Online Learning Update

October 31, 2018

How Do You Prepare Students for Jobs That Don’t Exist Yet? Karen Cator Has Some Ideas.

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

By Emily Tate, EdSurge

There is a lot of talk these days about robots replacing humans in the workforce, but those conversations remain largely abstract. For students in school today, however, the issue is urgent, research shows. What if the job they aspire to today is no longer an option when it comes time to graduate? How can they train for jobs that don’t even exist yet? On the other side of that equation are educators, who often draw from their own learning experiences in K-12 and higher education to inform their instruction. What responsibility do they have in preparing today’s students for a future none of them can really envision? EdSurge recently sat down with Karen Cator, the CEO of Digital Promise, to get her take.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-10-23-how-do-you-prepare-students-for-jobs-that-don-t-exist-yet-karen-cator-has-some-ideas

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Google to offer on-campus machine learning classes

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

James Paterson, Education Dive
Google is headed to college campuses next year to teach a 10-week intensive course on machine learning, a fast-growing field for which the tech firm says there are neither enough workers nor faculty to train them, and where the firm is among the top employers. The course is part of Google’s Applied Computing Series, which includes two introductory computer and data science courses currently offered through eight colleges. It is seeking host colleges that don’t have a computer science program or whose program is at capacity. The machine-learning intensive will be offered at five colleges beginning in 2019. Google will pay tuition and offer instructors alongside faculty from the host college. Participants will earn nine credits from the host institution for successfully completing the course.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/google-to-offer-on-campus-machine-learning-classes/540436/

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100,000 people take humanitarian learning courses to save more lives in disaster situations

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

Humanitarian Leadership Academy
The Humanitarian Leadership Academy (the Academy) has released today (23 October 2018) an analysis of the learners and courses undertaken since its inception in November 2015. The report ‘100,000 humanitarian learners and counting’ shows that over 100,000 learners have accessed learning through the Academy’s free online learning platform Kaya, and other methods including face to face training, workshops and webinars in less than three years.  The Academy’s mission is to enable people around the world to prepare for and respond to crises in their own countries. This investment in learning and knowledge supports the commitments made at the World Humanitarian Summit for the localisation of aid to ensure a more efficient, effective and sustainable approach.

https://reliefweb.int/report/world/100000-people-take-humanitarian-learning-courses-save-more-lives-disaster-situations

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October 30, 2018

Google Enters the Fray

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

By Mark Lieberman, Inside Higher Ed

The company is offering its computer science curriculum — and kicking in some funds — to 10 institutions this academic year, with more to follow. A pilot program for computer science and data science courses is underway this fall at eight institutions, which have begun offering at least one of two introductory computer science and data science courses geared toward students with little to no experience in the disciplines. The program will expand next year as three of the eight institutions, as well as two others, offer an intensive 10-week machine learning seminar, with enrollment open to students across the country. This initiative is separate from Google’s new online certificate program in entry-level IT, which more than 25 community colleges and Northeastern University are offering for credit.

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2018/10/24/google-computer-science-partnership-brings-companys-curriculum

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The Student Debt Crisis: Could It Slow the U.S. Economy?

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

by Knowledge@Wharton

Student debt has more than tripled since 2004, reaching $1.52 trillion in the first quarter of 2018, according to the Federal Reserve — second only to mortgage debt in the U.S. College costs have outpaced the Consumer Price Index more than four-fold since 1985, and tuition assistance today is often harder to come by, particularly at schools without large endowments. As for the effect on the economy in general, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said in March that slowed growth isn’t showing up in the data yet. But, he warned: “As this goes on and as student loans continue to grow and become larger and larger, then it absolutely could hold back growth.”

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/student-loan-debt-crisis/

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Empowering the Faculty in Debates Over Managing Online Programs

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

By Mark Lieberman, Inside Higher Ed

A new tool kit from the AAUP offers faculty groups concrete steps for ensuring that partnerships with for-profit companies don’t threaten academic freedom and program integrity. The association’s materials, released Monday, don’t explicitly make the case that faculty members should seek to block deals with OPMs or other for-profit companies like learning management system providers. But they aim to even the playing field of contentious negotiations between for-profit companies and the complex network of shared governance on the institutional side.  Vickie Cook, executive director of the Center for Online Learning, Research and Service at the University of Illinois at Springfield, said she thinks the tool kit is “impressive” and understands that some institutions see value in partnering with an OPM. But she remains skeptical that such a partnership would be worth the potential headaches.

