Host STEM Camps for Students with Hearing Disabilities

By Joshua Bolkan, Campus Technology

The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) will host week-long summer camps focused on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) for deaf and hard of hearing students entering grades 7-9. “TechBoyz and TechGirlz camps are designed to help students learn about and consider jobs and careers in the STEM fields,” according to a news release. “Through hands-on activities, campers will explore chemistry, computers, engineering and science — even building their own computers to take home and commanding simulated missions to Mars. They also will meet other students with similar interests and enjoy social activities.”

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/03/28/rochester-institute-of-tech-to-host-stem-camps-for-students-with-hearing-disabilities.aspx

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Online service guides Iowa students to careers

by Deirdre Cox Baker, Quad Cities Times

Career Coach is an online service introduced this year through Iowa’s community college network. It was purchased as a portion of a $15 million state grant and offers information on jobs currently available in a specific area, wage projections, current employment numbers, who is hiring, the approaching age of current workers and more. In the Quad-Cities, is is tailored to eastern Iowa and western Illinois. It is also localized to the other regions of Iowa that include community colleges. It is a free service and provides mountains of information.

http://qctimes.com/news/local/education/online-service-guides-iowa-students-to-careers/article_2086cf61-1357-580f-80ee-5bac21d84c5e.html

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Online students apply skills in out-of-class engaged scholarship opportunities

By Hilary Appelman, Penn State Univesity

Penn State World Campus students, like their on-campus counterparts, can take part in out-of-class engaged scholarship experiences that complement their in-class learning. Eric Ekobeni learned how to develop a work breakdown structure — organizing a project into smaller, more manageable components — in his online Penn State business management classes. When it came time to put those skills into practice in an internship, he chose an unconventional route: helping build a school in his native Cameroon. Angela Chang, who is pursuing a master’s degree online in geographic information systems with a focus on remote sensing and geospatial intelligence, put her new skills to work almost immediately. Last year she began working with the International GIS team at the American Red Cross, using GIS to help analyze humanitarian needs in disaster response and ongoing Red Cross programs around the world.

http://news.psu.edu/story/399727/2016/03/28/academics/online-students-apply-skills-out-class-engaged-scholarship

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Teachers want to ban Wi-Fi in the classroom

by LLOYD ALTER, Mother Nature Network

In Kingston Ontario, two teachers unions want to have Wi-Fi turned off because they believe the signals post a health risk. Ashely Csanady writes in the National Post: “We’re concerned because Wi-Fi and microwave communications have not been determined to be safe, and we’ve never received any training about the hazards such as all the warnings that come with your cellphones or wireless devices.” A few years back there was a campaign to remove Wi-Fi from a school district north of Toronto. But thousands of studies and most reputable scientists suggest there’s little risk, primarily because the energy output of a router is so low. As Dr. Steven Novella of the NeuroLogica blog noted, From a basic science perspective, there is little plausibility to the notion that Wi-Fi radiation would have any health effects. The amount of energy that is absorbed by a person living in a Wi-Fi field is negligible — less than 1% of exposure from a typical cellphone and well below current safety levels.

http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/computers/blogs/teachers-want-ban-wifi-classroom

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Deeper Learning Demands Deeper Leading—and Technology Can Help

by Barnett Berry, EdSurge

Teachers feel disconnected from decisions relevant to their jobs, and their working conditions do not encourage ongoing professional growth. How can we then expect them to exercise energy and enthusiasm as they engage students in deeper learning?It is time for policymakers and practitioners to create an effective system of teacher learning and leadership. For deeper learning to spread, teachers must be able to evaluate the impact of new practices on student learning and broaden their own reach. To borrow Elmore’s terms, growing numbers of teachers will need to “go public” with their practices and expand their “web” of influence, no longer thinking of themselves as “solo practitioners.” And schools will need to take new organizational approaches that develop teachers as leaders and create the conditions that allow (and encourage) their expertise to be tapped and spread.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-03-26-deeper-learning-demands-deeper-leading-and-technology-can-help

