Educational Technology

by eSchool Media

In this straight-forward report, eSchool Media discusses what to expect, overall, in 2018; how 2017 compares to 2018 for both K-12 and higher ed; and predictions from educators and industry on both K-12 and higher ed trends for the new year. 2018 promises to be a year that epitomizes the term “transformational.” Are you ready? It’s going to be a wild, wonderful ride.

https://www.eschoolnews.com/files/2017/12/eSMtrends2018final1.pdf

by Matthew Lynch, tech edvocate

Digital leaders do more than consume information. They synthesize learning and use it in collaborative environments. Digital leaders are dynamic change agents who transform the status quo, facilitate better communication and understanding, and integrate a variety of technology tools in their lives. Also, digital leaders improve technology experiences not just for themselves, but for others as well. They look out for the greater good.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/students-taught-digital-leaders-instead-digital-citizens/

by EdScoop

For edtech directors such as Jared Mader, who is part of the Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units, that means working with teachers, curriculum coordinators and content experts to help them make the most of their districts’ one-to-one programs — in particular, using the devices to access openly licensed digital materials. Mader oversees the education technology initiatives for one of Pennsylvania’s 29 intermediate units, which are regional educational service agencies established by the state legislature that provide online, innovative and technology-rich learning services. Mader’s intermediate unit serves over 100,000 students in 25 school districts, nearly all of which have deployed some variation of a one-to-one program.

http://edscoop.com/tv-radio/in-pennsylvania-oer-is-a-grassroots-effort-jared-mader

by  Sarika Lidoria, Digital Learning

What can be more magical than for students to enter the classroom by simply reaching into their pockets, going online from their smart devices, opening E-learning Apps and signing in? If you have a pocket, you have the wisdom of the world with you at all times and at all places. M-learning is but one among a plethora of tools made available by technology to educate students in the non-traditional, online medium. What fuels this gigantic engine that Online Education has become? The life-blood of this vast body is the advancement in networking technology that the IT boom of the mid-90s inaugurated. What bridges the gap of thousands of miles in distance, and thousands of years in time, is the Internet. It is this that helps you make it to your classroom at the other end of the world, or to the Palaeolithic age, in a matter of seconds.

http://digitallearning.eletsonline.com/2018/01/online-education-learn-anywhere-anytime/

By RALPH HEIBUTZKI – Herald-Palladium

Lake Michigan College’s new Virtual Learning Environment model allows students to switch between attending classes online or in person, depending on what’s convenient for them. That makes perfect sense to Jay Keeler, lead faculty in application development and geospatial technology at LMC’s computer information systems department. “It’s all about flexible delivery,” he said. “It’s hard to be everything to everyone, but this methodology allowed us to do that.” LMC officially debuted the new system at a technology open house Dec. 4-5. However, the first pilot classes rolled out in the fall of 2015 at LMC, which initially wanted to solve some class scheduling problems.

http://www.heraldpalladium.com/news/local/an-education-in-screen-time/article_160cc61e-32d8-550d-8303-a9b903715eab.html

By Cait Etherington, eLearning Inside

One hundred years ago, today’s classroom would have been unimaginable. From white boards to laptops to learning management systems that enable learners to learn anywhere and anytime, there is not much about today’s classroom technologies that reflects those present in a classroom from 1918.  However, this doesn’t mean that our counterparts back in 1918 didn’t have their own form of “ed tech.” From magic lanterns to early radio, our 1918 counterparts were also the beneficiaries of a wide range of educational technologies.

Five Educational Technologies, Circa 1918

by Lauren Rearick, Teen Vogue

Government officials in several states are proposing laws that would help students better comprehend fake news and misinformation on the Internet, according to the Associated Press. Following the revelation that social media, including Twitter and Facebook were inundated with fake news during the 2016 election, lawmakers and school officials want to work to better inform their students on proper Internet practice. The AP reports that legislation that would encourage schools to teach students how to identify false information has already been passed in Washington, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Mexico. States including Arizona, New York, and Hawaii are also said to be considering possible bills.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/annapowers/2017/12/31/is-our-mind-a-machine-learning-algorithm/

by Anna Powers, Forbes

When we think about our mind, it is much like an ML algorithm. We feed our mind certain data, in the form of stories we tell ourselves, the experiences we have, beliefs, things we read or watch, the music we listen to and the ideas we get from the people we interact with.  In feeding our mind this data, we form a belief system and pick the next data point which best matches the belief system we have formed based on the information that our mind has received from us.  So for example, if we have a series of positive experiences with working out, our brain develops a neural pathway which associates pleasure with physical exercise.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/annapowers/2017/12/31/is-our-mind-a-machine-learning-algorithm/