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2018/10/24/aaup-seeks-arm-faculty-members-tools-negotiations-over-managing

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October 29, 2018

Do we need to rethink who goes to college and and why?

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:07 am

By Scott Romine, Greensboro News Record

In a recent article in the online magazine Quillette, Daniel Friedman points out that U.S. participation in higher education — about 65 percent — is among the highest in the world. But fully a third of those matriculating never receive a degree of any kind. Graduation rates correlate strongly with the selectivity of the institution. For the most selective four-year colleges, nearly 9 in 10 students earn their degrees. At the least selective, it’s 1 in 3.

https://www.greensboro.com/opinion/columns/scott-romine-do-we-need-to-rethink-who-goes-to/article_4cfb37ca-9e24-5a92-a2a9-e3950d98501c.html

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Adaptive Learning: A Stabilizing Influence Across Disciplines and Universities

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

Charles Dziuban, Colm Howlin, Patsy Moskal, Connie Johnson, Liza Parker, Maria Campbell; Online Learning

This study represents an adaptive learning partnership among The University of Central Florida, Colorado Technical University, and the platform provider Realizeit. A thirteen-variable learning domain for students forms the basis of a component invariance study. The results show that four dimensions: knowledge acquisition, engagement activities, communication and growth remain constant in nursing and mathematics courses across the two universities, indicating that the adaptive modality stabilizes learning organization in multiple disciplines. The authors contend that similar collaborative partnerships among universities and vendors is an important next step in the research process.

https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/1465

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Gamify Online Courses with Tools Built into Your Learning Management System (LMS) to Enhance Self-Determined and Active Learning

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

Cheng-Chia (Brian) Chen, Online Learning

“Gamified” active learning has been shown to increase students’ academic performance, engagement, and make more social connections than standard course settings. However, the costs to use an educational game design with efficient delivery of the game/course plan can be problematic. Our first objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of gamification by using existing techniques (e.g., simple HTML-based games) and readily available collaborative tools (e.g., Wikis) from a typical learning management system (LMS) such as Blackboard. Moreover, our second objective was to examine students’ attitudes towards gamification (e.g., usefulness). Data were collected from 2015 to 2017 (n = 80) at a Midwestern university in the United State using a mixed methods approach. For the quantitative method, online surveys were conducted in an experimental group (class with implementation of gamification) and control group (class without any gamified activities) that were randomly selected from graduate level statistics courses. For the qualitative method, the researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with subjects who addressed their interests to be interviewed during the online survey. A Welch’s independent t-test revealed a significant difference (p < 0.001) in the mean exam scores of experiment and control groups. A difference favored the classes with gamification. More than 70 % of students agreed that gamified activities were either extremely or highly useful in helping them review and/or understand fundamental concepts. In conclusion, using built-in LMS tools to design gamified learning activities may enhance students’ learning outcome/effectiveness, provide more diversified learning methods and motivation, and offer easy modifications for different learning needs.

https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/1466

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October 28, 2018

The role of AI in education and the changing U.S. workforce

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

Elizabeth Mann LevesqueThursday, Brookings

The types of jobs that are at the least risk of being replaced by automation involve problem solving, teamwork, critical thinking, communication, and creativity.[2] The education profession is unlikely to see a dramatic drop in demand for employees given the nature of work in this field. Rather, preparing students for the changing labor market will likely be a central challenge for schools and educators. Policymakers and practitioners must adapt K-12 education to help students develop the skills that are likely to remain in demand (sometimes referred to as “21st century skills”). K-12 education should thus prioritize teaching critical thinking, problem solving, and teamwork across subject areas. Teaching students to become analytical thinkers, problem solvers, and good team members will allow them to remain competitive in the job market even as the nature of work changes. Equally important, these skills form a strong foundation for independent thinking that will serve students well no matter what career(s) they pursue throughout their lives.

