Online Learning Update

By Tae-jun Kang, the Diplomat

Kim Il-sung University is not alone. A distance learning course first became available at the Kim Chaek University of Technology, and now many universities across North Korea, including Pyongyang University of Architecture and Pyongyang Jang Chol Gu University of Commerce, offer degree courses online, according to a North Korean propaganda website, DPRK Today. Students in North Korea even can take university courses via their mobile phones, DPRK Today claimed. Government organizations and local authorities are also taking similar steps. In March the government opened a new website dubbed “Pyongyang Taekkyeon,” which offers real-time distance lectures on taekwondo.

https://thediplomat.com/2018/05/online-learning-in-north-korea/

by Abhijeet Katte, Analytics India

As the demand for data scientists and AI experts is rising, their salaries are rising quickly too. Modern ML involves training computers to learn from data and there is an acute shortage of data scientists who have the skills in deep learning as well. DL involves teaching a machine to perform a complex task using large amounts of data along with a large simulated neural network. Basic knowledge of complex maths such as calculus, statistics, probability and linear algebra is a must to train good deep learning engineers. Maths forms the base of deep learning, since programming is just a way of teaching a computer the advanced concepts.

How Andrew Ng Perceives The AI-Powered World

by Business Because

“Online degrees have the potential to be offered affordably without sacrificing academic rigor or instructional quality,” says Deanna Raineri, chief academic strategist at MOOC platform Coursera—which offers online courses and degrees from some of the world’s top universities. “Graduates often tell us that the online experience is actually better in some cases than what they remember from the large lecture halls of their undergrad days.” That is because the learning experience is swiftly developing online.

https://www.businessbecause.com/news/mba-distance-learning/5284/online-mba-industry-experts-on-rise-of-distance-learning

by Derek Newton, Forbes
Nonetheless, that ASU found it was less expensive to offer online classes at four of six schools is probably noteworthy. Those lower costs are possible, the report says, in part because schools can save money on building costs for new students. That is true but, as others have cited, only if the school is already at maximum on-campus capacity where adding students would necessitate adding more space. Still, in those cases, online offerings would save building and physical maintenance costs. But mostly, ASU says, the savings in online classes are found by having larger classes with less experienced, cheaper adjunct and part-time faculty.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereknewton/2018/05/23/study-online-college-classes-cost-less-to-deliver-because-they-are-larger-hire-cheaper-teachers/#17a6c65f5379

by Frederic Lardinois, Tech Crunch

Over the last few years, Google and Coursera have regularly teamed up to launch a number of online courses for developers and IT pros. Among those was the Machine Learning Crash course, which provides developers with an introduction to machine learning. Now, building on that, the two companies are launching a machine learning specialization on Coursera. This new specialization, which consists of five courses, has an even more practical focus.

Google and Coursera launch a new machine learning specialization

by ZOE SEILER, JACE NEUGEBAUER, LAUREN WADE and K. RAMBO; IowaWatch.org

Dylan Miller spent $495 on college textbooks at the University of Northern Iowa — $167.50 for a linear algebra textbook alone — this spring semester. He might have used the books once a month, perhaps. The internet? Used it close to two hours a day. So why does he still buy textbooks? “That’s a great question,” said Miller, 20, a sophomore from Homestead studying actuarial science. “I will not be buying textbooks next semester.” A lot of college students are trying to avoid textbooks costs that range from around $20 for a book on writing grant proposals to $400 for a physics book, a spring IowaWatch/College Media Journalism Project revealed. Some rent books, saving an average $29 per book depending on the subject. They also rely on information they can find on the internet, sometimes as a first reference.

http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/education/high-textbook-costs-sending-college-students-elsewhere-during-studies/article_78622843-4f56-5329-9c63-b1b3af42a501.html

by Doug Lederman, Inside Higher Ed

Officials at the City University and State University of New York had a pretty narrow focus for how to spend the more or less out-of-the-blue $8 million investment that New York State’s politicians decided to make last year in open educational resources: get more professors to create more OER-driven courses serving more students. “We essentially sent money out to campuses with the goal of spending it wisely to grow enrollments in OER courses,” says Carey Hatch, associate provost for academic technologies and information services at the SUNY system.

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2018/05/23/new-york-state-doubles-down-another-8-million-open-educational

By Henry Kronk, eLearning Inside

Much has been made for nearly the last two decades about digital natives in the context of education. First described by Marc Plensky in a 2001 landmark essay published in On the Horizon, these are the learners that grew up in the digital age. They spent more hours as young people watching TV or playing video games than they did reading. And, as some continue to complain today, they’re taught by digital immigrants. (“As Digital Immigrants learn – like all immigrants, some better than others – to adapt to their environment, they always retain, to some degree, their “accent,” that is, their foot in the past,” Plensky writes.)

Soon, Both Students and Teachers Will Be (Online Learning) Digital Natives