Williamson County Schools considers online classes for next year

Posted by Matt Blois, Brentwood Home Page

Superintendent Mike Looney proposed adding online classes at a school board work session last night. If the board approves the proposal, there would be up to 500 spots available for online classes starting next fall, and potentially more in the future. Looney said the district plans to buy the courses from Florida Virtual School, an online school created by the state of Florida that offers classes to students all over the nation. The district will have to pay about $50,000 to buy 500 spaces in the Florida school’s program. At the meeting, Looney told board members that adding the online courses would give students more flexibility and could free up classrooms in a district that doesn’t have enough space for students. The district expects to grow by 20,000 students over the next decade, and it doesn’t have enough space right now to teach them all.

Williamson County Schools considers online classes for next year

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=37030

Tips for Organizing a Successful Hackathon

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

So, you want to host a hackathon, but you don’t know where to start. Don’t worry, it’s not that hard, and there are plenty of resources out there that aim to help. Namely, the one that you are reading now. In this piece, we will discuss how you can organize a successful hackathon. The organization of a hackathon is standard, starting out with an introduction to the event, then an official kickoff where the attendees will pitch software ideas and create teams based on their skill sets and interests. We mentioned earlier that hackathons can last from 24 hours to an entire week. Without further ado, lets get started.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/tips-organizing-successful-hackathon/

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=37020

Ransomware: An executive guide to one of the biggest menaces on the web

by Danny Palmer, ZD Net

Cybercriminals didn’t used to be so obvious. If hackers infiltrated your corporate network, they would do everything possible to avoid detection. It was in their best interests not to alert a victim that they’d fallen victim to a cybercriminal. But now, if you are attacked with file-encrypting ransomware, criminals will brazenly announce they’re holding your corporate data hostage until you pay a ransom in order to get it back. It might sound too simple, but it’s working: cybercriminals pocketed over $1bn from ransomware attacks during 2016 alone and a Europol report describes it as having “eclipsed” most other global cybercriminal threats in 2017.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/ransomware-an-executive-guide-to-one-of-the-biggest-menaces-on-the-web/

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=37000

What is a hackathon?

by Matthew Lynch, tech Edvocate

Remember back in high school or college when you would drink a bunch of caffeine and stay up all night to prepare for a test? Now imagine a room full of programmers, coders, and creatives doing the same thing for an entire day or even a week. Instead of cramming, they are competing to create prototypes that innovate on a theme or improve upon an existing project. It’s called a hackathon, and it is has become a regular part of how technology companies and organizations do business. In fact, the power of the hackathon has extended beyond the tech industry into many other sectors.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/what-is-a-hackathon/

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36990

Ontario Improving Access to High-Speed Internet for Over 250,000 Students Province Enabling Faster Access to High-Quality Online Learning Resources

by Ontario Ministry of Education
Ontario is connecting over 250,000 students at approximately 850 schools with high-speed internet as part of a commitment to improve internet access at all publicly funded schools across the province. Indira Naidoo-Harris, Minister of Education, was joined by Liz Sandals, MPP for Guelph, at Bishop Macdonell Catholic High School in Guelph this morning to announce the next wave of schools in Ontario’s broadband modernization program.

https://news.ontario.ca/edu/en/2018/02/ontario-improving-access-to-high-speed-internet-for-250000-students.html

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36980

Ransomware: An executive guide to one of the biggest menaces on the web

by Danny Palmer, ZD Net

Cybercriminals didn’t used to be so obvious. If hackers infiltrated your corporate network, they would do everything possible to avoid detection. It was in their best interests not to alert a victim that they’d fallen victim to a cybercriminal. But now, if you are attacked with file-encrypting ransomware, criminals will brazenly announce they’re holding your corporate data hostage until you pay a ransom in order to get it back. It might sound too simple, but it’s working: cybercriminals pocketed over $1bn from ransomware attacks during 2016 alone and a Europol report describes it as having “eclipsed” most other global cybercriminal threats in 2017.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/ransomware-an-executive-guide-to-one-of-the-biggest-menaces-on-the-web/

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=37005

Syracuse Law Gains Approval for (Mostly) Online J.D.

