Dr. Kathleen Ives, Senior Vice President for Engagement at UPCEA reports that senior level administrators are starting to realize what goes into creating and delivering online courses. As a result, many institutions are looking at how they can help faculty members avoid burnout. The key is establishing a culture of support and understanding that transfers through the whole institution. The Digital Learning Pulse Survey conducted in April of this year showed that despite the quick transition from online learning, a majority of students want the option to take courses in a fully online format. The survey also showed educational leaders are revamping their strategic plans and prioritizing internet and technology access.
Friday, October 22, 2021
Imagining the Hybrid College Campus - Jeffrey J. Selingo and Cole Clark, Harvard Business Review
The pandemic undoubtedly inflicted real pain on higher education during the past year, but it also brought about clarity for what’s next. Much has already been written about how Covid-19 forced schools to accelerate their blending of in-person and online learning. While this abrupt shift created significant challenges, this hybrid model will in the long run greatly enhance the classroom experience. Toward that end, universities need to act now to break down barriers to access and reach a broader, more diverse population of students in the pipeline to college, to meet the needs of a changing workforce, and to provide life-long learning and career opportunities for working adults.
Pandemic fueled huge online-only enrollment growth, report finds - Natalie Schwartz, HigherEd Dive
Student enrollment in exclusively distance education saw a significant increase in 2020 due to institutions offering courses virtually that would have normally been offered on-campus, new data suggests. That's according to an annual report from the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements, or NC-SARA, a distance education oversight organization that covers all states except California and also covers the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Around 5.8 million college students were enrolled in exclusively distance education in SARA-participating institutions in fall 2020, nearly double the number of students whose courses were entirely remote the previous year. NC-SARA collected data from 2,201 institutions.
Thursday, October 21, 2021
Is the Metaverse Finally Emerging? - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed
The web is constantly evolving. Emerging now is a more immersive 3-D environment that features augmented reality, virtual reality and persistent connections. It is called the metaverse, and it may transform online learning. Where will higher education be located in the emerging metaverse? Will colleges and universities host their own “islands” of campuses? Will virtual megamalls of storefronts offer certificates and certifications hosted by a plethora of institutions? Will your institution be represented -- welcoming virtual students from around the real word to engage in 3-D learning around the clock?
https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/blogs/online-trending-now/metaverse-finally-emerging
Is Cybersecurity Insurance Out of Reach for Government? - Pamela Martineau, Government Technology
Cyber attacks: They’ve shut down government agencies, global companies and even a gas pipeline that serves nearly half the population along the East Coast of the United States. Experts say the attacks are growing in number and severity and that governments and businesses need to make it a priority to guard — and insure themselves — against them. But as cyber attacks and ransom demands grow, cybersecurity insurance is becoming increasingly expensive for the insured and the insurer. The upward trajectory in cost has some experts wondering if the cybersecurity insurance market will remain economically viable. Local and state government officials wonder too, but many believe the cost of not having cybersecurity insurance is incalculable, making their jurisdictions vulnerable to extreme losses in capital, human health and safety, not to mention reputation.
https://www.govtech.com/security/is-cybersecurity-insurance-out-of-reach-for-government
Online learning allows for personal growth among students - Adrienne Moon, Sonoma State Star
With all the ups and downs that the American education system can endure, it is no question that one of the biggest shifts was the closing of schools in 2020. For educational institutions, this meant having to transform and grow along with their students as online learning became the new norm. While many schools are returning to in-person classes, it doesn’t seem like online learning is going anywhere anytime soon. The world of education changed completely when the pandemic took over, causing stress among students everywhere. However, it seems that as we are coming out of it, students are able to reflect and understand how they may have grown as a person from adapting to these hard times.
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Colleges throw billions at marketing themselves to attract students - Jon Marcus, Hechinger Report
Among the reasons are a steep ongoing decline in enrollment, made worse by the pandemic, and increasing competition from online providers and others. America’s total number of students has declined by an unprecedented 2.6 million, or 13 percent, over the last decade. Another drop of 15 percent is projected, beginning in the mid-2020s, in the number of prospective college students graduating from high schools.
