Techno-News Blog

December 17, 2017

Moody’s: Higher education sector outlook negative

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by Shalina Chatlani, Education Dive

The credit-rating agency Moody’s downgraded the outlook of the higher education sector from stable to negative, reports the Chronicle of Higher Education. Moody’s cites the industry’s inability to lower tuition rates and uncertainty around potential federal policy and tax reform changes, which could have an impact on “enrollment and tuition-revenue growth, philanthropic support and the cost of borrowing.” Moody’s assigned a negative rating to the sector in 2013, but amended it to stable two years later in anticipation that states would increase funding and revenue would grow at four-year institutions.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/moodys-higher-education-sector-outlook-negative/512351/

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‘New education methods will transform the way students learn’

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by Lalatendu Mishra, the Hindu

Education is set for massive transformation as technology is ushering in a new era in the field of learning, said T.V. Mohandas Pai , Chairman Aarin Capital. In the new scheme of things the student would be at the core and would decide as well as create her/his own degree at one’s own pace and medium. Mr. Pai, former Infosys CFO, and who is also Chairman, Manipal Global Education Services, explains what Education 4.0 is all about.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-business/new-education-methods-will-transform-the-way-students-learn/article21383774.ece

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December 16, 2017

BU End-of-semester course evaluations go digital

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by Sarika Ram, Daily Free Press

The Boston University provost-appointed Task Force on Evaluating Teaching initiated an expanded pilot program for online course evaluations — in lieu of paper evaluations — in several BU schools this semester. The pilot program was launched to address student requests for online evaluation forms, Gillian Pierce, the university’s director of learning assessment and task force chair, said. “Students have been wanting online course evaluations for a long time now, and they also have wanted results to be shared with them, so in response to that, we had asked for this expanded pilot of online course evaluations,” Pierce said. The task force first successfully tested online evaluation forms last spring in a select number of College of Arts and Sciences courses. Most notable in their results, Pierce said, was the fact that students responded at the same rate for the online evaluations as for paper evaluations, an initial concern to faculty, warranting the expanded pilot.

http://dailyfreepress.com/2017/12/10/end-semester-course-evaluations-go-digital/

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Cybersecurity trends for 2018

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by Debbie Garside, CSO Online

So, what exactly will 2018 have in store? McAfee Inc.’s recent threats predictions report identified five key cyber security trends to watch in 2018:

  • An adversarial machine learning “arms race” between attackers and defenders
  • Ransomware to evolve from traditional PC extortion to IoT, high net-worth users, and corporate disruption
  • Serverless Apps to create attack opportunities targeting privileges, app dependencies, and data transfers
  • Connected home devices to surrender consumer privacy to corporate marketers
  • Consumer apps collection of children’s content to pose long-term reputation risk

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3241122/cyber-attacks-espionage/cybersecurity-trends-for-2018.html

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New zero-cost textbook classes minimize educational barriers

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by David Neder, Pasadena City College Courier

Recently, Pasadena City College took action to create an easier way for students to take classes without the need of purchasing expensive textbooks. Beginning during the Winter 2018 intersession, students are able to search the course catalog for classes that only use zero-cost textbooks. This applies to not only traditional classes, but also online classes. These classes will utilize only open educational resources (OER) available for free online. The initiative is part of the College Textbook Affordability Act that was passed back in 2015 by the state of California.

http://www.pcccourier.com/news/new-zero-cost-textbook-classes-minimize-educational-barriers.html

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December 15, 2017

Education technology meets its limits

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by Ryan Craig, TechCrunch

One of the challenges facing online providers is the question of efficacy. It turned out that the online education revolution wasn’t in quality or outcomes, but rather access — allowing millions of Americans to pursue degrees on their own time. Completion rates remain low and prominent researchers have questioned the return on investment of online programs. Concerns about quality may explain why none of the major employers associated with Coursera and Udacity have committed to hire or even interview graduates of these novel online programs. No one seemed surprised at VentureBeat’s report from mid-2017 that of the 10,000 nanodegree graduates, “more than 1,000 participants have found jobs” — a ~10 percent placement rate that should spell the demise of any last-mile program.

