Techno-News Blog

By Manavi Kapur, Quartz

A large number of Indians seem happy to forego textbooks and adopt tech-savvy online courses. This is a marker of both India’s skilling needs and Coursera’s potential to fulfil them, according to Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO of Coursera. “If you look at what’s happening demographically, there are 300 million people that are going to be entering the workforce, a 100 million in the next 10 years in India alone,” he told Quartz. IIM Calcutta and Indian School of Business in Hyderabad were the first two institutes to sign on, and Coursera hopes there will be many more to follow.

https://qz.com/india/1729832/indians-on-coursera-are-lapping-up-stanford-michigan-courses/

By Lindsay McKenzie, Inside Higher Ed

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has published its final recommendations on how to increase the open sharing of MIT publications, data, software and educational materials. An open-access task force was convened in 2017 to update and revise MIT’s open-access policies. A draft set of recommendations was released in March 2019 for public comment. “Scholarship serves humanity best when it is available to everyone,” said Hal Abelson, Class of 1922 Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, who co-chaired the task force with MIT Libraries director Chris Bourg.

https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2019/10/21/mit-reaffirms-commitment-open-access

By Madeline St. Amour, Inside Higher Ed

Lipman Hearne, a Chicago-based marketing firm with a focus on higher education and enrollment, surveyed adult learners and created four “personas” to better understand them. Kirsten Fedderke, senior vice president and account director at the firm, said while much of what they found in the survey matches common assumptions about adult learners, some data point to nuances of the population that are often ignored. For example, while respondents said their top reason for enrolling in college was to have a good job, the next three reasons were more emotional, like “be confident and prepared for life” and “be well-rounded and professionally responsible.”

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/10/21/marketing-firm-breaks-down-personas-adult-learners-help-colleges-recruit-better

Voice of America

In recent years, chatbots have become a common tool for banks and large companies around the world. Having human beings available to answer people’s questions and complaints can be costly, requiring many workers. And in most cases, employees can only work a set number of hours in a day, increasing the amount of time customers wait for a response. So not just companies, but a growing number of colleges and universities have also begun using chatbot technology, says Keith Rajecki. He is with Oracle Higher Education, a computer software company that serves these institutions.

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/more-colleges-use-chatbot-to-communicate-online/5128366.html

Naveen Joshi, Forbes

The education sector has long treated every student the same. However, every student is unique and has different learning capabilities. The use of computer vision in education can help to maximize students’ academic output by providing a customized learning experience based on their individual strengths and weaknesses.  The main advantage of computer vision in education is the ease and non-obstructiveness of the assessment process compared to traditional classroom education. Teachers can observe whether a pupil is motivated or disinterested in the class without interrupting their activities. Affective computing techniques, availability of low-cost cameras, and their widespread use in electronic devices like cell phones, computers, and tablets, allow educators to measure learners’ engagement levels using computer vision.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognitiveworld/2019/10/19/computer-vision-can-transform-education/#8d08b6b1c4cc

RAMIN VATANPARAST, Venture Beat

Coined the fourth industrial revolution, the advancement of artificial intelligence and machine learning brings interesting discussion to the table. Because AI is so comprehensive and covers several industries, we find ourselves asking obscure questions such as “Do we need to legalize predictive AI policing?” or “How do we iron out biases from algorithms that determine job promotions?” With these questions arising, the key one that remains unanswered surrounds ethics. How do we ensure that AI technologies are ethically designed? To answer this question, there are essentially four aspects that dictate the result: the dilemma, the impact, adoption, and institutionalization.

https://venturebeat.com/2019/10/18/how-does-society-create-an-ethics-guide-for-ai/

Tyler Gallagher, Entrepreneur

‘History has shown that whenever a great invention gets into the wrong hands, evil tends to prevail. Right now, we’re in the early stages of AI and currently exploring the many potential benefits of using AI for good.’ In an effort to highlight some of the accomplished women in this sector, Authority Magazine interviewed women leaders in artificial intelligence as part of a series. Each was asked the following question: “As you know, there is an ongoing debate between prominent scientists about whether advanced AI has the future potential to pose a danger to humanity. This debate has been personified as a debate between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. What is your position about this?

