Educational Technology

by Amanda Bohman, Fairbanks News-Miner

Alexandra Johnston-Carnes had trouble fitting gym class into her schedule last spring so she decided to try something new, eLearning. The Hutchison High School senior took gym class in a computer lab with other students taking other eLearning classes.  She said it involved more book work than a teacher-led gym class. Johnston-Carnes exercised at home, choosing her own activities, and kept a log.  “It was definitely new and interesting,” she said. She signed up for another eLearning class this term. 

http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/high-school-students-increasingly-opting-for-online-classes/article_4f312540-9604-11e7-86ee-ef9ce0709cd3.html

by Roger Riddell, Education Dive

Research from Technavio shows cloud computing is expected to grow over 26% annually through 2021, with lower ownership cost, greater analytics use and growing mobile learning adoption cited as primary factors, according to EdTech: Focus on K-12. K-12 in particular has seen cloud usage grow alongside the influx of devices into daily learning due to its ability to increase access via productivity suites and virtual desktops. Via these cloud-based platforms, districts have been able to create digital environments where students can receive feedback in real-time and blended learning programs can be easily rolled out across multiple schools.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/cloud-usage-to-grow-26-annually-in-ed-through-2021/504374/

By Philip Haldiman, Independent Newsmedia

Arizona Online Instruction has existed in this state since 1998, and it appears it is here to stay. In 2015, Arizona had 38 schools offering online instruction totaling 43,994 students, and the next year there were 40 schools with 46,917 students. Between the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years, there was a sizable jump of 36 percent in students receiving online instruction. AOIs are approved by the Arizona State Board of Education and can include full- or part-time instruction, as well as institutions that provide face-to-face instruction and online only instruction.

https://yourwestvalley.com/news/education/stay-47000-arizona-students-attend-schools-offer-online-instruction/

by Pat Donachie, Education Dive

Since the Great Recession, states have continuously struggled with unemployment rates and devaluation of industries vital to local economies — and Rhode Island was no exception, having experienced highest unemployment rate for seven months in 2013-2014. But now, the state has now dropped below the average in its region. Stefan Pryor, the state’s Secretary of Commerce, said a pronounced effort has been placed on workforce development, and particularly in crafting collaborative pipelines between high school, higher ed institutions and private industries. He points to the state’s Pathways in Technology Early College High School Initiative (P-TECH), in which high school students can enroll in specialized programs to take college courses that will let them graduate with a diploma and an industry-specific associate degree.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/rhode-island-models-university-industry-partnerships-for-effective-workforc/504394/

By TARA WOODALL, eSchoolNews

It can be hard to get moral compasses to twitch when discussing the intricacies of copyright law, public domain, fair use, and Creative Commons. Those concepts seem abstract and removed from the concerns of adolescents. It can be even harder to break them of the habit of doing a Google image search and grabbing the first relevant and powerful image they see.  But remember that John F. Kennedy famously talked about the importance of doing the “hard stuff” in his “moon speech” at Rice Stadium in 1962. He spoke of the importance of getting to the moon, but I think that we can take the spirit of his words and apply them to teaching this particular tough corner of digital citizenship. I’m here to argue that we should choose to teach copyright not because it is easy, but because it is hard, because the goal of understanding copyright will serve to measure the best of student energies, skills, and citizenship.

https://www.eschoolnews.com/2017/09/07/teaching-kids-copyright/

By SHARON NOGUCHI, Mercury News

U.S. teenagers think they are savvy about cybersecurity–so much that nearly one-third skirt school safeguards to access banned content and 29 percent admit to using tech devices to cheat in school–but more than twice that many say they know of classmates who have cheated with devices, a survey found. The findings of the survey by the computer security firm McAfee are in proportion with a 2009 survey by Common Sense Media–although the exact extent of cheating, and whether it’s changed over the years, is unknown.

https://www.eschoolnews.com/2017/09/07/teenagers-use-electronics-cheat/

LINDA POON, City Lab
Four years after launching a digital platform to connect students with out-of-school programs, researchers are reaping the benefits: a large pool of data to study the inequity of informal education.  Chicago’s 400,000 public school students are shuffling back into classrooms this week for ice breakers, syllabus rundowns, and the first lessons of the school year. For some, though, the learning never really stopped in the summer months, thanks to the thousands of sports camps, coding academies, art lessons, and other programs available to children in the city. Similar after-school programs are key to keeping kids off the streets year-round—but that’s only the case if the students are able to access the programs designed to serve them. Nearly four years ago, in an effort to help connect students to extracurricular offerings, Mayor Rahm Emanuel launched the Chicago City of Learning online platform (CCOL). It’s something of a one-stop shop that allows kids to easily search through hundreds of out-of-school programs based on their interests.