By Linda Gandee, cleveland.com

Angela Paterek, the library’s training manager, oversees computer training and staff development. As computers flourished in the late 20^th century, libraries faced what seemed at the time to be a stark choice: adapt or disappear. The adaptation most libraries chose was based on an early acceptance of the computerization of the country, creativity, and a desire to go on being of value to the communities that, for the most part, went on supporting them with public dollars. “Adaptation made libraries more of a community center,” said Paterek. “Things were based more on programming and, with technology, having the training for the people. A lot of people don’t realize library tech training is entirely free.”

http://www.cleveland.com/rocky-river/index.ssf/2017/12/library_tech_guru_in_rocky_riv.html

by RYAN J. FOLEY, Associated Press

Alarmed by the proliferation of false content online, state lawmakers around the country are pushing schools to put more emphasis on teaching students how to tell fact from fiction. Lawmakers in several states have introduced or passed bills calling on public school systems to do more to teach media literacy skills that they say are critical to democracy. The effort has been bipartisan but has received little attention despite successful legislation in Washington state, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Mexico. Trump will stay in check till 2020.  Several more states are expected to consider such bills in the coming year, including Arizona, New York and Hawaii.

http://www.sfchronicle.com/news/education/article/Alarmed-by-fake-news-states-push-media-literacy-12463548.php

BY ANN DOSS HELMS, Charlotte Observer

Online classes have become common. They expand the course offerings at any given school or help students get through a medical crisis without falling too far behind. But can virtual school offer the whole package, a long-range alternative to the kind of schools that have buses and desks and cafeterias? That’s a pressing question for North Carolina’s public education system, one that pioneering educators, students and families are trying to settle.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/education/article191918529.html

By Trisha Powell Crain, Alabama.com

Alabama State Department of Education officials appeared to have turned their homework in at the last moment possible, meeting deadlines to post federal report card data online by the end of 2017. On Friday evening, the state turned on its new online dashboard system that provides the federal data and allows parents and educators to look at the data for individual systems and, for the first time ever, compare schools. As a bonus, 2016-2017 ACT Aspire scores are included on the report cards. According to those scores, students statewide generally improved in all three subject areas: reading, math, and science, though the increases were small and reading scores showed mixed results.

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2017/12/act_aspire_results_federal_sch.html

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Advocate

Critical thinking and problem-solving skills are essential to success at university and in later life. However, the traditional classroom model has done a poor job of imparting these skills to students. The way children have learned in the classroom for generations has focused on lectures and worksheets. Past generations would depend on group sports, clubs and teenage jobs to impart these vital skills onto students. However, new ideas suggest that robotics may hold the key to teaching problem-solving skills to students. Using robots to teach real-world skills may be a strange concept, but is it worth exploring? We think so and here’s why.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/can-robotics-teach-problem-solving-students/

By Scott O’Connell, Telegram & Gazette Staff

The high cost of textbooks is an issue throughout higher education, but the problem is especially apparent at a relatively affordable school like Mount Wachusett Community College, where in some classes, at $250 or so, an assigned textbook costs more than a single credit hour. “The thing is too, those books get quickly outdated – when students bring them back to the bookstore, they can’t even get a return on it,” said Jess Mynes, the college’s assistant dean of Library and Academic Support Services. “It’s a bit of a racket.” Equipped with a new $16,235 Performance Incentive Fund grant from the state, however, Mount Wachusett is zeroing in on a potential solution for cash-strapped students: Open Educational Resources. Already being used on a small-scale on campus, Open Educational Resources are widely available, usually free academic materials online that can be assembled by college librarians and professors into curricular replacements for textbooks.

