messaging, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Yik Yak and countless other social platforms, the trap exists to treat the weekly PHI 101 reflection or SOC 100 paper as an LOL, ROFL, SMH, GR8 hot mess. Consider these five tips to improve your performance when taking writing-intensive online classes.

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-learning-lessons/2016/02/05/5-tips-to-improve-writing-for-online-classes

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February 13, 2016

Pearson to leave the LMS market within 2-3 years

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By Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

Pearson has announced it will phase out support for its learning management system Learning Studio in the coming years, following a similar announcement last fall about OpenClass, which will leave the educational testing and services giant without an LMS in its portfolio. Inside Higher Ed reports Pearson believes it can create the greatest value for its customers by investing in course materials and other products that directly impact students and faculty, leaving the crowded LMS market behind.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/pearson-to-leave-the-lms-market-within-2-3-years/413333/

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UC-Berkeley deals with backlash from secret monitoring

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By Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

The University of California System is taking heat from faculty at UC Berkeley after a faculty member on the campus IT committee sent an email to his colleagues explaining the extent of a new computer network monitoring system. The Daily Bruin reports the new system was installed following an attack on UCLA Health in July 2015 and kept quiet until last week, secretly monitoring and possibly recording all traffic into and out of the campus network. While the university has said it is not reading faculty emails, privacy concerns have been raised, as well as concerns that the system acted without regard to proper shared governance procedures.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/uc-berkeley-deals-with-backlash-from-secret-monitoring/413330/

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In Israel, War Is No Excuse for Not Doing Your Homework

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by Judy Maltz, Haartz

In a forecast published last week, the Israeli army addressed the probability of an all-out confrontation with Hamas or Hezbollah sometime soon. Its conclusions were not particularly heartening. But whether or not Israel finds itself embroiled in another large-scale military operation in the near future, the country’s educational system intends to be prepared. At schools throughout the country this week, students participated in online learning drills designed to keep them on track with their studies in the event of war or any other national crisis that might keep them homebound.

http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.701472

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February 12, 2016

Universities look to cybersecurity partnerships

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By Laura Devaney, eCampus News

Teaming up with industry cybersecurity providers, universities are hoping to produce more highly-skilled cybersecurity professionals. As the information technology industry grows, cybersecurity careers are projected to grow along with it–leading to an increased need for students to pursue cybersecurity at the higher-ed level. National defense leaders and experts at the fourth annual Cybersecurity Summit in October revealed that in 2014, cybersecurity crimes cost the U.S. more than $1 trillion in damage

http://www.ecampusnews.com/safety-and-security/cybersecurity-education-partnerships-982/

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6 influential technologies on the higher ed horizon

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By Meris Stansbury, eCampus News

Annual Horizon Report details short-and long-term technologies, trends that will impact higher education in the next 5 years. The rise of robots is no longer science fiction; and any institution interested in remaining relevant in the next five years should start advancing “cultures of innovation.” These are just two of the revelations part of the New Media Consortium’s (NMC) and EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative’s (ELI) 2016 Higher Education Edition of the annual Horizon Report.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/technologies/horizon-report-2016-278/

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Report: Wearable Devices To Top $28 Billion in Sales in 2016

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By Joshua Bolkan, THE Journal

Wearable electronic device sales will increase 18.4 percent year over year to hit 274.6 million shipments in 2016, according to a new forecast from market research firm Gartner. Of the $28.7 billion the company predicts sales of the devices will generate in revenue, $11.5 billion will come from smartwatches alone. “From 2015 through 2017, smartwatch adoption will have 48 percent growth largely due to Apple popularizing wearables as a lifestyle trend.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/02/03/research-wearable-devices-to-top-28-billion-in-sales-in-2016.aspx

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February 11, 2016

Savannah-Chatham public schools moving away from textbooks

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By Jenel Few, Savannah Now

The teacher sends a text alert about an upcoming test. The parent instructs the child to pull out her books. They’re going to review key points from the chapter. The study session goes downhill from there. There is no textbook. However, the links to the study guide won’t open. She can’t remember her online login to access the PowerPoint presentation, and she didn’t take notes in class because the teacher usually posts them on his website. “We’re in the beginning of that new age — the transition zone — and it’s creating difficulty for parents and even some teachers who want books and specific learning materials provided for them,” said Savannah-Chatham Public Schools Superintendent Thomas Lockamy. “They want to go page by page through a textbook. But when their students go to take the state test, they find that the standards are all over the place. You just can’t teach the old way anymore.”

http://savannahnow.com/news/2016-01-30/savannah-chatham-public-schools-moving-away-textbooks

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Students favour online technology in ‘flipped’ classroom models

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by Sarah Muller, Sydney Morning Herald

