Educational Technology

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

The mobility rate defined by the Equality of Opportunity Project considers a college’s access, the size of the population of students from families in the bottom fifth of income distribution and its success rate in helping those students move into the top fifth of income distribution. According to the researchers, the colleges that have the highest upward mobility rates are typically mid-tier public schools that have two elements: the largest numbers of low-income students and “very good outcomes.” Nobody in the ranking has a mobility rate of 10 percent or higher. California State University, Los Angeles came closest with a mobility rate of 9.9 percent. The access rate for Cal State LA was 33.1 percent; and the success rate was 29.9 percent. Pace University and Stony Brook University in New York both came in second with a mobility rate of 8.4 percent. Access at Pace was 15.2 percent; the success rate was 55.6 percent. The access rate at Stony Brook was 16.4 percent, and the success rate was 51.2 percent.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/02/21/mid-tier-colleges-do-better-job-of-upward-mobility.aspx

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/why-should-we-invest-in-stem-education/

by Jarrett Carter, Education Dive

A University of Southern California project using cameras and sensors to gather analytical data about student engagement and the intersections of teaching and learning is just one of a growing number of initiatives on campuses nationwide to harness the Internet of Things (IoT) to improve outcomes and create innovation within the burgeoning tech sector, Ed Tech: Focus on Higher Ed reported. Schools including Case Western University and Carnegie Mellon University are using IoT to develop innovative ideas, including measuring energy produced by people and machinery, and apps that can be helpful in specific surroundings as a way to improve the campus experience. Syracuse University has been researching machine-to-machine communication for more than a decade, and officials there say the work is a platform for higher education to pioneer technology that can make work and data processing faster and more efficient.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/college-campus-internet-of-things-iot-syracuse-usc-case-western-carnegie-mellon/436668/

by Kelsey Munro, Sydney Morning Tribune

“Don’t teach your kids coding,” says New York Times journalist Thomas Friedman. “Well – teach it if you want. But before you teach them coding, teach them digital civics: how to talk to one another on the internet, how to understand fact from fiction.” The internet is a sewer “of untreated, unfiltered information,” he told his audience of teachers and international education leaders at a conference in Dubai on the weekend, “and if we don’t build the values filters so our children can interact in this environment, with real values … we have a real problem.”

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/dont-teach-your-kids-coding-teach-them-how-to-live-online-20170323-gv5e9r.html

By Tanner Mondok, the Jambar

Classrooms no longer consist of only 20 desks and a chalkboard — they now most likely have at least a few computers and a projector at their fingertips. Technology has completely changed the way professors teach their classes and that trend isn’t going anywhere. Technology in classrooms has evolved to the point where students now have the ability to never leave their house but still get an education thanks to online classes. Sal Sanders, dean of College of Graduate Studies and a health professions professor, teaches an online class and said that technology is the classroom. “It is the learning environment for me and for the students,” he said. “It’s not so much the effect of technology on students and on the classroom, it’s just how we live today.”

http://www.thejambar.com/invasion-tech-classroom/

by Heather Black, WSBT 22

Warsaw Community Schools will now be able to make up two of their snow days through technology. The Board of Trustees voted 7 to 0 to approve E-Learning. It’s an online course where students can complete school work. All Indiana schools are required by law to have 180 student instructional days. E-learning is one option the Indiana Department of Education gives schools to make up missed days. The board has wanted something like this for years.

http://wsbt.com/news/local/warsaw-community-schools-approve-e-learning-to-make-up-for-snow-days

By Holly Brockwell, Gizmodo UK

There are heaps of ways to learn languages online, from intensive tutored courses to fun cartoony apps. You can even learn made-up languages, like Dothraki, Klingon and Esperanto – a fact that must be somewhat frustrating to Inky Gibbens, founder of the Tribalingual platform for dying languages. Gibbens is half Buryat – a subgroup of the Mongols – and set up the platform when she realised that the Buryat language of her maternal grandparents is classified as endangered by UNESCO. A language dies every two weeks according to the UN, with half of the current 7,000 languages expected to be gone by the turn of the century.

http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2017/02/online-platform-teaches-dying-languages-to-save-them-from-extinction/

BY DRMATT, Tech Edvocate

Makerspaces are spaces for hands-on interactive learning. These spaces have become popular in many communities, schools, and libraries due to their emphasis on creative learning and STEAM subjects. Both educators and parents have seen the impact of makerspaces on the ability of children to learn twenty-first-century skills. These spaces have sprung up across the country and can be found in a variety of locations. The primary aspect of any makerspace is the fact that creative hands-on learning opportunities are provided to users.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/how-to-create-a-makerspace-in-any-space/

by Mackenzie Ryan, Des Moines Register

Johnson is among a small but growing group of parents that want flexibility in their children’s schooling — and the ability to access it from anywhere, at any time. They are part of a movement to give more education options to Iowa families, and the controversial effort to allow public money to fund it. In 2013, Iowa students first enrolled in virtual schools run by for-profit companies that contracted with two rural districts. The two schools that operate here, Iowa Virtual School and Iowa Connections Academy, are considered public schools. They meet the same regulations as other public schools, such as testing students and requiring Iowa-certified teachers. They also receive state funds. “It offers the curriculum in a different way that allows him to learn well, and return his love of learning,” said parent Michelle Majeski, who enrolled one of her two sons in the Connections Academy. “It’s a great school.”

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/education/2017/02/19/iowa-families-foregoing-classroom-virtual-school/97413100/

By Allie Mitchell, ULoop

Online courses are convenient to lots of students around the world and can sometimes even save you money on gas, books, and living expenses. Of course, this is all for if you are thinking about the college or academic way of things. When students think of online courses, they primarily think of school and courses based on science or math or some type of academia. This is standard and usually, that is exactly what students are talking about. However, there are also online courses that are essentially for everyone, you just may have to dig a little deeper to find out what they are. The online courses listed below are related to hobbies instead of academics, such as photography, music, and drawing.

http://www.uloop.com/news/view.php/226620/7-Online-Courses-Related-to-Hobbies

by tech Edvocate

Digital technology has taken the world by storm – particularly in the past decade. It makes sense that this trend would have an impact on K-12 learning because there is nothing in modern American society that digital technology has not touched. While the names of the mobile applications and computer programs may change, there are some foundational ways that technology has already changed the face of education forever. Take a look.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/4-ways-digital-technology-has-changed-k-12-learning/