Educational Technology

April 30, 2017

UC-Berkeley removing resources not compliant with accessibility standards

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:39 am

by Pat Donachie, Education Dive

The University of California at Berkeley is removing older videos, recordings and other resources from public platforms in accordance with a January ruling from the U.S. Department of Justice that all public online content must be accessible to all viewers, including those with disabilities, under federal law, University Business reports. Higher education institutions are not required to abide by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, but often choose to adhere to the standards, and most of Berkeley’s content since 2015 has been captured in a manner that meets accessibility standards. Though content that is not appropriately accessible will not be available to the public, UC-Berkeley students, teachers and staff will be able to log in to YouTube via school-supported IDs for continued access.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/uc-berkeley-removing-resources-not-compliant-with-accessibility-standards/440994/

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UM is offering an online course to teach the public on how fake news can be spotted

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

by Audri Taylors, UniversityHerald

Fake news has been everywhere, constantly confusing and misleading people from the truth. And now, they are even more difficult to spot, for which reason the University of Michigan prepares to offer an online course to help their citizens be equipped on effectively spotting fake news. The faculty members of University of Michigan is offering a free online course on Friday, April 21 entitled “Fake News, Facts, and Alternative Facts” on the edX website, Michigan Radio reported. This is the website that universities use to offer free online classes to the public. According to Brian Weeks who teach communication studies, it is good that Google and Facebook are launching new tools to better help the public be informed on how to distinguish what is true and what is not. He believes that one way to do it is through citizen education.

http://www.universityherald.com/articles/73355/20170419/university-michigan-offers-online-class-help-citizens-identify-fake-news.htm

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17 of our favorite Raspberry Pi projects

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

by ZDNet

It’s surprisingly easy to build your own retro gaming console, media center and smartphone — all from scratch. We’re big fans of the Raspberry Pi here at ZDNet. These inexpensive mini computers are amazing — you can turn them into retro gaming consoles, printer, media servers, smart speakers, and more. Making your own electronics from scratch may seem daunting at first, but we promise: There are plenty of simple, easy, and inexpensive Raspberry Pi projects that don’t require you to code. They’re great for tinkerers and makers of all ages. Here are our favorite projects.

http://www.zdnet.com/pictures/raspberry-pi-projects-you-can-build-retropie-kodi/

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April 29, 2017

Back to the Future of Edtech: A Meditation

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:39 am

by John O’Brien, EDUCAUSE

Understanding the past is important, and thinking about the future is fundamentally human, but more fascinating still is the combination, the history of the future. Ultimately, as I position myself at the crossroads between the past and the future… I imagine that it is possible that artificial intelligence developments in the years ahead might well improve learning without turning the keys to the kingdom over to Tay, the Microsoft chatbot who went from “humans are super cool” to holocaust-denying racist in a day. I imagine it is possible that personalized and adaptive learning could well preserve that which is sacred in the faculty-student relationship, freeing faculty to focus on what matters most. After all, what I cherish most about the colleges and universities I have attended are the human connections.

https://www.educause.edu/interactive/2017/4/back-to-the-future-of-edtech/

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Report measures colleges’ return on investment for students

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

by Pat Donachie, Education Dive

PayScale released its latest report measuring the return on investment for students graduating from 1,400 different public and private nonprofit colleges throughout the country, marking 10 years since it first published data measuring the money students from certain colleges made after graduating, according to Inside Higher Ed. The PayScale report mirrored results from other studies, revealing that colleges specializing in engineering or science disciplines offer the best ROI for students, in addition to finding that public colleges offer a better ROI, which is likely due to having much lower tuition and ancillary costs than private institutions.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/report-measures-colleges-return-on-investment-for-students/440780/

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Personalized Learning – What the Research Shows

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

by Matthew Lynch, tech Edvocate

As far as technology goes, some programs have proven to stand out among others in the arena of available tools for personalized learning. For example, some math programs are integrative and adaptive to the needs of each child using the program. These programs promote learning engagement and student motivation in ways that other models have failed to do so in previous years. Some studies have spent lots of time focusing on research for these various types of technology and techniques regarding personalized learning. Schools that participated in the study have experienced positive effects as a result of using these technologies and techniques. Math, science, and reading scores have improved over the two years these schools took place in the study, too. Most of these scores are at or above national averages as well.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/personalized-learning/

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April 28, 2017

Exercise devised to boost completion rates of some online learning courses: study

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

by Xinhua

A study indicates that a simple writing activity, lasting about eight minutes, increased completion rates for people from individualistic, but not collectivist, cultures to take online learning courses. While more than 58 million people have enrolled in MOOCs between 2011 and 2016, according to researchers who published their findings in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, course completion rates are only about 10 percent, and just 25 percent for learners categorized as “highly committed.” René Kizilcec, a Stanford University doctoral candidate in communication and the study’s lead author and Geoffrey Cohen, a professor at Stanford’s Graduate School of Education and Department of Psychology and the study’s co-author, cite a lack of external or social pressure to complete courses and little support or guidance as reasons for high attrition in MOOCs.

