Educational Technology

December 17, 2016

Grants Support Teachers Pushing Blended and Online Learning

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:35 am

By Dian Schaffhauser, THE Journal

One teacher is developing open physics curriculum; another is evolving a tutoring program in a blended format; and a third is working on competency-based math lessons. All three of these instructors, alongside several others, have been the recipients of teacher grants from the Foundation for Blended and Online Learning intended to help them continue creating or expanding personalized learning programs that incorporate blended and online learning components. The foundation is a charitable organization set up by K12, an education technology company that produces online curriculum for schools and families.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/12/09/grants-support-teachers-pushing-blended-and-online-learning.aspx

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Educational Technology Resources for Teachers: The Definitive Guide

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:28 am

by Any Software Tools

A quick research reveals that there isn’t a lack of EdTech tools on the Internet. In fact, there are tons of them. However, many of them are outdated, superficial, or commercial. Also, I strongly feel implementing tech tools is not enough, and there has to be quality content and continuous learning — which are most likely achievable only by involving yourself in the communities. Therefore, I figured it would be great to curate a comprehensive list of the web’s best EdTech resources that classroom teachers can really benefit. That is what this resource guide has to offer: featuring a collection of tools, bloggers, conferences, social communities, and more.

http://www.anysoftwaretools.com/edtech-resource-guide/

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Online Language Learning in the US – Market Drivers and Forecasts

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:27 am

by Technavio

The research study covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the online language learning market in the US for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, Technavio analysts consider the revenue generated from the sales of foreign language learning products and services provided by online language learning providers. The widespread penetration of smartphones and mobile devices and increased Internet accessibility have boosted the online education system. This has led to the evolution of m-learning. Consequently, many foreign language learning mobile apps are developed to provide online language courses to end-users. All these fundamental developments in schools and colleges are encouraging language learning companies to invest in software, which can provide language learning solutions to diverse student population base in the US.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161209005026/en/Online-Language-Learning-%E2%80%93-Market-Drivers-Forecasts

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December 16, 2016

Library of Congress Boosts Digital Public Library Database with Historic Maps

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:40 am

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

A portal that serves as a search engine into the collections of libraries, museums and archives around the country has struck a deal with the Library of Congress to share several of its historic map collections. The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA), a non-profit organization funded by foundations and government agencies, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the nation’s de facto library to become a “content hub partner.” Under the arrangement the Library of Congress will share three batches of map and chart records, one from the Revolutionary War, another from the Civil War, and the third from a “panoramic maps” collection depicting U.S. and Canadian cities and towns during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Currently, the contents will include about 5,000 items, but as the Library of Congress continues to digitize its map collections, the number of items shared will increase. Likewise, the Library expects to add other digital collections as well, including photos and sheet music.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/12/05/library-of-congress-boosts-digital-public-library-database-with-historic-maps.aspx

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VR, AR, and the Internet of Things: Life Beyond Second Life – A Q&A with Phil Repp

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:35 am

By Mary Grush, Campus Technology

“It gets even more interesting when virtual and augmented reality meet the Internet of Things.” — Phil Repp. Ball State University has been exploring virtual reality since the early days of Second Life. Here, CT talks with Vice President for Information Technology Phil Repp about how our hyper reality has changed, with more advanced virtual reality, augmented reality, the ability to work in HD, the inclusion of the IoT and datasets, and the increasing accessibility of related tools and devices.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/12/06/life-beyond-second-life-vr-ar-iot.aspx

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New Bluetooth Spec Delivers Longer Range, Faster Speed

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:30 am

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

Next year’s wireless headphones, fitness trackers, glucose monitors and in-car audio traffic navigators are expected to offer a longer range, faster performance and a larger broadcast message capacity with this week’s adoption of Bluetooth 5. Bluetooth is a low-power, short-range wireless standard that shows up in consumer electronics, home automation, medical devices, automotive and a lot of other product categories. It’s the technology that enabled Apple to eliminate its headphone jack from the latest iPhone models; the company’s coming AirPods ear buds rely on Bluetooth to connect to the device. The new specification, officially approved by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), delivers four times the range, double the speed and eight times the broadcast message capacity of the previous standard, Bluetooth 4.x. Version 5 is expected to provide coverage across a house-sized building and deliver more responsive performance (2 megabits per second compared to 4.x’s one Mbps).

