Techno-News Blog

By Rachel Metz, Technology Review

There’s the possibility that the Apple Watch really just does too much. It can be used to answer phone calls, and a walkie-talkie feature lets you communicate with other Apple Watch users (I’m skeptical this will become much more than a fun gimmick). A developer kit will let outside developers build apps for it. Apple even announced a new payment feature on Tuesday, Apple Pay, that brings contactless payment to the iPhone via the use of near-field communication, and the Apple Watch will be able to do this, too. Ultimately, of course, it will be up to users to decide how good the Apple Watch is, and how it’s used—nobody will force you to enable all kinds of notifications, pick up incoming calls, or buy a pack of gum from your wrist. And, like the rest of you, I’ll reserve my final judgment for an unknown date in the not-too-distant future when I actually get to try it out.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/530586/the-apple-watch-may-solve-the-usual-smart-watch-annoyances/

By Tom Simonite, Technology Review

Your next laptop or tablet may have 3-D sensors that let it recognize gestures or augment a real scene with virtual characters. Adding 3-D sensing to PCs and mobile devices could open up new forms of entertainment and commerce. Look out: Intel’s 3-D sensing technology is small enough to fit inside this new tablet from Dell, which is only six millimeters thick. Laptops with 3-D sensors in place of conventional webcams will go on sale before the end of this year, according to chip maker Intel, which is providing the sensing technology to manufacturers. And tablets with 3-D sensors will hit the market in 2015, the company said at its annual developers’ conference in San Francisco on Wednesday.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/530666/intel-says-laptops-and-tablets-with-3-d-vision-are-coming-soon/

by Maura Smale and Mariana Regalado, EDUCAUSE Review Online

A multi-year qualitative study of undergraduates at six colleges at the City University of New York focused on how, where, and when students accomplished their academic work and how the presence or absence of access to technology helped and hindered them. CUNY students have an average commute time of 45–60 minutes each way and typically use public transportation, making commuting a defining feature of undergraduate life at CUNY that offers both opportunities and challenges. The study sought to understand how students made time and found space to do their schoolwork outside of class, including their use of technology for coursework. Among its outcomes, the study offers concrete steps that other institutions can take to help mitigate technology constraints for their own students.

http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/commuter-students-using-technology

by Bethany Croton, James E. Willis, III, and Jason Fish, EDUCAUSE Review Online

Quality communication between faculty and students in higher education is critical and considerably influences students’ intellectual growth, but it is not easy to achieve, particularly when faculty teach large lecture courses. A feedback tool that provides substantive message templates for instructors, PassNote also includes links to specific resources that might help students with various tasks. PassNote’s development focused on ease of use, openness (no login), and the ability to track usage to inform both tool improvement and future functionality.

http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/passnote-feedback-tool-improving-student-success

by Udemy

Sixty-one percent of Americans believe that today’s workforce is plagued by a skills gap, but do not see themselves as part of the problem, according to new data released today. The Udemy Skills Gap Index, an independent survey commissioned by Udemy, the leading global marketplace for learning and teaching online, and conducted by ResearchNow, surveyed 1,000 Americans between the ages of 18 and 65. The survey polled consumers to determine their thoughts, perceptions and attitudes toward not only the skills they believe they possess, but also how these skills impact their professional lives. The resulting data revealed that despite a perception among American workers that a skills gap exists, 95 percent consider themselves to be either qualified or overqualified for the positions that they personally hold.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/more-than-half-of-american-workers-believe-a-skills-gap-exists-but-does-not-apply-to-them-275426751.html

By Tanya Roscorla, Center for Digital Ed

Students in NYU’s Social Media in Politics class will be campaigning for mayor online rather than in traditional TV and radio forms of communication. Politics is in the air in NYU Land, and three candidates are planning the race of their lives to defeat the incumbent mayor this fall. While NYU Land only exists in social media, its presence there lays a foundation for real citizens to run for office. And adjunct professor Mike Fraietta hopes that his Social Media in Politics online course will shake up political campaigning. “Politics itself is way behind, and it hasn’t been disrupted as much as other industries have,” Fraietta said. “If I could help educate others so that politics in general can move forward, I’d be a much happier person.”

http://www.centerdigitaled.com/news/Social-Media-Class-Tackles-Political-Campaigning.html

