Online Learning Update

October 18, 2017

Emerging Tech Boosts Online Education Growth Over Next 4 Years

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:03 am

by Meghan Bogardus Cortez, EdTech

A study finds that mobile devices, virtual reality and blending learning programs will spark innovation. With millions of students enrolling in at least one online course, it should be no surprise that a recent Technavio study found that the online education market is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 20 percent until 2021. As enrollment and investment in online education increases, the report claims that the industry owes a lot of this growth to mobile devices and increased desire for blended learning opportunities.

https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2017/10/emerging-tech-boosts-online-education-growth-over-next-4-years

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October 17, 2017

A PayPal exec’s favorite interview question reveals the skill all good employees should have

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:10 am

by Áine Cain, Business Insider

“I would ask this of any candidate — what did you learn this week?” Hann told Business Insider. “Even if it’s only Tuesday. What’s something new you learned this week and how did you apply it in what you do?” Major companies like EY and IBM encourage employees to keep gathering new skills through online learning programs for which graduates earn “digital badges” that certify they’ve completed the course. In fact, reported Business Insider’s Abby Jackson, certain IBM badges can be used toward Northeastern professional master’s degree programs.

http://www.businessinsider.com/paypal-job-interview-question-exec-2017-10

 

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Google partners with Udacity to offer 50,000 new scholarships for aspiring developers

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:06 am

by Scott Scrivens, Android Police

Grow with Google is the company’s educational initiative offering free training and tools to help kickstart the careers of budding developers across the United States. The platform has several partners with which Google works to create learning programs and provide support. One such partner is Udacity, which offers free and paid online courses for a range of different technical disciplines. Together, Google and Udacity are offering 50,000 new scholarships in the US. They will specifically target Android and mobile web developers with a view to training them up and getting them into work. The courses are intended to prepare students for Google’s Associate Android Developer and Mobile Web Specialist developer certifications.

http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/10/13/google-partners-udacity-offer-50000-new-scholarships-aspiring-developers/

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Communication to Prepare for Your Online Classes

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:03 am

By Alyssa Laffitte, Uloop
In this modern digital age, online courses are becoming more and more popular. If you haven’t yet taken one, you probably will soon. Online classes are similar to traditional classes in that they both involve communication and discussion among students and teachers. The method of discussion is different, though. Rather than sitting together in a class and speaking, communication in online classes is mainly held through email or through discussion boards, which requires a different set of skills. So how can you effectively communicate in an online class?

https://www.uloop.com/news/view.php/249754/Communication-to-Prepare-for-Your-Online-Classes

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October 16, 2017

UF offers free online courses to students displaced by hurricanes in Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:08 am

by Steve Orlando, University of Florida

The University of Florida is offering free courses through UF Online to assist college students displaced by Hurricanes Maria and Irma in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Undergraduate students displaced from select colleges and who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents may enroll as non-degree seeking students in UF Online courses for the spring 2018 term and/or the summer 2018 term(s) at no charge for tuition and fees. UF anticipates being able to handle 1,000 students through the program.

http://news.ufl.edu/articles/2017/10/uf-offers-free-online-courses-to-students-displaced-by-hurricanes-in-puerto-rico-us-virgin-islands.php

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Determine Your Tech Needs for an Online Degree Program – Chris Foley and Jan Holloway, US News

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:05 am

Technology smarts matter, whether you’re studying on campus or online. But as an online student, technology inherently plays an even greater role in your coursework. Knowing from the outset what technology is required can boost your chances of success. Here are four things to look into as you prepare for the semester.

https://www.usnews.com/education/online-learning-lessons/articles/2017-10-13/determine-the-technology-you-need-for-an-online-degree-program

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Udacity Official Declares MOOCs ‘Dead’ (Though the Company Still Offers Them)

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:02 am

By Jeffrey R. Young, EdSurge

It was Udacity vice president Clarissa Shen who this week said “they are dead,” when talking about MOOCs in an interview with The Economic Times in India. “MOOCs are a failed product, at least for the goals we had set for ourselves,” she told the newspaper. “Our mission is to bring relevant education which advances people in careers and socio-economic activities, and MOOCs aren’t the way.” Udacity’s co-founder, Sebastian Thrun, famously announced a “pivot” away from MOOCs back in 2013, and since then the company has focused its energies on paid sequences of courses called “nanodegrees” that it produces in cooperation with large tech employers. But it has continued to offer free versions of its course videos for those who don’t want or need a certificate of completion.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-10-12-udacity-official-declares-moocs-dead-though-the-company-still-offers-them

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October 15, 2017

Getting 100 Percent LMS Buy-in from Faculty

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:10 am

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

These two institutions faced the same goal — convincing all their instructors to use the learning management system. Here’s what’s working.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/10/12/getting-100-percent-lms-buy-in-from-faculty.aspx

