Techno-News Blog

by Marvin Krislov, Forbes

In the academic world, we have run into a statistical dead end in assessing how our students are performing. I want to propose a way of breaking through the issue so that our colleges and universities are able to keep pace with, and measure, the deep changes impacting our economy and society and the role higher education must play. The main storehouse of data on college performance is the U.S. Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, called IPEDS. IPEDS produces an “overall graduation rate” for every college in the country, and that statistic is a key factor in college rankings, from U.S. News & World Report to the College Scorecard to the newly prominent Google college search results.   Under the IPEDS definition, John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama, both of whom transferred colleges, and Mitt Romney, who both transferred and took time off for his Mormon mission, would be considered nongraduates. An alternative metric to the federal graduation rate is the Student Achievement Measure, or SAM. Developed by a consortium of higher-education associations with the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation, SAM is designed to provide a more accurate picture of student progress and success. It includes transfer students and part-time students alongside full-time students, and it tracks progress at public and private colleges and universities and two- and four-year institutions.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marvinkrislov/2018/07/23/why-we-need-to-rethink-graduation-rates-as-a-measure-of-colleges-success

by James Paterson, Education Dive
The use of big data or cloud computing and the expansive and unpredictable inroads made by online learning were among the most important changes in higher education brought on by technology, according to a review of trends by Educause as it celebrated its 20-year anniversary.  According to a report from EdTech, Educause asked IT experts about “the most significant moments of the past, the most promising trends of the future and everything in between.” The experts said data analytics were being used in very different ways at institutions, and that it had become critical in many aspects of college operations, including recruitment, measuring student success and fundraising. Cloud computing has also dramatically changed how colleges operate, they said, and willingness to make IT a key part of operations has had a significant impact.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/what-are-the-top-trends-in-ed-tech/528449/

Enterprise Analytics: A Driver of Student-First Culture
by James Willey, Educause
When institutions begin to look at their data as an institutional asset, not departmental property, they unlock the true potential of advanced analytics systems. Even more important, they elevate students over siloes and begin to change a culture that made sense in an analog world but now stands in the way of digital transformation. In an April 2018 Ellucian survey of higher education leaders’ attitudes and actions regarding advanced analytics, we see more and more recognition of the value they bring to institutional governance. Of respondents, 61 percent reported that they have implemented an analytics program at their institution to date. Only 1 percent reported that they do not have and are not considering an analytics program. Given the recent push for more data-informed decision-making on campus, it’s no surprise that higher education analytics continue to gain traction. What is surprising is the type of analytics solution that some institutions are choosing to implement. According to the survey, just under half of the institutions actively engaged in an analytics program opted for departmental systems that are walled off from one another, rather than enterprise systems that leverage data from across the campus.

https://er.educause.edu/blogs/sponsored/2018/7/enterprise-analytics-a-driver-of-student-first-culture

By Henry Kronk, eLearning Inside

Quizzing is a fundamental aspect of any course, unit, or learning module. Numerous studies confirm that quizzes help in the learning process and improve long-term retention, especially if the assessment includes feedback. But not every online quiz aid is created equally. One main difference is testing for recognition vs. recall, or in other words, multiple choice vs. fill-in-the-blank, respectively. While a good deal of studies show that recall requires more work and leads to more effective learning outcomes, these studies typically produce results in a lab setting, and not in a classroom. For this reason, researchers Piers Howe (University of Melbourne, Jason Lodge (University of Queensland), and Meredith McKague (University of Melbourne) recently carried out a study on online quiz aids to see which would actually improve student performance. The paper was published this month in Frontiers in Education and draws some surprising conclusions.

