Meredith Walker: Breaking Down Barriers for Girls in STEM

By Joshua Bolkan, THE Journal

Women and girls continue to be underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Too many young women are discouraged early from seeking a profession in these fields. Obstacles are put up — misogynistic, socio-economic or cultural obstacles. There are other factors, too. They may not know enough about the subjects involved. Maybe no one they know works in these areas. Often, girls aren’t aware of the myriad ways that physics, engineering or technology shows up in our daily lives and makes things better.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2018/03/14/meredith-walker.aspx

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3 Ways to Help Students Build Empathy Using Technology

By THE Journal
Can your students build empathy skills even while using technology? Yes! In fact, exercises that help students build empathy in digital spaces are a crucial part of positive social and emotional learning. Can your students build empathy skills even while using technology? Yes! In fact, exercises that help students build empathy in digital spaces are a crucial part of positive social and emotional learning. Plus, using empathy skills online is integral for helping kids become responsible digital citizens. Here are three ways teachers can give students practice using empathy online — just like they would in face-to-face situations.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2018/03/13/3-ways-to-help-students-build-empathy-using-technology.aspx

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How EdTech Makes Learning More Accessible

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

In education, material that is “accessible” meets the needs of students from a wide variety of backgrounds, abilities, and learning styles. Based on this definition, it’s clear that accessibility is vital. All students, at all ability levels and from all backgrounds, should be able to understand and learn from the content delivered in a classroom. Fortunately, the influx of edtech has made learning more accessible than ever before. Here are just a few ways that edtech makes learning more accessible:

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/edtech-makes-learning-accessible/

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UTEP’s New Online Chicano Studies Program Growing

by Sammy G. Allen, Diverse Education

An online multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary program that offers intuitive understanding of the dynamics of the U.S.-Mexico border and the Latino presence in the U.S. is gaining momentum at The University of Texas at El Paso. Dr. Dennis Bixler-Márquez, director of Chicano Studies at UTEP, said a new Chicano Studies degree there allows students to learn about U.S.-Mexico economics, culture, history and arts.

http://diverseeducation.com/article/111936/

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Paralegal distance learning in real time at Wilson Community College

by Jane Albright, WRAL

Carrie Wilson Morris, a student in the paralegal program at Wilson Community College, was in Raleigh three counties away watching on her office computer as a Wilson attorney discussed his work. As an online student, Marris was accustomed to not being in a classroom. What was new this time is that the action was taking place in real time, at that very moment. She raised her hand, virtually speaking. She typed into the chat box, “Have you ever dealt with a case where the victim was unwilling to give testimony?” “Yes,” the attorney replied, “in a domestic abuse case.”

 

Paralegal distance learning in real time at Wilson Community College

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Why Do We Need Blockchain Technologies in Education?

by NewsBTC

There is a real buzz around new EdTech companies such as NTOK.io at the moment. They are creating a future vision of global learning and tuition that uses blockchain technology at its core. Although EdTech is in its early stages, it’s likely that education will be disrupted in the same way that FinTech has changed the financial world. Cryptocurrency transactions are made secure by blockchain technology allowing for significant decentralization of finances. In other words, the big banks and governments no longer have power over finances. The blockchain makes all data transactions untraceable, including financial ones. If we extend this idea of secured blockchain currency and data transactions to EdTech, it’s clear to see that this will transform education into something far more democratic.

Why Do We Need Blockchain Technologies in Education?

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Parents Prefer E-Mail for School Messages — Far and Above Auto-Phone, Texts, Facebook

By Dian Schaffhauser, THE Journal
The only people who seem to want face-to-face meetings and personal phone calls anymore are school principals. Four in five parents consider e-mail the most effective way for schools and districts to communicate with them. While one-third of parents with children across all grade levels say the personal phone call is an efficient way to communicate with them, 72 percent of principals endorse that strategy. When it comes to in-school meetings, the difference of opinion is just as dramatic; at the elementary level, only 45 percent of parents consider face-to-face sessions effective compared to 73 percent of principals; at the middle school level it’s 35 percent of parents compared to 67 percent of principals; and at the high school level it’s 30 percent of parents compared to 58 percent of principals.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2018/03/15/parents-prefer-email-for-school-messages-far-and-above-autophone-texts-facebook.aspx

