Educational Technology

September 30, 2018

Making the Case for Student Success Technology

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

by John O’Brien, EDUCAUSE Review

Simply put, college and university leaders must do everything in their power to ensure that students finish what they start. Small wonder, then, that student success has been near the top of the EDUCAUSE annual Top 10 IT Issues lists since 2013. Technologies developed in the last decade and powered by new analytics capabilities and increasingly large amounts of data immediately available on students’ progress have given institutions new options to intervene and help students before it’s too late. Pioneering colleges and universities have begun actively using these capabilities to improve their students’ rates of retention and completion.

https://er.educause.edu/blogs/2018/9/making-the-case-for-student-success-technology

Share on Facebook

One HBCU Hopes Its ‘$10,000 Degree Pathway’ Will Win Over Students Considering For-Profit Alternatives

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

By Jeffrey R. Young, EdSurge

A public university in North Carolina has teamed up with six community colleges to offer a program that promises students they will pay no more than $10,000 out of pocket for their four-year degree. Participating students will attend a two-year college in the state to get their Associate’s degree, then transfer to an online program at Fayetteville State University to finish their bachelor’s. The students will continue to have access to mentors and resources at the local community college to help them stay on track.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-09-20-one-hbcu-hopes-its-10-000-degree-pathway-will-win-over-students-considering-for-profit-alternatives

Share on Facebook

NYU Cuts Costs and Improves Service by Moving Its Virtual Lab to the Cloud

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

by Antony Awaida, EDUCAUSE Review

Faced with an infrastructure approaching end-of-life and the prospect of a costly upgrade, NYU kicked off the process by gathering requirements from all stakeholders. The requirements were then placed under four rubrics: (1) Must Have, (2) Should Have, (3) Could Have, and (4) Nice to Have. In addition to the technical requirements, NYU decided to run a pilot and proactively seek feedback from the user community. Further, the university incentivized students to provide feedback by entering respondents into a raffle to win an iPad.

https://er.educause.edu/blogs/sponsored/2018/9/nyu-cuts-costs-and-improves-service-by-moving-its-virtual-lab-to-the-cloud

Share on Facebook

September 29, 2018

Teachers struggle to find time to use data, study says

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:43 am

BY LAURA ASCIONE, eSchool News
Most teachers rely on data to personalize learning and understand student performance–and parents overwhelmingly support its use, according to a poll from the Data Quality Campaign. The poll, which is DQC’s third parent poll and first teacher poll, finds that 95 percent of teachers use academic and nonacademic data, such as attendance and classroom behavior, to understand student performance. Eighty-nine percent say they depend on data to help them personalize learning for students’ unique needs. More than 8 in 10 teachers say they value the different ways data can help them become more effective teachers, such as using it to identify learning goals, knowing what concepts students learn, and planning and enhancing instruction reflective of the results.

Teachers struggle to find time to use data, study says

Share on Facebook

Equity Problems with Technology Persist Despite Adoption Gains

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

By Sara Friedman, THE Journal
When it comes to preparing students for the future, two-thirds of parents endorse the idea of digital tools in the classroom, but 51 percent of parents are concerned that technology varies too much from teacher to teacher, class to class or subject to subject, according to a new report. These findings come from the Project Tomorrow’s 2017 Speak Up Research Project for Digital Learning, which surveyed 340,927 students, 34,833 teachers and 23,159 parents. The report was released at a Sept. 12 Congressional briefing where students, teachers and administrators spoke about how they use technology in their classrooms. The survey was conducted between October 2017 and January 2018.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2018/09/13/equity-problems-with-technology-persist-despite-adoption-gains.aspx

Share on Facebook

Survey: 1 in 4 Professors Ban Mobile Phone Use in Class

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:29 am

By Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology
Should cell phones be permitted in class? In a recent survey of faculty members at colleges and universities across the country, feelings on the subject were mixed. While 26 percent of respondents said they do allow students to use mobile phones in the classroom, about the same number — 25 percent — said they do not. Half of respondents allow limited use of the devices.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2018/09/19/survey-1-in-4-professors-ban-mobile-phone-use-in-class.aspx