https://www.entrepreneur.com/slideshow/340907

Ron Schmelzer, Forbes

The pace of artificial intelligence continues inexorably forward. Every day we see continued development of new technologies, new applications, and greater investment in AI, machine learning, and the host of cognitive technologies. While we might be able to easily see how some of these technologies will be implemented in the short term, what does the future hold for widespread adoption of AI? …. the future world of AI will most likely have much greater impact in a much different way than what we might be assuming today.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognitiveworld/2019/10/17/the-ai-enabled-future/#51a711973339

Lauren deLisa Coleman, Forbes

Artificial Intelligence is poised to disrupt many industries, but education arena has not typically been at the forefront of such conversations.  “In 1980’s faster computers were just a dream, now even the smartphones in our pockets are 50 times more powerful than the supercomputers of that era. Using smart education backed by artificial intelligence will become just as commonplace and advanced. We do not wish to replace teachers completely, but make quality education more accessible by those students who cannot afford it. Nothing can replace the human mind, but supporting it with advanced technology couldn’t hurt.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurencoleman/2019/10/18/heres-whats-next-at-the-explosive-intersection–of-ai-and-on-line-education/#279a894f276f

Felicity Parsisson, Open Access Government

With 66% of millennials and 59% of Gen Z surveyed by Pearson agreeing that ‘technology will transform how college students learn in the future’, it seems clear that the use of technology in teaching and learning contexts is not just predicted: it is expected. Coupled with the majority of Gen Z stating a preference for learning through YouTube videos (59%), as opposed to printed books (47%) and the explosion of MOOCs documented by Class Central (an estimated 101 million learners as of their 2018 research), and it becomes apparent that EdTech is already an important part of the learning landscape. With that in mind, this article considers three key functions of EdTech for this century’s learners.

https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/edtech-will-benefit/76118/

Suhrid Gajendragadkar, Duwain Pinder, Ted Rounsaville, and Jason Wright; McKinsey

When colleges and universities think about building academic enterprises for the 21st century, they often overlook one of the most critical aspects: the back-office structures needed to run complex organizations. By failing to modernize and streamline administrative functions (including HR, finance, and facilities), universities put themselves at a serious disadvantage, making it harder to fulfill their academic missions.

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/social-sector/our-insights/building-operational-excellence-in-higher-education

Natalie Schwartz, Education Dive

Researchers have found that fully online programs and classes may contribute to equity gaps and lead to poorer outcomes for the least prepared students. But there are some bright spots, according to speakers at Educause’s annual conference in Chicago. Innovative models for online classroom instruction could be poised to help the sector live up to its goals of expanding college access and making learning possible anywhere. Below, we share how several administrators are moving online education forward at their institutions.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/how-colleges-are-bringing-online-students-into-the-classroom/565241/

Hallie Busta, Education Dive

The blockchain is a decentralized, internet-based digital ledger onto which organizations can record transactions. In the case of higher education, those transactions are academic accomplishments: courses completed, badges earned, degrees obtained. Blockchain is more widely used in other fields, such as logistics. And interest from the business community has spurred colleges to add the topic to their curriculum. Advocates of blockchain in higher ed say it can help give students more control over their records, allowing them to share the records in parts or fully with future employers or educators throughout their lives. For instance, MIT and Central New Mexico Community College offer students digital versions of their transcripts.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/a-look-at-how-arizona-state-fresno-state-are-using-blockchain/565226/

Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed

Blockchain is advancing in higher education, as it is in all of society, with some interesting new applications and ramifications. Perhaps most importantly, blockchain will facilitate the difficult shift in higher education that we are now navigating. We are moving from a degree-centric environment in which the university is engaged in the life cycle of the student while on campus to one that is more of a supply-chain design providing lifelong learning. In the emerging mode, the university will engage the student prior to their first arrival on campus (or online) through their degree experience and far beyond.