By Doug Lederman, Inside Higher Ed
Syracuse University College of Law has won approval from the American Bar Association’s accreditation division to offer a J.D. program in which roughly two-thirds of the course work will be completed online — although about half of the credits completed at a distance will be conducted live, in real time, school officials note. The ABA has been cautious in permitting law schools to educate students via the internet, and before Syracuse, the bar association had approved two institutions to offer more than 15 of their credits online, its current limit (though an increase is under review).

https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2018/02/15/syracuse-law-gains-approval-mostly-online-jd

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36970

Bill Gates Warns Sillicon Valley of Technology’s Dangerous Potential

by Chelsea Gohd, Futurism

“There’s always the question how much technology is empowering a small group of people to cause damage,” Gates said, his words primarily directed at the large technology companies currently dominating the market, such as Apple.  Gates continued, pointing out that such monopolies aren’t just about computers and smartphones. “A small group can have an impact — in the case of nuclear [weapons], on millions; and in the case of bio[terror], on billions. That is scary to me.” The warning was directed at those in Silicon Valley, as Gates worries the companies’ activities could hinder the ability of the government to do its job ( that is, “under appropriate review,” he was careful to note).

Bill Gates Warns Sillicon Valley of Technology’s Dangerous Potential

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36960

What can data do for students?

by Jeremy House, Education Dive

Colleges in the online and digital learning space are building in-house data teams and working with software developers to craft big-data models that see relationships among various sets of data, allowing them to enhance aspects of curriculum, faculty instruction and a host of factors related to student success with growing precision. “For some time, we only had the learning management systems that would tell us when a student logged in, when they logged out and which pages they clicked on. But that click-through content still doesn’t give us a sense of how students are engaging the content, if they are actively learning from content and where we can help them if we see that there are gaps,” said Christi Ford, associate provost at the University of Maryland University College.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/what-can-data-do-for-students/514205/

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36950

App of the Week: OER Commons

BY COMMON SENSE EDUCATION

OER Commons makes it easy for teachers to connect with other educators and find relevant materials. Teachers can search by subject area, standard, or keyword to find resources, or use the advanced search option. Those resources can then be saved within OER Commons or shared through Google Classroom or Schoology. Teachers can also use the lesson builder or module builder to compile resources into lesson plans or unit plans that can be shared publicly on the site or more privately within a hub or group.

App of the Week: OER Commons

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36940

How to use social media in the classroom

BY JON ROEPKE, eSchool News
Here are three social education platforms teachers love.  Today’s educators have a love-hate relationship with social media. They recognize that five-year-olds know how to use tablets better than their parents and that many kids have smartphones by the time they are 12. Digital natives live and breathe on social media platforms, sending messages and posting pictures and videos almost constantly. In fact, a recent CNN study on social media and teens found that among the 8th-graders surveyed, the heaviest social media users check their feeds up to 100 times a day.

How to use social media in the classroom

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36930

Online education important

by PEYTON CONNOR, the T&D

Statistically, the No. 1 reason as to why a kid would be doing online schooling instead of attending a brick-and-mortar school is because he or she had to go through bullying while the student was in traditional school and made the decision to not have to deal with it anymore. Solution to the problem: Get parents to put him or her into a public charter online schooling program and become an online student. Bam! Problem solved.

http://thetandd.com/news/opinion/columns/online-education-important/article_197140e6-c507-5058-a56a-fcdecfbde6be.html

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36920

Flu outbreak empties MSSM dorm, classes continue

Christopher Bouchard, the County

Due to an influenza outbreak on campus, the Maine School of Science and Mathematics emptied out its dormitory on Sunday and sent all 143 students home.  About 20 percent of students from the residential magnet school were confirmed to have flu symptoms, so Executive Director Luke Shorty said he and MSSM staff sent all students home to make sure the “community as a whole was safe,” especially since they all live in one building.  Classes are continuing online, however, according to Shorty. “What’s exciting is our ability to continue our courses,” Shorty said. “We’ve been doing distance education in different avenues, and this lets us go full bore and deliver the curriculum online.”

