2017 November

From Psalm 100 – “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise”

On 11/22/2017, in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, society, by Daniel Christian

Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

¹Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
²Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come before him with joyful songs.
³Know that the Lord is God.
    It is he who made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

⁴Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Expert Dive: Active Learning in STEM Courses [Teaching in Higher Ed podcast]

On 11/22/2017, in active learning, adjunct faculty, chemistry, colleges, community colleges, engagement / engaging students, faculty, higher education, ideas, learning, learning spaces, pedagogy, STEAM-related, student-related, teaching & learning, universities, by Daniel Christian

Expert Dive: Active Learning in STEM Courses — from teachinginhighered.com by Bonni Stachowiak

As part of ACUE’s Expert Dive series and collaboration with the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, Paul Blowers sat down with TiHE’s Bonni Stachowiak to discuss the active learning strategies—and practices to increase student persistence—he uses in his chemical engineering courses at the University of Arizona. One of his practices includes showing students the first exam on which he received a failing grade, explaining the steps he took to master the subject to illustrate how failure can lead to success and mastery of the material.

Listen to Paul share the active learning practices that are the cornerstone of his teaching on the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, and read Paul’s post, Three Misconceptions About Using Active Learning in STEM, on The Q Blog.

Also see:

Top 10 Recommended Podcasts
If you’re new to the TiHE podcast, check out our top 10 recommended episodes with a number of experts whose work is explored in detail in ACUE’s Course in Effective Teaching Practices.

1. Teaching Lessons from the Road with Penny MacCormack, ACUE

2. Motivating Students in Large Classes with Brenda Gunderson, a senior lecturer at the University of Michigan, whose practices to engage and motivate students are featured in multiple ACUE modules, such as Using Active Learning Techniques in Large Classes, and on ACUE’s community site, where you can see exclusive footage of Dr. Gunderson doing a cartwheel during class

3. Teaching Naked Techniques with José Bowen, president of Goucher College; ACUE subject matter expert for the modules Engaging Underprepared Students, Embracing Diversity in Your Classroom, and Using Student Achievement and Feedback to Improve Your Teaching; and an ACUE community site contributor

4. Teach Students How to Learn with Saundra McGuire, author of Teach Students How to Learn, who shares strategies in ACUE’s course for supporting unprepared students

5. Engage the Heart and Mind Through the Connected Classroom with Ken Bauer from the Tecnológico de Monterrey

6. Radical Hope – A Teaching Manifesto with Kevin Gannon, regular contributor to the Teaching United States History blog

7. Engaging Learners with TEDx Speaker and Professor of English Gardner Campbell

8. Small Teaching with James Lang, author of Small Teaching

9. The Skillful Teacher with our friend Stephen Brookfield, featured in numerous ACUE modules, including Planning an Effective Class Session, Delivering an Effective Lecture, and Developing Self-Directed Learners, and on the community with advice on teaching from the back row

10. Flipped Out with Derek Bruff, who discusses using concept maps and other visualization tools in ACUE’s course

Online learning in Michigan, as delivered by Michigan Virtual & others, has exploded in recent years. [michiganvirtual.org]

On 11/21/2017, in blended learning, digital learning, education, education reform, education technology, expectations, hybrid learning, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Michigan, online learning, teachers, teaching online, trends, by Daniel Christian

Online learning in Michigan, as delivered by Michigan Virtual and others, has exploded in recent years.

