By Jordan Friedman, US News
Despite what some prospective students may believe, many online degree programs still allow for plenty of student interaction. When looking into different online undergraduate or graduate programs, prospective students should understand whether they will be part of a cohort, although this type of program’s exact structure may vary among schools. Here are three aspects to know about completing an online degree in a cohort.
Share on FacebookBy Joshua Bolkan, THE Journal
The Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) has launched a national initiative designed to help close the gender gap in STEM education and employment over the next eight years. The organization aims to raise $70 million put 2.5 million girls through their STEM programs by 2025. The initiative is just the latest measure from the organization designed to address gender equity in STEM fields. GSUSA launched 23 STEM and outdoor badges earlier this year and plans to add 18 cybersecurity badges and a series of space science badges over the next two years.
By Dian Schaffhauser, THE Journal
An organization focused on reducing prejudice and supporting equitable school experiences for all students is pointing educators to a set of resources that will help them teach digital literacy in their schools. Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, has defined digital literacy as a kind of “civic literacy,” enabling people to identify faulty information online, participate meaningfully in online communities, resist malevolent forces online, use the internet for good and understand the online landscape.
Share on FacebookBy Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology
According to a new national survey, online and adult students are generally more satisfied with their overall college experience than traditional on-campus students. The 2017 National Student Satisfaction and Priorities Report from Ruffalo Noel Levitz, a provider of enrollment management, student success and fundraising solutions for higher education, found that 67 percent of adult learners and 74 percent of online students rated their satisfaction level as “satisfied” or “very satisfied,” while only 53 percent of students at four-year public institutions and 54 percent at four-year privates said the same. Students at two-year public institutions and career schools were in the middle, at 64 percent and 66 percent satisfied, respectively.
Share on FacebookBy Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology
Higher education people most often turn to each other when they’re trying to make decisions about education technology. And it’s not uncommon for them to start with a particular technology and then find a problem to solve, vs. identifying a pedagogical need and then looking for the tech tools that would address the challenges.
Share on FacebookBy Joshua, Campus Technology
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a desktop 3D printer that they say is up to 10 times faster than those currently commercially available. Anastasios John Hart, associate professor of mechanical engineering and director of MIT’s Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity and the Mechanosynthesis Group, partnered with Jamison Go, a former graduate researcher in Hart’s lab, identified in a previous paper three issues that slow down printer performance.
https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/11/30/mit-researchers-speed-up-3d-printing-10-times.aspx
Share on FacebookBY EARL D. LAING, eSchoolNews
If your school hasn’t thought about cybersecurity as a growing concern, it’s time to learn what the threats are and what you should be doing to keep your school, and its data, protected. You’d be hard-pressed today to find a school that doesn’t consider safety a high priority. We go to great lengths to keep those inside school walls safe, running drills and spreading awareness in case of threat. There’s one kind of threat schools often overlook when it comes to safety, however, and that’s cyber attack.
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by Michigan State University
The first-ever study of Michigan State University’s pioneering robot-learning course shows that online students who use the innovative robots feel more engaged and connected to the instructor and students in the classroom. Stationed around the class, each robot has a mounted video screen controlled by the remote user that lets the student pan around the room to see and talk with the instructor and fellow students participating in-person. The study, published in Online Learning, found that robot learning generally benefits remote students more than traditional videoconferencing, in which multiple students are displayed on a single screen.
https://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2017/12/robot-learning-improves-online-student-engagement
Share on Facebookby Matthew Lynch, tech Edvocate
Video games used were originally used to entertain children, young adults, and even adults. The advent of more platforms paved the way to incorporate educational concepts in video games, injecting fun with the aid of technology in subjects that used to be taught conventionally in schools or at home. Kids do not have just to read books or watch documentaries about math, science, art, music or even sports; video games augment what was initially taught to them by engaging them in activities to apply what they have learned. Here are some video games from across different platforms that allow kids to learn while playing.