The Wayback Machine's First Crawl 1996 - Internet Archive
In this video, shot by Marc Weber for the Web History Project, Brewster Kahle explains his hardware and process, while the first crawl is underway. 25 years later, the Wayback Machine--which launched as a public search engine of web pages in 2001--has captured some 588 billion web pages by working with 800+ partners around the world. In 2021, Internet Archive founder, Brewster Kahle, reflects back on the most surprising advancement of his early innovation, the Wayback Machine. (Note - this is an awesome tool that allows a user to recover Web materials that have been long-since removed. -ray)
https://archive.org/details/wayback-machine-1996/The+Wayback+Machine's+First+Crawl+1996.mp4
"Upskilling" Within Education: Continued Training and Learning - Gallup Education Insights
Upskilling is simply defined as "training or education that teaches new skills or advances or upgrades existing skills." Gallup, commissioned by Amazon, conducted the most comprehensive study to date on upskilling. Here's what we found in the educational industry: Almost half (49%) of employees in education are very interested in receiving training/further education (upskilling) to upgrade their skills or learn new skills.vOver half (54%) say their current employer offers those training/education opportunities. 42% had participated in employer-provided upskilling that was provided by their employer to upgrade or learn new skills.
Tuesday, October 19, 2021
5 Key Traits to Consider When Assessing Leaders - Julie Salomone, TalentCulture
To thrive in the future, leaders need to face new challenges head-on. To do that, they will need support. As businesses recover, leadership development needs to be prioritized. Leadership assessments are one of the most valuable tools in the development toolbox. Companies will need to rethink what they are assessing and explore new ways to build up their leaders for success. Here are five traits you should consider when assessing leaders in the post-pandemic world. #1 Empathy.
Fierce Education Exclusive: EdX CEO Discusses Future of Higher Ed - Elliot Markowitz, FierceEducation
During the interview Dr. Agarwal discussed: The acceleration of the blended learning environment in higher education and what that means to edX. The impact that Covid-19 has had on higher education and the acceptance of online and unbundled learning. How the blended learning environment and unbundling of education is changing the business model of colleges and universities. And more.... see link below:
Why women are more burned out than men - Josie Cox, BBC
Though the mental strain of mastering this balancing act has been apparent for decades, Covid-19 has cast a particularly harsh light on the problem. Statistics show that stress and burnout are affecting more women than men, and particularly more working mothers than working fathers. This could have multiple impacts for the post-pandemic world of work, making it important that both companies and wider society find ways to reduce this imbalance. Recent data looking specifically at burnout in women is concerning. According to a survey by LinkedIn of almost 5,000 Americans, 74% of women said they were very or somewhat stressed for work-related reasons, compared with just 61% of employed male respondents.
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210928-why-women-are-more-burned-out-than-men
Monday, October 18, 2021
The Evolving World of Continuing Education and Fully Online Certificates - Los Angeles Business Journal
A powerful example of an institution responsive to the needs of both individual professionals and employers is UCLA Extension with the launch of UCLAxOnline. UCLAxOnline presents the next evolution in online continuing higher education. This major initiative offers high-demand certificates enhanced around innovative learning technologies combined with an interactive and immersive experience. UCLAxOnline uses the latest research to incorporate effective instructional design models that enhance the learning experience and peer engagement.
https://labusinessjournal.com/news/2021/oct/04/evolving-world-continuing-education-and-fully-onli/
Ask the Expert: Online learning vs. classroom learning - Christine Greenhow, MSU Today
Challenges are that students need high quality and multiple forms of interaction with teachers, peers and subject matter when in-person classes move online, and that takes redesigning instruction. We know from research that pedagogy matters. Educators can’t just scan the textbook, record the lesson, put them online and expect the same or better learning. Teachers need to distill their key goals and leverage technology features to meet them. Used well — online chat, discussion forums, replayable video lessons, online meetings, etc., offer tremendous opportunities to make students more engaged (and accountable) compared to time-strapped classrooms where students hide and few hands shoot up.
https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2021/Greenhow-ask-expert-online-2021
The metachallenges of the metaverse - Tom Wheeler, Brookings Institution
Issues such as personal privacy, marketplace competition, and misinformation only become greater challenges in the metaverse due to the interconnectedness of that phenomenon. Rather than being distracted by the shiny new bauble, policymakers need to focus on the underlying problems of the digital revolution, which won’t go away with new technological developments. Just what is this “metaverse”? Today’s online activity can be described as a 2D experience; the metaverse is a 3D experience that can utilize augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and persistent connections to create an immersive world. Rather than spending 20-30 minutes a day moving among apps, users spend hours in much more realistic activities.