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Redefining the art of learning

by Cindy Mosedale, Rutland Herald

We teachers have joined together to stretch our comfort levels and expand our expertise by employing artistic media to foster higher-order thinking and understanding in science content. In our classrooms, learning is centered around a growth mindset and the habits of mind that allow students to develop: persistence, listening with understanding, questioning, and communicating with precision and accuracy. Participants are taught to constructively critique and craft their products and performances as an infinite process. The team uses phrases such as, “I notice that…” and, “I wonder what would happen if…” with each other and students, with a goal of providing additional information and building on what the students have already mastered, rather than destroying what they’ve created by implying that it is lacking and suggesting a need to start over.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20160327/OPINION06/160329566

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You’ll soon be able to run Ubuntu on Windows 10.

By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, ZDNet

According to sources at Canonical, Ubuntu Linux’s parent company, and Microsoft, you’ll soon be able to run Ubuntu on Windows 10. This will be more than just running the Bash shell on Windows 10. After all, thanks to programs such as Cygwin or MSYS utilities, hardcore Unix users have long been able to run the popular Bash command line interface (CLI) on Windows. With this new addition, Ubuntu users will be able to run Ubuntu simultaneously with Windows. This will not be in a virtual machine, but as an integrated part of Windows 10.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-and-canonical-partner-to-bring-ubuntu-to-windows-10/

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Universities embrace a new credentialing system

by Stefanie Botelho, University Business

Six of the nation’s top universities have come together to offer a new credentialing system that may become the standard in career-focused, skills-based training. Georgia Tech Professional Education, UCLA, University of California, Davis Extension, University of California Irvine Division of Continuing Education, University of Washington Professional and Continuing Education and University of Wisconsin-Extension today launched the University Learning Store, enabling job seekers and working professionals to earn industry-validated micro-credentials in a range of business and technical skills.

http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/universities-embrace-new-credentialing-system

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Barry University CIO: Managing The Mobile Security Load

by Curtis Franklin Jr, Information Week

In higher ed, CIOs have to deal with ultra-connected students and faculty whose devices increase the security burden on IT, while managing the growing use of online video as an educational tool. Here’s how the CIO of Barry University in Florida handles it all. Londono said that the university’s IT operations are highly centralized in a single Miami location. He described the 64 people in the department as working in “a classic IT shop” with traditional client services, communications, training, and information security within the group. The centralization isn’t simply the way things have always been, Londono said. It’s the result of conscious planning and decisions made over the years.

http://www.informationweek.com/strategic-cio/security-and-risk-strategy/barry-university-cio-managing-the-mobile-security-load/a/d-id/1324714

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Big data offers path forward for retention initiatives

By Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

Only about half of students who enroll in a post-secondary program actually graduate in six years, but big data offers an opportunity to tailor retention programs to unique student populations. EdTech reports that Helix Education’s new guide, “Predictive Student Retention: The Power of Data Coaching,” urges colleges to tie student information to data about how they actually do in their programs, creating predictive models that help counselors and academic coaches do their jobs. Helix Education is part of a growing market of predictive technology solutions, which have received attention from, among others, President Barack Obama, businessman and investor Mark Cuban, and the Robin Hood Foundation.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/big-data-offers-path-forward-for-retention-initiatives/415996/

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Funding Technology: E-rate Reboot Removes Broadband Hurdles

By Dian Schaffhauser, THE Journal

It has been more than a year since the FCC modernized E-rate. Here’s how the latest developments are affecting schools. According to the latest “State of the States” report from Education Superhighway, 77 percent of districts are meeting the FCC’s minimum Internet goal of 100 Kbps per student. That’s more than double the number of districts meeting the same goal in 2013. However, if you’re in one of the 23 percent of school systems still not meeting even the minimum, the vision of delivering personalized digital learning opportunities to students may have the composition of a mirage — always on the horizon and never within your grasp.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/03/24/funding-technology-erate-reboot-removes-broadband-hurdles.aspx

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Texas Extends Use of Adaptive Math Program

