Techno-News Blog

by Education Dive

Udemy for Business, which is the online marketplace for team virtual learning, released their Learning Index Report, which highlighted the emerging skills and trends that we may see in 2017. There is a growing interest in artificial intelligence and on-demand learning programs that will help move employees into more challenging roles. The Udemy study indicated that: More agile workplaces – this will be facilitated by new technology that requires flexible task management and processes. Soft skills will take the forefront as employees adapt to multiple roles. Increase in personalized learning – employees will increasingly train using on-demand self-service learning models that have a more actionable result. Companies will worry less about credentials, prioritizing skills learned instead. Reality goes virtual – more training will take place in virtual reality environments (think Pokémon Go).

http://www.hrdive.com/news/the-top-in-demand-workforce-skills-for-2017/433729/

by Tess Taylor, HR Dive

Traditional work training programs are quickly becoming obsolete, reports ECampus News. Today, organizations are getting better results from competency-based programs in hiring and training their workforces. Innovate+Educate, a national nonprofit, released their report Shift Happens: The Entrepreneurs, Wonks, and Investors Revolutionizing the Learning-to-Employment Landscape that details how employers can close the skills gaps by developing more competency based learning programs using new learning models. Workforce data shows that there are around 11 million adults in the USA without a 4-year degree, but they have professional certifications and licenses that make them eligible for employment. That is the market that competency-based employment programs can make the most difference within.

http://www.hrdive.com/news/training-to-work-programs-make-way-for-competency-based-employee-learning/433735/

by Jarrett Carter, Education Dive

NPR interviewed University of Michigan Digital Innovation Greenhouse Director Timothy McKay about the prospects of using data and analytics to customize learning experiences for individual students. McKay says that traditional higher education delivers information to a sizable student body and determines the aptitude of each student based on ability to master coursework in a certain time, and within a prescribed way. Analytics, he says, help to leave a record of progress in learning beyond the traditional transcript, accounting for how different backgrounds may impact learning and extracting aptitude from preparation or exposure.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/examining-the-impact-and-ethics-of-tracking-students/433912/

By TNT Magazine

According to a recent Forbes article, online learning is still just getting started as an industry. Forbes also made a prediction that a ‘new world of curation and collaboration tools’ will be coming this year. Just imagine the effect on education. Introversion is a personality trait that defines the stimulation a person needs in order to be productive and motivated. Generally, introverts thrive on less stimulating learning environments and prefer solitude. As Indiana University Professor Curt Bonk states, when subscribed to an online course “you can respond an hour later or a day later – whenever you feel you have contemplated on the idea enough”, which takes pressure off the ‘raise your hand’ moment, where introverts often withdraw. Online learning allows students to process their thoughts and formulate questions in their own time. They have a choice to ask for help or browse online resources for the relevant topic or answer. This type of learning can be likened to postgraduate research.

http://www.tntmagazine.com/lifestyle-career/is-online-learning-better-for-introverts

By Dian Schaffhauser, THE Journal

First, there was Hour of Code. Now there’s Siemens STEM Day. A makeover of the traditional Siemens Science Day, the new event is intended to encourage teachers to spark student interest in new forms of science, technology, engineering and math. The event, which doesn’t have a specific day assigned to it yet, comes with the chance to win a $10,000 “possibility” grant for use in creating a new fab lab or outfitting the classroom with gadgets. Promoted by Discovery Education and the Siemens Foundation, the STEM Day website offers 134 activities to be used in the class, which can be filtered by grade level, STEM category or career path (energy, healthcare, IT and manufacturing).

https://thejournal.com/articles/2017/01/10/stem-day-website-offers-masses-of-classroom-activities.aspx

by Georgia Tech

The Georgia Institute of Technology has announced a new online master of science degree that will be offered at a quarter of the cost of its on-campus program. The Institute’s top 10-ranked program in analytics will be delivered in collaboration with edX, the leading nonprofit MOOC provider. Tuition for Georgia Tech’s Online Master of Science in Analytics (OMS Analytics) degree will be available for less than $10,000 beginning in August. The residential program ranges from $36,000 for in-state students to $49,000 for out of state. OMS Analytics will accept 250 students for the first semester and will grow over time as the program scales to meet demand and student needs.

http://www.news.gatech.edu/2017/01/11/online-master-science-analytics-degree-be-offered-less-10000

By Julio Cachila, University Herald

Online courses can give a great boost to your career, but taking time to study while working needs careful consideration. While online courses do add to your list of credentials, they will likely require more than just your spare time and your desire to learn. Before enrolling in any online course to help boost your career and help you reach your career goals. Students enrolled in online courses will need to manage themselves and balance their time between work and study. They will need to take full charge of how they learn, digital education consultant Debbie Morrison told U.S. News. Online students, since they are taking full charge of their education and career, will also need to learn how to effectively manage their time, dividing it between their jobs and their actual study. It’s crucial for students to create a working schedule and adhere to is so that procrastination will be avoided.

