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"Virtual worlds promise to deliver the best aspects of both real-world classrooms and online distance learning into a single platform. With tools that provide avatars that represent the educators and the students, voice and video capabilities, powerpoint and other collaborative whiteboard technologies and group and private messaging chat, educators are finding that the newest generation of virtual worlds can simplify the lecture and presentation process, allow students to ask/answers questions to their teacher or each other (without interrupting the lecture), socialize and learn in a very streamlined manner. All of this is done with the convenience and cost efficiency of distance learning."

Opening up Education: Innovative teaching and learning for all through new Technologies and Open Educational Resources

"Systemwide, roughly 71,000 students, or 21 percent, complete their undergraduate and graduate degrees completely or partially online, a number that grows each year as the paradigm of higher education evolves from four years in a bricks-and-mortar classroom to an education available nearly anywhere on the planet."

"Under Chairman of the Board Martin Lipton and President John Sexton, New York University has been to operate as a real estate development/management business with a predatory higher-education side venture. A group of 400 faculty members at NYU, Faculty Against the Sexton Plan (FASP), have been working for years against what Pam Martens has called "running NYU as a tyrannical slush fund for privileged interests." FASP just published a devastating document, The Art of the Gouge, which describes how NYU engages in a mind-numbing range of tricks and traps to extract as much in fees as possible from students, while at the same time failing to invest in and often degrading the educational "product"."

"Imagine anyone in the world having access to a world-class education online for free, and getting credentials for it. With the launch of Open Educational Resources University (OERu) on November 1, that's exactly what is now possible. The launch is a significant milestone in higher education globally, and marks a transition from an international collaboration prototype to a sustainable, scalable program of accessible OERu study."

This lack of transparency from accrediting commissions is a relic of a bygone era when higher education was relatively stable and accrediting decisions mostly affected the specific institution under review. But given the changes that the higher education industry is facing and going through, these policies are damaging to those institutions who are trying out new models and need to know where the boundaries are drawn. Accrediting commissions play an important role in the governance of our higher education industry, in particular by providing a method for quality assurance. By operating in such an opaque manner, however, the agencies are effectively acting as a barrier to change and stifling innovation.

"Opportunities abound for software designers and developers to create impactful tools for teachers, school leaders, students, and their families. This guide for developers, startups and entrepreneurs addresses key questions about the education ecosystem and highlights critical needs and opportunities to develop digital tools and apps for learning. Crowd-sourced from knowledgeable educators, developers, and researchers who were willing to share what they have learned, this guide is designed to help entrepreneurs apply technology in smart ways to solve persistent problems in education. "

"The Federal Government currently invests billions of taxpayer dollars each year in programs that include the creation of educational, training, and instructional materials through grants, contracts, and other cooperative agreements. This investment produces educational resources ranging from innovative curricular resources to workforce training materials to English language learning tools. While these materials are created for the public good, they are generally not open to the members of the public who paid for them. At a time when educational opportunity, workforce development and access to knowledge are critical to America's future, these valuable publicly-funded resources should be openly available to students, teachers, businesses, workers and the public to use in new and innovative ways."

"The Chronicle asked five education-technology experts to think about the year ahead and identify major themes at the intersection of education technology and higher education."

Since 2012 many people have expressed the opinion that MOOCs will, or have the potential to, change higher education. However, before MOOCs begin transforming the manner in which higher education operates in the United States, there are at least a few current educational policies and practices that will hinder the advancement of MOOCs.

The House education committee, led by Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., released its reauthorization proposal over the summer in four smaller bills that respectively focus on simplifying the financial aid application process; increasing transparency by creating a centralized "College Dashboard" containing information on student outcomes; increasing financial awareness by providing counseling options for students and families; and promoting innovation through competency-based education pilot programs. All but the first bill have been passed in the chamber, but Democrats have criticized the House package for not doing enough to curb the high cost of college.

The education division of the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) has released the first report in a new series of Behind the Data publications. According to Testing and Assessment: A PreK-12 U.S. Education Technology Market Report, testing and assessment products - which include software, digital content and related digital services - now make up the largest single category of educational technology sales.

