Educational Technology

by National Center for Families Learning

The National Center for Families Learning (NCFL), with support from Better World Books, launched a new edition of Camp WonderopolisTM, the free online summer-learning destination, at Camp.Wonderopolis.org. The virtual camp provides families with 42 interactive learning modules. Questions like “How Much Blood Is in Your Body?” and “Why Do Bananas Bruise?” come equipped with explanations, vocabulary words, and easy at-home experiments that allow for imaginative conversations and deeper exploration designed to improve background knowledge, reading comprehension, and vocabulary skills.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/free-online-summer-learning-camp-launched-for-kids-and-families-300283554.html

By Jarrett Carter, Education Dive

Ed Tech Magazine reports the six-year cohort entering college in 2009 graduated just 53% of its students, a number which demonstrates the need for effective retention strategies, perhaps centered around tech solutions.According to a recent Eduventures survey, 60% of responding institutions said technology was a part of their retention strategy, with more than 80% using an external resource. But only 38% of respondents indicated satisfaction with the technology’s help in improving completion rates. Institutions have a responsibility to work more closely with IT in retention tech implementation, but vendors should look to partner more effectively with institutions in developing retention solutions.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/are-effective-retention-strategies-dependent-upon-ed-tech/420772/

By Wes Beckstead, Mail Tribune

For many high school seniors, this time of year can create mixed emotions of excitement and apprehension — as they close one chapter of their lives and open another. That’s why it’s nice to hear that our online public school, Oregon Connections Academy (ORCA), has given many of our students the tools they need to succeed in life. The other day we heard from Taylor Ambrosio Wood, formerly of Ashland and a member of the ORCA graduating class of 2011. She was able to graduate from our school a year early at age 17 because she was able to work at her own pace and move ahead of her peers in required credits. When it came to education and music, Taylor followed her own beat. At 9 years old, she started playing a Zimbabwean marimba and her musical interests grew from there. Last year, she received her bachelor’s degree in music from the Boston Conservatory and next month, at 22 years old, Taylor hopes to finish her master’s degree in Spain. Research shows graduates who’ve experienced online education are often better prepared for college.

http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20160612/OPINION/160619919

By Ryann Vargas, NBC Bay Area

Thousands of kids and teens are being taught coding skills at public schools and private academies across the Bay Area. Yet these skills are out of reach for a number of bay area kids, creating a digital divide. Reading, writing and arithmetic used to be the three basics of a solid education. But in this age, more kids are learning to code as well. Thousands of kids and teens are being taught coding skills at public schools and private academies across the Bay Area. “Coding is an essential, basic technique that teaches kids how to think and how to problem solve,” said Wayne Teng, co-founder of The Coder School. The school has three locations in Cupertino, Palo Alto and San Mateo. “We definitely think it’s a very essential and basic skill.”

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Coding-The-Digital-Divide-382410061.html

by SWNS

In recent years, online learning has rapidly grown as an effective alternative to attending classes at a physical school, college or university. Thanks to advances in Internet technology such as cloud computing, it has become much easier for students to complete their courses solely online. In fact, as online learning has grown in popularity, more and more students agree that this alternative method of study is actually more effective and better than traditional methods. If you are considering furthering your career and want to take classes to gain extra qualifications, read on to learn more about why online learning could be the best choice for you.

http://swns.com/news/the-top-benefits-of-online-learning-73562/

By Jin-Soo Huh, EdSurge

As the school year winds down, some educators have spent numerous hours finding the right online products for the 2016-2017 school year by taking demos from vendors, piloting programs, and soliciting feedback. Others went to a conference, saw something shiny, and bought it for their entire school or district. But, even with a significant dedication of time and funds, many of these product licenses will not come close to hitting their teacher or student usage goals. In a study of 49 schools, Lea(R)n Trials found that 37% of purchased online literacy and math program licenses were never even activated; an additional 28% of licenses were activated, but usage goals were never hit. In fact, only 5% of users “fully” hit all usage goals, as shown below.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-06-08-when-i-buy-edtech-products-our-teachers-don-t-use-them-what-do-i-do

