Educational Technology

By Ted Murphy, the Hoya

Last week, six students graduated from Georgetown’s first-ever online-only offering, a master’s nursing program that lets participants take classes through video chats and submit assignments over the Internet without ever leaving their clinical posts. But the nursing program — which has grown to an enrollment of over 600 since it was launched in March 2011 — is only the first in a series of efforts to integrate technology into the Georgetown education. Building off the success of this early foray into online learning, Provost Robert Groves recently announced an initiative to bring a new wave of technological innovation to the rest of campus. According to an Oct. 5 email Groves wrote to the campus community, the university’s Georgetown Technology-Enhanced Learning initiative will aim to expand Georgetown’s online presence and the use of technology in on-campus programs.

http://www.thehoya.com/news/university-eyes-tech-expansion-1.2926193

By DAN KADLEC, Time

Higher education is in transition and with a coming proliferation in online courses could be totally free for many within a decade. The status quo won’t yield easily. But this is looking like a real answer to runaway student debt. As few as 10 years from now, quality higher education will be largely free—unless, of course, nothing much has changed. It all depends on whom you believe. But one thing is clear: The debate about financing education grows louder by the day. Experts with a wide range of views on the subject, including the always-interesting Harvard professor and former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, weighed in last weekend at the Nantucket Project, a big-think conference in the spirit of TED and Aspen Ideas Festival. The most provocative, though, were hedge fund billionaire Peter Thiel and the author and entrepreneur Vivek Wadhwa.

http://moneyland.time.com/2012/10/12/why-college-may-be-totally-free-within-10-years/

By Doug Lederman, Inside Higher Ed

The men and women who attend the Sloan Consortium’s annual meeting have been toiling in the fields of online learning for many years, so they could be forgiven for having a wee bit of skepticism (if not resentment) about “MOOC mania,” the hubbub of hyper-attention that has been paid in recent months to the massive open online courses developed by Harvard, MIT, Stanford and other elite universities. “MOOCS will change the world and make the rest of higher education obsolete. Hyper-prestigious universities are driving all the change. Umm, I don’t think so, folks,” Jack Wilson, president emeritus of the University of Massachusetts system and Distinguished Professor of Higher Education, Emerging Technologies, and Innovation at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, said during the conference’s opening plenary Wednesday afternoon.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/10/12/online-learning-group-hears-mooc-pioneer

Karen Cator, Director, Office of Educational Technology, U.S. Department of Education

We are pleased to announce that the final version of this issue brief on improving teaching and learning using new big data methods is now available. Back in April, we released a draft of the report for public comment and had excellent and thoughtful input. The final report, now available on the Department’s website, was able to address some of this input and, for the rest, the Department is taking note for future projects. The report recommends that educators continue to become smart consumers and be more “data curious,” that researchers and developers balance automated decision-making against “human in the loop,” and that meaningful collaborations across sectors be created and sustained. A common thread across all recommendations is careful consideration of educator and student privacy and an overall effort to increase institutional capacity to gather, analyze, research, and act upon big data to improve teaching and learning.

http://evidenceframework.org/big-data/

by Education News

Legislators and educators came together at Utah’s Digital Learning Summit earlier this week to discuss the future of educational technology in Utah schools. The legislators wanted to send a message about their commitment to tech to teachers and staff in the state, and the setting they picked to host the summit – Innovations High School – was not a coincidence. Innovation High is one of the only schools in the state that uses an “individualized, technology-based approach” to education, where students cover course material entirely online, but do it in the classroom environment where a teacher is always around to assist. Those who came to speak at the summit, did so with the intention of convincing school districts to give this approach a chance in their own schools.