http://www.thetechedvocate.org/10-video-games-teach/
Share on Facebookby Matthew Lynch, tech Edvocate
Technology has been hailed by many as the answer to every problem in education. Digital technology is supposed to allow students to learn in entirely new ways, bringing new innovations to every classroom. But this isn’t always the case. In fact, many EdTech programs and tools are simply digitizing traditional teaching—and it isn’t innovation. Instead, teachers should be looking for ways to use technology to get students active. That doesn’t mean physically active, but mentally active. With technology, it’s possible to get students to do more critical thinking, evaluating, and creating. Students can take responsibility for their own learning.
http://www.thetechedvocate.org/digitizing-traditional-teaching-isnt-innovation/
Share on Facebookby Henry Kronk, eLearning Inside
Earlier this month, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said that he plans to establish a Commission on Digital Innovation and Lifelong Learning. The intent of the commission is to sound the depths of the current state of employment and the Massachusetts workforce. Baker hopes the commission will provide insight on how to create conditions and incentives for Massachusetts residents to more easily receive education and workforce training in growing fields. The announcement occurred at the recent “Governor’s Online Digital Learning Summit,” which was hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The summit brought together education administrators from the state government along with businesses and education institutions.
Share on FacebookMassachusetts Commits to Digital Education and Lifelong Learning
by Shalina Chatlani, Education Dive
Tech-savvy schools recognizing the world of work is changing dramatically are investing in more tools to better prepare students for employment. In an interview with Microsoft VP for worldwide education Anthony Salcito for Ed Tech Magazine, data collection tools to enhance student retention efforts and artificial intelligence to generate trends and projections with the collected data on student outcomes, as well as create more efficiencies in the management of campus life, were identified as two emerging trends. Institutions are also investing in collaboration technologies that can close digital skills gaps among students and better prepare them to enter a more technologically entrenched world of work, such as applications that allow students to better collaborate with each other outside of the classroom.
https://www.educationdive.com/news/3-ed-tech-trends-transforming-higher-ed/511938/
Share on Facebookby Greg Nichols, ZDNet
Sarcos Robotics, a Salt Lake City-based robotics company, has three new products at market or debuting soon. One is a small robotic snake, useful for industrial tasks such as pipeline inspection or for first responders conducting search & rescue or tactical response operations. Another is a hulking two-armed tele-operated robot that can be used for heavy construction or in nuclear power plants. The third is an exoskeleton suit that allows workers to nimbly perform the functions of a forklift. The technology is cool and worthy of the recent spate of coverage. But the really impressive thing about Sarcos is that its executive team seems to have figured out something that’s eluded countless other robotics developers: A bomb-proof go-to-market strategy.
Share on Facebookby Kathryn E. Linder, Tomorrow’s Professor
Over the past several decades, a wide range of technologies has emerged that are designed to assist in teaching and learning. Technology has changed every aspect of our lives, and the higher education classroom also feels that impact (Collins & Halverson, 2009). Distance education programs at institutions of higher education, which are often seen as a means to broaden enrollment and increase gross margins (e.g., see Parry, 2011), are continuing to grow (Allen & Seaman, 2014). Blended (also referred to as hybrid) courses, in which face-to-face interaction is combined with technology-enhanced or online activities to aid student learning, have also been posed as a possible solution to the question of how best to engage busy students in a cost-effective and learner-centered way. Major (2015) points out that, for some, blended is seen to be “the best of both worlds” (p. 82) because of the way it allows for both face-to-face interaction and online support structures. For many instructors across disciplines, a form of blended learning, termed flipped classrooms, has also gained popularity as a method to increase in-class active learning time by shifting delivery of content to the online environment.
https://tomprof.stanford.edu/posting/1607
Share on Facebookby Accredited Schools Online
MOOCs are online courses available to anyone with a computer and Internet connection. They offer students a way to learn in a setting similar to an online class, but are usually loosely structured and can be accessed without paying tuition or committing to an academic program. Whether a student should sign up for a MOOC will depend on his or her academic and professional goals. To learn just for fun or to get a certificate for a small fee, MOOCs are ideal.