The number of K-12 students taking at least 1 virtually delivered course jumped from just over 36,000 in 2010-11 to ~91,000 in 2015-16 | page 9
Total # of virtual courses taken by Michigan K-12 students soared from ~90,000 in 2010-11 to 453,000+ in ’15-16 | page 9
In 2011, approximately 650 schools had at least one student take a virtual course. By 2015-16, more than 1,000 Michigan schools had at least one student enroll in an online course. | page 9
This growth highlights the success that Michigan Virtual and others have had in promoting online learning across Michigan, yet underscores the work that still needs to be done. Thirty-seven percent of Michigan districts did not have a single student take a virtual class in 2015-16, and only 6% of all K-12 students in the state took a virtual course. The statewide completion rate for all virtual enrollments has dropped from 66% in 2010-11 to 58% in 2015-16. So while online course participation has increased, it is still a small share of the overall market. Further, educational outcomes have declined, leaving opportunity for improvements in quality and online learning program implementation. This, combined with statewide efforts to make Michigan a leading education state, provides new opportunities for Michigan Virtual to advance K-12 digital learning and teaching through research, practice, and partnerships.

This strategic plan began with an extensive research and stakeholder outreach effort. This was designed to enhance our understanding of demographic and economic conditions, education policies and priorities, competitors and technology trends, stakeholder wants and needs, and views and perceptions of Michigan Virtual.

We interviewed or surveyed more than 425 individual stakeholders, including Michigan Virtual teachers, staff, students, and board members; the leadership and membership of leading educational organizations such as the Education Alliance of Michigan, the Virtual School Leadership Alliance, MASA, MAISA, MEMPSA, MASSP; and other leaders in education across Michigan. We also consulted research and data on technology trends, K-12 enrollment projections, state and national economic forecasts, education policies and priorities, and the competitive landscape.

KEY FINDINGS INCLUDE (emphasis DSC):

It is expected that the Michigan economy will see modest growth in coming years. This will help state revenues remain relatively stable, but it is not expected that there will be significant growth in tax revenues available for increased spending on programs including K-12 education.
The Michigan Department of Education’s Top 10 in 10 strategic plan was developed with input from a broad group of stakeholders and is expected to remain a guiding document, along with the state’s ESSA plan and the 21st Century Education Commission’s report “The Best Education System for Michigan’s Success,” in coming years. Education priorities at the federal level are not as clear, though we expect an expanded focus on choice and options for parents and their students.
Technology infrastructure is built out to extend high-speed Internet access to the majority of schools and citizens in Michigan, though in-home access is still not fully available in some lower income or rural areas.
Users of online programs and websites have come to expect instant access and user-friendly designs and interfaces that they can access on any device.
There is growing acceptance and use of online courses across Michigan, though there remains a need to identify and demonstrate best practices, communicate benefits, and ensure quality standards are adopted to improve student outcomes.
There is growing competition among online course providers, with many focusing on low-cost solutions that are appealing to budget-constrained schools, but that may not adhere to best practices and quality standards that are demonstrated to improve student outcomes.
The false perception persists among some that Michigan Virtual is a for-profit organization that competes with traditional schools.
Poverty and related issues, including mental health and behavior, were cited by educators from across the state as being the most significant student-related issues facing their schools. (*insert DSC)
The need for, and adoption of, online and blended professional development will increase as educators increasingly see the value of integrating digital resources into their traditional classrooms.
While educators see the value of integrating digital resources into their traditional classrooms, many do not know how or where to start. Most schools and districts also lack the expertise to develop and implement blended learning programs on their own.

…

Today’s digital-learning landscape could not have been predicted when Michigan Virtual was founded in 1998, or even when our last strategic plan was developed in 2014. Some areas of digital learning have been frustratingly slow to advance, while others have perhaps grown too quickly at the expense of effectiveness and student outcomes.

This plan was intentionally designed with an unpredictable landscape in mind. The plan printed here is static, but the actions to implement the plan are dynamic. Tactics for each strategy and goal will be evaluated at least annually to stay aligned with ever-evolving challenges and opportunities. However, the goals, when taken together, provide a formula for success regardless of how the landscape evolves. We will provide an awesome experience for internal and external stakeholders alike, build partnerships to scale and grow our success, and operate efficiently and as good stewards of our resources to ensure our financial viability. Doing this, in alignment with our mission to advance K-12 digital learning and teaching through research, practice, and partnerships will bring us to a point where our vision (every person can use digital learning to reach his or her full potential) is a reality.

