Techno-News Blog

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

Recognizing that data science is becoming the lingua franca of the 21st century, Purdue University has kicked off a new initiative to embed it in courses, physical spaces and industry collaborations. According to campus officials, the new Integrative Data Science Initiative (IDSI) will make data science education a part of every student’s learning experiences on campus, no matter what field he or she is studying. This follows on the university’s shift in 2013 to strengthen its institutional vision, “Purdue Moves,” in the area of STEM education.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2018/04/19/purdue-to-embed-data-science-into-every-major.aspx

By Shalina Chatlani, Education Dive

Now, the relatively new Internet-based innovation — blockchain technology — is gaining popularity, with the long-term potential to transform the way institutions provide value not only to students but also businesses.  Colleges and universities are recognizing that degrees are much like currency. They are sheets of paper that serve as an exchange with employers to signal the graduate has the types of skills that are necessary for the job. The better the degree, the more value a student may have in the workforce. By moving degrees into a form of digital record where the student can own it as a type of currency, rather than the institution holding it, they can put that currency into a massive decentralized network, much like bitcoin. This would allow employers to see students’ records more easily.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/institutional-innovation-how-blockchain-could-transform-student-roi/521540/

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

There’s one thing that a future ready instructional coach most definitely does not look like: an instructional coach from a decade ago. Today’s instructional coaches need to be aware of the latest edtech tools so that they can incorporate those tools into their materials. This is not a position where a practitioner can perfect her art and then merely reproduce the same thing from year to year. A good coach deploys the latest edtech. One easy way to do this is to use a framework designed to emphasize what students need to be future ready. Instructional coaches will quickly see that their role in curriculum, instruction, and assessment puts them on the front lines of helping prepare students to be future ready. But that’s not all. The framework encourages them to consider these questions:

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/what-does-a-future-ready-instructional-coach-look-like/

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

Have you noticed how prevalent Google is in today’s academics? Students from elementary school all the way through high school have taken a part in a monumental shift away from most sought-after products to the variety of apps and devices made by Google. In many ways, Google has made a lasting effort to take over the modern classroom with its variety and cost efficiency. Day by day, students are becoming more entrenched in what Google has to offer them.  If you aren’t sure what your students could be doing in Google on a daily basis, you’ve missed the transformation most often found in the contemporary classroom. Take a look at some of these important ways that Google is taking over.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/google-taking-classroom/

by Knowledge at Wharton

Mindfulness is a centuries-old idea that has been reinvented to address the challenges of our digital age. In essence, mindfulness describes a state of being present in the moment and leaving behind one’s tendency to judge. It allows one to pause amid the constant inflow of stimuli and consciously decide how to act, rather than react reflexively with ingrained behavior patterns. Mindfulness, therefore, is perfectly suited to counterbalance the digital-age challenges of information overload and constant distraction.

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/how-companies-can-instill-mindfulness/

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

First, be flexible. Quality instruction will involve a wide variety of activities, and the classroom should be designed to encourage this. If the arrangement isn’t flexible, it can result in, for example students having to crane their necks to see a presentation because their desk is positioned for small group work or students distracting each other because it is easier for them to see each other than to see a video playing at the front of the room. Second, think outside the box. Having a variety of seating options means that students can choose seating that they find comfortable, which can make it easier for them to focus. Ask for donations, hit up garage sales, and be creative with flexible seating options. Third, keep the clutter to a minimum.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/how-to-design-spaces-that-amplify-learning/

By Rob Marvin, PC Mag

PCMag got an exclusive look at Amazon’s new 3D development platform for building AR/VR apps, which feature walking, talking AI-infused characters called ‘hosts.’ Amazon is making a grand entrance into the augmented and virtual reality space with Sumerian, an all-in-one development platform that can build AR and VR apps for smartphones and headsets, and—soon enough—AR/VR apps that’ll run right in your browser. Within these experiences, Sumerian can create immersive virtual worlds populated by “hosts”—3D characters brought to life by the same artificial intelligence tech that powers Alexa. Sumerian is platform-agnostic. Rather than developing its own branded device or headset, Amazon opted for integration with existing offerings. Sumerian is built on open web standards and supports both Apple’s ARKit and Google’s ARCore, meaning app creators can build one Sumerian app that runs on Android, iOS, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and beyond.

