Educational Technology

June 24, 2021

Thanks to advancements in online education, MBAs are surging

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:30 am

By Erika Welz, New York
The MBA is not dead.  In fact, its demand is seeing a resurgence, in part due to increasing accessibility thanks to an online format. For those already earning a decent salary and leading too-busy lives, taking the time out to complete a physical, two-year MBA program is not always practical, making the pandemic boost to online learning a boon. “Now, more types of business professionals are going for online MBAs. There’s so much growth here,” said Lance Lambert, editorial director of Fortune Education, a hub curated by a team of expert journalists designed to help readers develop skills and advance their careers.

https://nypost.com/2021/06/13/thanks-to-advancements-in-online-education-mbas-are-surging/

Share on Facebook

June 23, 2021

We need true universal internet access now

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:40 am

Virginia Mercury

Today, nearly 15 million American families struggle to obtain fast broadband access because they cannot afford it. Millions of others have no access at all. The private sector has invested billions in broadband infrastructure, yet we still leave countless Americans without meaningful access to this necessity. The problem gets worse the poorer you are. According to the Pew Research Center, among families making between $30,000 and $50,000 a year, 26 percent do not have broadband at home. For households earning less than $30,000 a year, 43 percent do not have broadband at home.

https://www.virginiamercury.com/2021/06/09/we-need-true-universal-internet-access-now/

Share on Facebook

The future of teaching and learning

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:34 am

Harvard Gazette

In February, the University convened the Harvard Task Force on the Future of Teaching and Learning to systematically explore how the University can build on the creativity, experiments, and inventions that its faculty applied to remote teaching during the pandemic, and the novel ways they found, during a challenging time, to connect to both its residential and global communities. Seventeen faculty, leaders, and administrators from across Harvard’s Schools and units comprise the task force, which has been meeting regularly throughout the spring semester, delving into survey data and conducting in-depth interviews to learn more about what kinds of courses, learning platforms, and technological innovations have most effectively reached students

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/06/harvard-convenes-task-force-on-the-future-of-teaching-and-learning/

Share on Facebook

COVID-19 drives steep decline in US student enrollment

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:30 am

Nathan M Greenfield, University World News
One year into the COVID pandemic, American colleges and universities have suffered the greatest decline in enrolment in a decade, with 603,000 fewer Americans enrolled in college or university than were enrolled last year. This represents a 3.5% drop in the number of students in higher education, seven times greater than the year-on-year decline recorded in the spring of 2020 at the start of the pandemic, says a study from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC).

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20210611133456678

Share on Facebook

June 22, 2021

US universities in prolonged international ranking decline

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:39 am

University World News
Overall, 177 American universities are ranked out of a total of 1,300 institutions in the QS World University Rankings 2022. But of these 177, some 91 have declined in rank (51.4%), while 29 improve their position (16.4%); 38 remain neutral within their rank or band (21.5%) and 19 are new entrants into the table. Although Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) celebrates an unprecedented, unbroken decade as the world’s top university, the overall picture of a downward trend is better reflected in Harvard University (fifth) falling to its lowest position in the history of the rankings. The US’s top 10 universities were Massachusetts Institute of Technology (first), Stanford (joint third), Harvard (fifth), California Institute of Technology (sixth), University of Chicago (10th), University of Pennsylvania (13th), Yale University (joint 14th), Columbia University (19th), Princeton University (20th) and Cornell University (21st).

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20210612090946265

Share on Facebook

Two key digital transformation trends in higher ed

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:32 am

Charlie Meyer, eCampus News

While most industries are becoming increasingly digitized, higher education remains noticeably resistant to digital transformation. Although higher education offers some options for virtual learning, the majority of programs still rely on in-person education.That is, until the pandemic created upheaval and transformed the entire experience. In a matter of days, higher education institutions had to adapt to online learning for students, virtual appointments for student services, and remote working for staff. Better investments are needed for all aspects of the online education experience, from classrooms and curriculum to student support. Hybrid learning environments are also pivotal for the future of higher education and its digital transformation.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2021/06/10/two-key-digital-transformation-trends-in-higher-ed/

Share on Facebook

Leaders who embrace on-job learning and listen to employees have more resilient teams

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:31 am

Rice University, Science Daily

Leaders who encourage their employees to learn on the job and speak up with ideas and suggestions for change have teams that are more effective and resilient in the face of unexpected situations, according to new research from Rice University and the University of Windsor. The researchers specifically examined the interactions of 48 teams from five Canadian technology startups. “Understanding what organizations can do to help employees become more resilient is the focus our work in my Working Resilience Research Laboratory,” King said. “This research project offered an opportunity to uncover the important role of leadership and employee voice in the resilience process.”