* In teaching, “You can’t do the Bloom stuff until you take care of the Maslow stuff.” [Beck]

The Trillion Dollar 3D Telepresence Gold Mine — from forbes.com by Charlie Fink

Excerpt:

Similarly, messaging and social media are the killer apps of smartphones. Our need to connect with other people follows us, no matter where technology takes us. New technology succeeds when it makes what we are already doing better, cheaper, and faster. It naturally follows that Telepresence should likewise be one of the killer apps for both AR and VR. A video of Microsoft Research’s 2016 Holoportation experiment suggests Microsoft must have been working on this internally for some time, maybe even before the launch of the HoloLens itself.

Telepresence, meaning to be electronically present elsewhere, is not a new idea. As a result, the term describes a broad range of approaches to virtual presence. It breaks down into six main types:

Our need to connect with other people follows us, no matter where technology takes us.

“Technology from ‘Harry Potter’ Movies Brings Magic of Brain into Focus” + 2 items on VR

On 11/20/2017, in Augmented Reality (AR), biology, emerging technologies, health, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, research, tools, universities, user experience (UX), vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, by Daniel Christian

Technology from “Harry Potter” Movies Brings Magic of Brain into Focus — from scientificamerican.com by Bahar Gholipour
Software lets scientists explore the brain in 3-D and perform “virtual dissections”

Excerpt:

The same techniques that generate images of smoke, clouds and fantastic beasts in movies can render neurons and brain structures in fine-grained detail.

Two projects presented yesterday at the 2017 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C., gave attendees a sampling of what these powerful technologies can do.

“These are the same rendering techniques that are used to make graphics for ‘Harry Potter’ movies,” says Tyler Ard, a neuroscientist in Arthur Toga’s lab at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Ard presented the results of applying these techniques to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.

The methods can turn massive amounts of data into images, making them ideally suited to generate brain scans. Ard and his colleagues develop code that enables them to easily enter data into the software. They plan to make the code freely available to other researchers.

Expo: Towards Rapid VR Prototyping — from medium.com by Jon Wade

Excerpt:

After several cycles of development, it became clear that getting our process into VR as early as possible was essential. This was difficult to do within the landscape of VR tooling. So, at the beginning of 2017, we began developing features for early-stage VR prototyping in a tool named “Expo.”

…
Start Prototyping in VR Now
We developed Expo because the tools for collaborative prototyping did not exist at the start of this year. Since then, the landscape has dramatically improved and there are many tools providing prototyping workflows with no requirement to do your own development:

Facebook Spaces and SteamVR Home allow teams to create quick doodles and play with props together.
MasterpieceVR has professional-grade sculpting tools and the critical feature of multi-user interaction.
Mindshow allows a single user to pantomime and record avatars and objects interacting to create shareable vignettes.

Google’s new ‘Poly’ service makes it easier to build VR and AR apps — from mashable.com by Karissa Bell

Excerpt:

It’s no secret that one of the biggest issues holding back virtual and augmented reality is the lack of content.

Even as bigger studios and companies are sinking more and more money into VR and AR development, it’s still difficult for smaller, independent, developers to get started. A big part of the problem is that AR and VR apps require developers to create a ton of 3D objects, often an overwhelming and time-consuming process.

Google is hoping to fix that, though, with its new service called Poly, an online library of 3D objects developers can use in their own apps.

The model is a bit like Flickr, but for VR and AR developers rather than photographers. Anyone can upload their own 3D creations to the service and make them available to others via a Creative Commons license, and any developer can search and download objects for their own apps and games.

How Augmented Reality is Reshaping the B2B Landscape [Levski]

On 11/20/2017, in Augmented Reality (AR), business, tools, user experience (UX), workplace, by Daniel Christian

How Augmented Reality is Reshaping the B2B Landscape — from appreal-vr.com by Yariv Levski

Excerpt:

The definition of business-to-business (B2B) is rapidly changing. While B2B used to refer to commercial transactions between businesses, the power of augmented reality (AR) is transforming B2B by changing how businesses interact with one another. B2B is becoming more than business-to-business marketing; even more than B2B sales. AR is expanding businesses’ ability to connect with each other across multiple channels, and it is increasing the reasons they do so.