https://www.pcmag.com/feature/360323/inside-sumerian-amazon-s-big-bet-on-augmented-and-virtual-re

by Sherrie Negrea, University Business

Formal and informal learning spaces transforming campuses internationally.  Active learning spaces are cropping up at campuses on nearly every continent as schools transform lecture halls, classrooms and informal study areas into collaborative technology hubs. While many international campuses have just started to create active learning spaces, others have been developing them for more than a decade.

https://www.universitybusiness.com/article/world-active-learning-higher-ed

by Matthew Lynley, TechCrunch

Ankur Nagpal started Teachable, a platform for experts that want to create a business around their coursework that helps them build an entire online education suite beyond just platforms like Coursera or Udemy. Niche expertise can be way too valuable for just a simple marketplace like Coursera,  Nagpal says, and experts in those areas — even seminars on mindfulness or Feng Shui — should be able to make more than just a few thousand dollars a year off that coursework. Nagpal said the company has raised an additional $4 million in equity from existing investors Accomplice Ventures and AngelList co-founder Naval Ravikant.

Teachable raises $4M to create a tool to turn any online class into a true business

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

The smartest ed tech entrepreneurs know that developing educational technology and selling it for profit involves much more than simply a “good idea.” There are major strategies involved – one key strategy is relocating to a city that is open to ed tech start-ups and entrepreneurs. And, let’s face it – not everyone can afford to live in Silicon Valley. Some cities are simply more affordable and more receptive. If you are serious about moving, here are the best cities for ed tech entrepreneurs.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/the-best-cities-for-ed-tech-entrepreneurs/

by Laura Ascione, eCampus News

Today, technology and digital learning are critical to students’ educational experiences, and institutions are using the physical campus footprints to incorporate technology that adapts to learning needs. Trends in university environments include constructing new environments to foster collaboration and new ideas, equipping learning spaces as smart environments with cutting-edge technology, following modern business models, and finding creative ways to repurpose unused campus space through partnerships.

10 new trends defining the state of higher education

By Colleen Flaherty, Inside Higher Ed

Concerned about the quality of graduate student advising, Stanford professors approve changes to advising requirements and guidelines.  In changes aimed at improving the quality of graduate student advising, Stanford University’s Faculty Senate last week voted to require departments to spell out advising expectations for both professors and students.  The body also voted to limit who can serve as a principal dissertation adviser for Ph.D. candidates to current Stanford professors who are active members of the campus’s Academic Council.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/04/16/stanford-seeks-improve-graduate-student-advising

By Cait Etherington, eLearning Inside

By and large, the gender gap in edtech reflects the gender gap in tech. In order words, with few exceptions, women represent less than half the workforce and occupy under 20% of tech roles. On a more promising note, however, most of the edtech companies we reached emphasized that they are aware of the problem and doing everything possible to bridge the gender gap moving forward.

Women in EdTech: Find Out Who Is Bridging the Gender Gap in Overall Workforce & Tech Roles

by Cindy Rampersaud, TES
The rise of the robots is often presented as a terrifying prospect for young people, writes one educationalist, but if we get education right, the technological future could prove to be a land of opportunity.  Technology and innovation; population and environmental change; urbanisation and globalisation; increasing inequality – all these are disrupting and influencing the demand for jobs and skills right now. But more is to come. Governments around the world – including in this country – are deeply concerned about artificial intelligence and technological advancement that we will witness in the imminent future. This is no longer sci-fi.

https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-views/pace-change-economy-might-be-scary-our-students-if-we-get-education

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

K-12 schools don’t always appreciate what type of technology they really need. They don’t attend industry conferences that help them to stay abreast of all the latest developments in technology.  This means that they can be easily swayed by representatives who do not have the students’ best interests in mind. Instead, they are only looking at how many sales they can make for their bottom line. Administrators are also tempted to purchase by brand name when they are uneducated on the products themselves. This can lead to lots of technology that might be clunky for educators, too expensive for the district to truly afford, and ineffective for students. The brand name isn’t necessarily an indicator that technology is going to be right for K-12 schools.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/k-12-schools-need-to-stop-wasting-money-on-tech-they-dont-need/