What’s Better for an Online Quiz Aid–Multiple Choice or Fill in the Blank? This Study Says it Doesn’t Matter

By Scott Fulton III, ZdNet
It is a capital improvement project the size of the entire planet, replacing one wireless architecture created this century with another one that aims to lower energy consumption and maintenance costs. Sure, you’ll download movies faster on your phone, but that’s not the real reason 5G’s arrival is being accelerated.  It is the fourth time in history that the world’s telecommunications providers (the telcos) have acknowledged the need for a complete overhaul of their wireless infrastructure. This is why the ever-increasing array of technologies, listed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) as “Release 15” and “Release 16” of their standards for wireless telecom, is called 5G. It is an effort to create a sustainable industry around the wireless consumption of data for all the world’s telcos. One key goal of 5G is to dramatically improve quality of service, and extend that quality over a broader geographic area, in order for the wireless industry to remain competitive against the onset of gigabit fiber service coupled with Wi-Fi.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/what-is-5g-everything-you-need-to-know/

by Rebecca L. Watts, Columbus Dispatch

While Ohio’s widely respected colleges and universities are meeting the higher-education needs of millions of Ohioans, this goal cannot be reached by focusing on traditional-age high-school graduates alone. We must expand our thinking to view education as a continuum over time, which requires a broad array of opportunities for a diverse citizenry with diverse educational needs. Both our current and future needs point to the importance of higher education that can prepare Ohioans for entry into the workforce as well as continued advancement in their careers.  Yet, for many adults who may have some college or an associate’s degree, completing a bachelor’s or master’s is nearly impossible. These individuals often hold one or more jobs and are raising families. They have passed traditional college age and, while they may have started careers, they can’t advance or make a change without more education.

http://www.dispatch.com/opinion/20180709/rebecca-l-watts-working-adults-need-more-higher-education-options

by Christopher Pappas, Growth Engineering

Serious games are one of the latest trends in eLearning. Especially in the corporate sector, organizations are using them to motivate distracted and stressed staff members. However, there are still some who steer clear of gameplay, due to the myths that have surfaced in recent years. It’s time to set the record straight. Here are 8 common misconceptions that surround serious games in eLearning and the truth behind them. Serious games are one of the latest trends in eLearning. Especially in the corporate sector, organizations are using them to motivate distracted and stressed staff members. However, there are still some who steer clear of gameplay, due to the myths that have surfaced in recent years. It’s time to set the record straight. Here are 8 common misconceptions that surround serious games in eLearning and the truth behind them.

8 Common Misconceptions About Serious Games In eLearning

by Shalina Chatlani, Education Dive
Greater numbers of institutions are investing in research programs on blockchain, the infrastructure needed to manage cryptocurrency, including MIT, Stanford and University College London, among others, reports Bitcoin Magazine. Columbia University is the latest to hop on the trend, announcing yesterday in a press release a joint development with technology company IBM a research center to cultivate “scientific breakthroughs” in data transparency, blockchain and technology capabilities that apply blockchain in new ways. Central New Mexico Community College has already used blockchain infrastructure to issue around 300 digital bitcoin diplomas. in place,” said Chief Technology Officer Halverson, who noted the college is also working on a simple transcript. Like Columbia, CNM is also implementing blockchain research programs in an effort to sustainably build out and manage its infrastructure and so that students can help evolve the technology’s development, said Halverson.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/blockchain-in-higher-ed-moving-from-idea-to-reality/527879/

By Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

The old business adage is that you have to spend money to make money – and that should be the mentality when looking at struggling schools or districts that need, sometimes costly, digital devices and products. By smartly investing the money, even just in a few key areas, schools will see a return on that edtech investment in the way of more successful, higher achieving students. And really – edtech does not need to cost a fortune to make a difference. In truth, many digital learning efforts are cost-effective and can be implemented by resourceful educators. When there is a lack of money, edtech tool acquisition is contingent upon the faith and commitment level of the faculty and staff. Money should not be wasted on model products and unsubstantiated trends. Digital leadership groups will have to work diligently and efficiently to implement the chosen digital learning efforts properly and effectively.

Digital Learning on a Budget: How to Stretch Your Edtech Dollars

by  Núria Molas-Castells & Marc Fuertes-Alpiste, eLearn Center Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.

