Techno-News Blog

by GISELLE BYRNES, NBR

Adaptive online learning tools can, through the use of data analytics, help students when they hit a roadblock and give them just-in-time advice. Far from making the role of the teacher redundant, adaptive online learning also allows teachers to see exactly how and where their advice is needed. Universities are re-thinking their priorities around investing in traditional assets and looking to further develop digital learning spaces. They are also increasingly employing data analytics to help improve student engagement and learning outcomes. This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of change, not just for university teachers and administrators, but also for the way in which these institutions are structured, the people they employ and how they will position themselves in the future.

http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/dont-wait-future-learning-disruption-already-here-194020

by Colorado State University Online

Nearly 5,000 students are enrolled in online courses at CSU this semester. Many study fully online, and others are taking just one or a few of their classes online. Regardless of your online course load, it’s important to remember that studying online comes with a unique set of advantages and challenges. Several CSU professors and instructors have offered their advice for success in online courses. Here are some of their best tips.

http://source.colostate.edu/experts-top-tips-for-success-in-online-classes/

by Leland Chow, Nebraskan

Online classes, compared with in-person classes, are generally more self-paced, meaning I can finish as many chapters as I want per week, as long as the instructor opens the chapters. This means some people, like me, would try to finish all the required reading and assignments as soon as possible so they can worry about other things, like in-person classes or other commitments. But some instructors might prevent students from doing more than 2 chapters a week to ensure students fully understand the materials before proceeding. Other people might drag out their learning period. The most obvious benefit of taking classes online, as opposed to in-person, is that students have freedom to choose when and where to study. Unlike in-person classes, in which class times and venues are fixed, I can study in my room at 8 p.m. or in the library at 2 p.m. between my classes. In fact, as long as I have access to a computer, the internet and my study materials, I can study anywhere and everywhere I want. Because of this freedom to choose when and where to study, instructors benefit too.

http://www.dailynebraskan.com/opinion/chow-online-classes-give-students-great-freedom-great-responsibility/article_319d9250-7631-11e6-ad3e-3b2101bf90a5.html

by Minerva

The Minerva Schools at KGI, which offer an innovative university program for the most talented and motivated students from around the world, today announced the appointment of 24 accomplished faculty. These faculty previously were at institutions including Harvard, Stanford, University of Pennsylvania, and the Central European University of Budapest, among others. “As our student body expands significantly this fall, we are thrilled to welcome an incredibly talented group of scholars who will teach freshman and sophomore courses this year,” said Dr. Stephen M. Kosslyn, Founding Dean and Chief Academic Officer. “Our teaching staff is now distributed across 20 cities and 4 countries, and we are delighted to welcome each of these gifted teachers to the Minerva team.”

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/minerva-schools-at-kgi-announce-24-additions-to-faculty-300321197.html

by Rian Ervin, EdSurge

LaGuardia’s program, known as TechIMPACT, will partner with tech education companies including General Assembly, Udacity and The Software Guild to provide accelerated tech training for more than 300 low-income young adults over the next three years. “We think it is critical that tech jobs are taken by the diversity of people who make up America—namely women and people of color,” Mellow says.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-09-06-laguardia-community-college-where-business-and-tech-education-meet

by Roxanne Shiels, University Business

How does an institution connect with students who’ve never been on campus? In 2013, the latest year for which data is available, 2.7 million students—more than 13 percent of all U.S. students—took all their classes online or through other distance education. Penn State World Campus, the online arm of Penn State University that started in 1998, now has 18,000 students and almost 12,000 alumni. When students enroll in our degree programs, they aren’t just paying for an education—they’re paying for the promise of becoming part of the Penn State family, one of a network of 645,000 living alumni. Creating emotional connections and lasting bonds with online students starts while they are still in school, just as it does with traditional students. These bonds don’t benefit just the alumni organization or the institution. Research shows adult students who are at risk of dropping out are more likely to stay in school when someone is encouraging them.

https://www.universitybusiness.com/article/colleges-experiment-engaging-alumni-online-programs

Kelsie Clifton, UTPB Mesa Journal

School alone can be overwhelming but as an online student it can be even more challenging because we do not always have the motivation that other students might have in a traditional classroom. However, one thing I love about UTPB is that our online classes are designed to feel like we are a part of an actual classroom. We have group discussions, live chat and even group assignments just like a traditional classroom would. I have also noticed that more of my teachers have begun to record themselves by video or voice-overs for the chapter lecture which is also a huge help. It may take more effort but we as online students can succeed in our classes just as much as we would if we were physically there.

http://mesajournalnews.com/2972/news/how-to-succeed-as-an-online-student/

By Associated Press

An Alaska foundation is hoping to revitalize five Athabascan languages through online education with help from a $900,000 grant. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that the Doyon Foundation recently announced the grant awarded by the nonprofit group Administration for Native Americans. The foundation will use the money to create 280 online lessons focusing on Holikachuk, Denaakke, Benhti Kenaga, Han and Dinjii Zhuh Kyaa languages. The courses will be available for educators and students throughout Alaska. The project is being worked on through a partnership with an organization called 7,000 Languages, which aims to preserve languages throughout the world.

