Educational Technology

By Katie Lepi, Edudemic

The internet may bring the world to our fingertips, but that means both the good and the bad aspects of what you can find online. Along with easy access to research materials, online museums, connections via social media, and purpose built for education apps and web tools comes inappropriate content, peer bullying, and online predators. So how to make sure the content is appropriate and your students are safe when they’re using the web for appropriate and necessary work and leisure? The handy infographic linked below takes a look at what students are doing online and some of the problems they may run into, along with some recommendations for teachers.

http://www.edudemic.com/quick-guide-keeping-students-safe-online/

By Leila Meyer, Campus Technology

Harper College, a two-year community college in Illinois, is using early warning and student tracking software as part of its Project Success initiative, which identifies and tracks students who are at risk of not completing their diploma or certificate programs and then intervenes to ensure those students have the guidance they need to help them complete their courses.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/05/07/community-college-uses-student-tracking-software-to-improve-completion-rates.aspx

By David Nagel, THE Journal

Google is now taking applications for a limited preview of a new app called Google Classroom — a tool that brings learning management functionality to the Google Apps for Education suite. According to Google Apps for Education Product Manager Zach Yeskel, Google Classroom is designed “to give teachers more time to teach [and to] give students more time to learn” by helping them avoid “some of the busywork” that’s part of the process of teaching. Yeskel said Classroom has been piloted in about a dozen schools around the country so far, including institutions in New York, California and Illinois.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/05/06/google-developing-free-lms-as-part-of-apps-for-education.aspx

By Felicia Mello, Vegas 7

I never imagined that the virtual would be a replacement for the physical. If a student can get the lecture at their own pace, you don’t have to have lecture in the classroom anymore. It frees up class time for more interaction, more dialogue … more deep experiences. What I want for my children is a physical school where they have amazing teachers who mentor them, but where they’re able to learn at their own pace.

http://vegasseven.com/2014/05/05/khan-academy-founder-online-education-cant-replace-face-face-learning/

By MICHAEL BRINDLEY, NHPR

The way the dean of the UNH School of Law John Broderick describes it, the precipitous drop in enrollment came on fast and furious. Officials at the school say they’re exploring options to keep law education moving forward – including expanding into online learning. Later this year, the school will launch an International Criminal Law and Justice online program. “We will have within a year’s time, an online master’s degree in intellectual property. And that can be totally where you are. Or it can be where you are and half of it will be here in residence.” Law schools have been historically slow to embrace online learning, a market in which many other higher education institutions have seen soaring enrollment and revenue.

http://nhpr.org/post/law-schools-recover-online-learning-part-equation

By ALYSSA NEWCOMB, Good Morning America

High school gossip has evolved over the years from a few nasty words scrawled in magic marker on a bathroom wall to anonymous apps that smartphone-savvy students can check instantly. “Inadvertently, the people who developed these apps have created a digital bathroom stall for thousands of people to see,” John Dodig, principal of Staples High School in Westport, Conn., told ABCNews.com. The problem of hurtful words being transmitted over anonymous apps at Staples became such an issue that Dodig said his school received a “geo fence” from Yik Yak, a popular anonymous bulletin board app. The geo fence works by taking the school’s latitude and longitude and blocking the app on campus.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/secret-messaging-apps-make-high-school-nightmare/story?id=23597535

By Tanya Roscorla, Center for Digital Education

California is seeing a major uptick in blended learning as more schools become comfortable with the model. The California eLearning Census shows that more students this year are taking blended classes, which include both face-to-face and online components. The California Learning Resource Network, a statewide education technology service from the California Department of Education, has conducted the census for the past three years to find out how blended and online learning are changing in the state.

http://www.centerdigitaled.com/news/Blended-Learning-Grows-Dramatically-in-California-Schools-.html

