Google’s DeepMind AI is being taught to understand the thought-process behind the decisions of others just like a human

by Harry Pettit, Daily Mail
DeepMind software can predict what other AIs will do in a virtual setting
It can even understand whether they hold ‘false beliefs’ about an object
This so-called ‘theory of mind’ is only found in humans, apes and some birds
Google’s AI may one day lead to robots that can think more like humans.  The software is capable of predicting what other AIs will do, and can even understand whether they hold ‘false beliefs’ about the world around them. DeepMind reports its bot can now pass a key psychological test that most children only develop the skills for at around age four.  Its proficiency in this ‘theory of mind’ test may lead to robots that can think more like humans.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5449483/DeepMind-AI-learning-understand-thoughts-others.html

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=37467

Teachers asked to use ‘snow days’ to do mandatory online course

by Katherine Donnelly, the Independent
Teachers and other school staff are being asked to use the “snow days” do a mandatory online child protection course, to avoid a need to close for another day next week for training. March 11 is the deadline for completing the training and, while some schools will have done it, others may have chalked in a day’s closure for it this week, or next. The training, for which two-half days is allowed, can be bundled into one day. It is to update staff, in the country’s 4,000 primary and post primary schools, on new child protection procedures.

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/storm-emma/teachers-asked-to-use-snow-days-to-do-mandatory-online-course-36659011.html

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=37457

Washington State Passes Law Protecting Net Neutrality

by Dom Galeon, Futurism

The state of Washington has put its foot down on the U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) net neutrality repeal, passing a new law that instead safeguards these protections. On Monday, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed House Bill 2282, which state legislators from both parties passed in February, protecting net neutrality within the state. “This is not a partisan issue,” Republican representative Norma Smith, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said in an earlier statement. “This is about preserving a fair and free internet so all Washingtonians can participate equally in the 21st century economy.”  The repeal will officially end these restrictions by April 23rd.

 

Washington State Passes Law Protecting Net Neutrality

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=37447

4 good computer habits every teacher should have

BY JESSICA CARRELL, eSchool News

During the past two years, I’ve visited Apple’s Genius Bar eight times. I’ve watched a student cry in front of her PC after she found a Word document she had worked on for days corrupted. I’ve witnessed someone spill coffee on my colleague’s MacBook, and then felt enraged when he had to spend almost half its price to make the thing work again. Now you may ask me: What’s going on with our computers? Well, there is nothing wrong with the computers. It’s us. It’s our bad habits that led to these tragedies. That’s what I’d like to share with you today: four good computer habits every teacher should have in the digital age. These habits may affect your productivity, data security, and health. Health…seriously? Yes: A survey claims that Americans spend two hours a week waiting on their slow computers, which are sources of immense frustration and constant stress.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2017/03/06/computer-habits-teachers/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=24719

The 2 edtech fields with the most potential under Trump

BY BRIAN PEDDLE, eCampus News

Edtech investors and users could see significant growth in specific areas if the Trump administration sees its campaign rhetoric through.Though it’s too early to predict what impact the administration’s higher ed policies will have on the education technology sector, last year’s electoral campaign and executive actions in the early weeks of the administration may offer some insight into education priorities, pointing attention—and, potentially, funding—toward workforce development and institutional accountability. Neither area is a major departure from longstanding trends in higher education, but the administration’s emphasis will create opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors alike.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/trump-microsite/2-edtech-fields-potential-trump/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=24704

Groundbreaking school blends high school and college together

BY DAVE KNOCHE, eCampus News

The way we prepare students for the future is beginning to change because our economy is undergoing a makeover. The Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce published a report stating that by 2020, 65 percent of our economy’s jobs will require post-secondary education or training beyond high school. That means that students without these post-secondary milestones will only be applicable for 35 percent of jobs. Because of this, it is important to create programs that encourage students to pursue post-secondary education. However, a four-year degree may not be the right path for every student.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/alternative-pathways/ppec-high-school-college/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=24689

Ballmer: I may have called Linux a cancer but now I love it

by Liam Tung, ZD Net

Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer no longer thinks Linux is a “malignant cancer”. With Azure moving up the food chain in Redmond, Microsoft has since 2012 softened its stance on open-source software, capped off by this week’s move to port SQL Server to Linux. Eleven years before that, shortly after taking the helm at Microsoft, Ballmer said, “Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches.” The other c-word he used for Linux was communism, accusing the Linux community of diluting Microsoft’s R&D spend by infringing on its intellectual property.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/ballmer-i-may-have-called-linux-a-cancer-but-now-i-love-it/?tag=nl.e539&s_cid=e539&ttag=e539&ftag=TRE17cfd61

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=15294

Schools: Officials urge caution as students sign up for online classes

By Charles Swenson, Coastal Observer

Students at Waccamaw High have started signing up for online classes less than a week after the virtual curriculum was approved by the Georgetown County Board of Education. But although there is interest in the expanded list of AP and technology classes, school officials said students and parents need to be cautious. “You have to decide, subject by subject, does it meet your child’s needs,” WHS principal David Hammel said at an orientation program this week.

