Techno-News Blog

By Jeffrey R. Young, EdSurge

A growing number of colleges are turning to for-profit companies to help them run their online programs, and to help finance them. These companies are known as online program managers, or OPMs. The relationships can mean a clash of cultures. One college official recalled a meeting where the head of a popular OPM showed up wearing a gold chain and talking about the “cost of acquisition” of students. That focus on sales can be uncomfortable for traditional colleges, who prefer to talk about their nonprofit missions of preparing students to be good citizens.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-04-04-when-colleges-consider-outsourcing-online-programs-calculations-can-get-complicated

Liam Tung, ZDnet

Amazon has plans to establish a constellation of 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit to patch up areas with poor or no internet connectivity. The documents were filed by Kuiper Systems LLC. First spotted by Geekwire, the documents reveal Amazon plans to put 3,236 satellites at three different altitudes. There would be 784 satellites orbiting at an altitude of 367 miles (590km); 1,296 satellites at 379 miles (610km); and 1,156 satellites at 391-mile (630km). An Amazon spokesperson confirmed the existence of Amazon’s satellite broadband ambitions, noting that it was a “long-term project that envisions serving tens of millions of people who lack basic access to broadband internet”.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/amazons-big-internet-plan-3236-satellites-to-beam-faster-cheaper-web-to-millions/

By Natalie Schwartz, Education Dive
Three markets are driving the growth in online education, according to a new report by consultancy Entangled Solutions: online education for graduate students, online courses for traditional undergraduates and fully online education for undergraduates.  Graduate and professional online programs are the most competitive, with about one-third of graduate students taking all their courses online. In comparison, fully online undergraduate education, which primarily targets adult learners, has “significant room for growth,” and online courses for traditional undergraduates is the “least developed” market. Although the online education space has become increasingly crowded, most of the growth has been concentrated. The 10 institutions with the largest online-only enrollment account for about 20% of fully online students, while the top 100 institutions account for about half.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/3-ways-colleges-can-expand-online/552109/

WMTW
A proposal at the state house would allow Maine school departments to make up snow days in new ways. According to “An Act To Give Maine Schools Additional Options To Make Up Missed School Days,” the bill would add language to the state law to allow schools make up snow days with packets of homework or develop plans to make up days under state guidance. The homework that is meant to cover a snow day is sometimes referred to as a blizzard bag. According to the Department of Education, current law allows schools to make up missed school days by rescheduling the day, postponing the end of the school year, holding weekend classes and adding hours to the school day.

https://www.wmtw.com/article/blizzard-bags-online-learning-could-make-up-for-missed-school-days-in-maine/27040767

BY LAURA ASCIONE, eSchool News
Getting girls in STEM careers will take more than encouragement–it will take female representation in the STEM workforce. Representation matters everywhere, and nowhere is it more important than in the workforce. As the U.S. faces a shortage of STEM workers, female STEM workers are particularly underrepresented. But to get girls in STEM, they have to see themselves in the field. No representation means fewer girls in STEM–women make up almost 50 percent of the workforce, but hold less than 25 percent of STEM jobs. It’s time for us to help girls see themselves in STEM careers.

https://www.eschoolnews.com/2019/04/04/career-connections-girls-in-stem/

By IBL News

Adam Medros, President and CCO at edX, explained in a video-interview with IBL News the new business model that edX Inc is adding to its strategy to become financially sustainable. Medros elaborated on the B2B, the edX For Business initiative, which he defined as “a natural extension of selling in bulk what is already available for B2C”. He also referred to edX’s new “Lean OPM” model. “Online Master’s is a fantastic market opportunity: we can change affordability, accessibility, and the cost of offering a degree,” he explained. The main value of the edX (and Coursera, too) offer in this area is the cost of acquisition per learner. Usually, with 2U and other traditional OPMs the cost of getting a student goes beyond $5,000, experts told IBL.

https://iblnews.org/2019/04/03/edx-as-a-new-opm-we-can-change-the-economics-of-customer-acquisition-and-retention/

Paul Fain, Inside Higher Ed
A growing number of colleges and employers are working together to better use labor-market data in postsecondary training. Two experts discuss what’s possible and what’s needed. The tight labor market is helping prod employers and colleges to cooperate more closely to ensure that credentials pay off in the work force. And solid data on the labor market and student outcomes are key to this collaboration.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/04/04/experts-discuss-uses-labor-market-data-postsecondary-training

