Educational Technology

by Autumn A. Arnett, Education Dive

A recurring theme across several sessions at the AACC meeting was the idea that professors are hired to teach, but few are ever taught how to do so. Presenters attempted to tackle this theme from a number of different angles. “When you’re constantly adding new concepts and ideas, you’re also weeding out archaic ideas,” Holland said. And regarding the concern that a huge investment in faculty development would lead to an exodus of faculty from the college to leadership positions at other institutions, he said, “It is better for us to train them and lose them than not train them and keep them.” “We need to prepare our faculty to prepare our students to do that other stuff [in the mission statement] that we’ve spent all that time working through,” said Jennifer Lanter, Dean General Studies Moraine Park Technical College in Fond du Lac, WI.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/professors-are-hired-to-teach-but-few-are-ever-taught-how/441450/

by Abner Li, 9to5Google

Classroom allows teachers to post schedules online and give out assignments. In turn, students can submit work and collaborate, as well as take quizzes with Google Forms. Previously, personal Google accounts could only join classes already started by G Suite accounts. Now, any regular user can create classes and manage curriculum. Google cites online education classes, clubs, and other informal groups as being able to take advantage of this wider release. The free version of Classroom does not have integration with G Suite for Education and as such does not permit full administration of user accounts, email summaries of student work for guardians, and other paid features.

https://9to5google.com/2017/04/27/google-classroom-create/

by Daily Mail

Now it seems pupils really are all on the same wavelength when they are enjoying their class. Using portable scanners, scientists found that the brainwaves of children synchronised with each other when they were engaged with the subject. The New York University study also discovered that pairs of students who were close to each other were more in synchrony. The phenomenon can also occur when two or more people have a good conversation, dance – or even carry a heavy piece of furniture, according to the research published in Current Biology.

\http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4453552/Pupils-wavelength-enjoying-class.html

By Joe Chapman, US News

Thousands of high school seniors will soon decide: What’s next for me? But what makes this question different from in years past is that more than ever, students have multiple avenues for earning a college degree. Students can choose a path that best fits their individual goals on their own terms. In the U.S., less than a third of undergraduates are considered “traditional” students, referring to those enrolled full time at a four-year residential college. Further, a recent study from the National Center for Education Statistics found that 62 percent of students work either full or part time, and 28 percent have at least one dependent. For many nontraditional students, pursuing a degree online is ideal, allowing them to achieve their goals and earn an undergraduate credential from anywhere in the world, even if life gets in the way.

https://www.usnews.com/education/online-learning-lessons/articles/2017-04-28/reasons-to-consider-an-online-bachelors-program-after-high-school

BY JULIA FREELAND FISHER, eCampus News

A leading education researcher looks at the evolution of “a disruptive force that is increasingly changing how we teach and learn.” As blended learning practices are becoming more widespread, it is increasingly challenging to collect accurate data on the number of schools that have gone blended, but by examining student enrollments in online courses and edtech vendor data, we estimate the number of students engaging in some kind of blended learning to be approximately 9 million, which represents about 20 percent of K-12 student enrollment. With so many students engaged in this mode of learning, it’s important to examine current trends and technologies to try and predict where blended learning could take students in the future.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2017/04/27/ed-future-trends-blended/

By David Raths, Campus Technology

Michigan State has developed rubrics and procedures to help its information technology procurement officers evaluate products’ accessibility more effectively. “Essentially, the university purchases a lot of things, and we need to be able to provide a certain level of engagement in terms of accessibility with all those things,” said James Jackson, Electronic Information Technology (EIT) accessibility coordinator for MSU IT Services. But MSU’s resources are limited, especially with the central team that has the highest degree of knowledge about what constitutes an accessible product. University leaders decided to create a process in which almost every product gets assessed, with particular focus on products that are going to have the highest degree of impact.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/04/27/building-accessibility-into-it-procurement.aspx

by TechCrunch

EVERFI Inc. has raised $190 million in Series D funding to teach students online the life skills and touchy subject matter that they never learned in school. A sampling of courses offered by Everfi range from “Harassment Prevention Training” for the workforce, to “Alcohol EDU” for college students and “Vault Understanding Money” for fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders. TPG Growth and The Rise Fund led the Series D investment, contributing $150 million combined, along with Main Street Advisors, Advance Publications and earlier backers of Everfi including Jeff Bezos, Eric Schmidt, Ev Williams and Allen & Company, according to a company statement. Everfi CEO and co-founder Tom Davidson said his startup operates as a for-profit, for-good venture. “We look at these major, intractable social problems and aim to eradicate them by educating citizens from second graders to seniors,” he said, “but we also want to be the dominant learning platform for major institutions.”