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/12/08/new-bluetooth-spec-delivers-longer-range-faster-speed.aspx

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December 15, 2016

A Shift Toward Learning Design

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:35 am

By Edward Maloney, EdSurge

At the university level, course design has traditionally been easy for faculty to manage on their own—until, that is, digital technologies began to play a role and online courses started to take off. What’s more, curricula are growing more complex and variable, employers are broadening their expectations, and students are required to engage intelligently with challenging issues such as social justice and human rights. One way of acknowledging the uniqueness of instructional design in higher education is by marking the shift from instructional design to what is being called “learning design.” As a result, there is a growing demand for pedagogical design experts—instructional designers, learning engineers, and learning designers—to help deepen and enrich the learning experience for students in colleges and universities.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-12-05-a-shift-toward-learning-design-what-it-isn-t-why-it-s-needed-and-if-it-s-right-for-you

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UA to Launch First-of-Its-Kind Online Science Academy

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:30 am

by David Miller, U Arizona

Set to launch in the spring, the UA Online Science Academy will enable students to take STEM courses. After months of planning, the University of Arizona is set to launch the UA Online Science Academy. The new initiative will allow students to take science courses — such as chemistry, biology, space and atmospheric sciences, environmental sciences, and physiology — without the need to be physically present on campus. The academy comes at a critical juncture for the UA, as the institution continues its mission to increase access to higher education on a global scale. The initiative also represents a huge leap forward for the online academic world, as sciences — especially lab sciences — long have been considered a missing puzzle piece for online learners.

https://uanews.arizona.edu/story/ua-launch-firstofitskind-online-science-academy

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December 14, 2016

Generic E-learning Courses Market in the US to Grow 10% by 2020

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:41 am

by Business Wire

As learning technology and its associated tools continue to evolve, organizations are increasingly adopting e-learning tools to improve workforce effectiveness and enhance employee skills across various segments, thereby reducing costs. The report has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. It covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market. According to the report, the corporate and academic sectors have extensively adopted online learning methodologies. The regular course curriculum in institutions consists of online course content in the form of generic e-learning courses.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161206005862/en/Generic-E-learning-Courses-Market-Grow-10-2020

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Learn to lead education transformation – Microsoft and edX

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:35 am

by Andrew Robertson, Microsoft

An important part of Microsoft’s commitment to education transformation is empowering school leaders to do more, whether that’s enhancing classroom learning and outcomes for today, or getting schools ready for tomorrow’s challenges. So we’re especially excited to announce that registration is open for our latest professional courses, offered in partnership with edX. Starting in January, these five new online courses are designed to help guide K-12 school principals and headmasters, superintendents and school leaders through the challenges – and opportunities – of education transformation. These brand new courses have been designed to include the latest research, current technologies and proven approaches to learning design. Supported by Microsoft, the content is designed to empower all leaders, in all positions, to help their schools do more, be more, and achieve more. The courses are designed by top universities, taught by leading experts in their fields, and open to everyone. Best of all, they’re completely free.

https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/ukschools/2016/12/06/learn-to-lead-education-transformation-microsoft-and-edx/

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Universities reveal how technology is closing the STEM-Humanities gap

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:29 am

BY MERIS STANSBURY, eCampus News

One of the best skills that humanities majors usually learn is the art of communication, thanks to what feels like hundreds of essay papers culminating in theses that must be argued in order to graduate. However, with the onset of social media and online community platforms, technology has the potential to help incorporate a STEM aspect of communication in the form of data science—one of the most coveted career fields today. Already, the University of Texas allows students to learn to monitor and analyze social media conversations and their impact using NUVI monitoring dashboards. AdGrad is the social media brand and the curriculum is part of the School of Advertising & Public Relations. Students work in teams to create content calendars and original content for the school’s channels and its hub, AdGradLife. In the fall, AdGrad will have three teams working to produce original content for social media channels.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/stem/technology-stem-humanities-gap/

