Educational Technology

#LeadingLearning

In this episode of Leading Learning, Celisa talks with Ray about the evolving role of learning businesses, continuing education, and online learning— particularly when it comes to workforce development issues and the skills gap. They also discuss how advances related to artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, badges, blockchain and more are impacting the future of learning. To tune in, just click below.

https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode-193-ray-schroeder/

Caroline Knorr, Common Sense Media
If managing your kids’ summer schedules is running you ragged, you may want to consider the online option. Apps, websites, and even full-fledged virtual camps offer a wide range of summer learning opportunities, and can provide the ideal activity during a “staycation” or a fill-in between other activities. Online learning also gives kids something unique: individual attention. You, a babysitter, a grandparent, or even an older sibling act as virtual camp counselors, leading — and even learning alongside — your kids. With many of the virtual camps below, you can mix and match activities to tailor the experience to your kids’ interests. Expect to be more involved if you go for the free, choose-your-own-adventure camps. But fee-based camps call for some adult participation, too. Check out these offerings:

https://poststar.com/lifestyles/parenting/online-camps-to-entertain-and-educate-kids-all-summer-long/article_b559be21-c338-5b95-a5ef-468d19463b19.amp.html

BY LAURA ASCIONE, eSchool News
Here’s how education is using augmented reality apps to take academics and engagement to the next level. Augmented reality has been one of higher ed’s big buzzwords for a number of years, but it’s not until just fairly recently that institutions have used the technology in practical ways. Now, higher-ed augmented reality apps are having a moment that extends past the novelty of Pokemon Go–and K-12 could take some of those lessons into its own classrooms. Most augmented reality apps address a variety of things, such as bringing science concepts to life, improving student retention, and offering campus tours or glimpses of historical moments on campus.

https://www.eschoolnews.com/2019/06/24/5-ways-augmented-reality-apps/

By Ramona Schindelheim, Working Nation

“[Higher] education costs are rising in the U.S., as is student debt,” says American venture capitalist Mary Meeker. The average annual cost of a private four-year college (tuition and on-campus housing) is more than $50,000 and a public college averages just over $24,000 a year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. More than two-thirds of the class of 2018 borrowed money to go to college, according to Student Loan Hero. 2018 graduates owe an average of $29,800 and 14 percent of their parents owe an average of $35,600 in loans taken out through the federal government. Education costs chartBecause continuing your education after graduating from high school is getting more and more expensive, Meeker says “post-secondary education enrollment is slowing, and online education learning institutions are expanding their reach.” That reach is expanding as the skills needed to get a good, relevant job continues to change.

https://workingnation.com/mary-meeker-internet-trends-online-education-workforce-trends/

Isaac Ben-Israel, The Next We

With the use of AI growing in almost all areas of business and industry, we have a new problem to worry about – the “hijacking” of artificial intelligence. Hackers use the same techniques and systems that help us, to compromise our data, our security, and our lifestyle. We’ve already seen hackers try to pull this off, and while security teams have been able to successfully defend against these attacks, it’s just a matter of time before the hackers succeed. Catching them is proving to be a challenge – because the smart techniques we’re using to make ourselves more efficient and productive are being co-opted by hackers, who are using them to stymie our advancements. It seems that anything we can do, they can do – and sometimes they do it better.

https://thenextweb.com/podium/2019/06/22/hackers-are-turning-our-ai-security-systems-against-us-but-they-can-be-stopped/

Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources

Montgomery College is embarking on a new strategic plan to guide the College over the next five years. Titled MC 2025, the plan will serve as the overarching plan for other master plans at the College, including the Academic Master Plan and the Achieving the Dream (ATD) student success work. Specific strategies are identified to support each of the six different goals approved by the Board of Trustees:

• Empower students to start smart and succeed
• Enhance transformational teaching practices and learning environments
• Fuel the economy and drive economic mobility
• Build, engage, and strengthen community partnerships
• Invest in our employees
• Protect affordability

https://www.cccoer.org/2019/06/21/excellence-rigor-equity-how-oer-fits-into-montgomery-colleges-new-strategic-plan/

Mattew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

Many factors play a role in early withdrawal from university, mostly to do with financial and personal reasons. Universities and colleges also lose students when they decide to study at other schools, or take online courses at other schools or decide to take their sophomore year off. Technology in the form of machine learning is being used by universities to improve their student support and retention rates. The value of machine learning for the improvement of retention rates lies in its predictive power. Machine learning algorithms are able to analyze vast data sets and identify students who are at risk of abandoning their studies.

https://www.thetechedvocate.org/using-machine-learning-to-predict-student-outcomes/

Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

Leadership of any kind is stressful. What if you could train for leadership using a set of tools and data that could help you take calculated risks without endangering anyone? According to a McKinsey Quarterly article, artificial intelligence may have the “potential to help you lead with clarity, specificity, and creativity.” AI can be taught to chase pathways rather than insist on a single destination. For the leader who chooses a specific action, the AI program reacts, offering alternative sets of choices. The fluidity of design gives leaders the practice and experience they need in almost unlimited situations.

https://www.thetechedvocate.org/will-ai-take-over-educational-leadership/

MIKE MACCHIAROLA, eSchool News
Studies consistently reveal the importance of career and technical education (CTE) programs as a method to reduce dropout rates and to keep students focused on high school graduation. Across Pasco County Schools, where we educate 75,000 students, the vision for our CTE program is to provide broad exposure to CTE experiential learning opportunities while equipping students to be life-long learners.

https://www.eschoolnews.com/2019/06/21/vr-ar-cte-programs/

Amber Garrison Duncan, Today’s Students

Hiring is Changing. This issue has become more and more common as students are attempting to gain good jobs, but lack a way to effectively communicate what they know and can do. This is due to the fact that employers are engaging in skills-based hiring and using new technology find candidates in a digital world. Today’s technology is helping hundreds of education and training providers to capture all learning. Colleges and universities are creating Comprehensive Learner Records to meet the changing nature of learning and hiring.

https://higherlearningadvocates.org/2019/06/19/transforming-the-transcript/