https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/26/everfi-raises-190-million-to-teach-life-skills-and-touchy-subjects-online/

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

Pokémon Go did two things for society; introduced us to the capabilities of augmented reality (AR) and showed us how much adults enjoyed catching virtual animals. Augmented reality in the education sector is growing, and as it does, it is important to look how the potential of AR can be harnessed in the classroom. While AR is primarily focused in the gaming industry (at the moment) statistics show that consumers value AR products 33% higher than non-augmented reality products and that students are naturally entranced by how AR can change the world around them. However, while it may be the new “it” technology, educators need to understand how they can incorporate AR into their classrooms if it is to be used to its full potential.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/use-augmented-reality-education/

by ANUSHREE SINGH, Business Insider India

Nearly two years after Coursera released a survey reporting widespread career and educational impact of online courses for Indians, it has now come out with ‘2017 Learner Outcomes Survey’ which shows its online learners are reporting even greater benefits than before. 89% of Indian learners among working professionals and job seekers (“career builders”), reported career benefits compared to 84% globally, 84% in the US and 86% in the UK. In India, 46% of career builders reported to have got better in their jobs, and 39% reported to have improved their candidacy for a new job.

http://www.businessinsider.in/the-secret-behind-why-coursera-courses-are-becoming-a-hit-with-indians/articleshow/58382308.cms

by Boothbay Register

Boothbay Region High School students in Mark Gorey’s AP English Literature class put together a hilarious YouTube video that earned them first place in their division in a contest on the online website, Meridian Stories. Their entry fell under the Vocabulary Vine Challenge category. Gorey’s students were tasked with creating a one-minute video made up of six-second clips, or “vines” created to help students expand their vocabulary. They chose words from William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” Student actor Jacob Leonard, representing the Bard, was shown in costume cavorting through a series of modern-day scenes sharing his vast knowledge of seldom used or obscure words with 21st century actors.

http://www.boothbayregister.com/article/ap-english-literature-class-invokes-bard-win-online-contest/85344

BY LAURA ASCIONE, eSchool News

Interpreting education data can be tricky–these industry best practices can help. Data can be immensely helpful to educators–but anyone who hopes to learn from data must know how to analyze and interpret it. Although the word “data” can raise red flags when it comes to protecting student privacy and sensitive information, it can help students, parents, teachers, and administrators learn from and adjust practices. The catch, though, is that these stakeholder groups need access to the education data and must be able understand what it means. “Collecting the right education data at the right time, if the right people have access to it, can be a very powerful tool to help improve teaching and learning,” said Doug Mesecar, vice president of strategic partnerships at IO Education, who also has extensive experience with education data and blended learning solutions.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2017/04/26/best-practices-education-data/

By David Nagel, THE Journal

New data from a survey of more than 37,000 educators revealed that first-year teachers aren’t using tech in the classroom as much as their more experienced colleagues even though they have a higher opinion of their own technological abilities. The data, released by Project Tomorrow as part of its annual Speak Up survey, showed that compared with teachers who have been working 11 or more years in the field, first-year educators are less likely to such tech activities as listed below.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2017/04/26/first-year-teachers-more-confident-in-tech-but-use-it-less-than-experienced-teachers.aspx

By Richard Chang, Campus Technology

Google has recently released a brand new version of Google Earth for both Chrome and Android. This new version has come with a slew of nifty features teachers can use for educational purposes with students in class. Linked below is a quick overview of the most fascinating features.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/04/25/new-google-earth-has-exciting-features-for-teachers.aspx

by Charles Watkinson, EDUCAUSE Review

This Podcast features: Charles Watkinson, Associate University Librarian for Publishing and Director of the University of Michigan Press. He has his hands in all sorts of digital publishing initiatives and programs. We talk in this interview from the Coalition for Networked Information Fall Meeting about some of the various challenges facing digital publishing.

