Techno-News Blog

by the Penn State University

Penn State instructional designers are researching whether using virtual reality and 360-degree video can help students in online classes learn more effectively. Designers worked with professors in the College of Nursing to incorporate 360-degree video into Nursing 352, a class on Advanced Health Assessment. Students in the class, offered online through Penn State World Campus, were offered free VR headsets to use with their smartphones to create a more immersive experience while watching the video, which shows safety and health hazards in a patient’s home. Bill Egan, the lead designer for the Penn State World Campus RN to BSN nursing program, said students in the class were surveyed as part of a study approved by the Institutional Review Board and overwhelmingly said that they enjoyed the videos and thought they provided educational value. Eighty percent of the students said they would like to see more immersive content such as 360-degree videos in their online courses, he said.

https://news.psu.edu/story/529049/2018/07/25/research/world-campus-researches-effectiveness-vr-headsets-and-video-online

by IOT for all

When it comes to the campus, IoT-enabled technologies can let students know when their laundry is washed, track traffic patterns to plan sidewalk construction, track an athlete’s behavior and progress and monitor environmental factors for optimal training. This also means that the staff can control electricity, lighting and plumbing to prevent issues and deal with problems on time, not when they occur. In the classroom, IoT can track how emotions affect learning, study the posture of students, give us insights into how biological factors affect emotions, and improve safety and ease of life on campus. There are some concerns, however, like privacy, number of the devices involved or bandwidth demands, but IoT is still evolving and at this point the benefits far outweigh doubts.

The Increasing Presence of IoT and How to Prepare Your College Campus

by Emma Whitford, Inside Higher Ed
It’s well documented that textbooks aren’t cheap, but for some students, affording course materials takes priority over paying for meals or flights home, or pursuing their first choice of major. A new study by Morning Consult for Cengage, an educational technology and services company, asked 1,651 current and former college students how purchasing textbooks figures into their financial picture. Forty-one percent of those students said that textbooks and other course materials had “somewhat of an impact” on their financial situation, and 46 percent said that it had “a big impact.” “We truly are in an access crisis,” said Richard Baraniuk, a professor at Rice University and founder of OpenStax, a nonprofit that provides access to free digital editions of textbooks. “Over the past 40 years, college textbook prices have risen about 1,000 percent, which is extraordinary.”
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/07/26/students-sacrifice-meals-and-trips-home-pay-textbooks

By Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed

The rankings scandal at Temple University keeps getting worse.  This month, after an independent investigation, the university admitted that its Fox School of Business had for several years intentionally submitted false data to boost the rankings of its online M.B.A. program. The falsehoods were about standardized admissions tests, grades of new students, debt of graduates and more. The independent investigation hinted that the lies might have extended beyond the online M.B.A. On Wednesday, the university said that was in fact the case. A statement it released said that false data had been submitted for rankings purposes by six other programs at the business school.

https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2018/07/26/temple-admits-it-provided-false-rankings-data-six-more-programs

By Paul Fain, Inside Higher Ed

Employers in the manufacturing industry use credentials inconsistently, generally not relying on them as a major factor in hiring or promotion decisions, according to the results of a survey conducted by Workcred, an affiliate of the American National Standards Institute, and the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, an operating unit of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The survey’s 945 respondents from across the industry identified several primary reason for their inconsistent use of credentials, including a lack of awareness, a preference for on-the-job training and a recognition that experience is a more valuable predictor of performance.

https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2018/07/26/inconsistent-use-credentials-manufacturers

By Jenna Leventoff, National Skills Coalition

Montana sets example for other states by using data to drive policy
A new case study, How Montana is using data to drive policy change, written in collaboration between the Montana Department of Labor and Industry and the Workforce Data Quality Campaign shows how data-driven decision making can help states create education and workforce policies that can help them compete in a 21st century economy. The paper outlines how Montana educational institutions, employers, and policymakers have used data to not just understand the effectiveness of their state’s education and workforce policies, but to make decisions that will help the state meet labor market demand.

https://www.nationalskillscoalition.org/news/blog/montana-sets-example-for-other-states-by-using-data-to-drive-policy

by Matt Parke, Working Nation

The vulnerability of the U.S. energy infrastructure to outside intrusion from hackers was exposed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) during a briefing on Monday. The agency’s warning about a cyberattack on electrical grids underscores a cybersecurity worker shortage and a brewing national security issue of protecting critical infrastructures. The Wall Street Journal reported that Russian hackers have come close to disrupting critical services with stolen credentials from trusted vendors. According to DHS’ Jonathan Homer, they were within reach of causing catastrophic electrical blackouts and their threat signals the potential for an attack in the future. The DHS did not say whether a cyberattack was imminent.

Cybersecurity worker shortage a national security issue amid infiltration of utility companies

By Daphne Taras, Chronicle of Higher Ed

Two years ago I decided to prove that the essay-writing business is a scourge, and that professors must become more aware of the allure of bespoke cheating. I googled “essay writing services” and selected, at random, one of many websites. I logged onto it, and I was given a number of promises, including that none of the work would be plagiarized (yes, I see the irony), and that all the essays would be written exclusively for my needs. But the real discovery for me wasn’t that I could cheat. Cheating is ubiquitous. The lesson was how well the essay labs have adopted new technologies. The amount of follow-up, the creation of a dashboard, the customization to suit my needs, and the relentless pressure to purchase. College recruiting could learn a thing or two about how to land customers using similar data analytics. This is a serious industry that operates in the shadows, and it is a threat to our own industry of advanced education. Take it seriously. Buy an essay and see for yourself. It’s worth the $120 investment.

https://www.chronicle.com/article/How-Essay-Writing-Factories/243878

by Adam Hickman and Shane McFeely, Gallup

Companies increasingly see the need to have workers who are continuously learning — which is to say, they see the need to be a culture of learning and development. In a competitive, market-driven business environment, success can depend on workers who can develop and apply knowledge, who can take advantage of opportunities and who can create more. But to be a learning organization requires a culture of development and that takes a real investment in employee education. That investment, the research shows, will get the best return when it’s geared toward individual learning preferences — which is the great advantage of a blended learning approach. Blended learning strategies are most effective to help managers and their teams learn and grow.

https://www.gallup.com/workplace/237743/best-learning-blends-online-instructor-led-courses.aspx