https://www.accreditedschoolsonline.org/resources/moocs/
Share on FacebookBy Meg Lloyd, Campus Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology’s MAGIC Spell Studios explores the intersection of digital media, film, games and entrepreneurship. The facility breaks down silos between traditional fields such as arts, engineering and computing, and provides a commercial studio for all students, faculty and staff. Project lead Christopher Egert, MAGIC Spell Studios CTO and an associate professor at RIT’s School of Interactive Games & Media, explained, “The studio serves as a way to help students, faculty, industry partners and the community at large move ideas from prototype through commercial production, while at the same time working to support the educational goals, creativity and entrepreneurial potential of each student.”
https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/11/28/creating-a-space-for-digital-media-innovation.aspx
Share on FacebookBy Andrew Kreighbaum, Inside Higher Ed
Education secretary calls for more emphasis on work-force training. Many experts — including those focused on careers — say general education matters more than she suggests. The Trump administration’s higher education policy to date has consisted largely of undoing what it inherited — rolling back, for instance, ambitious Obama era regulations on for-profit colleges and campus policies on sexual assault. Observers looking for an affirmative, forward-looking agenda have been hard-pressed to find much so far. But Education Secretary Betsy DeVos this month provided as a clear a sense as observers have yet seen of her vision for her department’s role in, and agenda for, postsecondary education, with a set of comments signaling a shift in emphasis from education to training. In two separate forums this month, she said students have for years received a message that “the only path for a successful life” is through a four-year degree.
By Henry Kronk, eLearning Inside
The announcement was made at the recent “Governor’s Online Digital Learning Summit,” which went down at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) last month. The summit brought together businesses, higher education institutions, and the state government headed by Governor Charlie Baker to discuss the future of education for both K-12-age and adult residents. Paul Fama, a representative of GE, said that anyone who completes an edX MicroMasters program in supply chain management, cybersecurity, cloud computing, or artificial intelligence and resides in the state will be guaranteed at least an interview.
Share on FacebookBy: Eileen F. Schiffer, Faculty Focus
Trends toward increased enrollment of non-traditional students are expected to continue (Stringer, 2015). Discussions about nontraditional college students often highlight some of the challenges our adult students face, such as balancing work, family, and school commitments, overcoming previous academic patterns that no longer serve them, and adapting to new approaches to learning (such as online classes.) The flip side, though, is that many non-traditional students bring a wealth of personal and professional experience to their pursuit of a new degree, which serves to the benefit their academic cohort (Stringer, 2015). Many non-traditional adult students are “career enhancers” (Pelletier, 2010) By 2021, it’s expected that nearly 7 million postsecondary students will be attending part time, and enrollment of students over age 35 will increase 25%. The total number of master’s degrees awarded is projected to increase 34% and doctoral degrees are expected to increase by 24% (Hussar & Bailey, 2013).
Share on Facebookby the 74 million
Upstart launched in Utah in 2009 as a low-cost option to expand preschool in a state that didn’t have a state-funded program. Since then, it has been a particular boon for the state’s rural areas. About 30,000 Utah children have gone through the program over the past eight years, with about 14,150 participating this school year. It has also now spread to seven other states, where 700 early learners are enrolled. State and federal policymakers are increasingly recognizing the value of early education, especially in keeping the achievement gap more at bay for disadvantaged children before they enter kindergarten. Preschool programs teach younger children early literacy and math skills alongside essential social-emotional skills. About 1.5 million 3- and 4-year-olds were served in state-funded preschool programs in the 2015–16 school year, more than double the number enrolled in such programs in 2002, according to the National Institute for Early Education Research.
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by Cait Etherington, eLearning Inside
As reported in this year’s ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, for four years running, the number of students preferring a blended learning environment that includes “some to mostly online components” has increased while students preferring a face-to-face only learning environment has continued to decline. With student demand growing, in 2018, it seems likely that both colleges and universities will continue to scale up their online offerings.
https://news.elearninginside.com/elearning-will-grow-higher-ed-2018/
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