From DSC:
This first item is related to the legal field being able to deal with today’s issues:

The Best Online Law School Programs (2024) — from abovethelaw.com by Staci Zaretsky
A tasty little rankings treat before the full Princeton Review best law schools ranking is released.

Several law schools now offer online JD programs that have become as rigorous as their on-campus counterparts. For many JD candidates, an online law degree might even be the smarter choice. Online programs offer flexibility, affordability, access to innovative technologies, students from a diversity of career backgrounds, and global opportunities.

Voila! Feast your eyes upon the Best Online JD Programs at Law School for 2024 (in alphabetical order):

  • Mitchell Hamline School of Law – Hybrid J.D.
  • Monterey College of Law – Hybrid Online J.D.
  • Purdue Global Law School – Online J.D.
  • Southwestern Law School – Online J.D.
  • Syracuse University – J.D. Interactive
  • University of Dayton School of Law – Online Hybrid J.D.
  • University of New Hampshire – Hybrid J.D.

DSC: FINALLY!!! Online learning hits law schools (at least in a limited fashion)!!! Maybe there’s hope yet for the American Bar Association and for America’s legal system to be able to deal with the emerging technologies — and the issues presented therein — in the 21st century!!! Because if we can’t even get caught up to where numerous institutions of higher education were back at the turn of this century, we don’t have as much hope in the legal field being able to address things like AI, XR, cryptocurrency, blockchain, and more.


Meet KL3M: the first Legal Large Language Model. — from 273ventures.com
KL3M is the first model family trained from scratch on clean, legally-permissible data for enterprise use.


Advocate, advise, and accompany — from jordanfurlong.substack.com by Jordan Furlong
These are the three essential roles lawyers will play in the post-AI era. We need to start preparing legal education, lawyer licensing, and law practices to adapt.

Consider this scenario:

Ten years from now, Generative AI has proven capable of a stunning range of legal activities. Not only can it accurately write legal documents and conduct legal research and apply law to facts, it can reliably oversee legal document production, handle contract negotiations, monitor regulatory compliance, render legal opinions, and much more. Lawyers are no longer needed to carry out these previously billable tasks or even to double-check the AI’s performance. Tasks that once occupied 80% of lawyers’ billable time have been automated.

What are the chances this scenario unfolds within the next ten years? You can decide that likelihood for yourself, but I think anything above 1% represents the potential for major disruption to the legal profession.

Also from Jordan, see:


Top 5 Strategies to Excel in the 2024 Legal Sector with Colin Levy — from discrepancyai.com by Lisen Kaci

We have gathered, from Colin Levy’s insights, the top five strategies that legal professionals can implement to excel in this transformational era – bringing them together with technology.


Legal Tech’s Predictions for AI, Workflow Automation, and Data Analytics in 2024 — from jdsupra.com by Mitratech Holdings, Inc.

They need information like:

  • Why did we go over budget?
  • Why did we go to trial?
  • How many invoices sat with each attorney?

Going further than just legal spend, analytics on volume of work and diversity metrics can help legal teams make the business case they need to drive important initiatives and decisions forward. And a key differentiator of top-performing companies is the ability to get all of this data in one place, which is why Mitratech was thrilled to unveil PlatoBI, an embedded analytics platform powered by Snowflake, earlier this year with several exciting AI and Analytic enhancements.


DOJ appoints first-ever chief AI officer – Will law firms follow? — from legaltechnology.com by Emma Griffiths


AI’s promise and problem for law and learning — from reuters.com by John Bandler

Also worrisome is that AI will be used as a crutch that short circuits learning. Some people look for shortcuts. What effect of AI on that learning process and the result, for students and when lawyers use AI to draft documents and research?


 

From DSC:
Late last week, I ran into several items re: the state of the journalism industry in America. The bottom line is not encouraging. And this should concern every citizen who wants to see our democracy do well.

Here are some items that got me to reflect on this issue/situation:

The State of Local News — from localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu (Northwestern University); via Ryan Craig’s Gap Letter from last week

Executive Summary (emphasis DSC)
There was both good news and bad news for local journalism this past year. The good news raised the possibility that a range of proposals and programs could begin to arrest the steep loss of local news over the past two decades and, perhaps, revive journalism in some places that have lost their news. The headlines on the bad news resoundingly conveyed the message that urgent action is needed in many venues — from boardrooms to the halls of Congress — and by many, including civic-minded organizations and entrepreneurs.

