Techno-News Blog

http://www.cio.com/article/3164125/hiring/10-it-skills-that-employers-need-in-2017.html

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

“To be a 21st-century land-grant school, to meet the obligation, really, the great opportunity, the noble opportunity that we have always embraced here at Purdue, we must be active in online education in a way we are not now,” said Purdue President Mitch Daniels in a prepared statement. Currently, Purdue encompasses a main campus in West Lafayette and two regional campuses, Purdue Fort Wayne and Purdue Northwest. The deal has drawn support from one unique quarter: Arne Duncan, who, as secretary for the U.S. Department of Education, drew the wrath of for-profit schools for his continual efforts to reign them in. “I’m excited by this opportunity for a world-class university to expand its reach and help educate adult learners by acquiring a strong for-profit college,” said Duncan in a prepared statement. “This is a first, and if successful, could help create a new model for what it means to be a land-grant institution.”

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/05/01/purdues-kaplan-purchase-shoring-up-the-21st-century-land-grant-mission.aspx

by Aditya Malik, Financial Express

The evolution of digital education is nothing short of a revolution. We have seen educational efficacy changing digitally with each passing day. It has not only provided teachers and students unlimited teaching and learning opportunities, respectively, but also improved students’ erudition, participation in the learning process and innovation. From chalk-and-talk lessons and assisted learning methods to advanced educational tools, digital education continues to be the new wave of learning. A recent report stated that over 5.8 million students enrolled for online courses in 2016, which is a 263% increase over the last 12 years. The proliferation of digital tools, including apps, tablets and laptops, has transformed learners’ communication, engagement, opportunity for collaboration and feedback, as also delivery procedures.

http://www.financialexpress.com/education-2/a-peek-into-the-digital-future-of-education/648423/

by Michelle Li, KING

The Seattle Public Library system is now arming patrons with the tools they need to weed out fake news by launching a class called the Fake News Survival Guide. It’s already sparked a lot of interest from the public, other city libraries, and even libraries across the country. Many used the Seattle Public Library system as a real-life, human Google during the last election cycle. Last year Seattle public libraries answered roughly 850,000 phone calls, emails, and chats. Librarians around the country have been fielding reference questions in person and online for months. “We had a lot of questions regarding fact checking,” said Di Zhang, reference librarian. “So we put our library hats on and did the digging and found resources for people.”

http://www.king5.com/news/local/seattle-librarians-start-fake-news-class/435509535

by Hayleigh Colombo, Indianapolis Business Journal

“It’s very surprising,” said Robert Kelchen, an assistant professor of higher education at Seton Hall University. “I think it’s a fairly high-risk, high-reward strategy.” “Purdue gets essentially all of Kaplan’s students,” Kelchen said. “They get a lot of national attention and they get a ready-made online or adult student infrastructure that they didn’t really have. The question then becomes, was it better for them to essentially acquire Kaplan, or start something on their own?” Lumina Foundation CEO Jamie Merisotis said the deal is interesting because it bucks a trend of for-profit universities acquiring not-for-profit, private colleges. Merisotis said Purdue’s big jump into online is a bit of a coming-of-age moment for adults in higher education and a “big signal about the market.”

https://www.ibj.com/articles/63603-purdues-decision-to-acquire-kaplan-a-high-risk-high-reward-move

by Associated Press

With college costs rising steadily and with more courses available online for free, some observers are beginning to question the need for a traditional college education that may include lectures on Greek philosophy but burden graduates with massive student loans. Education startups are offering alternatives — from boot camps, to one or two-year tracks, to accredited degree programs — and their founders say these options will give students a more relevant education in today’s job market, and at a lower price. But some experts caution against betting on a narrow, practical education geared toward a specific field that is in demand today but could leave them unprepared for the jobs of tomorrow. They also say most applicants still need a college degree from an established institution to get a good job.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/04/30/is-this-future-college-online-classes-but-no-degree.html

by Matthew Lynch, tech Edvocate

Many schools support a Bring Your Device (BYOD) policy for teachers. Other schools provide products like iPads and iPhones for teachers to use in their classes. Either way, there are plenty of apps that can be used in the classroom on an iPhone or an iPad. Some apps work well for different things, but they all are designed to do one thing: make the teaching process easier and more productive at the same time. Here are some apps that are essential to use on an iPhone in the classroom to gain that easy productivity to meet all needs and desires a teacher may have.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/teach-iphone-apps-use-classroom/

by Amelia Harper, Education Dive

The University of Maryland University College, the largest online public university in the United States, has found a solution to the challenge of providing access to coursework and resources to students who use different types of computer platforms, and don’t have access to campus computer labs. The university is using resources designed for a workplace environment and now integrates Amazon Workspaces into the student learning environment to help create an academic online environment that is more reliable, scalable and student-friendly.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/umuc-integrates-workplace-solutions-to-create-better-academic-online-enviro/441421/