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Virtual Reality and Learning: The Newest Landscape for Higher Education

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:05 am

by Brian Shuster, Wired

Virtual worlds promise to deliver the best aspects of both real-world classrooms and online distance learning into a single platform. With tools that provide avatars that represent the educators and the students, voice and video capabilities, powerpoint and other collaborative whiteboard technologies and group and private messaging chat, educators are finding that the newest generation of virtual worlds can simplify the lecture and presentation process, allow students to ask/answers questions to their teacher or each other (without interrupting the lecture), socialize and learn in a very streamlined manner. All of this is done with the convenience and cost efficiency of distance learning.

https://www.wired.com/insights/2013/12/virtual-reality-and-learning-the-newest-landscape-for-higher-education/

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3 reasons why VR’s killer app will be collaborative

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:04 am

MICHAEL PARK, Venture Beat
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are game-changers for the enterprise, enabling real-time remote collaboration experiences that were simply not possible before. While these technologies have not yet gained traction at a mass-market level, they hold great promise as the most practical use case for immersive technologies.  A key point that resonated with all of these entrepreneurs is that collaborative use cases could spur a huge change in the way we interact in social settings — for better or for worse. As Rousseau says, “I think we’re facing a huge choice as a species: Do we want a future where technology replaces our social needs, like in the movie ‘Her’, or do we want a future where technology enhances our social relationships with real people, so that we can have intense emotional experiences with the people we care about — regardless of the distance?”

https://venturebeat.com/2017/10/11/3-reasons-why-vrs-killer-app-will-be-collaborative/

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October 14, 2017

The 11 college majors with the highest unemployment rates

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:09 am

by Chris Weller, Business Insider
For all the pressure on college students to pick a lucrative major, not everyone goes where the jobs are. According to career site Zippia, which used US Census data to estimate the unemployment rate for people 22 to 25 years old in various fields, there are several areas of study that make job-finding harder. Many of the majors deal with the arts, society, and communication. But some are still related to science, engineering, technology, and math (STEM). The findings suggest that even if students pursue STEM fields, which data show are lacking in new talent, recent grads aren’t guaranteed a job. Here are the majors that produce the highest unemployment rates:

http://www.businessinsider.com/college-majors-producing-the-highest-unemployment-rates-2017-10

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Blockchain: the future of the world

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:05 am

by Futurism

The next Internet? Blockchain is even bigger than that. We met with top experts around the world to break it down.

https://futurism.com/videos/blockchain-the-foundation-of-the-future/

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Hyperledger Launches edX MOOC about BlockChain

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:02 am

by US Newswire
Hyperledger, an open source collaborative effort created to advance cross-industry blockchain technologies, announced today the availability of its first free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) — Blockchain for Business: An Introduction to Hyperledger. The free, self-paced online course is offered through edX.org, the nonprofit online learning platform founded in 2012 by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The course provides an introduction to Hyperledger and its key business blockchain frameworks.  “Interest in blockchain technology is exploding; Software developers, product teams, and business managers are all desperately eager to figure out how this technology can solve real-world problems,” said Brian Behlendorf, Executive Director, Hyperledger. “This first introductory-level course is carefully designed for both nontechnical and technical audiences, to bring everyone further up the learning curve and get started with it on their own business needs.”

http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/Hyperledger-Launches-First-Free-Massive-Open-Online-Course-MOOC-on-edX-org-1002071877

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October 13, 2017

Exploring the new world of online credentials

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:09 am

by David Chandler, MIT News Office
Five years ago, at the first annual Online Learning Summit, the question being asked was “can we scale learning” to reach the vast population on the internet, said Sanjay Sarma, MIT’s vice president for open learning, in his introduction to this year’s summit. That’s no longer in question, he continued: “The answer is emphatically yes.”
Now, as the number of people taking online classes around the world has rocketed upward, the questions revolve around issues of how to carry out such online education, how to provide meaningful credentials for online classes, and how to integrate and complement online education with that offered on traditional residential campuses.

http://news.mit.edu/2017/exploring-new-world-online-credentials-1003

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Future Forward: The Next Twenty Years of Higher Education

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:05 am

Preface by Katie Blot, Blackboard

…You’ll find several themes emerge over and over:
• Our current system is unsustainable and ill-suited for a globally connected world that is constantly changing.
• Colleges and universities will have to change their current business model to continue to thrive, boost revenue and drive enrollment.
• The “sage on the stage” and the “doc in the box” aren’t sustainable; new technologies
will allow faculty to shift their focus on the application of learning rather than the
acquisition of knowledge.
• Data and the ability to transform that data into action will be the new lifeblood of the institution.
• Finally, the heart and soul of any institution are its people. Adopting new technologies is only a small piece of the puzzle; institutions must also work with faculty and staff to change institutional culture.

http://www.blackboard.com/resources/pdf/future_forward_the_next_20_years_higher_ed_rev.pdf

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Reuters: These are the world’s 100 most innovative universities

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:03 am

BY LAURA ASCIONE, eCampus News

The top 10 innovative universities are:
1. Stanford University
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
3. Harvard University
4. University of Pennsylvania
5. KU Leuven
6. KAIST
7. University of Washington
8. University of Michigan System
9. University of Texas System
10. Vanderbilt University

Overall, the top 100 consists of 51 universities based in North America, 26 in Europe, 20 in Asia and three in the Middle East.

