Educational Technology

Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

Technology in the classroom has become not just expected but assumed. Educators and administrators strive to use and/or create the most digitally aligned curriculum available, ranging from e-books in place of print titles to fully interactive learning management systems. The reason, of course, is to provide students with the best possible chance of success in an almost entirely digital world. But what happens when that same technology that is meant to aid in future accomplishments ends up creating obstacles for students instead? And what happens when technology, such as social media and texting, supersedes a student’s desire to engage in skill-building activities? Below are five skills that are often lost or poorly developed as a result of pervasive technology use.

https://www.thetechedvocate.org/5-skills-that-students-are-losing-because-of-tech/

Anne C. Osterman, Penn State News

“OER (open educational resources) is about more than student savings — it is about student success and lifelong learning. It is about faculty empowerment and increased student engagement. It is about equity and diversity. … This is an opportunity for collaboration across the institution, from faculty to instructional designers to librarians to assessment professionals.”

https://news.psu.edu/story/583142/2019/08/09/impact/heard-campus-possibilities-presented-open-educational-resources

LendU

While the figures change each year, the narrative certainly does not; student loan debt continues to be a growing issue in the U.S. and at nearly all schools in the country as the cost of college continues to rise. Nationally, outstanding student loan debt sits at $1.52 trillion, making it the second largest form of consumer debt trailing only mortgages. On an individual scale, the average borrower from the Class of 2018 received their diploma and left campus with $28,565 in student loan debt, up from $28,288 that was owed by the average Class of 2017 borrower.

https://lendedu.com/student-loan-debt-by-school-by-state-2019/

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

The Internet of Things, or IoT, refers to the billions of physical devices around the world that are now connected to the internet, collecting and sharing data. Thanks to cheap processors and wireless networks, anything with a sensor can become part of the IoT. Educational platforms, students’ laptops, and smartphones are all part of the IoT. With IoT, everything is coming online, including homes, cars, people, medical devices, even farming equipment. And there are endless examples of IoT solutions being applied in school environments. Here we explore a few different use cases.

https://www.thetechedvocate.org/the-internet-of-things-for-education-a-brief-guide/

Shelcy V. Joseph, Forbes

According to LinkedIn, technical skills related to data and artificial intelligence are currently some of the most in-demand skills and a large number of recent grads are learning them. This suggests a trend in hiring in favor of candidates with these skills. As a recent grad, you can gain a competitive edge by learning them. I spoke to Emily Poague, Vice President of Marketing, LinkedIn Learning, who shared crucial advice for recent grads entering today’s workforce.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/shelcyvjoseph/2019/07/29/the-most-important-skills-recent-grads-need-to-learn-today/#1c01b6657f33

By Natalie Schwartz, Education Dive
Pressure is growing for colleges to improve student outcomes, but sliding enrollment and tighter budgets threaten their ability to do so. In response, they are deploying technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics that promise to help them do more with less. Some colleges are using those tools to improve how they recruit and retain students. Others are using them to bring more accessibility into the classroom or to create personalized learning plans. But effective implementation is key, as the wrong move could negatively impact the student experience and even push learners away. In the five stories below, we examine how colleges are putting such technologies to work and what higher education leaders need to know to implement them effectively.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/summer-reading-how-emerging-technology-is-reshaping-higher-ed/560053/

BRIAN BARRETT, Wired

Pearson’s digital-first initiative will dramatically bring down textbook costs on average, albeit by phasing out the concept of ownership. But increasingly, colleges are embracing textbooks that cost … nothing. Just as traditional software has a thriving open source community, textbooks have Open Educational Resources, complete textbooks that typically come free of charge digitally, or for a small fee—enough to cover the printing—in hard copy. And while it’s not an entirely new concept, OER has gained momentum in recent years, particularly as support has picked up at an institutional level, rather than on a course by course basis.

