5 examples of stellar digital literacy in higher ed

BY LAURA ASCIONE, eCampus News
New research highlights the need for education leaders to incorporate digital literacy initiatives across all disciplines. Colleges and universities hoping to help students hone their digital literacy skills should look to strategies that emphasize creative thinking and problem solving across a range of areas, according to a new brief from the New Media Consortium. A new brief examines how higher education educators and administrators view digital literacy and reveals the approaches that shape how students learn, create and communicate digital content.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/curriculum/digital-literacy-in-higher-ed/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=32119

Some North Okaloosa residents prefer virtual education

by RENEE BELL, News Bulletin

For some North Okaloosa County residents, attending school is as simple as sitting in their home office or cracking open a laptop. According to the most recent report by the Babson Survey Research Group, in 2014, 5.8 million U.S. students were enrolled in at least one online higher education course. That’s approximately one in every four students.

http://www.crestviewbulletin.com/news/20170919/some-north-okaloosa-residents-prefer-virtual-education

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=32109

University of Nebraska High School provides online education to students across the world

by Will Roper, Daily Nebraskan

When the time to choose a high school arrived, Stark, along with many rural Nebraskan students, international students, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake chose to continue this education style and enroll in the University of Nebraska High School. In early September, a video containing Britney Spears talking about her experience with the University of Nebraska High School made its rounds on Twitter. In the video, Spears said she opted to use the program as a substitute to high school, given the intensity of her career at the time. ccording to its website, the University of Nebraska High School was established in partnership with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1929 with the initial goal of providing a reliable form of distance learning to rural Nebraskans who lived in a community that couldn’t sustain a high school.

http://www.dailynebraskan.com/arts_and_entertainment/university-of-nebraska-high-school-provides-online-education-to-students/article_9b6a0358-9d9f-11e7-8636-23eebc77920c.html

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=32099

The CIO as educator: Experience brings trust, curricular advantages

By Roger Riddell, Education Dive

The path to the higher ed CIO’s office can vary quite a bit from the position’s corporate counterpart. While a fair share of college and university tech leaders have come from traditional IT backgrounds, many have also worked their way up through the faculty ranks. And given higher ed’s mission, doing so brings significant benefits both to their decisions as CIOs and their continuing work in the classroom. “I think if you have stood in front of a room of expectant students, struggling to get the technology to work as the minutes tick away — and as you think about all the material you want to cover and the experiences you want the students to have — that really changes your perspective when you think about classroom technology,” said Dr. Michael Berman, vice president for technology and communication and CIO at Cal State University Channel Islands. “The imperatives of simplicity and reliability start to take precedence over anything else.”

http://www.educationdive.com/news/the-cio-as-educator-experience-brings-trust-curricular-advantages/426571/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=18755

No Correlation Between Evaluations and Learning

by Colleen Flaherty, Inside Higher Ed

A number of studies suggest that student evaluations of teaching are unreliable due to various kinds of biases against instructors. Yet conventional wisdom remains that students learn best from highly rated instructors; tenure cases have even hinged on it. A new study suggests that past analyses linking student achievement to high student teaching evaluation ratings are flawed, a mere “artifact of small sample sized studies and publication bias.” The study, in press with Studies in Educational Evaluation says “Our up-to-date meta-analysis of all multisection studies revealed no significant correlations between [evaluation] ratings and learning.”

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/09/21/new-study-could-be-another-nail-coffin-validity-student-evaluations-teaching

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=18747

Higher ed moving to embrace of ‘Internet of everything’

By Jarrett Carter, Education Dive

Campus Technology explores the possibilities for higher education within the “Internet of Everything,” the emerging culture of online connectivity in devices and raw materials, which can create opportunities for analytics and teaching opportunities. According to Robbie K. Melton, associate vice chancellor for mobile and emerging technologies at the Tennessee Board of Regents, students will expect institutions to make use of environment-technology pairing to enhance the learning and living experience, and to gain real-time insight into student engagement and academic interest. Melton also cites the ability to purchase specific chapters of textbooks, which dramatically cuts spending for students, as an example of the growing technology.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/higher-ed-moving-to-embrace-of-internet-of-everything/426701/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=18767