Share on Facebook

September 28, 2018

4 Reasons Slack Will Change How You Teach

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

by Kathleen Kole de Peralta and Sarah Robey, Inside Higher Ed

Whatever type of classroom you find yourself in this fall, digital tools are increasingly important to our teaching repertoire. Every day there’s a new platform or upgrade to existing technology. A quick Google search will show you hundreds of innovative tools to facilitate teaching and learning in digital spaces, and it’s easy to be overwhelmed. For those of us looking to break through the limitations of learning management systems (such as Moodle, Blackboard, Canvas) without reinventing the wheel, Slack is an intuitive, flexible platform that allowed us to create more effective learning spaces. And it’s fun to boot.

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/views/2018/09/19/four-reasons-slack-will-change-how-you-teach-opinion

Share on Facebook

Penn to offer first Ivy League bachelor’s degree online

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

by Susan Snyder, the Inquirer

The University of Pennsylvania this summer announced its first online master’s degree. Now it will be offering an online bachelor’s degree, too, and says it’s the first Ivy League university to do so. The new bachelor of applied arts and sciences degree, targeted to working adults and other nontraditional students, will be offered through Penn’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies and will launch in 2019, the university announced Tuesday morning. The Liberal and Professional Studies College for years has offered an alternative path into the highly competitive Ivy League university, often taking students who transfer in from community colleges. Students had access to the same classes on campus and the same faculty as other students.

http://www2.philly.com/philly/education/penn-first-ivy-league-bachelors-degree-online-20180918.html

Share on Facebook

5 Things that Educators Want from Webinars

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

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

Continuing education is a necessity for teachers, especially with the rapid rate of change in the classroom. Webinars prove to be a very convenient way for them to access this training from the comfort of the teacher lounge or from home. However, most educators won’t sign up for just any class that happens to be convenient. Each webinar must promise one of these five things in order to capture a teacher’s interest.

5 Things that Educators Want from Webinars

Share on Facebook

September 27, 2018

FBI Issues Warning on Educational Technology

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

By Sara Friedman, THE Journal
Some schools might have a problem on their hands when it comes to the use of educational technology and the need to protect student privacy, according to an alert issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The alert warns schools that the widespread collection of student data could have privacy and safety implications if the information is compromised or exploited. Multiple attacks on school information technology systems occurred in 2017 through actors hacking into multiple school district servers, according to the FBI. Student contact information, education plans, homework assignments, medical records and counselor reports were stolen, and then the thieves used that information to contact, extort and threaten students with the release of their personal information.

 

https://thejournal.com/articles/2018/09/18/fbi-issues-warning-on-educational-technology.aspx

Share on Facebook

Equity Problems with Technology Persist Despite Adoption Gains

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

By Sara Friedman, THE Journal
When it comes to preparing students for the future, two-thirds of parents endorse the idea of digital tools in the classroom, but 51 percent of parents are concerned that technology varies too much from teacher to teacher, class to class or subject to subject, according to a new report. These findings come from the Project Tomorrow’s 2017 Speak Up Research Project for Digital Learning, which surveyed 340,927 students, 34,833 teachers and 23,159 parents. The report was released at a Sept. 12 Congressional briefing where students, teachers and administrators spoke about how they use technology in their classrooms. The survey was conducted between October 2017 and January 2018.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2018/09/13/equity-problems-with-technology-persist-despite-adoption-gains.aspx