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/06/210610173947.htm

Share on Facebook

June 21, 2021

Coding bootcamps and 4-year colleges have nearly identical percentage of alumni employed at Big Five

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:40 am

Jonathan Grieg, ZdNet

The study measured the bootcamps against computer science departments at eight colleges, finding that “coding bootcamps offered competitive employment results compared to computer science degrees from top universities, at around 10% of the cost.” Most of the bootcamps had lower alumni employment rates at the major tech companies compared to the most prestigious institutions likes University of California-Berkeley, Stanford University, and Cornell University. But average employment at major tech companies was similar for computer science graduates and bootcamp alumni overall, according to the study. Product School, App Academy, and Coding Dojo managed to beat out alumni of the computer science departments at The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Georgetown University, and Boston University for jobs at the Big Five.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/coding-bootcamps-and-4-year-colleges-have-nearly-identical-percentage-of-alumni-employed-at-big-five-report/

Share on Facebook

Q&A: Georgia Tech Researcher Discusses How AI can Improve Student Success

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:35 am

Amelia Pang, EdTech

The Georgia Institute of Technology’s AI teaching assistant Jill Watson turned 5 years old in January. Since the birth of Jill, Georgia Tech has gone on to produce groundbreaking new research that reveals how conversations between humans and bots can be used to improve user experiences. A recent research paper titled “Towards Mutual Theory of Mind in Human-AI Interaction: How Language Reflects What Students Perceive About a Virtual Teaching Assistant” explores how to build chatbots that can conduct natural and prolonged conversations. In a Q&A with EdTech: Focus on Higher Education, Qiaosi Wang, lead author of the paper and a Ph.D. student in human-centered computing at Georgia Tech’s Design and Intelligence Lab, discusses the implications of the paper’s findings for higher education.

https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2021/06/qa-georgia-tech-researcher-discusses-how-ai-can-improve-student-success

Share on Facebook

Hybrid learning, online credentials will survive edtech ‘hype cycle,’ edX CEO says

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:30 am

Emily Bamforth, EdScoop

Hybrid learning will escape the “hype cycle” that built up massive open online courses in past years, Anant Agarwal, chief executive of the online learning platform EdX, said during MIT Technology Review’s annual conference on Tuesday. The pandemic caused major shifts in education that stand up the future of stackable credentials and “micro-courses,” he said. These shorter, often-online courses are now making headlines as part of a new normal in education, similar to the attention that massive open online courses did in 2012, Agarwal said. These shifts include a move toward online, lifelong learning and a shift to blended learning on campus that could further build the relationships between higher education institutions and online course providers like EdX.

https://edscoop.com/anant-agarwal-hybrid-learning-online-credentials-hype-cycle/

Share on Facebook

June 20, 2021

University Of Illinois System Awarded $1 Million Open Textbook Pilot Grant

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:40 am

Senator Dick Durbin

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the University of Illinois (U of I) System has been awarded $1.08 million from the U.S. Department of Education’s Open Textbooks Pilot Program – a competitive grant program based on Durbin’s Affordable College Textbook Act.  The funding will support the creation and expand the use of open college textbooks – textbooks that are available under an open license, allowing professors, students, researchers, and others to freely access the materials.  The University of Illinois System is one of nine grant recipients nationwide selected for Fiscal Year 2021. Later this month, Durbin will be leading a group of Senators in requesting an additional $25 million for the program in Fiscal Year 2022 to support additional grants and savings for students.

https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/university-of-illinois-system-awarded-1-million-open-textbook-pilot-grant

Share on Facebook

Online learning will be a bigger priority post-pandemic, college officials say

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:35 am

Natalie Schwartz, Higher Ed Dive

More than three-quarters of college chief online officers believe their institutions’ online undergraduate enrollment will increase as a result of switching to remote learning during the pandemic. The sixth Changing Landscape of Online Education report surveyed 422 chief online officers about how their colleges adapted to the health crisis during the fall term and how their attitudes toward online education have shifted. Nearly nine in 10 respondents said online learning is a greater priority for their schools than before the pandemic. The survey suggests the move to remote learning in 2020 will bring lasting changes to higher education, including the adoption of more online courses and programs.

https://www.highereddive.com/news/online-learning-will-be-a-bigger-priority-post-pandemic-college-officials/601484/

Share on Facebook

Beyond COVID-19: What’s Next for Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education?

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:30 am

John Nworie, EDUCAUSE Review

The pandemic tested the resilience of colleges and universities as they executed online learning on a massive scale by creating online courses, adopting and adapting to unfamiliar technologies, engaging faculty en masse in remote teaching, and successfully meeting the instructional needs of students. Those experiences and lessons should not be discarded. The next phase for higher education in a post-COVID-19 world is to harness what worked well during the emergency response period and use those experiences to improve institutional practices for the benefit of both internal and external constituencies in the future.

https://er.educause.edu/articles/2021/5/beyond-covid-19-whats-next-for-online-teaching-and-learning-in-higher-education

 

Share on Facebook

June 19, 2021

5 Things to Consider When Launching a Hybrid JD Program

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:41 am

Stephen Burnett, All Campus
By taking the proper steps to incorporate online and hybrid education into your JD and other degree programs, your institution can help usher in a new era of legal education—one that supports a more diverse student body and more accessible legal education for all. Although institutions across all educational disciplines saw explosive online growth in 2020, law schools possibly saw the most revolutionary change. The American Bar Association (ABA) indefinitely parked its Standard 306 distance education rules during the pandemic, allowing law schools to exceed the cap of online credit hours allowed for an ABA-accredited JD degree.

