Educational Technology

by Meg Ormiston, OKC Friday

During the 2012-13 school year, the Oklahoma Public School District jumped onboard and started the online education program iOKCPS. It is designed to offer unique educational opportunities to meet a wide variety of student needs, Innovative Program Coordinator Scot McAdoo said. It was definitely the best option for Jayme Pierson, a 17-year-old 12th grader who began taking online classes at the start of her junior year. The results have been good in the time that it has been available, McAdoo said. There are a large number of OKCPS students who have been able to recover credits toward graduation. One drawback to online classrooms is the lack of socialization, but that can be overcome. Seeing people from schools she previously attended fills that gap for Jayme. She also interacts with others at her job.

http://okcfriday.com/okcps-goes-online-with-studies-p10185-92.htm

by ASU News

What do an Arizona State University-Starbucks business student in Washington state, a sustainability research collaboration in Germany, and seven English classrooms on the ASU Tempe campus have in common? All took part in an online portfolio pilot project — ePortfolios hosted by Digication — undertaken to boost student learning and outcomes across a range of ASU learning environments. Although the use of portfolios as part of the learning process isn’t new, “the shift to an online, multimodal vehicle for expression has added new dimensions to online, hybrid and classroom learning, assessment and curriculum development,” said Katherine Heenan. Heenan is a lecturer with ASU writing programs in the Department of English; senior lecturer with Barrett, The Honors College; and co-led the pilot project with professor Shirley Rose.

https://asunews.asu.edu/20150924-eportfolio-online-learning-tools-expanded

by Todd Thibodeaux, Talkin’ Cloud

Implemented correctly, online learning platforms let employees put their knowledge to use through interactive tutorials and simulations. Not only do interactive experiences boost information retention, they empower employees to revisit and sharpen specific skills as necessary. Rather than simply memorizing and repeating information, IT workers are able to test their knowledge for gaps, and refocus their training on areas of concern. Unlike traditional training methods, online platforms support both guided and self-directed learning, making education an ongoing workplace activity rather than a monthly or quarterly event. As the IT industry continues to evolve at a blinding rate, organizations need to invest in professional development programs capable of keeping up.

http://talkincloud.com/cloud-computing-certifications/training-success-why-time-now-let-online-learning-do-work

By: Rob Kelly, Faculty Focus

Scenario-based learning can be an effective way for students to apply what they have learned to realistic situations. There are many different ways to design scenarios for online delivery, from text-based case studies to interactive, immersive simulations. Regardless of the resources that you have available, there are effective ways to put students in scenarios that contribute to their learning. In an interview with Online Classroom, Claudia Howery, elearning instructional coordinator at Delta College, explained the basic principles of scenario-based learning and offered advice on how to implement it an online course.

http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/scenario-based-learning-in-the-online-classroom/

By Dian Schaffhauser, THE Journal

Animated flashcards and sub-two-minute videos turn out to be the most effective online resources for K-12 against all other common options. That’s the finding determined by OpenEd, which recently studied the data generated from the results of assessments given to students who used its free online resources for educational purposes. OpenEd has collected “over a million” assessments, homework assignments, videos, games and lesson plans for every Common Core and Next Generation Science standard. Some are free; some are part of a “premium” collection. Teachers use the site to assign homework and quizzes to their students. Those formative assessments are automatically graded and then the student receives recommendations about the resources to watch or work through in gaining additional mastery. It’s those scores that were used to derive the data used in OpenEd’s analysis.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2015/09/23/opened-assesses-most-effective-online-learning-resources.aspx

By Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

Higher education institutions won’t ever get to a point where they can stop worrying about protecting data, so the best strategy is to prepare for continual training and review. Campus Technology reports that there are clear behaviors to stay away from, including treating security as an IT problem exclusively and using the same training for everyone across the institution. Michigan Tech follows the TARR system — training, auditing, reviewing, and remediating based on a mandatory survey for every staff member at the university dealing with any kind of personal information.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/higher-ed-data-security-an-ongoing-process-not-a-problem-to-be-solved/406231/

By Laura Devaney, eSchoolNews

A new survey finds that just 13 percent of participating educators have used social media as part of their classroom learning. The University of Phoenix College of Education survey of 1,002 U.S. K-12 teachers found that 87 percent of those surveyed said they have not embraced social media platforms. Sixty-two percent of those surveyed said they are reluctant to use social media in the classroom, compared to 55 percent of participating educators in a 2013 survey.Fewer than half of teachers surveyed (44 percent) said they believe social media can enhance a student’s educational experiences. Lack of training could be to blame. Although 95 percent of surveyed educators said they have had training related to classroom technology integration, 62 percent said they had either minimal or no training around how to interact with students and parents through social media.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/09/25/social-media-teachers-052/

by Jacqueline Thomsen, Inside Higher Ed

Imagine if schoolteachers and college professors were immediately able to identify how each of their students learns, what learning style works best for each child and what new topics he or she is struggling with. Research faculty members at the University of Wisconsin at Madison are hoping that this can be the future of education. Their research uses a combination of psychology and computer science to determine how best to optimize teaching for individual students. This means teachers and professors will be able to immediately know what subjects students are struggling with and be able to address those needs, instead of teaching an entire class of students with ranging difficulties.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/09/25/researchers-uw-madison-hope-their-work-will-optimize-teachers-time-students

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

A cross-institutional experiment to see whether rubric-based assessments can scale and whether students are actually learning what the assessments are intended to measure has been called a success. The project, known as the “Multi-State Collaborative,” brought together 59 colleges and universities in nine states, including 28 four-year institutions and 31 two-year schools. The pilot was undertaken by two organizations: the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) and the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO).

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/09/24/rubrics-can-work-across-colleges.aspx