https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/08/education-technology-meets-its-limits/

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Online Students Can Build In-Person Relationships

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By Olena Reid, US News

Opportunities are available for online students to engage with classmates at local and on-campus events.  Even in an online degree program, whether you live close to the school’s campus or hundreds of miles away, you have ways to meet classmates, faculty and alumni in person. If your main hesitation in pursuing an online education is the fear of being isolated, know that you will likely have opportunities to engage with others face to face. Here are four examples.

https://www.usnews.com/education/online-learning-lessons/articles/2017-12-08/online-students-can-build-in-person-relationships

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How Stony Brook U. launched a successful mobile app for student engagement

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By Patti Zarling, Education Dive
More than 60 percent of freshmen walking the Stony Brook University campus in New York this fall downloaded the new Guide app onto their smartphones — a type of personal college advisor in their pockets. But Stony Brook isn’t the first institution to take up this trend.  Actually, it’s one of 50 schools throughout the U.S. to be an early adopter of Guide, which helps students choose the right major, navigate requirements from financial aid to course registration, make advising appointments and stay on top of important dates and deadlines. About 5,100 Stony Brook students — half of which were new and the other continuing students or upperclassmen — downloaded the free app.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/how-stony-brook-u-launched-a-successful-mobile-app-for-student-engagement/512335/

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December 14, 2017

Republican proposal could create bigger role for private industry in higher education

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By Jillian Berman, MarketWatch

The bill proposes limiting the federal government’s role in regulating colleges, capping graduate student borrowing, making it easier for schools to limit undergraduate borrowing and overhauling the student loan repayment system.  Much of the proposal that House Republicans released last week is controversial and likely won’t make it into the final law, but the plan provides an indication of Congressional Republicans’ priorities for the nation’s higher education system. Those priorities include limiting the federal government’s role in regulating colleges, capping graduate student borrowing, making it easier for schools to limit undergraduate borrowing — and overhauling the student loan repayment system. Many of those moves have the potential to create a larger role for private industry.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/republican-proposal-could-create-bigger-role-for-private-industry-in-higher-education-2017-12-04

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3 ways of leveraging STEM expertise for ed tech success

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By Shalina Chatlani, Education Divev
When it comes to successful integration of technology — whether it’s a new learning management system across multiple campuses or video capture tools in the classroom — poor implementation or haphazard rollout can end up costing the institution more than the initial investment. Recently, for example, the state of Washington paid $2.6 million to settle a dispute after it canceled a contract with an ed tech company following its inability to effectively install a computer software program. But leveraging the talents of faculty and students with STEM skills in the ed tech decision making and adoption process may help alleviate some of the challenges. In some cases, as suggested by Virginia Tech CIO Scott Midkiff in conversation with Education Dive, integrating campus members can also cut costs the might come from hiring more IT staff and build technical expertise among technology users.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/3-ways-of-leveraging-stem-expertise-for-ed-tech-success/512544/

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Young Canadians lead the way in attending online course

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by Alex Coop, IT World Canada

Young Canadians aren’t shying away from online courses. According to the The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) latest Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard for Canada, more than 77 per cent of Canadians aged 16-24 attended online courses in 2016, nearly doubling runners-up Brazil (43 per cent) and Korea (40 per cent). For Canada, this was a small increase from 2009, when 72.4 per cent of Canadians in the same age group attended online courses. More than 93 of Canadian universities offer online courses and programs, says a 2015 survey from an EduConsillium.

https://www.itworldcanada.com/article/young-canadians-lead-the-way-in-attending-online-course/399675