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1042970.shtml

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Google AI experiment may lead to robots that can learn WITHOUT human input

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

by Tim Collins Daily Mail

And creating robots that can learn without any input from humans is moving ever closer, thanks to the latest developments in artificial intelligence. One such project seeks to pit the wits of two AI algorithms against each other, with results that could one day lead to the emergence of such intelligent machines. Researchers at the Google Brain AI lab have developed a system known as a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN). Conventional AI uses input to ‘teach’ an algorithm about a particular subject by feeding it massive amounts of information. This knowledge can then be employed for a specific task – facial recognition being just one example. GANs seek to generate new content from this learned information, creating digital content like pictures and video based on their understanding of similar real life images and footage.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4420804/Experiment-lead-machine-s-learning-without-humans.html

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A Russian hacker has created his own ‘starter pack’ ransomware service

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

By Zack Whittaker, Zero Day

A new kind of highly-customized ransomware recently discovered by security researchers allows individual criminals to deliver “ransomware-as-a-service”. What sets this ransomware apart from other kinds of file-locking software is that criminals who buy this specialized malware, dubbed Karmen, can remotely control the ransomware from their web browser, allowing the attacker to see at-a-glance a centralized web dashboard of their entire ransomware campaign. That dashboard allows the attacker to manage their fleet of infected victims’ computers, such as by tracking how much money they’ve made. If this figure falls short, the attacker can then bump the price of the ransom they seek. In other words, it’s a “starter pack” for low-level criminals to engage in ransomware campaigns, said Andrei Barysevich, director of advanced collection at Recorded Future, who co-authored the report. “For $175, any script kiddie can carry out ransomware attacks,” he said on the phone.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/a-russian-hacker-has-created-his-own-starter-pack-ransomware-service/
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April 27, 2017

Makerspace comes to Case Western Reserve University

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

by Pat Donachie, Education Dive

Case Western University will soon open the think(box), which will act as a venue for students to engage in innovation and tinker with fresh ideas, according to the Chronicle for Higher Education. The university is encouraging students and others to utilize the new makerspace for construction and experimentation, with one floor housing woodworking tools and 3-D printers, as well as a paint shop and welding station. ​The notion of makerspaces first flourished at engineering schools, but now colleges are all kinds are approaching the spaces through a multidisciplinary lens, encouraging engineers to meet students on other tracks in the hopes of spurring all students involved to new creative heights.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/makerspace-comes-to-case-western-reserve-university/440666/

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Technology is key to reducing college education costs

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:32 am

by Brian Mulligan, the Irish Times

In 20 years’ time, fewer school leavers will go to college. Far more study options will be available, many on the internet – and much cheaper than what is offered now. Distance learning and work-based learning, including apprenticeships, will become more available, reducing the total cost of education by allowing school leavers to live at home and “earn while they learn”.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/technology-is-key-to-reducing-college-education-costs-1.3045100

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April 26, 2017

Online Music Composition Tool Helps Students Engage, Learn and Socialize

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

By Shelley Emslie, THE Journal

A fifth grade teacher from Montana reflects on how Soundtrap helped an unmotivated, unfocused student discover his voice and passion. One day in class during Genius Hour, I noticed this student really engaged on a Chromebook. He had earphones on, so I could not hear what he was listening to, but the smile on his face went from ear to ear. I had to find out what had him so captivated. After asking him what he was up to, he said, “I’m doing Soundtrap.” I had never heard of it, but soon learned about it from my colleague, Brianne Fuzesy, our music and band teacher. It is an online collaborative music and audio recording studio that runs on multiple platforms, including Chromebooks. Very easy to use, it gives students the tools to create music or podcasts and share them through the web with fellow students within an invited group.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2017/04/13/online-music-composition-tool-helps-students-engage-learn-and-socialize.aspx

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3 keys to student success with early college programs

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

BY DENNIS PIERCE, eSchool News

Guilford County, N.C., is a national leader in providing early college opportunities for students. Here’s what other districts can learn from its success. In all of these programs, students take high school courses taught by GCS instructors during their first two years. During their junior and senior years, they take college-level courses taught by college instructors, and they can graduate with up to two years of college credit tuition-free.At the STEM Early College at North Carolina A&T University, for instance, students can focus on one of three career pathways: biotechnology, engineering, or renewable and sustainable resources. “For many of our students, this program is their ticket to reaching their goals,” said Principal Jamisa Williams. “Their tuition is covered, and they are two years ahead of their peers when they graduate. That’s money in the bank for them.”