By Jarrett Carter, Education Dive

Research by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation offers a statistical profile of college students in America and includes details that may surprise some administrators about who they are serving. The report found 62% of students are working full- or part-time while pursuing their degrees, and nearly as many (59%) are commuting to class from off-campus residences. Two-thirds of all college students are full-time, non-Pell Grant eligible students who attend four-year institutions. The number of students who exclusively take courses online (13%) may also be surprising to some.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/gates-foundation-provides-snapshot-of-todays-american-college-student/420587/

by Leigh Spann, WFLA

“85 percent of people in this country will never step foot in a gym and cannot afford the cost in the average fitness industry,” said Keith Kochner, Co-founder of LiveStreamingFitness.com and Chief Visionary Officer. “What they’ve done very well is that they’ve leveraged the part of the population that can afford to pay the average cost,” said Kochner. He and his company saw an opportunity to bring much-needed fitness and health resources to the rest of the country. For $9.90 a month, LiveStreamingFitness.com offers various workout classes, nutritional education and cooking demonstrations for an entire family. You just log in and see which classes you want to take and when. The classes are taught on what seems to be a one-on-one basis. It can even be interactive. You can write a comment or question on the wall of the site, and a producer will relay that to the trainer who can answer your question.

http://wfla.com/2016/06/10/fitness-craze-streaming-workout-classes-online/

vy Jarrett Carter, Education Dive

New research suggests wearable technology may grow by 46% in the next four years, and that colleges and universities may be among the largest consumer group for the technology in an effort to bolster student living and learning experiences. Schools like Oral Roberts University currently require first-year students to purchase and wear Fitbit devices to track fitness and activity levels. The school uses the synced data to build profiles of student academic, personal achievement. The projected boom in wearable technology presents additional challenges for campus IT officials, with potential threats to network security and data privacy increasing with the number of personal enterprise devices on campus.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/classroom-tech-may-become-question-of-what-to-wear/420584/

By Dian Schaffhauser, THE Journal

Moodle has introduced new fee-based packaging versions of its cloud-based learning management system intended specifically for K-12 schools. Moodle for School comes in three plans, with basic variations on the number of users licensed to access the cloud service and the amount of file upload space. Moodle is an open source learning platform with functionality that can be developed with “plug-ins.” These are used like blocks that work together to create a custom version of the application.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/06/02/moodle-releases-k12-edition-of-lms.aspx

By Dian Schaffhauser, THE Journal

TechSmith has updated its inexpensive screen, video and audio capture tool, Snagit. Version 13 for Windows and version 4 for Mac add personalization capabilities, a panoramic feature for capturing images that go beyond a single display, new tools in the editor and the ability to create animated GIF files. The latest releases give users the ability to configure many aspects of the utility’s functionality, including how captures are depicted and how the user toolbar is laid out. A “panoramic” feature lets the user capture an entire web page, large Excel spreadsheet or other tall or wide displays that stretch beyond what can be viewed on a single screen.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/06/09/techsmith-updates-snagit-with-gif-panoramic-features.aspx

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

An education technology accelerator is working with an ed tech company to collaborate on a project to understand how teachers and students interact with digital content and whether that personalization makes a difference on student engagement. Jefferson Education announced the deal with Fishtree, which includes a financial investment. Jefferson Ed was created by the foundation that supports the University of Virginia Curry School of Education with the intention of identifying and helping to scale promising education innovations. The accelerator provides mentoring, analysis, networking opportunities, access to financing and evaluation of products and services to companies in the education sector at the “growth” stage. Support also includes connections with researchers embarking on relevant education research projects.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/06/09/ed-tech-companies-examine-impact-of-digital-content-in-personalized-learning.aspx

by RUSSELL HIXSON, Journal of Commerce

Spending months away from work without income and away from one’s family can often discourage apprenticeship training and skills upgrading. This is why some training providers are experimenting with alternative programs that utilize technology to speed up learning and minimize time on campus. And with such a huge looming demand for skilled labour, the industry is looking to remove any barrier it can to train up the next generation. Victoria Pazukha, strategy and business development manager at SkillSource BC, spoke at the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum’s annual conference this month in Vancouver about a new program with Thompson Rivers University (TRU). “We analyzed some of the needs readily showing themselves,” Pazukha said.

http://journalofcommerce.com/Labour/News/2016/6/Cutting-class-trades-training-shifts-online-1016536W/

By Rosie Foulger, ULoop

So, school’s out! Your finals are over, you’ve handed in that last assignment, and now summer stretches before you. Weeks and weeks of uninterrupted time. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be bored within a couple of those weeks. But I have a solution: online classes. Online classes over summer are a great (and often free) opportunity to explore your major. They give you the opportunity to discover new things within your field, and will give you some context for choosing classes next year. There are a huge number of classes on sites like Coursera and Future Learn (and even Uloop!) which will help you to find your area of specialism within your major, or to get some background knowledge from the beginning. Did you find something particularly difficult this semester? You can take an online class to solidify your understanding and practice key skills and concepts. All from the comfort of your own home.