In this article, we will examine how augmented reality can help businesses promote their products and services to other enterprises. More exciting for some, we will also explore new ways businesses can use AR to connect with corporate customers, vendors, and partners.

…

Augmented Reality B2B Product Support
Companies not only buy products from other companies; they also need customer service for many of the products they purchase. From poorly-written user manuals to poorly-written online self-help portals, product support hasn’t changed very much. But augmented reality is changing all that.

By layering how-to information over a product image as viewed on a mobile device or AR viewer, augmented reality can display interactive text and images that instruct the user how to setup, configure, troubleshoot and repair a wide variety of products.

AR-based customer support has barely broken ground in the consumer market, but opportunities are also great for developers who can target B2B industries with AR solutions.

Using AR apps, a carpet company can show an office manager what various carpet designs would look like installed in their office. A manufacturing engineer can see how a new production line would fit on the production floor. A physician can see how powerful AR medical applications can help her better diagnose her patients. And an architect can show a client how a new room addition will look from the outside when completed.

How Blockchain Could Help Emerging Markets Leap Ahead [Gupta & Knight]

On 11/20/2017, in Africa, Blockchain, entrepreneurship, ideas, innovation, society, tools, by Daniel Christian

How Blockchain Could Help Emerging Markets Leap Ahead — from hbr.org by Vinay Gupta and Rob Knight

Excerpt:

Much has been made of the potential for blockchain technologies to open up new vistas for business and society. But is there a way for this revolutionary technology to empower the rich and poor alike? We argue that, like previous revolutionary ideas, blockchain has the potential to help developing nations leapfrog more-developed economies.

Leapfrogging — using the lack of existing infrastructure as an opportunity to adopt the most advanced methods — has been a highly effective strategy for developing nations over the last few decades. The most visible example of leapfrogging today is in nations like Kenya and South Africa, which have rolled out near-universal telephone access using 3G networks instead of laying down copper cables, and provided internet access by smartphone rather than with desktop PCs. But it’s not just physical infrastructure that can be leapfrogged.

One of the 20th century’s most celebrated examples of leapfrogging happened in Japan, when the country recovered from the ravages of World War II by embracing sophisticated new manufacturing techniques.

Blockchains can also address the most pressing needs of developing-world governments: the modernization and digitization of government functions. The current world leader in blockchain adoption is Dubai, and there is much in Dubai’s approach that could be adopted by developing world nations. The Dubai Blockchain Strategy (disclosure: Vinay is the designer) envisions moving all government documents — more than 100 million documents per year — onto a blockchain by 2020, creating a new platform for innovation and huge cost savings.

Because it was explicitly designed to function in an environment where participants cannot necessarily trust each other, blockchain technology is extremely secure. Records held on a blockchain database are immune to being tampered with by third parties, and can thus be authoritative. Smart contracts can provide automatic and predictable execution, again removing the ability for third parties to subvert agreed-upon processes. The benefits for a developing economy are clear: There’s less potential for fraud and corruption, trade becomes more efficient and less costly, government becomes more effective, and local technology hubs can form to build out the infrastructure and export the knowledge gained.

Educational records, business histories, health care information, and credit ratings could all be made usable the world over, helping those who want to trade or travel to prove their credentials. Anybody who has ever paid too much for a college transcript or tried to clear a shadow on their credit score can see how systems like this would be helpful in our daily lives.

Also see:

Dubai Blockchain Strategy — from smartdubai.ae

Excerpt:

Required documentation, such as visa applications, bill payments and license renewals, which account for over 100 million documents each year, will be transacted digitally under the new strategy. Blockchain technology would contribute savings of up to 114 MTons CO2 emissions from trip reductions, and redistribute up to 25.1 million hours of economic productivity in saved document processing time.