As school kicks off for another year, an increasing number of teachers are ditching traditional teaching models for “flipped” classroom programs, which rely on engagement with online learning content at home. In a “flipped” class structure, students complete the traditional aspects of schoolwork at home through online technologies such as videos, podcasts and interactive forums. In fact, students across Australia are increasingly relying on various online technologies for study, according to a report published by the NBN last week. Three-quarters of parents surveyed by the NBN said their children use online programs for learning at home, while more than half watch video tutorials for homework help.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/students-favour-online-technology-in-flipped-classroom-models-20160126-gme25y.html

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Unlocking the Code for Robotics in the Classroom

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by Julia L. Dwek, Edutopia

In President Obama’s final State of the Union address, he expressed the importance of “helping students learn to write computer code.” In a recent YouTube video for Code.org, Obama spoke to students, urging them to “master the tools and technology that will change just about everything.” Obama is correct. Our students’ focus must shift from passive purveyors of technology to creators of programs, apps, and inventions. We must push them past low levels of static reception into a dynamic mindset, highlighting and nourishing thought and imagination to improve our world.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/unlocking-code-robotics-in-classroom-julia-dweck

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February 10, 2016

There’s a lot we’re not learning when we try to learn online

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by Amy X. Wang, Quartz

Online learning, in 2016, is no longer the cautious experiment it once was. Universities all over the world are warming up to the idea of internet-based degree programs, while free online education—popularly offered in the form of massive open online courses, or MOOCs—remains a booming area. There are obvious benefits: Online courses are accessible to anyone with a computer, (usually) cheaper than a brick-and-mortar education, and can be helpful to those who are in the middle of their careers or have other full-time commitments. But e-learning is still lacking in certain key areas. One of its drawbacks is a heavy skew toward certain subjects—a problem that results not from uneven offerings, but from a lopsided modern mindset about the role of education, and the inherent pitfalls of trying to learn from the internet in the first place.

http://qz.com/594710/turns-out-some-subjects-really-cant-be-taught-online/

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Obama wants $4B to help students learn computer science

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by Carlene Superville, Associated Press

President Barack Obama said Saturday he’ll ask Congress for billions of dollars to help students learn computer science skills and prepare for jobs in a changing economy. “In the new economy, computer science isn’t an optional skill. It’s a basic skill, right along with the three Rs,” Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address. Obama said only about one-fourth of K-12 schools offer computer science instruction, but that most parents want their children to develop analytical and coding skills.

http://www.fosters.com/article/20160130/NEWS/160139961

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Build More Collaboration into Your Online Class

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By Travis Grandy, Inside Higher Ed

As I build my course in preparation for this summer, one of the challenges I anticipate is how I can create similar kinds of active learning experiences for students without the benefit of in-person meetings. This started my thought process about ways to foreground collaboration in an online class. Today, my post will discuss some approaches to designing online activities that promote active learning and team-building skills. Although I’ll focus on some example activities intended for an online class, they can also be adapted for blended classes as well. What follows are a few activities that I’ll be working to adapt for my online class. Hopefully they’ll give you some ideas too!

https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/gradhacker/build-more-collaboration-your-online-class

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February 9, 2016

WOW! Flipkart Hires Without Interviews Based on Nanodegree Projects and Udacity Profiles

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by Track.in

This is surely a big leap forward and a positive one at that. According to reports, Flipkart has started hiring fresh graduates based on the capabilities they have built through Udacity’s Nanodegree Programs. And yes, these graduates did not have to face any in-person interviews. This move clearly shows that Indian companies (especially startups) are open to move away from traditional hiring methods and are looking at people who are building their expertise through online education portals like Udacity! Peeyush Ranjan, CTO at Flipkart said, “The kind of disruptive work that we do at Flipkart demands a world-class talent pool and we are constantly on the lookout for experts who can solve the problems of Indian consumers. The conventional hiring process often comes down to the performance of the candidate on that specific day, which may not be a true reflection of their skills and temperament. This is where a partner like Udacity comes into the picture.”

http://trak.in/tags/business/2016/01/28/flipkart-interview-hiring-nanodegree-udacity/

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Move Your Labs Online

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By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

As more classes go online, schools need a workable approach for giving students access to high-demand software. Virtual desktops provide the answer. Virtualized desktops now provide an experience for students comparable to walking into that physical computer lab. But approaches differ. In IU’s case, the technologists have integrated components developed internally and externally to create a virtual desktop solution with “zero logistical overhead,” as David Goodrum, director of teaching and learning technologies, put it. Capella, on the other hand, has outsourced the work to a service provider that specializes in delivering virtual environments for just about any purpose.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/01/28/move-your-labs-online.aspx

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