Educational Technology

Sonu Wasu, KNXV
It is a school choice that is growing in popularity for families in Arizona. In the last few years, tens of thousands of families have pulled their children out of traditional brick and mortar schools to send them to cyberspace. State Department of Education officials say more than 48,000 children are enrolled in online schools to get their high school diplomas. It’s a choice families make for many reasons. Some students who excel in music, drama or sports need the flexibility of online education to work around the demands of practices and performances. Others are high achievers who are way ahead of their grade levels or have special needs. School officials say online classes provide students the ability to study at their own pace.

https://www.abc15.com/news/state/families-of-students-who-faced-bullying-switching-to-online-schools

By Chantelle, Voices

The elearning, or online learning industry is experiencing a boom and is projected to be a $200B industry by 2024. At the same time, the world is awakening to the power of voice-first technology. Voice assistants are proliferating in private homes and voice integration is occurring seemingly everywhere, from our phones to our fridges (even our cities are becoming ‘smart’). The convergence of a growing learning culture, along with rapid voice tech adoption means that digital learning providers will have to find ways to integrate technologies like AI and voice-first tech, in order to meet the demands of consumers and to maintain a competitive advantage in the market. This affects both private brands as well as public institutions, like universities and colleges.

https://www.voices.com/blog/technology-use-in-digital-learning/

By David Nagel, Campus Technology
Smart phones will continue to decline for the third straight year in 2019, but the advent of 5G will help propel mobile device growth at least through 2023, according to a new market forecast. According to a report released by IDC, smart phone shipments will decline slightly in 2019 compared with 2018, off 0.8 percent to 1.39 billion devices shipped worldwide. But new innovations, such as foldable screens and 5G, will help drive single-digit growth for the next four years.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2019/03/25/5g-to-propel-resurgence-in-smart-phone-growth.aspx

Sara Friedman, THE Journal
Designing high-capacity and widely available networks is essential for meeting the digital learning goals, according to a new SETDA study. The report looks into how individual states are working to close the digital divide in education by creating dedicated networks for schools and funding grant programs. In order to provide personalized learning experiences for students to best prepare them for college and careers, and to compete in a global economy, all schools need access to reliable, high-speed broadband,” said SETDA’s incoming executive director, Candice Dodson.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2019/04/09/how-education-is-closing-the-digital-divide.aspx

Dennis Pierce, THE Journal

Imagine if students left high school with a secure, permanent digital record of all their accomplishments — their academic achievement, extra-curricular experiences, community service and more — that followed them throughout college and into the workplace. Every new degree, certification, digital badge or other honor they earned throughout their lives would be added to this record like links in a chain, and these credentials would be tamper-proof to give employers some assurance that students actually earned them. This technology exists now, and it’s being used by a small but growing number of colleges and universities around the world to empower students by giving them ownership of their official record. K-12 education is likely to follow soon.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2019/04/10/3-trends-to-watch-in-ed-tech.aspx

EDUCAUSE

New approaches to enrollment management also reflect a growing expectation that enrollment managers contribute more directly and significantly to institutional efforts to fulfill academic missions, meet financial goals, sustain a diverse and successful student body, and increase access to education.  How does it work? For students, emerging models of enrollment management aim to provide a seamless experience for individuals who engage with the institution as a prospect, applicant, enrolled student, advisee, selector of an academic pathway, orientation participant, and completer of the first-year experience. In addition, enrollment management provides and aligns support to ensure learners’ ongoing academic progress through completion of a
credential or other academic goal.

https://library.educause.edu/resources/2019/3/7-things-you-should-know-about-enrollment-management

By IBL News

Michael M. Crow, President at Arizona State University (ASU), talked today on a keynote during the ASU GSV Conference in San Diego about the importance of connecting the workforce with lifelong learning opportunities. He elaborated on ASU’s model and mentioned the “technologies we need” to achieve a maximum impact in education. He listed those technologies in the following six categories. Personalized learning at scale will be one of the requirements.

https://iblnews.org/2019/04/09/michael-crow-at-asu-gsv-technologies-we-need-to-transform-education/