Share on Facebook

Bye-bye to Netflix in Purdue’s largest lecture halls

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

By Halona Black, Education Dive
To free up bandwidth for internet traffic related to lectures and other academic needs, Purdue University is restricting access to online streaming websites such as Netflix, Hulu and iTunes during class time in its four largest lecture halls. The university found in a 2016 study that 4% of internet use in its Lilly Hall of Life Sciences was to academic sites while 34% went to sites such as Netflix and Hulu, Inside Higher Ed reported. An additional 64% went to sites with mixed applications, such as Amazon and Google. The lecture halls in which the restrictions are being piloted can hold hundreds of students who often come to class with multiple devices. Since the pilot launched at the start of the fall semester, the wireless system has experienced much less traffic, administrators say, leaving more bandwidth for academic purposes. Faculty members can access the banned sites for teaching purposes.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/bye-bye-to-netflix-in-purdues-largest-lecture-halls/532493/

Share on Facebook

September 26, 2018

The Changing Role of the CTO (Chief Technology Officer) in School Districts

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

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

In every school district, the role of the CTO is changing. The modern Chief Technology Officer’s role has metamorphosed from that of part-time teacher/part-time repair person to one of a visionary leader. The change positions the district and its shareholders to understand how to use technology effectively as a tool rather than learn it as a standalone subject.

The Changing Role of the CTO (Chief Technology Officer) in School Districts

Share on Facebook

How to pay for your online MBA

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:34 am

by King University Online.

You know the benefits of getting an MBA online and how to be successful once you’re enrolled, but what about paying for your graduate degree? Funding your MBA is a key consideration. Data from the Graduate Management Admissions Council shows that cost is the biggest concern for potential students, with 46% saying they are worried that they will have to take on greater debt in order to complete their education. It doesn’t have to be that way, though. A few steps can help you get out ahead of this issue. First do a quick cost-benefit analysis: Understand tuition costs and debt loads. and then assess benefits and value adds. Consider the benefits of your degree. According to the Online College Students 2018: Comprehensive Data on Demands and Preferences report, “Factors that increase the perception of an institution’s or program’s value include program convenience (28%), institutional reputation (23%), or offering the best content (21%).” With these additional benefits, you may decide it’s worth it to pursue a higher-priced program.

https://www.smartbrief.com/original/2018/09/how-pay-your-online-mba

Share on Facebook

Online course that asks about positive effect of residential schools ‘a slap in the face’

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

By Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press

Alberta’s education minister apologized Thursday after learning an online social studies course asked students about the positive effects of residential schools. Students were asked: “A positive effect of residential schools was?” The four multiple choice options listed were: that children were away from home, they learned to read, they became civilized and they were taught manners. The question prompted a complaint from a student taking the course from the St. Paul Alternative Education Centre.

Online course that asks about positive effect of residential schools ‘a slap in the face’

Share on Facebook

September 25, 2018

THE LATEST COURSE CATALOG TREND? BLOCKCHAIN 101

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

by Wired
On a clear, warm night earlier this year, several dozen students at the University of California, Berkeley, folded themselves into gray chairs for a three-hour class on how to think like blockchain entrepreneurs. The evening’s challenge, presented by Berkeley city councilmember Ben Bartlett, was to brainstorm how blockchain technology might be used to alleviate the city’s growing homeless problem. New York University, Georgetown, and Stanford are among the other institutions that offer blockchain technology courses to get students thinking about its potential uses and to better prepare them for the workforce. Job postings requiring blockchain skills ballooned by 200 percent in the first five months of this year, compared with the same period a year earlier, though they remain less than 1 percent of software development jobs, according to the research firm Burning Glass Technologies. Universities like MIT, Cornell, and Columbia are launching labs and research centers to explore the technology and its policy implications and seed the development of rigorous curricula on the topic.

