Collaborative Education In An Online Setting - Robert Burrus, Wilmington Biz

What message do I attempt to deliver with this narrative? For some of the practical-based courses offered in a university, the potential may exist for “partnerships” with professionals from within the community. The Cameron School of Business prides itself on engagement with the Cape Fear business community. This includes placement of students with local companies and opportunities for business leaders to come to campus in guest teaching roles. Even though the impact of guest lecturing in an online environment might not be immediately perceived, the end results can be very rewarding. Wilmington definitely has its share – if not more than its share – of true professionals who have something to offer in augmenting the educational process in distance learning courses.     
http://www.wilmingtonbiz.com/insights/robert__burrus/collaborative_education_in_an_online_setting/2616

3 Tips To Easily Create Interactive eLearning - Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

The reality is this: students will not find boring content interesting simply because it is placed in an online setting. Instructors and course builders must think creatively and use available interactive assets in order to engage learners. Doing so, of course, requires consideration of learning purpose and course objectives. Simply employing interactive tools or templates without consideration of purpose will yield adverse results (i.e. students will not learn or see the value in learning if the tools and/or templates are seemingly pointless). Thus, online learning should be well thought out and carefully planned, just as a course is that is taught solely in a brick and mortar setting. The difference here, of course, is that instructors and learners now have an entire digital world at their disposal.
https://www.thetechedvocate.org/3-tips-to-easily-create-interactive-elearning/

Digital Learning Trends That Have Changed Way Companies Up Skill Employees In 2019 - Business World

In the modern workplace ‘new skills’ are the most in-demand currency. With jobs becoming specialized, rapid automation, digitization and other technologies disrupting traditional roles, effective talent management and upskilling of employees are a must. In 2019, Digital Learning played a key role in businesses training their employees with all the right tools and skill-sets to thrive in their respective industries. Over the course of analysis, reports, market study and conversations with industry leaders, we at Stratbeans realized, developed and implemented e-learning solutions that had a keen focus on developing employees who were ready for the future.
http://www.businessworld.in/article/Digital-Learning-Trends-That-Have-Changed-Way-Companies-Up-Skill-Employees-In-2019/11-01-2020-181734/

How online learning leads to lifelong digital literacy skills - Devex

“Professionals need to be aware that the plans they make today are not necessarily going to be applicable in 10 or five years, or even in the short term, as the world pushes toward efficiency and automation.” — Dora Kingsley Vertenten, professor and program coordinator for the Master of Public Administration online program, University of Southern California. Learning online can give students a way of building their online skills and expanding their technological capabilities for life after graduation while studying new subject matter, she added.
https://www.devex.com/news/sponsored/q-a-how-online-learning-leads-to-lifelong-digital-literacy-skills-93196

The next decade of disruption in education? Unlocking networks - Julia Freeland Fisher, Christensen Institute

Who students know matters!  The power of connections is evident to any adult who has benefited from a friend or acquaintance helping him find a job along his professional path. The same is true for students today. In the past decade, we’ve seen how learning technologies have begun generating tectonic shifts in how the education sector now thinks about school as we know it. But the emergence of new networking tools suggests that in the next decade the disruptive potential of the edtech market is no longer confined to breakthroughs in online coursework, productivity tools, or adaptive software programs. Looking ahead, schools can begin to use edtech to connect; disrupting, over time, not just historical limits of how and when students learn, but also whom they know.
https://www.christenseninstitute.org/blog/the-next-decade-of-disruption-in-education-unlocking-networks/

10 Skills Needed Most in 2020 and 30 Free Courses to Learn Them - Gadjo C Sevilla, PC Mag

Learning new skills and gaining certifications are essential to growing your career. Not only can you acquire new ways to solve problems, but continuing education helps you better position yourself for promotions or better jobs. LinkedIn Learning cites learning and self-improvement as an important aspect of self-care, right up there with time with family and friends as well as exercising and healthy eating. More than a smart way to refresh one's résumé, gaining marketable education and expertise makes it easier to transition to new roles.

https://www.pcmag.com/article/372901/10-skills-needed-most-in-2020-and-30-free-courses-to-learn-t

EdX launches for-credit credentials that stack into bachelor's degrees - Natalie Schwartz, Education Dive