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7 popular online courses in STEM and gaming that are taught by female leaders in their fields

by Connie Chen, Business Insider

Since men hold more jobs in these fields, it’s not surprising that when you browse online learning sites, there tends to be more male teachers in those subjects as well. However, for a woman looking to approach something like STEM or gaming, the impact of seeing a teacher who looks like her cannot be understated. Similar to how representation in media affects how groups of people perceive themselves and are perceived in the world, representation in STEM and gaming plays an important role in motivating women to overcome and fight back against gender-related barriers in their own career journeys.

http://www.businessinsider.com/online-stem-gaming-python-courses-taught-by-women-2018-3

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Best Practices for Gamification in Schools

 

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

In education, “gamification” refers to using elements of game play (such as rules, competition, and point scoring) as a teaching tool that increases student engagement and motivation. Gamification can include badges, leaderboards, and any type of educational competition or game. While the concept of gamification isn’t new, the digital tools available to today’s teachers make gamification more innovative and engaging than ever before. Research indicates that gamification helps students develop more positive attitudes toward learning, increases cognitive and social growth, improves attention spans, and more. To ensure your students benefit as much as possible from gamification, try following these best practices for gamification in schools.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/best-practices-for-gamification-in-schools/

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5 Ways to Use Digital Badges in the Classroom

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

Similarly, digital badges award students for their achievements, skills, or other positive qualities. It might seem like a digital image of a badge won’t make much difference. But believe it or not, digital badges have the power to transform the way your students view learning and assessment.  How?  Here are five ways to use digital badges in your classroom:

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/5-ways-to-use-digital-badges-in-the-classroom/

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TECH COMPANIES TRY TO RETRAIN THE WORKERS THEY’RE DISPLACING

by Sandra Upson, Wired

Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda says the platform had not previously hosted anything similar; more typical fare includes programming, business and English language classes (along with the popular-among-Canadians Mountains 101). But Maggioncalda and his staff had seen the hunger for onramps to tech careers in the reviews visitors had given earlier courses. “People are saying, I know the jobs are going to be in computers and technology, and it’s great to tell me I should get those jobs. But I don’t know how to do that,” he says. “You tell me how I’m supposed to do that with a family and a mortgage.”

https://www.wired.com/story/tech-companies-try-to-retrain-the-workers-theyre-displacing/

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Using Amazon Alexa in the Classroom

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

Voice-controlled devices are here to stay, and it is time for you to embrace this technology in the classroom. With Amazon Alexa working through the inexpensive Echo Dot using Wi-Fi, you can transform your classroom into an interactive learning space where students are using voice-controlled searches in the classroom the same way they will in their future homes and vehicles. Plus, the kids love it! Here are some of the reasons why teachers are using Amazon Alexa in the classroom and loving it:

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/using-amazon-alexa-classroom/

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How to sort the good from the bad in OER

by Lawrie Mifflin, Hechinger Report

Teachers often spend many hours at night or on weekends searching the internet for good instructional materials – or just good ideas about how to meld online learning into their classrooms. Sometimes, they consult curation sites that have evaluated these materials; sometimes they just consult other teachers on what they use. The need for reliable evaluation has become more urgent with the flood of new, often free, online materials. These OER – open educational resources – may be good, bad or indifferent. How can school districts or teachers know?

http://hechingerreport.org/how-to-sort-the-good-from-the-bad-in-oer/

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Two UMD courses will have free online textbook access in the fall

by Christine Condon, DBK News

Two University of Maryland biology courses will be among many in the University System of Maryland to offer students free online textbook access next year with the help of a system grant program. BSCI201 and 202, introductory courses in human anatomy and physiology, will use a free, open-source textbook from OpenStax beginning in the fall, said biology professor Sara Lombardi. To make the switch, university lecturers for the courses received a $1,500 grant from the Maryland Open Source Textbook initiative, which offers grants to encourage faculty to utilize open educational resources. The grants were announced March 6.

http://www.dbknews.com/2018/03/14/umd-textbooks-free-open-source/

 

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10 makerspace activities for the k/12 classroom

