Educational Technology

By Jeffrey R. Young, EdSurge

American adults who never completed college but who’ve earned a professional certificate are more likely to be employed and earn more than those without such certifications, according to a new analysis of Gallup polling data. Those with no degree but a certificate reported a median annual income of $45,000, compared to $30,000 for those with no degree and no certificate. But the amount of the boost varies widely by profession, and it is more pronounced for men than for women.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-05-14-what-adults-with-certificates-but-no-college-degree-say-about-their-job-experiences

By Lindsay McKenzie, Inside Higher Ed

Artificial intelligence that reads journal articles and highlights key findings could help researchers stay on top of the latest research. But the technology isn’t ready for prime time. Using a form of artificial intelligence called a neural network, scientists at MIT and the Qatar Computing Research Institute at Hamad Bin Khalifa University have created technology that can read scientific papers and generate easy-to-read summaries that are just one or two sentences long. The research, recently published in the journal Transactions of the Association for Computational Linguistics, could potentially be used by journalists to help communicate complex research to the public, though the authors say they aren’t going to be putting journalists out of a job any time soon. (Phew.)

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/05/14/ai-summarizes-research-papers-could-have-useful-applications-academics

Katie Tierney, Forbes

Here’s what I think is the biggest problem with AI in today’s world: We just don’t have enough people who are educated on how it works and how to leverage it. I think we’re staring right into the face of a looming skills gap.  Global spending on AI is rising with no signs of slowing down — IDC estimates that organizations will invest $35.8 billion in AI systems this year. That’s an increase of 44% from 2018. With all the fanfare, it’s easy to get lost in the noise and excitement — and with all of the vendors out there touting their various AI-based solutions, it’s also easy to get confused about which is which and what does what.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2019/05/14/five-things-to-know-about-ai/#132cbbf549b7

By Sara Friedman

A new report from the National Center for Educational Statistics digs into the trends in technology and engineering literacy for eighth graders over a four-year period.  When it comes to the TEL assessment, it evaluates students in three practice areas: understanding technological principles, developing solutions and achieving goals, and communicating and collaborating. Scores increased by at least 2 points in all practice areas in 2018. Girls scored higher than boys across all three practice areas, but the TEL findings showed that girls take less technology and engineering classes in school compared to boys.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2019/05/09/girls-outpace-boys-in-technology-literacy.aspx

Education Dive

The potential of LMS analytics is only as valuable as how capably an institution is using the system and analyzing results. In this first episode, we discuss the ways in which LMS data can be best used to improve outcomes for students, teachers and institutions, giving you an overview of where LMS usage stands and how they are perceived.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/podcast-higher-edvolution/549378/

Liam Tung, ZDNet
Wages growth for tech workers was flat last year, but pay for some roles and skills has been growing much faster. Wages growth for tech jobs in the US was stagnant in 2018, rising just 0.6 percent from 2017 to an average of $93,244 for the year, accord to Dice’s 2019 tech salary report. Average tech wages haven’t increased since 2015, when the average was actually higher than today at $93,328, according to Dice’s data, and that’s despite historically low levels of unemployment in the sector. However, there are a few specialized skills and roles that have seen higher than average growth, which could motivate some into making a career pivot.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/best-paying-programming-languages-skills-here-are-the-top-earners/

By Alison DeNisco Rayome, ZDNet

“Data science is something that is not just a temporary blip, but something that is going to be needed a lot and for a long time,” said Andrea Danyluk, a professor of computer science at Williams College and co-chair of the Association for Computing Machinery’s taskforce on data science. “Colleges and universities are beginning to understand the need for data scientists, and are beginning to develop programs.”

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-to-decide-if-a-data-science-degree-is-worth-it-and-choose-the-right-program/

Tim Cooper, Raconteur

The amount of available data and technology that AI can process intelligently has snowballed as the internet has increasingly integrated with our lives through tablets, phones and wearables. The advent of the internet of things – the extension of internet connectivity into everyday objects – has taken this even further.  These advances have enabled a wide range of bodies, including companies, governments and non-governmental organisations, to start working together to use AI for social good and has already produced some groundbreaking results in vital areas. And some of the most powerful organisations in the world, such as the US government, Google, Microsoft and Facebook, have all deployed AI for positive social initiatives.

https://www.raconteur.net/technology/ai-social-good

Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

AI isn’t as scary as it might sound. There are two types of artificial intelligence. The one you use now is known as narrow AI. This level of artificial intelligence includes spell check and autocorrect, gathering and sorting data, and curating information such as collections of lessons or pinned ideas for classroom activities. The second type, general AI, will be the next level of machine learning. Scientists predict that artificial intelligence eventually will develop the interpretive skills that teachers use to build, analyze, and evaluate the curriculum they use in the classroom.

https://www.thetechedvocate.org/ai-curricula-for-k-12-classrooms/

Ovetta Sampson, IDEO

Today, data systems and algorithms can be deployed at unprecedented scale and speed—and unintended consequences will affect people with that same scale and speed. How can we always make sure we’re putting people first when designing large scale systems? Especially when those systems will change over time and evolve without direct human supervision?

https://www.ideo.com/blog/ai-needs-an-ethical-compass-this-tool-can-help

Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

Edtech companies are using artificial intelligence and machine learning to solve many issues in education. Here we look at different ways some prominent Edtech companies are applying these technologies to develop their solutions.