By Joshua Bolkan, THE Journal

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has extended an agreement with a software provider to make a digital math resource available to all public and open-enrollment charter school students across the state through December of 2017. The agency chose to extend state-wide access of Think Through Learning’s Think Through Math (TTM) to five years following an existing relationship going back three years. Available to students in grade 3 math through algebra, Think Through Math is a Web-based system featuring adaptive instruction, a motivation system and access to state certified math teachers for students in need of tutoring. Since its original adoption in202, students at 5,700 schools and 89 percent of the state’s public schools have used the program.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/03/24/texas-extends-use-of-adaptive-math-program.aspx

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Go Big or Go Small: The Future of AV Displays

by Dennis Pierce, Campus Technology

Today, students are interacting with content on large touchscreen flat panels. Soon, they could be using immersive head-mounted displays. The way students view and interact with information on digital displays has evolved quite a bit over the last few years — and it’s poised for even greater change in the months ahead. Many schools and colleges have invested in interactive flat panels (IFPs) that students can use as standalone systems without needing an externally connected device. New features and improvements have kept the technology relevant in today’s classrooms. But in the future, audiovisual systems on campus easily could include head-mounted displays (HMDs) that immerse students in fully interactive 3D learning environments.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/03/23/go-big-or-go-small-the-future-of-av-displays.aspx

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How Game-Based Learning Can Help Students of All Ages Learn

By Melissa Nott, Edudemic

In school, kids play during recess and work during class. But some of the biggest names in psychology, including Jean Piaget and Jerome Bruner, believe that play is a child’s work. The best way to teach kids, they say, is through hands-on, active learning. But with state benchmarks and performance-based teacher evaluations hanging above our heads, it’s hard for educators to imagine spending precious academic time playing games with kids. That’s where game-based learning (often confused with gamification, which isn’t quite the same thing) comes in. With this approach, learning and play aren’t at odds with each other; in fact, games are the vehicle and environment for learning.

http://www.edudemic.com/game-based-learning-help-learn/

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MOOCs move from free to fee as skills demand grows

by Natalie Marsh, PIE News

Career development continues to be a large motivation for students to enrol in MOOCs, meaning demand for credit certification is growing. In response, a number of providers have introduced fees for a handful of course certifications and assessment services.Implementing a business model that charges a small fee for certain courses is, “a move that is slowly redefining MOOCs’ role in the global marketplace of online education” according to “State of the MOOC” , an article by Online Course Report, a content and resource base for online courses. “MOOC providers realised early on that they could offer more for less by marketing courses from top-tier schools as much cheaper than universities could market a traditional college degree,” it states. Citing data from Class Central, the feature found 4,550 MOOCs were made available in January this year, over twice the number offered in January 2015 (2,150).

http://thepienews.com/news/moocs-move-from-free-to-fee-as-skills-demand-grows/

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Sought-after Duo Craig Chee and Sarah Maisel Are Now Offering Online Courses on the Ukulele, Exclusively Through ArtistWorks

by Business Wire

Renowned duo Craig Chee and Sarah Maisel have partnered with ArtistWorks exclusively to launch online Video Exchange® ukulele lessons for the first time. Known for their ability to make the ukulele accessible to players of all interest levels, and for their combined experiences teaching, Chee and Maisel offer lessons geared towards all levels and abilities, beginning today on ArtistWorks.com. When they’re not teaching, the couple can be found performing around the globe, and headlining some of the largest ukulele festivals in the world.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160324006043/en/Sought-after-Duo-Craig-Chee-Sarah-Maisel-Offering

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Higher ed’s digital shift not as fast as some hope

By Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

The shift from paper to digital resources in higher education has affected virtually all levels of operations, and it is transforming the way students learn and faculty teach — but perhaps not as quickly as some might hope. An inaugural survey on the state of digital media in higher education by VideoBlocks finds overwhelming support for digital materials by faculty and students. Fully 91% of faculty or administrator respondents said digital media in lectures improves student learning outcomes, and about three-quarters of student respondents said multimedia elements make them more engaged in lectures. But faculty report frustration with levels of institutional support, including for technology resources as well as training. The VideoBlocks report includes responses from about 150 students and 150 educators across a diverse higher education landscape that makes generalities difficult.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/higher-eds-digital-shift-not-as-fast-as-some-hope/416102/