http://www.coastalobserver.com/articles/2016/031016/3.html

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=15291

Zuckerberg Education Ventures backs learning assistant camera app Volley

by Josh Constine, TechCrunch

“This is so fast it feels like cheating” students tell Volley. The education startup’s app lets students point their phone’s camera at a textbook page or piece of homework, and instantly see resources about key facts and tricky parts, prerequisites, and links to snippets of online classes or study guides that could help. But rather than manually cobble this info together, Volley uses cutting edge machine learning and natural language processing to do it all automatically.

http://techcrunch.com/2016/03/10/volley/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=15288

How Technology Can Help Close the Skills Gap in STEM Education

by Felix W. Ortiz III, Huffington Post

A new report from the Education Testing Services (ETS) group highlights a relatively silent but highly urgent problem in America: the skills gap in STEM (science, technology, education, and math) education. What we mean by “skills gap” is the mismatch between the kinds of skills employers say they need compared to the skills our students possess. Right now, our students, especially millennials, are losing ground to the rest of the world. ETS’ report found that in numeracy (math) skills, the United States was tied for last among 22 developing countries. In the field of problem solving and technology rich environments (PS-TRE), U.S. millennials also ranked last. Both numeracy and PS-TRE skills are foundational to success in the STEM fields. In the age of rapid digital innovation, companies have huge demand for graduates with STEM skills. Yet institutions of American education are failing to produce the kind of graduates employers say they need. Maintaining America’s global economic competitiveness in the 21st century largely depends on equipping our students with the kinds of STEM skills employers need.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/felix-w-ortiz-iii/how-technology-can-help-c_b_6829614.html

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/uIAee396aDc/

Accredible Partners With Udacity To Provide Context To Nanodegrees

by Sam O’Keefe, TechCrunch

Accredible, which provides online credentials as a service, is announcing a partnership today to provide digital certificates for Udacity’s burgeoning nanodegree program. The startup has created an API that pulls data from existing online learning platforms — in this case Udacity — and creates an online certificate that summarizes the student’s behavior and learning in a course. For example, while a student’s overall grade and ranking in a course is important, it may be interesting to potential employers to be able to view that student’s code and final presentation and see what types of engagement they had with a community, as well as impressions from mentors or instructors. With Accredible, students can also supplement the certificate with portfolios pieces, personal notes, etc.

http://techcrunch.com/2015/03/09/accredible-partners-with-udacity-to-provide-context-to-nanodegrees/

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

4 Ways to Engage Digitally Distracted Students

by Rony Zarom, edSurge

The demand for digital learning offerings presents new challenges for educators and administrators. One of the biggest is keeping students engaged. In one survey, 74 percent of students reported that the Internet distraction was “significant” and “worrying.” Educators have an opportunity to structure online learning environments in a way that addresses how students already interact online, and in a way that also reduces distraction and increases engagement. Here are four ways to get started.

https://www.edsurge.com/n/2015-03-08-4-ways-to-engage-digitally-distracted-students

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/uLwZ-DsIZI8/

PCs See ‘Most Severe Contraction on Record’

By David Nagel, THE Journal

The PC market tanked last year, but not quite as badly as expected. Overall PC shipments fell 9.8 percent in 2103, slightly better than the 10.1 percent decline previously forecast by market research firm IDC. The drop was the “most severe contraction on record,” IDC reported in its Quarterly PC Tracker, and it’s won’t be the last. IDC said long-term growth will be slightly below negative for the PC market, with a 6.1 percent decline expected this year and a 0.8 percent decline forecast for 2015. Worldwide PC shipments hit 315.1 million units in 2013. That’s expected to drop again to 295.9 million in 2014. By 2018, that figure will have slid further to 291.7 million, according to IDC’s latest forecast.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/03/05/pcs-see-most-severe-contraction-on-record.aspx

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/ugnlcmh7iIQ/

California District Adopts Tablets for Special Education

By Joshua Bolkan, THE Journal

California’s Mountain View Whisman School District has deployed 80 tablets to its special education classrooms. The Silicon Valley-based district, serving approximately 5,000 students, decided to adopt SpEd K12’s Android-based SmartEdPad, a tablet designed specifically for special ed classes. “We have stories of school districts that haven’t achieved measurable benefits by rushing to buy tablet devices,” said Cynthia Loleng-Perez, director of special education at MVWSD, in a prepared statement. “We knew from the beginning buying a few tablets and loading it with a few dozen apps doesn’t solve the problem. This is just because we wanted our mobility device strategy to align with our educational ecosystem. It must align with Common Core State Standards, align with IEP goals for a student, align with RTI process and most importantly be a dedicated educational solution that changes the way teachers teach and students learn.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/03/07/california-district-adopts-tablets-for-special-education.aspx

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/DHs4p7zNP-U/

App lets Tel Aviv University students rank professors in real time

by Yarden Skop, Haaretz

Students will answer 3 questions: whether the class was interesting, how they rated the lecturer’s performance, and how they ranked the lecturer on a scale of 1 to 100. Tel Aviv University is launching a pilot program of an app that allows students to rank their lecturers in real time on their cellphone or tablet. The pilot, initiated by the office of the dean of students, will begin next week in five courses in the faculties of humanities, the arts and the social sciences. All of the courses chosen are those in which the lecturer agreed to take part.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.578836

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