Flu outbreak empties MSSM dorm, classes continue

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36910

Online writing resource helps students in all areas of study

by Purdue University

Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab provides students with a guide to help them successfully complete writing assignments not only in writing classes, but also in STEM coursework and multimedia presentations. “As more high school and college students participate in online courses, they are more likely to find OWL helpful,” says Tammy Conard-Salvo, associate director of the Writing Lab. “The same is also true as students are producing non-traditional writing projects.” OWL provides students of all ages with information on the basics of writing, grammar and mechanics, writer’s block, conducting research and more. It also provides students with many subject-specific resources. These resources include presentations on how to write an engineering report, how to write an experimental report in psychology and how to write as a professional nurse. One of the most popular features on the site is the style guides for how to write academic papers.

http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2018/Q1/online-writing-resource-helps-students-in-all-areas-of-study.html

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36895

Online Learning Wins Out Over Textbooks In Boosting Science Scores

by Nick Morrison, Forbes
Online lessons can enhance students’ understanding of science and help underachieving students close the gap with their peers, according to a new study. Students who took web-based units made significantly more progress than those who relied on textbooks, while the improvement was particularly marked for students with lower prior achievement. The results suggest that online learning can be an effective classroom tool, especially for students who have struggled to engage with traditional lessons.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nickmorrison/2018/02/13/online-learning-wins-out-over-textbooks-in-boosting-science-scores/#4d0b9b441d95

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36885

Chasing Gold Medals and Degrees: Olympians Benefit from eLearning

By Cait Etherington, e-Learning Inside

If you watched the Olympics, you have likely already wondered how all those young people keep up with their studies while training several hours per day and traveling around the world to attend competitions. In the past, many athletes had to put their studies on hold or count on the flexibility and kindness of their teachers and professors. Over the past decade, online education has made chasing gold medals and degrees simultaneously just a bit easier. Indeed, early gold medalists at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, including Canada’s Kaetlyn Osmand and the United States’ Red Gerard, are both currently enrolled in online programs.

Chasing Gold Medals and Degrees: Olympians Benefit from eLearning

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36875

Web-Based, Interactive Learning Helps Middle Schoolers Excel in Science

By Dian Schaffhauser, THE Journal

Middle schoolers did better with science lessons when they could learn online, watching videos, playing educational games, running virtual experiments and collaborating with classmates. Under-achievers did especially well, with access to pop-up vocabulary definitions, interactive diagrams, digital note-taking, watching videos with captions and access to text-to-speech that allowed them to hear information read aloud to them. That’s what a research project found when it introduced four interactive web-based science units to 2,303 students and 71 teachers who had access to computers or tablets in 13 middle schools in three school districts in Oregon and Georgia.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2018/02/12/web-based-interactive-learning-helps-middle-schoolers-excel-in-science.aspx

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36865

Berklee College Expands Online, to Graduate Degrees

By Giovanni Russonello, NY Times
Berklee College of Music, already the world’s largest provider of online music degrees, will add graduate programs to its digital offerings this fall. It will begin with a master of music in music production and a master of arts in music business. The conservatory, whose main campus is in Boston, plans to add other degree programs in the future, and is already at work on an online graduate program in film scoring, though it has not announced when that will become available.

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36855

Addressing the STEM skills gap with continuous online learning

by Pluralsight APAC director Fiona Sweeney, IT Brief

You’ve heard this before – technological change is accelerating at an unprecedented rate. We are approaching the fourth industrial revolution which involves exponential developments in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, robotics, nanotechnology, and cybersecurity. According to Deloitte, the digital economy is forecasted to grow to $139 billion by 2020. In order to benefit from this, businesses need to be armed with STEM skills to be at the forefront of this disruption. STEM skills are fundamental for Australian businesses to ride the digital transformation wave. The Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) estimated that almost five million jobs will face a high probability of being replaced in the next decade due to digital disruption.

https://itbrief.com.au/story/addressing-stem-skills-gap-continuous-online-learning/

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36845

Education Groups Reject Trump Budget Proposal

by Public News Service

Some education advocates are criticizing President Donald Trump’s new 2019 budget proposal because it zeroes out funding for several programs that benefit students. The $4.4 trillion budget increases defense spending but envisions deep cuts in domestic spending. For example, it would eliminate the Gear Up program, which helps kids fill out college applications and access financial aid. Sylvia Lazos, policy director for the group, Educate Nevada Now and professor of law at UNLV, says the program targets kids who are the first in their family to go to college.

