Educational Technology

August 31, 2017

Amazon Writing Tool Taps AI to Help Students Become Better Writers

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

By Sri Ravipati, THE Journal
Amidst back-to-school season, Amazon Education today released TenMarks Writing, a new online curriculum designed to help students improve their writing skills. The company back in 2013 acquired TenMarks, an ed tech startup that allows individuals to develop easy-to-understand mathematics curricula for students. For the last year, Amazon has been working with teachers to develop a writing version of TenMarks that employs the same underlying artificial intelligence technology: natural language processing that can detect spelling and grammatical errors, as well as argument and story structure, and provide students with automatic and differentiated feedback.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2017/08/23/amazon-writing-tool-taps-ai-to-help-students-become-better-writers.aspx

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5 Examples of Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom

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

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

For years, educators have struggled to help each and every student with their individualized educational needs. That gets incredibly tough in a classroom of twenty, thirty, forty, or fifty students all required to pass the same standardized test, regardless of personal growth. The use of artificial intelligence has the potential to disrupt the traditional and potentially damaging one-size-fits all model of modern teaching. Machine Learning algorithms have already begun helping teachers fill the gaps while indicating which subjects students are struggling with the most. If you think AI and chalkboards don’t go hand-in-hand, we’ll prove you wrong with five examples of classroom-based Artificial Intelligence.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/5-examples-artificial-intelligence-classroom/

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Microsoft’s Speech Recognition is Now as Good as a Human Transcriber

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

 

by Futurism

Microsoft’s conversational system for speech recognition has achieved a 5.1 percent error rate, its best performance to date and at a level of parity with human transcribers. Next steps include deeper understanding of meaning.  Microsoft recently announced that its conversational system for speech recognition has achieved a 5.1 percent error rate, its best performance to date. This beats the 5.9 percent error rate achieved in October of 2016 and put its accuracy at the same level as professional human transcribers, who can listen to text multiple times, access cultural context, and collaborate with other transcribers. After the 2016 study, other researchers set the human parity rate at a 5.1 percent error rate. Therefore, even using the more conservative standard, the system has achieved human parity.

https://futurism.com/microsofts-speech-recognition-is-now-as-good-as-a-human-transcriber/

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August 30, 2017

Sharing Lessons Learned from K-12 Education

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

by Emily Schwartz, ITHAKA S+R

For the past two years, I worked on the development of OERs in K-12 education. As the movement ramped up, it was exciting to be at the forefront, considering questions of costs and quality. I gained some important insights from this experience that are also applicable for the development and adoption of OERs in higher education. Some of the lessons are linked below.

http://www.sr.ithaka.org/blog/open-educational-resources/

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5 Steps to Implementing a New App in the Classroom

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

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

Using a new app in the classroom is fun and exciting, but it can also be tricky. Finding the right app, making sure it works and setting it up can all take up time and frustrate teachers. Make implementing new apps in the classroom easier by following these five simple steps. Choosing the right app can make implementing a new app much easier. First, think about why you really need this app. Too many teachers use apps simply for the sake of using more technology in the classroom.  Instead, look for apps that add value to your teaching. Tons of apps can make everything from grading to classroom management easier. Consider what you need help with and find an app that will make your life easier, not harder.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/5-steps-implementing-app-classroom/

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8 Things to Look For in a Student-Centered Learning Environment

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

By Emily Liebtag, Getting Smart

I value many different learning models and environments and honestly do not feel it is my role to judge or evaluate what is “good.” That said, from years of teaching in the classroom and countless visits and interactions with excellent educators worldwide, I’ve created a list of things I commonly observe in great student-centered learning environments. As the Nellie Mae Education Foundation describes, student-centered learning “engages students in their own success—and incorporates their interests and skills into the learning process.” Student learning is personalized, competency-based, happens anytime and/or anywhere, and students have ownership in their learning. I paired my personal list with thoughts from my teammates at Getting Smart to create a collection of “School Look Fors” based on our discussions and experiences in schools.

http://www.gettingsmart.com/2017/08/8-things-look-student-centered-learning-environment/

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August 29, 2017

A tale of two states’ computer science programs

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

by eSchool News
Computer science is becoming more essential to future jobs; but are students developing the skills they need? As computer science education grows across the nation, many states are making it a core subject and are counting it toward math and science requirements. But progress across states varies. Here’s a look at how two different states, California and Maine, are faring in their computer science efforts. In California, some think the state’s progress to make computer science a graduation requirement is too slow. An editorial in the San Diego Union-Tribune says the state’s is displaying “astounding lethargy” in its efforts to increase access to computer science. And in Maine, the Portland Press Herald notes that “not too long in the future, almost all jobs will require some fundamental skill with computing, and many of the best new jobs will require a mastery of it. Yet computer science remains a subject on the periphery

https://www.eschoolnews.com/2017/08/10/state-computer-science-programs/

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VR is great, but here’s why hands-on learning can’t disappear

