What a Million Syllabuses Can Teach Us

By JOE KARAGANIS and DAVID McCLURE, NY Times

Over the past two years, we and our partners at the Open Syllabus Project (based at the American Assembly at Columbia) have collected more than a million syllabuses from university websites. We have also begun to extract some of their key components — their metadata — starting with their dates, their schools, their fields of study and the texts that they assign. This past week, we made available online a beta version of our Syllabus Explorer,  http://explorer.opensyllabusproject.org/, which allows this database to be searched. Our hope and expectation is that this tool will enable people to learn new things about teaching, publishing and intellectual history.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/24/opinion/sunday/what-a-million-syllabuses-can-teach-us.html

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Creating a Collaboration Hub

By Michael Hart, Campus Technology

It took some time as well as a lot of planning and discussion, but Ribble and his colleagues got what they wanted when the new Center for Sciences and Innovation opened in early 2015. The $127-million, five-story, 280,000-square foot building is home to eight academic departments, the McNair Scholars Program, the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship — and “The Cube.” The official name of “The Cube” is the Innovation Center, an approximately 10,000-square-foot glass-enclosed space that ostensibly is the site of the university’s engineering science and computer teaching lab. However, it is best known as the hub of the entire building, a place that Chemistry professor Nancy Mills said offers students and faculty a rare opportunity.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/01/20/creating-a-collaboration-hub.aspx

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College admissions now using social media like never before

by Ron Bethke, eCampus News

A new survey reveals that college admissions officers’ use of resources like Facebook and Google to gather more information on applicants has reached an all-time high. According to the results of a new Kaplan Test Prep survey, a higher percentage of United States college admissions officers visit the social media pages of applicants in order to learn more about them.For the 2015 survey, 387 admissions officers from the nation’s top national, regional and liberal arts colleges and universities were polled by telephone between July and August 2015. It was found that 40 percent of admissions officers visit applicants’ social media profiles to research them more in depth, which represents a record high that is also quadruple the percentage of affirmative respondents from when Kaplan first explored the trend in 2008.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/admissions-social-media-554/

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14 Tips to Make BYOD Programs Work for You

By Patrick Peterson, THE Journal

Schools that experiment with bring-your-own-device policies have reduced their costs but must cope with a variety of student devices, some of which don’t meet minimum standards for computer instruction. And if a student misuses a device, it could be taken away from him or her, creating the exact opposite situation that benefits education. Naturally, the student who is prone to misuse a device is often a student who needs the device most. Textbooks don’t generate such tricky issues. “How many teachers take away a textbook because students are misbehaving with it?” said West Coast-based educator Susan Brooks-Young, one of a trio of experts who conducted a BYOD workshop at FETC 2016 in Orlando. The educators who attended the workshop listed the pros and cons of having students supply their own computers for schoolwork.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/01/19/make-byod-programs-work-for-you.aspx

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New professional development focuses on engagement through gaming

by eSchool News

The ever-increasing omnipresence of digital media in student’s lives can be challenging for teachers as they compete for kid’s attention in and out of the classroom. With this in mind, Teach n’ Kids Learn (TKL) and DimensionU have teamed up to create a robust Online Professional Development course that supports teachers’ instruction in mathematics and language arts through gamification, quickly and easily. Included for K-12 educators who enroll in the course by February 15, 2016, is a free DimensionU Class License (for up to 30 students), through the remainder of this school year.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2016/01/25/new-professional-development-focuses-on-engagement-through-gaming/

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6 apps to help parents and teachers communicate

By Laura Devaney, eSchool News

Educators know that students’ home lives play an integral role in their academic success. Communication between teachers and parents makes it easier for educators to understand the outside challenges students may deal with, and it helps parents understand how they can better support their children in school.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2016/01/22/6-apps-to-help-parents-and-teachers-communicate/

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Wiki Education says 2016 is the Wikipedia Year of Science

by  John Timmer, Ars Technica

We recently published a bit of a rant about many Wikipedia science entries leaving a lot to be desired. In response, we were informed that an effort to improve that situation was already brewing. In fact, we’re now happy to point out that the Wiki Education Foundation has declared 2016 the Wikipedia Year of Science. A variety of activities aim to beef up the encyclopedia’s science content. The Wiki Education Foundation is a nonprofit that helps provide teachers and college-level instructors with the tools they need to get their students engaged in projects intended to improve Wikipedia. For example, the teachers could assign a class to improve entires in a specific topic area and use materials provided by the foundation to help the students edit entries and provide proper references.

http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/01/wiki-education-says-2016-is-the-wikipedia-year-of-science/