http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2018-02-13/education/education-groups-reject-trump-budget-proposal/a61423-1

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36835

Web-based teaching can improve science understanding for struggling pupils

by Phys.Org

Web-based learning tools can help deepen science knowledge among all middle school students, and ease the science literacy gap for underachieving students, according to a three-year study published today in the International Journal of Science Education. Researchers introduced four interactive online science units, which students and teachers accessed with computers or tablets, into 13 middle school in two US states. he online units were tested in a randomized, controlled trial with over 2,300 students and 71 teachers. While all participating students improved their science knowledge, the results were particularly notable for less able students.

https://phys.org/news/2018-02-web-based-science-struggling-pupils.html

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36825

Learning in the digital age: What is the internet doing to our brains?

by Jennifer Long, WGME

The connection between teens and technology is obvious. According to a pew research poll, nearly 80 percent of American teenagers have cell phones, half of those are smart phones. What’s less clear is the effect the constant connection to the digital world has on kids and how they learn.  Educators at Poland Regional High School in RSU 16 are asking that very question. Ian’ Truman’s AP Literature and Language class is diving right into that discussion after reading “The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains.”

http://wgme.com/news/in-depth/learning-in-the-digital-age-what-is-the-internet-doing-to-our-brains

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36815

Online High School Courses: Is It a Fad, or a Future?

by Say Campus Life

Before there was a formalized K-12 online learning process, parents were already seeing the noticeable benefits of homeschooling their children. While many may harbor concerns over homeschooling children, modern K-12 online school options have made this trend a stronger reality for many students—especially those students who are high-school-aged. Not only is the education, via an online course load, more focused, but it allows a child to be free of many of the classroom distractions that have commonly plagued a traditional public school setting. The focus tends to be more on learning and less on being bullied by other kids or subject to disruptions by the class clown.

Online High School Courses: Is It a Fad, or a Future?

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36805

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS RUSH TO TAKE CRYPTOCURRENCY AND BLOCKCHAIN COURSES

by JULIO GIL-PULGAR , Bitcoinist.com

Student demand for courses on Bitcoin and its underlying technology, the blockchain, is putting elite U.S. universities under pressure. Students from all disciplines are rushing to sign up for courses that cover technical concepts underlying Bitcoin and Ethereum, such as decentralized consensus, append-only ledgers, smart contracts, and zero-knowledge proof systems. Students are also seeking to gain working familiarity with cryptocurrencies through practical assignments. Nathaniel Popper wrote in a New York Times an article entitled “Cryptocurrencies Come to Campus,” describing the extent to which courses on cryptocurrencies are attracting students across elite institutions such as Cornell, Duke, Carnegie Mellon, the University of Maryland and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36795

Raising good ‘digital citizens’

by Alison Bosma, Metro West Daily

The class at Natick’s Johnson Elementary School has Skyped with students in other states and countries, tweeted favorite authors, shared pen pal letters with students in Uganda through Google Drive, sent cloud observations to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and an average Thursday morning had them solving a math challenge from students in Georgia. That’s the short list. “It’s cool because when we were in third grade, we could say, ‘Yeah, I do science experiments in class,’” Magee said. “But now (students can say), ‘Yeah, I do science experiments and send them to NASA.’”

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/20180211/raising-good-digital-citizens

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36785

Contra Costa College aims to join statewide web college program

By Michael Santone, the Advocate

Contra Costa College has until March 1 to complete its application to join the next cohort of California Community Colleges in the Online Education Initiative (OEI). OEI, which was announced by Gov. Jerry Brown back in January 2013 is a collaborative effort among state community colleges to provide students with easier access to high-quality online courses.

Contra Costa College aims to join statewide web college program

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36775

7 of the best math apps for middle school

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

At last count, there were over 80,000 educational apps available to teachers. There are apps for everything: literacy, STEM, productivity, audiovisual, etc. There are apps which improve accessibility for students with different learning challenges, i.e. text to voice, voice to text, etc. While many of these may be a dream come true for educators, the dizzying array of choices is also a nightmare. Teachers just don’t have time to filter through thousands of apps to find the one that works best for the needs of their students. To help, we started to create curated lists of the best apps in a variety of education related categories. In this installment, we will present the best math apps for middle school students. 

