Educational Technology

by eCampus News

Thanks to universities looking to diversify [and monetize] their online offerings, edX is starting to host for-credit, for-a-fee, and job market-targeted courses to recent graduates. One of the first institutions to embark on this new level of course on edX, Rice University will offer three professional education courses in conjunction with the online education provider. Subjects will include energy sustainability, laboratory safety and health care in the digital environment, and the courses will begin in 2015 or 2016. Unlike free massive open online courses (MOOCs), participants will pay a fee to take these courses, build their professional knowledge and skills and earn certificates and/or continuing education credits. The courses are intended for recent graduates entering the workforce and current professionals seeking to advance their careers or transition into a new field.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/edx-rice-fee-781/

by Lauren Landry, Bostinno

Massive open online course platform edX launched a class last Wednesday, called “Design and Development of Educational Technology.” Three members of MIT’s Education Arcade are spearheading the course, including Eric Klopfer, Scot Osterwell and Judy Perry, director, creative director and a research member, respectively. Together, the trio will help lifelong learners discover how other students learn, so they can better understand what it takes to create effective educational technologies. MIT’s Education Arcade is focused on developing novel technologies that bridge the gap between learning and fun, like using online gaming to teach science and math. The lab is only one of several moves MIT has made, however, to highlight its dedication to the future of education.

http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2014/10/09/edx-ed-tech-course-design-and-development-of-educational-technology-on-edx/

by Paul Prinsloo, University World News

Digital technologies and online learning environments permitting harvesting, analysis and use of student data is nothing new in higher education. They open up a number of opportunities and equally a number of perils – creating the need for higher education institutions to find ways to protect the harvested data. As more and more faculty and students embrace the affordances of digital technologies and online learning environments, data’s velocity, scope, variety and resolution have increased exponentially.

http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20141009100401434

By Fredy Padovan, eSchool News

Through our innovations using iPad Air tablets, students definitely have a bright future ahead of them. Imagine a school where paper is a dying species. Imagine virtual science labs that are making experiments possible that were previously deemed too expensive. Imagine unlimited resources and information at every student’s fingertips. This school exists, and it goes by the name of Immaculata-La Salle High School. Our private Catholic school, which serves more than 800 students as a member of the Archdiocese of Miami, is extending the possibilities of technology. Many people think of iPads in education as devices that need to be locked down. But at Immaculata-La Salle, we’re doing things a bit differently.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/10/10/school-ipad-tablets-422/

By Laura Devaney, eSchool News

Introducing coding to kindergarten students helps them reflect on their own learning as they develop 21st-century skills such as problem solving and creativity, experts say. Coding has emerged as one of the most popular learning trends in recent years, and when it comes to programming, young students are proving just as capable as older students. Studies suggest that engaging students in STEM and computer-based learning at an early age will help students retain their interest as those subjects become more challenging in high school and college, and it is this line of thinking that has prompted such early introductions to coding concepts. Teaching coding in kindergarten helps young students learn important creativity and problem-solving skills that will position them for success as they move through school, said Amanda Strawhacker, DevTech Research Group lab manager and research scientist on the ScratchJr Project at Tufts University, during an edWeb webinar on kindergarten coding.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/10/10/coding-in-kindergarten-653/

by AGbeat

Switch launched earlier this year an aggregator to help anyone to determine which coding bootcamp is right for them, as the options begin to multiply. To reduce confusion, Switch created the TripAdvisor for people considering a career change by launching transparent reviews (read: it’s much more than just search). Now, Switch has launched the first ever aggregator for online and offline learn-to-code resources, seeking to help anyone from the DIY entrepreneur looking to brush up to the career veteran looking to learn a new programming language. By adding Online Courses, they are innovating in the space by helping bridge the gap between empty course seats and potential students of all types.