What do the articles on e-learning published in academic journals during 2017 talk about? To answer this question we analysed all the impact publications made during this period, with the aim of drawing a map that is useful for seeing where research efforts have been focused in recent years and what topics feature in indexed scientific publications. The report has analyzed 855 articles obtained from the two main databases for scientific articles, Scopus and Web of Science.

http://openaccess.uoc.edu/webapps/o2/bitstream/10609/75705/6/ELR_Report_2017.pdf

By Tina Nazerian, EdSurge

Case Western Reserve University plans to replace the usual anatomy labs with a new series of hands-on experiences, including a virtual-reality simulation. The reason, says Mark Griswold, a professor at the medical school, is that running a cadaver lab is costly and difficult. “What everybody pretty quickly realized was that digital technology combined with medical imaging and our ability to make 3D models as biomedical illustrators, those three factors all combine to really make it possible to teach anatomy in this way,” Griswold says. “That was not possible 10 years ago.” The school is just one of many experimenting with replacing traditional laboratory classes with VR labs. And a range of companies have recently started offering products to outfit such digital alternatives.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-07-19-schools-and-colleges-try-virtual-reality-science-labs-but-can-vr-replace-a-cadaver

by Matthew Lynch, tech Edvocate

If you have been studying the field of education closely, then you know that it is undergoing a metamorphosis. Students of today no longer respond to the school configurations and instructional strategies that our ancestors did. No, they grew up in a world that is dominated by and integrated with technology. To educate today’s students, schools have to adapt to this and provide a modern education, that is infused with technology. To be successful, schools need to change how they do business, and their teachers have to add new skill sets to their repertoire. In this article, we will discuss 8 attributes of successful schools in the digital age.

8 Attributes of Successful Schools in the Digital Age

by Craig O’Callaghan, Business Because

The QS Distance Online MBA Rankings 2018 is the largest global ranking of online MBA programs, with 50 business schools featured this year. IE Business School tops the list this time, while Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business ranks highest in the US, and Imperial College Business School ranks best in the UK. Should you consider an online MBA? Here are some key things we learned from this year’s results:

https://www.businessbecause.com/news/mba-distance-learning/5358/why-online-mba-matters-according-to-business-schools

by Rachel E. Bryan, Diverse Education

Native Americans have the lowest educational attainment of any race. In 1990, only 9 percent of Native Americans under the age of 25 had a bachelor’s degree, compared to 21 percent of all U.S. citizens. Fortunately, with the preparation of a two-year tribal college or university (TCU), Native American students are four times more likely to earn their bachelor’s degree than those who entered a mainstream four-year institution out of high school, and 86 percent of students who attend TCUs earn a degree. Why is this gap in educational attainment so vast? One of the ways in which mainstream institutions are failing their Native American students is that they are simply not addressing the values of Native American students. For example, family is such an important value in Native American culture that it can “take priority over their personal academic progress.” Additionally, Native American families struggle with high rates of poverty, alcoholism, drug abuse and domestic violence, which can affect students and even result in them dropping out of college.

http://diverseeducation.com/article/120277/

by Ryan Duffy, EdScoop
Gov. Jerry Brown, delivering remarks to the California Community Colleges Board of Governor in Sacramento on Monday, continued to push his plan to deliver a new type of online community college for California’s working adults. Brown, a Democrat, also shared details of the advances the state has made toward designing the college, which aims to be infinitely scalable. The office of California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley in previous months has convened “Future of Work” meet-ups to determine how emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), and new trends, such as the rise of the gig economy, are affecting the current workforce and shaping future opportunities. Using the feedback generated from these meetings, the chancellor’s office is working to determine education and training needs of potential adult learners across California.