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Going The Distance: Part-Time Online Learning Lacking

By AARON SCHRANK, Wyoming Public Radio

At Powell High School, students can blend their classroom learning with an online course or two. “They could be taking a foreign language such as German that we don’t offer,” says Park County Superintendent Kevin Mitchell. “They could be taking science classes that we don’t offer.” The District offers online classes through Florida Virtual School, which serves more than 200,000 students worldwide—most of them part-timers. Mitchell says his district spends about $88,000 a year on online learning—and it’s worth it, not only for the new subject matter, but also because students are learning how to learn online.

http://wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/going-distance-part-time-online-learning-lacking

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Samsung Opening VR Production Studio in New York

By DAVID MURPHY, PC Magazine

Step one: Make virtual reality headset. Step two: Make virtual reality experiences people can enjoy using said headset. Step three: Sit back and profit. It’s a simple version of what’s likely Samsung’s plan, we’ll admit, but it’s probably pretty close to the truth. According to a new report from CNET, Samsung executives appearing at this year’s Sundance film festival annonuced that the company is going to be opening up a special studio in New York that will be tasked with creating new virtual reality content.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2498343,00.asp

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Personalized Learning: Creating a Relevant Learning Culture for the Next Generation

by Center for Digital Education

Personalized learning – where students take ownership of their learning and collaborate with instructors to design an education plan that works for them – is enticing education leaders as a way to transform the traditional education model, increase student engagement and improve achievement. But while personalized learning is certainly promising, a recent CDE survey of 215 IT leaders in K-20 education shows the concept has not been widely implemented in K-12 or higher education. Just 20 percent of K-12 respondents and 15 percent of higher education respondents reporting having created a personalized learning culture.

http://www.centerdigitaled.com/paper/Personalized-Learning-Creating-a-Relevant-Learning-Culture-for-the-Next-Generation-8132.html

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UGA professor contributes to new science education guidelines

by Kristen Morales, Online Athens

A new report released this week will give lawmakers, school officials and others specific direction when it comes to supporting and strengthening science teacher learning, says a University of Georgia professor who contributed to the effort. The report, “Science Teachers’ Learning: Enhancing Opportunities, Creating Supportive Contexts,” produced by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, assesses and discusses essential learning opportunities for elementary, middle and high school science teachers. The book also recommends new lines of research and steps administrators and lawmakers can take to strengthen science education in the U.S.

http://onlineathens.com/uga/2016-01-23/uga-professor-contributes-new-science-education-guidelines

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Venture Capital In EdTech Is Booming

by Karis Hustad, ChicagoInno

Education technology, or edtech, had an impressive fourth quarter in terms of venture capital investments, according to new KPMG/CB Insights data. There were just over $1 billion in investments in Q4 2015, up 300 percent over the $295 million in investments seen in Q3 2015, and significantly higher than the $474 million raised in Q2, and $694 million raised in Q1, according to the KPMG and CB Insights Q4 Venture Pulse study. So does this mean the beginning of the edtech boom? According to experts it bodes well for certain companies, but the edtech industry still lags far behind most industries when it comes to fundraising.

http://chicagoinno.streetwise.co/2016/01/19/edtech-investments-up-to-1b-in-q4-2015-according-to-kpmg-and-cb-insights/

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School districts equipped with online learning options aren’t hindered by snow closures.

by D. Frank Smith, EdTech

Illinois is taking part in a trend that’s sweeping school districts across the country: Turning snow days into online learning days. When weather becomes treacherous, most districts choose to close schools for the duration. But in recent years, districts that have built up an online infrastructure are able to extend learning beyond the classroom. This means students spend more time learning and less time sledding. Starting this school year, three school districts in Illinois — Leyden High School District 212, Community High School District 94 and Gurnee Elementary District 56 — have schools that are piloting a three-year E-Learning Day program. The program kicks into action when schools must be closed due to “an act or acts of God, or was occasioned by conditions beyond the control of the school district which posed a hazardous threat to the health and safety of pupils,” according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2016/01/online-learning-options-combat-snow-day-closures-across-country

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Interview with Anant Agarwal, CEO, edX

by Natalie Marsh, PIE News

edX is an online learning destination, our goal is to reimagine the world of education. We were set up as a non-profit four years ago, with the aim as I said of reimagining education. We partner with some of the best universities and institutions in the world who offer courses and programmes on edX and learners all over the world can take these courses. So very simply put, we were set up to create, to be thinking about what should the future of education should look like, both online and at universities. Today we are at six million unique learners all over the world, we have learners from every single country in the world. Depending on who you talk to there is between 196-228 countries and we have learners from every country in the world. We have about 100 institutional partners, about 750 courses on edX and we have over 20 million course enrolments that have been taken.

