Techno-News Blog

by Jenny Sakr, Career Faqs

Online learning has a different set of requirements and can demand more motiviation, self-discipline and a greater level of commitment than heading to class on-campus. On the other hand, if you’re juggling a full-time job and other commitments, online study means greater flexibility. “Students often assume online programs require less work and are easier than on-campus courses. In reality, online classes are designed to be equally as rigorous and demanding as traditional courses. You need to genuinely apply yourself to get through.”

https://www.careerfaqs.com.au/news/news-and-views/make-online-learning-work-for-you

by Matt Parke, Working Nation

Solutions tells the stories of three individuals whose lives were changed by the non-profit organization Per Scholas and a manufacturing apprenticeship from Trident Technical College and Cummins Inc. Their pathways to in-demand careers in cybersecurity, information technology and advanced manufacturing may be different, but they are united by a common thread. Each subject is gaining new skills without going the traditional route of a four-year college. With more than 6 million job openings and higher education slowly adapting to the new normal of rapid technological change, getting a better read on skills training is essential to keeping our workers moving forward.

What works? Evidence-based training programs do

by Victor Tangermann, Futurism

Not only are passwords obsolete, they in fact pose a huge risk.  Luckily, the FIDO (“Fast IDentity Online”) Alliance is coming to the rescue. The organization developed a brand new standard called “Web Authentication” – WebAuthn, Motherboard reports. Now any web site that uses the application interface could require users to log in with at least two or more steps of authentication, with the ability to use biometric data for one or more of them. Now that basically every recent smartphone is equipped with at least one kind of biometric sensor— fingerprint-readers, facial recognition software in the cameras — the time is finally ripe. WebAuthn is easy enough to use on a smartphone, then, but what about devices that don’t have a fingerprint or face-reading device? This is where things aren’t quite so seamless — they’ll need an external piece of hardware to comply with the WebAuthn standard. Security hardware companies such as Yubico have developed hardware keys that act like a USB-stick-like authenticator.

https://futurism.com/passwords-biometric-security-keys/

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

Rare is the campus with total coverage of cellular service. Maybe the problem surfaces for your institution in its basement-level spaces, or that oldest building on campus with walls built to bomb-shelter standards, or the newest, LEED-certified facility that uses energy-efficient glass or other construction materials that block radio frequency. Whatever the site or cause, it’s a big problem. Most mobile traffic originates inside buildings (ABI Research pegs it at more than 80 percent), so people get frustrated when they can’t use their devices to make a phone call — particularly in an emergency.  What’s needed is a service that’s as simple to use as cellular but as pervasive and inexpensive as WiFi. 3.5 gigahertz Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) may be the answer. This frequency could provide a cost-effective link between cellular and WiFi.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2018/04/05/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-3-5-ghz-band-on-campus.aspx

By Dan McGowan, Inside Indiana Business
A new charter school in central Indiana plans to blend the teachings of a traditional Hoosier career path with modern technology. The Indiana Agriculture & Technology School is an online public school that is tuition-free, and as part of the learning process, students spend time on a 600-acre farm north of Morgantown. The hands-on opportunities include courses and instruction in animal, plant and soil science, forestry and conservation and farming.

http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/story/37897579/new-ag-school-both-hands-on-and-online

by Matt Krupnick, Hechinger Report

Distance and technology hinder the college aspirations of a surprising number of rural Americans. About 3 million adults live more than 25 miles from a college or university and lack the sufficient internet speeds to take online courses, the Urban Institute reported in February. While that’s only 1.3 percent of the nation’s population, nearly 12 percent of Native Americans and indigenous Alaskans live in these so-called education deserts, the institute found. That makes them 16 percentage points less likely to attend college than Americans who live close to college campuses, and even less likely to complete it — by 18 percentage points.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/millions-of-u-s-adults-live-in-education-deserts-far-from-colleges-and-fast-internet

by the Cherokee Nation

The Cherokee Nation and Rogers State University are teaming up to connect more Cherokee Nation citizens to the Cherokee language through a new, online learning platform. RSU Public TV’s continuing education and enrichment program, RSU Works, is linking students to the tribe’s online language courses taught by instructor Ed Fields. This is the first time registration for the Cherokee Nation’s free classes is available both through the tribe’s official website www.cherokee.org and through www.RSUworks.org. “This is just the first phase of the partnership with RSU,” said Cherokee Nation Cherokee Language Program Manager Roy Boney. “Our larger goals are to expand our online class offerings, including adding a self-guided online language class that will feature pre-recorded videos and interactive lesson modules.