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

BY LADISLAS DE TOLDI, eSchool Nes
Physically engaging with tangible toys is the best way to take a lesson that is taught on a computer screen and apply it to everyday skills. With 80 percent of teachers reporting that they support the use of technology in the classroom, it is important to integrate tools that best fit with a child’s learning abilities, as well as school curriculum. Just this spring, a tech trend spun through the nation and it seemed as though almost every elementary school child was holding a fidget spinner. It was reported that the momentum of these small, ball-bearing devices provide a pleasing sensory experience, and therefore help hold the attention of those with ADHD or Autism.

https://www.eschoolnews.com/2017/08/21/vr-tangible-physical-toys/

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Georgia Tech Launches Facility for Remote Users to Control Robot Swarms

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

By Joshua Bolkan, Campus Technology

The Georgia Institute of Technology is opening the “Robotarium” this month to allow users from around the world to test out their code on a rotating pair of robot swarms. The 725-square-foot facility features a 12-inch x 14-inch bowl-shaped court and is home to teams of wheeled and flying swarm robots that users can put their code to the test on after honing it on simulators provided by Georgia Tech. Passersby can see the robots in action through a window and users can watch video captured by motion-activated cameras on the Robotarium’s ceiling of the robots running their code.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/08/17/georgia-tech-launches-facility-for-remote-users-to-control-robot-swarms.aspx

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August 28, 2017

Do Laptops Help Learning? A Look At The Only Statewide School Laptop Program

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

by ROBBIE FEINBERG, NPR

Welsch learned what a lot of teachers, researchers and policymakers in Maine have come to realize over the past 15 years: You can’t just put a computer in a kid’s hand and expect it to change learning. Research has shown that “one-to-one” programs, meaning one student one computer, implemented the right way, increase student learning in subjects like writing, math and science. Those results have prompted other states, like Utah and Nevada, to look at implementing their own one-to-one programs in recent years. Yet, after a decade and a half, and at a cost of about $12 million annually (around one percent of the state’s education budget), Maine has yet to see any measurable increases on statewide standardized test scores. That’s part of why Maine’s current governor, Paul LePage, has called the program a “massive failure.”

http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/08/18/536875865/15-years-later-how-did-it-go-with-maines-school-laptop-program

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GAME OF THRONES: SHOW’S LINGUIST CREATES ONLINE COURSE TO TEACH HIGH VALYRIAN

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

BY ALEX GILYADOV, IGN

You can now learn one of Game of Thrones’ ancient languages, High Valyrian, thanks to Duolingo. Quartz reports the company teamed up with the show’s linguist David J. Peterson to create a free online course that teaches Daenerys Targaryen’s mother tongue. You can try it out on Duolingo’s website now, and it will soon be available on iOS and Android devices. The course is free, with an option to pay for a subscription to remove ads. You’ll learn everything from how to simply say father, which is “kepa” in High Valyrian, to more complex phrases like “Daenerys praises the dragon,” which translates to “Daenerys zaldrīzī rijas.”

http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/08/18/game-of-thrones-shows-linguist-creates-online-course-to-teach-high-valyrian

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Metro Students Have To Take Online Courses Due To Teacher Shortage

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

by Jesse Knutson, News Channel 5

Hundreds of parents with children in Metro Nashville Public Schools had letters sent home this week telling them that their kids were having to take online courses in the classroom due to a teacher shortage. The district has had a tough time finding teachers for certain subjects, including math, sciences, exceptional education, English as a second language, and world languages. Because of that, students at Antioch, Whites Creek, and Cane Ridge high schools were told they would be taking online courses through a website called “Edgenuity.”

http://www.newschannel5.com/news/local-news/metro-students-have-to-take-online-courses-due-to-teacher-shortage

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August 27, 2017

Brown U Students Develop VR History Experience for Use in Education

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:42 am

By Joshua Bolkan, THE Journal

A group of students led by a virtual reality artist-in-residence at Brown University have created a VR experience that aims to bring a bit of history to life for middle and high school students. Beginning in May 2016, Adam Blumenthal led a team of 14 undergraduate students from more than a dozen majors (or concentrations, as Brown refers to them) in an independent study project designed to bring the Gaspee Affair to virtual reality. “They were great collaborators,” said Blumenthal, according to a university report about the project. “What I taught them was how an interactive media production works, from concept to almost completion.”

https://thejournal.com/articles/2017/08/17/brown-u-students-develop-vr-history-experience-for-use-in-education.aspx

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Google needs to pay Apple a small fortune to remain the default search engine on iOS

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

by Romain Dillet, Tech Crunch

Apple and Google could be the biggest frenemies in tech. While they both compete like there’s no tomorrow, they also partner on some very specific deals. For instance, Google is paying a ton of money to remain the default search engine on iOS. As CNBC first reported, according to a Bernstein analyst, Google could pay as much as $3 billion a year just to remain the default option in Safari.

https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/20/google-needs-to-pay-apple-a-small-fortune-to-remain-the-default-search-engine-on-ios/

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UPS is developing virtual reality tech to train its drivers

