Techno-News Blog

BY LESLEY VOS, eSchool News

Students write a lot, and the issue of plagiarism (or, at least, wrong paraphrasing) remains topical. As educators, what can you do to help students avoid the problem? Everything starts with suspicion. You take a student’s essay, start reading it, and it doesn’t feel right. The writing structure, word constructions, and deductions are unlike this mentee of yours! You go to PlagiarismCheck, Copyscape, or any other resource to check that essay for plagiarism and…ta da! You were right. The essay has obvious signs of plagiarism. Don’t hurry up to blame a student. They might plagiarize accidentally. A responsible educator, you can help students write original academic papers and teach them to distinguish whether they opine on the topic or simply paraphrase statements, taken from third party sources. Here’s how.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2017/05/04/prevent-accidental-plagiarism/

By Sri Ravipati, THE Journal

A word of warning: If there is an e-mail in your inbox asking you to open a Google Doc from someone, don’t open it. A day after the recent attack, Google rolled out a new safeguard to its Android Gmail app. The phishing scam attempted to hack a user’s Google account after the user clicks a link that appears to be from a trusted individual. Google was able to stop the attack after about 1 million (just 0.1 percent) of all Gmail users had seen one of the e-mails. Now with the Gmail app updates, when a phony link appears in an e-mail, Google will warn the user, with an alert: “The site you are trying to visit has been identified as a forgery intended to trick you into disclosing financial, personal or other sensitive information.”

https://thejournal.com/articles/2017/05/04/google-adds-safety-feature-to-android-gmail-app-after-email-phishing-attack.aspx

by Claire Cain Miller, the Upshot

How do we educate people for an automated world? People still need to learn skills, the respondents said, but they will do that continuously over their careers. In school, the most important thing they can learn is how to learn. At universities, “people learn how to approach new things, ask questions and find answers, deal with new situations,” wrote Uta Russmann, a professor of communications at the FHWien University of Applied Sciences in Vienna. “All this is needed to adjust to ongoing changes in work life. Special skills for a particular job will be learned on the job.” Schools will also need to teach traits that machines can’t yet easily replicate, like creativity, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, adaptability and collaboration. The problem, many respondents said, is that these are not necessarily easy to teach.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/03/upshot/how-to-prepare-for-an-automated-future.html

by Pat Donachie, Education Dive

3-D printing is a skill increasingly in demand in the fields of art, design and other industries, and the Fashion Institute of Technology is responding by installing a nascent 3-D printing lab, according to Ed Tech: Focus on Higher Ed. The technology can be adapted to a wide variety of industries, including manufacturing, aerospace, healthcare and others — and supporters of the new tech say it can also be of great use to those involved in the visual and performing arts. Proponents like Jana Duda, FIT’s technology resources manager, say schools should begin small and allow time for experimentation as students and educators discern the best uses for 3-D printing. FIT built its space in an existing classroom.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/3-d-printing-a-valued-commodity-in-tech-industries-and-college-campuses/441977/

By Sri Ravipati, THE Journal

A tool developed by two security companies that scans the internet for command and control (C2) servers has already uncovered thousands of malicious RATs, or remote access trojans, on computers and other internet-connected devices. Shodan, a search engine used by many security researchers, lists information for open ports belonging to internet-connected devices. The company teamed up with threat intelligence firm Recorded Future to integrate a new online crawler into its search engine called Malware Hunter. Malware Hunter scans the internet regularly over time to identify C2 servers for various malware like RATs.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2017/05/02/industry-tool-detects-thousands-of-c2-server-rats.aspx

By Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology

Indiana University’s Mosaic Active Learning Initiative, a program launched in fall 2015 that supports faculty teaching, research and classroom design for active learning environments, has expanded to five of the institution’s regional campus: IU East, IU Kokomo, IU Northwest, IU South Bend and IU Southeast. The move brings 14 new Mosaic Faculty Fellows into the program. Fellows are “faculty who, over the course of an academic year, teach in Mosaic classrooms, share approaches to active and collaborative learning, engage in research related to active learning classrooms, and contribute to the development of learning spaces across IU,” according to a university announcement.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/05/03/indiana-u-expands-active-learning-initiative.aspx

BY MERIS STANSBURY, eCampus News

Younger students in colleges and universities say they’d like their personalized data to be leveraged toward a more beneficial, meaningful experience—right away. When institutions use student data, it’s usually internally and to overhaul or make adjustments to campus services year-to-year. Yet, thanks to a younger student body’s familiarity with customized communications based on personalized data, innovative institutions are trying to increase enrollment, boost retention and help place students on a career track with on-the-go data.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/big-data/students-colleges-use-data/