http://www.cherokee.org/News/Stories/20180405_Cherokee-Nation-RSU-offering-Cherokee-language-classes-online

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

Tneed to realize that the vetting of edtech products may be minimal to nonexistent. Teacher education programs have not emphasized the factors that should be involved in selecting instructional materials since teachers—especially newer ones—usually relied on well-established textbooks that had been through a thorough review process. But with the rise of websites such as Teachers Pay Teachers, even novice teachers now need to be experts in assessing materials before they, for example, purchase a Google Slide deck created by another teacher to use in their classrooms. In other words, it is long past time to reconsider the trust that most people place in edtech.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/reexamining-the-trust-we-place-in-edtech/

By: Jill Alred and Candace Adams, Faculty Focus

Online learning presents new challenges beyond those of a traditional classroom because students must become more responsible for their learning. Many learners are unfamiliar with the online learning environment, which may include unfamiliar technology, isolation from instructors and university staff, and a lack of face-to-face interaction other learners. As online instructors, we must give additional attention to strategies that will keep our learners engaged, create a successful learning environment, and provide a rewarding learning experience where learners feel supported, valued, and connected.

https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/strategies-for-creating-a-successful-online-classroom/

By KYLE SPENCER, NY Times

Community colleges have long catered to low-income students who dream of becoming the first in their families to earn a college degree. And for many, that remains their central mission. But as middle- and upper-middle-class families like the Shahverdians face college prices in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, more of them are looking for ways to spend less for their children’s quality education.  “This is about social norms,” said Sara Goldrick-Rab, a professor of higher education policy and sociology at Temple University in Philadelphia. “More middle-class parents are saying, I’m not succumbing to the idea that the only acceptable education is an expensive one.”

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

One of the most recent disruptions in edtech occurred a few years ago when a significant number of US universities began providing full degree programs online for remote learners to access. Though it caused consternation among traditionalists, this change was ultimately a positive one as it widened access to tertiary education and generated a significant amount of additional revenue for universities.  In the case of the online college degrees mentioned above, for example, the new market consisted of remote learners. Artificial intelligence, gamification, and m-learning are predicted to be some of the key disruptors in higher education technology in 2018. So, are we ready for this disruption when it hits us? In an important sense, we can never be fully prepared for disruption. This is because disruption brings with it unforeseen consequences and new horizons. Nevertheless, there are three essential ways that higher education institutions can prepare themselves to make the most of disruption in edtech.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/really-ready-disruption-edtech/

by Gina Krishnan , Business Today
“Online learning is about lifelong learning,” says Ishan Gupta, Managing Director, Udacity, India. What he means is that the speed of change in the IT industry – and its ripple effect across other industries – requires professionals today to keep upgrading their knowledge and skills throughout their working lives. Those who stop doing so, cease to acquire further qualifications at the right time, risk redundancy, as the current paradox in the IT industry clearly shows – even as experts in Data Analytics, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Blockchain and more are in desperate demand, large numbers of people are being laid off.

https://www.businesstoday.in/magazine/the-hub/rise-of-the-net-trainers/story/273850.html

by NEIL C. HUGHES, the Next Web

The stakes are now much higher than a large corporation experiencing a data breach. We have already seen the devastating effects that a cyberattack can have on the aviation industry. Attacks on power grids and even hospitals highlight how everything with an online connection is now a target. The genie is officially out of the bottle, and it has never been easier to learn the tricks of the trade online. Machine-learning software is readily available, and video tutorials are also just a search away. By automating the tailoring of content to a potential victim, cybercriminals can quite quickly wreak havoc on a business or individual.

https://thenextweb.com/contributors/2018/04/05/cybersecurity-ai/

By PHILLIP ERICKSEN, Waco Tribune

Virtual reality, defined as a computer-generated simulation of an interactive three-dimensional environment, has wide potential, from entertainment to education. VR is already in use for general instruction in some college classrooms, and Baylor officials are exploring its potential. Education by VR is far more relaxing than the nightmarish fantasies some games feature. One application at Baylor lets users take close looks at human anatomy — lungs before and after years of smoking, for instance, or immersive experiences inside of a stomach.

http://www.wacotrib.com/news/higher_education/virtual-reality-excites-baylor-students-professors-for-the-future/article_2552eb05-e81f-5392-9bc5-6955c0673e09.html

by Patrick O’Grady, Valley News

The decision to close the Granite State College campus on Pleasant Street is a reflection of the rapidly changing method of taking courses to earn degrees, college President Mark Rubinstein said this week. Granite State, which opened in the city to great fanfare in 2006, officially moved out of the renovated first floor of the former Odd Fellows building at the end of March, when the lease expired. In a phone interview this week, Rubinstein said more and more students have elected to take courses online rather than in a classroom setting, a shift that led to the decision late last year to close the Claremont campus.