Online education provider EdX is taking a big step into the undergraduate market by launching two programs called MicroBachelors that students can complete on its platform and earn credits toward a bachelor's degree. Students can earn credits in an information technology program offered by Western Governors University. A computer science program from New York University is pending approval for credit from Thomas Edison State University. The credits can also transfer to another institution that accepts them. The fully online programs consist of three courses each, cost between $500 and $1,500 total, and take roughly six months to complete.
https://www.educationdive.com/news/edx-launches-for-credit-credentials-that-stack-into-bachelors-degrees/570042/

5 Common Mistakes To Avoid When Developing eLearning Assessments - Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

Assessments are a regular part of education, and elearning is no different. To build a proper assessment, however, takes time and careful planning. If assessments are thrown together haphazardly, learning can be put at risk, or not happen at all. Below are 5 common mistakes to avoid when developing elearning assessments.
https://www.thetechedvocate.org/5-common-mistakes-to-avoid-when-developing-elearning-assessments/

Online education in Pennsylvania could get more competitive thanks to state community colleges - Susan Snyder, Philadelphia Inquirer

Graduates of Pennsylvania’s 14 community colleges can go on to earn their bachelor’s degrees online from a New Hampshire university at a rate that makes it less costly than nearly every other in-state public option, under an agreement signed Wednesday. The agreement with Southern New Hampshire University was arranged through the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges, a nonprofit umbrella association, and marks the first transfer agreement between all 14 colleges and a four-year university.
https://www.inquirer.com/education/community-college-distance-education-transfer-competition-20200108.html

Online Courses and Complexities of Graduation Rates - Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

The rate at which students are enrolling into online courses has yet to slow down. Online courses, in this context, refers to courses provided digitally by public colleges and universities, as well as those taught by private non-profit and for-profit institutions. Thousands of students take at least one online course per year. With so many enrollments, one would think that the success rate of online learning must be just as high. However, some data seems to point to lower numbers than were expected, specifically in terms of graduation rates. To understand the complexities surrounding online graduation rates, though, we must first explore some of the issues and misinterpretations that correspond to the data that has been gathered.
https://www.thetechedvocate.org/online-courses-and-complexities-of-graduation-rates/

The Y2K bug is back, causing headaches for developers again - Daphne Leprince-Ringuet, ZD Net

Twenty years ago, as the world celebrated the start of a new millennium, IT professionals across the globe were getting cold sweats at the prospect of the Y2K bug kicking in: the fear that important systems relying on two-digit date logs would come to a standstill if computers interpreted the 1 January 2000, registered as 01/01/00, as the first day of the year 1900. No major incident happened, because developers had seen Y2K coming and prepared well. But two decades later, it has become apparent that some resorted to a quicker fix than others, and simply postponed the problem to 2020. A series of incidents seem to have confirmed that Y2020 is tech's latest unwelcome blast from the past.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/the-y2k-bug-is-back-causing-headaches-for-developers-again/

White House Proposes Regulatory Principles to Govern AI Use - Reuters

The White House on Tuesday proposed regulatory principles to govern the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) aimed at limiting authorities' "overreach", and said it wants European officials to likewise avoid aggressive approaches. The Trump administration said agencies should "promote trustworthy AI" and "must consider fairness, non-discrimination, openness, transparency, safety, and security."
https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/01/07/technology/07reuters-tech-ces-ai-white-house.html

Reimagining the public university - Naomi Schaefer Riley & James Piereson, AEI

The great state universities are not going to disappear, and many will maintain a standard of excellence, but in an age of inefficient governments trying to do all things for all people, they will not have the money to compete as they once did with high-performing private institutions. The financial model built in the post-war years is no longer sustainable under present circumstances. Academic leaders have tried to circumvent this reality by raising tuition, recruiting out-of-state students, and employing other short-term fixes that fail to address the fundamental problems at hand. It is time they adapt their practices to a new and, in some ways, fundamentally different education marketplace.
https://www.aei.org/articles/reimagining-the-public-university/

Americans Rank A Google Internship Over A Harvard Degree - Brandon Busteed, Forbes

When asked what they believe would be most helpful for a high school graduate to launch a career, Americans overwhelmingly recommend an internship at Google (60%) over a degree from Harvard (40%). This latest finding from research I led at Kaplan (conducted by QuestResearch Group) is based on a survey of 2,000 U.S. adults conducted in December. It says an awful lot about the state of affairs in higher education today. For many, it will be hard to fathom that an internship from a highly admired global company wins out over a full degree from a world-renowned university. But it comes as no surprise when viewed through the lens of the many public opinion studies done on higher education over the past several years.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brandonbusteed/2020/01/06/americans-rank-a-google-internship-over-a-harvard-degree/#25903d6d31b9

