Educational Technology

Forbes Technology Council\Expert Panel, Forbes Technology Council

Successful CIOs, CTOs & executives from Forbes Technology Council offer firsthand insights on tech & business. Nearly everywhere you look—from business management, to customer engagement, to product development—technology plays a massive role. As such, tech-related skills—and coding in particular—are excellent additions to nearly any professional’s resume. A variety of books, apps and websites make it easy for even busy professionals to get a start on learning the fundamentals of coding. But which entry-level resources are the most effective? Below, 13 experts from Forbes Technology Council share their recommendations for beginners interested in learning coding.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2019/02/22/want-to-learn-coding-check-out-these-resources-recommended-by-tech-experts/#6ca423a05d6f

By Hallie Busta, Education Dive

Mike Silagadze, CEO and co-founder of Top Hat, a digital learning company that offers OER, acknowledges those issues. The solution, he said, is creating a peer-led community around producing OER content. “Until that happens, OER is going to continue not being up to par with what the textbook publishers are providing,” he said. Last spring, the company hired a chief product officer to help it find new revenue opportunities. The company has reached more than 2.8 million students at North American institutions.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/sxsw-edu-taking-oer-to-the-next-level/549850/

BY JENNY WHITE & CHELSEA WAITE, eSchool News

In February 2016, the Christensen Institute debuted the Blended Learning Universe (BLU)—an online hub of blended learning resources—in response to more and more schools across the U.S. implementing a blended-learning strategy for students. Researchers at the Institute define blended learning as a formal education program that must have three components: it must be part online, with students having some control over the time, place, path, or pace of their learning; it must occur, in part, in a brick-and-mortar location away from home; and the modalities along a student’s learning path must be connected to provide an integrated learning experience.

https://www.eschoolnews.com/2019/03/07/5-blended-learning-myths-to-bust-in-2019/

by AARON GETTINGER, Hechinger report

Colleges and universities prefer to recruit at high schools in communities where the average family income is above $100,000, while forgoing visits to those where it’s $70,000 or lower, according to a study of 140 institutions conducted by researchers at UCLA and the University of Arizona. They also concentrate disproportionately on private schools. Rural areas usually have neither wealthy families nor private schools. This anemic outreach is among the reasons comparatively low numbers of high school graduates from rural high schools end up in college the following fall — 59 percent, compared to 62 percent of urban and 67 percent of suburban high school grads, according to the National Student Clearinghouse, which tracks this.

https://hechingerreport.org/a-big-reason-rural-students-never-go-to-college-colleges-dont-recruit-them/

by Selwyn Duke, the New American
Snitch Switch: Smart Assistants With “Moral AI” Could Call Police on Owners Who Break Law. Call it Terminator meets the second-grade tattletale, but some “experts” have suggested that electronic home assistants could be programmed with moral artificial intelligence (AI) that could decide whether to report its owners to the authorities for breaking the law.  In reality, “moral AI” is currently just a proposal by a small group of scientists who may (or may not) want publicity as much as greater knowledge, and news organs certainly crave the traffic reporting on such stories brings. The deeper issue, however, is that a prerequisite for moral artificial intelligence is moral natural intelligence.

https://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/item/31620-snitch-switch-smart-assistants-with-moral-ai-could-call-police-on-owners-who-break-law

By James Vincent, the Verge
Earlier this month you may have seen a website named ThisPersonDoesNotExist.com doing the rounds, which uses AI to generate startlingly realistic fake faces. Well, here’s the sequel: WhichFaceIsReal.com, which lets you test your ability to distinguish AI-generated fakes from the genuine article. Just head to the site and click on who you think is the real person!  WhichFaceIsReal.com also has a higher purpose though. It was set up by two academics from the University of Washington, Jevin West and Carl Bergstrom, both of whom study how information spreads through society. They think the rise of AI-generated fakes could be trouble, undermining society’s trust in evidence, and want to educate the masses.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/3/18244984/ai-generated-fake-which-face-is-real-test-stylegan

By Randy Krehbiel, Tulsa World
Gov. Kevin Stitt has made cooperation among the state’s public education systems a priority for his administration. In his first State of the State address, he called for tearing down the “silos” separating common education, career tech and higher education. In Tulsa County, that work has been going on for decades. Key players in those efforts are Tulsa Community College and Tulsa Technology Center. Through a variety of initiatives, they connect high school students with post-secondary education and the workforce while also serving many adult students. One of those connections is concurrent enrollment, which allows students to enroll in college courses while still in high school. TCC, the state’s largest two-year college, also has the largest concurrent enrollment in the state.

https://www.tulsaworld.com/business/outlook-tulsa-county-leads-the-way-in-preparing-kids-for/article_e3aa0dc9-6e66-5b3f-a415-003bbcfcb0e6.html