BY LAURA ASCIONE, eCampus News

Educational data mining, learning analytics will prove invaluable in helping improve students’ course retention. Colorado State University (CSU) and the McGraw-Hill Education Learning Science Research Council will partner on a new academic research project designed to use learning analytics and educational data mining to improve student retention in STEM courses. This new research initiative, announced at SXSWedu, will investigate the use of advanced techniques in learning analytics and educational data mining to reduce the Drop-Fail-Withdraw (DFW) rates in STEM gateway courses. Unsuccessful course completion in these gateway courses is often associated with significantly lower retention and graduation rates. CSU researchers said they are hopeful the data to come from the partnership will inform other courses and faculty insight.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/big-data/learning-analytics-stem-retention/

by Abner Li, 9to5Google

Classroom allows teachers to post schedules online and give out assignments. In turn, students can submit work and collaborate, as well as take quizzes with Google Forms. Previously, personal Google accounts could only join classes already started by G Suite accounts. Now, any regular user can create classes and manage curriculum. Google cites online education classes, clubs, and other informal groups as being able to take advantage of this wider release. The free version of Classroom does not have integration with G Suite for Education and as such does not permit full administration of user accounts, email summaries of student work for guardians, and other paid features.

https://9to5google.com/2017/04/27/google-classroom-create/

by Daily Mail

Now it seems pupils really are all on the same wavelength when they are enjoying their class. Using portable scanners, scientists found that the brainwaves of children synchronised with each other when they were engaged with the subject. The New York University study also discovered that pairs of students who were close to each other were more in synchrony. The phenomenon can also occur when two or more people have a good conversation, dance – or even carry a heavy piece of furniture, according to the research published in Current Biology.

\http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4453552/Pupils-wavelength-enjoying-class.html

by eMarketer

This year, 47% of world’s population will access the internet. eMarketer has raised its projections for worldwide internet users for 2016 to 2021, mainly because of increases in China and other countries in Asia-Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe and Western Europe. According to eMarketer’s new report, “Worldwide Internet and Mobile Users: eMarketer’s Estimates for 2016-2021” (available only to eMarketer PRO subscribers), nearly 47% of the world’s population will use the internet at least once a month in 2017 (either via desktop/laptop or mobile device), a 6.1% increase vs. 2016. eMarketer estimates internet adoption will surpass the halfway mark in 2019, when 50.6% of the worldwide population will use the internet, equating to 3.82 billion people.

https://www.emarketer.com/Article/eMarketer-Updates-Worldwide-Internet-Mobile-User-Figures/1015770

BY GREG SMITH, eCampus News

UMUC is the largest online public university in the United States, celebrating our 70th year of serving adult students in Maryland and around the world. How do we provide near-ubiquitous access when students are geographically dispersed, use different types of computer platforms, and don’t have access to campus computer labs? Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) seemed like the solution. DaaS can help universities overcome access challenges by delivering industry-grade software to remote students. It was the solution we were looking for, but after deploying, we learned the current crop of virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) did not meet UMUC’s “Students First” philosophy.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/ed-tech-leadership/university-daas-online-students/

BY JULIA FREELAND FISHER, eCampus News

A leading education researcher looks at the evolution of “a disruptive force that is increasingly changing how we teach and learn.” As blended learning practices are becoming more widespread, it is increasingly challenging to collect accurate data on the number of schools that have gone blended, but by examining student enrollments in online courses and edtech vendor data, we estimate the number of students engaging in some kind of blended learning to be approximately 9 million, which represents about 20 percent of K-12 student enrollment. With so many students engaged in this mode of learning, it’s important to examine current trends and technologies to try and predict where blended learning could take students in the future.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2017/04/27/ed-future-trends-blended/