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

by Lucas Matney, TechCrunch

“Virtual Reality offers a big technological leap in the realm of driver safety training,” said UPS exec Juan Perez in a statement. “VR creates a hyper-realistic streetscape that will dazzle even the youngest of our drivers whose previous exposure to the technology was through video games.” While companies like Walmart have signed onto programs with enterprise-focused startups like Strivr Labs, UPS will be building its training materials in-house. Virtual reality may be a more immersive technology but, when done poorly, training videos can be just as unbearable as more traditional instructional materials. The big issue right now is that making custom, realistic VR content able to take advantage of everything the medium has to offer really isn’t worth the effort.

https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/about/olc-awards/olc-fellows/

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August 26, 2017

Network vulnerability analysis 101: Free online training

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

By Tim Greene, Network World
If you’re wondering whether your network is vulnerable or not, you haven’t been paying attention – everybody’s is. This free online course shows what it takes to effectively conduct network vulnerability assessments and analysis that will help you keep the hackers at bay. Protecting your network means first you have to discover and shore up its weaknesses, making it as difficult as possible for attackers to succeed. This course can help you systematically identify potential vulnerabilities before attackers exploit them. In partnership with PluralSight, Network World presents “Conducting Network Vulnerability Analysis”, step-by-step instruction that lays out both intrusive and non-intrusive methods of targeting systems, details how to leverage Internet-based resources and explains the intricacies of passive and active vulnerability scanning.

http://www.networkworld.com/article/3217327/lan-wan/network-vulnerability-analysis-101-free-online-training.html

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Bellevue students are learning in new ways thanks to virtual program

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

By Jesse Canales, News Channel 6

A new way to learn was added to a Texoma school as they kicked off the school year on Thursday. Bellevue High School students can now take classes online with a new virtual program. The students are taking new courses like German, Latin, and Chinese which were offered for the first time. Emily Largent, a sophomore, said she is happy she can finally take German after asking the principal all year to bring the foreign language course to her school. Largent was born in Germany and moved to the U.S. at the age of seven. She said she is ready to speak her native tongue once again.

http://www.newschannel6now.com/story/36162053/bellevue-students-are-learning-in-new-ways-thanks-to-virtual-program

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Free CBU courses popular

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

by Nikki Sullivan, Cape Breton Post

“Our initial idea was we’d be really happy if we got 25-30 people … and we had 1,000. It went absolutely crazy,” said Laura Baker, manager of distance online and distance learning at CBU. Last fall, the university decided to add open online learning courses which allows people to register for certain courses three different ways — credit, certificate and curiosity. Credit is for students who are registered at CBU and will count as credits toward their degrees. Certificate costs $75 and students receive a certificate saying they participated in the course. It is free to take courses as a curiosity student. Baker said an hour after posting the courses on Facebook she had about 300 email inquiries. “It’s like a taste of university and honestly, that’s kind of why it was started,” Baker explained. The classes are broadcast on Facebook live and archived for those registered to watch later.

http://www.capebretonpost.com/news/local/2017/8/17/free-cbu-courses-popular.html

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August 25, 2017

New study to explore effectiveness of online credit recovery classes

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

New study to explore effectiveness of online credit recovery classes

by Linda Jacobson

 

The American Institutes for Research (AIR) has received a $3.26 million federal grant to study whether online recovery classes in Algebra 1 and ninth-grade English are more or less effective than when students learn in the classroom, reports the Los Angeles Times. he study will focus on schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District, which has expanded online credit recovery classes in recent years in an effort to increase its graduation rate, and the sample will include roughly 3,000 students from 15 high schools. AIR has already conducted similar research in Chicago, where it found an online Algebra 1 course to be more rigorous that the face-to-face version, though students in both versions of the course graduated at the same rates.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/new-study-to-explore-effectiveness-of-online-credit-recovery-classes/449283/

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More students opting out of traditional schools, online classes see increase

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by Marissa Kynaston, 13 Action News

Severe allergies can be difficult for anyone, but imagine going to school and being allergic to just about everything.  A girl in Nevada would have had to deal with that problem, if it weren’t for getting an education from the comfort of her own home. Sophia Riella had her first day of school, just like CCSD students across the valley, but Sophia didn’t have to change out of her pajamas.  Sophia is in her second year as a student at Nevada Connections Academy, a free online public school.  Her parents decided on this over a traditional school because of her severe allergies and autoimmune deficiency.

http://www.ktnv.com/news/more-students-opting-out-of-traditional-schools-online-classes-see-increase

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AI projects are taking off: What does this mean for the future of work?

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

By Mark Samuels, ZD Net

The robots are coming and the world of work is set to change forever: recent research from consultants PWC estimates a third of existing jobs are susceptible to automation, due to the use of robots and artificial intelligence (AI) by 2030. The survey adds more weight to a fast-growing body of work on the impact of AI. Take KPMG’s recent global CIO survey in conjunction with recruiter Harvey Nash, which found almost two-thirds of CIOs are investing or planning to invest in digital labour, which broadly covers robotics, automation, and artificial intelligence. A quarter of these technology chiefs have already see very effective results. The survey suggests digital leaders are investing in digital labour at four times the rate of other executives. These CIOs are also implementing digital labour solutions across the enterprise, in some cases at twice the rate of their less-pioneering peers.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/ai-projects-are-taking-off-what-does-this-mean-for-the-future-of-work/

 

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