https://www.citylab.com/solutions/2017/09/chicago-after-school-programs-digital-youth-network/537591/

by Craig Guillot CTW

Institutions like Duke, MIT and Stanford now offer online programs, and many employers are holding some of these degrees in the same regard as they might from a 4-year institution. Some working professionals find it more convenient to pursue online degrees while balancing a career and family, and are also enrolling in a growing array of online graduate programs. While online programs now offer a high level of credibility with employers, students still must evaluate the programs carefully. The FTC warns consumers at its website about signs a school might be a “diploma mill.” Some of these warning signs include advertising a flat fee for the degree, a short completion time, pushy advertising tactics and accreditations from phony agencies.

http://www.nwitimes.com/business/jobs-and-employment/home-schooled-how-to-evaluate-an-online-degree-program/article_9fe52a7b-a0e6-5533-a817-a64104dd0fd6.html

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

The future of education is digital. We live in an increasingly digital world, where technology is a part of our lives in so many ways. Now more than ever, it is crucial that we incorporate digital technology into education. To prepare students for higher education and future jobs, we must ensure that they are familiar with technology.  Administrators who want to prepare their K-12 school for the future of education should look at the ways they use technology in the classroom. Schools that are future-ready are those that blend technology with learning seamlessly and include technology in nearly every lesson. To prepare for this digital future, many schools are adopting a one-to-one program. In this type of program, there is one computer or tablet for every student. Schools with one-to-one programs have seen a boost in students’ achievement, especially when it comes to their 21st-century skills.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/school-ready-future-education/

By Kavita Iyer, Tech Worm

Google Is Offering 75,000 Web And Android Scholarships There is some good news for all those aspiring developers looking to make a career in coding or already pursuing coding. Google in partnership with Udacity are now offering 75,000 Android and Web Development scholarships for aspiring developers and data scientists looking to follow careers in the digital field. Over the past two years, Google and Udacity have been able to roll out 1,000 and 10,000 scholarships for coders in 2015 and 2016, respectively. This year, German media company Bertelsmann too will be involved in their latest initiative.

https://www.techworm.net/2017/09/google-udacity-offering-scholarships-75000-aspiring-developers.html

by Meghan Bogardus Cortez, Education Dive
This year, IT spending across industries will increase by 4.5 percent, rising to $2.1 trillion, and then increase by another 4 percent in 2018. IDC, which conducted the research, indicates that cloud infrastructure and mobile devices will be the source of the upswing. “Cloud and mobile are still the big drivers for IT spending, despite the attention devoted to new technologies like augmented reality, artificial intelligence and robotics,” says Stephen Minton, IDC vice president for customer insights and analysis, on Campus Technology. Universities are also prioritizing cloud and mobile as they update their technology. A survey last year indicated that 81 percent of university IT leaders were planning to increase their cloud spending. In 2016, 39 percent of their applications were cloud-based, but that number is expected to rise to 62 percent by 2021.

https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2017/09/future-higher-ed-it-spending-will-be-driven-cloud-and-mobile

by Pat Donachie, Education Dive

Most U.S. adults between say they learn more information from technology than through human interaction, with an even greater percentage of millennials reporting the same, according to a new survey — a reality which underscores both challenges and opportunities college educators face with balancing technological integration and traditional in-person instruction. The survey released last week was conducted by Growing Leaders, a nonprofit specializing in leadership training and development, and it surveyed 2,264 adults over the age of 18 earlier this year. In the results, 58% of respondents said they learned more from technology than people, with 69% of millennials from ages 18-34 stating the same.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/educators-grapple-with-integrating-technology-into-the-lecture/504140/

by Matthew Lynch, tech Edvocate
Learning letter sounds and how to decode words is one of the first steps to becoming a fluent reader. For young children, from pre-school to 2nd grade, phonics is especially important. To keep kids interested and excited about phonics, use these 7 must-have phonics apps and tools.