by Ross Rubin, CIO

Lower cost, course variety, schedule flexibility and the optional endorsement of top universities are among the forces driving the wave of online technical education. However, spotty feedback from teachers and follow-through from students can compromise the experience. Online providers of technical education courses include Udemy, a marketplace in which virtually anyone can offer instruction, and sites such as Coursera, edX and Udacity that partner with universities. New York-based General Assembly, which focuses on technical skills development, offers online companion courses to physical class offerings that can span a weekend or go on for months in one of its immersive programs. It has served more than 350,000 students

http://www.cio.com/article/3192199/it-industry/online-courses-become-effective-for-building-technical-skills-earning-certifications.html

by Autumn A. Arnett, Education Dive

According to a new report from Duo Labs Research, 70% of universities surveyed in a Freedom of Information inquiry have fallen victim to phishing scams in the last year. Several of the schools surveyed indicated multiple attacks, and 10% indicated 51 or more attacks in the last year. The report focused heavily on U.K. institutions, but Jordan Wright, Senior R&D Engineer at Duo Security, said via email, “[I]t’s safe to assume that U.S.-based universities are just as vulnerable to phishing attacks as those in the U.K.”

http://www.educationdive.com/news/70-of-uk-universities-are-phishing-victims-and-us-numbers-are-likely-sim/441348/

by Laura Pappano, the Hechinger Report

The bachelor’s degree may be the classic pass to join the world of work, but increasingly it’s no longer enough. We have entered a “prove it” economy in which codified skills are currency. It’s driving a revolution in how education is constructed, delivered, used — and credentialed. Even as degrees, from associates to doctorates, proliferate, they are joined — maybe trumped — by thousands of resume-worthy credentials from shorter, non-degree programs. Half of recent college graduates are not using skills they learned in college at work; 86 percent are learning new skills outside of college. The credentials come from many sources: traditional universities, online platforms like edX, trade organizations like the American Hotel and Lodging Institute and companies like Jiffy Lube and IBM. Content and costs vary. Some are earned in quick sessions; others take months.

http://hechingerreport.org/college-degree-outdated/

by eMarketer Daily

Twitter’s latest quarterly results indicate the social network has found its footing once again. While revenues declined for the first time ever, the company added 9 million more users. “We’re proud to report accelerating growth in daily active usage for the fourth consecutive quarter, up 14% year over year,” said Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in a statement. This year, eMarketer estimates Twitter’s worldwide user base will grow 3.4% to 255.3 million monthly users.

https://www.emarketer.com/Article/Twitter-Gains-More-Followers/1015764

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

Pokémon Go did two things for society; introduced us to the capabilities of augmented reality (AR) and showed us how much adults enjoyed catching virtual animals. Augmented reality in the education sector is growing, and as it does, it is important to look how the potential of AR can be harnessed in the classroom. While AR is primarily focused in the gaming industry (at the moment) statistics show that consumers value AR products 33% higher than non-augmented reality products and that students are naturally entranced by how AR can change the world around them. However, while it may be the new “it” technology, educators need to understand how they can incorporate AR into their classrooms if it is to be used to its full potential.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/use-augmented-reality-education/

by ANUSHREE SINGH, Business Insider India

Nearly two years after Coursera released a survey reporting widespread career and educational impact of online courses for Indians, it has now come out with ‘2017 Learner Outcomes Survey’ which shows its online learners are reporting even greater benefits than before. 89% of Indian learners among working professionals and job seekers (“career builders”), reported career benefits compared to 84% globally, 84% in the US and 86% in the UK. In India, 46% of career builders reported to have got better in their jobs, and 39% reported to have improved their candidacy for a new job.

http://www.businessinsider.in/the-secret-behind-why-coursera-courses-are-becoming-a-hit-with-indians/articleshow/58382308.cms

By Sri Ravipati, Campus Technology

Massive open online course (MOOC) provider edX launched a new line of programs that are designed to build or advance critical skills for in-demand careers like software development and data science. Professional Certificate programs “provide learners with a more immediate path to reskill or upskill quickly in order to advance their career or position themselves for a new job,” according to the announcement. Each offers a series of courses created in collaboration with industry professionals and universities, focusing on job competencies and professional development in fields like computer science, data science and digital marketing. According to the edX announcement, “certificates are endorsed by corporations like HSBC, GitHub and The North Face, and recognized for real career relevancy.”

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/04/26/edx-certificate-programs-aim-to-deliver-immediate-pathways-to-careers.aspx