https://www.wired.com/story/latest-course-catalog-trend-blockchain-101/

Share on Facebook

Average Loan Debt for Graduates of Four-Year Colleges: $28,650

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:34 am

by Paul Fain, Inside Higher Ed
The average student loan debt last year for graduates of four-year colleges who took out loans was $28,650, according to the latest version of an annual report from the Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS). The average amount was up $300, or 1 percent, from 2016. Figures from the report were based on debt levels from college seniors who graduated from public and private colleges last year. Roughly two-thirds (65 percent) of this group took on at least some student debt. “While student loans can be an excellent investment, there is a crisis among the millions of students who struggle to repay their loans, and they are disproportionately students of color or from low-income families,” James Kvaal, the group’s president, said in a written statement. “We need to invest more in student aid and in colleges to reduce students’ need to borrow, and make their loans easier to repay.”

https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2018/09/20/average-loan-debt-graduates-four-year-colleges-28650

Share on Facebook

OER planning 101

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:27 am

by BRUCE SCHNEIDER & NICHOLE KARPEL, eCampus News
A good OER plan addresses resources, systems, training, assessment, and priorities. Open educational resources (OER) are gaining momentum among stakeholders in higher education. From students to faculty to administrators, the benefits of OER can help offset the rising costs of traditional textbooks. And while OER may appear to be a “quick fix” for textbook costs, the perception that OER can be done for free is not necessarily the case, not to mention, getting started is easier said than done. There are steps and considerations that can make OER conversion a project worth pursuing.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2018/09/17/oer-planning-101/

Share on Facebook

September 24, 2018

Students can go around the world and beyond through virtual reality

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:38 am

By Addie Fairley, The State Press
Virtual reality could be a dream come true, or a nightmare in the flesh. It could be anything that it is programmed to be with no real limitations. ASU, with its everlasting call to innovation, has started to utilize VR goggles for an online biology lab. ASU has partnered with Google and Labster, a virtual lab simulation company specifically dedicated toward education STEM subject matters, to give students in an online Biology 181 class the ability to view traditional lab situations. The students can purchase their own VR headsets or borrow a pair from the school. There are currently 30 students in the course, and there’s potential for expansion.

http://www.statepress.com/article/2018/09/spscience-class-on-the-moon-the-future-of-virtual-reality-in-education

Share on Facebook

Following layoffs, budget woes, Saint Louis University buys 2,300 Amazon Echos for students

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

by COY WESTBROOK, the College Fix
A private university in Missouri that fired over 100 staff members amid budget woes in 2017 is now outfitting all of students residential spaces with personal smart speakers, and the school is refusing to say just how much it spent on the gadgets. Saint Louis University in Missouri is outfitting all of its more than 2,300 student rooms with Amazon Echo Dots. The Echo Dot is “a voice-controlled speaker” that uses the virtual assistant Alexa to “play music, control smart home devices, make calls, answer questions, set timers and alarms, and more,” according to Amazon. “Every minute we can save our students from having to search for the information they need online is another minute that they can spend focused on what matters most: their education,” Saint Louis University’s Vice President David Hakanson said in an announcement.

https://www.thecollegefix.com/one-year-after-layoffs-st-louis-university-buys-2300-amazon-echos-for-its-students/

Share on Facebook

Using Twitter Chats for Teacher Professional Development

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

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

It has established the critical mass necessary to accomplish the goal of having a broad enough community to generate useful content. Further, the length-limited nature of Twitter means that no long-winded colleague can derail the conversation or waste everyone’s time. This means that Twitter chats are useful for busy teachers. Another incredible benefit is that, unlike most professional development opportunities, Twitter chats are free. Chats are usually held weekly, at the same time each week. A chat will be hosted by one person or group, and they will select a topic for that week. (Don’t forget to check out previous chats for topics that interest you.) Of course, one of the advantages of Twitter is the ability to link to other content, which means that you are likely to find a wide variety of curated materials that will further your knowledge on the topic under discussion. You might want to consider simply observing for the first chat or two so that you can get a feel for the rules, norms, and expectations of the group before you jump in. Also, consider asking questions about areas of concern to you.

Using Twitter Chats for Teacher Professional Development

Share on Facebook
Older Posts »

Powered by WordPress