By Miles Burton, U Chicago Maroon

The popular physical sciences class titled Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast has adopted a “flipped” class format this quarter, in which students receive primary instruction through videos on Coursera, an online education platform. Rather than traditional lecture-style classes with a faculty member, the format relies on graduate students for nearly all the in-person teaching. Geophysical sciences professor Dorian Abbot, who took over the course this year from professor David Archer, who told The Maroon he developed the flipped curriculum to improve attendance in a class that has historically been poorly-attended, and also to reduce cheating. He piloted the new format in fall quarter of 2018, and has adopted it in full this spring.

https://www.chicagomaroon.com/article/2019/4/10/flipped-classroom-grad-students/

Martin Ebner & Sandra Schön, Drexel Virtually Inspired

We have been taking the approach of Inverse Blended Learning for 4 years now, we can proudly report that we have reduced the dropout rate dramatically. Even more, we can state that learners who visit the face-to-face offerings on a regularly basis are more likely to complete the course with success. It is great to see, that the arrangement of those face-to-face elements differs arbitrarily; weekly meetings in a very informal setting (cafes, public places) as well as in formal settings (higher educational seminars) and even online (webinars). These settings enable learners to not only discuss content but to see to each other’s problems, needs, questions and to complete tasks.

https://virtuallyinspired.org/inverse-blended-learning/

Allison Dulin Salisbury, Forbes

There’s an important lesson there for higher education and it’s not just anecdote. Employers increasingly use applicant tracking systems that often screen for very specific skills. A resume for a digital marketing job, no matter how stellar, that doesn’t mention experience with platforms like Facebook Ad Manager or Hubspot may not even make it through the first automated round of screening. Same goes for an application for a data analyst that doesn’t mention a facility with Tableau or Microsoft Excel, a game developer without Unity, or a sales rep without Salesforce. In that sense, it’s not broad digital skills that matter, but rather skills tailored to one specific platform that is state-of-the-art in an applicant’s chosen field.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/allisondulinsalisbury/2019/04/08/community-colleges-and-tech-companies-are-co-branding-credentials-to-solve-the-skills-gap/#1094cf6949b5

Robert Hansen,  Kathleen Ives, Russ Poulin; EvoLLLution
Despite changing student demographics and technological advancements, the American higher education regulatory infrastructure and related legislation continue to address only the needs of traditional postsecondary students. In this interview, leaders from three associations serving providers of non-traditional higher education—Robert Hansen from UPCEA, Kathleen Ives from OLC and Russ Poulin from WCET—discuss some of the critical reforms needed for federal legislation to better fit the 21st-century model of higher education.

Aligning the Regulatory Environment with the 21st Century Realities

Edward J. Maloney and Joshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed

Rather than passing along the savings of online education to students — as Carey argues that online means “no buildings to maintain, no lawns to mow, no juice bars and [no] lazy rivers” — the tuition dollars are being instead converted to corporate profits for the OPMs.  The classic online program management business model is for the company to fund the costs of developing the online programs, recruiting the students and running the programs — and in exchange the OPM received a share of the tuition. This revenue share to the OPM is typically around 60 percent. The OPM market is growing, with Carey quoting Trace Urban from Tyton Partners saying that the market is likely to be worth $8 billion by 2020.

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/blogs/technology-and-learning/opms-are-losing-battle-hearts-and-minds

Henry Kronk, IBL News

Professor Emeritus Ray Schroeder finds it difficult to stop working. As the Associate Vice Chancellor for Online Learning at the University of Illinois Springfield and the founding director of the National Council for Online Education at the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA), he has a lot on his plate. IBL News recently got in touch with Professor Schroder to discuss his current work and a few trends in online learning. The interview occurred on the afternoon of March 12th, and the first topic of conversation had to be the admissions scandal that had come to light that morning.

