Educational Technology

by Greg Pollack, Huffington Post

Not everyone is meant to be a coder though–or has the motivation to code. This has left a huge part of the population wondering how to respond to the “learn to code” movement, and what actually makes sense for them to do. It’s one of the reasons why I believe the “learn to code” conversation is distracting us from a much more important question, which is this: “What should everyone know about code, even if they don’t learn to program?” In my view, the answer is basic code literacy, which ultimately boils down to knowing enough to successfully communicate in the technology-powered environment we live in. If your occupation requires you to speak to or email programmers, you’ll have a leg up if you have a basic knowledge of code.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gregg-pollack/no-not-everyone-needs-to-_b_5155549.html

By Meghan Holden, Minnesota Daily

University of Minnesota students may get access to their peers’ course evaluations when registering for classes next year. Some faculty members, administrators and students have pushed for years to make teacher and course evaluations more accessible. The course assessments, at least, could finally be made public when the University Faculty and Student senates vote on the issue in May. “I think it’s good for faculty, and I think it’s really good for students,” Faculty Senate Consultative Committee Chair Will Durfee said.

http://www.mndaily.com/news/campus/2014/04/15/course-evals-could-go-public

by David Kaplan, WDBJ7.COM

It’s an online, Spanish language learning program that students at Highland County High School took for a spin. Whether it’s shrinking budgets, lack of interest, or a combination of the two, some smaller rural school districts like Highland County don’t have full-time foreign language teachers. That means students take some of these courses online. School leaders expect this new program to take learning to the next level. “I’m very excited about this. This is an awesome opportunity,” said Sophomore Cesar Ruiz. Through the eyes of the rural Virginia student interested in taking spanish, this is exciting stuff.

http://www.wdbj7.com/news/local/why-rural-schools-need-online-courses/25499962

By Caley Ramsay, Global News Canada

The cost of post-secondary education can be overwhelming for many Alberta students, and the additional hundreds or thousands of dollars spent on textbooks can weigh heavily on their wallets. Now, the Alberta Government is launching a new initiative, offering more educational resources online. After fees for the semester have been paid and school supplies have been bought, there’s one cost to Canadian university students that can often weigh heavy on their wallets. Downloading textbooks thrifty but dubious. The Open Educational Resources Initiative has been in the works for a few years. Through the initiative, more educational resources such as textbooks, modules, lesson plans, and multi-media materials will be made available for students online.

http://globalnews.ca/news/1268281/online-course-materials-to-reduce-costs-for-alberta-students/

by Ken Strmiska, Sheboygan Press

Alvin Toffler, futurist and author of “Future Shock” and “The Third Wave,” boldly predicted, “the illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.” Today, with human knowledge estimated to be doubling every one to two years, Toffler appears to be correct in his assumption that to thrive in a rapidly changing world will require continuous engagement in learning. For the past several hundred years, the medium between knowledge and learning at all levels has been a place-based educational institution.

http://www.sheboyganpress.com/article/20140413/SHE04/304130156/Voices-High-tech-teaching-breaks-down-time-distance?gcheck=1&nclick_check=1

by Amanda Oglesby, Asbury Park Press

Public schools are not yet permitted under New Jersey regulations to hold virtual classes as official make-ups to snow days. However, St. John Vianney — because it is private — is one of a handful of schools leading the way in the new online learning initiative, where students can watch instruction, hand in homework, and engage in class discussion with their Holmdel-based high school teachers. But many public schools across the state are hoping to emulate the model in the future. As technology makes virtual classrooms possible, the state Department of Education is reconsidering the rule that defines instructional days as having students and teachers in the same room.

http://www.app.com/article/20140414/NJNEWS15/304140015/Say-goodbye-snow-days-classrooms-go-virtual?gcheck=1&nclick_check=1

BY TONY BATES, Online and Distance Ed Resources

It would seem obvious that there would be great advantage in building consortia for online courses, so that courses could be shared between institutions, thus saving institutions the cost of developing new courses that are already being offered by other institutions. In particular, when you have a single state system of universities and two year colleges, it seems even more obvious. This is basically the idea behind the new Ontario Online initiative, for universities (Ontario already has a collaborative system, OntarioLearn, a partnership of 24 Ontario community colleges that have pooled their resources to increase online learning options.)