The role of AI in education and the changing U.S. workforce

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Online platforms upgrade employee skills in new tech

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

SHOBHA ROY, the Hindu

Online courses are gaining popularity when it comes to reskilling and upskilling employees.Platforms such as Coursera, UpGrad and Udacity are witnessing 30-40 per cent growth in enrolments. According to industry experts, the ever evolving job roles in the light of new age technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, big data and Internet of Things, require employees to constantly upgrade their skills. High quality learning from some of the world class university is today available on a mobile phone or tablet at affordable rates. This has led to a rise in demand for such online courses, Raghav Gupta, director – India and APAC, Coursera, told BusinessLine. Coursera has been adding close to 65,000 new learners every month. The company, which entered the segment with B2C (business-to-consumer) programmes, also rolled out B2B (business-to-business) courses two years back through tie ups with companies.

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/variety/online-platforms-upgrade-employee-skills-in-new-tech/article25265130.ece

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The 60 Year Curriculum: Developing New Educational Models to Serve the Agile Labor Market

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

Chris Dede, Evolllution
With the sponsorship of Harvard’s Division of Continuing Education (DCE), I’m participating in an initiative centered on The Sixty Year Curriculum (60YC). The Dean of DCE, Hunt Lambert, is leading this effort to transform lifelong learning, which is now a necessity in our dynamic, chaotic world. The 60YC initiative is focused on developing new educational models that enable each person to reskill as their occupational and personal context shifts.

https://evolllution.com/revenue-streams/professional_development/the-60-year-curriculum-developing-new-educational-models-to-serve-the-agile-labor-market/

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October 27, 2018

Online degrees are an important advent, but not for Dartmouth’s model

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

the Dartmouth (editorial)

….The digitization of American higher education is a rapidly increasing trend, one that will change how students learn and study, as well as what prospective applicants come to expect from their university experience. Dartmouth does not need to accommodate all of these shifting expectations, but it must develop cogent rejoinders to justify its model of education for those who will question the utility of the liberal arts model in an age of virtual degrees…. If established universities are to experiment or adopt fully online degrees and coursework, they must be honest about the value offered by that academic experience. Though in many cases, the education provided by an online degree is comparable to what one would learn in a physical setting, this would likely not be the case for any institution operating on the liberal arts model.

http://www.thedartmouth.com/article/2018/10/verbum-ultimum-dartmouths-digital-dilemma

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Take Yale University’s ‘Science of Well-Being’ class for free online

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

Bailey King, PhillyVoice
Everyone can usually stand to be a little happier, right? A little more on top of their game? A little more boss like? There’s a very popular class at Yale University teaching students how to do just that, and they’ve opened it up to the public to take for FREE online.  The class, which is being called online “The Science of Well-Being,” opened enrollment last week.  As soon as you create an account online, which you can do here, you’ll have access to all of the course information without having to drop the wad of cash it would normally cost to take a class at the Ivy League university. Oh, and if you want some tangible proof of your learning — or a piece of paper listing your name AND Yale on it — you can shell out $49 for a certification of completion confirming that you’re a Yale-educated wellness pro.

https://www.phillyvoice.com/yale-universitys-science-well-being-class-free-online/

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Free Textbooks Are Not Always Free: New Study Analyzes OER’s Costs to Colleges

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

Jeffrey R. Young, EdSurge

When professors shift to assigning Open Educational Resources instead of publisher-produced textbooks, the move typically saves students money (and it can be a significant amount). But OER is not free, since it costs money to develop the materials, takes time for professors to evaluate and adopt them, and typically involves other campus-support services as well. A report released last week gives perhaps the most detailed accounting of the pricetag to colleges looking to make signiciant moves to OER.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-10-18-free-textbooks-are-not-always-free-new-study-analyzes-oer-s-costs-to-colleges

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October 26, 2018

Can blockchain transform credentialing?

