Online Learning Update

Patrick Ow, Thrive Global

Just-in-time continuous learning through flexible short courses (online virtual learning and offline bricks and mortar), and continuous on-the-job learning and training will become a norm as new skills are constantly created to keep up with advances in technology, evolving business models, and organizational restructure. The role and relevance of colleges and universities in preparing our future generations for work and employment must be scrutinized and debated. They must respond to the ever-changing need of the demand side of the work equation because graduates are using less than half of what they have learned in universities at work. The half-life of knowledge is also decreasing.

https://thriveglobal.com/stories/major-challenges-facing-our-young-people-graduates-and-students-today/

By Hallie Busta, Education Dive
In a new white paper, a workforce policy advisory board established by the Trump administration outlines the steps required to develop and successfully implement interoperable learning records (ILRs), which are compilations of peoples’ traditional and hands-on learning experiences. ILRs are already being piloted as a way to readily and securely share such information with educational institutions and employers by using vendor-agnostic technology that doesn’t require direct coordination or synchronization. The board sees broader potential for ILRs and suggests promoting that growth by creating a public list of pilot projects, developing a plan for implementing ILRs and bringing a basic ILR to market.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/white-house-working-group-outlines-future-of-universal-transcripts/563808/

By Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed

It is truly rare that an advancement comes along that changes every aspect of society; quantum computing is poised to do just that in the 2020s.  The supremacy challenge earlier this summer was based on a problem given to both the Summit and the Google Quantum computers to prove that a set of numbers was truly random. That’s a rather esoteric test, but it demonstrates the magnitude of superiority of quantum computing: 200 seconds compared to 10,000 years.  Do you recall Moore’s law? That’s the axiom developed by Gordon Moore some two dozen years ago that the processing power of computers would double every 18 months to two years. Now, quantum computing has ushered in Hartmut Neven’s law. His law predicting growth in quantum computing power is one that is doubly exponential. That is two to an exponent of two to a second increasing exponent. Charted on a graph, that growth rate appears to become nearly vertical.

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/blogs/online-trending-now/quantum-computing-poised-change-everything

Munyaradzi Makoni, University World News

A new phase of promoting higher education which places importance on digital learning through massive open online courses (MOOCs) and online learning platforms has emerged in India, says the latest UNESCO report. MOOCs and other digital tools such as Ekalavya, which characterises self-learning environments, have transformed education, connecting students to global learning platforms and making learning more dynamic.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20190926130129740

Nicola Davis, the Guardian

Research suggests AI able to interpret medical images using deep learning algorithm.  Writing in the Lancet Digital Health, Denniston, Liu and colleagues reported how they focused on research papers published since 2012 – a pivotal year for deep learning. One burgeoning application is the use of AI in interpreting medical images – a field that relies on deep learning, a sophisticated form of machine learning in which a series of labelled images are fed into algorithms that pick out features within them and learn how to classify similar images. Now researchers say they have conducted the first comprehensive review of published studies on the issue, and found humans and machines are on a par.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/sep/24/ai-equal-with-human-experts-in-medical-diagnosis-study-finds

By Lilah Burke, Inside Higher Ed

The results of a new survey offer presidents, provosts and CFOs a wake-up call about how they’re perceived by their colleagues in IT and digital learning. The reviews are less than glowing, with only about 40 percent of IT officials reporting that college leaders are “well informed” about digital learning and digital transformation. Ray Schroeder, associate vice chancellor for online learning at University of Illinois at Springfield (and an Inside Higher Ed columnist), said that although administrators at his university have been very engaged, the results of the survey were not surprising. Schroeder also said more residential students are choosing to take online classes for the scheduling freedom they can provide. As the trend doesn’t seem to be abating any time soon, Schroeder said it’s important for administrators to give IT officials a seat at the table, specifically on the dean’s council or president’s executive committee.