MIT to launch Shaping Work of the Future, a free MITx online course - MIT Sloan School of Management

MIT's free online course, Shaping Work of the Future, goes beyond the headlines and focuses instead on what steps we can actually take to impact the future of work along with future-proofing our own skill set. This eight-week long course—made available through MITx on edX—may be accessed at any time of the year starting on January 7, 2020 through January 6, 2021. Previously, enrollment had been limited to one eight-week period. Participants are eligible to sign up to receive an MITx Certificate upon completion. Now in its sixth year, Shaping Work of the Future has added new content, case studies and lectures from MIT's leading technology and workplace academics. This year's partnerships include, among others, the World Economic Forum and the International Labor Organization.
https://inc42.com/features/what-is-the-future-of-edtech-and-learning-in-india-from-an-ar-vr-lens/

The Future Of Edtech And Learning In India From An AR/VR Lens - Meha Agarwal, Inc42

Technology is taking over education in universities, real-world technical training and schools. What roles do augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) play in edtech? In the 21st century, technology is taking over education — be it skill-building programmes in universities, real-world technical training and learning of abstract concepts in schools. The shift from conventional means to experiential methods of transacting learning has seen new-age technologies like augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality — a combination of AR/VR — have been playing a key role in driving learning and edtech engagement.
https://inc42.com/features/what-is-the-future-of-edtech-and-learning-in-india-from-an-ar-vr-lens/

Universities need to learn the early lessons of lifelong learning - Andrew Norton, Times Higher Education

Ongoing falls in Australian postgraduate recruitment suggest a trend away from structured education for people in mid-career, says Andrew Norton. For years, future of work reports have warned of major disruption. Artificial intelligence is spreading automation from the factory floor to the offices of university-educated professionals. Workers in jobs that don’t disappear will need different skills and regular retraining. This scenario sounds promising for universities and other education providers, who can prosper from lifelong learners. But recent enrolment data suggest a more complex relationship between work and further education.
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/universities-need-learn-early-lessons-lifelong-learning

7 higher education trends to watch in 2020 - Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Education Dive

College consolidation, partnerships with employers and the effects of deregulation are among the topics we'll have our eye on this year. Higher education made a striking number of headlines in 2019, in part due to the Varsity Blues scandal that exposed the seedier aspects of college admissions and attracted nationwide attention for its celebrity perpetrators. But last year brought other changes and controversies to higher ed. Conversations about how to keep struggling small colleges alive have resulted in new state accountability legislation, the first of its kind.
https://www.educationdive.com/news/7-higher-education-trends-to-watch-in-2020/569629/

China ramps up tech education in bid to become artificial intelligence leader - Dawn Liu, NBC News

China has a lot of ground to make up on AI, with the number of top researchers in the field standing at one-fifth of that in the United States in 2017, according to research by the Washington-based Center for Data Innovation. At the same time, it faces a shortage of 5 million AI professionals, according to a 2017 article from the state-owned newspaper People’s Daily. These disadvantages have not stopped it from setting ambitious targets: The country aims to catch up with the U.S. next year, based on “A Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan,” a government blueprint.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/china-ramps-tech-education-bid-become-artificial-intelligence-leader-n1107806

5 Easy Ways to Engage in Lifelong Learning Every Day - Jared Atchison, Thrive Global

Lifelong learning is defined as the “ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated pursuit of knowledge for either personal or professional reasons.” Engaging in lifelong learning is important if you want to keep your mind in shape, improve your skills, and boost your confidence. But, you might be worried that engaging in lifelong learning requires you to sign up for expensive and time-consuming college classes. Don’t worry though, there are a number of easy and free ways you can incorporate lifelong learning into your daily life.
https://thriveglobal.com/stories/5-easy-ways-to-engage-in-lifelong-learning-every-day/

Living AI: From Potential To Practice - Sandeep Kishore, Forbes

Artificial intelligence (AI) is ubiquitous. Whether we are consciously aware of it or unknowingly using it, AI is present at work, at home and in our everyday transactions. From our productivity in the office to the route we take home to the products we purchase and even the music we listen to, AI is influencing many of our decisions. Those decisions are still ours to make, but soon enough the decisions will be made by AI-enabled systems without waiting for the final approval from us. As of now, the default state for decision systems is “off.”  What if we switch that default state to be “on”?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2020/01/03/living-ai-from-potential-to-practice/#4c24d3d6571a