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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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=37758

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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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=37636

San Ysidro middle schools get laptops under Google-funded initiative

by David Hernandez, San Diego Union-Tribune
The district received more than 800 of the laptops under a technology-driven initiative funded by Google.  Students at two San Ysidro middle schools are more engaged than ever these days thanks to a new technology-driven initiative funded by Google, school officials say. Vista Del Mar and San Ysidro middle schools are among 50 schools across the country that were chosen for the inaugural program. Under the Dynamic Learning Project, the San Ysidro School District received 829 Chromebooks this school year. A “coach” at each of the district’s two middle schools helps teachers integrate the laptops into their classes.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/communities/south-county/sd-se-google-grant-20180227-story.html

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Nevada university eyes student success in online schooling

by Natalie Bruzda, Nevada Review- Journal

WGU has been educating students in online classrooms since 1998, when the internet was still in its infancy. Even more revolutionary at the time, however, was the school’s competency-based approach to learning.  But Spencer Stewart, chancellor of WGU Nevada — one of eight WGU state affiliates, with WGU Ohio coming on-line this spring — said interest in competency-based education is growing. “What’s fascinating to me is that on a national level, competency-based education is starting to get more and more traction,” Stewart said. “With the Higher Education Act being debated and discussed in Congress, a good portion of that is dedicated to new ways of teaching and learning. WGU really serves as the pioneer in this space.”

Nevada university eyes student success in online schooling

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9 Tips for Being an Educational Leader in the Digital Age

by Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

Being an education leader has always be hard. But in the digital age, the stakes have been increased. So how can digital leaders best this gargantuan challenge? Here are my tips for being the best education leader that you can be in this digital age.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/9-tips-education-leader-digital-age/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=37212

Three apps that bring the classroom to your smartphone

by Standard Digital

Our phones can easily mimic a classroom. You can watch videos, listen to podcasts, read slides and comment on lectures in real time. The following three apps combine all these experiences to deliver a real-world portable classroom that enables you to sharpen your skills on the go, giving you that ever-elusive edge in tackling business challenges.

https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2001270570/three-apps-that-bring-the-classroom-to-your-smartphone

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=37142

A Teen Ahead of His Class

By: Taylor Williams, Wabash Valley]

It’s certainly not the way most teens do it, but this 15 year old started and ended high school in the same school year, all without stepping foot in a classroom. On most days this is where you’ll find 15 year old Walter Wildman, typing away on his computer. But Walter is not your typical 15 year old. In January Walter graduated high school. “Are you sure? Most of the reactions are, are you sure it’s accredited or are you lying,” Walter Wildman said.   But it’s true.

http://www.mywabashvalley.com/news/a-teen-ahead-of-his-class/952948375

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36685

Classes taught online on snow days

BY AMELIA HARPER, Rocky Mountain Telegram

While most students in Edgecombe County were missing school during the recent January snow days, students at G.W. Bulluck Elementary School had the option to continue learning and the school has earned some props in the process. Hillary Boutwell, principal of G.W. Bulluck Elementary School, shared with the members of the Edgecombe County Board of Education last week the lengths her teachers went to so the students could continue learning in spite of the missed days. “This was just the teachers understanding that we had circumstances beyond our control and just thinking outside the box,” Boutwell said.

http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/News/2018/01/31/Elementary-school-continues-learning-on-snow-day.html

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=36569

Education technology is a global opportunity

by Emmanuel Nataf, Tech Crunch

$8.15 billion. That’s the amount global investors staked in edtech companies in the first 10 months of 2017. Education used to be simple: there was a blackboard, a teacher and desks in a classroom. Today, a student can practice English online, upload homework through a portal and learn chemistry through 3D immersion — such is the rise of educational technologies. And nowhere is the advent of edtech climbing more quickly than in Asia.

https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/19/education-technology-is-a-global-opportunity/

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These states offer good jobs that don’t require 4-year degrees

BY LAURA ASCIONE, eCampusNews

Nearly half the states in the U.S. have good blue-collar jobs that pay without bachelor’s degrees, according to a new state-level analysis of the 30 million jobs in the economy for those with less than a bachelor’s degree. The report and companion website GoodJobsData.org, from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (Georgetown Center) in partnership with JPMorgan Chase & Co., also reveal that more good jobs have been going to associate’s degree holders than workers with no more than a high school diploma in nearly every state since 1991.

These states offer good jobs that don’t require 4-year degrees

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