By Shalina Chatlani, Education Dive
The Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal net neutrality rules prohibiting Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from blocking certain types of web content or unfairly pricing companies for bandwidth intensive services — a move that came to the disappointment of several higher education associations, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education. Experts on the net neutrality regulation debate, however, contend the rollback would most likely impact entertainment platform providers, as accessing materials online versus streaming movies taxes the network infrastructure much differently — with basic online services not requiring much data or constant bandwidth consumption. Decisions on censoring content would be made by ISPs rather than the government, reports CIO Dive. With less government oversight and greater competition among ISPs, many insiders contend blocking content will happen responsibly, reports CIO Dive. However, others argue the repeal could mean higher costs for high-bandwidth sites and fewer small ISP providers, which might affect higher ed institutions that support data-intensive online learning if learning management systems face new significant costs, according to Inside Higher Ed.
December 31, 2017
What will the rollback of net neutrality mean for innovation in higher ed?
Harvard Medical School to Expand Online Medical Education in Egypt
by Harvard University
Harvard Medical School will offer online education to doctors-in-the-making and practicing clinicians affiliated with a pediatric cancer hospital in Egypt, the 57357 Children’s Cancer Hospital in Cairo. The coursework, part of Harvard Medical School’s innovative online learning program HMX Fundamentals, offers access to the knowledge and acumen of some of Harvard Medical School’s top physician-scientists and focuses on foundational subjects deemed fundamental for all frontline clinicians, not just specialists. “We are taking our knowledge beyond borders—a central tenet in the School’s philosophy—and are truly excited to offer access to a new group of learners,” said David Roberts, dean for external education at Harvard Medical School. “The materials and course work are ideally suited to help medical students and physicians in Egypt on their quest to improve pediatric health.”
https://hms.harvard.edu/news/beyond-borders
Share on FacebookHigher ed liberal arts degrees on the upswing
by Dawn Papandrea, University Business
Despite the big push for STEM majors and career-focused skills in recent years, the liberal arts seem to be making a resurgence. Liberal arts degree programs in 2016 ranked No. 1 for most completions as well as for the biggest increase in completions, higher ed consulting firm Gray Associates found in a recent analysis of IPEDS preliminary data. Liberal arts and sciences associate degrees led all 1,400-plus IPEDS Classification of Instructional programs with 251,393 completions. Among academic program groups, postbaccalaureate certificates in liberal arts and sciences, general studies and humanities had the biggest growth—56 percent (see chart).
https://www.universitybusiness.com/article/higher-ed-liberal-arts-degrees-upswing
Share on FacebookDecember 30, 2017
Where is technology taking the economy?
By W. Brian Arthur, McKinsey Quarterly
We are creating an intelligence that is external to humans and housed in the virtual economy. This is bringing us into a new economic era—a distributive one—where different rules apply. Technology can also help companies break out of the “teacher and classroom” (facilitator and workshop) model that so many still rely on, maximizing the value and organizational impact of what is taught and learned. Fast-paced digital learning is easier to embed in the day-to-day work flows of managers. Every successful leader tells stories of how he or she developed leadership capabilities by dealing with a real problem in a specific context, and our survey provides supporting evidence for these anecdotes: companies with successful leadership-development programs were four to five times more likely to require participants to apply their learnings in new settings over an extended period and to practice them in their job.
The case for digital reinvention
By Jacques Bughin, Laura LaBerge, and Anette Mellbye, McKinsey Quarterly
Digital technology, despite its seeming ubiquity, has only begun to penetrate industries. As it continues its advance, the implications for revenues, profits, and opportunities will be dramatic. As digitization penetrates more fully, it will dampen revenue and profit growth for some, particularly the bottom quartile of companies, according to our research, while the top quartile captures disproportionate gains. Bold, tightly integrated digital strategies will be the biggest differentiator between companies that win and companies that don’t, and the biggest payouts will go to those that initiate digital disruptions. Fast-followers with operational excellence and superior organizational health won’t be far behind. These findings emerged from a research effort to understand the nature, extent, and top-management implications of the progress of digitization.
Can CryptoKitties Teach the World About Blockchain?
By Ben Dickson, PCMag
The game lets you collect, raise, and breed unique digital cats on the Ethereum blockchain. No, that’s not a joke. Benny Giang DMed me on Twitter in early October about CryptoKitties. “We put the first breedable kitties onto the blockchain,” Giang wrote, adding “This may sound like an ICO scam or a joke but it’s neither.” Although I’m still having a hard time finding value in this modern-day Tamagotchi, I believe the viral growth of CryptoKitties might have positive effects on the evolution of the blockchain industry. Pokemon Go was a silly fad too, but it brought mainstream attention to smartphone-based augmented reality (AR), which had, up to that point, been a fringe technology.
https://www.pcmag.com/commentary/358018/can-digital-kitties-teach-the-world-about-blockchain
Share on FacebookDecember 29, 2017
For-Profit And Online Education: What’s Going On?