https://www.switchup.org/online

http://agbeat.com/tech-news/switch-launches-1st-learn-code-course-search-online-offline-classes/

by Greg Toppo, USATODAY

The place where the video game was invented more than 50 years ago now wants to teach teachers, entrepreneurs and students how to design games for the learning — and it is hoping that the end result will be a new kind of tech tool for the classroom. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology today begins a free series of massive open online courses, or MOOCs, beginning with one on the design and development of educational technology. The second course, which begins Oct. 22, focuses on game design. Two upcoming courses will focus on educational games and implementing ed tech.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2014/10/08/mit-moocs-free-video-game-courses/16876395/

by Seattle PI

29 prominent CEOs of leading global companies, from tech to retail to financial services, join forces for the first time to help introduce 100 million students worldwide to basic computer science concepts by asking their employees to support the international Hour of Code campaign. Taking place during Computer Science Education Week, December 8-14, Hour of Code is a campaign organized by Code.org to demystify coding by teaching students of all ages that anyone can learn the basics of computer science. To galvanize support of Hour of Code beyond industry partners and to further its mission to provide every student access to computer science education, Code.org today launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo with a goal to raise $5M to support this effort, the largest nonprofit fundraising campaign in the site’s history.

http://www.seattlepi.com/business/press-releases/article/Code-org-and-Industry-Leaders-Rally-to-Champion-5809111.php

by IndieGoGo

With the Hour of Code campaign, we hope to introduce 100 million students worldwide to one hour of computer science. Beyond that, we’ll help millions continue learning – either online, or in schools where we’ll establish permanent courses and train teachers. 90% of schools still don’t teach computer science. In the 21st century. Our schools teach kids how to dissect a frog and how weather works. Today, it’s equally fundamental to learn to “dissect an app,” or how the Internet works. Every young person deserves basic knowledge of how the world works around them and how to build technology that’s changing the world.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/an-hour-of-code-for-every-student/

By Laura Devaney, eSchoolNews

Educational technology can greatly improve outcomes for at-risk students if implemented correctly. Interactive learning and other technology-enabled strategies can increase engagement and significantly improve achievement among at-risk students, according to a new report from the Alliance for Excellent Education (AEE) and the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE). When properly implemented, three aspects of educational technology combine to support at-risk high school students: interactive learning, use of technology to explore and create rather than to “drill and kill,” and the proper blend of teachers and technology, according to the report, authored by Stanford Professor and SCOPE Faculty Director Linda Darling-Hammond, Stanford Professor Shelley Goldman, and doctoral student Molly B. Zielezinski.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/10/07/technology-at-risk-767/

By Laura Devaney, eSchoolNews

Promoting access while maintaining student safety can prove challenging for educators. As classrooms change with the evolution of mobile technology, classroom management strategies must adjust to walk the line between keeping students on task and giving students freedom to use their mobile devices for learning. Focusing on four classroom management components may help educators as they strive to incorporate mobile devices into teaching and learning while meeting the challenge of minimizing device distractions.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/10/08/manage-mobile-classrooms-830/

By Ángel González, Seattle Times

Starbucks says 2,000 of its staffers have applied to participate in the subsidized college education program it offers employees, and 1,800 have been admitted by Arizona State University, its partner in the program. The first 1,000 or so will begin classes on Oct. 15, the company says. About two thirds of them will be juniors and seniors, and therefore eligible for full tuition reimbursement.

http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2024715704_starbuckscollegexml.html

by Edutopia

Check out this metasite for gaming, simulation and related technologies by Edutopia. Resources include:

Games in the Classroom

Tips and Tools to Get Started

Using Games for Learning and Assessment

Engaging Students With Innovative Programs

Games for Social Good

Straightforward Gamification Strategies

Additional Resources on the Web

http://www.edutopia.org/game-based-learning-resources

By Tanya Roscorla, Center for Digital Education

These issues highlight three major trends: “Inflection point,” “from technical to business” and “the new normal.” The “inflection point” issues have finally reached a place where universities need to move from talk to action. Issues in the “from technical to business” trend highlight the increasing importance of technology in university business operations. And “the new normal” issues reflect that day-to-day operations are strategic. This annual list comes out of an EDUCAUSE IT panel made up of higher education leaders who identify the top strategic priorities for their institutions.

http://www.centerdigitaled.com/news/The-Top-10-IT-Issues-in-Higher-Ed-for-2015.html

