It’s Time to Weave Computational Thinking into K-12

By Dian Schaffhauser, THE Journal

The new report, “Computational Thinking for a Computational World,” explains its theme of computational thinking by borrowing a description from a long-ago article published by the Association for Computing Machinery: It is “a way of solving problems, designing systems and understanding human behavior that draws on concepts fundamental to computer science… a fundamental skill for everyone, not just computer scientists.” More simply, the report noted, “The skill required to tell a computer what to do is programming. The thought process behind programming is computational thinking.” What it isn’t is humans thinking like computers. And, according to the report’s authors, it’s something that needs to be taught across subjects in K-12 schools.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2018/01/02/its-time-to-weave-computational-thinking-into-k12.aspx

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=35579

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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Home schooled students in Iowa could get easier access to online courses

by Elizabeth Wadas, WQAD

Right now there are online classes for students offered by the state called Iowa Learning Online. Public and private schools use the resources, but in order for home school students to have access to the classes, they have to be dual enrolled with a public or private school, meaning families have to follow more school curriculum guidelines at home. But the Iowa Department of Education wants to get rid of that dual enrollment hurdle.

Home schooled students in Iowa could get easier access to online courses

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=35559

Augmented and Virtual Reality Shipments to Double Each Year Through 2020

By Joshua Bolkan, Campus Technology

Augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR) headset sales will see a compound annual growth rate of 108.3 percent from 2015 to 2020, according to a new report from International Data Corp. (IDC). That growth rate will lead to 76 million units shipped in 2020, if the forecast holds true. “2016 has been a defining year for AR as millions of consumers were introduced to Pokemon Go and, on the commercial side, developers and businesses finally got their hands on coveted headsets like Microsoft’s HoloLens,” said Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst for IDC mobile device trackers, in a prepared statement. “AR may just be on track to create a shift in computing significant enough to rival the smartphone. However, the technology is still in its infancy and has a long runway ahead before reaching mass adoption.”

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/01/03/report-augmented-and-virtual-reality-shipments-to-double-each-year-through-2020.aspx

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How Online Education Can Fix Its Student Retention Problem

by SATESH BIDAISEE, Gilmore Mirror

The recent growth of online education has been astounding. Last year, 35 million people signed up for at least one online class. That’s more than double the previous year’s enrollment. The popularity of online learning is easy to understand. Today, students have access to well over 4,000 courses in a wide array of subjects, from chemistry to philosophy to graphic design. They participate at a time and place that suits their schedule. Many courses are free.

http://www.gilmermirror.com/view/full_story/27340507/article-How-Online-Education-Can-Fix-Its-Student-Retention-Problem?instance=lead_story_left_column

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Government Initiatives to Boost the Global E-learning IT Infrastructure Market Through 2020

by Technavio

Global e-learning IT infrastructure market is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 14% during the period 2017-2021. In this research report, Technavio covers the outlook and growth prospects of the global e-learning IT infrastructure market for 2017-2021. The report segments the global e-learning IT infrastructure market into three broad categories including hardware, software, and connectivity, of which the connectivity segment dominated the market with more than 56% of the market share in 2016.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170102005058/en/Government-Initiatives-Boost-Global-E-learning-Infrastructure-Market

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Utah’s early literacy program works–here’s why

BY LAURA DEVANEY, eSchool News

A statewide kindergarten readiness initiative in Utah is helping children develop early literacy skills before they enter kindergarten, and is doing so at a higher rate than among children who are not in the program. The state’s UPSTART program, developed by the nonprofit Waterford Institute, uses an early literacy curriculum delivered digitally in the home. A report analyzing the program’s fifth year suggests that technology has considerable merit for delivering curriculum, teaching critical early reading skills that are known predictors of later school performance, and closing early learning gaps that disproportionately affect disadvantaged children.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2016/01/07/utahs-early-literacy-program-works-heres-why/

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5 goals, 5 barriers of digital curriculum

BY LAURA DEVANEY, eSchool News

According to surveyed district and school administrators, the five most important digital curriculum policy controls are:

1. Providing technology training for teachers

2. Advocating personalized paths of learning using resources

3. Providing ongoing professional development opportunities for applying digital learning

4. Advocating moving to more or all digital content

5. Providing technology training for students

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2016/01/06/5-goals-5-barriers-of-digital-curriculum/

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Cutting out paper and pencils one day a week gets everyone thinking more creatively