By ANYA KAMENETZ , KANW
Compared to several years ago when for-profit enrollment was at a peak, all these experts point out, one big thing has changed. There are now a group of big nonprofit and public institutions targeting working adults with workforce-focused, on-demand learning. In other words, these companies are following the playbook laid out by for-profits, but with a better reputation — at least for now. “Southern New Hampshire. Arizona State. Western Governors’. Now Purdue,” says McDonnell. “Who can argue that online isn’t the future of learning?” [SNHU has 63,000 students; ASU has 72,000; WGU 86,000; Purdue 74,000 online and on campus].
http://kanw.com/post/profit-and-online-education-whats-going
Share on FacebookCoursera Fights To Keep The Promise Of MOOCs Alive With Corporate Customer Push
by Alex Konrad, Forbes
With an industry-leading 30 million users and hundreds of millions in venture funding raised, Coursera is neither overnight success story nor startup failure. But to build a lasting business, its future increasingly depends on an area of focus that would’ve seemed unsexy in the headiest days of the MOOC rush, when it was racing against rivals such as Udacity and edX to reach new universities and millions of users. Like many startups before it, Coursera has grown up to chart a course closer to business-to-business software and the promise of larger, more consistent paychecks.
Share on FacebookMachine Learning and Higher Education
by Heath Yates and Craig Chamberlain, EDUCAUSE Review
Software is eating the world, so said Marc Andreesen in 2011.1 These days it seems that machine learning and its specialized algorithms are eating the software world.2 Is it thus a foregone conclusion that machine learning will play a significant role in disrupting technology and shaping our future? Machine learning concerns teaching machines to learn about something without explicit programming. At the core of machine learning is the idea of modeling and extracting useful information out of data. Societal trends clearly point to data as the resource of the future. Colleges and universities are already swimming in data, and there is much more on the way. Imagine a future in which computers are everywhere and interconnected with everything from clothes to refrigerators, phones, vending machines, and more.
https://er.educause.edu/articles/2017/12/machine-learning-and-higher-education
Share on FacebookDecember 28, 2017
UMass plans to go national with an expanded online program
By Deirdre Fernandes, Boston Globe
The University of Massachusetts is planning a major expansion of its online education programs, turning to a highly paid executive as it challenges more-entrenched competitors across the country. Facing a decline in college-age students in Massachusetts and uncertainty about state funding of higher education, the university system believes it can find new money by serving out-of-state students willing to enroll in online programs. Currently, the University of Massachusetts markets its online offerings only regionally.
Share on FacebookEnrollment Slide Continues, at Slower Rate
By Paul Fain, Inside Higher Ed
College enrollments in the U.S. decline for a sixth straight year — although at a slower rate — while the bachelor’s degree got more popular. Overall college enrollments in the U.S. have declined for a sixth straight year, according to new data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, but at the slowest pace since the slide began. The 1 percent decline this fall was due to undergraduate enrollments, which fell by nearly 224,000 students, or 1.4 percent. Among undergraduates, the center found an enrollment decrease of 2.3 percent for associate-degree seekers, and a 10.7 percent drop for students pursuing certificates or other nondegree credentials. But enrollments were up 1.5 percent among four-year-degree seekers.
Share on FacebookEastern Washington adopts Microsoft’s data science program
by Shalina Chatlani, Education Dive
Eastern Washington University has adopted courses from Microsoft’s Professional Program in Data Science, a move that officials said allowed it to quickly develop a degree in specialized data analytics. The new courses allow students to complete a BS in data analytics and earn a professional credential from Microsoft, according EWU’s website.
Initiatives like this one are proliferating among tech companies as they try to fill the shortage of graduates with expertise in data and computer science, said Charles Eaton, executive vice president for social innovation at the Computing Technology Industry Association, in an article in The Hechinger Report. Statistics show 40% of employers have trouble finding workers with these skills, according to Hechinger.
In addition to Microsoft, other companies like Linux are teaming up with institutions such as MIT and Harvard through edX, the online learning and MOOC provider, to offer online courses that provide students specialized skills, along with exercises in critical thinking and collaboration.
https://www.educationdive.com/news/eastern-washington-adopts-microsofts-data-science-program/513334/
Share on FacebookDecember 27, 2017
Virtual High Schools: 2017 Top Stories
By Cait Etherington, eLearning Inside
Virtual high schools certainly made headlines in 2017. From coming to the rescue of thousands of displaced students following this fall’s hurricanes to creating new options for students living in rural and isolated communities, virtual high schools not only expanded but gained currency over the course of the past year. Here’s a recap of just some of eLearningInside News‘ top virtual high school stories.