http://www.tonybates.ca/2014/04/12/why-consortia-for-online-learning-are-so-difficult-to-form/

by Carrie Hoppe, Sheboygan Press

UW-Sheboygan and other UW colleges campuses have also been able to increase the breadth of curriculum offered to students through the use of UW colleges online courses. Currently, 10 percent of UW-Sheboygan students utilize online coursework as a complement to live instruction in traditional classrooms on the campus. “The various distance modalities available at our UW Colleges campuses allow us to offer a much broader range of course offerings to our students than would otherwise normally be available on campuses or colleges the size of UW-Sheboygan,” said Dr. Jacquelyn Joseph-Silverstein, UW-Sheboygan dean and CEO. “Technology allows us to provide expanded educational opportunities to students in Sheboygan County, including baccalaureate degrees offered through our UW four-year partners.”

http://www.sheboyganpress.com/article/20140412/SHE04/304120345/Bridging-miles-Distance-learning-helps-students-earn-degrees-locally?nclick_check=1

By Attiyya Anthony, Sun Sentinel

“If we’re not teaching these kids technology then we are doing them a disservice,” said Principal Jeff Silverman. Last month, the school was chosen as one of four schools in the nation, along with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to be featured in a French documentary called “School of the Future.” The blended classroom is called ‘Christa’s Launch Pad’ and teaches eighth-grade students United States history, not in the traditional method, but with every student glued to a computer. This is no typical classroom — instead of chairs, there are yoga balls and video game rockers. Students plug in their headphones and work on online modules provided by the Florida Virtual Learning School on topics ranging from the French and Indian War to Women’s Suffrage. Two teachers are there to help and ensure the kids stay on task.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/boynton-beach/fl-boynton-beach-school-techno-lab-20140410,0,7401544.story

By Katie Lepi, Edudemic

You know how some days, you feel older than others? I always tend to feel old when I look at education trends and examine just how far technology has come since I was in graduate school (which really doesn’t feel that long ago). Even though I was in graduate school during the late 2000′s, many things still had not made the jump to being technology based. Many things were tech based, but some of the big stuff – like research- had only come about halfway. While I certainly wasn’t sifting through paper records to find out what library had the books I needed for a lit review, I still had to call the library to order them (they didn’t let you request interlibrary loan online at that time), wait for the physical books to arrive, and then schlep them home to sift through them. I’m sure many of you have the same reaction to this as I do – blech.  The handy infographic linked below takes a look at how Google has changed student research with a special focus on graduate students.

http://www.edudemic.com/google-student-research/

by US Dept of Commerce and White House

The Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between 11 of America’s most inspiring and prominent entrepreneurs, the White House, the Department of Commerce, and our Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development partners. Our goal is to harness their energy, ideas, and experience to help develop the next generation of entrepreneurs both at home and abroad.

http://beta.commerce.gov/PAGE

By Suzi Parker, Takepart.com

“The reasons for enrolling in an online school depend on each student,” Allison Powell, vice president for new learning models for iNACOL, says. “They could have started in home schooling and now want a teacher. Some students travel a lot. Others have been physically bullied and are afraid to go to school. Sometimes, students need to have that freedom to work at their own pace.” According to iNACOL, 31 states and Washington, D.C., have statewide full-time online schools. Each state funds online schools differently, and many of them are considered spin-offs of charter schools. Teachers are state certified, and curriculum is created based on state standards. Online elementary schools have been slower to grow because of their integrated curricula. Each subject closely ties to another, unlike in secondary school—an eighth-grade civics class or a high school physics class can be taught as stand-alone courses.

http://news.yahoo.com/send-seven-old-online-elementary-school-204809847.html

By MathNook

This isn’t your average “how gaming can be used to teach and reinforce math” article. I think and hope by now that it is common knowledge that gaming and math go hand in hand. This article specifically addresses the amount of math that is used in a simple computer game and helps answer the big “why do I need math” question that I hear so often.

http://www.edudemic.com/love-video-games-time-love-math/

by Junaid Khan, Edutopia

My class, which is called Sports for the Mind (SFTM), is a learning space built into Quest schools in which students engage with project-based learning assignments that are focused on design thinking and systems thinking. Students are exposed to a variety of different digital media tools and use their skills to express themselves within the parameters of a given project. Using LBP2 in our SFTM curriculum was a no-brainer. The culminating learning experience and performance assessment for my sixth grade class is a digital storytelling project. After analyzing stories and their various structures, brainstorming story ideas and storyboarding a narrative, students were tasked with bringing a classic fable, fairy tale or myth to life within the world of LBP2.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/design-thinking-little-big-planet-junaid-khan

