Higher ed still lagging on digital accessibility

by Roger Riddell, Education Dive

Higher ed institutions are behind in ensuring accessibility for all students with digital material and platforms, as detailed by a new 3PlayMedia whitepaper. According to eCampus News, 11% of students have disabilities, but the shift to digital has left them in a particular bind as multimedia materials have expanded faster than accessibility initiatives designed to comply with federal and state laws. When working to establish accessibility for all students, institutions should consider compliance across hardware, software, digital text documents, web design, audio and video, and course design.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/higher-education-digital-accessibility-special-needs-disabilities/439847/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=26007

What is the state of virtual reality in the classroom?

by Matthew Lynch

Virtual reality sounds like a far-off futuristic concept. When we hear the words “virtual reality” we may think of people wearing big helmets that transport them to another location from the comfort of their home (or classroom). However, virtual reality is slowly becoming a reality in the classroom. It doesn’t look quite like what you might imagine, but it is improving all the time. The potential benefits of virtual reality in the classroom are endless. Students from schools all over the world could have access to the same resources and experiences through virtual reality, creating an even playing field like we’ve never seen before in education. Students could use virtual reality to travel back in time and see history come to life, or to take field trips to far-off locations that would cost hundreds to travel to in real life.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/state-virtual-reality-classroom/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=25992

How deep learning is changing the game for both advertisers and consumers

by Daniel Surmacz, ClickZ

AI has forever changed digital advertising. As marketers, it already allows us to decide how to best engage potential customers and markets like never before. But there’s room to grow. Deep learning tools are the next major area of AI-based research, and it will spark a wave of future innovation in every industry – bringing a new era of marketing which both advertisers and end-users will benefit from. Our interfaces have already adapted to fit a user’s interests on a personal level, matching industry insights and behaviours with display advertising – or personalization. But deep learning algorithms will achieve even more.

https://www.clickz.com/how-deep-learning-is-changing-the-game-for-both-advertisers-and-consumers/110486/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=25977

Clarkson University Educator Merges Teaching, Learning and Technology

by Clarkson University

Phylise Banner, director of online teaching and learning at Clarkson University’s Capital Region Campus in Schenectady, has been selected to serve a new two-year term as an Adobe Education Leader (AEL). Phylise Banner“It’s a big honor in the industry to be an Adobe Education Leader,” she says. “While the designation isn’t new to me, it is special each time it’s renewed. Adobe Education Leaders get together for workshops and summits, and share ideas on how to best meet the needs of faculty and students. This is a great network for sharing with other educators.” Through the Education Leaders Program, a network of outstanding educators inspires each other, shares ideas, and collaborates. The program provides the leadership and professional development to help administrators and faculty think in new and creative ways.

http://www.clarkson.edu/news/2016/news-release_2016-04-04-1.html

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=15540

Enrollment in MCC dual-credit courses explodes

by Madhu Krishnamurthy, Daily Herald

McHenry County College is seeing an explosion in enrollment growth for dual-credit courses — a 61 percent increase in two years, from 916 in 2014 to 1,475 in 2016. The increase largely is due to a computer literacy course launched this year in which 600 high school students are enrolled and being taught by their own teachers. Eighty percent of those students are freshmen and sophomores, officials said. The computer literacy course is free and offered as part of the College in the High School option. Though typically only juniors and seniors are allowed to take dual-credit courses, MCC got a waiver from the Illinois Community College Board to offer its computer literacy course to freshmen and sophomores, as well.

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20160404/news/160409645/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=15538

24 EdTech Tools And 5 Benefits Of Integrating Technology In The Classroom

by Sarah Smith, eLearning Industry

There are many ways of integrating technology in the classroom; ways that do not directly involve the use of computers. Some of the traditional classroom tools have found equivalent technology tools. Schools or teachers that have adopted or replaced traditional classroom tools with equivalent technology tools are seen to be teaching with edTech tools.  See a summary of 24 key edtech tools linked below.

http://elearningindustry.com/integrating-technology-in-the-classroom-24-edtech-tools-5-benefits-educational-technology-integration

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=15535

3 ways technology should be reinventing rural education

By Bryan C. Hassel and Stephanie Dean, eSchool News

For rural schools, technology is a solution but also another challenge. Technology makes it possible for each of us to do more, learn more, and be more connected. That’s true for education in general, but its potential seems particularly compelling for rural schools, which struggle to offer an array of learning opportunities, to transport students to a central facility, and to get the best combination of teachers from small candidate pools.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/04/09/rural-education-683/

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/F1gZlsPfNFU/

Every Teacher’s Must Have Guide to Facebook

By Pamela DeLoatch, Edudemic

Want to connect with your students in and out of the classroom? Consider bringing Facebook into your class as a collaborative tool. We all know that most kids, or at least those in the pre-teen and up category, are locked into many forms of social media. Instead of fighting it, why not meet them where they are, and use the benefits of Facebook to communicate and increase involvement? We’ve identified a number of resources for you to use as you determine why and how to make Facebook work in your classroom.

http://www.edudemic.com/every-teachers-must-have-guide-to-facebook/

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/6LV_emvW4OQ/

Minnesota Course evaluations will go online in fall

By Haley Hansen, Minnesota Daily

The comments and critiques students make on their course evaluation forms at the end of this semester may influence other students’ future class selections. Come fall, parts of students’ end-of-semester course evaluations will be available online for other students to view when deciding what classes to take, a policy change students have spent years advocating for. While the information online won’t be about individual faculty members, it will be about specific classes, which some say could help students make better informed decisions when enrolling in courses.

http://www.mndaily.com/news/campus/2015/04/08/course-evaluations-will-go-online-fall

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/4uQrPOM3RJ0/

The Technology Disruptions of Today

By Tanya Roscorla, Center for Digital Education

In the last five years, disruptive technology has widened the generation gap faster and further than it has in the past. Tech columnist David Pogue from Yahoo Tech talked about disruptive technology that is changing our lives in the closing keynote at the CoSN annual conference on Friday, March 21. Some of the technologies he highlighted include augmented reality, the Internet of Things and self-driving cars. The augmented reality app Word Lens, for example, translates words on a sign through live video, showing the English translation on the device’s screen. And the Internet of Things allows people to remotely control and monitor Web-connected devices like thermostats and security cameras.

http://www.centerdigitaled.com/news/Technology-Disruptions.html

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5 Education Problems that Superintendents Face

By Tanya Roscorla, Center for Digital Ed

If we don’t change the way we teach, we could face a student revolt that will cause seismic shifts in how education works in the United States. Superintendents say this is just one of the things that has them concerned. Several shared their thoughts before and during a panel discussion at the 2014 CoSN (Consortium for School Networking) conference. When it comes to technology challenges, superintendents worry about device selection, student data privacy and helping educators get comfortable with technology tools. Let’s find out what problems they face and how they plan to deal with them.

http://www.centerdigitaled.com/news/5-Education-Problems-that-Superintendents-Face.html

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/QQbJRE-Zwmo/

Can Online Teaching Improve Face to Face Instruction?

by Michael L. Rodgers and Mary Harriet Talbut, Tomorrow’s Professor

In general, online courses require greater planning, more extensive resources, more formalized communication, and more detailed organization than do face to face courses. But, the work that goes into creating an online course, and the insights forthcoming from comparison of online and face to face versions of the course, can make the face to face course better in many ways.

http://cgi.stanford.edu/~dept-ctl/cgi-bin/tomprof/enewsletter.php

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