Techno-News Blog

March 31, 2016

How Game-Based Learning Can Help Students of All Ages Learn

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By Melissa Nott, Edudemic

In school, kids play during recess and work during class. But some of the biggest names in psychology, including Jean Piaget and Jerome Bruner, believe that play is a child’s work. The best way to teach kids, they say, is through hands-on, active learning. But with state benchmarks and performance-based teacher evaluations hanging above our heads, it’s hard for educators to imagine spending precious academic time playing games with kids. That’s where game-based learning (often confused with gamification, which isn’t quite the same thing) comes in. With this approach, learning and play aren’t at odds with each other; in fact, games are the vehicle and environment for learning.

http://www.edudemic.com/game-based-learning-help-learn/

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MOOCs move from free to fee as skills demand grows

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by Natalie Marsh, PIE News

Career development continues to be a large motivation for students to enrol in MOOCs, meaning demand for credit certification is growing. In response, a number of providers have introduced fees for a handful of course certifications and assessment services.Implementing a business model that charges a small fee for certain courses is, “a move that is slowly redefining MOOCs’ role in the global marketplace of online education” according to “State of the MOOC” , an article by Online Course Report, a content and resource base for online courses. “MOOC providers realised early on that they could offer more for less by marketing courses from top-tier schools as much cheaper than universities could market a traditional college degree,” it states. Citing data from Class Central, the feature found 4,550 MOOCs were made available in January this year, over twice the number offered in January 2015 (2,150).

http://thepienews.com/news/moocs-move-from-free-to-fee-as-skills-demand-grows/

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Prometheus launches Harvard Computer Science course in Ukraine

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by Iryna Savchuk, KyivPost

Ukrainian online educational platform Prometheus is opening a Harvard CS50 (Computer Science 50) course both online and offline in April. It has been translated into Ukrainian for the platform. CS50 is Harvard University’s introductory course on intellectual enterprises of computer science and the art of programming. It has a free online twin known as CS50x on the U.S. platform Edx. CS50 was Harvard’s largest course in terms of enrolled students in Fall 2015. It was also adopted by Yale in 2015. The Prometheus-translated course has already beaten the all-time registration record of the platform. It reached 50,000 registrations before the start of the course.

http://www.kyivpost.com/article/content/technology/prometheus-launches-harvard-computer-science-course-in-ukraine-410707.html

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March 30, 2016

Machine learning is reshaping security

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by Leslie K. Lambert, CSO

At the recent RSA Conference it was virtually impossible to find a vendor that was not claiming to use machine learning. Both new and established companies are now touting “machine learning” as a major component of the data science being used in their products. What the heck is machine learning anyway? And is it really going to reshape cyber security in 2016? For brevity’s sake, I’ll define machine learning as the science of getting computers to act without being explicitly programmed. Over the past decade, machine learning has enabled self-driving cars, practical speech recognition, effective web search, and has vastly improved our understanding of the human genome. Machine learning is so pervasive today that we use it dozens of times a day without knowing it. Many researchers also think machine learning is the best way to make progress towards human-level Artificial Intelligence.

http://www.csoonline.com/article/3046543/security/machine-learning-is-reshaping-security.html
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As tax day looms, online class offers help making good financial choices

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By Public Affairs, UC Berkeley

Nothing says “time to pay attention to your personal finances” better than April 15, the annual tax deadline in the United States. Coincidentally, the big day also is the jumping off point for a new online course, “How to Save Money: Making Smart Financial Decisions.” The class that is free and open to the public. Terrance Odean, the Rudd Family Foundation Professor of Finance at the Berkeley Haas School of Business and an authority on investors’ behavior, is leading the course, which is designed to help people manage their money and fret less about personal finances.

https://news.berkeley.edu/2016/03/23/as-tax-day-looms-consider-a-class-on-making-good-financial-choices/

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New Coursera Core CS Specialization

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by iProgrammer

What Coursera used to offer as free courses it now offers as a paid for Specialization. The latest across our radar is Data Structures and Algorithms and the first course in the series has just started. The Data Structures and Algorithms Specialization, which is at Intermediate level so you need some programming experience before you join it, comes from UC San Diego and Higher School of Economics (HSE), one of Russia’s top research universities and has Yandex and Computer Science Center as its industry partners.

http://www.i-programmer.info/news/150-training-a-education/9557-new-coursera-core-cs-specialization.html

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March 29, 2016

Harvard offers online business fundamentals course to incoming students

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by National Jurist

Incoming Harvard law students are learning about business concepts, thanks to an online program launched by the Harvard Business School. HBX Credential of Readiness (CORe) teaches business fundamentals and is available to incoming Harvard law students for $300. Last year, 89 percent of students said the program increased their confidence in discussing business topics. “I thoroughly enjoyed my HBX CORe experience and found that a fresh background knowledge in business analytics and financial accounting helped me to better understand the decision-making factors managers often consider in domestic and international trade,” said Abraham Williamson, a first-year student at Harvard Law School and a participant in the pilot offering of CORe last summer.