And from another perspective — from Forrester’s 2018 predictions document
Blockchain is a story of rational exuberance. Blockchain promises to fully enable bold platform and ecosystem strategies while defending against increasing cybersecurity threats. And that extraordinary promise is, in part, the problem. The exuberance for blockchain hindered progress in 2017:

Marketers oversold blockchain.
Teams ran narrow tests that delivered underwhelming results against high expectations.
Teams applied blockchain-like approaches to problems that they could have solved with existing technologies.

Eighty percent of projects failed to meet expectations.

In 2018, the combination of rhetoric and enthusiasm will continue to limit blockchain gains. However, 30% of proofs of concept will accelerate blockchain for those companies able to consider its operational impact.

Addendum on 11/21/17:

7 Ways Blockchain Will Enable Entrepreneurs in 2018 — from inc.com by Bill Carmody
Blockchain is so much more than the technology used for cryptocurrencies. Here are 7 ways blockchain is enabling an entirely new generation of entrepreneurs.

BBC Radio’s newest program, The Inspection Chamber, uses smart home devices to allow listeners to interact with and control the plot.

On 11/17/2017, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, emerging technologies, Google, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, interactivity, internet, smart/connected TV, storytelling, technologies for your home, tools, user experience (UX), vendors, vision/possibilities, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, by Daniel Christian

Creative voice tech — from jwtintelligence.com by Ella Britton
New programs from Google and the BBC use voice to steer storytelling with digital assistants.

Exceprt:

BBC Radio’s newest program, The Inspection Chamber, uses smart home devices to allow listeners to interact with and control the plot. Amid a rise in choose-your-own-adventure style programming, The Inspection Chamber opens up creative new possibilities for brands hoping to make use of voice assistants.

The Inspection Chamber tells the story of an alien stranded on earth, who is being interrogated by scientists and an AI robot called Dave. In this interactive drama, Amazon Echo and Google Home users play the part of the alien, answering questions and interacting with other characters to determine the story’s course. The experience takes around 20 minutes, with questions like “Cruel or Kind?” and “Do you like puzzles?” that help the scientists categorize a user.

…

“Voice is going to be a key way we interact with media, search for content, and find what we want,” said BBC director general Tony Hall. As describedin the Innovation Group’s Speak Easy report, the opportunities for brands to connect with consumers via smart speakers are substantial, particularly when it comes to education and entertainment. Brands can also harness these opportunities by creating entertaining and engaging content that consumers can interact with, creating what feels like a two-way dialogue.

From DSC:
More and more, our voices will drive the way we interact with computing devices/applications. This item was an especially interesting item to me, as it involves the use of our voice — at home — to steer the storytelling that’s taking place. Talk about a new form of interactivity!

Trying to count my blessings is like…

On 11/17/2017, in Daniel S. Christian, faith, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, by Daniel Christian

…which reminds me of Psalm 40:5 (NIV)

⁵Many, Lord my God,
    are the wonders you have done,
    the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
    were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
    they would be too many to declare.

The Ivory Tower Can’t Keep Ignoring Tech [O’Neil]

On 11/16/2017, in analytics, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, business, colleges, community colleges, corporate / business world, curriculum, ethics, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, morals/values, programming, research, society, staying relevant, the downsides of how people use tech, universities, by Daniel Christian

The Ivory Tower Can’t Keep Ignoring Tech — from nytimes.com by Cathy O’Neil

Excerpt:

We need academia to step up to fill in the gaps in our collective understanding about the new role of technology in shaping our lives. We need robust research on hiring algorithms that seem to filter out people with mental health disorders, sentencing algorithms that fail twice as often for black defendants as for white defendants, statistically flawed public teacher assessments or oppressive scheduling algorithms. And we need research to ensure that the same mistakes aren’t made again and again. It’s absolutely within the abilities of academic research to study such examples and to push against the most obvious statistical, ethical or constitutional failures and dedicate serious intellectual energy to finding solutions. And whereas professional technologists working at private companies are not in a position to critique their own work, academics theoretically enjoy much more freedom of inquiry.