http://www.vnews.com/Granite-state-college-sees-no-need-for-Pleasant-Street-presence-with-more-and-more-students-taking-classes-online-16651079

by Marilyn Odendahl, the Indiana Lawyer

Now, the American Bar Association appears poised to allow law schools to meet the demand for more online options. The Council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar has proposed a new rule for distance education that would increase the amount of law courses that can be taught on the internet. Under the current Standard 306, law schools may not grant more than 15 credit hours from online courses toward a J.D. degree, and may not enroll any first-year students in distance education. The proposed new rule would permit law schools to offer up to one-third of the credits for a J.D. degree online, and first-year students would be able to take up to 10 credits online.

https://www.theindianalawyer.com/articles/46586-aba-proposal-would-allow-law-schools-to-offer-more-classes-online

by Sean Michael Morris, Inside Higher Ed

Learning done online — from automated corporate training to classes offered in an LMS to MOOCs — has always been viewed with some skepticism, viewed as something “less than.” And for most of its evolution, online learning has warranted this criticism. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy made possible by antiquated pedagogies and educational technologies that limit teaching to button mashing, knowledge consumption and test taking.  But we’re not still in those early years. It’s not pragmatic today to think that classroom and online college experiences can remain separate — in terms of quality, but especially in terms of ideology.

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/views/2018/04/04/are-we-giving-online-students-education-all-nuance-and-complexity

by Ned Lautenbach, Orlando Sentinel

Online education expands access. A new report by the Board of Governors, which oversees Florida’s 12 public universities, shows that 65 percent of undergraduates who took only distance-learning courses during the 2016-2017 academic year were women, a group with a history of underrepresentation in STEM fields. Similarly, the average age for students in distance-learning programs is 28 (compared to 22 for traditional programs), indicating that students are advancing their educations at a time when they’re likely to have family or job responsibilities.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-ed-state-push-for-online-learning-benefits-all-stem-too-20180403-story.html

BY GEORGIA MARIANI, eCampus News

Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio has been a leader in the use of data and analytics for years, thanks to the efforts of Karl Konsdorf, Sinclair’s director of research, analytics, and reporting.   Konsdorf deployed a new data-visualization strategy that allows users to conduct interactive reporting, visual data discovery, and self-service analytics. Enrollment managers, department heads, deans, and advisers can interact with reports, collaborate on insights, and slice and dice data to make proactive decisions about enrollment, retention, performance, and degree completion. For example, what is enrollment this year compared with the same time last year? Based on his data-visualization success, Konsdorf offers the following five tips for colleges and universities hoping to increase self-service access to reports so that decision-makers can quickly get the answers they need.

5 tips to empower users with data visualization

by Jarrett Carter, Education Dive
A new survey of online education leaders from Quality Matters and Eduventures Research indicates that instructional design (ID) support can be a major part of how well online learners interact with each other in digital classrooms, as reported in Campus Technology. Courses where ID professionals were mandated to support classroom created a nearly 30% increase in student-to-student engagement against classroom where instructional design personnel were not used or not a mandated resource in the learning experience. According to Campus Technology, only 31% of 182 surveyed chief online officers said their campuses required instructional design input in online offerings, and that most ID help was requested for large online programs and mostly used at for-profit institutions in comparison to four-year and two-year institutions.  Common reasons participants gave for not including ID in were a lack of resources and to preserve faculty independence in teaching and learning.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/instructional-design-improves-engagement-in-online-courses/

by Shalina Chatlani, Education Dive
With greater demand surrounding accelerated degree options and the ability to help students cut the cost of tuition, colleges like American University, Drexel University and Georgia State University, among others, are investing in quality fast-track programs that allow students to officially graduate earlier with the help of advisors and school support, reports the Chronicle of Higher Education.  Purdue University’s “Degree in 3” option has been growing in popularity, as the institution has begun advertising the program more heavily, and out-of-state students are realizing they can save around $20,000 on tuition — which can help the institution stand out in a competitive college choice marketplace, particularly for students who want to enter the workforce more quickly. Officials are aware, however, that the institution must confront a reality that the college experience is more than just classes and traditional students may not be attracted to the option,

https://www.educationdive.com/news/fast-track-degrees-can-pay-off-for-students-and-institutions-but-theres-a/