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December 13, 2017

Virtual and Augmented Reality to Nearly Double Each Year Through 2021

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By Joshua Bolkan, Campus Technology
Spending on augmented and virtual reality will nearly double in 2018, according to a new forecast from International Data Corp. (IDC), growing from $9.1 billion in 2017 to $17.8 billion next year. The market research company predicts that aggressive growth will continue throughout its forecast period, achieving an average 98.8 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2017 to 2021. Consumer spending will be the single largest source of spending on AR and VR in the near term, accounting for $6.8 billion in 2018, with about three quarters of that spending going toward virtual reality hardware and software. The majority of spending on augmented reality in 2018 will go toward software. Spending by consumers will grow more modestly than the market overall, increasing at an average CAGR of 45.2 percent to reach $20 billion in 2021. Gaming will be the leading consumer use case for VR and AR throughout the forecast period.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/12/04/virtual-and-augmented-reality-to-nearly-double-each-year-through-2021.aspx

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December 12, 2017

Leaders dissect the partisan divide over higher education’s value

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by Autumn A. Arnett, Education Dive

“How can higher education be so bad when there’s so much data” from analytics on jobs and earnings data to quality of life indicators, constantly showing all of the positive outcomes associated with a college degree, asked Shaun Harper, Executive Director of the USC Race and Equity Center and a professor of education and business at the University of Southern California. The question was posed during the Higher Education Government Relations Conference in San Diego Wednesday as a response to a growing partisan divide — and specifically, what seems to be a Republican retreat — on the value of higher education. “I don’t think it’s that necessarily Republicans hate higher ed and Democrats love it, I think it’s that nobody knows what to do with it,” said Arizona Board of Regents President Eileen Klein.

Story continues below

https://www.educationdive.com/news/leaders-dissect-the-partisan-divide-over-higher-educations-value/512513/

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U Maryland Baltimore County Plugs in Hybrid Reality Wall

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By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology
The University of Maryland Baltimore County last month cut the ribbon on a new immersive “hybrid reality” lab for working with 3D, virtual reality and augmented reality. The University of Maryland Baltimore County last month cut the ribbon on a new immersive “hybrid reality” lab for working with 3D, virtual reality and augmented reality. The university said the technology will facilitate new research efforts with visual exploration of data for biology, math, engineering, visual arts and digital humanities while also serving as a tool for studying the potential of the medium itself. “π²” — pi squared — as it’s called, features a curved wall with 50 million-pixel resolution. The wall stands 15 feet tall by 20 feet wide. It was made from multi-column, thin-bezel, stereo-capable LCDs and is intended to accommodate a variety of uses: immersion, hybrid reality, high resolution, large field of view, large space and size, body-centric human-computer interaction and support for data fusion.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/12/04/u-maryland-baltimore-county-plugs-in-hybrid-reality-wall.aspx

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This is how you measure the viability of academic programs

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 12:12 am

BY KARLI GRANT, eCampus News
One of the most frequent questions I hear when visiting colleges and universities is, “What about a tool for measuring the viability of our academic programs?” Institutions are seeking greater insight into the true value of programs beyond traditional metrics or accounting methods, especially as budgets continue to shrink and regulatory accountability for student outcomes increases. This is difficult to achieve through traditional higher education accounting, in which revenues, program needs, and student success initiatives are often opaque to each other and treated as discrete functions. To gain greater insight into program and institutional ROI, more institutions are looking at the way businesses use activity-based costing to determine the bottom line value of products and services. The goal is to tie the cost of these discrete functions to the big picture of operational and student success.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/campus-administration/viability-academic-programs/

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December 11, 2017

Google’s ‘superhuman’ AlphaZero AI

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By SHIVALI BEST and JOE PINKSTONE, Daily Mail

Google’s latest artificial intelligence, AlphaZero, has defeated one of the best chess programs in the world after learning the game from scratch in just four hours. The ‘superhuman’ AlphaZero AI played 100 games against rival computer program Stockfish 8, and won or drew all of them. The AI is the work of Google’s DeepMind division, and is the latest in a series of incredible AI achievements by the company. An earlier version of the machine, dubbed AlphaGo, was able to defeat the world’s top human players of the Chinese board game Go.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5155009/Googles-AI-mastered-chess-four-hours-scratch.html