http://www.educationnews.org/technology/legislators-urge-utah-schools-to-embrace-technology/

by Cameron Steele, Anneston Star

Cheating among students has been a hot topic in recent months with proof of widespread dishonest behavior surfacing at well-known institutions like Harvard and the Air Force Academy. Also contributing to the conversation are several recent studies that show students across the country are cheating more than ever before — especially as new technology becomes increasingly available. Administrators and teachers in Calhoun County say they haven’t seen a significant increase in cheating in recent years. And education officials think their institutions have clear “academic honesty” policies in place. Still, some local and national experts say cheating isn’t always a black-and-white issue, especially with the prevalence of new technology. “Just like in sports, you have to define the rules on what you’re able to do,” said Mark Jones, judicial coordinator for Jacksonville State University.

http://annistonstar.com/bookmark/20392702-50-shades-of-cheating-Defining-right-and-wrong-in-the-digital-age

By Poon Chian Hui, The Straits Times

Given the shrinking supply of cadavers here, the upcoming medical school at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) will provide 3-D models of the human body on iPads to allow students to learn about anatomy. The plan is to set up a central database of 3-D models of real-life patients. NTU’s Institute for Media Innovation (IMI), which is teaming up with the medical school to produce software for the tablet, will be recruiting local patients for the project. For a start, it will focus on reproducing 3-D models of the lower limbs, said IMI director Nadia Thalmann, who created a virtual heart model back in the 1980s that paved the way for simulation surgery today. This will be done by getting 2-D magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans from the patients to provide details of muscles and other structures.

http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Science%2Band%2BTech/Story/A1Story20121005-375872.html

By Ryan Schroer, the Republic

The Indiana Computer Educators Association (ICE) has announced the selection of Jennings County High School teacher Jeff Green as the Indiana Teacher of the Year. Jennings County High School technological specialist Jeff Green has been quietly reshaping the educational experience for students from his office in the library. Recently, Green was recognized as the Teacher of the Year by the Indiana Computer Educators because of his constant efforts to incorporate new technology within the school despite budget restraints. “Our technology department is run on a budget of Band-Aids and duct tape,” Green joked. “We can’t always afford the latest software because it is always changing.”

http://www.therepublic.com/view/local_story/Teacher-shares-passion-for-tec_1349574785

by Shannon Barry, Milpitas Post

“IDC has a methodology for seeing how tools get deployed and what kind of impact they have, everything from new PCs being installed in law firms and businesses to new software in businesses,” Bob O’Donnell, vice president of clients and displays for IDC, said by phone Monday. “A lot of it has to do with asking people what are the tasks that they do, how long do those tasks typically take and was that time changed or shortened after that technology was deployed.” During this 10-week process, he said the company essentially measures time and dollars spent alongside activities. The report highlights Chromebooks as requiring approximately 69 percent less labor to install and 92 percent less labor to support than traditional PCs, reducing the need to hire additional IT staff.

http://www.mercurynews.com/milpitas/ci_21690745/chromebooks-allow-students-navigate-online-learning

By Lee Pulaski, Shawano Leader

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan wants schools to move from traditional bound textbooks to digital as soon as possible. “Over the next few years, textbooks should be obsolete,” Duncan said this week in a story reported by The Associated Press. Besides keeping up with the times, Duncan said he seeks to keep in step with other countries. For example, South Korea has set a goal for fully digital textbooks by 2015. School officials in Shawano and Bonduel reacted favorably Thursday to Duncan’s recommendation. Bonduel School District is already making strides toward fully digital education, planning to have computers for every student in grades 5-12 in the next few years. Duncan’s plans could require the initiative to expand to the lower grades, as well.

http://www.shawanoleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=27&ArticleID=33146

by Science Codex

From email to Twitter, blogs to word processors, computer programs provide countless communications opportunities. While social applications have dominated the development of the participatory web for users and programmers alike, this era of Web 2.0 is applicable to more than just networking opportunities: it impacts education. The integration of increasingly sophisticated information and communication tools (ICTs) is sweeping university classrooms. Understanding how learners and instructors perceive the effectiveness of these tools in the classroom is critical to the success or failure of their integration higher education settings. A new study led by Concordia University shows that when it comes to pedagogy, students prefer an engaging lecture rather than a targeted tweet. Twelve universities across Quebec recently signed up to be a part of the first cross-provincial study of perceptions of ICT integration and course effectiveness on higher learning.

