Robot platform for STEM to inspire next generation

by eCampus News

Educators and students interested in next-level robotics education now have the chance to not only program and design robots, but work with online printable 3D files. iRobot Corp. announced updates to the company’s STEM outreach program, including the launch of Create 2–a pre-assembled robot platform, based off the company’s Roomba® that gives educators, students and developers firsthand robotic programming experience.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/business-news/robot-platform-stem-682/

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KnowledgeWorks and iNACOL release policy guide to support next generation educator workforce

by iNACOL

As the education system begins to embrace competency education, schools, teachers and staff will need to be prepared for a more personalized environment that focuses on students’ mastery of academic content and skills instead of seat time. As a growing numbers of states and districts adopt competency-based models and practices, they must also plan to engage and adequately prepare the workforce to excel in these new learning environments. KnowledgeWorks and the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) recently released “Laying the Foundation for Competency Education: A Policy Guide for the Next Generation Educator Workforce” to help the education system prepare the shift to highly personalized, competency-based models.

http://www.seattlepi.com/business/press-releases/article/In-Competency-based-System-Educator-Preparation-5937237.php

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6 Trends Improving K-12 Learning Experiences

by Matthew Lynch, Huffington Post

It is no longer enough for American students to just get by in comparison to each other in STEM subjects; global competition is proving that students in the U.S. need more focus in these subjects to lead the worldwide marketplace as adults. As you can see, K-12 classrooms are not at all static, but will continue to incorporate cutting-edge technology and socially relevant practices into the curriculum. Understanding and supporting this technology is vital to advancing K-12 students to the next level of their educational success.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-lynch-edd/6-trends-improving-k-12-l_b_6207228.html

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Don’t Let Kids’ Brains Go on Vacation During the Holiday Season

by WSSB

You may have heard of “summer slide” – when those summer months cause kids to lose all that glorious information and knowledge they acquired during the school year. But even shorter breaks can cause education rifts for students, too. Whether your children pair up with just one friend or an entire crowd, consider making studying a social event. Add some festivity to the affair by serving snacks and desserts. Around the holidays, you might even include a themed gift exchange for added appeal. If you are in between semesters, there may not be any official studying to do, but kids can keep their minds moving with supplemental learning. For example, if your child studied “As I Lay Dying” in school, make a movie night of it. Pop some popcorn and invite his or her friends over to watch the film version of the novel.

http://www.mysuncoast.com/online_features/education/don-t-let-kids-brains-go-on-vacation-during-the/article_87ad9d50-abc2-5ab0-b907-3ff017ef1b00.html

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Forming “Teams” or “Discussion Groups” to Facilitate Learning

by Todd Zakrajsek, Teaching Professor

Learning is enhanced when the material to be learned is thought about deeply and also when related material is retrieved from memory and associated with the new material. When students have an opportunity to work together to learn course content, particularly when applying that material to a new challenge, both deep thinking and retrieval of associated materials are realized. Active and collaborative learning are regularly discussed in the literature, and when done well few debate their value in terms of impact on student learning (1, 2). Although some students resist anything that even resembles group work, most students understand the value of working in teams or in discussion groups. Responses from students indicate that they learn when they “reflect, dialogue, question, write, summarize, and create their own knowledge” (3).

http://cgi.stanford.edu/~dept-ctl/cgi-bin/tomprof/enewsletter.php?msgno=1315

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Africa: UN launches 2014 online courses on Finance, Trade, and Intellectual Property

By BiztechAfrica

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) has just launched the 2014 edition of the online training courses in financial management, international trade and intellectual property. These courses are intended for trade and finance professionals and officials from developing countries including least developed countries and economies in transition. Since the introduction of online courses in 2003, over 10,000 officials mainly from developing countries benefited from our courses.

http://www.biztechafrica.com/article/africa-un-launches-2014-online-courses-finance-tra/7789/?section=internet#.UxN03eNdXso

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Open SUNY Unites Online Ed Offerings Across 64 Institutions

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

The State University of New York (SUNY) has formally introduced a new online program that allows students to access courses, degrees, professors and academic resources from any of SUNY’s 64 campuses. Open SUNY, as it’s called, is a mix-and-match service that offers access to 400 “online-enabled” degrees, 12,000 course sections and eight full degrees. The system’s expectation is that people from inside and outside the state will attend courses, including international students. Students can use the program to start a degree, finish a degree or just take a single course

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/01/21/open-suny-unites-online-ed-offerings-across-64-institutions.aspx?admgarea=news

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Coursera announces ten certificates

by George Anders, Forbes

Coursera has been pushing to offer a more formalized, paid version of its MOOC experience. The site now invites students to take Signature-track classes, in which final exams are digitally proctored and students pay $100 or so for a completion certificate. Currently more than 200 of Coursera’s total 584 classes are offered in Signature format. Topics range from calculus to Roman architecture. Coursera has set up the Specialization label to cover a series of interlocking courses that are meant to provide students with full mastery of a subject. See the graphic linked below shared by George Anders.

http://b-i.forbesimg.com/georgeanders/files/2014/01/Coursera.Specializations.jpg

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Adobe introduces support for 3D printing to Photoshop, brings a glut of new features to its Creative Cloud apps

By Ken Yeung, The Next Web

If you’re a subscriber to Adobe’s Creative Cloud, you’ll be happy to know that the platform has received some significant updates. Included in the latest release is support for 3D printing within Photoshop CC, the addition of Typekit integration in Illustrator CC and InDesign CC, and new intuitive and seamless tools for designers to take advantage of. With the popularity of 3D printing, Adobe sought to help make it more appealing to the mainstream so anyone can design and print their own creation. The new feature allows users to do is take objects they find online, from a 3D scanner, or from a modeling tool and import it directly into Photoshop. This will enables designers to implement automated mesh repair and support structure generation in order to protect the quality of the models so when it’s ultimately printed out, it’s exactly how its envisioned.

http://thenextweb.com/dd/2014/01/16/adobe-introduces-support-3d-printing-photoshop-brings-glut-new-features-creative-cloud-apps/#!smIUs

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Finding the Right Coding Bootcamp for You

by Entrepreneur, Reuters

Lately, everyone from President Barack Obama to Shakira and Angela Bassett has been encouraging people to “learn to code,” which begs the question: What kind of learning environment is right for you? As the founder of San Francisco-based coding bootcamp Dev Bootcamp, figuring out the best option can be tricky. While online courses like Codecademy and Khan Academy provide a great starting point, it most likely will take an immersion program, such as a coding bootcamp, to elevate your skillset to the next level. While these programs can provide new employment opportunities, they aren’t easy.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/07/idUS367504875320140107

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