Educational Technology

AYTEKIN TANK, Fast Company
With so much time being spent at home, many of us are taking advantage of the benefits of e-learning. And why not? It’s a convenient, cost-effective way of burnishing our skills or developing new ones, all while safely quarantined at home. Even before the pandemic, e-learning was on the rise. Marketing research reports predicted that the online education market would hit $350 billion by 2025—and that was before COVID-19 forced everyone indoors.  Now, the many learning platforms spawned in recent years are seeing massive upticks in users: Coursera, which focuses on academic offerings, added 10 million new users between mid-March and mid-May.https://www.fastcompany.com/90544546/the-competitive-edge-virtual-learning-provides-during-a-downturn

Jill Duffy, PC Mag

Organizing and purging your documents, photos, and inboxes can help reduce stress and improve productivity. Our five simple steps help you start cleaning up your digital life. Whether it’s spring cleaning or taking a moment to archive last year’s emails, I find it incredibly gratifying to dump (or sometimes simply put away) stuff I don’t need. There’s a whole lot of hippie rhetoric about how clutter-free environments lead to clarity of mind, and I’m not necessarily saying it works for everyone, nor is it guaranteed to improve your productivity, but I sure do feel less stressed and more able to focus when the junk is gone.

https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/get-organized-how-to-start-purging-your-digital-life

NICOLE ENGELBERT AND STEVE HAHN, eCampus News

Many institutions are already shifting toward nontraditional revenue streams, with an eye toward sustainability. For example, some universities are beefing up pathway programs to court international students, as well as establishing partnerships with the corporate sector to provide continuing education programs for businesses. Of course, the biggest shift has been towards online learning, with schools forced to make the transition – ready or not – amid the pandemic. One of the key factors in higher education’s ability to shift toward more affordable tuition and sustainable, alternative revenue sources is technology. Data will play a huge role in helping institutions determine which approaches don’t work and executing on the ones that do.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2020/08/27/how-universities-are-innovating-to-tackle-higher-educations-affordability-crisis/

Natalie Schwartz, Education Dive
The pandemic will hasten a transformation of higher education business models, according to a new Moody’s Investors Service report. The crisis will accelerate many colleges’ plans to grow their online footprints, though not all schools have the resources to invest in digital infrastructure, the report notes. They will also likely expand nondegree and certificate programs. Analysts predict that once the pandemic subsides, some colleges will struggle if they haven’t established a strong online presence.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/moodys-coronavirus-is-accelerating-shift-to-online-education/584299/

Wesley Whistle, Forbes

In a press release, DeVos said, “These regulations are a true ‘rethink’ of what is possible for students so that they can learn in the ways and places that work best for them.” But many worry these regulations put innovation and institutional burden reduction interests ahead of quality and consumer protection needs. In fact, some version of the word ‘burden’ appears 52 times in the final rule; the word ‘safeguard’ only appears 9 times.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/wesleywhistle/2020/08/25/betsy-devos-weakens-protections-for-online-learning-in-higher-education/#4ca83b7a2f5a

Paul Fain, Inside Higher Ed

Interest is growing in short-term, online credentials amid the pandemic. Will they become viable alternative pathways to well-paying jobs?  Few have more experience monitoring alternative credentials and consumer interest in online learning than Sean Gallagher, an executive professor of education policy at Northeastern University. “This looks to be a catalytic moment,” said Gallagher, who is the founder and executive director of Northeastern’s Center for the Future of Higher Education and Talent Strategy. “Like what’s happened with the rapid digitization of so many other areas of our daily lives, we’ve probably gained in a few months a level of interest and participation in online education that would have steadily played out over years.”

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/08/27/interest-spikes-short-term-online-credentials-will-it-be-sustained

Colleen Flaherty, Inside Higher Education

The spring semester and its full-throttle move to remote instruction proved brutal for many if not most faculty members. The summer offered little relief, as professors used the time to transition their fall courses to a fully online format or, more time-consumingly, to multiple formats for a range of reopening scenarios. In light of these ongoing demands, faculty members say they’re working harder than ever to be effective instructors. Many have taken online teaching courses, gotten comfortable with new technology, revamped syllabi and course content, and been more available to students. So it’s disheartening that critics inside and outside academe are questioning the value of a remote education, these professors say.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/08/27/teaching-fall-not-glorified-skype

Jennifer Elias, CNBC
Current and former Google employees are forming an online program aimed at preparing students for the workforce if they’re taking time off school due to the coronavirus pandemic. It comes as many college students defer school as universities shift learning models to mostly online amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Google execs past and present have volunteered to mentor college students on topics ranging from career trajectory to how to stand out in virtual Zoom interviews.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/24/ex-google-employees-form-virtual-tech-school-for-gap-year-students.html

Diana Oblinger, Educause Review

Digital transformation (Dx) may sound like a distraction in today’s environment, but it may also be essential. Of the many challenges already facing higher education, three have become unavoidable since the onset of COVID-19. Digital transformation can help higher education meet three unavoidable challenges ahead: mounting financial pressures, changes in the college experience, and ongoing uncertainty. It’s time to think differently.

https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/8/digital-transformation-its-time%E2%80%8C

Nate Swanner, Dice

As companies consider how blockchain fits into their overall tech stack, the common belief is that blockchain will become the next frontier for managing data. This alone drives interest in blockchain, and encourages many seasoned technologists to begin a quest towards adding blockchain to their repertoire. But how should you go about learning blockchain? Can you teach yourself, or should you pay for a course? We queried experts to find out the best ways to learn blockchain.