http://www.ktva.com/nonprofit-receives-nearly-1m-to-fund-online-native-language-classes-417/

by Doug Shapiro, Evolllution

In the wake of the Great Recession, a number of “truths” higher education leaders took to be self-evident are disappearing. Students no longer fit into the traditional 18- 22-year-old demographic. Students no longer see their postsecondary education as a one-time affair. This second trend is particularly transformative, as learners are actually establishing their own non-conventional pathways to credentials within the rigid frameworks higher education institutions have in place. In this interview Doug Shapiro shares his thoughts on why these frameworks need to be rethought and reflects on the value of stackable credentials for students and for the economy.

http://evolllution.com/attracting-students/accessibility/stackable-credentials-meet-the-needs-of-students-and-society/

by Birdie Smith, Sydney Morning Herald

Want to study how to live on Mars? This course will take just 12 hours of your time. And it’s free. That’s right, gratis. Among your teachers will be astronomer Jasmina Lazendic-Galloway and chemist Tina Overton. The idea of life life on Mars has long captivated the human imagination, but while getting to the red planet is relatively easy, surviving will be a real challenge. Your classroom will be of the virtual variety, with the four three-hour-sessions run by Monash University taking place online. The course will cover the basics of how to survive on the inhospitable red planet, which offers visitors no air, water or food.

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/monash-course-readies-students-for-life-on-red-planet-20160905-gr8toa.html

By Jarrett Carter, Education Dive

Economist Carlo Salerno writes in the Huffington Post that allowing the U.S. Department of Education to grant degrees based upon the number of courses completed, regardless of transfers or the number of institutions, is a way to generate more value and decrease costs for students. Since most schools do not accept transfer credits universally to create more profit in taking duplicate courses and more requirements, Salerno argues that the DOE has the capacity to set rules on how many courses and which types qualify students for a professional credential. Salerno says that schools would cut costs to keep pace with the government’s credentialing arm, which could operate in the same way that it qualifies students for federal loans, and higher education accreditors.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/economist-suggests-ed-dept-credentialing-as-college-cost-cure/425756/

by Daniel Greenstein, Impatient Optimists

What are some of the most common misconceptions about today’s college students? Here are just a few: The typical college student is 18-24 years old and enrolls right out of high school. In fact, 40 percent of today’s college students are 25 or older. It is really important for colleges and universities to provide academic supports to help them brush up in areas where they might be weaker and technology-enabled advising that charts a steady and sure path to a credential. The typical college student is focusing full-time on their studies. The reality is that nearly two-thirds of all students are working while enrolled, a quarter of them full-time. Nearly 30 percent of students have children. The typical college student lives in a dorm on campus. Yes, 40 percent of today’s college students do live on campus, but that means 60 percent do not. Commuter students need access to programs and services before 9am and after 5pm, as well as online and blended courses that enable them to learn anytime, anywhere.

http://www.impatientoptimists.org/Posts/2016/09/Getting-Real-About-Todays-College-Students#.V86f9FsrLox

by Ann Gravells and Susan Simpson in Stanford University Tomorrow’s Teaching and Learning

There are many different theories regarding the way people learn. This section will very briefly explore some of them (in alphabetical order), which you might like to research further and try out with your own learners. However, don’t get too concerned thinking you must teach in a certain way because a theorist says so. What works with one group or individual learner might not work with another. You might find at first you are teaching the way you were taught at school, college or university. It might have suited you at the time, or it might have had a detrimental effect. Don’t be afraid to try something different and step out of your comfort zone. You will need to find out through experience what works and what doesn’t work with your learners.

https://tomprof.stanford.edu/posting/1505

By Michael Tanenbaum, Philly Voice

Ken Goldsmith, a distinguished poet and professor of English, will reprise his famed “Wasting Time on the Internet” course for the Fall 2016 Semester. The class, inspired by the radical legacy of the Situationist movement, debuted in 2014 after Goldsmith announced his experimental intentions in a piece for The New Yorker. For three hours a week, fifteen students met in a Wi-Fi connected room on condition that all of their communication take place online: chat rooms, bots, social media and listservs. Nothing is off limits: if it is on the Internet, it is fair play. Students watching three hours of porn can use it as the basis for compelling erotica; they can troll nefarious right-wing sites, scraping hate-filled language for spy thrillers; they can render celebrity Twitter feeds into epic Dadaist poetry; they can recast Facebook feeds as novellas; or they can simply hand in their browser history at the end of a session and present it as a memoir. You may be thinking, “Yeah, that’s kind of what I did in college, anyway,” but Goldsmith is pursuing a larger argument about the evolution of literature and the effects of its antecedents on digital mass culture.