http://www.sciencecodex.com/get_with_the_computer_program-99679

by James Armstrong, Global News

Wireless technology is everywhere, and allows people to access internet services on their phone, tablet, laptop, or even desktop computer – but is it safe? Leading health experts claim studies suggesting adverse health effects of wireless technology do not provide sufficient evidence to affect public policy. However, the Kansas-based American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM), released a statement on Wednesday saying schools should avoid using Wi-Fi, instead choosing wired alternatives.

http://www.globaltoronto.com/american+health+organization+suggests+wi-fi+be+kept+out+of+schools/6442728719/story.html

by CAROLINE ALPHONSO, The Globe and Mail

Daphne Koller is dramatically transforming the face of higher education, and she’s doing it through technology. Dr. Koller, a professor at Stanford University, is also the co-founder of Coursera, a major U.S. initiative that offers open online courses for free to anyone in the world, from some of the best instructors in top institutions. The program has about 1.25-million enrolments, proof that students want more out of their university education than simply attending lectures.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/time-to-lead/what-if-anyone-around-the-world-could-learn-from-the-best-instructors-for-free/article4586619/?cmpid=rss1

By David Truss, Teachers With Apps

Increasingly, education’s value-add is and will be in the coaching and troubleshooting when students are applying their learning, and in challenging students to apply their thinking to hands-on learning by doing and teaming: so let’s have them do these things in class, not sit and listen. We know that collaboration is a critical skill set which can’t be developed easily either on-line or at home alone– let’s have students learn it with us in our classrooms. Let every classroom be a collaborative problem solving laboratory or studio. First and foremost, this is just ONE teaching strategy. It’s a good one. It isn’t the only one. I don’t know any teachers that are both one trick ponies and also good teachers. Add this trick to your repertoire, don’t make it your repertoire. Secondly, consider how these points, and related questions, can help improve your flipped classroom. I’m not saying ‘don’t use a flipped classroom’, I’m just saying, ‘be thoughtful about how you use it!’

http://teacherswithapps.com/3-keys-to-a-flipped-classroom/

By Robert Lemos, eWeek

Hackers allied with the Anonymous movement say they stole files from more than 100,000 accounts stored in poorly secured databases at high profile international universities. But security experts report the claims are exaggerated and the data losses limited. Universities and colleges are not known for their discipline in locking down computer systems. Good schools want debate to thrive and research to be unfettered. That means that academic departments frequently skirt the rules around information security. No wonder, then, that a group of hackers aligning themselves with the Anonymous movement had little trouble in compromising dozens of databases spread across more than 50 universities worldwide. On Oct. 1, the group, calling themselves Team GhostShell, published a list on PasteBin of archives of data allegedly stolen from major universities, such as Stanford University, Cambridge University, the University of Michigan, Tokyo University and the University of Zurich. The hackers claimed that they breached the servers to protest against the rising costs and declining standards of higher education.

http://www.eweek.com/security/anonymous-group-hackers-claim-top-universities-are-easy-targets/

by Jacob Weisberg, Slate

Salman Khan’s audacious mission to offer online education to anyone, anywhere for free. When you hear Salman Khan’s story, it sounds like an Internet-age fairy tale. Khan knows that his mission statement is a bit grandiose, but he believes the Khan Academy’s online teaching materials, including its archive of more than 3,000 videos, have the power to reach students in ways that classroom settings sometimes can’t. The Khan Academy combines video tutorials with exercises and problems tailored to an individual student’s performance level. But does it work? Khan sat down recently with Slate’s Jacob Weisberg to talk about his new book and the results his nonprofit is producing.

http://www.slate.com/articles/video/conversations_with_slate/2012/10/salman_khan_and_youtube_the_khan_academy_s_online_global_education_mission_video_.html