http://www.nationaljurist.com/content/harvard-offers-business-fundamentals-course-incoming-students

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9 Online Courses Popular Among Young Indians

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By SiliconIndia

Millions of students graduate in India every year. Among them, only a few are able to grab a decent job and the rest are lost in the hunt. Generally the next step for them is to either enroll for MBA, or prepare for government jobs. Luckily, there are other options too. Many national and international organizations and universities offer online certification courses. These courses help build knowledge base that subsequently helps them grab the relevant job or even fuels their mind to be creative and start their own business. At the time when the number of internet users in India is growing tremendously, anyone willing to add to his/her knowledge can enroll, learn, and get certified through these portals irrespective of the age and profession. Here we bring you a list of 9 courses that are popular among young Indians, courtesy Business Insider.

http://jobs.siliconindia.com/career-news/9-Online-Courses-Popular-Among-Young-Indians-nid-193730.html

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MIT Offers Online Fintech Certification Course

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By JD Alois, Crowd Fund Insider

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has decided to offer a “Fintech certificate course” labeled “Future Commerce”. The promotional page notes that venture capital investment into Fintech has jumped to over 600%. Probably more interesting is the fact that Fintech is quickly becoming the norm and not the exception as all forms of finance quickly move online. MIT has produced many graduates that are on the cutting edge of agile Fintech startups so it makes sense that one of the leading educational establishments in the US offers courses that focus on the future and not just the past.

http://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2016/03/83337-mit-offers-online-fintech-certification-course/

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March 28, 2016

Blended Learning Options Rise at Medical Schools

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by Jordan Friedman, US News

Students are experiencing the growth of blended learning – classes presented partially online and partially in person – in medical education. In what’s also referred to as the “flipped classroom” model, several U.S. ​medical schools are requiring students to watch videos and complete online activities prior to class, and then spend face-to-face time on discussion and analysis, rather than passive forms of learning such as taking notes during lectures. Schools like the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine even integrate blended learning into the clinical rotation phase of medical education. At some medical schools, elements of blended learning might have existed in the past, but many are now working to formally integrate them into their curricula, though to varying extents, experts say. Prospective students interested in medical school can determine whether blended learning is right for them by speaking to other students, contacting faculty or researching programs online.

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/articles/2016-03-23/blended-learning-options-rise-at-medical-schools

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19 Atlanta students suspended for cheating in online classes

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By Molly Bloom,The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Nineteen students accused of cheating on online courses have been suspended froman Atlanta high school. An Atlanta Public Schools spokeswoman called the case “an isolated incident.” The alleged cheating comes after staff at the same school warned the school board that students in online classes were awarded grades they did not earn. And it comes a year after students at another Atlanta high school used a teacher’s account to change online course grades. In Atlanta, as in many districts nationally, more students are taking classes online as part of regular instruction and to make up credit for failed classes. Atlanta’s expanding use of online classes includes the use of “blended learning” at Crim, which entails online coursework supervised by in-person teachers.

http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local-education/atlanta-students-accused-of-cheating-in-online-cla/nqqk8/

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Arkansas leading way on computer classes, Texas left in dust

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By Brian Fanney, Arkansas Online

Texas was the first state to require that all high schools teach computer science, but Arkansas schools catapulted ahead in the past year after a mandate from the governor backed by millions in funding, said state and national advocates. In Texas, a single state school board member pushed to require high schools to teach the classes. But few schools are following the policy and Texas has put up little if any state money to train teachers. In Arkansas, Gov. Asa Hutchinson made computer coding a state priority and pushed a bill to provide funding for teacher training and to mandate that high schools offer the courses. It also requires that the classes count as math or science credits instead of an elective.

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2016/mar/20/state-leading-way-on-computer-classes-2/?news-arkansas

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March 27, 2016

Bill Gates explains why classroom technology is failing students and teachers

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by Amy X. Wang, Quartz

While technology is “starting to improve education,” he said, it’s not personalized or focused enough to truly help teachers figure out how to improve. And most educational technology thus far has benefited only the most motivated students, he said, not those who need extra encouragement most. Added Gates, “A lot of the issue is helping kids stay engaged. If they don’t feel the material is relevant or they don’t have a sense of their own ability they can check out too easily. The technology has not done enough to help with this yet.” While more teachers say they welcome technology, most gadgets and digital techniques haven’t shown they can boost learning. Many schools have abandoned using iPads, for example, and online learning has yet to live up to its promises. Silicon Valley will have to do better yet if it’s going to make a genuine difference in the classroom.

http://qz.com/634289/bill-gates-explains-why-classroom-technology-is-failing-students-and-teachers/

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Edutech and the Online Learning Industry

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by Keith Holland, Cloud Tweaks

Online education has grown from “that one nerdy kid who is trying to pick up extra credit before college” to a massive and international industry that has opened up the borders of learning to anyone with an internet connection. But how did online education take off? Where did it begin? It all goes back to long before the age of wires. The online learning industry was expected to be worth $107 billion at the conclusion of 2015, with five year compound annual growth rate of 9.2%. This grew revenues from $32.1 billion in 2010, to $49.9 billion in 2015.