 

https://www.law.com/legaltechnews/2021/06/07/5-things-to-consider-when-launching-a-hybrid-jd-program/?slreturn=20210507180647

Share on Facebook

Lacking Online Programs, Many Colleges Are Rushing to Partner with OPMs. Should They?

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:35 am

Robert Ubell, EdSurge

Recognizing their failure to prepare for a digital future—after a year of so-so emergency remote instruction—higher ed leaders are now trying to make up for lost virtual decades by rushing to partner with online program managers (OPMs), commercial vendors who help colleges deliver and market online programs. Thanks to the pandemic, OPMs now reap the benefits of higher ed’s procrastination. Not until the health crisis forced campuses to close physical classrooms did so many colleges see the cost of their failure to act sooner.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2021-06-07-lacking-online-programs-many-colleges-are-rushing-to-partner-with-opms-should-they

Share on Facebook

How to provide online learning and skills training to youth in low-bandwidth areas

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:30 am

NAMITA DATTAKASIA JAKIMOWICZSUNAMIKA SINGH, World Bank

If online classes aren’t accessible to youth in rural, remote, disconnected areas, the youth will be further left behind in school and the job market. Different delivery models can address the bandwidth challenge and create an engaging experience while recognizing the local particularities of learners. But the nature of online delivery models depends on the level of bandwidth and the level of interaction needed between students and instructors. In a new Solutions For Youth Employment (S4YE) Knowledge Brief, we highlight five different strategies that we see some of our partners using to effectively reach youth in low bandwidth areas.

https://blogs.worldbank.org/jobs/how-provide-online-learning-and-skills-training-youth-low-bandwidth-areas

Share on Facebook

June 18, 2021

After pandemic year, universities find flexibility in distance learning

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:40 am

Nicholas Piotrowicz, The Toledo Blade

Fifteen months later, however, schools like UT and Bowling Green State University were left with an invaluable trial-and-error period for virtual expansion and data that could mold how both local four-year universities use distance learning in the future. BGSU, for example, plans to launch a doctorate of physical therapy program that aims to blend the best of both worlds. The courses are slated to be fully online, though the must-have clinical aspects will remain in person. “We’re strategically looking at things like that: How can we expand delivery of programs in such a way that it helps address critical needs in the economy and also makes it more convenient for traditional and non-traditional students?” said BGSU provost Joe. B. Whitehead, Jr.

https://news.yahoo.com/pandemic-universities-flexibility-distance-learning-183200927.html

Share on Facebook

For some former college students, the pandemic opened a door to finish their degrees

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:35 am

Luaren Lumpkin, Washington Post

The shift to virtual learning during the pandemic made college more accessible to millions of students who juggle school with full-time jobs, caregiving responsibilities or health issues. “The ability to take virtual classes absolutely changed it for me,” Broderick said. She earned her degree in May, the end of a journey that started in 1998. “If you would have told me a year ago I would have finally finished my degree in a year, I would have laughed.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/06/06/college-dropouts-return-virtual-learning/

Share on Facebook

A blend of in-person and online learning is becoming the norm. Post-pandemic, let’s make it work

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:30 am

Karim Bardeesy, Toronto Star

There’s been a lot of loss for young adults, especially college and university students, in this pandemic. Loved ones. Jobs. Friendships and connections. A sense of promise about the future. But one other thing has been taken away that, in the eyes of many students, was no big loss: the commute. My students at Ryerson University regularly shared the benefits of the extra hours they no longer had to spend in transit — a chance to sleep in, to work a job at home or just to get more reading done without a crowded bus’s bumps and swerves.

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2021/06/06/a-blend-of-in-person-and-online-learning-is-becoming-the-norm-post-pandemic-lets-make-it-work.html

Share on Facebook

June 17, 2021

Educating the deep generalist for tomorrow’s world

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:40 am

Salil Sahadevan, University World News

No one specific skill will be enough in the future. Instead, we need a way of thinking that connects multiple fields, says Vikram Mansharamani of Harvard University. Deep generalists are modern-day polymaths, whose knowledge is deeper than that of generalists and broader than that of specialists. The idea is not to discard specialisation; on the contrary, it is to blend knowledge units from different fields and make each one of us a cross-disciplinary thinker. Most of our educational choices are currently guided by the logic of the past, which favours specialisation. We need to overhaul this and create new tools to address an uncertain future.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20210601082354427

Share on Facebook

More American students need an ‘empathy-infused’ international education

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:35 am

Mary Beth Marklein, University World News
NAFSA, a United States organisation that advocates for international education, kicked off its annual conference on Tuesday 1 June with a talk by peripatetic journalist Nicholas Kristof, who said humility is one of the most valuable lessons he has learned in his travels around the world. Humility “breeds a certain amount of empathy”, which “makes it harder to demonise people”, said Kristof, who is known for his coverage of complex issues around global poverty, gender inequality and human rights for the New York Times.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20210602123427641

 

Share on Facebook
« Newer PostsOlder Posts »

Powered by WordPress