By Therese Mageau, Campus Technology

Online learning can–and should–elevate the state of teaching in higher education. In July, the nonprofit research group Ithaka came out with perhaps the first really solid study on student outcomes associated with online learning, concluding that students can learn just as well in hybrid learning environments as in traditional classrooms. It’s certainly good news that colleges don’t have to sacrifice learning outcomes if they move toward a blended model of instructional delivery, but I’d like to suggest that online education set a higher bar for itself than reproducing the achievements of traditional college instruction. I don’t think I’m speaking out of school when I say that college teaching can be notoriously bad–droning lecturers, mind-numbing PowerPoints, teaching assistants who can’t speak English, researchers who resent having to teach.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2012/10/03/as-good-as-is-not-good-enough.aspx

by:  Bianca Da Silva, College Classes

“Es el momento” is an initiative that was started by Univision Communications Inc. to provide education on multiple different platforms, and the organization has just made the decision to take this one step further; they will now be partnering with the Khan Academy in order to make the information that is usually available on this site available to Hispanic students. The Khan Academy was established by Salman Khan, and it began as a result of Mr. Khan being aware of the fact of the limitations of many schools around the world. In order to tailor learning solutions to meet with student’s needs, he began to use the online platform to begin educating the masses, and so far he has been receiving very positive feedback with regards to his videos. Univision will make use of the unique approach that the academy has taken with regards to education delivery in order to provide the same opportunity to Spanish-speaking students. As challenges are met within the world of education, it is up to institutions to ensure that they actively seek to resolve them, and this is what this organization seeks to achieve.

http://www.collegeclasses.com/univision-partners-with-khan-academy-to-help-hispanic-students/

by Brian C. Mitchell, Huffington Post

It’s not enough to drive system change through pedagogy and educational practices. System change is systemic. It starts with how we conduct our business, how nimble, creative and adaptive we choose to be, and how quickly we are able to modify what we do to take advantage of how to do what we do better. If the educational ship of state creaks along dragged down by the weight of outmoded business practices, then the result will be a weakened, badly positioned American higher education system. That outcome will diminish our productivity as citizens, workers and liberally educated thinkers. It will be bad economics, worse politics and a missed opportunity.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-brian-c-mitchell/technology-higher-education_b_1910858.html

by Bobbie Hobbs, Connection Newspapers

The Chantilly Academy was officially designated by the Virginia Board of Education as Chantilly Academy – A Governor’s STEM Academy. It still provides students with career and technical education, but with an added focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subjects. Accordingly one of the new offerings this school year is a course called Information Technology-Cybersecurity; and before school started, students got a taste of what’s in store for them. One of Chantilly High’s business partners, Northrop Grumman Information Systems, partnered with the academy and held a Cybersecurity Camp at the school. “Northrop Grumman is the largest cybersecurity provider to the federal government,” said corporate spokeswoman Marynoele Benson. And the company sent instructors to Chantilly to develop the camp’s curriculum, teach the classes and run the challenges. “It’s about network defense, for kids to understand how their computers can be infiltrated and how to protect against it,” said Benson.

http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2012/oct/04/building-tomorrows-cyber-defenders/

By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, ZDNet

The latest Chromebook may be just what you need for your next PC. Sure, you could keep using Windows, although Windows 8 looks worse every time you look at it; or you could buy a Mac for big bucks; or you could buy a Samsung Series 5 550 Chromebook starting at $449 and have a great Linux-based desktop that you already know how to use. What’s that? It’s Linux and that’s so complicated. Oh please. Get into the 21st century, Linux is easy enough for grandpa and grandma to use. And, besides if you know how to use the Chrome Web browser–you do know how to use a Web browser right?–then you already know how to use Chrome OS and a Chromebook. If you really want to have the full Linux shell command experience, you can have that too, but it’s purely optional. The Chromebook’s special sauce is Chrome OS. This operating system uses a thin layer of an Ubuntu Linux as a foundation for the Chrome Web browser. That’s all there is to it.

http://www.zdnet.com/will-a-chromebook-be-your-next-pc-7000005280/?s_cid=e539