BY RON MCALLISTER, eSchool News

The term “paper-free days” may sound like a tactic to cut spending, but that wasn’t the main goal. I wanted to challenge my teachers to think differently about educating and engaging students. Are doing worksheets and reading textbooks really teaching our students what they need to know? Probably not. What if we were to get young learners moving, get their hands dirty through project-based learning, incorporate more technology, and actually engage them in material? Would it make a difference? From there, paper-free days were born, and traditional teachers quickly embraced the true meaning of being paper-free.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2016/01/07/how-paper-free-days-sparked-a-tech-transformation/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=14774

Open Educational Resources Meet Instructional Design

by Andrew Marcinek, Edutopia

Once you’ve started sketching out your instructional design, you can begin seeking out resources for content. Since I first started writing about open educational resources a few years ago, there has been a flood of new sources that educators can seek out for content. But more doesn’t always mean quality. I have never been one to suggest 300 apps for the iPad, or 378 Chromebook extensions for the classroom. Rather, find one or two apps or resources that work best for you, become an expert with them, and focus on student learning rather than app harvesting. Below you will find two sources that I have used personally and recommended over the past four years. Both iTunesU and OER Commons are well-respected OER sites, and both offer a wealth of vetted, credible information that can be integrated into your instruction.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/open-educational-resources-instructional-design-andrew-marcinek

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4 grants for innovation, libraries, and active learning

By Laura Devaney, eSchool News

School funding is a challenge even in the post prosperous of times, especially when it comes to ed tech–technology is always changing, and maintaining or upgrading initiatives, tools, or resources is not always free. Many educators and administrators rely on school grants to fund important projects and opportunities for students. Each month, eSchool News compiles a list of new education grant opportunities. This month’s grants address learning environments, innovation, and more. Check out these funding opportunities for teachers, students, parents, and administrators–there’s likely to be a grant that’s relevant to your needs.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/01/09/january-school-grants-923/

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Subtext: For Sharpening and Expanding Language Arts Skills

By Edudemic

After testing the app for three weeks and weighing online feedback from other educators, I can recommend Subtext as the best collaborative digital reading app for iPads. Relative to its competitors, Subtext has a more expansive in-app library and offers the widest array of features for teachers and students. With Subtext, educators can leverage technology to encourage students to read closely and critically and to engage with literature at a deep level. Because of its myriad built-in tools to enhance digital content, Subtext stands out from the competition. Read on to learn more about the app’s capabilities and what makes it the preferred e-reading educational tool

http://www.edudemic.com/subtext-for-sharpening-and-expanding-language-arts-skills/

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Students Owning Their Learning: A Tale of 2 Schools

By Cathie Norris, Elliot Soloway; THE Journal

Here’s how to increase student learning: Increase student ownership of that learning: “… the most successful students are those who feel real ‘ownership’ of their education. In all the best performing school systems … ’students feel they personally can make a difference in their own outcomes and that education will make a difference for their future.’” (Quote from Thomas Freidman 2013, who is quoting Andreas Schleicher.) Schleicher manages the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) which compares “how well 15-year-olds in 65 cities and countries can apply math, science and reading skills to solve real-world problems” and his observation about student ownership is based on the results of the 2012 PISA findings.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/01/06/ownership.aspx

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Salman Khan, The Most Influential Person In Education Technology

by Peter High, Forbes

Several of these leaders acknowledge that the most influential person to the MOOC landscape has been Salman Khan. As Agarwal lists the genesis of the MOOCs, he lists Khan and his Khan Academy first among the major players. Sebastian Thrun acknowledged in my interview with him that “I stumbled into this after listening to a gentleman named Sal Khan of Khan Academy. In his speech he noted that he had tens of millions of students in his classes. I was teaching at Stanford at the time and had tens of dozens of students in my classes, and I felt I should try something different and see if we could do what I do and scale it to many people.” In fact, in my podcast interview with Thrun, as he listed those who had been most influential to him over the course of his career, he listed Khan on the short list.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterhigh/2014/01/06/salman-khan-the-most-influential-person-in-education-technology/

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Technology Since 1998

By Joshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed

If you were asked to name the most important technology milestones in the last 15 years what would make your list? The thing is, 15 years does not seem like a very long time. My list of the most important technologies (or gadgets or platforms) in the last 15 years would include:

Google 1998

Wikipedia 2001

Facebook 2004

YouTube 2005

Twitter 2006

iPhone 2007

Kindle 2007

http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/technology-1998

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