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What to Expect in an Online Public Health Master’s Program
By Jordan Friedman, US News
Online MPH programs typically have a practicum requirement where students work at a health organization, experts say. Though whether students can or must attend an on-campus residency varies, experts say most online MPH degrees do have a face-to-face practicum requirement. These typically allow students to apply what they learn in the classroom to real-life situations, says Todd Nicolet, vice dean for the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health, which is launching an online MPH with a public health leadership concentration in 2018.
Share on FacebookWarning: Cyber breaches more likely over holiday break
By Alison DeNisco Rayome, Tech Republic
Poor employee cyber hygiene may put companies at heightened risk for attack over the holiday break, according to a new report from T-Systems. T-Systems, the corporate IT and cybersecurity arm of Europe’s largest telecom company, Deutsche Telekom, warns companies that security risks abound when companies allow employees to work over Christmas. Of those surveyed, 24% said they use free Wi-Fi hotspots to access work-related emails and documents while out of the office, the report found—a major risk, as these insecure portals are easy for hackers to clone. Further, 10% of employees said they use free USB charging points at airports and stations, which can be used to transfer viruses and malware to unsuspecting victims.
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/warning-cyber-breaches-more-likely-over-holiday-break/
Share on FacebookDecember 26, 2017
New Media Consortium Suddenly Ceases Operations
By Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology
In an e-mail announcement, the New Media Consortium revealed that it will cease operations immediately. The e-mail stated: “The New Media Consortium (NMC) regrets to announce that because of apparent errors and omissions by its former Controller and Chief Financial Officer, the organization finds itself insolvent. Consequently, NMC must cease operations immediately. “NMC would like to sincerely thank our loyal and dedicated community for its many vital contributions since its inception in 1994. NMC is grateful to its current executive director and NMC staff for their tireless efforts to connect people at the intersection of innovation and technology.”
Survey: 94% of Students Want to Use Their Cell Phones in Class
By Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology
A whopping 94 percent of students in a recent survey said they want to use their cell phones in class for academic purposes. The survey found that a large number of students — 75 percent — believe using personal devices in the classroom has improved their ability to learn and retain information. Fifty-eight percent of respondents use their phones to take pictures of lecture slides; 41 percent use them to Google answers to in-class questions; and 39 percent use them to access a digital textbook. On the other hand, 54 percent also use cell phones to text friends and 52 percent use them to browse social media during class.
Share on FacebookImpatient with universities’ slow pace of change, employers go around them
by John Marcus, the Hechinger Report
“There’s just a giant gap there,” said Sean Gallagher, executive director of the Center for the Future of Higher Education and Talent Strategy at Northeastern University. Fewer graduates are emerging from the pipeline than are needed, he said. “I think that’s why the tech sector has been the place where these alternative models are being pioneered.” Tired of waiting, Microsoft, Linux and other employers have teamed up with edX, a collaboration started by Harvard and MIT to provide online education that is much easier than brick-and-mortar programs to keep up to date and to disseminate to vast numbers of students simultaneously. Microsoft, Linux and other employers have teamed up with edX, a collaboration started by Harvard and MIT to provide online courses, which are easier to keep updated than conventional university courses in fast-changing fields such as tech.
http://hechingerreport.org/impatient-universities-slow-pace-change-employers-go-around/
Share on FacebookDecember 25, 2017
OER Adoptions on the Rise
by Lindsay McKenzie, Inside Higher Ed
The number of faculty members choosing open educational resources over traditional textbooks has nearly doubled in the last year, but awareness over all remains low. More and more instructors are choosing open educational resources over traditional textbooks, a survey of more than 2,700 faculty members reveals. The “Opening the Textbook” survey, published by the Babson Survey Research Group today, reports that the number of faculty members at two- and four-year institutions using OER as textbooks has nearly doubled in the last year — from 5 percent in 2015-16 to 9 percent in 2016-17.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/12/19/more-faculty-members-are-using-oer-survey-finds
Share on FacebookProfessions that pay for college tuition
by Affordable Colleges Online
Per the Institute for College Access and Success, seven in 10 college graduates had student loan debt in 2014, averaging nearly $29,000 each. The number of students who have debt continues to increase, as does the actual average; in 2016 the Wall Street Journal reported the average amount of debt per college graduate had increased 28 percent, to just over $37,000. But students don’t have to follow this intimidating trend. In addition to common financial aid options like loans, grants and scholarships, there are many other ways to help minimize and even zero-out the cost.
https://www.affordablecollegesonline.org/college-resource-center/professions-that-pay-tuition/
Share on FacebookLeveraging tech for learning and college administration
by University Business
An increase in technology spending is the gift that about 4 in 10 campus technology administrators are unwrapping to start the new year. Sixteen percent of the 96 respondents to a UB survey, however, must deal with a decrease in spending. The top area getting significant investment in 2018 is academic technology. One respondent (from an institution with 10,000 to 15,000 students) noted that leveraging technology is certainly not just a tech leader’s domain but rather a must for all higher ed executives.
https://www.universitybusiness.com/article/leveraging-tech-learning-and-college-administration
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