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/blogs/online-trending-now/fresh-look-blockchain-higher-ed

By Rebecca Koenig, EdSurge

Digital redlining, as Gilliard defines it, comes in many forms. One is denying students at community colleges access to academic journal subscriptions or using parental controls on websites, a practice that intends to block objectionable material but may also impede research on topics of valid scholarly interest. Another is digital surveillance, through tools that track eye movement while students read, document their paths across campus or, as some companies are trying to encourage, monitor their electrical brain activity while they sit in class.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-10-17-at-educause-a-push-to-monitor-student-data-is-met-with-concerns-about-privacy-and-equity

Nigel Davies, Real Business
Worried about your employees wandering to greener pastures? Keep them interested by making sure that learning, development and creativity are part of your retention strategy and your culture. As an employer, I’m sure you have a modest employee development scheme in place. However be warned, recent research by global skills organisation Kineo has revealed that, while employees have a strong appetite for learning, they are inhibited by a lack of accessible, appropriate and engaging training opportunities.

https://realbusiness.co.uk/employees-stop-learning-start-job-hunting/

Glenn Harlan Reynolds, USA Today

Times are bad for higher education, and higher educators are beginning to notice it. But the industry’s problems are mostly of its own making. The latest “cri de coeur” comes from University of North Dakota’s Sheila Liming, who writes, “My University is Dying; And soon yours will be, too.”  She notes: “Starting in 2016, our state university system endured three successive rounds of annual budget cuts, with average 10-percent reductions resulting in a loss of more than a third of the system’s overall funding. Additional cuts, even, were on the table this past year. And while our state legislators ultimately avoided taking yet one more stab at the dismembered body of higher education, there has been no discussion of restoring any of those funds.”  And it’s not just North Dakota.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/10/14/universities-making-budget-cuts-taxpayers-interested-funding-campus-kooks-column/3970822002/

Natalie Schwartz, Education Dive

During the past two decades, federal support for higher education rose while state support dropped, explains a report released Tuesday from The Pew Charitable Trusts.  Although states have historically accounted for the bulk of spending on higher ed, their per-student funding fell 31% from 2000 and 2015. As a result, the gap between state and federal higher ed spending narrowed from 100% to 12% during the period.  Federal and state policy decisions will determine whether the “funding convergence” will be a “temporary or more lasting reconfiguration,” the authors note.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/report-state-and-federal-spending-on-higher-ed-has-nearly-converged/564973/

Natalie Schwartz, Education Dive

A new report from the Institute for Higher Education Policy outlines three strategies rural communities are using to increase the college-going rates of their population.  Understanding local barriers to attending college, using innovative means to recruit and serve students, and forming partnerships between schools and the workforce are all critical to boosting completion rates, the researchers found. The report comes as workforce development has become a growing need in rural regions, which often have few college options and low levels of credential attainment.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/3-ways-to-expand-higher-education-opportunities-for-rural-students/564894/

BY MATTHEW DEMBICKI, AACC 21st Century Center

El Centro College in Dallas hosted Google’s announcement that the company will expand a six-month training program it developed for people who don’t have experience or a college degree for entry-level information technology (IT) jobs. El Centro is among 30 community colleges that currently offer the program. “These schools play a vital role in creating economic opportunities for the people they serve, and we’re excited to be a part of that with the IT Support Professional Certificate program,” Lisa Gevelber, vice president for Grow with Google, wrote of community colleges in a blog post about the expanded effort.

http://www.aacc21stcenturycenter.org/article/first-amazon-now-google-again/

Lara Fishbane and Adie Tomer, Brookings

Broadband, which enables high-speed internet access, is essential infrastructure in our digital age. However, with 19 million disconnected households across the country, it is impossible to capitalize on broadband’s full economic and social impacts. While a presidential platform can incentivize policy reform at the federal level, the road to change is still a long one, slowed by political infighting and congressional discord. Instead of waiting for the stars to align in Washington, we should focus on states as an important middle ground. States have access to a range of tools and resources—independent of federal action—to promote broadband availability and adoption within their borders. The question is whether they will actually use them.

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2019/10/10/broadband-adoption-is-on-the-rise-but-states-can-do-much-more/