Online Learning Update

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology
How will higher ed evolve over the next decade? According to “The Learner Revolution: How Colleges Can Thrive in a New Skills and Competencies Marketplace,” “savvy traditional institutions” will embrace five different models of innovation as they become more responsive to market needs. The report was produced by Education Design Lab, an organization that has consulted with more than a hundred colleges and universities over the last five years to design and implement new approaches for delivering their programs and increasing student success. Many of the institutions cited as exemplars in the report are among the schools the Lab has worked with.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2019/03/20/report-5-models-for-college-reinvention.aspx

By Jeffrey R. Young, EdSurge

Now, one of the first professors to try out MOOCs says he has a way to reuse bits and pieces of the courses created during that craze in a way that might deliver on the initial promise. The idea comes from Robert Lue, a biology professor at Harvard University who was the founding faculty director of HarvardX, the college’s effort to build MOOCs. He’s leading a new platform called LabXChange that aims to let professors, teachers or anyone mix together their own free online course from pieces of other courses. The key innovation, he says, is to stop focusing so much on courses, and start letting people get at the smaller pieces within them. “The course was actually starting to get in the way,” he says, calling courses large and “relatively unwieldy.”

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-03-20-could-remixing-old-moocs-give-new-life-to-free-online-education

ADAM HARRIS, the Atlantic

“As the Committee begins to debate solutions for the vast challenges in higher education, the findings in this report must guide our approach,” Scott said in an emailed statement to The Atlantic. “Rather than diminishing the value of a college degree, we should recognize that all students should have access to the substantial financial and social benefits that come with a quality higher education.” The numbers, the report says, speak for themselves. “Two out of three jobs are filled by individuals who have at least some college education,” it reads. The report also advocates for certificate programs, but urges the need for accountability, cautioning against for-profit programs in particular, where students may pay more for less return on their investment. “The cost of attending for-profit colleges is three times that of attending a community college,” the report notes.

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/03/congress-eyes-higher-education-act-reauthorization/584449/

By Rhett Power, inc

If artificial intelligence isn’t at the top of your priority list, it should be. Deloitte’s “Tech Trends 2019: Beyond the digital frontier” report shows AI topping the list of tech trends that CIOs are eager to invest in.  Terms like “cognitive technologies” and “machine learning” have become buzzwords, but these trends will strengthen–particularly as these systems begin to harness the scads of data available from which they can extract insights. But AI’s promise is more general than just data mining. Lu Zhang, founder and managing partner at Fusion Fund, describes the technology as applicable to a broad swath of commerce: “AI’s application space has developed. The AI market has great potential across various industry verticals such as manufacturing, retail, healthcare, agriculture, and education.”

https://www.inc.com/rhett-power/3-things-that-will-help-you-leverage-ai.html

China.org
China will launch a nationwide campaign to promote online learning, according to a circular released by the Ministry of Education A total of 10 million teachers and students will be encouraged to register with online learning platforms this year, the circular said. The country will select 40 excellent online learning platforms and 200 schools and universities for nationwide promotion and demonstration. The ministry said it would continue to work with China Telecom and China Mobile to train 2,000 headmasters and 4,000 teachers of primary and secondary schools to better use online learning platforms.

http://www.china.org.cn/china/2019-03/16/content_74578776.htm

By IBL News

FutureLearn, the UK-based MOOC platform which competes with Coursera and edX, has launched a new pricing plan to access most of its course catalog: one payment of $199 for one year. This unlimited enrollment, which will increase to $269 after May 11, includes access to all short courses which offer a Certificate of Achievement. Courses not included are premium, program assessments, degrees (although open taster courses are), and classes which offer a Statement of Participation. Certificates of Achievement will be kept indefinitely regardless of whether the user renews the yearly subscription.

https://iblnews.org/2019/03/15/futurelearn-mooc-platform-offers-unlimited-access-for-199-per-year/

Tiernan Ray, ZD Net

We don’t know why deep learning forms of neural networks achieve great success on many tasks; the discipline has a paucity of theory to explain its empirical successes. As Facebook’s Yann LeCun has said, deep learning is like the steam engine, which preceded the underlying theory of thermodynamics by many years.But some deep thinkers have been plugging away at the matter of theory for several years now.On Wednesday, the group presented a proof of deep learning’s superior ability to simulate the computations involved in quantum computing. According to these thinkers, the redundancy of information that happens in two of the most successful neural network types, convolutional neural nets, or CNNs, and recurrent neural networks, or RNNs, makes all the difference.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/intel-offers-ai-breakthrough-in-quantum-computing/