https://www.thetechedvocate.org/artificial-intelligence-machine-learning-in-education-top-5-companies/

Andrew Webster, London Times

Most schools now have high-speed Wi-Fi, a bank of laptops and iPads and an interactive board in every classroom. Homework can be channelled through online platforms and children are regularly encouraged to present their work digitally. Unfortunately, this is all window dressing against a professional culture still dominated by Victorian attitudes to learning. The teacher remains god in the classroom and didactic, teacher-led learning persists. What’s worse, the digital age is in danger of masking outdated methods. A passive learning experience which may previously have seen children copying from the board into their book now has them copying into a PowerPoint presentation.

https://www.timeslocalnews.co.uk/lifestyle/education-lessons-on-classroom-connectivity

Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

For their research, the scientists obtained information from USC’s Infant Neuromotor Control Laboratory. This information included data about the motor movements of infants obtained from sensors strapped to the infants’ ankles. The sensors collected raw movement data from an accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer. An algorithm that is able to classify typical (TD) and delayed development (AR), was then used to further analyze the observable differences in spontaneous movements of infants with TD and AR. Then the researchers came up with a prediction model that was able to do the calculations and make the predictions.

https://www.thetechedvocate.org/using-machine-learning-to-predict-developmental-delays-in-children/

Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

Artificial intelligence has been changing the world in increments for several generations. With an emergence that was barely noticeable at first, AI now has entrenched itself in almost every facet of what we do and say. The presence of artificial intelligence in our lives has caused more than one person to lament, “I want to talk to a human being.” And that’s why emotional intelligence is so critical for our well-being and success as the human race. We must be able to relate to others.

https://www.thetechedvocate.org/we-need-emotional-intelligence-with-our-edtech/

Kyle Kucharski, PC Magazine

More and more students are interested in studying blockchain technology, and universities are meeting the demand. It’s not just computer science majors, either: a study by Coinbase shows that students across various disciplines are interested in the technology.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/368277/top-schools-are-offering-more-blockchain-cryptocurrency-cou

By IBL News

“There are a lot of people who need to up-skill in order to stay current and competitive in the job market… I think there is a huge opportunity for continuing and professional education, and MicroMasters and stackable credentials in particular.” The SUNY system is a pioneer in open education resources (OER) production, such as their open textbook initiative, which she says leads to a “natural extension to then look at online education and opening up education in general.”

https://iblnews.org/2019/04/19/up-skilling-for-todays-workforce-a-perspective-from-lisa-stephens-suny/

Danny Palmer, ZDNet

A successful family of ransomware which has been terrorising organisations around the world has been updated with a new trick to lure victims into installing file-locking malware: posing as anti-virus software. Dharma first emerged in 2016 and the ransomware has been responsible for a number of high-profile cyber incidents, including the takedown of a hospital network in Texas late last year. The group behind Dharma regularly look to update their campaigns in order to ensure the attacks remain effective and they have the best chance of extorting ransom payments in exchange of decrypting locked networks and files of Windows systems.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/this-ransomware-sneakily-infects-victims-by-disguising-itself-with-anti-virus-software/

Christopher Timothy McGuirk

Language learning in particular seems a perfect place to try “gamified” classes. Some schools are already using Minecraft in French classes – the idea is that students work together to build a “learning zone” in the Minecraft space – finding new words to help them along the way. Indeed, James Paul Gee, a leading researcher in the area of video games as language learning tools, suggests that role-playing games such as The Elder Scrolls series or World of Warcraft, offer an ideal learning space for what he calls “at-risk” learners. In theory, there is just enough challenge, just enough support, just enough room for players to be themselves and, possibly most important, students have just enough “ownership” of the learning process.

https://theconversation.com/can-you-learn-a-language-playing-video-games-what-the-research-says-105760

By Sara Friedman, Campus Technology

With technology becoming a cornerstone of how many schools operate, the risks of getting hacked multiplies, and defending against cyber attacks becomes an important part of any strategic plan. A new report from the IBM X-Force finds attackers are drawn to the education sector owing to the sensitive nature of some emerging research projects and personally identifiable information on students, faculty and organizations associated with universities and schools. Despite all of these risks, the education sector comes in at ninth place among the most targeted industries, according to the 2019 IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2019.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2019/04/25/how-education-tackles-cybersecurity.aspx

Science Daily

A surgeon might never feel the need to ask an AI for advice, much less allow it to make a clinical decision for them, said John Zimmerman, the Tang Family Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Human-Computer Interaction in CMU’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII). But an AI might guide decisions if it were embedded in the decision-making routines already used by the clinical team, providing AI-generated predictions and evaluations as part of the overall mix of information. Zimmerman and his colleagues call this approach “Unremarkable AI.” “The idea is that AI should be unremarkable in the sense that you don’t have to think about it and it doesn’t get in the way,” Zimmerman said. “Electricity is completely unremarkable until you don’t have it.”

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190508093723.htm

Jeanne Allen, Forbes

America is the land of innovation, leading the world in technology, art and industry — yet we still have a 20th-century educational system. Our schools are stifled by regulatory overload, making it difficult to bring needed change to outdated ways of doing things. Fortunately for our nation’s children, enterprising individuals at all levels of education are working to change that. Here are a few of the most innovative figures in education today,

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeanneallen/2019/05/08/three-innovators-changing-the-education-landscape-today/#6556d75aed5a