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

Makerspace activities are taking over classrooms and turning students and their teachers into makers. Makerspaces encourage hands-on student-driven learning, experimentation, and collaboration. To help you see how possible it is to incorporate makerspace activities into your classroom, here are ten makerspace activities that can fit any grade level and most budgets.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/10-makerspace-activities-k-12-classroom/

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Education needs innovation to keep it fresh. Can social learning environments provide the boost?

by Kulmeet Bawa, ET Rise

Much of today’s established working population comes from an era that offered only static learning using limited resources. Most of us had to be self-motivated and acquire skills on the job to emerge as high-performers. The modern generation of learners, on the other hand, use technology to shape their careers in a more deliberate and thoughtful manner by signing up on websites and apps such as Coursera, edX, Byju et al. Learning has become an immersive experience for them.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/education-needs-innovation-to-keep-it-fresh-can-social-learning-environments-provide-the-boost/articleshow/63242961.cms

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Online AP courses offer expanded options to rural schools

By Amelia Harper, Education Dive
Online Advanced Placement classes, provided through organizations like the Global Teacher Project, offer a way to expand access for the more that 7,100 rural school districts in the U.S. that find it difficult to offer rigorous pre-college courses to their students, explains an article produced by the Hechinger Report for KQED. Online courses, either through consortiums, through video-conference classes with other schools who share an instructor, through virtual academies, or through pre-produced online AP offerings, can offer students the opportunity to learn more advanced material and a chance at reducing college costs for those who pass AP exams.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/online-ap-courses-offer-expanded-options-to-rural-schools/518791/

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10 Resources for finding edtech jobs

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

If you’re on the hunt for a new job in education technology, or just simply curious about the opportunities that might be out there, you should explore some new roles. Whether you’re looking for a job, looking to hire, or just looking, consider checking out the following resources in education technology career building.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/10-resources-for-finding-edtech-jobs/

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New Framework Offers Way to Validate OER Commitment

By Dian Schaffhauser, THE Journal

A new report proposes a framework by which open educational resource initiatives — and particularly those promulgated by for-profit organizations — can be measured. “Toward a Sustainable OER Ecosystem: The Case for OER Stewardship” has three purposes according to its authors: to help make sure “the OER community’s values can be maintained as the movement scales”; to gauge the practices of “new entrants” to the OER field (especially those out to make money from it); and to build educator confidence in participating in OER, including those who contribute their own materials and may be uncertain regarding its use by for-profit publishers.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2018/03/06/new-framework-offers-way-to-validate-oer-commitment-sincerity.aspx

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Student Privacy in Surveillance Videos: Standards for Disclosure in Flux

By Dian Schaffhauser, THE Journal

FERPA protects the privacy of students’ education records and the Personally Identifiable Information (PII) they contain. The federal law gives parents and students over 18 certain rights: to be able to “inspect and review” the education records; to seek amendments to the records; and to have some control over the disclosure of PII from the records. FERPA also prohibits districts from disclosing the records or the PII they contain without prior, written consent from the parent or eligible student, unless the disclosure meets an exception to FERPA’s general consent requirement.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2018/02/23/student-privacy-in-surveillance-videos-standards-for-disclosure-in-flux.aspx

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4 Things to Know About the Gadget That Will Charge Devices in Seconds

by Abby Norman, Futurism

Donald Highgate, director of research at Superdielectrics Ltd. and his team have set out to make that vision a reality. Highgate’s team has created a material that amps up the potential of supercapacitors – devices that can both charge up and release their energy rapidly.  Their capacitance for storing energy is “super” because it’s both electrostatic and electromechanical. Therefore, supercapacitors (also called “ultracapacitors”) are kind of like a mashup of normal capacitors and a normal battery. Highgate has teamed up with researchers from Bristol University and Surrey University to create a supercapacitor that’s not just better than traditional batteries, but that could one day be superior to lithium-ion batteries. So how do they plan to do it? Here are four things to know.