There is essentially no distinct field of academic study that takes seriously the responsibility of understanding and critiquing the role of technology — and specifically, the algorithms that are responsible for so many decisions — in our lives.

There’s one solution for the short term. We urgently need an academic institute focused on algorithmic accountability. First, it should provide a comprehensive ethical training for future engineers and data scientists at the undergraduate and graduate levels, with case studies taken from real-world algorithms that are choosing the winners from the losers. Lecturers from humanities, social sciences and philosophy departments should weigh in.

Somewhat related:

More than 50 experts just told DHS that using AI for “extreme vetting” is dangerously misguided — from qz.com by Dave Gershgorn
Excerpt:
A group of experts from Google, Microsoft, MIT, NYU, Stanford, Spotify, and AI Now are urging (pdf) the Department of Homeland Security to reconsider using automated software powered by machine learning to vet immigrants and visitors trying to enter the United States.

Updating Education for the Evolving Job Market: Learning at the Pace of Life and Work — from huffingtonpost.com by Sophie Wade

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

A technology-stimulated, connected, and accelerated marketplace is generating different roles and additional skills requirements for us as workers. The traditional model of completing our lifelong education needs before we enter the workforce is now obsolete. On-the-job experience must now be supplemented as business and technological requirements evolve significantly and rapidly. Compelling new multilevel learning options are emerging to cater to the new necessity of updating important knowledge and capabilities at work. Many new offerings are online and modular in order to be accessible and flexible, giving labor force participants greater opportunity to remain relevant and competitive.

Since the beginning of the Industrial Era, evolution typically occurred from generation to generation. New developments were adopted by incoming cohorts, adding to and then replacing well-established workers’ existing practices of which could be phased out gradually. However, the exponential pace that is characteristic of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is requiring modifications to be absorbed and adapted within a generation accompanied by frequent incremental updates and revisions. Innovative learning models and modules that target incoming and existing working populations are being built out to respond to business-related requirements as new fields, disciplines, and roles appear and are established.

I talked to Anant Agarwal, CEO and Founder of edX, and Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT about the situation for new workforce entrants and the future education of workers. He spoke of what he called “MOOC 2.0” as the next phase of evolution of this high-profile MOOC (Massively Open Online Course) platform and the strategic rationale and content of edX’s new MicroMasters program offerings.

As a member of the International Education Committee, at edX we are extremely aware of the changing nature of work and jobs. It is predicted that 50 percent of current jobs will disappear by 2030.

Anant Agarwal, CEO and Founder of edX, and
Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT

From DSC:
We are moving towards providing up-to-date, relevant “streams of content” (which will in many cases represent unbundled content/courses). Mark my words, that’s the future that we’re heading for — and the future that we’ll need to successfully adapt to the new, exponential pace of change. Organizations offering such streams will be providing a valuable service in terms identifying, presenting, curating the most relevant, up-to-date content.

As Corporate World Moves Toward Curated ‘Microlearning,’ Higher Ed Must Adapt — from edsurge.com by Sean Gallagher

Excerpt:

Just outside the walls of the ivory tower, a transformation is underway in the world of corporate learning, and those of us at colleges and universities should pay attention.

Corporate learning and development, often referred to as L&D, is radically different than just a few years ago. Meanwhile, the education dialogue has shifted to a focus on employment-related themes such as competencies and skills.

“Businesses today have to be more agile and have to be able to pivot—access to content needs to be very rapid,” says Lori Bradley, executive vice president for global talent management at PVH Corp, a publicly- traded fashion and apparel company with 35,000 employees. “Priorities and jobs are changing more quickly, so we need an agile learning environment that anticipates what learning needs will be, and where we can quickly access them.”