https://edscoop.com/gov-brown-lays-out-progress-towards-statewide-online-community-college

by Matthew Lynch, tech Edvocate

Millennials value tech training and development from their employer, above all else, because they know that it will help them compete in a global economy. Interestingly, appropriate tech training and professional development equates to higher job satisfaction. Additionally, improving your tech skills will not only ensure you are a more productive employee, but also a more fulfilled individual overall.Yet the U.S. tends to put a time stamp on learning and it is often assumed that individuals learning and education halts at age 18 or 22, when they enter the workforce. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, on average by age 40 a person has held 10 different jobs. That means those job-specific tech skills learned in college classrooms, while still valuable, aren’t as relevant when the next job or career comes along. With technology changing job fields so drastically, it is now more even more imperative to continue learning new tech skills, in order to be the most well rounded, productive worker possible. So what are some ways that the education and edtech community can foster this spirit of continued digital learning while children are still in classrooms?

3 Ways to Instill Lifelong Digital Learning Skills in Students

by Matthew Lynch, tech Edvocate

Looking for apps and tools that integrate with Google Classroom? Don’t worry, we have you covered.  Click below for more info on Alma, Classcraft, BrainPop, Tynker, and Khan Academy.

5 Apps and Tools That Integrate With Google Clasroom

by Knowledge@Wharton

The recent indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers by the Justice Department for interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential election underscores the severity and immense reach of cyber attacks, like no other in history. To influence the election’s outcome, authorities said these agents hacked into the computer networks of the Democratic Party to get information, and strategically released it on the internet. In the private sector, companies have to step up their game against cyber attacks that are becoming all too common. Against that backdrop, fighting cyber threats has never been more important. It is the “greatest terror on the economy, bar none,” but policy makers’ response to it has been moving at a snail’s pace, according to high-ranking cyber-security and risk management experts who spoke at a panel discussion on cyber risks at the Penn Wharton Budget Model’s first Spring Policy Forum, which was held last month in Washington. Experts called for greater awareness of cyber threats at all levels, an inclusive approach to protect all parties affected, and steps to “harden our defenses to make the cost too high for the payoff to carry out these cyber attacks.”

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/creating-tougher-defenses-cyber-attacks/

The share of women in many science and technology fields has increased dramatically in the last generation — in some cases reaching parity with men. But women’s gains have lagged in computer science, some technology fields and in the businesses where many of the graduates of those programs aspire to work. A new book says that both colleges and businesses can do better. Failing to improve, the book argues, means wasting talent that could promote innovation in both academe and industry. The book is The Future of Tech Is Female: How to Achieve Gender Diversity (New York University Press). The author is Douglas M. Branson, the W. Edward Sell Chair in Law at the University of Pittsburgh.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/07/17/author-discusses-his-new-book-about-women-tech-industry-and-engineering-education

By Mark Lieberman, Inside Higher Ed

Many institutions allow residential students to dabble in online courses as they work through their schedule of face-to-face classes. The California State University System takes that offering one step further, presenting full-time students at all of the system’s 23 institutions with the option to enroll for free in one online course per semester at another Cal State institution.  The system has allowed residential students to take one free online course per semester at other campuses since 2013 — and more than 2,400 students have taken advantage, according to Mike Uhlenkamp, interim senior director of public affairs. The provision was codified in California state law in 2015. But the pool of online courses was more limited, and the institution didn’t advertise this option as widely as it will now, Uhlenkamp said.

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2018/07/13/cal-state-allows-students-take-online-courses-other-system

By Anna McKie, Times Higher Education
Eventually “all learning is going to happen digitally”, according to Jeff Maggioncalda, the chief executive of online learning platform Coursera. Increasing use of technology on campus will erode division between online and offline education, according to Jeff Maggioncalda But Mr Maggioncalda was not rehearsing the tired trope that massive open online courses offered by the likes of Coursera will drive traditional universities out of business. Instead, he was predicting that learning on university campuses will increasingly take place online over the next five to 10 years.

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/all-learning-going-happen-digitally-coursera-boss-says