4 Things to Know About the Gadget That Will Charge Devices in Seconds

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Professor on online activities: They get ‘students talking more and me talking less’

by JENNIFER LEWINGTON, Globe and Mail

Last fall, University of Alberta school of business accounting professor Michael Maier experimented with his traditional lecture delivery, giving students the opportunity to watch short videos on technical topics outside of class time.   His use of videos is one example of how business professors at U of A – and elsewhere – are experimenting with technology to imagine variations on the traditional lecture format. On mid-term exams last fall, the class average in his accounting course was 82 per cent – about 10 percentage points higher than average scores in the lecture-based classes he has taught over the past eight years.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/business-education/professor-on-online-activities-they-get-students-talking-more-and-me-talking-less/article38232748/

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Global Boom in Private Enrollments

By Ellie Bothwell, Times Higher Education
One in three students globally is enrolled in private higher education institutions, according to research that reveals the huge growth and wide reach of private providers.  The analysis, the first study based on comprehensive data on the size and shape of private higher education internationally, finds that private institutions have 56.7 million students on their books, or 32.9 percent of the world’s enrollment. Times Higher Education logoWhile the U.S. has historically towered over the rest of the world in terms of the size of its private sector, the proportion of students in the country in private higher education stands at 27.5 percent, lower than the global average, and it now accounts for only a tenth of global private enrollment.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/03/08/survey-finds-global-boom-private-higher-education-enrollments

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Virtual schools open for enrollment in Detroit

by Roz Edward, Michigan Chronicle
Across Michigan, schools such as Michigan Connections Academy (MICA) and Great Lakes Cyber Academy (GLCA)—statewide, tuition-free, online public schools—are meeting the growing demand from families interested in online learning solutions for their students. Both online schools are now enrolling students for the upcoming 2018-19 academic year. “A few decades ago, the majority of students were working toward jobs on assembly lines in manufacturing facilities,” said Heather Ballien, superintendent of GLCA. “Thus, schools were designed to meet that need, teaching a mass number of students and expecting them all to learn in the same way. Today, the economic environment is such that students can go on to hold countless jobs in myriad areas of expertise, and education must be flexible in order to prepare students for whatever they choose to pursue.”

Virtual schools open for enrollment in Detroit

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Coursera joins online degree expansionists with six new degrees

by Patrick Atack, the PIE News

Online learning provider Coursera, which works with university partners around the world, is launching six new fully online degree courses. The news comes just weeks after FutureLearn, another provider of global online degrees, also announced an expansion of its full degree offerings.

Coursera joins online degree expansionists with six new degrees

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Can online learning level the AP playing field for rural kids?

by JACKIE MADER, Hechinger Report

Inside a rural high school, five Advanced Placement physics students furiously scribbled notes about a video of a Yale University professor speaking more than 1,200 miles away. With textbooks open, they watched a lecture about Newton’s Laws on a giant screen, while their classroom teacher simultaneously offered examples of those laws in action. When the lecture ended, they had yet another to chance to learn: A physics video chat with their tutor, a sophomore physics major at Yale. The unconventional flurry of both in-person and virtual academics in a school that had never before offered AP physics is part of a broader experiment that experts say could herald the future of education, especially for rural schools.

http://hechingerreport.org/can-online-learning-level-ap-playing-field-rural-kids/

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AI + Student Evaluations = the Future?

by Mark Liebereman, Inside Higher Ed

Digital alternatives to traditional end-of-semester student evaluations seem more numerous by the day. One new tool hopes to advance that landscape with the help of artificial intelligence.  Hubert, launched last fall and currently in use by more than 600 instructors worldwide, appears to students as a chat bot that asks questions about the quality of the class and the teaching. The conversational messenger format is designed to make students feel more comfortable sharing honest praise and criticism, and the low amount of required effort allows instructors to collect feedback at several points throughout the semester.

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2018/03/07/hubert-ai-helps-instructors-sort-and-process-student-evaluation

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What does digital inequality mean for low-income children

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

What the lack of technology means for low-income students is that, in addition to trailing in academic achievement, they are missing out on opportunities to learn the technical skills they will need to succeed in a highly competitive global workforce. Having limited access to Internet-connected computers means that they don’t have time to tinker or explore. They don’t have time to practice basic skills like typing or writing emails, or more complex skills like researching or coding. To compound the issue, teachers in low-income schools don’t use technology as effectively or as often as teachers in high-income schools.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/digital-inequity-mean-low-income-children/