https://insights.dice.com/2020/08/25/blockchain-training-how-where-start/

Shawn Hubler, NY Times

After Southern California’s soaring coronavirus caseload forced Chapman University this month to abruptly abandon plans to reopen its campus and shift to an autumn of all-remote instruction, the school promised that students would still get a “robust Chapman experience.” “What about a robust refund?” retorted Christopher Moore, a spring graduate, on Facebook. A parent chimed in. “We are paying a lot of money for tuition, and our students are not getting what we paid for,” wrote Shannon Carducci, whose youngest child, Ally, is a sophomore at Chapman, in Orange County, where the cost of attendance averages $65,000 a year.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/15/us/covid-college-tuition.html

Tanya Spilovoy, Jeff Seaman, and Nate Ralph

WCET and Bay View Analytics

The adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER) is on the rise, driven in part by increasing awareness of OER. But while faculty and institutions have shown increasing awareness and acceptance of OER, many remain unfamiliar with what they are, or how to utilize them.

http://onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/impactofoerinitiatives.pdf

EDUCAUSE ELI

Virtual labs are interactive, digital simulations of activities that typically take place in physical laboratory settings. Virtual labs simulate the tools, equipment, tests, and procedures used in chemistry, biochemistry, physics, biology, and other disciplines. Virtual labs allow students to participate in lab-based learning exercises without the costs and limitations of a physical lab. Virtual labs can be an important element in institutional efforts to expand access to lab-based courses to more and different groups of students, as well as efforts to establish contingency plans for natural disasters or other interruptions of campus activities.

https://library.educause.edu/resources/2020/8/7-things-you-should-know-about-virtual-labs

Martin Skladany, Brookings

Given the economic ramifications of the COVID-19 shutdowns, it might seem justifiable to slash tuition by 10% or more, but it will backfire. With well-off families paying less, college will have less revenue to redistribute as aid in the future to those who are financially struggling. Many universities are already projecting deficits of tens to hundreds of millions of dollars because their costs have not gone down. In fact, they are spending millions more in attempting to make campuses safe through buying COVID-19 tests, reconfiguring classrooms for social distancing, paying for technology for hybrid and remote classes, etc. This new, temporary reality is less pleasant for students; it is as well for faculty and staff. But it is not costing the university less.

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2020/08/24/tuition-discounts-dont-make-sense-increased-funding-for-financial-aid-does/

Adam S. Kamras, UD Daily

Since the spring, thousands of faculty and professionals across all disciplines at the University have been working hard, reviewing course content, evaluating methods of instruction and sharing best practices to ensure that the University’s high standards are not compromised by the shift online. While this change inevitably means that the learning experience will be different, the University’s commitment to academic excellence remains strong, and the work to provide top-notch online courses is guided by more than 25 years of experience at UD in this field, and by extensive research on how people learn.

https://www.udel.edu/udaily/2020/august/online-teaching-best-practices/

Daranesha Herron, KVUE
With classes starting on Monday, some Texas State University students made one last plea for more online courses and to remove the fee associated with them. “We live among other people, not just college students,” said Texas State senior Devin Driver. Just in the nick of time, on Tuesday Driver got what she considers to be good news. Her request to move all of her classes online was accepted, but it came at a cost. “It’s $50 per credit hour,” explained Driver.

https://www.kvue.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/texas-state-students-virtual-learning-options-extra-fees/269-a915429f-19f5-40c4-9f36-95d1dc9ebe7f

NINA AGRAWAL, LA Times
As children begin school in Los Angeles on Thursday, public education is among Americans’ top priorities, and most believe students should continue their education through some form of distance learning, a national poll has found. Nearly the same share of adults, 52%, said they opposed reopening K-12 schools for in-person instruction in fall 2020 amid the pandemic, and close to 80% said they believed hybrid, online-only or home-school instruction would be most beneficial for students.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-08-20/national-poll-finds-majority-of-likely-voters-support-continuing-remote-education

BY JEANNE CAREY INGLE,  eCampus News
These tips for remote teaching during COVID-19 are relevant for teachers at the elementary level straight on up through higher education.  Over the past 3 months I have taken my fully on-ground, in-person classes and put them completely online, done all my advising and research mentoring virtually, and I think I might be doing the work a little better. Don’t get me wrong–I miss teaching my students in person and I can’t wait until we get back to some semblance of normal. But normal won’t be this fall, and possibly not even in the spring of 2021, so I decided, as I prep for the fall, to look at my teaching and see what went right this past semester.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2020/08/20/5-ways-covid-19-made-me-a-better-instructor/

University of Birmingham, UK

Academics and students must work together to make the most of online learning as universities prepare for a new academic year – ensuring that teaching meets the challenges posed by ‘distanced’ learning, according to a new study. The COVID-19 pandemic closed campuses forcing rapid improvisation, innovation, and adoption of online teaching. This brought new challenges for those taking part who must work harder in an online learning environment to ‘read’ non-verbal or social cues including facial expressions, body language, vocal tone and pitch. Key to overcoming these challenges will be blending real-time ‘intensive’ online engagement with academics and ‘extensive’ online learning experiences.

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/latest/2020/08/covid-19%20forces%20universities%20innovation%20online.aspx

Scott Simon, NPR

“I’ll be the first to say that for most students, distance learning can’t replace a great in-person experience,” wrote Khan in a New York Times op-ed earlier this month. “Pure distance-learning is suboptimal, but we have to do it out of necessity because of the pandemic.” The problem, Khan says, is that with virtual learning, students are missing out on the vital social and emotional benefits that come from in-person classes. For that reason, Khan presses the importance of placing one-on-one interaction at the center of virtual lessons.

https://www.npr.org/2020/08/22/904652858/making-the-best-of-virtual-learning-some-advice-from-the-founder-of-khan-academy