http://er.educause.edu/multimedia/2017/4/podcast–modern-challenges-for-digital-publishing

by Meghan Bogardus, EdTech

About 4.3 billion people in the world don’t have regular access to the internet, the World Economic Forum reports. Though strides have been made to boost access in the U.S., the Commerce Department reports that a disparity still exists between urban and rural areas. Late last month, Google announced plans to change that by pledging $50 million over the next two years to support nonprofits working to bring tech tools to students of all backgrounds and access levels. “To start, we’re funding nine organizations around the world that we will also support with Google volunteers in areas like user experience design, translation, offline functionality and data analytics,” writes Google education lead Brigitte Hoyer Gosselink in the announcement blog post.

http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2017/04/google-pledges-50-million-close-education-gaps-worldwide

by Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

Some faculty at the University of Cincinnati have been using lecture capture technology since 2009, but the capabilities of the old technology are just a shadow of what faculty can do now. Instead of just documenting what happens in the classroom, faculty are now using next-generation, interactive tools that increase student engagement and bring new resources to both students and educators. Nelson Vincent, vice president for technology and chief information officer at the University of Cincinnati, said the exploding technology use on campuses today can historically be drawn back to student demand. At the University of Cincinnati, it’s more than that.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/next-gen-lecture-capture-can-transform-classrooms/440998/

by Huffington Post

“A good life is not one that is free from struggle, but one in which people have the tools to overcome what life throws at them.” — Clay Christensen More recently, Clay has turned his focus to the domain of parenting where he’s predicting that we may see disruption. “I worry that we as parents have raised children who don’t have the courage to deal with difficult things. If we think about this through the patterns and processes that guide innovation, I don’t think sustaining innovations—that just improve our ability to outsource more and more work—will solve this problem. Instead, we need disruptive innovations that reprioritize tackling authentic projects at home, with both children and adults working together. This could build up a generation of young people equipped for the future.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-global-search-for-education-is-clay-christensen_us_58cde491e4b0537abd95719a

By Richard Chang, THE Journal

The Atlantic City School District could not find a certified chemistry teacher to fill a key chemistry teaching position at its one high school last summer and fall. So the district turned to Edmentum, a provider of online courses, to fill the void. This year, four classes at Atlantic City High School are being taught via an online course, with backup support from an Earth science teacher who is not certified to teach chemistry. The full story can be found in The Press of Atlantic City. “This is the way of the future,” said Assistant Superintendent Sherry Yahn in an interview with The Press of Atlantic City. She added that the district is looking at other online programs.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2017/04/24/lacking-a-teacher-nj-high-school-offers-chemistry-on-computers.aspx

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

Students have made portfolios for classrooms of various kinds for many reasons over the last few decades. In the past, the teacher was the only person other than the student really to see their portfolio, unless it is posted in a display somewhere in the classroom. Now, there is an easy way to create and share portfolios electronically in a classroom. These e-portfolios are becoming more and more popular, and they have created a paradigm shift in education recently. E-portfolios are becoming the perfect way to collect, share, collaborate, and grade assignments in most classrooms.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/use-e-portfolios-classroom/

By Sri Ravipati, THE Journal

The National Science Board, the National Science Foundation’s policy arm, has released an interactive infographic that explores 25 years of science, engineering and health (SEH) doctoral pathways. The NSB launched “a new tool for policymakers, educators, business leaders, students and others to asses the career opportunities for those with doctoral degrees in SEH fields,” according to an announcement. Using data from the NSF’s Survey of Doctorate Recipients, “the infographic allows users to see the number of doctorates employed in business, government and academic jobs and how career paths change over time.” Users can look at demographics like gender, race and ethnicity, as well as characteristics such as job duties and job satisfaction.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2017/04/21/science-engineering-health-doctorates-find-career-success.aspx

By Richard Chang, Campus Technology

A new web program by Google allows users to explore the world in virtual reality (VR) by just speaking the name of a place. Speak to Go is activated by a user’s voice. When a user says the name of a place, Google Street View imagery pops up on one’s phone or web browser. For example, Richard Byrne, who writes the blog Free Technology for Teachers, recently spoke the word “Maine,” and was taken to Acadia National Park in Maine. Had he been more specific and said “Portland, Maine,” he would have seen imagery of Portland, he said. Speak to Go is designed to be used with smartphones inside of VR headsets, such as the Google Cardboard.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/04/18/speak-to-go-allows-voice-to-direct-vr-experiences.aspx