Professor on online activities: They get ‘students talking more and me talking less’

by JENNIFER LEWINGTON, Globe and Mail

Last fall, University of Alberta school of business accounting professor Michael Maier experimented with his traditional lecture delivery, giving students the opportunity to watch short videos on technical topics outside of class time.   His use of videos is one example of how business professors at U of A – and elsewhere – are experimenting with technology to imagine variations on the traditional lecture format. On mid-term exams last fall, the class average in his accounting course was 82 per cent – about 10 percentage points higher than average scores in the lecture-based classes he has taught over the past eight years.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/business-education/professor-on-online-activities-they-get-students-talking-more-and-me-talking-less/article38232748/

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Global Boom in Private Enrollments

By Ellie Bothwell, Times Higher Education
One in three students globally is enrolled in private higher education institutions, according to research that reveals the huge growth and wide reach of private providers.  The analysis, the first study based on comprehensive data on the size and shape of private higher education internationally, finds that private institutions have 56.7 million students on their books, or 32.9 percent of the world’s enrollment. Times Higher Education logoWhile the U.S. has historically towered over the rest of the world in terms of the size of its private sector, the proportion of students in the country in private higher education stands at 27.5 percent, lower than the global average, and it now accounts for only a tenth of global private enrollment.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/03/08/survey-finds-global-boom-private-higher-education-enrollments

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Virtual schools open for enrollment in Detroit

by Roz Edward, Michigan Chronicle
Across Michigan, schools such as Michigan Connections Academy (MICA) and Great Lakes Cyber Academy (GLCA)—statewide, tuition-free, online public schools—are meeting the growing demand from families interested in online learning solutions for their students. Both online schools are now enrolling students for the upcoming 2018-19 academic year. “A few decades ago, the majority of students were working toward jobs on assembly lines in manufacturing facilities,” said Heather Ballien, superintendent of GLCA. “Thus, schools were designed to meet that need, teaching a mass number of students and expecting them all to learn in the same way. Today, the economic environment is such that students can go on to hold countless jobs in myriad areas of expertise, and education must be flexible in order to prepare students for whatever they choose to pursue.”

Virtual schools open for enrollment in Detroit

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Texas A&M Brings Gaming to Art History

By Sri Ravipati, Campus Technology

Texas A&M University has teamed up with game-based learning company Triseum to introduce gaming into art history survey courses, in an effort to help students better understand the world in which works of art were created. Through a three-year agreement announced Friday, the university will integrate the company’s ARTé: Mecenas, an immersive art history video game that transports students to the Italian Renaissance of the 15th and 16th centuries. They can experience the political, social and economic factors of that time period through taking on the role of a merchant or banker within the Medici family. For example, students are tasked with balancing relationships between stakeholders in that time period (merchant factions, the Catholic Church, etc.) to build and maintain a financial empire.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/03/10/texas-a-m-brings-gaming-to-art-history.aspx

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3 Ideas for Closing the Tech Skills Gap

By Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology

According to a recent survey from the Career Advisory Board, only 11 percent of employers believe higher education is very effective in meeting the skill needs of their organization. More than half (57 percent) said it is common for job applicants to lack technology skills deemed important for success. And 77 percent of respondents said their company’s competitive advantage relies on a workforce that can use applied tech skills to solve problems. These issues and more were discussed in a session this week at SXSWedu in Austin The panel offered three solutions to help close the tech skills gap: Create dedicated industry advisory boards for educators; Move toward a vision of “any time, anywhere” education for students; and Provide students and employees access to the latest technologies.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/03/10/3-ideas-for-closing-the-tech-skills-gap.aspx

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5 tips for getting blended learning right

BY MERIS STANSBURY, eSchool News

Tool integration, teacher teams are just some of the ways schools can ensure successful blended learning initiatives. When implementing a blended learning model, it is important for schools to be aware of key components and steps to integrate into their plan. In “Five Tips for Getting Blended Learning Right,” hosted by edWeb.net and sponsored by Achieve3000, Julia Freeland Fisher, director of Education at the Clayton Christensen Institute, gave schools the tips they need to successfully implement blended learning.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2017/03/09/getting-blended-learning-right/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=24890

Teachers Report: OER In; Textbooks Out

By Dian Schaffhauser, THE Journal

More teachers said that technology has changed how they approach time management (93 percent) than how they approach instructional delivery (88 percent). It has also transformed how they handle parent communication. A solid 7 in 10 reported that they now use tech to do that. On the instructional front, most teachers apply tech to classroom lecture time (84 percent) and differentiated instruction (74 percent). Those results came out of a survey of nearly 1,000 American teachers who were contacted in January and February 2016 by TES Global, a company with a teacher community and marketplace. The findings were shared during a panel at SXSWedu taking place this week in Austin, TX.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/03/09/teachers-report-oer-in-textbooks-out.aspx

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Is there a continuum for competency-based education?

