Online Learning Update

by Doug Lederman, Inside Higher Ed

The Education Department’s National Center for Education Statistics has unwraped a revision of the IPEDS database that will expand the government’s tools for measuring postsecondary outcomes, especially for the students who, for lack of a better term, are frequently called “nontraditional” (even though they now outnumber the “traditional” 18- to 22-year-olds). While the changes are partial and leave many policy makers wanting more — most of which cannot be accomplished unless and until the federal government ends its ban on collecting student-level data — they are widely seen as a vast improvement. “This is a step in the right direction, and it’s a big step forward for community colleges, particularly,” said Andrew Nichols, director of higher education research and data analytics at the Education Trust, which advocates for low-income and minority students.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/10/12/new-federal-higher-ed-outcome-measures-count-part-time-adult-students

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

Advice about what to study in college comes from four primary sources, according to new survey results: “Formal” sources, such as high school and college counselors and print and internet media; The “informal” social network, including family, friends and community leaders; The “informal” school network, counting non-advisor staff and coaches; and “Informal” work-based sources involving employers, coworkers and people with experience in the field.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/10/17/employer-advice-most-valued-least-used-in-choosing-college-major.aspx

by Newswire

Online learning is now a core form of delivery for Canadian universities and colleges, according to a report released today at the World Conference on Online Learning in Toronto. This survey of online learning, the first covering all Canadian public post-secondary institutions, was conducted by a small group of independent Canadian researchers, under the leadership of Dr. Tony Bates, a visiting professor at Ryerson University and a Research Associate at Contact North, Ontario.   Online enrollments have expanded at a rate of 10%-15% per annum over the last five years; online learning now constitutes between 12%-16% of all post-secondary teaching for credit,

http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/3523443

By Jessica Dyer, Albuquerque Journal

The number of online-only students at the University of New Mexico has climbed 65 percent in three years – something leaders consider a positive step toward broadening the student base but no cure-all for the institution’s larger budget woes.
Based on fall 2017 figures, 7 percent of all students at the state’s largest university now attend exclusively through the internet, and nearly one out of every three UNM students take at least one online course. The growth follows UNM’s increasing emphasis on web-based offerings. By spring, the university will have 10 “managed online programs” – those that provide a structured path toward a degree in subject areas that include psychology, construction management and Native American studies. Several more are in planning or under discussion.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1078458/unm-sees-sharp-increase-in-online-enrollment-excerpt-increase-comes-as-total-head-count-falls.html

By Meredith Roaten, GW Hatchet

The quality of some of the University’s online and off-campus programs may be suffering because of a lack of University-wide standards and the large number of adjunct and part-time faculty teaching those courses, according to a Faculty Senate report released Friday. A faculty task force, in an extensive report presented to the Faculty Senate, found that oversight of online and off-campus programs – those taught at locations other than the University’s three campuses – was spotty and varied across schools. Faculty said that as online learning becomes a larger part of the University’s educational blueprint, there are issues with how the courses are being monitored and how they are impacting face-to-face programs that haven’t been addressed. The task force found that courses approved for in-person instruction could be moved online without review and that online courses were duplicating on-campus versions of courses, creating a “cannibalizing” effect. The review found that in some cases doctoral candidates were teaching online courses to master’s degree students.

https://www.gwhatchet.com/2017/10/16/oversight-of-online-learning-programs-lacking-in-some-schools-report-finds/

by Matthew Lynch, tech Edvocate

As STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) curriculum grows in popularity, more schools are adding engineering classes. Students in elementary school through high school are enjoying the benefits of being exposed to engineering in the classroom. As Teach Engineering explains, “Research around effective learning in K-12 classrooms demonstrates that an engineering approach to identifying and solving problems is valuable across all disciplines.” As you teach engineering, consider adding these seven must have engineering apps and tools to your professional toolbox.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/7-must-engineering-apps-tools/

by Meghan Bogardus Cortez, edtech Magazine
Meghan is an associate editor with EdTech: Focus on Higher Education. She enjoys coffee, cats and science fiction TV. In the summer of 2016, nothing was quite as buzzy as the smartphone game, “Pokémon Go.” Thanks to its augmented reality (AR) format — which blends real-world interactivity with an immersive video game world — the game spiked in popularity among K–12 and college students. It also introduced the concept of AR into the education sector. By 2018, the AR device market is expected to reach about $660 million, a new infographic from the New Jersey Institute of Technology reports. While AR is still up and coming, several mobile apps have emerged to let students (both at the K–12 and higher ed level) engage with interactive books about space and human anatomy charts.

https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2017/10/how-will-ar-transform-education-infographic-0

by Alan Joch, edtech Magazine

The master plan developed by the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) identifies virtual classrooms and blended learning opportunities as critical resources for personalized instruction. “We’re focusing on cultivating collaboration and communications skills, critical thinking and creativity in our students,” CTO Melissa Dodd says. “To do that, we must provide opportunities for them to engage in rich tech environments, which is what they’ll encounter after they graduate and move into their professions.” Virtual classrooms not only provide well-stocked environments for the general student population, they also help SFUSD address specific needs. About 350 students use virtual classrooms to revisit classes they previously failed or for which they received poor grades.