By Joseph, Edudemic

Education is a crucial component to success in the modern world. With the ever-progressing forms of communication and technology, we have seen an explosion of online tools and options that have become available to the mobile and tech savvy generation of today. In the past, teachers used tools from the environment to demonstrate concepts that were difficult for students to fully comprehend. A tuning fork, for example, illustrated how vibrations create sound. Today, teachers have more refined resources they can appeal to in order to demonstrate concepts that are extremely difficult to understand. For example, digital simulations are used to model complex systems: weather patterns, chemical bonding, Fluid mechanics, and other complicated concepts — particularly those which unfold over time or through a convoluted series of reactions.

http://www.edudemic.com/online-classroom-adapted-mobile-generation/

by Amy Knapp, Inde Online

“Students are definitely interested in more online classes,” said Diane Walker, director of Student Services for Kent State University at Stark. Online offerings make it easier for students to take advantage of classes offered at other Kent State campuses, she said. “If you are a student at Kent State Stark, you can take courses at any campus,” she said. “You might be taking six courses and they could be on any campus but you don’t have to leave your computer.” Walker said she sees all types of students taking advantage of online offerings. “You have to be self-motivated since there isn’t a requirement to come to class,” she said. “That could be a barrier to succeed. It really depends on a student’s learning style.”

http://www.indeonline.com/article/20140503/NEWS/140509703/10581/SPECIAL

By Cynthia Karena, Kiama Lake (AU) Independent Times

Increasing digitisation of student records means predictive analytics is expected to transform teaching and become a key tool in learning more about students. Predictive analytics is a process in which data collected about the student – typically attendance, subjects taken, assessment – is used to understand learning patterns, identify skill gaps, predict performance and identify learning opportunities. Teachers and administrators have always analysed student data, but as more student records become digitised – for example, using a consistent online marking system school-wide – there are more opportunities for analysis. Digitised data is also quicker and easier to analyse.

http://www.kiamaindependent.com.au/story/2258418/predicting-success-and-failure-with-student-analytics/

By Katie Lepi, Edudemic

When I talk to people about mind mapping, I usually find myself facing one of two reactions: The person I’m speaking with either LOVES mind maps, or pretty much has no idea what they are or what they could be used for. We’ve discussed mind maps occasionally in the past, but I recently stumbled on this great graphic from Daniel Tay(who creates a bunch of different mind maps on different topics). This particular graphic addresses the benefits of mind mapping, which can serve as a good primer for anyone who is unfamiliar with the concept.

http://www.edudemic.com/benefits-of-mind-mapping/

By Katie Lepi, Edudemic

The first step towards applying social media into education starts with empowering teachers by giving them freedom to use social media to engage with students and giving them the freedom to come-up with innovative ways of teaching using technology. On the contrary, let’s talk about few practical ways on how many educators apply social media to flip the conventional teaching model and make classroom & home work experience meaningful to for the students.

http://www.edudemic.com/social-media-in-education-series/

By David Nagel, THE Journal

Google today revealed changes to its Apps for Education policies that include permanently disabling scanning in Gmail for its 30 million Apps for Education users and permanently disabling the ability to display ads. Prior to this move, ads in Google Apps for Education were disabled by default. Only an administrator could enable ads, and it’s unclear whether any school IT administrators had ever done so or why they would choose to do so. With the new policy, it will be impossible for them to do so.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/04/30/google-turns-off-ad-scanning-in-apps-for-education-permanently.aspx

By Katie Lepi, Edudemic

Can you imagine the level of first-hand knowledge today’s students would have if their classrooms came equipped with time machines? Well, believe it or not, they do. Teachers can turn to YouTube to create a virtual time machine. Thanks to uploads of old footage, documentaries and reenactments, YouTube offers a plethora of opportunities to experience history. But wading through countless hours of videos, some appropriate and many not, can be a major undertaking.The handy infographic linked below allows teachers to take their students on an educational trip through history.

