Educational Technology

By Ron Bethke, eCampus News

Using “the science of memory,” and recent advances in personalized learning, an adaptive courseware provider is developing a STEM course aimed at engaging and retaining at-risk students. A recent recipient of the the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Next Generation Courseware Challenge, Cerego says its future course, StatsPL, will allow for such personalization of STEM learning that the course could reach more than 1 million low-income students by 2018.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/cerego-personalized-courseware-918/

BY DIANE STAFFORD, Kansas City Star

WGU provides a straight shot, on a student’s own time, to study and pass tests tied to specific, career-related competencies. Its headline description is “accredited degree programs for busy adults.” This isn’t a university experience in the traditional sense. There are no elective requirements, no mind-expanding forays into other disciplines. But the option could, at less time and expense, help people prove mastery of professional material and gain degree credentials necessary to move up in their jobs.

http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/workplace/article3324840.html

by Indiana State University

“Enrollment in online programs is increasing all over the country and higher education has seen a simultaneous significant increase in community engagement and service-learning” said Nathan Schaumleffel, associate professor in the department of kinesiology, recreation and sport. “And these two things haven’t really collided yet nationally. There are very few people doing community engagement and service-learning in the online environment.” Schaumleffel is campus/executive director of Indiana State’s Nonprofit Leadership Alliance Certification Program, which earned national Sprint Campus of the Year honors in 2013. Alliance members are dedicated to educating, preparing and certifying professionals to strengthen and lead nonprofit organizations. Schaumleffel completed five online courses during his spring 2014 sabbatical, all focusing on online instruction and e-service-learning.

http://www.indstate.edu/news/news.php?newsid=4133

by Ron Bethke, eCampusNews

According to a report by McKinsey, freelance portals will create more than 150 million jobs globally by 2025. And a new education startup called CodersTrust is aiming to teach students new IT and coding skills in order to land those freelance and outsourcing jobs–a goal that CodersTrust believes will be critical for future economies. For example, Elance, one of the major online freelance job portals, has a whopping 54 percent of its listed jobs in the IT & Programming category, with those jobs going for over $2 billion dollars total.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/coderstrust-unique-it-826/

By Laura Devaney, eSchool News

Seventy-four percent of K-8 teachers in a recent report said they use digital games for instruction, but few teachers reported engaging students with immersive games that offer in-depth exploration and 21st-century skill development. Teachers surveyed for a new report from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center said they believe using digital games in the classroom helps students improve math skills (71 percent), computer/technology content and skills (65 percent), executive function skills (59 percent), and 21st-century skills (52 percent).

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/10/22/wanted-immersive-gaming-673/

By Alicia Archer, eSchool News

To reach more classrooms with its educational programs, the Aquarium of the Pacific has created free online curriculum materials based on live animal webcams. The Aquarium Webcam Resource Kits include lesson plans, activities, online resources, and educational videos. Aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), these inquiry-based kits encourage students to make observations using the aquarium’s live streaming webcams, such as Shark Lagoon, Tropical Pacific, and Penguin Habitat.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/10/22/online-aquarium-resources-235/