For more on the Reuters Top 100, including a detailed methodology and profiles of the universities, visit www.reuters.com/innovative-universities-2017/.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/campus-administration/worlds-100-innovative-universities/

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October 12, 2017

Survey: Faculty Getting More Confident in Tech Skills, but Students’ Skills Are Slipping

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:10 am

By Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology

Faculty confidence in their technological abilities is growing. In a nationwide survey on the use of technology for teaching and learning, a full 84 percent of respondents said they are “absolutely confident” or “very confident” in their tech skills (up from 79 percent in 2016), and another 14 percent consider their skills “adequate.” Just 2 percent said their tech skills are “below average,” and not one person identified as “incompetent.” Those findings came out of Campus Technology’s second annual Teaching with Technology Survey, in which we asked faculty how they feel about tech in the classroom, where they go for IT support and more.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/09/27/survey-faculty-getting-more-confident-in-tech-skills.aspx

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AI, Merging of Digital and Physical Worlds Among Top 10 Tech Trends for 2018

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:05 am

By Joshua Bolkan, Campus Technology
Nearly every app and service will incorporate some level of artificial intelligence in the next few years. Whether they’re obviously intelligent or use intelligence behind the scenes, these tools “create a new intelligent intermediary layer between people and systems and have the potential to transform the nature of work and the structure of the workplace,” according to a new trends forecast. Gartner has released its list of top 10 strategic technology trends for 2018 with a focus for the coming year on technologies related to artificial intelligence and machine learning and those that blend the physical and digital worlds. “Gartner defines a strategic technology trend as one with substantial disruptive potential that is beginning to break out of an emerging state into broader impact and use, or which are rapidly growing trends with a high degree of volatility reaching tipping points over the next five years.”

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/10/05/ai-merging-of-digital-and-physical-worlds-among-top-10-tech-trends-for-2018.aspx

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A Big Publisher Embraces OER

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:02 am

By Lindsay McKenzie, Inside Higher Ed

For years, big-time publishers have been skeptical of open educational resources, questioning their quality and durability. But one of those publishers, Cengage, is today announcing a new product line built around OER. Cengage predicts that the use of OER — free, adaptable educational course materials — could triple over the next five years. In a report published last year, Cengage said that education and technology companies were ready to “embrace the movement” — adding their own services and technology to create “value-added digital solutions that help institutions use OER to its best advantage.” With OpenNow, Cengage is sending its clearest signal yet that it is serious about OER

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/10/10/cengage-offers-new-oer-based-product-general-education-courses

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October 11, 2017

How Machine Learning Is Easing OER Pain Points

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:10 am

by David Raths, Campus Technology

California State University, Fresno has been urging its faculty members to seek out appropriate no- or low-cost course materials. The problem: Replacing costlier course material with appropriate OER content is time-consuming, said Bryan Berrett, director of the campus’s Center for Faculty Excellence. To ease the process of selecting material, CSU-Fresno has been piloting an analytics solution from Intellus Learning, which has indexed more than 45 million online learning resources and can make recommendations of matching OER content. A similar homegrown effort at Penn State University has branched out into new directions, said Kyle Bowen, director of education technology services. PSU’s BBookX takes a human-assisted computing approach to enable creation of open source textbooks. The technology uses algorithms to explore OER repositories and return relevant resources that can be combined, remixed and re-used to support learning goals. As instructors and students add materials to a book, BBookX learns and further refines the recommended material.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/10/04/how-machine-learning-is-easing-oer-pain-points.aspx

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Organization to Teach Coding to Girls in Detroit Area

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:04 am

by Corey Williams, Associated Press

Computers already are a big part of Marianna Campbell’s life. Now, the 17-year-old Detroit resident is looking forward to attending workshops, classes and discussions with other girls who want to learn about cyber technology. With a focus on programming and computer coding, the events are being offered by Oakland-based Black Girls CODE. The nonprofit introduces young black, Latino and Native American females to computer sciences. Black Girls CODE is starting a chapter in Detroit. Girls in the program also learn how to build websites and create mobile apps. For Marianna, who is black, it will be an opportunity to speak the same computer language while learning with girls who look like she does and who share similar cultural experiences.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/michigan/articles/2017-10-08/organization-to-teach-coding-to-girls-in-detroit-area

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