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

Digital textbooks are becoming a bigger part of the vernacular in higher education. A recent survey showed that slightly more than three out of five students use interactive textbooks with features that include video, audio and quizzes; more than two out of five students work in courses that use apps, social media and online productivity tools; and one out of three students has attended flipped classrooms in which they watch video lectures before heading to class. About a quarter of students have attended some form of massive, open, online course. Of those forms of technology students said the most helpful one is the interactive textbook. Of all the benefits of using a digital textbook, 31 percent reported the top one being that they make lessons easier to understand; 23 percent stated that they help students complete assignments more quickly; and 21 percent said they help students stay more organized.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/09/02/survey-digital-textbooks-gaining-esteem-in-student-eyes.aspx

By Ray Ackerlund, eSchool News

Understanding data can improve student performance and lead to greater productivity for administrators and teachers; here’s how to protect this information.  Today, more than 90 percent of school districts electronically store data on everything from student demographics and course enrollment, to attendance and test scores on statewide assessments. As uses of student data continue to expand, districts must be prepared to protect this information and ensure it’s only used for its intended purpose: to help students succeed. Here are five things school districts can do to safeguard their student data.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/09/12/safeguarding-student-data-334/

By Laura Devaney, eSchool News

Instead of being dismissed as the class for low-achieving or behaviorally-challenged students, CTE has emerged as a way for students to develop practical skills while participating in rigorous and high-quality courses. In fact, 94 percent of high school students are part of CTE—and this doesn’t include the millions of postsecondary students who also are enrolled in CTE programs, according to the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE). Students who focus on CTE programs have an average high school graduation rate of 90 percent, compared to an average national freshmen graduation rate of 75 percent, according to ACTE data.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/09/12/cte-sheds-stigma-834/

By Roxann Riskin, eCampus News

The current trend of mobile app adoption has potential benefits in teaching and learning for students with cognitive impairment, like brain injury. Here’s how; some apps have the potential to help with memory and cognitive skills. Apps for students with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) include a well-respected application which is now in app form, named Dragon Dictation. Dragon has been available for many years, mainly in the medical and legal professions, however, in education, it is also known as one of the best voice recognition programs that allow students to speak and instantly see the words on the computer. “Features include, voice-to-text transcriptions that may be sent as SMS, email, or pasted into any application using the clipboard. Convenient editing feature that provides a list of suggested words.”

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/memory-apps-brain-323/

by Marketwatch

Two-hundred students from diverse backgrounds will receive scholarships funded by AT&T and Udacity for an online degree that will help prepare them for careers in the tech industry. Announced today at The Atlantic’s Technologies in Education 2014 forum, the scholarships will cover the costs for students to earn nanodegrees. “Nanodegrees are a new type of credential for students anywhere to have access to affordable training. Earning this credential will soon become a key part of AT&T’s training and talent acquisition model and our hope is that it will be recognized by other employers in a similar fashion,” said Scott S. Smith, Senior Vice President of Human Resources Operations at AT&T.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/att-and-udacity-to-offer-scholarships-to-underserved-students-for-new-online-tech-training-program-2014-09-11

By Adit Rupare, Filtered Blog

The term ‘e-learning’ has only been in existence since 1999. When the word was first utilized, other terms – such as ‘online learning’ and ‘virtual learning’ – also began to spring up in search of an accurate description of exactly was e-learning was. However, the principles behind e-learning have been well documented throughout history, and there is even evidence that suggests that early forms of e-learning existed as far back as the 19th century.

https://filtered.com/blog/post/articles/the-history-of-e-learning

BY MARCEL SALATHE, Wired

Numerous MOOC providers have appeared, competing for the attention of learners around the globe. What started with a few courses is now a rapidly developing field with thousands of courses on offer. Some providers have changed their focus from traditional higher education to more vocational training. Most have started charging for services such as verified certificates. All of them are trying to figure out where this rocket ship is headed. Anything that makes such a splash in such a short amount of time is guaranteed to have its critics, and MOOCs were no exception. After disappointing results in high-profile experiments at San Jose State University, critics saw themselves vindicated, and the New York Times – which had boldly declared the year of the MOOC in 2012 – ran an article with the title “After Setbacks, Online Courses Are Rethought”.