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The Key to Better IT Communication

by David Raths, Campus Technology

In an October 2015 Campus Technology article, Hilary Baker, vice president for information technology and chief information officer at California State University, Northridge, described her approach: “Who knew that a CIO was in the marketing business? But I am — and my team is — so much so that I now have a director of communications reporting to me that I did not have in other times in my CIO career.” For this article, we interviewed Mayra Solano, CSUN’s director of planning and communications, about her position, which she has held for the past two years. Solano said that before her position was created, the IT group was not developing marketing plans around new initiatives. “People think of IT as a service organization. One of my goals is to begin to think about services as products for our students, and explaining the overall benefits.”

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/03/24/the-key-to-better-it-communication.aspx

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Machine learning is reshaping security

by Leslie K. Lambert, CSO

At the recent RSA Conference it was virtually impossible to find a vendor that was not claiming to use machine learning. Both new and established companies are now touting “machine learning” as a major component of the data science being used in their products. What the heck is machine learning anyway? And is it really going to reshape cyber security in 2016? For brevity’s sake, I’ll define machine learning as the science of getting computers to act without being explicitly programmed. Over the past decade, machine learning has enabled self-driving cars, practical speech recognition, effective web search, and has vastly improved our understanding of the human genome. Machine learning is so pervasive today that we use it dozens of times a day without knowing it. Many researchers also think machine learning is the best way to make progress towards human-level Artificial Intelligence.

http://www.csoonline.com/article/3046543/security/machine-learning-is-reshaping-security.html

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As tax day looms, online class offers help making good financial choices

By Public Affairs, UC Berkeley

Nothing says “time to pay attention to your personal finances” better than April 15, the annual tax deadline in the United States. Coincidentally, the big day also is the jumping off point for a new online course, “How to Save Money: Making Smart Financial Decisions.” The class that is free and open to the public. Terrance Odean, the Rudd Family Foundation Professor of Finance at the Berkeley Haas School of Business and an authority on investors’ behavior, is leading the course, which is designed to help people manage their money and fret less about personal finances.

https://news.berkeley.edu/2016/03/23/as-tax-day-looms-consider-a-class-on-making-good-financial-choices/

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New Coursera Core CS Specialization

by iProgrammer

What Coursera used to offer as free courses it now offers as a paid for Specialization. The latest across our radar is Data Structures and Algorithms and the first course in the series has just started. The Data Structures and Algorithms Specialization, which is at Intermediate level so you need some programming experience before you join it, comes from UC San Diego and Higher School of Economics (HSE), one of Russia’s top research universities and has Yandex and Computer Science Center as its industry partners.

http://www.i-programmer.info/news/150-training-a-education/9557-new-coursera-core-cs-specialization.html

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Harvard offers online business fundamentals course to incoming students

by National Jurist

Incoming Harvard law students are learning about business concepts, thanks to an online program launched by the Harvard Business School. HBX Credential of Readiness (CORe) teaches business fundamentals and is available to incoming Harvard law students for $300. Last year, 89 percent of students said the program increased their confidence in discussing business topics. “I thoroughly enjoyed my HBX CORe experience and found that a fresh background knowledge in business analytics and financial accounting helped me to better understand the decision-making factors managers often consider in domestic and international trade,” said Abraham Williamson, a first-year student at Harvard Law School and a participant in the pilot offering of CORe last summer.

http://www.nationaljurist.com/content/harvard-offers-business-fundamentals-course-incoming-students

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19 Atlanta students suspended for cheating in online classes