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December 13, 2016

The evolution of online learning in policy and the classroom

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:40 am

by NATALIE BURG, Model D Media

In 2007, Pete Bush became the principal for Coopersville High School near Grand Rapids, which had no online learning opportunities in place. But because he knew Michigan Virtual Schools was offering new foreign language courses, he thought he’d seize the opportunity to help students learn in a new way and take a course the small school of just 800 students couldn’t offer itself. “We found some students who were interested in Mandarin Chinese online, and I served as their mentor because I wanted to learn as much about the process as I could,” Bush says. “In the first couple of years we almost had to find things for him to do to justify his full-time position,” recalls Bush, who is now the superintendent of Coloma Community Schools. “But by the time I left Coopersville in 2014, there were nearly 300 students each semester taking online courses.” That’s a big portion of the school’s 800 total students. Over the last decade, that growth has happened in schools all over Michigan.

http://www.modeldmedia.com/features/onlinelearning11316.aspx

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Debunking myths about online learning

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:36 am

by Tom Frederick, Cincinnati.com

There is much discussion today questioning the viability of online instruction. A colleague recently stated to me that the argument for the effectiveness of online instruction is still up in the air. I argued back that the old-fashioned brick-and-mortar institution might be the pedagogy that is more in danger. Throughout the years, the stylus has replaced pencils; the interactive whiteboard has replaced the chalkboard; word processing programs have replaced lined paper. Families no longer sit around their radio at night to listen to the latest serial. Telephones now follow you, and television is available at your fingertips. More movies are watched at home than in the theater.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/contributors/2016/11/29/debunking-myths-online-learning/93907902/

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Instagram is the latest social media firm to tweak its app in an attempt to prevent harassment

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:29 am

by Melissa Etehad, LA Times

Instagram on Tuesday announced policy changes intended to combat online bullying that has, for some users, turned the photo-sharing service into a platform for harassment. Kevin Systrom, co-founder and chief executive of Instagram, said the social network is rolling out three features that give users more control over their online experience in an effort to foster a safer environment.

http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-instagram-harassment-20161206-story.html

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December 12, 2016

Technology Use Among Teachers Strong and Growing

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:40 am

By David Nagel, eSchool News

The vast majority of teachers are using technology daily with their students, and most say their use of technology will increase even more next year, according to a new study involving 2,500 K–12 teachers. The study, conducted by adaptive learning provider Front Row Education, found that 75 percent of teachers use technology with students on a daily basis and that a bit more than half have a 1-to-1 ratio of devices to students in their classrooms (up 10 points from last year’s survey). That increase in student devices is helping to drive an increase in the use of technology, with about 60 percent of teachers surveyed saying they expect to increase the use of technology in the 2016–2017 school year. According to the study, other factors cited as contributing to an increase use of technology included: Positive results from the use of technology with students; Expectations from administrators; and Access to quality software.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/11/17/technology-use-among-teachers-strong-and-growing.aspx

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We used these Google tools in our schools and saw tangible results soar

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:35 am

BY LARRY PAPE AND JOHN WATSON, eSchool News

At Evergreen Education Group we’ve studied K-12 digital education for sixteen years. Among the most important developments we have seen is the proliferation of devices in the classroom, whether through bring-your-own-device, district-led one-to-one programs, or other channels. However, relatively little study to date has examined how devices are successfully deployed and what their impact has been. Over the course of 16 months we spoke with more than 100 district and school leaders in six countries representing more than 880,000 students, analyzed each school’s documents and data, conducted surveys of administrators, teachers and students, and reviewed surveys that the schools conducted. Our goal at every step was to let educators tell their stories, be honest about the challenges and failures, and celebrate the successes in the vein of highlighting these wonderful schools and providing guidance as schools continue down the digital path.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2016/12/01/google-tools-schools/