"In this volume, Martin Weller examines four key areas that have been central to the developments within open education: open access, MOOCs, open education resources and open scholarship. Exploring the tensions within these key arenas, he argues that ownership over the future direction of openness is significant to all those with an interest in education."

" SOLUTIONS FOR EDUCATION AND LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (LMS) The Biomids Biometric solutions address needs in online education and other forms of corporate training and professional development, often facilitated through Learning Management Systems (LMS). They confirm the identity of participants (Authentication) and deter and detect cheating on remotely administered tests and assessments (Proctoring) through the use of advanced biometric technologies. The Biomids Authenticator and Proctor - Is a fully automated Authentication and Proctoring system, available in both web-based and download versions, that provides highly effective, convenient and cost-effective means of ensuring testing validity. Authenticates participants at the beginning and throughout the test/assessment (Persistent Authentication). Validates test results confirming that the participant has completed the assessment without unauthorized assistance through the use of video capture and website monitoring (Proctoring). Try a free 30-day trial download demo: The following video explains how the Biomids Authenticator and Proctor works in the case of test proctoring in online education. The Biomids Authenticator and Proctor is one of the most effective, convenient and economical proctoring systems available in the market today: * Low fixed cost - Allows frequent use for both Authentication and Proctoring. * Assured authentication - Utilizes powerful advanced facial recognition technology. * High integrity - Persistent Authentication throughout the test/assessment period. * Convenience - No need to schedule a human proctor - test taking anytime, anywhere. * Dashboard - Concise results uploaded to instructor or designated staff."

"hat we're witnessing is the changing role of faculty in Competency Based Education - I (and many ed. reformers) believe instructors SHOULD function more like tutors, coaches, and mentors than their roles have traditionally called for! The faculty role has been historically constructed as a "fount of knowledge", sage on a stage, the smartest person in the room - this was a historic necessity during the long era of information scarcity that we are transitioning away from. Now that information is abundant, infinitely reproducible, instantly accessible, subject matter experts need to share space with faculty who specialize in the interpersonal nuances of teaching students. In fact "regular and substantive interaction" is scarce in higher education, unless you count lecturing and note-taking as "interaction". Do you? Is this the standard that OIG is measuring WGU against?"

"Online education has been touted as a way to increase access to education. But it's increasingly unclear if online learning is living up to its promise for students, even as digital learning makes its way into more institutions' offerings. The quality of online courses still varies drastically, and research shows there are major racial disparities in digital-learning outcomes. This has all left us asking: Who does online education really serve?"

"in higher education, we do not have a common language to discuss the value of a college credit. At an event hosted by Jobs for the Future and Higher Education Advocates,called Paving New Pathways: Today's Students, New Credentials, and the Next HEA, I noticed a recurring theme: There is a serious issue with college credit transfer policies across postsecondary education. Courses that count for credit at one institution do not "translate" to another. This issue has real consequences on student success and degree completions."

"CEW explores the links between education, career preparation, and workplace demands. Our research focuses on jobs, skills, and equity with the goal of better aligning education and training with workforce and labor market demand."

"As higher education institutions in the United States strive to maximize their use of resources to better support students, it is now more critical for professionals to make data-informed decisions. Most institutions are currently gathering an abundance of data from multiple sources, which provides a good opportunity for functional units, divisions, and departments to share timely and relevant data and collaboratively deliver programs and services. Three of many integral units that are involved in data-informed strategies are institutional research (IR), student affairs, and information technology (IT). Thus, three higher education membership associations, the Association for Institutional Research (AIR), NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, and EDUCAUSE partnered to conduct a survey that examined the current landscape of institutions' use of data and analytics for student success. This report describes a variety of challenges and opportunities regarding institutions' readiness to expand their use of data across functions."

"focusing on the next mega-institution or the gold-rush mentality that has garnered so much attention in online education is a distraction from this higher calling. For us, a mega model does not align with our core educational philosophy. We imagine that for the majority of universities, the mega-university concept is not only unrealistic, it is also anathema to their institutional philosophy. We look forward to joining efforts across higher education to embrace a chapter of fundamental transformation."