Group items tagged

On July 10, 2014, EDUCAUSE joined other leading higher education and library associations (listed below) in proposing a set of network neutrality principles for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to use in developing new regulations to preserve the "open Internet." These groups urged the FCC to adopt these principles in light of a recent court decision vacating two of the key network neutrality rules previously in place, which they believe creates an opportunity for Internet providers to block or degrade (e.g., arbitrarily slow) certain Internet traffic, or prioritize certain services, while relegating the online content and services of colleges, universities, and libraries to the "slow lane." The groups argue that new network neutrality rules based on these principles will ensure that the Internet remains a vital, vibrant platform for teaching, learning, research, and community support and engagement.

"I have used Google Hangouts since the tool was first released, but my initial exposure to a Hangout on Air was during edcamp Home. Edcamps are typically held on school campuses, but edcamp Home allows you to connect with great minds in education from the comfort of your own home -- PD in your PJs! The organizers of edcamp Home completed their third event in July 2014. They work extremely hard to put this fabulous event together, an event that wouldn't be possible without Hangouts on Air and Google Docs for brainstorming sessions and scheduling. Having attended traditional edcamps in the past, what I love most about the "Home" option is that I don't feel as bad about popping in and out of sessions as I do in person. Even though you're encouraged to leave a room if you aren't "feeling" it, I still find it uncomfortable to up and leave in the middle of a face-to-face discussion. Edcamp Home eliminates this feeling of guilt because no one really notices when you pop in and out."

"Last fall, Alberta Education sent two 2013 diploma-exam questions along with nearly 1,900 student essay answers that had been graded by teachers to LightSide, a Pennsylvania company that develops computer software to score student essays. LightSide's automated algorithms outperformed human reliability in the Alberta study by about 20 per cent, said the company's January 2014 report to the government."

"She said that Gartner foresess "strong growth" in wearables this year, with smartwatches, fitness bands and other trackers selling nearly 70 million units - up 38 percent from 2014. She added, "While the wearables market is currently a relatively low penetrated market, it has the opportunity to grow in double digits in the long term." Accordingly, Gartner forecasts sales of wearables to reach 514 million units in 2020. "

"In 2014, the Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Learning embarked on a research project to investigate elements of effective teaching and learning practice valued at Vancouver Island University (VIU). Our investigation resulted in conversations with faculty and students in defining the elements of teaching practice valued at VIU. Faculty from the existing Community of Scholarly Teaching Practice (CoSTP) and students from the VIU community were invited to contribute their ideas about regarding effective teaching and learning design and practice. These consultations have generated a list of themes which capture practices most valued at VIU. "

"The report, Innovating Pedagogy 2014, is the third annual report concerning technological trends that could revolutionize education.  It suggests that the next step in the world of MOOCs is to introduce massive open social learning."

""I thought it was an opportunity for the university to take on a new field and maybe build a franchise in this area," said David Yermack, a finance professor at New York University's Stern School of Business, of his decision to offer a digital-currency class in 2014. Today, he says, "the thing has really taken on a life of its own.""

"It raises the question of which is better for students: an imperfect textbook or no textbook at all? To address this concern, publishers of open textbooks are beefing up academic oversight to offer peer-reviewed material that they say is comparable to proprietary textbooks. And, they're finding an audience."

" XMOOC, cMOOC, BOOC, DOCC and SPOC--are you up to speed on all the different flavors of MOOCs? Alex Cusack from MOOCs.com has compiled this handy infographic to help you make sense of the alphabet soup along with major MOOC providers, trends, and student demographics. "

"The process of Big Bang Disruption begins as a series of low-level, often unrelated experiments with different combinations of component technologies. This relative calm may give incumbents the false sense that nothing is happening, or in any event that whatever might be happening is not doing so quickly enough to warrant a competitive response. Yet when the right combination of technologies is assembled and paired with the right business model, takeoff is immediate. Customers from a wide range of segments, including mass market consumers, adopt the disruptor as quickly as its producers can supply it. Market penetration is often nearly instantaneous."

"The "D.C. Disloyalty Card" is a rewards card that offers customers a free drink once they've patronized all six of the area's participating independently owned coffee shops, each of which operates with an eye to ethically sourced goods. "

"Los Angeles Public Library is now adding another innovation to this lengthening list: It's planning to offer high school diplomas. The library announced Thursday that it will work with a private online education company to offer classes for high-school credit with in-person support at individual branches. The program is geared toward adult drop-outs, who would ultimately receive a diploma, not a GED."

""Cheating" is defined in different ways but for the purpose of this blog, I would like to use the following definition as it applies best to the field of education.   Cheating is to break a rule or law usually to gain an advantage at something.  Did I get that right?  It really doesn't sound that horrible except for the breaking a rule or law part, right?"

Online enrollment growth, while still substantial, is slowing. The 2013 Survey of Online Learning conducted by the Babson Survey Research Group reveals the number of higher education students taking at least one online course has now surpassed 7.1 million. The 6.1 percent growth rate, although the lowest for a decade, still represents over 400,000 additional students taking at least one online course.

""The employed craftsman can almost never use in his own home things similar to those he works on every day," she observed, because those things were simply unaffordable. Economics, not aesthetics, explained the movement's failures."

"While we tend to glorify industrial-park incubators and think-tanks, the fact is that many of the innovative services we use today were created by entrepreneurs who had a fair chance to compete for web traffic. By enabling internet service providers to limit that access, we are essentially saying that only the privileged can continue to innovate. Meanwhile, small content creators, such as bloggers and grassroots educators, would face challenges from ISPs placing restrictions on information traveling over their networks."

"Many students ignore the site until after graduation, mistakenly thinking it is just for job seekers. As a result, those few who start developing their LinkedIn network early (even before graduating from high school) have a distinct advantage when it's time to apply for colleges, awards, grad school, internships and jobs."

An important thing to remember is that networks are about people, and making connections with people. If cultivate my PLN to support gaps in my formal education - I connect with people who can help me learn. I have a local PLN with professors and physicians that support my formal education, but I also have a connected network of academics and professionals around the world who share interests or are experts in areas where I need someone else's opinion. But for a PLN to truly work, there needs to be a give and take. You cannot expect to just cultivate information from others without giving something back - you need to share your expertise as well.

Even though all classes will be held online, first-year students must live in a residence hall in San Francisco and take classes together in real time, deviating from the "anywhere, anytime" model prevalent in online education.

"How much do you need to talk about yourself? The answer is simple (but not easy): not as much as you need other people to talk about you."