http://www.edudemic.com/youtube-in-your-history-class/

by Adi Gaskell, DZone

A new service aims to provide some of the things teachers add to the learning experience, for those without access to one. The platform, called Oppia, is an open source creation courtesy of Google (kind of) that lets anyone create an interactive learning experience online. The site provides a framework for anyone to create interactive learning experiences and bolt them onto their own website. The site does this whilst at the same time adding interactivity to the learning process by taking on the role of the mentor/teacher who is constantly asking questions of the learner. The AI backend will then absorb the responses to these questions and adapt future engagements accordingly.

http://www.dzone.com/articles/oppia-aims-bring-interactivity

by Zoe Alsop, CNBC

Thanks to cloud computing software, colleges are now able to stretch the capacity of the virtual lecture hall to include thousands of students around the world. “The cloud is critical to what we do,” says Anant Agarwal, a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and CEO of EdX, a nonprofit open-source platform for MOOCs founded by Harvard and MIT. When Edx launched two years ago, Agarwal expected 1,000 students to enroll in his course on circuits. 155,000 signed up. “Because of cloud computing, with a few keystrokes, we were able to scale up,” he said.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101635775

by Stephanie Castellano, Training and Development

The 2014 average global e-learning salary is USD $76,530, which is down 1.5 percent from 2013. U.S. salaries remained flat, with an average of $78,932. Global e-learning salaries range drastically: In Australia, an e-learning professional could be making USD $94,000, while someone doing similar work in India might be earning USD $33,000. The pharmaceutical and biotech industries pay the highest wages, which are 26 percent higher than the average global salary. Government and education pay the lowest, up to 13 percent and 23 percent below average, respectively. Most survey respondents indicated that their job focus is instructional design. Salaries for those positions fell 7 percent below the global average

http://www.astd.org/Publications/Magazines/TD/TD-Archive/2014/05/Intelligence-How-Does-Your-E-Learning-Salary-Stack-Up

by Analyst Blog

The world’s largest online retailer, Amazon.com Inc. has recently announced the launch of its wearable technology store, giving customers access to a broad selection of the most popular electronic gadgets — wearables. The technology store offers wearable gadgets from all technology hardware makers, including Samsung, GoPro, Jawbone and others. These include smartwatches, activity trackers, healthcare devices, wearable cameras and wearable trackers for pet animals.  Additionally, the store features an online Learning Center helping consumers to get a complete idea about all the wearables available in the store and select the right product.

http://beforeitsnews.com/financial-markets/2014/04/amazon-opens-wearable-technology-store-analyst-blog-2709448.html

By Virtual College (UK)

The future landscape for educational delivery may still be somewhat unclear, but it is becoming increasingly evident that digital learning will have a key role to play. That is according to David Grailey, chief executive of the NCFE (Northern Council for Further Education), who believes that the provision of digital learning tools enables educators to reach a greater number of people and ensure that a higher proportion of them have opportunities to achieve and succeed. “In the fast paced modern world, people want flexible learning at a time, place and in a style that suits their needs and their lifestyle – an online learning experience can offer this, engaging learners who have otherwise lost interest,” he said.

http://www.virtual-college.co.uk/news/Further-educations-future-lies-online-newsitems-801716866.aspx

By Tanya Roscorla, Center for Digital Education

California is seeing a major uptick in blended learning as more schools become comfortable with the model. The California eLearning Census shows that more students this year are taking blended classes, which include both face-to-face and online components. The California Learning Resource Network, a statewide education technology service from the California Department of Education, has conducted the census for the past three years to find out how blended and online learning are changing in the state.

http://www.centerdigitaled.com/news/Blended-Learning-Grows-Dramatically-in-California-Schools-.html

By Tanya Roscorla, Center for Digital Education

Cloud computing will power the largest network in the world: the Internet. That’s what Larry Peterson, chief architect of the Open Networking Lab, predicted in a keynote speech on the Internet’s future at the Internet2 Global Summit on April 9. Cloudification, as he called it, will bring scalable, elastic technology to the Internet in a network built by service blocks. “Cloudification says the services are the key thing,” Peterson said. “Devices are just implementation choices.”

http://www.centerdigitaled.com/news/The-Cloudification-of-the-Internet.html