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2021/09/30/the-metachallenges-of-the-metaverse/
Sunday, October 17, 2021
Facing compounding stressors, many American workers plan to change jobs in coming year - American Psychological Association, Science Daily
Work stress related to low salaries, long hours and a lack of opportunity for growth and advancement has increased since the start of the pandemic. More than 4 in 10 workers said they plan to switch jobs in the coming year, which could impact many industries already facing a shortage of workers, particularly the hospitality and healthcare sectors.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211004140335.htm
Why return to the office if you’re just Zooming all day anyway? - Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, Computerworld
Many business owners insist that their workers will return to the office soon. Think again. Mega-commercial real estate broker Cushman & Wakefield admits, “No one is expecting workers to come into the office to primarily answer emails—that and any other heads-down tasks can be done anywhere.” This is not happening, Cushman & Wakefield argues, just because COVID-19 forced businesses to embrace working from home. It’s a trend that’s been building since 2005. The further along an area is in the knowledge and experience economy, the more likely it is to support remote work. For example, in 2019—before anyone knew anything much about pandemics—Austin, Texas had already seen 14.4% of its office workers doing their jobs remotely.
Udemy files for U.S. IPO as remote learning shift drives revenue surge - Reuters
Online learning platform Udemy Inc on Tuesday filed regulatory paperwork for an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States, revealing a surge in revenue last year driven by the pandemic-led accelerated shift toward remote learning. The San Francisco-based company's revenue grew 55.6% to $429.9 million in 2020 from a year earlier, its filing showed. Udemy incurred a net loss of $77.6 million over the same period. The company, which did not share the terms for its offering, was valued at $3.3 billion during a financing round in November last year. It is expected to go public at a much higher valuation.
https://www.reuters.com/technology/online-learning-platform-udemy-files-us-ipo-2021-10-05/
Saturday, October 16, 2021
AI-Powered Tutor Uses Google Cloud to Generate Learning Activities - Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology
In collaboration with Google Cloud, Walden University has created a new tool that uses artificial intelligence to help students review and master course concepts. The technology, which the institution is calling an AI-powered tutor named "Julian," taps into Google Cloud's AI and machine learning capabilities to generate a variety of on-demand learning activities. When an instructor loads course content into Julian and details the specific competencies — or "learning units" — required, the tool indexes the content and links each learning unit back to the related course content.
Georgia's higher ed system OKs new tenure policies. Faculty fear they will harm the treasured concept - Natalie Schwartz, HigherEd Dive
The University System of Georgia's governing board approved policies Wednesday that some faculty members say will undermine tenure across the state's public colleges and universities. The new policies will make it easier for tenured faculty members to be dismissed for reasons other than what are typical grounds for removal or if they don't improve unsatisfactory performance after a post-tenure review. The changes drew admonishment from the American Association of University Professors. They also sparked protests during board meetings this week, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Why Most Ivies Offer Few Online Degrees—And What’s Happening to Change - Robert Ubell, EdSurge
One Ivy, Columbia University, actually got an early start 35 years ago at the dawn of the digital age, when it launched its Video Network that now produces about a dozen online engineering master’s degrees. And in the past ten years these colleges have been active in offering so-called MOOCs, or massive open online courses, which are free or low-cost courses, usually for no official credit. Ivy League colleges now offer more than 450 of these courses. And some Ivies offer graduate certificate programs online. Cornell, for example, lists about 90 in such fields as hospitality, human resources and engineering. But full degrees remain rare from these institutions. Harvard just introduced its first online degree as late as June this year.
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