James Paterson, Education Dive
As Congress considers updating the law guiding federal policy on higher education, college officials across the country have offered a set of three dozen recommendations related to student loans and aid, access and accountability, and the collection of key data. The Higher Education Committee of 50’s ideas for reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) include: streamlining the Free Application for Federal Student Aid; supporting expansion in online instruction; eliminating higher ed tax credits and using those funds to expand Pell Grant access; and reverting the 90/10 rule ratio to 85/15. It also wants to develop a broad Student Unit Record Data System that would collect and disseminate student-level data, stripped of personal details, to provide better information about national, regional and institutional outcomes.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/colleges-list-priorities-for-higher-education-act-reauthorization/550573/

Brian Uzzi, Forbes

It’s about to get personal. Even more personal, that is. We’re already accustomed to AI-driven personalization of everything from book and movie recommendations to music playlists. But this year should bring what we could consider “hyper-personalization” to consumers through a range of applications focused on health, finances, shopping, and everything in between. This is due to the growing capabilities of AI applications to make cost-effective, more accurate predictions; the ever-larger pool of personal data from which such applications can draw; and our collective willingness to “opt-in” to customized suggestions and services. Here’s a quick look at four key areas in which we can expect AI-based hyper-personalization in this year.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianuzzi/2019/03/15/you-can-expect-more-hyper-personal-ai-applications/#537f01dc659f

Ben Unglesbee, Education Dive
With students growing reluctant to take on debt and employers focusing their hiring requirements, colleges are seeking ways to measure relevant technical and soft skills and expand their offerings beyond traditional two- and four-year degrees, explains a new report from the nonprofit Education Design Lab (EDL). The report suggests five models institutions can use to address demand for a wider range of credentials, while also considering the need to keep tuition costs down and the availability of new learning technology. Those models include: becoming a “Netflix-style” curator and distributor of educational content; offering services to assess coursework and other learning experiences; cracking the code on reconciling work and life experiences with how colleges and employers measure accomplishments; and being the bridge between higher ed and employers to understand the skills they seek in hires.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/report-5-models-for-how-colleges-can-rethink-credentials/550447/

by Natalie Schwartz, Education Dive

The Ed Department has wavered in its stance on the credit hour. This week, the agency once again proposed to eliminate or significantly change the definition, a suggestion that has previously sparked widespread criticism.  Negotiators representing students, accreditors, colleges and state regulators all have a seat at the table to hash out what happens with the credit hour. What they come up with — if they come up with anything at all — remains to be seen. “How do you balance consumer protection with innovation?” Eduventures’ Lurie asked. “It’s complicated, and it’s going to take some time. The credit hour is a vestige of a completely different time and place … but the question is, what do you do to replace it?”

https://www.educationdive.com/news/could-a-regulatory-overhaul-open-up-the-gates-for-competency-based-educatio/550453/

Elissa Nadworny, NPR
Go to college, we tell students. It’s a ticket out of poverty; a place to grow and expand; a gateway to a good job. Or perhaps a better job. But just going to college doesn’t mean you’ll finish. To unlock those benefits — you’ll need a degree. And yet for millions of Americans, that’s not happening. On average, just 58 percent of students who started college in the fall of 2012 had earned any degree six years later, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

https://www.npr.org/2019/03/13/681621047/college-completion-rates-are-up-but-the-numbers-will-still-surprise-you

BY ANDREW CIOFFI, Baltimore Post-Examiner

The reasons for the rise in popularity of e-learning are not difficult to arrive at. First, there is undeniable convenience that comes with being able to carry out your studies from the comfort of your own home or the environment you think suits you best. Second, it is incredibly cheap in comparison to booking a place in a learning institution. There are plenty of learning resources available online at the click of a button, which may not be made use of in a traditional learning setting. Finally, and perhaps not so obviously as the preceding reasons, is the fact that many education stakeholders find that e-learning is just as effective, if not more, as learning in traditional settings. Let’s take a look at the reasons many have come to think learning online may be just as good as the real world alternative.

https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/digital-classy-5-reasons-to-go-for-the-online-learning-alternative/2019/03/13

Modern Diplomacy EU

The Artificial Intelligence and Frontier Technologies for Open Educational Resources (OER) workshop was part of the ‘Learning and Skills sessions’ held during UNESCO’s Mobile Learning 2019 (5 March 2019, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris), which focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI). The workshop presented the latest developments on how AI and frontier technologies can be used to share, use and develop OER, within the framework of the Ljubljana OER Action Plan and the current Draft UNESCO OER Recommendation.

https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2019/03/14/artificial-intelligence-and-frontier-technologies-for-open-educational-resources/

By Lindsay McKenzie, Inside Higher Ed
The University of Maryland University College is going national. Since its founding in 1947, UMUC mostly has enrolled members of the U.S. military and working adults in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. But amid a broad military drawdown, the university wants to expand its reach across the U.S. With a new national focus comes a new name for UMUC, which is on track to become the University of Maryland Global Campus this summer.
The institution is already the nation’s largest online public university, enrolling around 90,000 students. But if UMUC wants to keep up with quickly expanding online players like Southern New Hampshire University and Western Governors University, it will need to spend some serious cash.