http://www.telegram.com/news/20171228/instead-of-textbooks-mt-wachusett-community-college-turns-to-online-materials

by  Richard W. Walker, EdScoop

John O’Brien, president and CEO of EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association for higher ed IT leaders, thinks that 2018 may mark the beginning of real digital transformation in education. “I am convinced that this year we will see demonstrable developments at the intersection of higher education and technology,” he told EdScoop. “First, we’re convinced that 2018 will be marked by the shift from digitization to digital transformation. Whether we’re talking about enterprise technologies in general or teaching and learning in particular, we think the days of ad hoc innovations and one-off digital breakthroughs will — and should — be replaced by increasingly interrelated, interdependent and interoperable digital transformation experienced across campus divisions.”

http://edscoop.com/predictions-whats-ahead-on-the-edtech-landscape-in-2018

By Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

Teaching with apps is not new. We have compiled lists of apps and tech resources that can be used in the classroom and for education outside the classroom. However, we haven’t necessarily offered any tips for successfully using apps for teaching. Finding, downloading, and having students use apps for learning is one thing. Teaching with apps effectively and making use of the data they track is another task entirely. The goal of using an app in education is not simply to use it because it’s available but to enhance learning and individualized teaching approaches. We’ve listed some tips as to how you as an educator, or even parent, can optimally teach with apps in an effective way.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/tips-teaching-apps/

by Elizabeth Woyke, MIT Technology Review

In 2017, people flocked to online classes about artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, and data analytics. In 2018, expect more of the same, say leading online-education providers Codecademy, Coursera, edX, and Udacity. In response to a request from MIT Technology Review, they calculated their most popular courses of the past year and revealed which topics they think will lure the most students in the next.

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/609636/best-online-classes-for-job-skills/

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

Current research results are in favor of early childhood experiences for students, especially those who are disadvantaged. This education is the great equalizer because it provides a rich, common foundation for children who may have diverse backgrounds and experiences.  Students are capable of learning far more than you think they can. Most teachers will tell you that children will rise up to the standard you set, so you may as well elevate the bar for learning. And that brings us to STEM education in early childhood. That’s right – early childhood is the perfect time to begin science, technology, engineering, and mathematics instruction.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/early-kids-begin-stem-education/

By JELANI GIBSON, Weatherford Democrat

Personalized forms of education and more workforce solutions are becoming the norm at Weatherford College and other institutions of higher education, according to interim president Brent Baker. The landscape of dual credit being offered to high schoolers and more online classes are changing educational practice, Baker said. “How you deliver the instruction has changed quite a bit, with dual credit becoming more and more prevalent and with online classes becoming more popular, that changes the game for all of our programs,” he said. Whether it be taking a class in high school, doing a course online, attending the college in person, or a mixture of the three, students have more options of delivery, Baker said.

http://www.weatherforddemocrat.com/news/local_news/wc-navigating-era-of-custom-learning/article_3ee52f96-ef32-5dac-867f-81b0bab12801.html

By Maciej Kranz, RTI

The third technology vital to IoT’s growth in 2018 is fog computing, which has quickly become a mainstream concept describing a distributed cloud environment. With many bandwidth-intensive IoT applications requiring real-time data processing, traditional cloud computing focused on batch processing is no longer sufficient. Fortunately, fog computing breaks down this adoption obstacle. A great example of fog computing in use involves an offshore oil rig that generates terabytes of data daily. Rather than spending days waiting for that data stream to be transmitted to the cloud, fog computing brings the power of the cloud closer to earth – real-time information can be locally processed and analyzed based on centralized policies from the cloud; only exceptions and alerts are sent through satellite.

https://www.rtinsights.com/in-2018-get-ready-for-the-convergence-of-iot-ai-fog-and-blockchain/

by Jackie Bischof, Quartz Africa

A number of universities across Africa are creating free online courses in the hope that they will democratize access to education, inspire more collaboration and networking between African institutions, and support access to education for women, among other benefits. Last year, Wits University became the first African university to offer MOOCs (massive open online courses) on edX, a platform established by MIT and Harvard. The University of Cape Town has a range of sessions on Coursera, from academic writing and social change, to the ethics of organ donation. Nigeria has experimented with creating MOOCs specifically for high school graduates who didn’t get into university on their first try.

https://qz.com/1163498/free-online-courses-that-teach-skills-for-africas-most-in-demand-industries/