Educational Technology

BY JIM JORSTAD, Center for Digital Education

When CIOs and IT managers are challenged with unmotivated employees, dysfunctional work environments, lack of teamwork and high employee turnover, it may be an opportune time to create an intervention plan. While the IT workplace can be a fertile environment for productivity, unfortunately it also harbors a wide variety of negative behaviors. Why do these behaviors occur, how do they affect work productivity and, quite simply, how can we fix things?

http://www.centerdigitaled.com/blog/strategies-for-creating-a-better-it-culture.html

the Daily Mail

Education in America will need to adapt to prepare students for the next generation of jobs – including ‘data trash engineer’ and ‘head of machine personality design.’ Careers that used to safely dodge the high-tech bullet will soon require at least a basic grasp of things like web design, computer programming and robotics – presenting a new challenge for colleges and universities.  A projected 85 percent of the jobs that today’s college students will have in 2030 haven’t been invented yet.  The coming high-tech changes are expected to touch a wider variety of career paths than ever before. Many experts say American universities aren’t ready for the change because the high-tech skills most workers will need are currently focused just on people specializing in science, technology, engineering and math

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6512721/Training-workforce-future-Education-America-need-adapt-prepare-students-generation-jobs.html

BY JIBU ELIAS, PC Mag

Many of these ed-tech startups are not just focused on building a successful business, but are trying to address a serious problem that has been fundamental to the progress of our nation. Power technology startups, such as Toppr, are trying to bridge the gaps in our broken public education system, as India is ranked 92 in education among 145 countries, according to Legatum Prosperity Index. “Through the application of machine learning, it has opened up transformative possibilities to personalize learning in a country with over 315 million students, and a skewed student-teacher ratio. With the government’s aid, it can further bridge the gaps in the public education, and considerably improve its health,” said Zishaan Hayath co-founder and CEO of Mumbai based e-learning startup Toppr in an exclusive interaction with PCMag India.

http://in.pcmag.com/edtech/118190/feature/technology-can-bridge-the-gap-in-our-broken-education-system

BY MERIS STANSBURY, eCampusNews

Why education must adapt now in order to accommodate to the growing student generation—but how? A major generational clash is underway, says a foremost expert, and it’s affecting all industries, including education. The clash is coming from so-called Gen Z, the first generation to be considered fully “phigital”—unwilling or unable to draw a distinction between the physical world and its digital equivalent. So what does that mean for educators? Well, buckle up and hold on.

#10: 3 must know’s about the rising “phigital” student-and why their impact is enormous

Identifying the reasons for the dearth of women in the tech industry has provoked a substantial amount of debate among academics and industry analysts. Yet efforts to address the situation, unfortunately, seem to be reaping only the most modest success thus far. Jodi Tims and the organization she currently chairs, the Association for Computing Machinery’s Council on Women (ACM-W), are among those who have worked tirelessly on many different levels to confront these circumstances and effect positive change. Her position with ACM-W, and her experiences as a woman in computing, bring both relevance and value to her insights regarding the problem.

http://www.centerdigitaled.com/Why-is-the-Number-of-Women-in-Computing-so-Low.html

BY LAURA ASCIONE, eSchoolNews

Augmented reality-based apps infuse more engagement into learning exercises, and students often grasp complex concepts quickly with interactive content, said Peterson, referencing Drew Minock, an advocate for augmented reality in the classroom and outreach manager at augmented reality company Daqri. “If you can captivate those kids when you introduce the lesson, you know they’re going to pay attention throughout the lesson,” Peterson said. “This is a great way to grab kids and get them involved.” Relevant educational uses include using augmented reality during a visit to a museum or historical location, seeing science concepts in motion, looking at math from new visual perspectives, watching books come to life, and animating art.

#6: 12 augmented reality apps students can use today

By Dian Schaffhauser, THE Journal

Now that the rules that govern net neutrality have been peeled away, the reins to the internet have been handed back to service providers such as AT&T, Verizon and Comcast to manage access to websites and web-based services. In a 3-2 vote along party lines, the Federal Communications Commission rescinded regulations put in place in 2015 that treated the internet as a utility.  The big worry: Because ISPs will no longer have to treat online traffic equally, they will choose to prioritize traffic based primarily on financial considerations. In fact, stated FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly, who voted for the new order, in a world in which data usage online is growing exponentially, “It is hard to imagine that some prioritization of traffic will not be necessary.” Education organizations have uniformly expressed disappointment about the outcome of the vote as well as concerns that the “light-touch” regulatory approach to internet governance will end up weighing heavily on schools and districts.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2017/12/15/net-neutrality-vote-heavy-hit-to-schools-and-districts.aspx

by David Raths, Campus Technology
Slowing the pace of education technology work makes projects more sustainable, gives people a chance to connect, allows for more meaningful conversations and helps prevent burnout. Bryan Alexander began the conversation by asking Gjestvang about the concept of a “Slow Ed Tech Movement” and what that term means to her. She responded by admitting that the pace of her team’s work is growing faster every day, and that it is exciting that there are so many opportunities to address issues of access to higher education and introduce concepts of digital literacy and social change. “There are increasing opportunities to do work that has meaningful impact,” Gjestvang said. “The slow piece is thinking about how we bring a relationship to the work that is driven by a sense of purpose and meaning.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/12/19/how-the-slow-ed-tech-movement-is-bringing-a-sense-of-purpose-to-academic-technology.aspx

by Matthew Lynch, tech edvocate

Some education experts now say that digital equity could help to provide a level playing field for all students. If all students have access to the same technology, it could help to close the achievement gap. It has already been established that students without access to technology have trouble completing homework assignments. While more than half of teachers assign homework that requires internet access, there are millions of children who live in homes where they can’t get online. In theory, closing this digital divide could have tremendous effects for low-income students. Giving students from poverty access to technology certainly improves outcomes. Researchers at Stanford have found that, when used correctly, technology does indeed help boost test scores for low-income students.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/can-digital-equity-close-achievement-gap/

by Matthew Lynch, tech edvocate

Everyone has plenty of ideas, but few people make them happen. Breathing life into an idea can be difficult. The difference between design and execution is the difference between a daydream and reality. To turn your ideas into an edtech startup, you’ll need a concept that you can articulate, research that validates your work, and enough funding to get your business launched. Let’s look at the steps.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/turn-ideas-edtech-startup/