http://www.universityherald.com/articles/59742/20170111/online-education-career-goals-here-things-consider.htm

By TNT Magazine

According to a recent Forbes article, online learning is still just getting started as an industry. Forbes also made a prediction that a ‘new world of curation and collaboration tools’ will be coming this year. Just imagine the effect on education. Introversion is a personality trait that defines the stimulation a person needs in order to be productive and motivated. Generally, introverts thrive on less stimulating learning environments and prefer solitude. As Indiana University Professor Curt Bonk states, when subscribed to an online course “you can respond an hour later or a day later – whenever you feel you have contemplated on the idea enough”, which takes pressure off the ‘raise your hand’ moment, where introverts often withdraw. Online learning allows students to process their thoughts and formulate questions in their own time. They have a choice to ask for help or browse online resources for the relevant topic or answer. This type of learning can be likened to postgraduate research.

http://www.tntmagazine.com/lifestyle-career/is-online-learning-better-for-introverts

by Jason Tabeling, ClickZ

This past November Google announced that it was starting to test indexing their mobile index as the primary index above desktop. Prior to this announcement Google was using the desktop version of sites to feed the algorithm despite the fact that user behavior has shifted towards the majority being mobile. We all know as consumers ourselves that this is the pervasive moment towards mobile isn’t going to stop anytime soon. People spend 177 minutes per day on their mobile phone. Google themselves admits that this, like hundreds of others that are ongoing, is just a test. They also have said that they expect various elements to change in their importance throughout this evolution. However for Google, this is a first step towards the future of search engine rankings changes. Are brands prepared and what changes need to be made to ensure that your rankings are preserved or increased?

https://www.clickz.com/is-your-website-prepared-for-googles-mobile-first-index/108858/

By Dennis Pierce, THE Journal

Blended learning combines the best of face-to-face and online instruction in ways that can customize the learning experience for each student, while making content more accessible. As these diverse models suggest, blended learning can look very different from one classroom to the next. But when blended learning is done well, it typically involves some form of student choice or agency in their own learning, experts say — and there are other commonalities as well. Michael B. Horn, co-founder and distinguished fellow of the Christensen Institute, said at least three-fourths of United States school districts have implemented some form of blended learning — and he estimated about 10 million students are benefiting.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2017/01/11/what-effective-blended-learning-looks-like.aspx

BY MATTHEW LYNCH, Edvocate

It’s no secret that people of all ages and backgrounds enjoy video games. In fact, over 3 billion hours a week are dedicated to playing video games worldwide. This widespread popularity makes it an ideal choice for integrating into the classroom, a process called gamification. But, just because people know that gamifying education has benefits, figure out exactly how to do so isn’t always as easy. To help teachers figure out how to bring the motivating principles of video games into the traditional learning experience here is some guidance on how to gamify your classroom.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/how-to-gamify-your-classroom/

BY MATTHEW LYNCH, Edvocate

When it comes to kids and technology, even the most tech-savvy parents proceed with caution, some even going as far as to enroll their children in technology-free schools. Recent research has shown that smartphones, iPads, video games and other electronic devices can have a similar effect as a drug. Those same research studies show that these devices affect the frontal cortex, the part of the brain that controls execution and impulses, in the same way as cocaine does. Furthermore, staring at screens increases dopamine levels, which is why children become suddenly happy when handed an electronic device and then immediately upset when the device is taken away. Dr. Peter Whybrow, director of neuroscience and human behavior at UCLA, calls these devices “electronic cocaine,” and researchers from China refer to them as “digital heroin.”

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/how-screens-turn-kids-into-digital-addicts/

By Campus Technology

Last month, Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) was hit with a ransomware attack, forcing the California Community College system to pay an unidentified hacker nearly $28,000 to retrieve stolen data. The investigation is still in the early stages, and as of now no breach data was identified. LAVC consulted with its leadership, outside cybersecurity experts and law enforcement before making the payment. “It was the assessment of our outside cybersecurity experts that making a payment would offer an extremely high probability of restoring access to the affected systems, while failure to pay would virtually guarantee that data would be lost,” according to a statement. The attack has disrupted many computer, online, e-mail and voicemail systems. Education is the sector most targeted by ransomware, according to a recent report from security analyst BitSight, which found that 13 percent of institutions experienced ransomware attacks last year.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/01/10/community-college-pays-hacker-28000-for-ransomware-attack.aspx