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2019/10/16/administrators-are-neither-engaged-nor-knowledgeable-about

Hallie Busta, Education Dive

Projections that the pool of traditional students will shrink, wariness of continued tuition increases and limited growth in state support for higher education are prompting institutions to shake things up. In many cases, that means making themselves available throughout learners’ lives as their education needs change. Doing so requires strengthening connections with local employers. Already, colleges and businesses are coming together to map the skills needed on the job to those offered in a certificate or degree, and some are even developing shared credentials.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/why-western-governors-u-thinks-microcredentials-are-the-path-to-degrees/563454/

Tamara Holmes, Yahoo

In fact, a new study suggests many people across the world are instead embracing a hodgepodge of do-it-yourself learning options.  To collect the data, Pearson conducted an online survey of 11,083 people between the ages of 16 to 70.  An overwhelming 81% of respondents said they believe learning will become more of a self-service affair as people get older. Among U.S. respondents, 87% said learning does not end after graduation. Education is also viewed as a way to pivot in one’s life, as 73% of U.S. respondents said they like to reinvent themselves by learning new skills, and 52% said they planned to pursue a second career, start a business or take classes after retirement.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/yourself-learning-gaining-stream-151554041.html

Samara J Donald, Towards Data Science
More academically speaking, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is a widely recognized one, which outlines considerations that factor into a users’ response to new technology, conscious or unconscious. These influencing factors include perceptions of usefulness, ease of use, and attitudes (preconceived notions) toward the technology. In essence, technology will be more readily accepted if it is stress-free, non-threatening, and conforms to our ideas shaped by societal context. More recently, trust as an influencer of technology adoption has become an important augmentation of TAM, particularly in the area of Internet of Things (IOT), online gaming, and online purchasing (1).

https://towardsdatascience.com/ai-is-here-should-we-trust-it-7774f5fffee

Doug Lederman, Inside Higher Ed

Higher education enrollments have been falling for years, a well-documented outcome that can be attributed to some combination of a strong U.S. economy, changes in birth rates and, perhaps, growing doubts about the value of a college degree. Another decline is also unfolding — this one attributable to a mix of economic and political forces: the number of colleges and universities in the United States is at its lowest ebb since at least 1998. Data released by the U.S. Education Department’s National Center for Education Statistics Friday included statistics on a range of topics, including total head count of enrolled students through 2017-18 and the number of colleges and universities in the most recent academic year, 2018-19.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/10/14/higher-ed-shrinks-number-colleges-falls-lowest-point-two-decades

Nita Temmerman, University World News

Technology has brought great advantages to the online teaching-learning environment. It has changed how we do teaching and learning and opened up the world of learning and opportunity to those who would not have had such opportunity without it. However, for online education to be successful there has to be commitment and support by governments, institutions, academics and learners. An absolute necessity is providing quality education. That means well-resourced institutions, well-qualified and motivated staff, good and continuous quality assurance mechanisms and supportive leadership.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20190917120217325

Raconteur

News that Pearson, the world’s largest textbook publisher, is phasing out print publications for higher education to adopt a resolutely digital-first policy may signal an eventual full stop for traditional book learning. But the wealth of technology coming on stream heralds an exciting new chapter for the future. In the view of Mike Buchanan, executive director of HMC, which represents independent school head teachers, digital education will unlock a less rigid approach to classroom-based learning, as well as enable closer collaboration with pupils’ families. Mr Buchanan predicts individual academic achievement will be, rather than by a plethora of exams, and argues that for teachers disenchanted by the current need to “teach to the test”, the freedom to pursue a more rounded curriculum will foster a new optimism.

https://www.raconteur.net/technology/future-classroom-digital-education

Alina Tugend, NY Times

“The real driver of the 60-year curriculum is the job market and length of life,” said Huntington D. Lambert, the dean of the division of continuing education and university extension at Harvard University, who is a leader in the movement. Many continuing education programs already offer some of the elements. For example, the University of Washington Continuum College, which is the continuing education and professional development division of the University of Washington in Seattle, offers 99 certificate programs — most noncredit — as well as 111 graduate degree programs. An entire certificate course, which can take up to nine months part time to complete, runs between $3,600 and $4,500, said Rovy Branon, the college’s vice provost.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/10/education/learning/60-year-curriculum-higher-education.html

Eric Rosenbaum, CNBC
For the past two years as many as 1 million tech jobs remain unfilled. Tech executives on the CNBC Technology Executive Council say it has become harder to fill tech positions, so candidates with liberal arts degrees, or no college degree, are now being hired. “Tech companies and enterprises who depend on digital technologies to drive their primary mission are in a virtual arms race to hire and retain tech-skilled workers,” one executive told CNBC.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/26/tech-jobs-now-a-fit-for-a-liberal-arts-degree-or-no-degree-at-all.html