http://thepienews.com/pie-chat/anant-agarwal-ceo-edx-usa/

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MIT’s 7 Best Free Online Courses: Quantum Physics and Making Video Games

by Jacqueline Ronson, Inverse

You don’t need to go to Cambridge to enjoy all the fun of a wildly expensive education. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a global leader on open-access education. Of course, with so many subjects to choose from, it’s hard to know where to start. We’re here to help. Here are some introductory-level courses, including video lectures, that you’ll probably want to get started on today.

https://www.inverse.com/article/10437-mit-s-7-best-free-online-courses-quantum-physics-and-making-video-games

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eLearning Program Could Bring End to Snow Days

By Sarah Schulte, ABC 7 Chicago

A new e-learning program could mean the end of snow days for some students. The program being tested in three school districts brings a virtual classroom into students’ homes on days when the weather prevents them from going to school. While there haven’t been any snow days for Chicago area students this year, that wasn’t the case the past two winters, when school was canceled several times. Parents say it wasn’t good for their kids. Avoiding the books on snow days won’t be an option this year for Leyden High School District 212. The western suburban school district is one of three in the Chicago area chosen for a new pilot program that allows students to take classes online at home during snow days.

http://abc7chicago.com/education/e-learning-pilot-program-could-bring-end-to-snow-days/1168785/

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Google Offers New Deep Learning Course on Udacity

By A.R. Guess, Dataversity

Jordan Novet reports in VentureBeat, “Google today announced that it’s bringing a deep learning course to massively open online course (MOOC) provider Udacity. Deep learning is an increasingly popular type of artificial intelligence. Generally speaking, it involves training artificial neural networks on lots of data — like pictures — and then getting them to make inferences about new data based on what they know.

http://www.dataversity.net/google-offers-new-deep-learning-course-on-udacity/

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EdTech: Wharton Launches Big Data, Entrepreneurship Moocs With Silicon Valley’s Coursera

by Seb Murray, Business Because

Pennsylvania’s Wharton School has announced it will offer two new online programs through Silicon Valley-based online learning start-up Coursera. The digital courses, focusing on entrepreneurship and financial modelling, are the latest in a stream of tie-ups between elite US business schools and Mooc, or massive open online course, providers. Online learning platforms have delved deeper into entrepreneurial education in recent years, as start-up founders seek the flexibility not afforded by costly, full-time, campus programs.

http://www.businessbecause.com/news/mba-distance-learning/3732/wharton-launches-new-moocs-with-coursera

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Google Expeditions Takes Students on VR Tours of Great Barrier Reef, Buckingham Palace

By David Nagel, THE Journal

Google has added two new virtual reality tours to its Google Expeditions Pioneer Program, a VR platform designed specifically for classroom use and available free for schools. The two new programs include tours of Buckingham Palace and the Great Barrier Reef. The GBR program was developed by David Attenborough and Alchemy VR, which provides a 360-degree tour of the reef and the marine life it supports. For the Buckingham Palace Expedition, Google has also released a YouTube 3D video that’s accessible to the public (seen below). When viewing on a mobile phone, the user can change the point of view of the video fluidly in 360 degrees simply by moving the device around. Settings also allow for stereoscopic 3D for a more immersive experience.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/01/20/google-expeditions-takes-students-on-vr-tours-of-great-barrier-reef-buckingham-palace.aspx

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How to really erase any drive — even SSDs — in 2016

By Robin Harris, ZD Net

You may already know that “deleting” a file does nothing of the sort. Securely erasing drives before you sell a computer keeps your personal information from falling into the wrong hands. Good news: it’s easier than ever to fully erase data. There are easier and safer methods for erasing hard drives – including SSDs – than 10 years ago. Windows has two easy methods and Mac OS X has another. They are built into the operating system and are free to use. But I also include another method for regulated industries or frequent erasures.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-really-erase-any-drive-even-ssds-in-2016/

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Mozilla co-founder unveils Brave, a browser that blocks ads by default

by Sebastian Anthony, Ars Technica

Brave will replace blocked ads with its own ads, taking a 15% cut of revenues. Brendan Eich, co-founder of Mozilla and creator of the JavaScript programming language, has unveiled his latest project: Brave, a Web browser that blocks ads by default… and then replaces those blocked ads with its own ads. Brave Software, the company behind the eponymous browser, will take a 15 percent cut of the ad revenue generated in this way. Brave is an open-source Web browser. If you want to try out Brave, you have to download and build the browser from a GitHub repo. You can sign up to be a beta tester, which presumably grants you some pre-built binaries, but there’s currently a waiting list.