By Sri Ravipati, Campus Technology

With tech skills in high-demand, coding bootcamps are doing pretty well, with Course Report estimating 18,000 graduates by the end of this year. These accelerated programs use a disruptive education model to quickly equip students with computer science (CS) skills and land jobs in the tech industry. As it turns out, four out of five companies will hire coding bootcamp graduates, according to Indeed. Overall, perceptions of coding bootcamp graduates are mostly positive. About 51 percent of survey respondents think that coding bootcamps are a good way to bring diversity into the tech industry, while 50 percent say coding bootcamps efficiently retrain employees. Perhaps for these reasons, 42 percent of hiring managers and recruiters admitted they don’t have a preference as to whether a job candidate graduated from a traditional academic institution or a bootcamp.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/05/03/4-out-of-5-companies-have-hired-a-coding-bootcamp-graduate.aspx

By Patrick Wraight, Academy Journal Blog

Online learning is tough. The instructor is somewhere, hopefully in a quiet office with a fast internet connection. That instructor needs to bring an energy that is really different from a classroom. The content needs to be compelling and the visuals that are used really need to be on point to keep the audience’s attention. Maybe we’ll talk about everything that a virtual instructor needs to bring to another day. Today, let’s talk a little about what you, the audience, need to do to help yourself to connect with the instructor and the content. Here are four no nonsense ways to get all that you can out of your online (webinar) learning.

http://www.insurancejournal.com/blogs/academy-journal/2017/05/03/449631.htm

by Autumn A. Arnett, Education Dive

A new EAB study found underrepresented minorities rely more heavily on social media to help guide their college search and selection process than do other students. The survey found 27% of first-generation students, 25% of Hispanic students, 24% of African-American students, and 24% of students from households with $60K or lower income levels report they first discovered a college on social media, compared with significantly lower percentages of legacy, Caucasian and higher-income students. According to a survey of 5,580 college-bound students released Tuesday, underrepresented students are less likely to see their family and friends as resources, and they are less likely to have opportunities to visit prospective schools in person.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/higher-ed-leaders-its-time-to-strengthen-your-social-media-strategy/441858/

by Roger Riddell, Education Dive

Micro-credentials, which offer learners the ability to master a single topic based on their needs or interests, offer administrators a way to personalize teachers’ professional development, Education Week reports. Delaware, Florida and Tennessee are among states, along with individual districts elsewhere, that have experimented with the model through providers such as the nonprofit Digital Promise, some of which allow educators to provide evidence including student work or videos and award digital badges for LinkedIn. Amid the growth in popularity, there is also increasing attention to the need for standards around rigor, value for stakeholders, oversight and teacher incentives for earning them.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/micro-credentials-key-personalized-learning-professional-development/441782/

by Matthew Lynch, tech Edvocate

According to eSparks Learning, teachers regardless of age or experience level harbor doubts about their ability to successfully use classroom technology. So, if teacher’s skills and technology are to exist in harmony, there needs to be a balance. We need teachers’ talents and at the same time encourage them to start looking to the future. The majority of today’s student population have never known the world without high-speed internet. It acts as a source of information, a place to socialize and now, a place for them to gain a formal education. Teachers need to see technology as another way to engage with their students and not as a replacement for their talents and their jobs. So, in hopes of finding a balance between technology and teaching, here are some ways to make sure there is a balance between teaching and technology.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/find-balance-teaching-technology/

By HARRIET JONES, WNPR

A Milford-based entrepreneur is launching a training course designed to help with a shortage of web and mobile software developers — an issue that’s only expected to get worse in coming years. It’s estimated that nationwide, employers will need 1.4 million software developers over the next 10 years. The nation’s universities are only projected to produce 400,000 computer science graduates in that time. “So we’re going to have a deficit of about a million people who have the digital skills to work in web, mobile, marketing, and advertising — even TV, as TV becomes increasingly application oriented,” said Mark Lassoff. Those developers are going to have to come from somewhere.

http://wnpr.org/post/new-course-connecticut-targets-dearth-job-ready-software-developers

by Bluffton Today

Ten years ago, online degrees weren’t even in conversations. There were a number of universities with distance learning programs, but students generally went to brick-and-mortar universities to pursue a degree they wanted. In 2013, studies revealed that discussions about online programs were more dynamic, but 78% of students still preferred to attend classes to learn. In just four years since that study was published by USA Today, the education landscape has changed completely. Now, more students prefer to take online courses. This shift is also affecting students living in Bluffton and nearby areas.