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2017/04/13/success-early-college-programs/

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This is what Gen Z-designed curriculum looks like for the future

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

BY DARREN FAUST, eSchool News

Cross-curricular lessons help Generation Z develop the problem-solving skills they will need in an ever-changing world for tomorrow’s jobs. Cross-curricular lessons are one way educators can prepare students for an uncertain future. With the national emphasis on STEM, cross-curricular learning teaches students about history, science, technology, engineering, and math (as well as art and literature), all while inspiring students to explore these subjects and make connections on their own. By making these connections and using multiple disciplines in their learning, students are learning creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills, all of which will be relevant no matter which career path they choose.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2017/04/17/gen-z-designed-curriculum/

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April 25, 2017

11 Ways to Make Your Online Course Go Global as a Freelance Educator

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

By Sarah Cordiner, THE Journal

The continued growth of online courses and the introduction of alternative accreditations will spawn a growth in freelance or independent professors. By 2025, all you need to start your own university is a great online teaching style, course materials and marketing plan.” The booming demand for self-study, on-demand and access-anytime training and education is evident through the popularity of platforms like Udemy and Coursera. The online learner is ready and waiting for your course. Many educators are shifting away from their traditional teacher, trainer and professor roles at brick-and-mortar institutions and realizing the benefits of freelancing, such as sharing their expertise beyond the walls of their classroom and earning extra compensation.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2017/04/11/11-ways-to-make-your-online-course-go-global-as-a-freelance-professor.aspx

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Computer Science Ed Policies: ‘We Have a Long Way to Go’

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

By Dian Schaffhauser, THE Journal

If understanding of computer science is essential to being an informed citizen, then it makes sense that every child needs an education in the use of computing devices and software, digital literacy and computational processing. That’s the premise of a new report developed by half a dozen organizations that undertook a state-by-state survey of the current state of K-12 CS education. The report, titled “State of the States Landscape Report: State-Level Policies Supporting Equitable K–12 Computer Science Education,” was released during a workshop led by Google, the Education Development Center (EDC), and the Massachusetts Computing Attainment Network (MassCAN) on Google’s Cambridge campus.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2017/04/10/state-progress-on-k12-computer-science-ed-policies.aspx

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Are some Georgia dual enrollment classes making it too easy to earn an A?

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

By Maureen Downey, Atlanta Journal Constitution

The state encourages high school students to take college courses through Georgia’s Move on When Ready dual enrollment program. Some high school students have long contended dual enrollment college courses are easier than their school’s AP or IB classes. The AJC’s Will Robinson looked into a report that MOWR classes at a few local high schools awarded an inordinate number of A grades. We are talking all 27 or 28 kids in the class earning an A.

http://getschooled.blog.myajc.com/2017/04/14/are-some-georgia-dual-enrollment-classes-making-it-too-easy-to-earn-an-a/

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April 24, 2017

Seventeen jobs, five careers: learning in the age of automation

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

by Max Opray, the Guardian

Welcome to the fourth industrial revolution: the economy of always learning. Staying still is more likely than ever to result in obsolescence, as indicated by a report released last month by consultancy firm PwC, which estimated 30% of British jobs could be automated by 2030. As professionals need to update their skills more frequently than ever, so too the education sector is evolving to cater to a new state of affairs in which young people are projected to have 17 jobs over five different careers, according to the Foundation for Young Australians 2015 report, The New Work Order.

https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/apr/15/seventeen-jobs-five-careers-learning-in-the-age-of-automation

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USU-Online to offer accelerated course options

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

by Mitch Henline, Cache Valley Daily

For students already competent in their field of study, Utah State University-Online is making it possible to get through courses faster – or just test out of them altogether. Starting this summer, USU-Online will be offering a limited number of its courses with accelerated options. At the professor’s discretion, three methods will be offered: A student can take a comprehensive assessment, complete a comprehensive project or complete the course material at a faster pace. USU’s distance education manager Kevin Shanley said competency-based education is a growing trend across the country.

http://www.cachevalleydaily.com/news/local/article_ef59fda8-2147-11e7-957b-9f4bc4e2bc2f.html

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5 EdTech Tools

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

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

With thousands of edtech products on the market, consumers are met with the daunting task of picking out products that address the needs of their students, better teaching practices or make the schooling experience better. With over $537 million spent on K12 education in 2015, there is no doubt that this industry is booming and that teaching establishments are investing in edtech more than ever. So, in the hopes of bringing to light some of the best edtech tools in the industry; below are 5 edtech tools that everyone should be using. Some are age specific, but most can be adapted to any classroom.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/5-edtech-tools-everyone-education-using/

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April 23, 2017

Non-profit organization works to end country-wide teacher shortage

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

by WMBF

The education nonprofit American Board for the Certification of Teacher Excellence hosted a meeting in Socastee Saturday to inform the public of their online program that certifies users to become teachers in one year. To qualify for the program, you must have any bachelor’s degree from any accredited university. Once registered for the program, all the courses are online. Users just need to take two exams at the end of the year to complete their certification. One of the exams tests individuals on the structure of a classroom and the routines of being a teacher, such as lesson planning. The other exam is targeted specifically to which subject the user plans on teaching. Once the online course is completed and both tests are passed, the user is now a certified teacher (ed. note:  ONLY IN 11 STATES) and can begin work in the county of their choice.

http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/35103348/non-profit-organization-works-to-end-country-wide-teacher-shortage

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