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AI is the new electricity, says Coursera’s Andrew Ng

by E Kumar Sharma, Business Today

No discussion in information technology today is complete without reference to artificial intelligence or AI, in quickspeak. Needless to say, experts in AI are in great demand. Among them, Andrew Ng is often referred to as a go-to guru on AI. Andrew, wears several hats. He is the co-founder of Coursera, which offers online courses. He is also an adjunct professor at the Stanford University and was formerly the head of Baidu AI Group, and Google Brain. He calls AI, the new electricity. In response to an email from Business Today, he explains why and shares his thoughts on what companies need to do.

https://www.businesstoday.in/opinion/interviews/ai-is-the-new-electricity-says-courseras-andrew-ng/story/271963.html

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We need more diversity in information technology

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

The demand for information technology workers is growing, and the available supply isn’t keeping pace. With the retirement of the baby boomer generation in full swing, worker shortages are only going to be more apparent in the year to come. And, if the information technology field can’t attract a more diverse population, the field is going to suffer.  Tech companies are generally not known for diversity. The IT workforce is predominantly white or Asian males. Even though many companies announce diversity initiatives on a regular basis, they can only hire from the worker pool that is available. And that pool is created based on their choices in higher education.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/need-diversity-information-technology/

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Learning Designers as Digital Nomads

By Joshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed

Will more higher ed people go permanently mobile? If you are as clueless as I was about the digital nomad life, here is the quick and dirty summary. Digital nomads, as you would expect, combine global travel with laptop mediated employment. They work wherever they live, and live wherever they work. Anyone who has gone full digital nomad does not have a permanent address, a lease, or a mortgage. What they do have is the need to earn an income by working. The digital nomad either works remotely for a single employer, or strings consulting and freelance jobs together in the digital gig economy. The digital nomad life is such a thing that companies such as Roam have been started to cater to this creative wandering class. Roam has live / work spaces in Bali, Miami, London and Tokyo – with more on the way. For $500 a week you get a sparsely furnished private bedroom and bathroom, good WiFi, and access to a communal kitchen. You also get a community of fellow remote workers and freelancers, all working together on their separate projects.

https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/learning-designers-digital-nomads

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Tips for Working Full-Time While Taking Online Classes

by John Mason, the Sociable

Taking online classes is a great way to help yourself advance in your career while you learn something new. But there’s also the fact that life moves faster than ever, which means you can easily become overwhelmed juggling classes, work, friends and any other obligations you have in your life. Do yourself a favor and learn how to find and maintain balance while enrolled in online courses to jumpstart your career.

Tips for Working Full-Time While Taking Online Classes

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Purdue University receives HLC approval for Purdue Global

by Purdue

Purdue University Global is set to launch after receiving final approval from the Higher Learning Commission. Monday’s (March 5) notice of approval was the last step in the regulatory process for the new university, first announced in April 2017. “We are grateful for the Higher Learning Commission’s decision to approve Purdue University’s conversion of Kaplan University to Indiana’s newest public institution of higher education, Purdue Global,” said Purdue President Mitch Daniels. “It opens a new era for our institution, with the opportunity to expand our land-grant mission to millions of adult students around the country. That opportunity brings with it the responsibility to provide the highest quality online education, not only to our new adult learners, but to all residential and online Boilermaker students. “Starting today, Purdue University hopes to take a leading role in online learning nationally.”

https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2018/Q1/purdue-university-receives-hlc-approval-for-purdue-global.html

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How to model and explain digital security to k/12 students

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

In her book Reinventing Writing, Vicki Davis outlines the fundamentals of responsible digital citizenship through the “9 key Ps.” Putting these practices into daily use in your classroom is a great way to model digital citizenship for your students.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/model-explain-digital-security-k-12-students/

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How Teachers Can Use Podcasts to Promote Learning

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

Just like listening to audiobooks through electronic devices, podcasts are becoming more and more popular. These iPod-based audio broadcasts encompass a wide variety of subjects, such as entrepreneurship, politics, history, to entertaining series on serial killers. These downloadable series can be subscribed to, so you automatically get the next installment. However, podcasts can be utilized in the classroom, primarily to promote learning. How? I am glad you asked. In this piece, I will discuss the two ways that teachers can use podcasts to promote learning.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/teachers-can-use-podcasts-promote-learning/

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