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

At the College of Business at the University of Illinois, video operations don’t come in one size. Here’s how the institution is handling studio setup for MOOCs, online courses, guest speakers and more. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Business’s video production studio (photo courtesy of UIUC) When the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign began running massive open online courses through Coursera, the institution quickly realized that the real power of those free courses was to introduce a world of prospective students to its campus programs — including the iMBA, its new online master’s degree in business. The Digital Media team within the College of Business has played an important role in helping the college’s production capabilities grow in quality and quantity. Now that team faces what may be its biggest challenge ever: accommodating up to 3,000 students in any particular online course.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/01/11/how-to-build-a-production-studio-for-online-courses.aspx

By Joshua Bolkan, Campus Technology

Consumer smartphone sales will rebound this year after hitting a three-year low in 2016, according to a new survey from Accenture. Increased shipments will be pushed by device refresh schedules, better security, improved performance and new features, according to the survey. Based on responses from 26,000 consumers in 26 different countries, the survey found that demand for wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers will remain sluggish owing to high prices and concerns about privacy and security around personal data. Artificial intelligence features, such as digital voice assistants, are being embraced by consumers, according to survey responses.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/01/05/report-smartphone-shipments-to-rebound-after-3-year-low.aspx

By Mary Grush, Campus Technology

In the face of instant communication, continuous connectivity, and data analytics, the key research question at UT-Arlington’s LINK Research Lab is “What does it mean to be human in a digital age?” Here, LINK Lab Executive Director, PI/Researcher, and Professor George Siemens brings our attention to some key issues about our connectedness and how it is changing the way we interact, work, and learn in the digital age.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/01/09/data-centric-models-and-the-equity-of-information.aspx

by Seb Murray, Business Because

These are the hottest innovations in edtech that are reshaping how students learn online. Throughout 2016, online learning continued to explode. More students enrolled in online courses. Top-tier universities trialled virtual and augmented reality. Online providers launched nano-degrees. And employers, from Google to Goldman Sachs, began warming to digital credentials. Meanwhile, demand for campus education fell in most US business schools. As we usher in the New Year, here are five edtech trends to look out for in 2017.

http://www.businessbecause.com/news/mba-distance-learning/4385/5-online-learning-trends-for-2017

by Jarrett Carter, Education Dive

Ben Rossi writes in Information Age about the emergence of educational technology, and how colleges and universities could become more effective with Integrated Learning Systems by using them for more than regurgitating old styles of instruction on new equipment. He writes that ed tech should be more than just an innovative way of educational delivery, but part of the education itself by allowing students and teachers to create their own questions, answers and theories on a variety of elements on a given subject. Technology has the capacity for education to replace the currency of grades and test scores with imagination and creation in action, a necessity for an industry which spent more than $6 billion on teaching technology in 2015.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/machine-learning-can-transform-higher-ed-if-used-correctly/433622/

by Jamie Adame, Arkansas Online

No student will be asked to purchase a textbook in Scout Johnson’s U.S. history class this spring semester at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Johnson will instead assign a textbook that’s available for free online. “It helps our students tremendously by cutting that textbook bill,” said Johnson, a UA doctoral student and speaker for the university’s Associated Student Government graduate student congress. The group and UA’s Associated Student Government senate, made up of undergraduates, approved a joint resolution last fall supporting the adoption of what are known as open educational resources. Open materials may be freely copied and distributed.

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2017/jan/08/faculty-nudged-to-texts-on-web-20170108/

BY MATTHEW LYNCH, Tech Edvocate

The reason that many teachers strive for a more virtual experience instead of the traditional talking points is that the interaction makes the lesson more memorable to the students. Concepts and ideas that seem too complicated under time-honored instruction methods are easier to grasp when the students can experience the lessons. This does not mean that you need a VR machine to create a virtual experience either. There are a number of tools that can help you establish a virtual environment that makes lessons more entertaining while making the concepts easier to understand. One of the biggest problems with edtech is the price tag – it can be incredibly cost prohibitive. However, that does not mean that you and your students have to be relegated to using only the old learning methods. Regardless of your budget, there are several things you can do to create a virtual learning experience that will make lessons feel more relevant.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/5-ways-to-create-virtual-learning-experiences-in-your-classroom/

By Riley Beggin, WBUR

The neurotechnology is called transcranial direct current stimulation, or tDCS for short. At its simplest, the method involves a device that uses little more than a 9-volt battery and some electrodes to send a low-intensity electrical current to a targeted area of the brain, typically via a headset. More than a 1,000 studies have been published in peer-reviewed journals over the last decade suggesting benefits of the technique — maybe regulating mood, possibly improving language skills — but its effects, good or bad, are far from clear. Although researchers see possibilities for tDCS in treating diseases and boosting performance, it’s still an exploratory technology, says Mark George, editor-in-chief of Brain Stimulation, a leading journal on neuromodulation. And leading experts have warned against at-home use of such devices.

http://www.wbur.org/npr/507133313/students-zap-their-brains-for-a-boost-for-better-or-worse