The digital learning plan every educator should read

By Stephen Noonoo, eSchool News

Of interest to both lawmakers and educators, the DLP makes recommendations around providing flexible professional development for district-level staff and principals, as well as the creation of a larger network of PD facilitators devoted to helping teachers adjust to digital learning concepts, such as blended instruction. It also suggests beefing up regional and statewide collaborations to support local educators and developing sustainable funding models. Of course, many of these initiatives will require new funding, and the report takes pains to spell out where federal money can step in and what, exactly, the state might be on the hook for. “It’s been quite a budgetary fight,” Corn said about working with legislators to secure those funds. “But we did get an increase in textbook allotment and school connectivity. We didn’t get everything we asked for but because of the Digital Learning Plan and the conversations we’ve been having, at a time when our state budgets have been fiscally conservative, they did give increases in those two areas.”

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/09/23/digital-learning-plan-749/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=13913

4 things innovative districts do to improve graduation rates

By Melissa Gedney, eSchool News

Forward-thinking practices focus on college and career readiness. As the skills expected of today’s graduates change rapidly, school districts have to overhaul their thinking on what it means to be “college and career ready.” Conventional wisdom around when and where students learn, what knowledge they need to be successful, and who they are as learners is all rapidly changing, especially as technology becomes more prevalent in classrooms. This is all top of mind for members of the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools, a coalition of around 57 forward-thinking districts and leaders across the country, who are committed to improving the opportunity to learn for all of their students through technology and research. We rounded up some best practices League members use to ensure students stay in school, get their degrees, and are prepared for success in their post-secondary endeavors.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/09/22/districts-graduation-rates-395/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=13910

Online course innovator launches mobile player

by eCampus News

Users can take Versal courses directly on iOS and Android devices. Smartphones and tablets have become a day-to-day part of our lives. And the opportunity to learn on-the-go is not only a huge benefit, it’s a requirement. Versal is launching its new mobile player, which enables students to take interactive Versal courses via iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. In the corporate environment, employees can learn something new while commuting to work or while staffing a remote office that doesn’t have broad computer access (for example, in a retail environment).

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/versal-mobile-player-093/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=13908

The Top 5 Blended And Flipped Classroom Tools

By Hardik Parikh, Edudemic

Blended and Flipped Classrooms can give students more control over their learning path. Added to that, the teachers get more insight into the learning of the class and can intervene as required. Technology plays an important role in blending the classrooms. User-friendly technology ensures that the student has more control over the time, place and pace of the curriculum. It also ensures that the teacher has the necessary visibility and tools to intervene effectively.

http://www.edudemic.com/blended-and-flipped-classroom-tools/

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/buk16WlIzQY/

A Straightforward Guide To Creative Commons

By Katie Lepi, Edudemic

Way back when, research meant going to the library, finding something in a book, and indicating what book you found the information in when you created your bibliography. The internet has brought a significant amount of grey area to the world of citations and bibliographies. Students need to understand how to distinguish relevant, reliable material from the wasteland of trash that otherwise litters the internet. How do you cite a tweet, or other social media post? Is that considered ‘reliable’? And when it comes to sharing that information – especially on the internet- things get even hairier. Enter Creative Commons. (And thank goodness). The Creative Commons licenses allow any internet user to easily understand how they can (and can not) share what they find on the web. The licenses are visual, and if you aren’t sure of what you see on the work you’d like to use, you can refer back to the CC website to see. The handy infographic linked below gives a pretty thorough overview of the licenses and what they mean.

http://www.edudemic.com/guide-creative-commons/

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/NBTJ0EElXZQ/

What to Ask Before Joining an Online Learning Program

by D. Frank Smith, EdTech Magazine

Students looking to achieve a work-life balance while expanding their higher education horizons have plenty of options today, thanks to the growth of online education. Universities have been making online education more accessible, attracting students who want to fit education into their busy schedules. To help orient students interested in pursuing an online course, Online Schools Center, a distance-learning resource organization, has created a seven-question infographic quiz linked below covering the basics on what’s involved with online education.

http://www.edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2014/09/what-ask-joining-online-learning-program-infographic

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/MlCxVq_baK8/