Cool Tool: Google Course Builder

by ATD Staff
Considering that most companies deliver at least some training via e-learning, course authoring software is an important tool for talent development. And while many of these tools have expensive licensing fees, open-source alternatives exist.
One option of note is Google Course Builder. Free to download and legal to modify, it lets you set up a course-building web application for your entire organization or for a specific learning program. Once you’ve set up this app, you can use it to create, deliver, and manage online learning programs.

https://www.td.org/Publications/Magazines/TD/TD-Archive/2017/10/Intelligence-Google-Course-Builder

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=32461

Florida Virtual School to welcome 20,000 Puerto Rican students, Gov Scott says

by Leslie Postal Leslie, Orlando Sentinel
Puerto Rican students, whether still on the island or resettling in Florida, can take classes through the state’s public online school for free, Gov. Rick Scott announced Thursday. The Florida Virtual School will accommodate up to 20,000 youngsters from Puerto Rico, Scott’s office said. The offer comes as the U.S. territory continues to struggle after Hurricane Irma pounded it two weeks ago, damaging homes, schools, business, roads and the island’s power grid. The virtual school offers more than 150 online courses for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/education/school-zone/os-florida-virtual-school-puerto-rican-students-20171005-story.html

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=32451

Online homework help through Gig Harbor library helping Peninsula School District students succeed

by News Tribune

Students in the Peninsula School District determined to excel in class but concerned they will fall short, need not worry. The Pierce County Library System offers in-library and online resources to help students master core academic standards, successfully write research papers, complete daily homework, and become fluent in a foreign language.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/community/gateway/g-living/article177247016.html

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=32441

Faculty on the Fence About Providing Computing Devices to Students

By Dian Schaffhauser, Rhea Kelly; Campus Technology

According to our Teaching with Technology survey, 55 percent of faculty support the idea of their institutions providing computing devices to all students, while 67 percent like the “bring your own device” approach. About a quarter of faculty (23 percent) fully support the idea of their institutions providing computing devices to all students. And another 30 percent are in favor of device handouts, but with reservations. These insights and more were part of Campus Technology’s first-ever Teaching with Tech survey, which polled faculty members across the country about their use of technology for teaching and learning, their wish lists and gripes, their view of what the future holds and more.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/09/28/faculty-on-the-fence-about-providing-computing-devices-to-students.aspx

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=19129

How to Steal an AI

by Andy Greenberg, Wired

In the burgeoning field of computer science known as machine learning, engineers often refer to the artificial intelligences they create as “black box” systems: Once a machine learning engine has been trained from a collection of example data to perform anything from facial recognition to malware detection, it can take in queries—Whose face is that? Is this app safe?—and spit out answers without anyone, not even its creators, fully understanding the mechanics of the decision-making inside that box. But researchers are increasingly proving that even when the inner workings of those machine learning engines are inscrutable, they aren’t exactly secret. In fact, they’ve found that the guts of those black boxes can be reverse-engineered and even fully reproduced—stolen, as one group of researchers puts it—with the very same methods used to create them.

https://www.wired.com/2016/09/how-to-steal-an-ai/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=19117

Udacity’s self-driving car engineering degree lures over 11,000 hopefuls

By Alexandria Sage and Paul Lienert, Reuters

Silicon Valley online education platform Udacity has already received more than 11,000 applicants for its so-called nanodegree in self-driving car engineering, Udacity president and Google X founder Sebastian Thrun said. The high number of applicants – for 250 spots in the course – underscores the pressing need for talent by technology leaders such as Alphabet’s Google and Apple, traditional car companies and automotive start-ups, as they race to develop production-ready autonomous-driving vehicles within the next decade. High-profile, costly acquisitions driven by the desire to acquire talent, such as General Motors Co’s purchase of automotive start-up Cruise, or Uber Technologies [UBER.UL] buying self-driving trucking start-up Otto, have marked the sector over the past year. “Self-driving car engineers are extremely in demand,” Thrun told Reuters in an interview.

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/udacitys-self-driving-car-engineering-degree-lures-over-173116453–finance.html

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=19105

What are the “black swans” of higher ed-tech?

By Ron Bethke, eCampus News

According to ed-tech experts, responding as flexibly as possible to often unpredictable trends and new technologies is critical for maximizing their potential positive impact on learning. “Black Swans” was the latest webinar hosted by The New Media Consortium in their Beyond the Horizon series, and featured a panel of five experts led and moderated by Dr. Ruben Puentedura, founder of the Hippasus educational consulting firm.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/technologies/ed-tech-future-101/

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Electronic textbooks save Indiana students $8M

by Associated Press

University students have saved $8 million over the last three years by opting into a digital learning program that uses electronic textbooks, school officials said. “Students have been complaining for a long time about the high cost of textbooks,” Anastasia Morrone, associate vice president for learning technologies at IU, told The Indianapolis Star. “Really, it does give you pause why a book has to cost $300.”

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/electronic-textbooks-indiana-984/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=14006

Interactive learning environment aims to improve student success

by Sabrina Salvatore, the Orion

The course requires students to watch videos and lectures online prior to class, Wasinger said. During class, students are divided into groups where they do different activities to recycle the material. The online videos include step-by-step visual demonstrations of course material, as well as audio explaining the content which is accessed via Blackboard Learn. This semester is the first this teaching technique is being implemented and will continue for at least four semesters, Wasinger said. The chemistry department hopes that after this trial run there will be proof that this interactive learning approach helps improve students’ grades. If the results are positive, then it will be made a permanent part of this course and possibly implemented in other departments. “As a way to hold the students accountable for actually watching the online lectures outside of class, there are random quizzes attached to the end of a video that count for credit toward their grade in the course,” he said.

http://theorion.com/blog/2015/10/04/interactive-learning-environment-aims-to-improve-student-success/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=14003

Empowering superintendents in the digital age

By Keith Krueger, eSchool News

Superintendents lead. They are charged with preparing students to be college-, career-, and life-ready, and with enabling a 21st-century learning environment. Increasingly, this means leveraging digital technologies to create personalized learning opportunities. As leaders, superintendents play an essential role as a catalyst for using technology to transform learning. In districts where superintendents have created a clear and compelling vision for technology, positive learning changes are occurring. In districts where the superintendent has abdicated that responsibility, technology is rarely scaled in a systemic manner.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/10/02/cosn-empowering-superintendents-901/

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Report urges support for girls’ leadership roles

By Laura Devaney, eSchool News

Creating a pipeline of girls who are interested in leadership roles in school is essential. Educators are uniquely positions to help girls assume leadership roles and overcome stereotypes both in and out of school, according to a new report from the National Education Association (NEA). Educator support in helping girls take on leadership roles is essential, especially in middle and high school. The report, based on 2014 NEA survey data, recommends several actions to help educators close the leadership gender gap.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/10/02/girls-leadership-roles-549/

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/XdKpSz6Y6is/

Calif. law targets social media monitoring of students

By Kelly Corrigan, Glendale News-Press

California school leaders must tell parents they are monitoring students’ social media posts, and must delete this information when students leave the district, under a first-of-its-kind state law. The law aims to protect students’ online privacy. If California school officials collect information about students’ public posts on social media websites, they must discard this information within a year after a student leaves the district, and they must tell parents they are monitoring their children’s social media posts, under a new state law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown Sept. 29.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/10/02/social-media-monitoring-639/

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