http://cloudtweaks.com/2016/03/edutech-online-education-industry/

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Right Signals initiative aims to make sense of credentialing

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By Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

The American Association of Community Colleges, with funding from the Lumina Foundation, will create a new model to help students, employers and colleges make sense of the variety of credentials across higher education. In announcing the initiative, the AACC said it would focus on degrees, certificates, industry certifications, apprenticeships and badges in a model that will allow people to identify courses, skills and continuing education credits that students have with each credential. Community colleges in Illinois, Ohio, Maryland, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Iowa, New York, Texas, Wisconsin, Missouri, Florida, Arizona, Alabama, Washington and Minnesota are among those participating in the Right Signals initiative.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/right-signals-initiative-aims-to-make-sense-of-credentialing/415575/

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March 26, 2016

An Examination of Adjunct Faculty Characteristics: Comparison between Non-Profit and For-Profit Institutions

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by Keith Starcher and B. Jean Mandernach, OJDLA

Institutions must understand the unique characteristics and motivations of adjunct faculty teaching online to more effectively support a diverse faculty population. The current study examines faculty characteristics and motivations to explore differences in the types of adjunct faculty teaching at non-profit or for-profit institutions. A survey of 859 part-time, online instructors found no statistically significant differences for gender, level of education, faculty typology (e.g., hope to obtain full time in higher education), or satisfaction; small differences were found in relation to ethnicity, academic experience, level of instruction (undergraduate or graduate), class size, and willingness to recommend online adjunct teaching to others. The results suggest that online adjunct faculty at for-profit and non-profit institutions are remarkably similar with regards to personal and academic characterstics as well as their motivation for and satisfaction with teaching online in an adjunct capacity.

http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring191/starcher_mandernach191.html

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New Penn State Course Tackles Teaching with Call of Duty, World of Warcraft

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By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

Forget about hunting down just the right educational games for your students. Let them use the ones they already love — Minecraft, World of Warcraft and Call of Duty — and then untangle how those can be fit into the learning goals you have for them. Figuring out how to do that as a teacher is the focus of a new course at Penn State. “Gaming 2 Learn,” part of Learning Design & Tech, is being offered online to current and future educators through the university’s World Campus. Instructor Ali Carr-Chellman, who once published an article on the Huffington Post titled, “We Need More Games in Schools,” said the focus of the course will be on how to use those commercial games to keep students engaged through the use of technology “they use in their everyday lives.”

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/03/18/teaching-with-call-of-duty-world-of-warcraft-subject-of-new-penn-state-course.aspx
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OpenStack, Docker, Kubernetes Feature in Free Online Training Class

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by Christopher Tozzi, The VAR Guy

The Linux Foundation and edX are offering free training for open source cloud and container technology, such as OpenStack, Docker and Kubernetes. The Linux Foundation and edX are bringing another free training course to the open source community. This one focuses on open source cloud computing and is designed to grow expertise in open source cloud technology and containers, the Linux Foundation says. The course, titled “Introduction to Cloud Infrastructure Technologies,” is a MOOC class delivered through the Internet via the edX platform. It starts in June, but registration (which is free, although certified completion of the course costs $99) opened this week.

http://thevarguy.com/open-source-application-software-companies/openstack-docker-kubernetes-feature-free-online-training-

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March 25, 2016

Replacing a reliance on standardized test scores with e-portfolios

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By Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

Colleges and universities have long relied on SAT and ACT scores in admissions decisions, to the detriment of low-income students, Latinos, African-Americans, and women, and some point to e-portfolios as the solution. Chalk & Wire CEO Geoff Irvine writes for eCampus News that the 90-college Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success is on the right track in attempting to redesign admissions, but he says the implementation hurdles for high schools, including cost, could doom the project. Irvine advocates for portable, cloud-based e-portfolios, that parents pay for and high schools adopt, giving students access to their own work through college and beyond.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/replacing-a-reliance-on-standardized-test-scores-with-e-portfolios/415832/

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Colorado State offers computer science bootcamp in online program

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By Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

Colorado State University-Global Campus launched a new program this month for aspiring computer scientists that falls somewhere between non-accredited coding bootcamps and traditional programs. Campus Technology reports the online program is made up of five eight-week courses on programming, data structures and algorithms, and platform-based development that prepares students for web and mobile application design and software development. The course sequence can be taken on its own for a certificate of completion or embedded within CSU-Global’s bachelor’s degree in information technology as a specialization.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/colorado-state-offers-computer-science-bootcamp-in-online-program/415830/

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8 pieces of ed tech news to note from SXSWedu 2016

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by Roger Riddle, Education Dive

If you couldn’t be in Austin or see everything on display, here’s what caught our attention. There was no shortage of ed tech to take in at SXSWedu 2016. Whether it was teacher-driven instructional management tools, digital citizenship curriculum solutions or STEM-fueled satellite projects, there was a little something for everyone. In no particular order, here are eight pieces of ed tech news worth noting from this year’s show.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/8-pieces-of-ed-tech-news-to-note-from-sxswedu-2016/415595/

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