http://www.uloop.com/news/view.php/203864/Why-You-Should-Take-Online-Classes-This-Summer

by EdSurge

Still think blockchain is a mythical beast? The technology just got a big endorsement from MIT’s Media Lab, which introduced a project for issuing official credentials on blockchain. MIT is working with Learning Machine, a Boston-based enterprise software company that offers solutions for enrollment management and portfolio review in addition to blockchain credentials, to build an ecosystem for issuing, displaying and verifying blockchain-based educational credentials. “Our goal is to help create an entirely new environment where individuals are the custodians of their official records and can easily share those records with others,” Learning Machine CEO Chris Jagers writes in a blog post.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-06-07-mit-media-lab-introduces-blockchain-technology-for-credentials

by Skema Online

There are five distinct reasons why business schools should be investing more in ‘online’ learning, according to Sophie Gay Anger, Head of Pedagogical Innovation at SKEMA business school. The ability to individualise student learning paths and feedbackt. Allows a shift in the learning relationship from professor to community. The need to develop key competencies for global managers. The ability to offer new teaching experiences and challenges. Online facilitates the development of a ‘continuous learning’ attitude – New and innovative learning tools and practices mean all activities are an opportunity to make links with fellow students and reflect on study topics collaboratively.

http://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/90789/five-reasons-why-business-schools-should-invest-more-in-online-/

by Technavio

Technavio’s latest report on the global online language learning market provides an analysis on the most important trends expected to impact the market outlook from 2016-2020. Technavio defines an emerging trend as a factor that has the potential to significantly impact the market and contribute to its growth or decline. Technavio announces top three emerging trends impacting the global online language learning market through 2020. The top three emerging trends driving the global online language learning market according to Technavio education research analysts are:

• Deployment of language cloud services
• Outsourcing of services
• Advances in technology

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160607005134/en/Technavio-Announces-Top-Emerging-Trends-Impacting-Global

by the CBC

Most students are looking forward to the end of the school year and start of summer. The Northern Ontario Centre for Learning Differences will host an online workshop, called School’s Out, Don’t Count us Out. The online tutorial for kids with learning disabilities is geared towards grades 7 and 8 students. Executive director Mary-Liz Warwick says the exciting part of this one-hour workshop is that schools across Northeastern Ontario will be able to access the learning by logging on to the website at any time. She says this is the first of several online sessions planned by the centre.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/online-workshop-learning-disabilities-1.3620085

by Paxton Riter, Inside Higher Ed

Talk about “skills gaps” in higher education typically refers to the asymmetry between workforce demands and college capacity. Articles and speeches abound that explain the increasing demand for degrees — and the failure of higher education to keep pace. But to those of us who spend time with leaders at the most innovative colleges and universities in the country, the term “skills gap” is beginning to develop another significance. Colleges and universities, under unprecedented pressure to improve outcomes, are investing in technology at a breakneck pace. They are applying new modalities for learning (online, blended, flipped) to support faculty members and engage students. And therein lies the rub. Instructional designers are, in many ways, the linchpin of higher education’s digital transformation. But great instructional designers are hard to find.

by Digital Journal

Professional online courses are gaining popularity among learners in India. The emphasis put on technical education is fostering the market growth. These courses are mainly beneficial for learners who have to discontinue formal education. Traditional methods of classroom teaching, wherein classes are conducted in physical premises, demanded learners to take out time from their busy schedules. This acted as a trade-off to manage their routine work and studies accordingly. With the emergence of online courses and trainings, learners can continue with their profession and studies simultaneously.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/2963654

by Bradley Fuster, US News

As students first apply to earn an online degree, they must interact with multiple offices, from admissions and financial aid to academic advising and the registrar office. Their first experience interacting with these offices can foreshadow the type of service experience students could expect throughout their studies. However, as online students and programs continue to multiply, campuses are expanding the range and reach of available student support services. SUNY—Buffalo State, for example, is implementing a virtual concierge that will centrally network student support services through a single point of digital contact. If students need financial aid assistance, a transcript, academic advisement, a writing tutor, help with the learning management system or an appointment at the counseling center, they will contact the virtual concierge for intake, ticketing, routing and appointment scheduling with the appropriate office. SUNY—Buffalo State also recently adopted a policy for professors who teach online or hybrid classes to offer virtual office hours.

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-learning-lessons/articles/2016-06-06/4-tips-for-using-support-services-as-an-online-student