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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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=37476

Navigate an Online Course’s Learning Management System

By Jordan Friedman, US News

Online education typically isn’t any easier than learning on a physical campus. Rather, it’s a different type of experience. Instead of attending classes in person, students in online degree programs primarily complete coursework and communicate virtually through a platform referred to as a learning management system. Online students can generally access course materials, contact student services, track their progress in classes and submit assignments, among other things. “The learning management system for an online course is the student’s campus, to a certain extent, or their classroom,” says Karen Ferguson, vice provost at Colorado State University—Global Campus.

https://www.usnews.com/higher-education/online-education/articles/2018-01-29/navigate-an-online-course-learning-management-system-as-a-student

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36499

Blockchain is this year’s buzzword – but can it outlive the hype?

by Mattha Busby, the Guardian

The speculation around cryptocurrencies has obscured the fact that blockchain, the decentralised, open-source ledger that drives bitcoin, could radically change how ownership is verified. While the value of the main cryptocurrencies fluctuates, “blockchain” remains a lucrative buzzword that companies have found is a magnet for funding. But cutting through the hype, could blockchain technology really revolutionise the way anything from banking to education is run? The blockchain allows people to create digital property independently of third parties and belief-based methods of recording ownership. Time-stamped data entries are append-only and always accessible, partly because the database is stored across a network of computers rather than a central server.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jan/30/blockchain-buzzword-hype-open-source-ledger-bitcoin

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36469

Free online courses that teach skills for Africa’s most in-demand industries

by Jackie Bischof, Quartz Africa

A number of universities across Africa are creating free online courses in the hope that they will democratize access to education, inspire more collaboration and networking between African institutions, and support access to education for women, among other benefits. Last year, Wits University became the first African university to offer MOOCs (massive open online courses) on edX, a platform established by MIT and Harvard. The University of Cape Town has a range of sessions on Coursera, from academic writing and social change, to the ethics of organ donation. Nigeria has experimented with creating MOOCs specifically for high school graduates who didn’t get into university on their first try.

https://qz.com/1163498/free-online-courses-that-teach-skills-for-africas-most-in-demand-industries/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=35214