By Molly Bloom,The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Nineteen students accused of cheating on online courses have been suspended froman Atlanta high school. An Atlanta Public Schools spokeswoman called the case “an isolated incident.” The alleged cheating comes after staff at the same school warned the school board that students in online classes were awarded grades they did not earn. And it comes a year after students at another Atlanta high school used a teacher’s account to change online course grades. In Atlanta, as in many districts nationally, more students are taking classes online as part of regular instruction and to make up credit for failed classes. Atlanta’s expanding use of online classes includes the use of “blended learning” at Crim, which entails online coursework supervised by in-person teachers.

http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local-education/atlanta-students-accused-of-cheating-in-online-cla/nqqk8/

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The future of learning: Technology coupled with human interaction

By Amit Nagpal, Forbes India

Although technology helps scale up the process, it also dehumanises certain factors. People need to interact with one another, impart and learn from each other’s experiences. The stories we share with each other, the successes and the failures will change the way we learn. In my experience, a blended approach that includes both digital and classroom methods, is the future of learning. According to a leading research company, Markets and Markets, Smart Education & Learning Market will be worth $446.85 billion by 2020. Another research data presented by Docebo research organisation states while the worldwide market for Self-Paced E-Learning reached $35.6 billion in 2011, the five-year compound annual growth rate is estimated at around 7.6 percent, so revenues should reach some $51.5 billion by 2016.

http://forbesindia.com/blog/technology/the-future-of-learning-technology-coupled-with-human-interaction/

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Arkansas leading way on computer classes, Texas left in dust

By Brian Fanney, Arkansas Online

Texas was the first state to require that all high schools teach computer science, but Arkansas schools catapulted ahead in the past year after a mandate from the governor backed by millions in funding, said state and national advocates. In Texas, a single state school board member pushed to require high schools to teach the classes. But few schools are following the policy and Texas has put up little if any state money to train teachers. In Arkansas, Gov. Asa Hutchinson made computer coding a state priority and pushed a bill to provide funding for teacher training and to mandate that high schools offer the courses. It also requires that the classes count as math or science credits instead of an elective.

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2016/mar/20/state-leading-way-on-computer-classes-2/?news-arkansas

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Bill Gates explains why classroom technology is failing students and teachers

by Amy X. Wang, Quartz

While technology is “starting to improve education,” he said, it’s not personalized or focused enough to truly help teachers figure out how to improve. And most educational technology thus far has benefited only the most motivated students, he said, not those who need extra encouragement most. Added Gates, “A lot of the issue is helping kids stay engaged. If they don’t feel the material is relevant or they don’t have a sense of their own ability they can check out too easily. The technology has not done enough to help with this yet.” While more teachers say they welcome technology, most gadgets and digital techniques haven’t shown they can boost learning. Many schools have abandoned using iPads, for example, and online learning has yet to live up to its promises. Silicon Valley will have to do better yet if it’s going to make a genuine difference in the classroom.

http://qz.com/634289/bill-gates-explains-why-classroom-technology-is-failing-students-and-teachers/

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4 Surprising School Supplies Online Students Might Need

By Darwin Green, US News

Even though your classes are online, you’ll still be using plenty of pens and paper. Online students should ensure they stay organized and have a comfortable place to sit and work.  It was my first day of online classes. I sat at the computer eager to learn new things. The syllabus called for the usual items: computer, monitor and so forth. I didn’t know, however, that I would need some standard school supplies as well. Deep into the second week of classes, I found myself heading to the office supply store. I learned online students should consider buying the following for their classes.

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-learning-lessons/2016/03/18/4-surprising-school-supplies-online-students-might-need

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Right Signals initiative aims to make sense of credentialing

By Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

The American Association of Community Colleges, with funding from the Lumina Foundation, will create a new model to help students, employers and colleges make sense of the variety of credentials across higher education. In announcing the initiative, the AACC said it would focus on degrees, certificates, industry certifications, apprenticeships and badges in a model that will allow people to identify courses, skills and continuing education credits that students have with each credential. Community colleges in Illinois, Ohio, Maryland, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Iowa, New York, Texas, Wisconsin, Missouri, Florida, Arizona, Alabama, Washington and Minnesota are among those participating in the Right Signals initiative.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/right-signals-initiative-aims-to-make-sense-of-credentialing/415575/