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/7-best-math-apps-middle-school-students/

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36765

Don’t call it a snow day: Schools closed, but Leyden students participate in ‘e-learning day’ from home

by Heather Cherone, Pioneer Press

As one of three Illinois school districts participating in a pilot program that could put an end to snow days for good, Leyden High School District 212 in Franklin Park declared its first “e-learning day” Friday as snow piled up on streets throughout suburbs west of the city. The three-year pilot program, approved by the Illinois General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2015, was launched in the wake of the polar vortex that plunged Chicago into a deep freeze during the winters of 2013 and 2014 and forced schools to cancel several days of instruction. Leyden High School students were expected to complete at least five hours of classwork from home on Friday, using computers provided by the school district.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/franklin-park/news/ct-fhj-leyden-not-snow-day-tl-0215-2-20180209-story.html

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36755

1 million US jobs will vanish by 2026

by Stephen Spinelli Jr. , CNBC

Is our higher education system ready for the challenge? The answer is no – at least not yet. For too long, college degrees have rewarded students’ proficiency in taking exams, not their readiness for a career. As a result, students are trained to recite definitions, processes and formulas, but their lack of experience in real-world application limits their effectiveness and ability to innovate within their respective fields. This has to change. Higher education must focus squarely on developing the skills students need to succeed in a rapidly evolving job market. We must reject the false dichotomy of theory and practice. Deep thought and decisive action must be linked – this is the imperative for today’s university graduate.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/02/automation-will-kill-1-million-jobs-by-2026-what-we-need-to-do-commentary.html

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36745

Chinese Police Add Facial Recognition Glasses to Their Surveillance Arsenal

by Abby Norman, Futurism

Police officers in Zhengzhou, China have been spotted wearing sunglasses equipped with facial recognition software that allows them to identify individuals in a crowd. These surveillance sunglasses were actually rolled out last year, but a recent report from China’s QQ published a series of photos of the glasses in action.

Chinese Police Add Facial Recognition Glasses to Their Surveillance Arsenal

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36735

DeKalb will use digital learning to make up snow days

by Maureen Downey, My AJC

DeKalb County School District will permit its students to use online learning and assignments to make up two days lost to weather.  Most metro area school districts closed for four days in January due to ice and snow. DeKalb plans to hold class on two previously scheduled days off, Feb. 16 and March 9. A survey to decide how to make up the two other days endorsed virtual learning in which students work online on assignments and labs. Other districts including Forsyth and Gwinnett have reported success using online learning on snow days.

http://www.myajc.com/blog/get-schooled/dekalb-will-use-digital-learning-make-snow-days/1muR37dBzEB0JjtezSt9yL/

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36725

How can you take the distance out of distance learning

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

The development of edtech has created new means of communication that can help to bridge the gap between distance learners. Communication technologies that are now often used in the workplace can also be implemented into a distance learning course to offer more and more ways for students and teachers to communicate in real-time. Though educators about to embark on a distance learning course may feel unsure as to how they can create a sense of community for their students, there are steps and considerations that can be taken to help close the distance in distance learning.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/can-take-distance-distance-learning/

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36705

17 of the Best Science Apps for Elementary Students

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

At last count, there were over 80,000 educational apps available to teachers. There are apps for everything: literacy, STEM, productivity, audiovisual, etc. There are apps which improve accessibility for students with different learning challenges, i.e. text to voice, voice to text, etc. While many of these may be a dream come true for educators, the dizzying array of choices is also a nightmare. Teachers just don’t have time to filter through thousands of apps to find the one that works best for the needs of their students. To help, we started to create curated lists of the best apps in a variety of education related categories. In this installment, we will present the best science apps for elementary school students.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/17-best-science-apps-elementary-school-students/

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36715

College Testing Firm ACT Invests in Edtech Startup Smart Sparrow

by Bernadette Tansey, Xconomy
ACT, the big college admissions testing organization whose CEO aims to make it an educational venture as well, is investing $7.5 million in interactive online learning startup Smart Sparrow. Smart Sparrow specializes in online courses that teach students how to master skills that have a physical component, such as biological laboratory techniques and drawing for engineers.

College Testing Firm ACT Invests in Edtech Startup Smart Sparrow

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36695