https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2017/10/large-school-districts-can-make-most-virtual-classrooms-too

by Nicci Fagan, edTech Magazine
To keep networks safe, higher education leaders need to ensure security measures are easy to navigate. The Department of Homeland Security recently released its themes for October, from basic online safety to cybersecurity careers. Each week, DHS and its partners will release resources relating to each theme that IT staff can incorporate into cybersecurity education and training.

https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2017/10/best-practices-cybersecurity-are-simple-and-keep-users-mind

by Todd R. Weiss, IT Pro Windows

Google has unveiled an AI experiment that’s designed to expand and promote the understanding of artificial intelligence and machine learning by allowing anyone to try their own online AI experiences.  Called “Teachable Machine,” the project is a simple experiment that lets online participants teach a machine using their computer’s camera right within a web browser, with no laborious hand coding required, wrote Barron Webster, a designer and machine learning enthusiast in Google’s Creative Lab, in a recent post on The Google Official Blog. From helping you find your favorite dog photos, to helping farmers in Japan sort cucumbers, machine learning is changing the way people use code to solve problems,” wrote Webster.

http://windowsitpro.com/machine-learning/google-unveils-teachable-machine-showcase-ai-users

by Tom Lindsay, Forbes

A number of MOOCs have taken on the challenge to increase course completion, crafting innovations that are now yielding completion rates that are up to five times the average. They have accomplished this through seeking to ameliorate the “loneliness”—that is, the social isolation—of the long-distance learner. This advance is especially encouraging, given the speed with which MOOCs are multiplying: According to one survey, roughly 2,000 new MOOCs have taken flight since the beginning of the year.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomlindsay/2017/10/11/moocs-reborn-online-educations-student-friendly-makeover-promises-better-results/#4cb83b5949ce

by Futurism

With advances in computing power – including machine learning, neural networks, natural language processing, genetic algorithms and computational creativity – just to name a few – it increasingly seems likely that artificial intelligence is evolving from simple to self-aware machines.  Here is a look at where AI is now, and the prospect of what it will become.

https://futurism.com/images/types-of-ai-from-reactive-to-self-aware-infographic/

By Joshua Bolkan, Campus Technology
Taking just one more course per term can increase persistence toward graduation for some students, according to a new report from Civitas Learning. Based on data from 60 institutions and nearly 1.4 million students, the report found that, particularly for part-time and nontraditional students, “even small shifts in course load can have a profound impact on success rates.”

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/10/12/report-taking-1-more-course-improves-student-persistence.aspx

By Henry Kronk, eLearning Inside

ELearning is clearly here to stay. As early as 2013, The Wall Street Journal found that, of people seeking higher education in the U.S., only 29% were traditional college students, e.g. 18-22-year-old high school graduates. A much bigger percentage was made up by people over 25 with a full time job and/or a family. In some cases, these lifelong learners will be able to attend class in person, but for most, online courses and other eLearning programs are far more accessible, less expensive, and easier to fit into a demanding schedule.

https://news.elearninginside.com/why-is-live-interactive-video-streaming-so-rare-among-moocs-and-lmss/

By Mike Averill, Tulsa World

The skills gap refers to the skills required by employers and the training held by the workforce or the number of jobs requiring skills that the workforce does not have.  There are more than 60,000 unfilled jobs in the state, of which nearly 18,000 are deemed critical to growing the economy. In August there were 81,476 unemployed, or about 4.5 percent of the state’s 1.8 million-person workforce. “We have people who have skills who aren’t working and we have jobs that are available but the people who have skills don’t have the right skills for the jobs,” said Shelley Cadamy, executive director of Workforce Tulsa.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/the-gap-between-what-employers-need-and-the-skills-of/article_8142a964-7e45-546c-b641-502a607bb5b0.html

BY ADRIAN SANNIER, eCampus News
Why adaptivity and scalability are the two core trends in higher edtech right now, and for the future. These technologies, powered by ongoing advances in artificial intelligence, continue to grow in capability, providing students and their teachers with unprecedented insight into individual learning patterns.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/campus-administration/edtech-trends-institutions-thrive/

By Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology
Judging by the outlook of faculty in colleges and universities today, the future is bright for technology in higher education. A full 98 percent of faculty members who took Campus Technology’s second annual Teaching With Technology Survey believe technology will play a positive role in education going forward. That’s a step up from 97 percent who answered the same in 2016. What technologies do faculty think will be important in education over the next decade? The most popular answer to that question by far was virtual/augmented/mixed reality, garnering 81 percent of responses (it topped the list last year as well). Mobile devices and apps, 3D modeling/scanning/printing, adaptive/personalized learning and video/streaming all rounded out the top five.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/10/11/faculty-predict-virtual-augmented-mixed-reality-will-be-key-to-ed-tech-in-10-years.aspx

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

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

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/

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