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Google’s ‘superhuman’ AlphaZero AI

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 12:20 am

By SHIVALI BEST and JOE PINKSTONE, Daily Mail

Google’s latest artificial intelligence, AlphaZero, has defeated one of the best chess programs in the world after learning the game from scratch in just four hours. The ‘superhuman’ AlphaZero AI played 100 games against rival computer program Stockfish 8, and won or drew all of them. The AI is the work of Google’s DeepMind division, and is the latest in a series of incredible AI achievements by the company. An earlier version of the machine, dubbed AlphaGo, was able to defeat the world’s top human players of the Chinese board game Go.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5155009/Googles-AI-mastered-chess-four-hours-scratch.html

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As online learning tools for preschoolers prove popular with parents, experts warn against excess screen time

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By Madeleine Cummings, Edmonton Examiner

Advocates argue online tools help prepare young children for kindergarten, but early education experts urge caution when it comes to putting children in front of screens for long periods of time. “It’s very much a supplement for classroom education,” said Zachary Katz, the senior vice-president of corporate development for Age of Learning (the company behind ABCmouse Early Learning Academy.) He said 45 minutes with the program per week is enough for children to see meaningful gains in early literacy and math. Rachel Johnson’s daughter and son used Starfall, Reading Eggs, BrainPOP Jr., and IXL to learn letter and number recognition and introductory phonics.

http://www.edmontonexaminer.com/2017/12/06/as-online-learning-tools-for-preschoolers-prove-popular-with-parents-experts-warn-against-excess-screen-time

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December 10, 2017

The Case for Synchronous Online Courses

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By Henry Kronk, eLearning Inside

For many learners, online degrees are ideal because they are non-synchronous. They allow people to complete their studies and further their career on their own time, outside of a semester schedule. They can keep their jobs, maintain their roles in their family, and remain with their community while learning.  This benefit also has its downsides. Most importantly for many learners, remote degrees can feel isolating. Many people hope to engage with their instructors and other learners while they get their degree. These relationships can lead to friendships and helpful professional connections Unfortunately, many iterations of eLearning—such as most MOOCs, many online university degrees, coding bootcamps, and other programs—do not allow for a social learning experience.

The Case for Synchronous Online Courses

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WHY EDUCATORS MAKE SOME OF THE BEST EDTECH ENTREPRENEURS

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By Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

It’s no secret that many teachers leave their jobs to pursue more lucrative careers. About one-third of teachers quit within the first five years of joining the profession. Where do they go? Some choose to stay in the field of education in a different way—by becoming EdTech entrepreneurs. Teachers who become EdTech entrepreneurs are often very successful. So why do teachers make some of the best EdTech entrepreneurs? The number one reasons educators make great EdTech entrepreneurs may be simply that teachers know what teachers need and want. EdTech entrepreneurs who come from the tech field and have never been in a classroom don’t understand the unique needs of classroom teachers. Teachers can imagine how students will use certain devices or apps. They can foresee the problems a new technology might create. Teachers are experts at figuring out what helps students and what students will misuse. For this reason, teachers make superb EdTech entrepreneurs.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/educators-make-best-edtech-entrepreneurs/

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Research proves learning is a lifelong process

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by Peter Rule, The Conversation

Aging brings a slight deterioration in functions like short-term memory. But it has the advantage of accumulated experience. This means you know what you want to learn and how you want to apply it, and can link it to experience and concepts you’ve already acquired. Children at school typically learn a prescribed curriculum for future application. Adults tend to choose their learning and want it to count here and now. Learning as an adult is not easy. You have to admit what you don’t know. Sometimes past learning experiences have been negative and associated with feelings of fear and failure. And adults have multiple responsibilities: work, family, social involvements and ageing parents, to name a few. Learning means negotiating these commitments and your own feelings. When you decide to embark on new studies, it’s important to let those around you know; explain how it will change things and enlist their support.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-12-lifelong.html

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