BY LYSA MYERS, eCampus News
What is a network administrator to do with this invasion of connected, and thus hackable, devices? If you’re paying attention to the development and proliferation of “smart devices,” it can seem like they’re everywhere: internet-connected thermostats, cars, vending machines, surveillance cameras, televisions, fitness devices, and even light bulbs. But the omnipresence of tiny, embedded computers in everyday devices also has a way of making them invisible to most people. What is a network administrator to do with this invasion of connected, and thus hackable, devices?

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2019/09/27/how-to-secure-iot-on-campus/

by Elana Zeide, EDUCAUSE Review

Do not surrender to the robot overlords just yet. Keep in mind that for all the hype and buzz, these AI tools are just computer systems. They can go wrong. They are created by humans. Their values are shaped by companies and institutions. Their data is not neutral but is defined by the historical patterns. Be cautious and thoughtful about what you are doing with artificial intelligence, and remember: it’s not magic.

https://er.educause.edu/articles/2019/8/artificial-intelligence-in-higher-education-applications-promise-and-perils-and-ethical-questions

BY JORDAN MORROW, eCampus News
An educational imperative: Our students must know how to live and work in a world that is dictated by data. Our youth are inheriting the future in real time. Over the past decade alone, the explosion in data, automation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence has completely transformed the way we interact with the world – and it’s only accelerating. In fact, IDC predicts worldwide spending on AI systems alone will grow to nearly $35.8 billion in 2019 and will more than double to $79.2 billion by 2022. All this means it’s more important than ever that today’s youth — and the newly-emerging workforce — are adequately equipped to work with these evolving technologies.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2019/09/26/training-the-future-workforce-for-a-data-driven-society/

By Sara Friedman, Campus Technology

Operation Impact will provide student entrepreneurs with dollars and support to create “impact-focused” startups that focus on issues that educators face around the world. The new initiative, Operation Impact, provides funding, infrastructure and mentorship to student entrepreneurs to create and develop “impact-focused” startups. Over the past year, Operation Impact has funded several projects from student teams in its beta program. Some of those projects include fighting “pervasive burnout” in new educators, improving and promoting access to STEM education across the country, and creating immersive reality experiences for healthcare students to improve relationships with “stigmatized” patients within the healthcare system.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2019/09/23/harvard-initiative-to-fund-student-ed-tech-ideas.aspx?s=ct_nu_260919&oly_enc_id=2450C6053234D5W

Mitch Rankin, Cryptopolitan

In some of the world’s poorest countries, up to 95% of disabled children are out of school, despite education being a basic human right. In developed countries, this rate is not much lower at 90%. Almost 93 million children are out of school because of a disability. These students are excluded because of discrimination, lack of training in inclusive teaching methods among teachers, and a lack of accessible schools catering to their needs. The internet creates an environment free from discrimination and can level the playing field and allow disabled students an equal opportunity to a good education.

https://www.cryptopolitan.com/95-percent-disabled-kids-are-out-of-school/

BY RYAN CRAIG, the Hill

House Democrats last week rolled out a sweeping proposal to transform federal higher education policy. Among the proposals included in the bill is a provision that would make community college free nationwide, an expansion of federal Pell grants, and a new set of policies to hold schools more financially accountable for the outcomes of their graduates. The Democrats’ approach is one that reflects, and seeks to address, a troubling reality: Perhaps more than ever before in our history, too many Americans feel that the American Dream is out of reach.

https://thehill.com/opinion/education/466340-can-higher-ed-bill-reauthorization-close-americas-skills-gap

By Andrew Kreighbaum, Inside Higher Ed

Income-share agreements are drawing attention from lawmakers, although relatively few students so far have signed up for the loan alternative. Two organizations with markedly different approaches are looking to change that. The contracts obligate students to pay back a portion of their future income for a set number of years rather than take out student loans to cover unmet financial need. The concept was first tested in short-term programs like coding boot camps but increasingly is being pushed as an option for students at traditional colleges as well.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/09/26/two-emerging-players-isas-deliberate-and-different-approaches