http://arstechnica.com/business/2016/01/mozilla-co-founder-unveils-brave-a-web-browser-that-blocks-ads-by-default/

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EdTech: Mooc Platforms Force B-Schools To Embrace Blended Online/Campus Learning

by Seb Murray, Business Because

In biz ed, the New Year brings fresh obstacles for the decades’ old institutions trying to stay relevant in a hyper-connected educational landscape. Further disruption beckons for even the world’s top business schools, who face a cocktail of threats from online challengers like Lynda.com, whose whizzy tech platforms are snatching students away from traditional degree programs. The rise of online learning has b-school bosses vexed and excited in equal measure.

http://www.businessbecause.com/news/mba-distance-learning/3729/mooc-platforms-force-bschools-to-innovate

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Lubbock ISD offers some high school classes online

By Karen Michael, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the school day, but Lubbock Independent School District offers options for motivated students through its Online School for Advancement. The online school is available to all students who have completed the eighth grade. Students from other districts are also able to take the courses, with 20 classes ranging from professional communication to physical education to Web technologies.

http://lubbockonline.com/education/2016-01-20/lubbock-isd-offers-some-high-school-classes-online

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Robert Burns: Literary lovers offered free online poetry course

by STV

Robert Burns: University launches a free online course. A new free online Robert Burns course is being launched by the University of Glasgow on Burns Day. Around 5000 people from five continents have already signed up for the university’s new syllabus on January 25. The Robert Burns Poetry and Song Legacy online course allows literary students to work in their own time. The course takes place over three weeks but learners can take longer to complete if required. Professor Gerard Carruthers, director of the Centre for Robert Burns Studies at the University of Glasgow, said: “The course is essentially an introduction to Burns and it covers three broad areas: poetry, song and then what we are calling afterlife which relates to Burns’ reputation after death and the way in which he becomes an icon. So it is the life and times and also the afterlife.”

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/1339640-thousands-across-the-globe-sign-up-for-universitys-online-burns-course/

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BOE talks online classes to cover snow days

by CONOR GRIFFITH, TheDPost.com

The Monongalia County Schools Board of Education (BOE) has started working on the calendar for the 2016-’17 school year. The board reviewed details of its annual calendar survey used to gauge the opinions of students’ parents during its Jan. 19 night meeting. One notion being considered for next year is using online lessons to make up for up to five days of missed classes. The survey is asking parents if they would support this measure and if they could provide home Internet to make this happen. Superintendent Frank Devono said if this comes to pass, students would not have to make up a snow day if it was covered via online content. Parental and student feedback plus any changes in state policy by the next school year would factor into whether or not online lessons will be used to make up snow days.

http://thedpost.com/BOE-talks-online-classes-to-cove

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Polk School District getting busy with robots, online learning plans

by Kevin Myrick, Polk County Standard Journal

Students at Rockmart Middle School have kept their creations a bit more grounded and practical, using the Legos Mindstorms kits to put together robots that can bark and walk like a dog and balance on two wheels. The middle school’s robotics connection, taught by Geoffrey Sharpe who also organized the school’s robotics team, brought students from the program to the Polk County Board of Education meeting to show off their skills with bringing their Legos-based drones to life. Sharpe explained during a presentation to the board for their Jan. 12 session how the class has worked so far, and how the robotics competition works. It involves giving students pre-determined challenges and courses, and they have to figure out on their own how to build and program robots to achieve tasks put before them.

http://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/polkfishwrap/news/local/learning-lessons-in-tech-polk-school-district-getting-busy-with/article_1d676f7c-bec6-11e5-8522-7bcf4efb5c34.html

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Ramping Up for the 2016 Mobile Explosion With Wave 1 and Wave 2

By Toni Fuhrman, eCampus News

Lorraine Abraham, CIO and library director of Emory and Henry College (VA), is not taking any chances. “We’re replacing the entire network infrastructure,” she said, noting that E&H will be fully prepared by installing the latest WiFi technology: 802.11ac Wave 2. “When you only upgrade every eight years,” she asserted, “you have to get the latest and greatest.” E&H decided to start now by installing the technology of the future – some of which will not come into play for about a year. With a campus that’s small (1,100 students) and remote (“Our neighbors are cows”) in the beautiful Appalachian Highlands, E&H has to work harder to accommodate its students – 85 percent of whom live on campus. Sean O’Connor, assistant CIO for Worcester Polytechnic Institute (MA), is also opting for Wave 2, but for different reasons. “We want to be more agile for students and faculty,”

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/01/12/ramping-up-for-the-2016-mobile-explosion-with-wave-1-and-wave-2.aspx