By Stephen Hayward, The Missor (UK)
Royal Mail has used the system more then 750 times since November after a string of horrific attacks in which rogue pets have bitten off fingers, thumbs and even a nose.  Posties are using ­virtual reality headsets to learn how to avoid being attacked by dogs. The gadgets provide a 360-degree street view scene and advice on how to deal with aggressive pets on their rounds. Self-defence training shows a postie dropping to one knee to protect herself and using her postbag as a shield. The move comes after a string of ­horrific attacks in which rogue pets have bitten off fingers, thumbs and even a nose. The new “dog byte” computer program urges posties to look for signs that a pet is present and not to take at face value assurances that an animal is harmless.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/posties-using-virtual-reality-headsets-14077547

By Cait Etherington, eLearning Inside

Croft and Moore’s report, Rural Students: Technology, Coursework, and Extracurricular Activities, is based on a data collected from two different student surveys administered to selected students who wrote the ACT in 2018. The primary survey focused on technology access and included over 6,000 respondents. In addition to the students who completed the online survey, a random sample of students who either did not start the survey, or started but did not finish the survey, were sent a paper copy of the survey to complete. The second survey, which was completed by approximately 5600 students, asked students about their coursework during high school. Croft and Moore’s finding suggest that rural students are still at a great disadvantage when it comes to access to both technology and the course options that are most likely to set them up for success when applying to competitive colleges.

https://news.elearninginside.com/study-confirms-persistence-of-rural-digital-divide/

by Caroline Cummings, KHQA

Record snowfall this winter has left Iowa students out of school and state lawmakers are weighing if there’s a better way to make up for lost teaching time. Sen. Charles Schneider, R-West Des Moines, introduced a bill that would establish a committee to look into virtual learning as an option when inclement weather keeps Iowa students out of the classroom. “We need to do what we can to utilize technology not only to help out kids learn today but to prepare for the workforce of tomorrow,” said Schneider, who said he looked into a proposal after a school official in his district reached out.

https://khqa.com/news/local/proposed-study-group-would-look-at-bringing-e-learning-to-iowa

by Matt Lynch, Tech Edvocate

The needs of users should always be the top concern when it comes to digital solutions. While usability is the most important aspect of any digital solution no matter the product, it’s especially true of digital learning. It won’t matter how many resources the system provides if it’s not easy for learners to use them. Data security, rich feature lists, and back-end interoperability are all important. But if user experiences are unpleasant because the system is difficult to use and incompatible with the applications they’re accustomed to, then learners won’t engage and the system will fail. Companies like Netflix and Apple have set a high bar for everyday usability, so learners expect a lot from digital solutions.

https://www.thetechedvocate.org/digital-learning-and-the-importance-of-usability/

Srishti Deoras, Analytics India

The bottom line is that there is no online or offline, formal or informal education, the best researchers are mostly self-taught, whether they have a degree from an Ivy League college or no. There is no denying that formal education in institutes is the best, but online courses can also provide the same knowledge required to practically solve problems. What ultimately matters is the skills that a candidate pose to be fit in the tech-driven AI industry and bring newer innovations.

https://www.analyticsindiamag.com/online-degree-in-ai-what-does-it-mean-to-employers/

The EDUCAUSE Horizon Report Preview provides summaries of each of the upcoming edition’s trends, challenges, and important developments in educational technology, which were ranked most highly by the expert panel.  Opportunities for learners to blend their formal education with modularized online coursework, at an affordable cost, are establishing a learning continuum along which an evolving workforce can easily upskill. Badges and certificates provide prospective employers with evidence of skills gained through a wide range of educational opportunities and venues. Institutions that develop partnerships with online course providers or otherwise create a variety of options for students to master content at their own pace are responding to the needs of learners who want more control over learning pathways when earning a certificate or a degree.

https://library.educause.edu/-/media/files/library/2019/2/2019horizonreportpreview.pdf

Futurism
When it comes to education, the internet has made distance nearly irreverent, leveling the playing field for millions of individuals who don’t have easy access to schools or universities. But aside from distance, the advanced educational technology is also helping solve two other issues that plague education: scarcity and exclusivity. While everyone wants to learn from the best in a particular field, it’s usually physically impossible and economically infeasible to do so for all but a privileged few. But thanks to modern educational technology, the best and the brightest can impart their valuable insights to a virtually unlimited amount of students, and can do so at an affordable cost. That’s where MasterClass comes in. From Daniel Negreanu to Gordon Ramsay, Masterclass online courses allow world renowned experts to share their valuable knowledge and experience to anyone, anytime, anywhere.