By Ean Marshall, eSchool News

edX-MOOCHigh school students now have access to massive open online courses (MOOCs) through a new effort from MOOC platform edX, which says it intends the courses to help students prepare for college-level work. edX collaborated with institutions such as MIT and Georgetown to produce the 27 courses, which include Advanced Placement (AP) sciences, math, and history, as well as French and Spanish.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/10/06/high-school-moocs-839/

by Arizona State University

ASU Professor Ariel Anbar has put much effort into developing a series of immersive virtual field trips (iVFTs) in conjunction with ASU education technologist Geoffrey Bruce and ASU associate professor Steven Semken, and various geoscience colleagues around the world. Their efforts are supported in part by NASA and by the NSF. The project is now extending beyond geoscience, with faculty from other fields developing field trips using the same technology framework. For Anbar, each virtual field trip can “provide at least some of the gains you would get out of a real field trip,” but they are accessible to many more students, and at far less cost, than a comparable physical trip.

https://asunews.asu.edu/20141003-anbar-virtual-field-trips

by the News-Journal Editorial Board

It’s another lesson in the gap between what Tallahassee mandates for education and how school districts execute them. As The News-Journal’s Annie Martin recently reported, Volusia County school officials realized last spring that about 3,000 of their more than 4,000 rising seniors had yet to complete an online course as is now required by state regulations. In Flagler County, 453 seniors — only about half of the county’s total — have completed the requirement. They’re not alone. In Osceola County, only 38 percent of seniors have completed the requirement. In Orange County, 45 percent of seniors have yet to complete at least one online course. In Seminole County, about 1,000 students still need to meet the requirement. Those numbers are way too high for a mandate that has been in place three years.

http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20141006/opinion/141009741

By: John Doetkott, KAAL TV

Educators are always looking for new and unique ways to engage their students, but when their students are online it can be more difficult. On Friday, educators with Minnesota Connections Academy, the state’s online school, took their students out of the virtual classroom and into the real world. About 25 students and their parents gathered at Bancroft Bay Park in Albert Lea for the Big Island Rendezvous, an interactive festival of early American history. “This is an experience that we could never duplicate online,” said Melissa Gould, the school’s principal. “It’s really an opportunity for kids to get immersed into the past and hear about how life was before technology came to be.”

http://www.kaaltv.com/article/stories/S3579758.shtml

by: StephenExley, TES Connect

Fewer than half (42 per cent) of the global specialists polled by the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) believe that academic knowledge will remain a fundamental part of education in 15 years’ time. A similar proportion (43 per cent) of the 600 experts surveyed believe that the most important source of knowledge will be online learning, with fewer than a third (29 per cent) expecting that the physical school building will remain the primary location for learning. Accordingly, fewer than a fifth (19 per cent) of those surveyed argue that a teacher’s most important task will be to “deliver knowledge”. Almost three-quarters (73 per cent) say the job will instead entail “guiding students along their autonomous learning paths”.

http://news.tes.co.uk/b/news/2014/10/02/schools-and-teachers-could-be-obsolete-by-2030-experts-predict.aspx

by Reda Sadki, blog

My LSi.io presentation on the foundational knowledge about online learning in the humanitarian context could provide fodder for… an online course. And here are some of the learning objectives that would be included in such a course, together with a mind map showing some of the items addressed by the presentation. This post is based on a comprehensive (65 minutes) talk originally presented to the Assessment Capacities Project (ACAPS) on 22 September 2014. Its content is largely based on my experience in managing a 1.7 million CHF pipeline of online course development. The full set and recording are available for LSi.io members via this link. LSi.io is a non-profit talent network for learning leaders from corporate, academic, and humanitarian/development sectors interested in solving wicked problems

http://redasadki.me/2014/10/01/online-learning-101-learning-objectives-and-mind-map/

by Hilliard Schools

Walking through the ILC, one cannot help but to notice a number of quotes and inspirational sayings that cover the walls. These motivational pieces are in place to remind students and staff to constantly be mindful of our purpose, which is broadly outlined in our mission statement: “Revolutionary ideas and experiences that customize learning to meet the educational needs of our community.” A good portion of our student population is enrolled in online classes. An online course provided to a student in Hilliard City Schools is something that we take great pride in making a unique and beneficial experience. The experience is ever-changing as our program grows, but the constant remains that the online experience should not be one of isolation, boredom, and monotonous work.

http://www.hilliardschools.org/ilc/the-online-experience/