http://www.wired.com/2014/09/moocs-2-0/

By Alicia DelGallo, Orlando Sentinel

Area high-school athletes increasingly are turning to virtual classes to repair or boost their grades, lighten traditional class loads or to make schedules more flexible, allowing ample time for practice and training. “It’s a recent thing for kids to start taking online classes, and mostly because Florida Virtual is offering more selection,” Lake Howell coach Vicky Hilbert said. “For those students who work better independently, it’s a great option.” In 2011, a state law went into effect that requires all public-school students to take at least one class online before graduating. That may be one reason why the total number of Florida Virtual School semester completions jumped from 213,926 in the 2009-10 school year to 410,962 in 2012-13, the last year data is available.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/highschool/os-hs-florida-virtual-school-athletic-impact-20140909,0,272200.story

by Alex Wilhelm, Tech Crunch

At Disrupt SF, Coursera’s president Daphne Koller pushed back against the notion that her company is a for-profit education company: In her view, Coursera is instead a for-profit technology company. TechCrunch’s Frederic Lardinois pressed Koller on the completion rates the average class on her platform sees — only 5 percent of people that enroll in a future class finish the course. Koller wasn’t perturbed. According to her numbers, of the people who actually want to finish the course, 70 percent do so, a number that she said was high for “an online activity.” The company does have the figures in mind, it seems, as it is moving towards more self-directed learning, and classes that have less rigid — and distant — start dates. Koller indicated that if a class starts within a week of a student enrolling — compared to its current model — engagement doubles.

http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/10/coursera-president-daphne-koller-2014-is-the-year-moocs-will-come-of-age/

by EDUCAUSE

Online learning, or e-learning, is the use of technology to deliver instruction and facilitate and enhance learning. Online learning today includes rich interactive media to promote deeper learning and access to tools that help students reflect on their skills, abilities, and progress as learners. As it has gained in both popularity and promise, online learning has become a priority for institutional leaders to understand and apply to their institution’s particular pedagogical culture and strategic priorities. This EDUCAUSE research brief outlines key questions leaders should ask—and relevant data to consider—to help develop or refine a strategic direction for online learning and the digital engagement it enables.

http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ekq01.pdf

By Matt Rocheleau, Boston Globe

The online-learning collaborative edX, a partnership between Harvard University and MIT, is expanding its reach beyond higher education and will begin offering courses geared toward high school students. The 26 high school courses were created by 14 institutions — including MIT, Georgetown and Rice universities, the University of California Berkeley, Boston University, Wellesley College, and Weston Public High School. The online classes, available to anyone in the world, will cover such subjects as computer science, calculus, geometry, algebra, English, physics, biology, chemistry, Spanish, French, history, statistics, and psychology.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/09/09/online-education-company-edx-expanding-offer-free-courses-aimed-high-school-students/wWdR6XQakRKIxAhaH580ZP/story.html

By Kelly Maher, eSchool News

Information graphics, also known as infographics, provide a way to express complex data, ideas, or other information graphically. Human beings are visual and adept at identifying patterns and trends quickly. Therefore, infographics often aid our understanding of otherwise dense, multifaceted, or complicated material. Anyone can use infographics to further their understanding of a topic, and you can also create your own for use in teaching or presentations. Here are some infographics generators to consider the next time you need to teach a difficult concept or illustrate intricate information.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/09/08/tools-engaging-infographics-298/

By David Nagel, THE Journal

Personal computing devices are continuing to surge in K-12, but tablets have lost a lot of their momentum. According to a new report, notebooks — especially Chromebooks — are back on top as tablet shipments were decimated in the latest quarter. A total of 2.4 million personal computing devices were purchased by schools and districts in the second quarter, a 12 percent increase over Q2 2103. But according to market research firm Futuresource Consulting, tablet shipments in K-12 fell off 10 percent in the second quarter of 2014 from Q2 2013, the first year-over-year decline for tablets.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/08/26/chromebooks-surge-in-k-12-as-tablets-drop-off.aspx

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

Digital textbooks are becoming a bigger part of the vernacular in higher education. A recent survey showed that slightly more than three out of five students use interactive textbooks with features that include video, audio and quizzes; more than two out of five students work in courses that use apps, social media and online productivity tools; and one out of three students has attended flipped classrooms in which they watch video lectures before heading to class. About a quarter of students have attended some form of massive, open, online course.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/09/02/survey-digital-textbooks-gaining-esteem-in-student-eyes.aspx

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

Blended learning typically involves an element of student control over when, where and how learning takes place. Research there has found that when blended courses address the needs of students who learn differently, average students benefit as well. Dahlstrom-Hakki and his colleague Manju Banerjee, vice president and director of Landmark College’s Institute for Research and Training, shared what they’ve learned from their students during a presentation delivered at the July Online Learning Consortium (formerly the Sloan Consortium) Blended Learning Conference. Here are five techniques for making sure blended courses work for everybody.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/09/03/5-accessible-design-tips-for-blended-courses.aspx