http://www.blufftontoday.com/event/students-are-drawn-towards-online-programs

BY SOPHIA STUART, PC Magazine

Online tools can engender a greater understanding of other cultures; who doesn’t love the ability to peek into the quotidian existence of people around the globe via Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook? But what about more serious issues such as peace in the Middle East; does the internet have a place to play there? The organizers of YaLa Academy, founded in 2011 by the Peres Center for Peace and YaLa Palestine, believe it does. The online education platform provides distance learning and encourages collaboration between those from nations that have traditionally been in conflict. Students take online courses to develop skills as future peace leaders, including negotiation and conflict management, taught by various experts from organizations like the US Institute of Peace and Harvard Program on Negotiation.

http://www.pcmag.com/news/353408/solving-the-worlds-problems-one-online-class-at-a-time

by Mike Krings, Phys.org

Across the country, classrooms are making the transition to blended learning models. Typically, students work together, with devices, with a teacher and seek information from a number of educational resources. Recently, researchers at the University of Kansas developed an online course to help teachers create blended learning environments by moving from teacher-centered to student-centered learning, which increases opportunities for personalized learning. Early evaluation of the online course indicated that teachers find the course helpful in providing planning guidance and support necessary to shift to a blended learning model of instruction. With support from the OAK Foundation, KU’s Center for Research on Learning developed the online course. It helps teachers understand blended learning, identify what they want to include in their courses and to design and implement instructional plans.

https://phys.org/news/2017-05-online-blended.html

by Pat Donachie, Education Dive

Distance learning continues to grow, with more than six million higher ed students taking at least one distance education course in 2015, according to a report from Digital Learning Compass. The report found growth at non-profit institutions occurred at a rate of 11.4%, while private for-profit institutions, on the other hand, saw their distance enrollment numbers decline at a rate of 9.4%. Year-over-year, the number of students enrolled in a distance education class grew by 3.9%, and more than one in four students enrolled in higher ed took at least one distance education class.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/distance-learning-enrollment-ticks-up-though-for-profits-see-declines/441754/

By Christopher Beach, Real Clear Education

In the fall of 2016, online educator Udacity announced the launch of a “nanodegree” program for self-driving car engineering. For $2,400, a student proficient in coding could enroll and learn the skills. The one-of-a-kind program and curriculum were designed in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz, Nvidia and Uber ATG. The first class has yet to conclude but already some impressive results are coming in. Chrysler has indicated that it wants to hire 40 graduates, according to Sebastian Thrun, founder and president of Udacity. “There are more than 1 million people dying every year in traffic accidents — largely due to human error and distracted or impaired driving. Employers are looking for thousands of engineers with the skills needed to solve this urgent, global problem. This is why making self-driving car engineering education accessible and efficient is so important.”

http://www.realcleareducation.com/articles/2017/05/02/online_educator_udacity_adapts_courses_to_changing_labor_market_110152.html

by Marguerite Ward, CNBC

LinkedIn’s new list of top skills for 2017 confirms what experts have been saying for years. Tech skills are more important than ever, as digital advancements have radically transformed the working world. “While some skills expire every couple of years, our data strongly suggests that tech skills will still be needed for years to come in every industry,” LinkedIn career expert Catherine Fisher said in the report. The world’s largest professional social network analyzed hiring and recruiting activity on its platform between Jan. 1 and Sept. 1. Analysts then identified the skills that belonged to members who were more likely to start new jobs and receive interest from recruiters. Linked below are the 10 most in-demand skills.

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/10/20/the-top-10-skills-that-will-get-you-hired.html

BY MERIS STANSBURY, eCampus News

As online learning becomes increasingly popular, what are the skills and habits necessary for student success? Recently, eCampus News posted an article about the latest online learning myths, one of which was “earning an online degree is easy.” Typically, only those online students who are self-motivated tend to succeed, but are there other more define-able characteristics that characterize successful online students? In author Joel English’s book, Plugged In: Succeeding as an Online Learner, students about to embark in online learning are given a list of should-have skills or habits in order to succeed. English, as well as Cengage Learning (which produced an infographic based on the key points of English’s book) recommend instructors share these 10 boiled-down characteristics with their online students before starting the course or class.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/featured/featured-on-ecampus-news/attributes-online-students/

by TechTree

The past decade has seen big changes in educators’ approaches to using technology. High school students now communicate with their peers and teachers via online forums. An aspiring multilinguist can connect with an online Chinese tutor on Preply and start learning over Skype in mere minutes. Smartphone apps provide game-like learning environments for children learning the basics of coding. Technology has the potential to revolutionize how classrooms function, a fact that has not gone unnoticed over the years by teachers and legislators alike. Determining how schools should best capitalize on that potential has been a process of trial and error, with some approaches proving, ultimately, ineffective.

http://www.techtree.com/content/features/12798/how-teachers-students-benefit-technology.html