Natalie Schwartz, Education Dive

As AI technology steers colleges away from a one-size-fits-all approach, it is helping them make progress on one of their most long-running goals: making higher ed more accessible to all types of learners. It is doing that in several ways. Among them, by scanning class materials for accessibility issues, improving learning tools for students with disabilities and offering personalized resources for learners who may need additional support, such as those who speak English as a second language. AI stands to open the door to levels of accessibility that weren’t possible before, and its effects extend to the entire student body.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/will-artificial-intelligence-make-the-college-classroom-more-accessible/551988/

MIT Technology Review

Intel and others are investing $13 million in Untether AI, a startup that’s working on a novel type of chip for artificial intelligence that promises to perform neural-network calculations at warp speed. Untether, based in Toronto, Canada, has already developed a prototype device that transfers data between different parts of the chip 1,000 times more quickly than a conventional AI chip. That’s an impressive achievement, but it should be treated cautiously since the prototype is far larger than an actual chip—and because other factors will contribute to the overall performance of the finished device.

https://www.technologyreview.com/the-download/613258/intel-buys-into-an-ai-chip-that-can-transfer-data-1000-times-faster/

By Nick Howe, ATD

Doctors are among the most time-pressured, highly educated professionals. After the rigors of medical school and residency, they take on demanding jobs while also preparing for board certification. Throughout their years in practice, doctors must engage in continuing education and lifelong learning to stay current with the latest research, advancements in medical science, and best practices in medicine. And throughout it all, time remains scarce. To address this need, Area9 partnered with NEJM Group (a division of the Massachusetts Medical Society, publisher of the New England Journal of Medicine) to create a first-of-its-kind adaptive learning offering: NEJM Knowledge+. NEJM Knowledge+ was launched in 2014 as a highly efficient, effective way for physicians to prepare for board exams, pursue continuing medical education (CME) and maintenance of certification (MOC), and engage in lifelong learning. Based on the Area9 adaptive learning platform, this smart technology is able to adapt to clinicians’ goals and pace of learning while identifying their knowledge gaps to deliver the specific instruction needed.

https://www.td.org/insights/adaptive-learning-solution-for-time-starved-professionals

By Jeffrey R. Young, EdSurge

When Carnegie Mellon University officials announced last week that they will open up the source code on their digital tools for improving college teaching, they admitted that the tough part will be getting professors and learning centers at other colleges to actually use and improve upon them.  Today, officials shared more details on how they hope to build a culture around developing and adopting the software tools. The university is working with a group called the Empirical Educator Project, run by the popular education blog e-Literate, which today announced it will run a series of hackathons over the next year at colleges that are part of its group.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-04-03-hackathon-series-aims-to-build-support-for-learning-engineering-tools

Mark Lieberman, Inside Higher Ed

The Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins University has since 2008 launched 351 new online master’s degree courses across 21 programs. Slightly more than 100 of those courses have been redeveloped or refreshed since their inception. At first, the school planned to redevelop courses on a three-year cycle, according to Paul Huckett, assistant dean of learning design and innovation in the engineering school. During a session last Thursday at the University Professional and Continuing Education Association’s annual conference here, Huckett jokingly called that approach “an absolute lie.” We were never going to complete that. It was impossible,” Huckett said. “We’ve adjusted that a wee bit.” The new process involved establishing a comprehensive database that includes detailed information on each existing course: when it was first developed and launched, how many times it has been offered, who has taught it. The next step was a “redevelopment prioritization list.”

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2019/04/03/processes-developing-and-revamping-online-courses-emerge

Louis Arias, InMotion Daytona State College

New technologies like AI, machine learning, and educational software are sending rigid bell schedules, credit requirements, age-based grade levels and physical specifications to Wikipedia’s “History of Higher Education” page.  With the opening of the high-tech  Gale Lemerand Student Center, DSC President Dr. Thomas LoBasso was asked if the new building was designed with Adaptive Learning in mind. His response was, “This building has just three classrooms, but their design is totally new. The seating can be moved around, they have the latest AV technology and full wall whiteboards. The building also has numerous study rooms designed for collaborative activities. Before we designed it, we brought a student panel together to make sure we were building what students need, not necessarily what we wanted. ”

Ed-Tech’s Tsunami on Higher Education

the 74

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative announced Monday it is providing more than $1.6 million over two years to the Jefferson Education Exchange, a nonprofit that helps educators nationwide make informed decisions about education technology. The grant will enable the Jefferson Education Exchange to create a system for measuring how various ed tech tools work in different school contexts. Based at the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education and Human Development, the Jefferson Education Exchange studies how teachers use education technology to help districts and other educators figure out which ones will be best for their classrooms.