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Tablets to See Slower-Than-Expected Resurgence

By David Nagel, Campus Technology

Tablet sales declined substantially in 2015, but they aren’t down for good, according to one market research firm. Nevertheless, their short-term growth will be slower than previously expected. Although the outlook for tablets has turned slightly grim of late — with sales in 2015 dropping to about $55 billion compared with $68 billion in 2014 — market research firm ABI Research is still calling for a compound annual growth rate of about 3 percent through 2020.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/01/19/tablets-to-see-slow-resurgence.aspx

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Families encouraged to get learning online to boost self-confidence and increase employability

by the Dorset Echo

Families are switching onto learning in a new programme. Making robots on a 3D printer, blogging and creating animated videos are just some of the tools a new approach to digital inclusion in Dorset is using to boost self-confidence and increase employability. Digital Families Programme engages parents and children in fun ways of using technology together as a family that also supports learning and teaches basic digital skills. As many as 30 per cent of local families lack access to skills, equipment or funds they need to feel connected and engaged in their communities.

http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/14212471.display/

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Tulia ISD looks to lead online learning effort

by Aaron Davis, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

“We were quite surprised, but really excited that we have the opportunity to learn about this,” said Daniel Keith, director of instructional design for Tulia ISD. “It was a big deal to be in the top 10.” Of the 10 finalists, five districts will be chosen in April to receive up to $500,000 to bring technology into their classrooms. Inspired by the book “Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools,” the Raise Your Hand Texas initiative is an effort to equip districts with technology in hopes of inspiring other Texas schools to use what the book calls “blended learning.”

http://lubbockonline.com/local-news/2016-01-18/tulia-isd-looks-lead-online-learning-effort

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New platform assesses students with cognitive disabilities

by eSchool News

Open-source assessment system is based on alternate achievement standards for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. Breakthrough Technologies and the National Center and State Collaborative (NCSC) have partnered on and completed development of an online delivery platform for a new assessment program for students with cognitive disabilities. The NCSC alternate assessment evaluates knowledge of Common Core Math and ELA (reading and writing) standards at grades 3-8 and 11. NCSC’s goal is to ensure that students with significant cognitive disabilities achieve increasingly higher academic outcomes and leave high school ready for postsecondary options. To achieve this goal, it applies lessons learned from the past decade of research to alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AAAAS) to develop a multistate comprehensive assessment system for students with significant cognitive disabilities.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2016/01/15/new-platform-assesses-students-with-cognitive-disabilities/

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A Spanish immersion program makes full use of technology in the classroom

BY SCOTT SPENCER, eSchool News

The thought of preparing our students for their 21st century futures conjures up a number of different ideas. There’s imparting the necessary technology skills students will need to thrive in their careers, as well as interpersonal skills such as collaboration and communication and making sure students can function in an increasingly globalized world. On that last point, my school, Shiloh Elementary School in Monroe, N.C., wondered if we were doing enough. Wouldn’t teaching fluency a foreign language be the ultimate means to prepare students for a diverse and multicultural world? Since 2012, Shiloh has been very proud to have hosted what we call the SPLASH Spanish immersion program.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2016/01/15/inside-the-school-that-immerses-students-in-spanish-and-technology/

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6 Teaching Tools for Black History Month

by Matt Davis, Edutopia

Black History Month provides a great opportunity for students to explore and learn more about a variety of issues. But it’s important that teachers “reinforce that ‘black history’ is American history,” writes Pat Russo in Do’s and Don’ts of Teaching Black History Month. Russo’s article is a great place to start when determining how to best incorporate black history into your lesson plans. Really, it’s a topic that should be incorporated throughout the year, Russo writes, but in February, teachers can dig deeper, provide students with more context, and connect the past to the present.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/black-history-month-teaching-resources-matthew-davis

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What’s Hot, What’s Not in 2016

By Greg Thompson, THE Journal

Our expert panelists weigh in on education technology to give us their verdict on which approaches to tech-enabled learning will have a major impact, which ones are stagnating and which ones might be better forgotten entirely. The four panelists in THE Journal’s annual end-of-year survey hit full consensus on just two of 11 topics — giving the “hot” label unanimously to “blended learning” and “student data privacy concerns.” Meanwhile, e-portfolios garnered the least amount of enthusiasm, with two panelists opting for “losing steam” and two for “lukewarm.” Other topics formed a mixed bag, with the “lukewarm” rating suggesting that many technologies/techniques are holding steady, if not exactly lighting the education world on fire.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/01/14/4-trends-that-will-recharge-higher-ed-it-in-2016.aspx

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