https://www.wired.com/story/digital-textbooks-radical-transformation/

Steven Johnson, Medium

We spend too much time making kids memorize facts instead of giving them the skill that will help them throughout their lives. But the most important argument for instating decision-making as a required course for high school students is this: No matter what you do in your life, no matter what career path you take, the ability to make the right choice when it really matters is a skill that will serve you well for the entirety of your adult life. No doubt there are a thousand electives out there — in high schools and college humanities programs, not to mention business schools — that dabble in some of these decision-making themes. It’s time we brought them into the core.

https://medium.com/s/story/farsighted-decision-making-should-be-a-required-course-in-every-high-school-6b5a836c1e1e

Daniel Newman, Forbes

It’s that time of year again where we take a look at the top digital transformation trends in the coming year in several industries. First up: education. As we all know, the only thing constant in digital transformation is change. So, how have digital transformation trends in education changed as we move toward the coming decade? And what, if anything, has stayed the same? The following are my top picks for not just technology trends but overall shifts in how we’ll be learning and connecting through technology moving forward.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2019/08/01/top-5-digital-transformation-trends-in-education-for-2020/

Alex Woodie, Datanami

AI is having a moment in the sun. There’s no doubt about that. But despite the trillions in value that AI is expected to bring over the coming years thanks to widespread automation of repetitive tasks through emergent tech like neural networks, there’s a major issue dogging AI: the rules of road for what’s ethical and what’s not are vague, and that’s a problem. Vic Katyal, who heads up risk and security at Deloitte Consulting, advises large companies on how to think about AI and deal with ethical issues that arise.

https://www.datanami.com/2019/08/02/ai-ethics-still-in-its-infancy/

BY LAURA ASCIONE, eSchool News
A growing consensus recognizes educator micro-credentials as promising new professional learning resources.  Educator micro-credentials are gaining more mainstream acceptance, but it’s important to ensure the process surrounding micro-credentials is grounded in rigorous research, according to a new whitepaper from Digital Promise. The potential of these educator micro-credentials lies in their ability to help educators bolster their professional learning at scale, according to the report–they leverage an online tech platform that gives access to “competency-based, on-demand, personalized, and shareable opportunities to demonstrate and be recognized for their professional learning.”

https://www.eschoolnews.com/2019/03/08/research-educator-micro-credentials/

Bernard Marr, Forbes

The attribution of human feelings and beliefs to inanimate things is called anthropomorphism. It is important to keep this principle in mind and make use of it when creating responses that resonate with people. Consumers will become frustrated with a bot similar to how they would with a human if their queries don’t produce a helpful response. They always want to receive the right response at the right time. Anything less than that will lead to frustration.   There’s more than the technology to consider when building out a chatbot. Be intentional about your bot’s personality so that it can produce the best results for your company.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2019/08/02/why-ai-and-chatbots-need-personality/

BY LAURA ASCIONE, eSchool News
U.S. innovation depends on getting more girls in computer science classes and careers–here’s how to encourage more participation. The nation needs to engage more minorities and girls in computer science if it hopes to build a diverse and talented workforce–after all, great ideas and innovation don’t lie exclusively within white men’s brains. There has in recent years been a louder and more resounding call for girls to enter the coding world. This call is buoyed in large part by Computer Science Education Week, the Hour of Code, and extra-curricular coding groups for girls.

https://www.eschoolnews.com/2019/08/01/6-strategies-to-engage-girls-in-computer-science/

Karen Hao, MIT Technology Review

Experts agree AI will be important in 21st-century education—but how? While academics have puzzled over best practices, China hasn’t waited around. In the last few years, the country’s investment in AI-enabled teaching and learning has exploded. Tech giants, startups, and education incumbents have all jumped in. Tens of millions of students now use some form of AI to learn—whether through extracurricular tutoring programs like Squirrel AI, through digital learning platforms like 17ZuoYe, or even in their main classrooms. It’s the world’s biggest experiment on AI in education, and no one can predict the outcome.