https://futurism.com/masterclass-online-courses-gordon-ramsay/

Ray Schroeder, the Evolllution

Higher education is on the cusp of major changes. Enrollments are on the decline—both online and on campus—and the trend is expected to accelerate.[1] Graduates are laboring under substantial college loan debts totaling more than $1.5 trillion.[2] Employers are demanding that applicants possess soft and hard skills that many college graduates do not hold.[3] At the same time new and emerging technologies are changing the way credentials are shared and work is done. It is in this context that continuing, professional and online programs have been imported from the periphery to the center of traditional universities.

https://evolllution.com/revenue-streams/market_opportunities/five-key-trends-for-professional-and-continuing-education-leaders-in-the-next-five-years/

Mary Beth Faller, ASU
Education for Humanity partners with local groups for access to higher education
Every day, more than 44,000 people are forced to flee their homes as a result of persecution, conflict or generalized violence. Millions cross borders into new countries seeking safety, bringing with them a determination to positively contribute to their new communities. More than 85 percent of these refugees flee to developing countries, often without the ability to continue their education or get jobs. Restricted to a refugee camp or trying to make ends meet in an urban center, many want to gain skills that will benefit them in their new communities and also when they return to their countries and rebuild. Education for Humanity, an initiative of Arizona State University, is meeting that need by offering online courses to refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Uganda and Rwanda. Soon, the program will expand to Ethiopia and Kenya.

https://asunow.asu.edu/20190301-global-engagement-asu-offering-rapidly-deployable-online-courses-refugees-displaced-people

Brent Orrell, AEI

This “gig” approach to training has advantages and disadvantages. First, it is far cheaper for the companies compared to sending employees to classroom training. Many of the firms profiled offered little or no financial incentive for upskilling, viewing it as the employee’s responsibility. This sounds somewhat harsh but it is an important test: is the employee sufficiently committed to learning to invest their own time and money in skill development? This reflects the reality that self-motivation and persistence are as highly valued in the labor market as the technical skills gained through the training. Of course, an employee who invests their own time and discretionary income in building up skills, without some sort of contribution from their employer, may also feel fewer doubts about ditching their current job for another company offering marginally higher wages.

http://www.aei.org/publication/education-and-training-in-the-gig-economy/

BY CAROL RIBEIRO, eSchool News
Online learning has come a long way since its early champions saw it as a supplement to classroom learning. Skeptics initially questioned the viability of the new model, wondering if it would provide the right levels of support, curriculum, and engagement needed to ensure student success. And while online learning has more than proven itself to be both an alternative to and complementary offering for traditional classroom instruction, some misconceptions still persist. For example, because virtual instructors aren’t physically present in a classroom, their qualifications and expertise can come into question. The subject matter itself—often thought of as “boring” or “unengaging”—is another area where myths persist. And finally, online skeptics are still talking about issues like lack of teacher support and low student success rates.

https://www.eschoolnews.com/2019/02/28/5-things-dont-know-k-12-virtual-learning/

Randy Bean, Forbes

Employment in computer and information technology occupations is projected to grow 13 percent from 2016 to 2026, faster than the average for all occupations, resulting in 557,100 new jobs.[1] This is an incredible statistic to contemplate. Given extraordinary leaps in computing power, massive proliferation of data, and emergence of practical AI applications, the demand for qualified technical expertise can be expected to grow exponentially. There are a few paths to address this talent gap, but one approach that is being taken is to recruit greater numbers of women and under-represented minority groups into the technology field, particularly since these groups are under-represented in the technology field and represent a largely untapped talent pool.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2019/02/27/universities-mobilize-to-meet-explosive-demand-for-tech-talent-and-leadership/#55e3a9effd88

by Wesley Brown, Manufacturing News Briefs

As the U.S. job market continues to tighten with the national unemployment rate at 4%, employers are spending more time training new hires as they enter the workforce or switch jobs, according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The new report, issued on Feb. 21, shows that on-the-job training was required for a whopping 76.8% of all civilian workers in 2018, The average length of that training was 34 days, the study shows. The preparation time required for a typical worker to learn the techniques, acquire the information, and develop the facility needed for average performance in a specific job can range between a short orientation demonstration to more than 10 years. Preparation time includes formal education, pre-employment training, on-the-job training, and prior work experience.

https://talkbusiness.net/2019/02/report-three-fourths-of-u-s-workers-need-on-the-job-training-as-nations-labor-pool-tightens/

Eli Zimmerman, EdTech
Universities are investing heavily to transform lecture-style classrooms into active-learning environments in order to boost student engagement and improve retention and recruitment rates.  Research from institutions such as Indiana University and Yale University finds that active-learning classroom environments can be beneficial for student outcomes, giving universities more reasons to consider active-learning strategies in their classroom design. With the numbers to prove that active-learning classrooms are effective, universities are now pressed to find the best way to design innovative spaces. While these innovative classrooms differ depending on the needs of the university, a recent CDW white paper outlines active-learning best practices all institutions can use.

https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2019/02/active-learning-classrooms-seven-tips-higher-education-perfcon