By Jarrett Carter, Education Dive
Faculty members from the University of Central Florida wrote in Evolllution about the strategies to building engagement for online students. Citing common factors leading to “transactional distance” for students, such as a lack of feedback or unresponsiveness from admissions officers or instructors, poor course design or detachment from campus life, the authors say that building student confidence begins with the school’s readiness to answer questions and to provide support for the online learning process.  Transactional distance is defined as space felt between a faculty member and a student in the learning process, which is exacerbated in distance learning platforms where students are not able to enhance their learning with in-class dialog, in-person exchange, or lack of exposure to campus culture. This distance, the writers say, can lead to students feeling isolated, unsupported and usually precedes a student withdrawing from a course. They suggest using online coaches to encourage students to completion.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/reducing-distance-is-key-to-online-learner-success/521166/

by MIT Open Learning
Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3-D printing, is poised to transform product design, manufacturing, and maintenance. However, limited knowledge of the fundamental principles, applications, and business implications of AM is a barrier to its broad and rapid adoption. To help professionals and organizations realize AM’s potential and accelerate its use, MIT and Boeing are collaborating on a new online course for professionals: Additive Manufacturing for Innovative Design and Production.

http://news.mit.edu/2018/mit-boeing-collaboration-aims-to-scale-learning-in-additive-manufacturing-0412

By Jeffrey R. Young, EdSurge

All of these colleges set up extensive centralized staffs to support online offerings, which the report identifies as a key component to their success. UCF, for example, has a 90-person team “that includes instructional designers, media support resources, faculty professional development staff, and quality assurance staff.” At ASU, a centralized innovation team called EdPlus employs 250 people. With that kind of large-scale and strategic effort, the report suggests that the costs of delivering education can be reduced. “When we compared the overall costs of online courses with average costs at four of the institutions in the study, we found that the savings for online courses ranged from $12 to $66 per credit hour, a difference of from 3 percent to 50 percent of the average credit hour costs,” the report says

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-04-12-do-online-courses-really-save-money-a-new-study-explores-roi-for-colleges-and-students

By Cait Etherington, eLearning Inside

The first part of our investigation focuses on the leadership teams of nine of the largest edtech companies. Our investigation discovered that with few exceptions, the gender gap is still prevalent in edtech. Indeed, with the exception of Coursera, which currently has gender parity on its leadership team, most of the companies we investigated have just as much work left to do as other types of tech companies. As a point of comparison, earlier this week, Recode reported that in terms of leadership roles in tech, women occupy anywhere from 19% (Pinterest) to 36% (Lyft) of positions and on average occupy 22% to 28% of the top positions (this is currently the case at Uber, Google, Amazon, and Facebook). Our investigation discovered that edtech companies are not all that different, but there is at least one notable exception. While at least one company (Coursera) has achieved gender parity on its leadership board, several others report women occupying as low as 10% of their leadership roles.

Women in EdTech: Find Out Who Is Bridging the Gender Gap in Leadership

by American Association of Community Colleges

According to data recently released by the National Center for Education Statistics, most adults in the workforce (58 percent) either have a postsecondary degree or some other form of workforce credential, including postsecondary certificates, occupational licenses or occupational certifications. This is higher than the 45 percent of adult workers with postsecondary credentials using traditional measures that only looked at postsecondary degrees (associate degree or higher). Over one in 10 adult workers (13 percent) indicated that they had no postsecondary degree, but had some form of nondegree credential. Over half (56 percent) of the non-degreed adult workers who had one or more non-degree credentials had an occupational
license; 43 percent had a postsecondary certificate, and 21 percent had an occupational certification. These data provide a better understanding of the diverse training background of the working adult population in the United States.

https://www.aacc.nche.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/DataPoints_April2018_No6.pdf

by MIKHAIL ZINSHTEYN, EdSource

“This is a game changer for workers,” said Rebecca Miller, the political director of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, at a March legislative hearing about Brown’s proposal. Her members are “people who cannot get to the community colleges during the day, and even evenings and weekends,” she said.  The union, with its roughly 100,000 workers, expects the state will need to fill annually 65,000 allied health positions — non-physician jobs like medical assistant, MRI technician and billing coder — through 2024. “That is exactly what I have been looking for, waiting for,” said Tracey McCreey, a licensed vocational nurse since 1998 who wants to earn a college degree as a registered nurse. “I have searched on the internet everywhere for opportunities for me to advance online, because of my schedule.”

California’s online college proposal ignites support among workers and opposition among some lawmakers