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614057/china-squirrel-has-started-a-grand-experiment-in-ai-education-it-could-reshape-how-the/

Eric Johnson, Recode

So instead of selling giant hardcover textbooks like Calculus: Early Transcendentals (list price for a new hardcover copy: $277.20), Pearson is going to start renting digital textbooks for $40 to $80, updating them over the air. Next month, it will launch the first of a new series of mobile apps called Aida — a portmanteau of AI and Ada Lovelace — that will let calculus students take a picture of their homework and, Fallon said, get step-by-step corrections.

https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/8/2/20750863/john-fallon-pearson-education-textbook-digital-aida-teachers-kara-swisher-recode-decode-podcast

BY BRANDI THOMAS, eCampus News

While the use of OER (open educational resources) is often praised as a low-cost and more accessible alternative to physical textbooks, there’s still a lot of criticism surrounding OER courseware. Many educators are concerned about issues such as compatibility with existing learning management systems, quality of materials, course customization options, and more. But there is an often-overlooked middle ground between OER and traditional textbooks: enhanced OER courseware. This type of digital solution builds a course on a foundation of OER materials, then enhances it with ancillary materials such as analytics, assessments and videos.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2019/08/02/using-oer-courseware-to-improve-your-curriculum/

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology
When you’re converting a traditional face-to-face course to online, while a lot of the content may remain the same, the way it’s delivered and learned will, understandably, undergo change. A “mastery series” from the Online Learning Consortium (OLC), focused on instructional design, teaches the fundamentals of course design for effective online learning. Recently, longtime instructional designer Elisabeth Stucklen, one of the facilitators for the course, shared five areas to pay attention to as classes are being shifted to an online mode.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2019/07/10/5-quick-tips-for-improving-your-instructional-design.aspx

By Hallie Busta, Education Dive
Online program manager 2U lowered its growth expectations — again. It will launch fewer new programs and expects smaller program sizes going forward in response to growing competition for online education, it told analysts in a call Tuesday evening about its second-quarter earnings. The shift caused the value of the company’s stock to drop by 65% as of the market close Wednesday afternoon. 2U also revised down its growth projections last quarter, attributing the decision to increased selectivity among its university partners. The change of tack comes as the online education market crowds, with more players providing a range of program types and price points. That trend is reflected in 2U’s moves to broaden its offerings through acquisition.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/2u-slows-growth-plans-citing-rise-in-competition-for-online-education/559961/

Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

A new study that involved more than a million American high school students, found that adolescents who spent more time on screens (e.g., social media, the Internet, texting, gaming) and less time on non-screen activities, experienced lower psychological well-being. Adolescents who spend little time on electronic communication were the happiest. In short, technology makes teens unhappy, but why? What is it about technology that makes people unhappy? Psychologist, Dr. Ellen Hendriksen, puts forward five ways technology exacerbates anxiety in people.

https://www.thetechedvocate.org/5-ways-technology-is-making-students-anxious/

BY CONNOR BRADY, eCampus News

Virtual reality (VR) is continuing to grow in both popularity and accessibility. And more and more higher education institutions are embracing VR technology. According to Internet2’s 2018 VR/AR in Research and Education Study, 28% of higher education institutions are integrating VR into their campuses, and that number is only going up. With easy mobile access and affordable VR viewing hardware, more and more universities and colleges will find utility in offering immersive experiences for prospective students. But there are many different uses for VR. And once an education institution has proven some success in one area, the use of VR in applications like facilities management, fundraising, and other applications will become much more common.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2019/07/26/4-applications-for-vr-in-higher-education/

Abhijit Ahaskar, Live Mint
New Delhi: Computer programming, commonly referred to as coding, is currently one of the most coveted skills in the technology industry. With more organizations going online, there’s an increased demand for coders in almost every industry. According to market surveys, a basic coding job in JavaScript pays $22,000 (around ₹15 lakh today) per year, while those with programming skills in blockchain and artificial intelligence can earn around $80,000 per year. In case you are interested in adding coding skills to your resume, there are several online platforms dedicated entirely to coding, which can get you started with their simple, time-bound courses.

https://www.livemint.com/technology/tech-news/want-to-learn-programming-here-are-cost-effective-platforms-to-learn-coding-1564633955923.html