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3 Awesome Free Apps for Going Paperless

By THE Journal

These standout apps make managing classroom workflow a snap. Showbie is a favorite of many teachers owing to its super-slick design and full feature set. It’s an all-in-one solution for assigning and grading student work. And while it’s well suited to iPad classrooms, students and teachers’ work syncs to the Web, too, so you can use any device. The big selling point for Handouts is its ease of use. It might not be as flexible as something like Showbie, but it picks one thing — assigning and grading worksheets — and does that well. Classkick is a bit different from Showbie and Handouts because it blends going paperless with formative assessment. Teachers send out assignments to students and can monitor students as they work.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/03/15/3-awesome-free-apps-for-going-paperless.aspx

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Panel: Ditch Grades Now, Focus on Student Learning

By David Nagel, THE Journal

Teach without grades. Teach without tests. Teach without homework. That’s the message from a growing number of educators who are not only advocating but actually making substantial changes in their classroom practices by eliminating grades and scores entirely. Sound like fantasy in this age of ubiquitous high-stakes standardized testing and “accountability” mandates? It’s actually happening. In American schools. And it’s working for many of those who are trying it.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/03/15/panel-ditch-grades-now-focus-on-student-learning.aspx

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Game helps those with learning disabilities to stay safe online

by JANICE BURNS, the National (Scotland)

A NEW computer game has been created by people with learning disabilities to help keep them safe online. The group, aged 16-40 from Edinburgh and Midlothian, worked with experts at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) in Paisley to develop the game called #keepmesafe. It is designed to simulate common scenarios faced by people using the internet, including staying safe on social media, navigating the complex world of online relationships and buying items via digital retailers. The team worked with their local area co-ordination networks and played a key role in the design phase, discussing their online fears and ways of overcoming them with staff from Midlothian Council and experts from UWS’ Scottish Centre for Enabling Technologies (SCET), which is behind the interactive tool.

http://www.thenational.scot/news/game-helps-those-with-learning-disabilities-to-stay-safe-online.15221

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Learning complex tasks ‘SUPERCHARGES’ the brain

By SARAH GRIFFITHS, Daily Mail

You might imagine the brain to be divided into specific areas responsible for processing different senses. But researchers have now shown how we can ’supercharge’ our minds and break down its barriers so it becomes more flexible. Scientists taught sighted people to read Braille and found the complex tactile task surprisingly activated the visual cortex, as well as the tactile one. ‘Our findings tear up that view, showing we can establish new connections if we undertake a complex enough task and are given long enough to learn it.’ The study, published in the journal eLife, could have allow us to learn how to ‘bend’ different sections of the brain to our will by learning other demanding skills, such as playing a musical instrument or learning to drive.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3491899/Learning-complex-tasks-SUPERCHARGES-brain-Difficult-skills-make-minds-flexible-powerful-linking-regions.html

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Free on-line special ed courses, resources offered

By Clainetta Jefferson, Florida Times-Union

Navigating the complexities of special education laws and procedures can be challenging for parents, educators and service providers. It is important for all to know how to comply with the legal requirements in every decision, every classroom, in every program, every day. To help with those challenges the Navy, through Child and Youth Programs, is offering free resources and courses through two special education programs.

http://jacksonville.com/military/periscope/2016-03-16/story/free-line-special-ed-courses-resources-offered

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8 pieces of ed tech news to note from SXSWedu 2016

by Roger Riddle, Education Dive

If you couldn’t be in Austin or see everything on display, here’s what caught our attention. There was no shortage of ed tech to take in at SXSWedu 2016. Whether it was teacher-driven instructional management tools, digital citizenship curriculum solutions or STEM-fueled satellite projects, there was a little something for everyone. In no particular order, here are eight pieces of ed tech news worth noting from this year’s show.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/8-pieces-of-ed-tech-news-to-note-from-sxswedu-2016/415595/

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