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2019/03/13/university-maryland-university-college-will-change-name-and

Faye Lesht, David Schejbal , Roxanne Shiels  & Mark Mailloux, OJDLA

This multi-institutional study examined the giving patterns of alumni of online degree programs as compared to alumni of campus-based degree programs.  Results suggest that alumni of online degree programs tended to donate early after graduation. In the case of one institution, alumni of online programs donated up to 12 percent more than alumni of on-campus programs within the first three years of most recent degree earned at the institution. In contrast, alumni of on-campus degree programs tended to donate over a longer period time than did alumni of online programs.

https://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/winter214/lesht_schejbal_shiels_mailloux_214.html

Daniel Araya, Brookings

At the research level, the United States remains highly invested in AI and other disruptive technologies. The National Science Foundation currently invests over $100 million each year in AI research. DARPA recently announced a $2 billion investment in an initiative called AI Next whose goal is advancing contextual and adaptive reasoning. Meanwhile, the U.S. military has created a new Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) to oversee service and defense agency efforts. More recently, the Trump administration has introduced a new executive order for developing a national strategy around AI but has offered little in terms of effective coordination. By contrast, China’s government has made AI a top priority. Where the U.S. has established a strong lead in AI discovery, it is increasingly likely that China may dominate the industrial application of AI.

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2019/02/26/who-will-lead-in-the-age-of-artificial-intelligence/

Devashish Chakravarty, India Times
For structured, non-formal learning in your own time, go for online education. You can find relevant free or paid courses through MOOC/MOOV (Massive Open Online Courses/Varsity), such as Udemy, Coursera, Codecademy, Udacity, among others. For topical learning, you can opt for webinars, podcasts and live online events. Finally, polish your knowledge through social media by tracking industry thought leaders and latest advances in your domain.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/earn/upgrade-your-skills-constantly-to-keep-your-job-secure/articleshow/68331427.cms

Kim Nilsson, Forbes

How can we make data more human, if as a human race we cannot even agree on what it is to be human? How do we ensure algorithms work fairly when we cannot agree on what fairness looks like? Role models are vitally important in showing girls and women that they too can work in data science and that this career choice is an option for them. I, like many others, struggle to answer this but what I do know is that giving up is not an option and that we need to make a concerted effort as an industry to make our technology work as well as it can for as many people as possible. There is an urgent need to ensure that AI systems do not discriminate inappropriately against any individual or group. If only certain groups of people build the technology then it is highly likely that discrimination will happen, even if the discrimination is not intentional.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimnilsson/2019/03/08/why-ai-needs-more-women/#4f7ae2a7f907

EdExec Magazine

Edtech applications are increasingly being used in classrooms to enhance teaching and learning – however, do schools know what’s being used? What are the benefits, and are they GDPR-compliant? With technology becoming ever more prevalent in the classroom, it’s no surprise that this has evolved into the use of educational applications; teachers all over the country are utilising the benefits of apps within their classrooms. Why? Because apps are a language their pupils understand. The generation of children currently at school generally have easy access to mobile phones, tablets and laptops; as such, apps are often a great way to keep them engaged in the classroom and can provide a range of learning benefits. We spoke to the Association of Network Managers in Education (ANME) for comments from members on what they think about classroom apps and their impact.

https://edexec.co.uk/from-the-magazine-online-education-tools-whats-going-on-in-your-classrooms/

Jeremy Fain, Forbes

For better or worse, the term “artificial intelligence,” or AI, has become central to understanding the landscape of today’s technology and innovation. Despite that, its true definition and implications for the future remain misunderstood by many. Right now, we’re in an interesting moment in the evolution of AI. We’ve expanded the field to include new areas of inquiry, and the industry is teeming with intelligent and innovation-minded players. Whatever the next big breakthrough might be, it’s important to recognize how far we’ve come and how far we have yet to go.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2019/03/08/five-things-most-people-get-wrong-about-ai/#9fa57ff2ad87