Competency-Based Education in Action: School Districts Share Advice

by THE Journal

Digital Promise, a national nonprofit organization authorized by Congress, and Education Elements, an education company, yesterday released several free resources that are designed to help districts through competency-based education (CBE) implementation. First, the “Competency-based Education Toolkit” catalogs a year’s worth of actionable advice and lessons learned from district leaders within the League of Innovative Schools, a national network of K–12 district leaders. The toolkit also includes a video series that showcases the power of competency-based education, cross-district collaboration and open education resources from leaders in several school districts.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2017/05/19/competency-based-education-in-action-school-districts-share-advice.aspx

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=28209

6 VR Trends to Watch in Education

By Sri Ravipati, Campus Technology

Virtual reality is taking off in higher education. VR devices are expected to increase 85 percent by 2020, with gaming and educational applications driving most of that growth. But what areas of VR should educators specifically focus on and what tech can they look out for? “We can expect to see certain trends in VR to move forward, while others will disappear. As devices continue to shrink we will see the development of augmented and mixed reality experiences that will power compelling visualizations, immersive storytelling, gamified simulations and learning experiences,” said Maya Georgieva, an ed tech strategist, author and speaker with more than 15 years of experience in higher education and global education.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/05/16/6-vr-trends-to-watch-in-education.aspx

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=28194

In more classrooms, books and lectures are being ditched

by Steven A. Rosenberg, Boston Globe

Finding a textbook in Barbara McNulty’s communications class requires some sleuthing. That’s because the weighty volumes are stacked at the bottom of a dark closet and haven’t been used in 10 years. Pens, notebooks, and lectures? Also scarce. Instead, students in the Groton-Dunstable Regional High School class learn almost entirely through digital platforms. They use computers to research and create projects at their own pace, while McNulty serves as a guide, traversing the classroom and assessing students’ work in real-time from their laptops.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/06/04/paperless-education/LlHobGE7iRIZV3pwN0cR9J/story.html

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=15992

A Q&A With Mother Of The Internet Lynda Weinman, Cofounder Of Lynda.com

by Chloe Sorvino, FORBES

FORBES asked dozens of the richest self-made women in the country to talk about failure, breaking rules and what keeps them going. We’ve broken out the most intriguing responses. Sometimes called a “mother of the Internet,” Lynda Weinman sold her online learning platform, Lynda.com, to LinkedIn LNKD -1.05% for $1.5 billion in May and stepped down as executive chairman a month later. Worth $260 million, she is one of the most successful self-made women in the country. Getting to that point wasn’t so easy.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2016/06/05/a-qa-with-mother-of-the-internet-lynda-weinman-cofounder-of-lynda-com/#52d856b44c63

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=15988

Constrained local students are enjoying opportunities online learning offers

BY BEKEZELA PHAKATHI, Business Day Live

ONLINE learning is becoming increasingly popular, particularly among students who cannot access traditional places of higher education due to various constraints, including financial, geographical and political. Higher education has been under the spotlight in SA following last year’s #feesmustfall protests. According to University of the People (UoPeople), a US nonprofit online institution of higher education headquartered in Pasadena, an increasing number of South African students are seeking to enrol at the institution.

http://www.bdlive.co.za/national/education/2016/06/04/constrained-local-students-are-enjoying-opportunities-online-learning-offers

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=15985

Parents slam schools on ‘Trip Advisor-style’ websites: Commenters blast teachers and class sizes in online rants

by Daily Mail

The two sites, School Reviewer and School Guide, have been set up by parents frustrated by the lack of real information about the schools they were considering beyond often bland or impenetrable reports by education authorities. Critics warned they risked allowing parents with a grudge to damage the reputation of schools or their staff, but the sites said they were careful to vet comments. Edwin Chan, a 45-year-old financier who is behind the School Reviewer site, said it had grown out of his frustration with attempting to glean honest information on potential schools for his children.  He said: ‘Short of standing outside the school gates and canvassing opinions from parents, I had no other source of parental reviews or opinions on those schools via the internet.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3104115/Parents-slam-schools-Trip-Advisor-style-websites-Commenters-blast-teachers-class-sizes-online-rants.html

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

South Central students find success with virtual learning

By MATT FRITZ, The News-Dispatch

By the time her junior year was nearly complete in the spring of 2014, South Central High School student Hanna Wleklinski was ready to quit. Since neither her mother, who worked as a hotel housekeeper, nor her siblings ever graduated, Hanna decided she wouldn’t either. But then, another option came along. Before her senior year began, South Central High School started offering a new program. Called the Satellite Virtual Learning Center, it allowed Hanna to take online classes in place of traditional ones. By the first week of April (in less than a school year), Hanna had earned the 19 credits she needed to graduate, and she became the first member of her family to do so. Now, when she walks with her class on June 7, she will be the first of her family to collect a diploma as well.

http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/news/article_a76bf528-070e-11e5-bc1e-e36e85a6ee11.html

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/G3q47OUL0ss/

How to Create Better and Cheaper Training and Development Programs

by Erica Dhawan, INC

This shift in training and development is critical for any company that wants to retain top talent. “The bottom line is that companies need to rethink their talent management and employee engagement strategies,” said Dan Schawbel, Founder of WorkplaceTrends.com. “Personalized employee career development programs, accessible tools and tracking systems and a focus on redefining and re-engaging leadership — at all levels — will help deliver on the innovation and growth that businesses require.”  We know that developing your employees is crucial for business growth; it’s time for companies falling short to use the resources we already have and focus on this area. So what does this look like and how can companies take advantage of these new trends? As an advisor on talent to Fortune 500 companies, here are my top 5 best practices.

http://www.inc.com/young-entrepreneur-council/how-to-create-better-and-cheaper-training-and-development-programs.html

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/rX5WHiwkIpM/

Helping STEM Take Root

By Bridget McCrea, THE Journal

It has been nearly five years since President Obama launched Educate to Innovate in an effort to push American students from the middle to the top of the heap in science and math achievement. Through this effort, the federal government, companies, and nonprofits have moved into the K-12 science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) arena in an attempt to broadening the nation’s tech-minded talent pool. The goals of these groups go beyond just ensuring that today’s kids are exposed to STEM subjects in school. They’re also helping students select careers in growing industries that pay well.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/05/29/helping-stem-take-root.aspx

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/U8cCgfipvyI/

Social Media Literacy: The Five Key Concepts

by Stacey Goodman, Edutopia

Online digital technology has empowered users in ways that were unimaginable twenty years ago. Social media sites have given us the ability to reach a global audience, and have increased the average user’s means to persuade and influence. We are no longer just consumers of media, but content creators and distributors, as well as editors, opinion makers, and journalists. How does media literacy fit into this new media landscape? How do we ensure that we are not perpetuating harmful ideas and messages through our online social network? Perhaps with an increase in our power to influence and persuade should come the critical frameworks that we can apply to the media we create, and not just the media we consume.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/social-media-five-key-concepts-stacey-goodman

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/7uGaQQ4b31M/

5 Robust Apps For The Chromebook Classroom

By Holly Clark, Edudemic

Helping kids show what they understand by making their thinking visible should be at the heart of most pedagogically sound technology integration. Chrome apps can help you do just that if you choose the right ones. Here are some of my top picks for achieving this in the Chromebook classroom.

http://www.edudemic.com/5-robust-apps-chromebook-classroom/

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/6msxdSH8Z60/