The typical employee has one percent of their time available for learning, according to research by Bersin by Deloitte.

When there’s a need for information or new skills, employees today are increasingly turning to instantly accessible sources such as search engines and online course libraries available on their mobile devices. “Before, our only options were to send people to a training, sit in a course, and learn the material–whether from a university or a week-long certification,” says Shelly Holt, vice president of global learning for SAP, a leading enterprise-software company. “Information today is pushed so quickly at people that the landscape has fundamentally changed.”

We need to think more in terms of providing streams of content -- Daniel Christian

In a world where content is more commoditized, today’s corporate L&D market is increasingly driven by the curation of external content and learning—rather than investment in formal training programs and traditional course libraries. As Lori Bradley, of PVH, describes, “for our people moving at the speed of business, they need to access the content when they need it. We’re moving toward microlearning — 90 minute or shorter sessions.”

Second, in this changing landscape, colleges and universities that seek to meet corporate needs must move beyond monolithic programs and think in terms of competencies, unbundling curriculum, modularizing and “microlearning.”

MIT issues learner-owned digital diplomas on the blockchain [ecampusnews.com]

On 11/14/2017, in Blockchain, colleges, community colleges, credentialing, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, ideas, student-related, tools, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

MIT issues learner-owned digital diplomas on the blockchain — from ecampusnews.com
MIT joins a thriving community of global institutions issuing and verifying official records using the Blockcerts open standard.

Excerpt:

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has issued learner-owned academic credentials on the blockchain. The University’s Digital Diploma Pilot Program allowed a select cohort of students to receive both a paper diploma and a digital diploma anchored to the blockchain. Digital diplomas are encoded using the open-source Blockcerts standard, which was developed by Learning Machine Technologies and the MIT Media Lab.

Speaking to MIT News, Registrar and Senior Associate Mary Callahan said, “From the beginning, one of our primary motivations has been to empower students to be the curators of their own credentials. This pilot makes it possible for them to have ownership of their records and be able to share them in a secure way, with whomever they choose.”

The future of work: How artificial intelligence will transform the employee experience [Meister]

On 11/13/2017, in 21st century, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, bots, business, career development, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, future, game-changing environment, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, user experience (UX), vendors, workplace, by Daniel Christian

The future of work: How artificial intelligence will transform the employee experience — from forbes.com by Jeanne Meister

Excerpt:

Artificial Intelligence is on the verge of penetrating every major industry from healthcare to advertising, transportation, finance, legal, education, and now inside the workplace. Many of us may have already interacted with a chatbot (defined as an automated, yet personalized, conversation between software and human users) whether it’s on Facebook Messenger to book a hotel room or ordering flowers through 1-800 flowers. According to Facebook Vice President, David Marcus, there are now more than 100,000 chatbots on the Facebook Messenger platform, up from 33,000 in 2016.

As we increase the usage of chatbots in our personal lives, we will expect to use them in the workplace to assist us with things like finding new jobs, answering frequently asked HR related questions or even receiving coaching and mentoring. Chatbots digitize HR processes and enable employees to access HR solutions from anywhere. Using artificial intelligence in HR will create a more seamless employee experience, one that is nimbler and more user driven.

Learning Ecosystems

From Psalm 100 – “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise”

“Technology from ‘Harry Potter’ Movies Brings Magic of Brain into Focus” + 2 items on VR

How Augmented Reality is Reshaping the B2B Landscape [Levski]

How Blockchain Could Help Emerging Markets Leap Ahead [Gupta & Knight]

BBC Radio’s newest program, The Inspection Chamber, uses smart home devices to allow listeners to interact with and control the plot.

Trying to count my blessings is like…

The Ivory Tower Can’t Keep Ignoring Tech [O’Neil]

As Corporate World Moves Toward Curated ‘Microlearning,’ Higher Ed Must Adapt [Gallagher]

The future of work: How artificial intelligence will transform the employee experience [Meister]

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