Ray Schroeder: “Universities Have to Change To Meet Students’ Needs”

Ellucian

This survey report outlines perceptions and prospects for careers among students and HR recruiters.  Among the results: GenZ students feel less prepared than prior generations and employers are seeking an array of soft skills led by communication, industry-specific skills, critical thinking and accountability.  Both students and employers agree that continuous learning is necessary.

https://www.ellucian.com/assets/en/white-paper/credential-clout-survey.pdf

Meredith Broussard and Seth Lewis, Knowledge @ Wharton

In the past year, you have most likely read a story that was written by a bot. Whether it’s a sports article, an earnings report or a story about who won the last congressional race in your district, you may not have known it but an emotionless artificial intelligence perhaps moved you to cheers, jeers or tears. By 2025, a bot could be writing 90% of all news, according to Narrative Science, whose software Quill turns data into stories. Many of the largest and most reputable news outlets in the world are using or dabbling in AI — such as The Washington Post, The Associated Press, BBC, Reuters, Bloomberg, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Times and Sunday Times (U.K.), Japan’s national public broadcaster, NHK, and Finland’s STT.

https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/ai-in-journalism/

by Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed

There is much at stake in the development of AI. The “big nine” corporations are the linkages that ideally will bring cultures together and create a compass for development in this field. Action must be taken now to assure that the underlying assumptions are in the best interests of the learners. A first model for a governance framework for AI has been developed by the Personal Data Protection Commission of Singapore. The 27-page instrument is well worth reading to gain a better understanding of AI and its implications.

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/blogs/online-trending-now/vr-ar-ai-worldwide-perspectives

WFMZ
If you’ve ever thought about changing careers, you might have also thought about going back to school.   It can be expensive and time-consuming, but thanks to online learning, you can take classes anytime you want.  LinkedIn Learning is an app that offers online training for jobs that are in demand now, like web and graphic design, sales and marketing. You can learn dozens of skills, including Google and Microsoft software. Learn how to create your own business plan or become a web developer.

http://www.wfmz.com/features/what-the-tech/what-the-tech-app-of-the-day-linkedin-learning/1066867860

SARAH HOFIUS HALL, THE TIMES-TRIBUNE

Bills in the state House and Senate would allow districts with their own cyber programs to stop paying tuition to cyber charter schools. If a student decided to attend a cyber charter school, the family would be responsible for the tuition. Education Voters of Pennsylvania, a statewide public education advocacy organization, also called for reform. In a February report, the group found that by basing cyber school tuition on what it actually costs to educate a child virtually, districts statewide could save more than $250 million annually. In NEPA, savings could be as much as $24.5 million each year. In the 2017-18 school year, 2,799 students in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties attended cyber charter schools.

https://www.govtech.com/education/Pennsylvania-School-District-Trims-Budget-with-Cyber-Charters.html

By Lonnie Huhman, Sun Times News

Through the 5 C’s and virtual reality, Wylie Elementary School students have been working at creating their own “dream world” or “happy place.” All 500 or so of the third- and fourth-graders at the Dexter school spent about the last month or so planning and designing their projects by using creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, cooperation, communication and technology. This work culminated in the school organizing a VR Museum.

https://thesuntimesnews.com/dexter-elementary-students-learn-through-virtual-reality/

Jim Shaeffer, The EvoLLLution
Most universities that plan to stick to the status quo and serve exclusively traditional learners are facing a cliff. CE divisions can help their institutions avoid a potential drop, but only if they’re empowered. Demographics of students enrolling at colleges and universities are evolving. And students’ expectations are evolving as well. As the numbers of 18-22 year olds fresh out of high school drop, the recruitment of non-traditional students is becoming more important than ever. In this interview, James Shaeffer discusses the role continuing education (CE) departments can play as drivers of innovation and reflects on how CE leaders can help their main campus colleagues embrace transformational change.

https://evolllution.com/managing-institution/higher_ed_business/stepping-back-from-the-cliff-facing-new-realities-of-changing-student-demographics/

BY DENNIS PIERCE, eCampus News

Time and cost are two key barriers standing in the way of college completion, and that’s especially true for working adults going back to school. To eliminate these barriers and help registered nurses make faster progress toward earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree, the University of Memphis School of Health Studies is using adaptive learning technology and other practices to accelerate completion—reportedly saving participants more than $100,000 in collective tuition costs in a single year. “Students shouldn’t get bogged down with paying to learn things they already know,” says Richard Irwin, dean of UofM Global, the university’s online program. “Adaptive learning helps students move through the content at a more rapid pace.”

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2019/04/05/benefits-adaptive-learning/