http://www.phillyvoice.com/penn-prof-brings-back-controversial-wasting-time-internet-course/

by DAVE HUBER, the College Fix

In a move that will cost $20 million, students in third through twelfth grade in the Springfield Public Schools (Massachusetts) will be given their own laptop to use during the school day. Superintendent Daniel Warwick tells MassLive that this is a “social justice” matter, an effort to bridge the so-called “digital divide” if you will: “This is an urban environment where many of our students are in high poverty rate situations, and with this technology they should be able to compete with any other student. We are providing technology to bring them into the 21st century and make them college and career ready.”

http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/28663/

By Hussein Hatim, the Ubyssey

As technology advances, the world has become a more convenient and far less secretive place. Services like Facebook, Google and Instagram have created and replaced avenues of communication in a way that allows everyone to share more information with more people. UBC’s Digital Tattoo project aims to increase awareness of online security and privacy issues. Created with grant funding from UBC’s teaching and learning enhancement fund and from BCcampus, the project brings students and university community members together to discuss ways in which they can help students make thoughtful decisions about their online presence. The project also works with other universities including Thompson Rivers University, the University of Victoria and the University of Toronto.

http://ubyssey.ca/news/digital-tattoo-project/

by Business Wire

On Thursday, September 15, the online learning community and its supporters will celebrate the inaugural National Online Learning Day. The community of online learners is rapidly growing as student success expands beyond the bounds of traditional learning. National Online Learning Day celebrates the online learning community and showcases the accomplishments of its students and educators. Online learning is available to all learners—from preschool to high school to college and beyond—and provides students with the ultimate accessibility and personalization. By combining curriculum, technology and the Internet, students can study almost any subject—anywhere, anytime.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160902005675/en/National-Online-Learning-Day-Celebrated-September-15

By Lisa Rabasca Roepe

Nearly 3 ½ million Americans age 50 or older have taken some college courses but haven’t earned a degree or certificate, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Some big employers, such as Starbucks, JetBlue, Fiat/Chrysler and Pizza Hut are now helping them finish a college degree. These companies have launched programs allowing their employees of any age to earn a college degree online for little or no out-of-pocket costs. (The specifics vary for each program and are noted at the end of this article.) It’s a win/win for employees and employers. “When people are working on improving themselves, their productivity and performance improves,” says John Fox, director of dealer training, FCA Performance Institute, Fiat/Chrysler. Others offering college-completion programs say this benefit helps them with recruitment, retention and employee engagement.

http://www.nextavenue.org/ompanies-help-older-workers-finish-a-college-degree/

By ARIEL BOGLE, Mashable

We could be living on Mars by the year 3000, so it’s time to get prepared. To help us earthlings ready ourselves for the journey, Monash University in Melbourne, Australia is offering a free online course focused on how to survive the red planet. Developed by astrophysicist Jasmina Lazendic-Galloway and chemistry professor Tina Overton, the course “How to Survive on Mars: The Science Behind Human Exploration of Mars” will run over four weeks, three hours per week with the first instalment beginning on Oct. 24. According to Lazendic-Galloway, the course emerged from she and Overton’s love of Andy Weir’s bestselling novel, The Martian, which was made into a 2015 film starring Matt Damon.

http://mashable.com/2016/09/01/university-mars-survival-course/#cof70vhIU8ql

by Kevin C. Desouza and Kendra L. Smith, EDUCAUSE Review

With predictive analytics, colleges and universities are able to “nudge” individuals toward making better decisions and exercising rational behavior to enhance their probabilities of success. With predictive analytics, colleges and universities are able to “nudge” individuals toward making better decisions and exercising rational behavior to enhance their probabilities of success. Like most other enterprises, academia is on the quest to leverage data to improve outputs and outcomes. At their core, academic enterprises are focused on advancing knowledge in society and transforming society through their outputs (e.g., the students they produce, the research they generate, and the interactions they cultivate with communities both local and global). Data management and analytics can significantly increase the odds that a higher education institution will deliver on its goals in an optimal manner.

http://er.educause.edu/articles/2016/8/predictive-analytics-nudging-shoving-and-smacking-behaviors-in-higher-education

by eSchool News

A new virtual reality program, designed in part for educators, is giving a whole new meaning to the virtual classroom. Compatible with VR platforms like Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, the new program, called Engage, lets up to 30 simultaneous users join and interact in an immersive, virtual meeting — which could be set in a museum, historical site, or the surface of Mars. The platform is new (and available as a free preview) so full functionality hasn’t been released, or even dreamed up, but so far educators can use it to create a custom avatar and then host live sessions or record presentations for download. Students will also be able to showcase artwork and photography in a gallery-like setting.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2016/08/31/this-immersive-vr-platform-was-designed-with-education-in-mind/