https://www.the74million.org/article/chan-zuckerberg-initiative-will-give-1-6-million-to-study-educators-experiences-with-ed-tech/

by Debbie Carraway and Marc Hoit, EDUCAUSE Review

When we began work on redesigning IT governance, our goal was to bring IT governance into alignment with the university’s mission. Our existing governance process was complex and technology focused, with more than forty committees and subcommittees comprised largely of IT staff at various organizational levels. We reviewed our existing IT governance process to identify its strengths and weaknesses and found several problem areas. There was confusion about committee scope and decision-making authority, as well as deficiencies in communication among the various committees. Subcommittees were making tactical and operational decisions, and strategic issues were not consistently brought forward to governance. However, participants found value in having a forum for communicating with peers and an opportunity to share information about IT issues and initiatives.

https://er.educause.edu/articles/2019/3/redesigning-it-governance-for-digital-transformation-at-north-carolina-state-university

BY FRED SMITh, eSchool News

Have you read the latest newsflash? School district data breaches are on the rise, and your school district’s student information system (SIS) data could be a prime target for hackers. The SIS contains records of minors, representing an unexploited, potential victim. Identity thieves are sharpening their digital knives for the feast. Let’s explore this topic from a cyber liability insurance perspective.
Keep these questions in mind as we step through this relevant topic.

What is cyber liability insurance and how does it work?
Are there any laws about the management of student and employee records?
How susceptible is my school district to a data breach?
How can my district mitigate the risks of a data breach?

https://www.eschoolnews.com/2019/04/03/understanding-cyber-liability-insurance/

By David Raths, Campus Technology
Most instructional designers will tell you their work begins with getting a foot in the door with faculty and building rapport from there. Here are three ways to make that relationship a success. With the growth in hybrid and online courses and the introduction of open educational resources, active learning concepts and new learning spaces, it is an exciting time to be an instructional designer in higher education. More faculty members need help rethinking course activities, materials and assessments. Yet like campus librarians, instructional designers still struggle at times to raise awareness about the variety of services they can offer and to form meaningful partnerships with other stakeholders on campus — in part because some faculty members see them as IT support staff.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2019/04/03/3-keys-to-engaging-faculty-in-instructional-design.aspx

By Roy A. Swift, WorkCred

Credentials can play an important role in helping to close these staffing gaps due to skills mismatch. They can help individuals gain new skills and demonstrate that they have attained competencies needed by industry, and they can help employers understand what an individual knows and can do. However, to maintain their validity, credentials must be aligned with the current skill needs of industry and updated continually as those skill requirements evolve. As highlighted in the research report, aligning competencies with employer needs requires  effective communication and collaboration among employers, credentialing organizations, and education and training providers.

https://rfums-bigtree.s3.amazonaws.com/files/resources/newneededresearchunderstandcredentialingneeds-swif-3.pdf

BY LAURA ASCIONE, eCampus News

Augmented reality (AR) has been one of higher ed’s big buzzwords for a number of years, but it’s not until just fairly recently that institutions have used the technology in practical ways. Most higher-ed AR apps address a variety of things, such as bringing science concepts to life, improving student retention, and offering campus tours or glimpses of historical moments on campus. Here’s how five institutions have harnessed augmented reality apps to address campus needs and take learning to the next level.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2019/04/02/augmented-reality-apps-changing-game-college-campuses/

By Jillian Berman, Market Watch

The college experience means many things to many people — it can be a place to make lifelong friends, expand the mind or learn some of the skills associated with participating in a democracy. Still, over the past few decades, policymakers, employers, parents and students have all coalesced around one goal they believe college should achieve: Preparing students for a decent career. Right now, organizations like TalentPath are working with college graduates to help them fill gaps in their training and land jobs. Recent graduates participate in an immersive training program for 12 weeks and then TalentPath hires them out to companies for roughly 18 months, paying their salary while billing the client for their services. After the 18-month commitment, the company has the option to hire the TalentPath worker as a full-time employee.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/college-students-of-the-future-could-get-their-career-prep-from-private-companies-not-universities-2019-04-01

By Dave Gershgorn, Quartz

Tech giants are starting to create mechanisms for outside experts to help them with AI ethics—but not always in the ways ethicists want. Google, for instance, announced the members of its new AI ethics council this week—such boards promise to be a rare opportunity for underrepresented groups to be heard. It faced criticism, however, for selecting Kay Coles James, the president of the conservative Heritage Foundation. James has made statements against the Equality Act, which would protect sexual orientation and gender identity as federally protected classes in the US. Those and other comments would seem to put her at odds with Google’s pitch as being a progressive and inclusive company. (Google declined Quartz’s request for comment.)

https://qz.com/1583989/as-tech-giants-seek-help-on-ai-ethics-where-they-seek-it-matters/