By Dan Gordon, THE Journal

Rich Kiker is the director of online learning at Palisade School District (PA). In the video linked below he talks about how he helped build an online learning environment that offers expanded choice for students and plenty of professional development and support for teachers. All of this isn’t about changing education; it’s about improving it. We should never leave behind the face-to-face instructional strategies that have been wonderful for the last 50 years. If you have a great diorama project in your fourth-grade classroom, don’t stop doing that. But now we can add to these pieces. First we provide the access and bandwidth for on-site devices, then we give students autonomy in how they become proficient with the material — navigating and building supports for the classroom, but letting the inquiry and discovery happen. When you put those things together, you’re creating the space for students to build amazing things and find what’s awesome.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/04/09/innovator-rich-kiker.aspx

By Michael Sharnoff, eSchool News

Government and big business are investing millions to equip students with critical 21st century skills. In December 2013, the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), a triennial international survey which aims to evaluate education systems worldwide by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students, ranked the United States 26 out of 34 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in reading, science and math. The federal government and businesses are responding with funding, training, and the necessary tools to equip students with 21st century technology skills. On April 7, President Barack Obama announced 24 schools across the nation will receive more than $100 million in grants to provide students with work experience for what he called the “in-demand jobs of the future.”

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/04/10/government-business-education-231/

By Liam Tung, ZDNet

As most cloud infrastructure providers announced fixes to the worrying Heartbleed OpenSSL flaw, Microsoft’s Azure cloud has emerged largely unscathed — but customers running Linux images on it may be affected, the company warned. As of Wednesday, public cloud providers Google, Amazon, Rackspace, Joyant, and CenturyLink had issued updates to inform customers what systems had been patched and what remediation steps needed to be done for components that may be affected by the Heartbleed bug. For a quick recap, the memory leakage bug means attackers can hit up affected servers to extract passwords, private keys, and session tokens, among other data.

http://www.zdnet.com/google-aws-rackspace-affected-by-heartbleed-openssl-flaw-but-azure-escapes-7000028281/

by Valerie J. Calderon and Susan Sorenson, Gallup

Online colleges and universities continue to evolve, as do Americans’ and business leaders’ opinions about them. While perceptions about the quality of education at these institutions appear to be improving, attitudes toward community colleges and traditional universities remain far more positive at this point. And although more than half of business leaders and Americans in general say companies might be somewhat more likely to hire an online graduate over an equally qualified traditional college graduate, only about one in eight business leaders and one in seven U.S. adults overall say it is very likely. This represents room for improvement in the online education business.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/168416/americans-trust-online-higher-education-rising.aspx

By David Matheson, Edudemic

Flipped classrooms are getting plenty of headlines and attention lately in educational circles. While conceptually they sound great the reality is that they require a great deal more effort on behalf of both students and teachers. The need for teachers to develop quality material outside class time is a genuine drain on their limited time and becomes a significant obstacle to the uptake of flipping. In a seemingly unrelated topic research is making an ever stronger case that effective feedback in a clear and timely manner has a significant influence of the achievement of student outcomes. This is especially the case for students facing high stakes examinations toward the end of their school experience. Summative evaluation through examinations is far from a new idea nor is returning papers and suggested answers. However, the merging of flipped classrooms and examination feedback may shed new insights and opportunities.

http://www.edudemic.com/flipped-feedback/

By Mellow Study, Edudemic

When you are looking to improve your productivity half the battle is finding the will. The other half is discovering and refining a system that will maximize your time and make you the most efficient you possible! These 5 apps all perform a slightly different functions, and when you combine them together they can supercharge your classroom productivity. They keep you updated on your to-dos and keep all of your ‘stuff’ in one place. You’ll waste less time and worry less, have less of a mess, and be more organized!

http://www.edudemic.com/5-apps-to-supercharge-your-study-productivity/

By Jack Schofield, ZD Net

Summary: The end of Windows XP support was almost as hyped as the Y2K bug, but it’s hard to see any rational reasons why so many organisations stuck with an antique operating system long past its use-by date. There hasn’t been such a build-up of pointless excitement since the Year 2000 bug threatened to destroy civilisation as we know it. Of course, Microsoft ending support for its aged and insecure Windows XP operating system never threatened anything like that, regardless of the XPocalypse-style billing. The real risks are in the longer term, and will probably affect large enterprises and governments. Or at least, those are the ones that will be reported. There is a real risk that malware creators will be able to exploit XP, but it remains to be seen how well its users will be able to defend it. The fact that they couldn’t manage a relatively simple (in most cases) upgrade on time, even when given almost seven years advance warning, suggests not.

http://www.zdnet.com/welcome-to-the-post-xp-world-but-how-on-earth-did-we-get-here-7000028246/