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App of the Week: STEM goes underwater

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:31 am

BY MERIS STANSBURY, eSchool News

Solve, create, and share puzzles that gush with STEM learning. Busy Water is a logical puzzle-solving game where a tricky cat has unplugged Archie the fish’s tank. Through over 100 levels, kids put together pipes, experiment with water in its various states, and use wheels, ropes, rotating planks, and gravity to safely direct Archie to his aquarium. Higher levels unlock only after kids successfully complete previous levels.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2016/12/05/app-week-stem-goes-underwater/

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December 11, 2016

Students with Disabilities Meet Challenges with Online Courses, Accessibility Improvements

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:40 am

By Beth Salamon, Rutgers

According to the Americans ​with Disabilities Act, online courses must be made accessible to students with disabilities, but it’s up to individual schools to establish their own online standards. At Rutgers, a universal design committee was established to speak with students like Etori and research the best ways to make online courses the most accessible for all students, as well as those with disabilities. This universitywide committee, led by Rutgers Center for Online and Hybrid Learning & Instructional Technologies, consists of faculty, staff and administrators in Camden, Newark and New Brunswick who are active in the online education space. The guidelines created by the committee will help faculty design better online courses, says Antonius Bittmann, associate vice president of online programs. They cover everything from using certain fonts that are more legible on screen to using headings in the correct style for screen readers to be able to decipher the information. All course material should be accessible in different ways, whether through audio or video or text.

http://news.rutgers.edu/feature/students-disabilities-meet-challenges-online-courses-accessibility-improvements/20161130#.WEV2a9IrLow

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Finish Graduate School Requirements Online After College

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:36 am

By Jordan Friedman, US News

For students who need to finish graduate school requirements after college, online education might be the way to go. That learning format, experts say, provides flexibility for the recent college graduate or career-changer who’s also working. “Students can take classes at their own pace; they can remain in their work environment and essentially meet those prerequisites quicker and ultimately more affordably,” given that they don’t need to move near campus, says Mac Powell, president of Bastyr University, which focuses on health sciences and has online courses. Universities might offer online postbac options across disciplines – from accounting to teaching certification programs – though premedical and pre-health courses are particularly common, experts say. Colorado State University Online offers several online postbac health courses in fields ranging from gerontology to physical therapy. The University of Georgia has an online postbac program in classical languages.

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2016-12-01/finish-graduate-school-requirements-online-after-college

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Credo Contributes Analytics to Open edX Platform

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:30 am

By Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology

Credo today announced that it is contributing reporting, learning outcomes tracking and analytics features to Open edX, the open source learning management system originally developed for edX’s online courses and MOOCs. In particular, Credo has developed the ability to tag questions in edX Studio, the platform’s course-building tool. According to the company, tagging questions allows users to track information across courses, such as students’ mastery of a particular learning outcome. The tracking information is viewable in edX’s Analytics reports, providing a way to measure student comprehension and evaluate the effectiveness of course materials.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/12/01/credo-contributes-analytics-to-open-edx-platform.aspx

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December 10, 2016

Look Good, Feel Good, Do Better in Online Courses

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:40 am

By Amanda Cohen, ULoop

There is a common belief among college students that dressing nicely will help them focus better in class, and ultimately receive a better grade in the course. However, I have never thought about this “Look good, feel good, do better” debate applying to online courses until now. Usually, students will take online courses over summer vacation in order to get ahead in credits (at least most of my friends did). Whenever we would discuss online courses, most of my friends would say that they complete most of the work in their pajamas/comfortable gear lying in bed. So, the question at hand is whether or not students would be more successful in their online courses if they dressed for the occasion? Honestly, it truly depends on the person. However, I do find that I am most successful in accomplishing what I need to get done when my outward appearance is on the cute-casual spectrum rather than the pajama spectrum.

http://www.uloop.com/news/view.php/220302/Look-Good-Feel-Good-Do-Better-in-Online-Courses

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