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

BY DENNIS PIERCE, eCampus News

With paper or digital transcripts, colleges and universities own this information—and students or alumni must engage in a tedious process to access these records or share them with employers. The promise of blockchain is that it will allow students to maintain their own academic record in a way that can’t be tampered with—while continuing to build on this record throughout their career.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2018/10/19/can-blockchain-transform-credentialing/

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Online Programs in Continuing Higher Ed Struggle to Retain Students, Find Faculty

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

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology
Even as online enrollments continued growing (3 percent last year) while overall higher education enrollments fell, a new survey among deans and directors has uncovered a “mismatch” between the online programs they help deliver and student preferences. For example, while online students have expressed demand for credentials in computing and IT or health and medicine, respondent schools have shown a preference in their online program choices to focus on social science, criminal justice and law. Also, while students pursuing online courses want financial aid, 57 percent of respondent schools don’t offer scholarships. These kinds of disconnects, according to a report on the findings, result in “mass-market opportunities that are being lost” by the institutions. Source: “Online Learning in Continuing Higher Education: Current Practices and Planned Initiatives,” from theAssociation for Continuing Higher Education (ACHE) and Learning House

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2018/10/19/online-programs-in-continuing-higher-ed-struggle-to-retain-students-find-faculty.aspx

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The Future of Education: Online, Free, and With AI Teachers?

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

Simon Erickson, Motley Fool

Duolingo is a website and smartphone app that helps 300 million people across the world learn new languages. It’s absolutely free. It uses an artificial intelligence engine to deliver the lessons to students. To put that number in perspective, there are now more people learning languages on Duolingo in the United States than there are people learning languages in the whole U.S. public school system. That AI engine is worth double-clicking on. Duolingo is able to adjust how it teaches — for each individual student — based on the feedback it receives. If students who learn about plural nouns before adjectives are progressing faster, it can adjust the lesson plans. The goal is to maximize the overall proficiency of all students.

https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/10/17/future-education-online-free-and-with-ai-teachers.aspx

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October 25, 2018

Distance education boom rapidly spreading in N. Korea: report

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:11 am

Yonhap News Agency Seoul

Web-based distance learning is growing in popularity in North Korea, a magazine report said Thursday, as the North’s regime has stressed the importance of education after declaring a shift in its policy focus to the economy early this year. The October issue of Pyongyang’s monthly propaganda magazine Kumsugangsan ran a special report on the spread of online learning among North Koreans and a related interview with Ri Yong-chol, deputy chief of the Education Commission.

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2018/10/18/0200000000AEN20181018009600315.html

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What Does It Take To Lead Effectively In The ‘Post-Digital’ Workplace?

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

Victor Lipman, Forbes

Following are four key attributes for the “new wave” of leaders (plus some of my thoughts about them):

— Have the ability to keep people connected and engaged (76%). “Connected” being the operative word here. As operations become more and more far-flung and decentralized, the management challenges of keeping a remote workforce motivated and engaged only increase. The best managers recognize and excel at this.

— Be more agile and digitally savvy (77%). Flexible and “agile” are always good; as noted in the point above, leaders have no choice but to opt for agility in a remote world. (“Digitally savvy” almost goes without saying. It’s what we used to call “table stakes” in the corporate world. We liked that phrase and used it often — it made us feel more like riverboat gamblers and less like office dwellers!)

https://www.forbes.com/sites/victorlipman/2018/10/18/what-does-it-take-to-lead-effectively-in-the-post-digital-workplace/#5b8f41006822

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Shut out of U.S. jobs boom: Women without a college degree

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

by Aimee Picchi, MoneyWatch

There are roughly 13 million jobs around the country for people with only a high school degree that pay at least $35,000 to $45,000 a year, according to a recent study from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW). But most of these jobs are held by men, said Anthony P. Carnevale, director of CEW and lead author of the report, which was done in partnership with JPMorgan Chase & Co. Women who want to secure a “good” job are now likely to need a college degree, Carnevale said. That may explain why more women than men are today enrolled in college, as young women respond to economic necessity by seeking higher education.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/shut-out-of-u-s-jobs-boom-women-without-college-degree/

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