By Rhonda Tracy, Community College Daily

Colleges, universities or systems should not back away from competency-based education if they can’t immediately implement some of the hallmarks of CBE: freedom from the credit hour, authentic assessments, self-paced progression, etc. Rather, a plan should be developed that allows for transitioning to the more impactful components of CBE. As states and colleges evolve in their adoption and implementation of CBE, some are finding it challenging to fully implement a strictly non-credit hour, direct assessment model. As such, a plan that provides a scaffold for both transitioning to competency-based practices and scaling the model beyond a small group should be considered. In short, CBE exists along a continuum with evolving adoption that ranges to classroom-based, competency-based instructional practices to a fully developed program-level CBE model that impacts instruction, delivery, services and policy.

http://www.ccdaily.com/Pages/Workforce-Development/Is-there-a-continuum-for-competency-based-education.aspx

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=15332

Australian teachers get fewer training days than in other countries and turn to online courses for support

by the Conversation

Interestingly, Australian teachers have fewer professional development days each year than in many other nations. And many are turning to online courses to fill the gap. While 97% of Australian teachers participate in professional development activities, they have an average of nine days of professional development activities each year. That is just over half of the number reported by teachers in other countries (15 days). Teachers are seeking out new ways to develop skills relevant to both their challenges and career trajectories. Online providers of professional development have responded accordingly. Providers are rapidly moving to fill the gaps in existing professional development with a wide range of program choices. The online world also provides opportunities for regular engagement in activities that support individual learning needs.

http://theconversation.com/australian-teachers-get-fewer-training-days-than-in-other-countries-and-turn-to-online-courses-for-support-55510

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Google launches digital training classes

By Tereza Pultarova, Engineering and Technology

Internet giant Google has launched a six month scheme offering digital skills training to businesses and educators. The multimillion-pound project will see Google opening several ‘pop-up garages’, starting in Leeds this month, running workshops and classes. “While the majority of UK small businesses recognise the importance of having a website and using basic digital tools, less than 30 per cent of small to medium-sized enterprises have an effective online presence,” said Eileen Naughton, Google’s managing director for UK & Ireland. “We want to help jumpstart the other 70 per cent.

http://eandt.theiet.org/news/2015/mar/google-digital-skills-training.cfm

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A principal offers insights from his teachers on Digital Learning Day.

by Matt Renwick, Educational Technology

Matt Renwick is an elementary school principal in Wisconsin. Prior to becoming an administrator, Matt was a 5th and 6th grade teacher. You can follow him on Twitter at @ReadByExample and read his blog, Reading by Example. Across the world last Friday, educators celebrated Digital Learning Day by sharing the strategies that have worked in the classroom. Technology’s role in schools includes connecting the informational dots, capturing and reflecting on student artifacts and helping teachers personalize their approaches.

http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2015/03/digital-learning-success-about-more-technology

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How online learning can fix the broken teacher labor market

by Mallory Dwinal, Clayton Christensen Institute

As the link between teacher quality and student performance becomes increasingly apparent, education leaders have invested significant time and energy into recruiting high-quality educators. Unfortunately, chronic teacher shortages have undercut these efforts, and many school leaders continue to struggle with staffing each year. A closer examination reveals the causes and characteristics of these teacher shortages, as well as the promise online learning holds in resolving the most challenging teacher vacancies.

http://www.christenseninstitute.org/publications/solving-the-nations-teacher-shortage/

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Learning in an era of online connectivity

By Ernie Smith, Associations Now

Khan Academy’s “flipped learning” educational model drew new attention last week after the nonprofit sealed an exclusive deal with the College Board. It reminds us that there’s still a ton of room for originality in online education. Last week was a massive win for the Khan Academy—and a sign of how the seas are changing for the education process. The well-regarded nonprofit startup, which offers video lessons in a variety of academic disciplines, earned a validation of its model from none other than the College Board. The Khan Academy plans to offer free testing materials to students taking the SAT, leveling the playing field on a testing model that had long favored higher-income students who could pay for expensive prep classes.

http://associationsnow.com/2014/03/homework-comes-first-learning-era-online-connectivity/

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Microsoft takes a stand on student privacy with best-in-class education solutions

by the Wall Street Journal

Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday opened its annual Microsoft in Education Global Forum by emphasizing the importance of student privacy and reaffirming its commitment to helping ensure that student data is never mined for advertising and marketing purposes. The opening keynote speech, which took place in front of an audience of 1,100, including innovative educators, school leaders and government officials from nearly 100 countries, also saw Microsoft highlight its end-to-end, best-in-class solutions with student success and career and college readiness at the forefront. “Privacy concerns are holding educators back from making the most of modern technology and preparing students to succeed in today’s workplace. At the same time, many solutions being used in the classroom are unintentionally putting student data at risk,” said Anthony Salcito, vice president, Worldwide Education, Microsoft.

http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20140312-903572.html

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Who Needs to Know How to Code

by Angela Chen, The Wall Street Journal

Like many 10-year-olds, Nick Wald takes private lessons. His once-a-week tutor isn’t helping him with piano scales or Spanish conjugations, but teaching him how to code. Nick, a fifth-grader in New York, went in with no experience and has since learned enough HTML, JavaScript and CSS to build a simple website. He is now working in Apple’s XCode environment to finish an app named “Clockie” that can be used to set alarms and reminders. He plans to offer it in the iOS App Store for free. “I always liked to get apps from the app store, and I always wanted to figure out how they worked and how I could develop it like that,” Nick says.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304709904579411354120634252

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