7 Must-Have Phonics Apps and Tools

BY LAURA ASCIONE, eSchool News
Education is reaching a tipping point when it comes to using tech in the classroom. It’s fair to say technology is ubiquitous in many classrooms, but because it changes constantly, educators are challenged to keep pace with what’s new and next in the classroom. Sometimes, it’s difficult for educators to filter through the hype and identify the most pertinent technology changes to track. To help educators stay on top of changes in technology, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has compiled 5 of the most important trends likely to impact education in the 2017-2018 school year.

https://www.eschoolnews.com/2017/08/31/technology-trends-school-year/

By Carol Paur, Lake Geneva News
The Lake Geneva school district is expanding its online options for students in the middle schools and Badger high school. Introduced in May, the district is offering what it calls Lake Geneva Online Learning Options (LGOLO) as another choice for their students. These courses will supplement, not take over classroom instruction. “This came out of a need to expand course selections,” said Russ Tronsen, Badger High School principal. “This will be a potential tool for us.”

http://www.lakegenevanews.net/news/schools-launch-online-learning-options/article_12e58ab4-9a1f-5768-b673-41782b261692.html

By Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology

Global shipments of personal computing devices (PCD) are expected to decline slightly through 2021, at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of -1.7 percent, according to the latest forecast from International Data Corp. That market segment includes both traditional PCs (desktops, notebooks and workstations) and tablets (slates and detachables). While the category will decline overall, some devices will experience more growth than others. Detachable tablets and convertible notebooks will see the biggest increase, with a five-year CAGR of more than 14 percent, while ultraslim notebooks are expected to grow 11.8 percent over the same period. Notebook PCs will see just 0.7 percent growth, the IDC forecast predicted.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/08/28/personal-computing-devices-expected-to-decline-through-2021.aspx

By Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology

Canada’s MacEwan University is working to recover $11.8 million CAD (the equivalent of about $9.5 million USD) after a phishing attack led to a transfer of the funds to a fraudulent account. A series of e-mails appearing to be from one of the institution’s vendors convinced administrators to change its electronic banking information, the university reported in a statement today. So far, more than $11.4 million CAD has been traced to accounts in Canada and Hong Kong; the funds have been frozen and the university is pursuing legal action to recover the money, the statement said.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/08/31/phishing-attack-scams-canadian-university-for-11-8-million.aspx

By Kenya Ransey, EdSurge

Attempts to clearly define personalized learning are commonplace in education now more than ever—and the more conversations we have, the more apparent it becomes that many of us (educators) are unsure of how to define the term, or recognize what it takes to bring it to life. The term is robust, because it has the potential to be different for every learner; so, instead of trying to define it, perhaps it would be more beneficial to take a look at some of the misconceptions running wild amongst the education community, and consider what personalized learning is NOT.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-09-01-what-personalized-learning-is-not

By Paul Bowers, Post and Courier

With more than 2,000 South Carolina students enrolled in the 2015-16 school year, physical education has become one of the most popular courses offered through VirtualSC since the online program began in 2006. Students clamored for the course this summer, and some ended up on a waiting list as the S.C. Department of Education employed two full-time teachers and eight adjuncts to teach the class. Some local school districts, including in Horry and Greenville counties, have begun offering their own online PE courses to meet the growing demand.

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/online-physical-education-it-s-a-real-thing-in-south/article_9c7ecb94-867e-11e7-8779-d753e712ebe0.html

By Dani Anguiano, Chico Enterprise-Record
Not so long ago, if a high school student wanted a job, they were limited to working after school, on weekends or during the summer. Now, through a relatively new program in Chico Unified School District, students who want to work, as well as students who have health issues that prevent them from going to school and those who just don’t want to be on campus, have another option available to them.  The school district is for the second year offering the Panther Online Academy and the Viking Online Academy, which allow students to take some or all of their classes online. The program came about as district staff, led by former Director of Secondary Education Dave McKay, tried to find ways to better serve students and keep those students connected to the district, CUSD Director of Secondary Education Jay Marchant said.

http://www.chicoer.com/social-affairs/20170831/high-schools-now-offering-online-classes

by Mark Wilson, Fox 13

“We pulled our data to find our students that were off track last year, that were in danger of not graduating and we met with them and their parents and then we started the program,” said Wesley Chapel High Assistant Principal Kelly McPherson.  And it’s been successful. “Of the 19 seniors we enrolled in [the program], 18 did graduate, so that was really exciting,” said McPherson. Dr. James Hatten is a USF professor who specializes in this kind of education. He emphasizes that this track to a diploma is not easier than a regular classroom. “People think wrongly that an online course is easier to take for a student. Often times it’s more difficult for a student because there’s no way to hide in an online course. There’s no way to not participate. You either have to be active or you’re not active,” said Dr. Hatten.

http://www.fox13news.com/news/local-news/277873279-story