At the same time, however, the number of local news outlets continued to contract at an even steeper rate in 2023. On the current trajectory, by the end of next year, the country will have lost a third of its newspapers since 2005. Discouragingly, the growth in alternative local news sources — digital and ethnic news outlets, as well as public broadcasting — has not kept pace with what’s being lost.

Newspapers are continuing to vanish at an average rate of more than two a week.

In addition to losing almost a third of its newspapers, the country has lost almost two-thirds of its newspaper journalists — 43,000 — since 2005.


Opinion: Local news can seize the moment — from crainsdetroit.com by Sue Ellen Christian

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

Our society isn’t short on news, we’re short on attention. How do we get honest reporting on local events and issues noticed by readers, viewers and listeners in our digital age of content saturation, misinformation and online chaos? Plus, not only are adults overall consuming less news, but many also now intentionally avoid any news and its attendant hyperbole, negativity and fear-mongering.

Local news is an oasis from the national muck. The Gallup/Knight study from last year showed that adults in the U.S. trust local news organizations two times more than national news outlets (44% to 21%), and perceive local journalists as caring more about the impact of their reporting.

For the collaborative and the nation’s many struggling local news outlets, there was this hope-giving finding: “When Americans perceive that local news organizations do not have the resources to report the news accurately and fairly, they are more likely to say they would consider paying for news in the future,” stated the report.

The future is now, people.

A healthy democracy depends on an informed citizenry. Local news is essential, and today’s financially struggling outlets need local paying subscribers.

From DSC: Also as a relevant aside:
Wonder Media
This website is dedicated to helping you learn more about how to use
the media for your purposes, and not to be used by media. Explore
the site to learn about media literacy and news media literacy
through games, videos, quizzes, and more.

 


Opinion: Stronger democracy is worth the investment — from crainsdetroit.com by Hugh Dellios

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

By itself, philanthropy isn’t the ultimate solution. But it can be a bridge to a moment when this generation’s media entrepreneurs have had a chance to solve the puzzle of a more sustainable business model, one that serves audience needs, counts on a variety of solid revenue streams, and restores value in producing news.

A strong, free press is essential to the functioning of our society – and that’s why it’s the only private industry specifically protected by the U.S. Constitution. But unless we invest in real newsrooms, we’ll continue to see the disappearance of real reporters who ask the tough, informed questions that help forge good policy and hold our leaders accountable.

The return on that investment? A better-functioning, more stable democracy. The alternative? Maybe waking up one day without one. 


With local journalism ‘in crisis,’ Michigan newsrooms get creative to fill the gap — from crainsdetroit.com by Julie Mack

Local journalism is “in crisis,” said Tim Franklin, who heads Northwestern’s Local News Initiative and is a former top editor at the Indianapolis Star, Orlando Sentinel and Baltimore Sun.

“I equate the local news crisis to being journalism’s climate change. It’s this grinding attrition,” he said. “We’re at a real inflection point for local news in America. The question is, how are we going to get out of this?”
.

“I really do believe there’s never been a better time to be a corrupt local politician because nobody is watching the henhouse,” said Sue Ellen Christian, a former Chicago Tribune reporter and now a Western Michigan University journalism professor. “There are very few local reporters now, few local news outlets with the bandwidth to pull the documents, go to obscure committee meetings — that’s where you find the story, the string that you pull that becomes a really good, important local news story.” 


 

 

More Chief Online Learning Officers Step Up to Senior Leadership Roles 
In 2024, I think we will see more Chief Online Learning Officers (COLOs) take on more significant roles and projects at institutions.

In recent years, we have seen many COLOs accept provost positions. The typical provost career path that runs up through the faculty ranks does not adequately prepare leaders for the digital transformation occurring in postsecondary education.

As we’ve seen with the professionalization of the COLO role, in general, these same leaders proved to be incredibly valuable during the pandemic due to their unique skills: part academic, part entrepreneur, part technologist, COLOs are unique in higher education. They sit at the epicenter of teaching, learning, technology, and sustainability. As institutions are evolving, look for more online and professional continuing leaders to take on more senior roles on campuses.

Julie Uranis, Senior Vice President, Online and Strategic Initiatives, UPCEA

 

Expanding Bard’s understanding of YouTube videos — via AI Valley

  • What: We’re taking the first steps in Bard’s ability to understand YouTube videos. For example, if you’re looking for videos on how to make olive oil cake, you can now also ask how many eggs the recipe in the first video requires.
  • Why: We’ve heard you want deeper engagement with YouTube videos. So we’re expanding the YouTube Extension to understand some video content so you can have a richer conversation with Bard about it.

Reshaping the tree: rebuilding organizations for AI — from oneusefulthing.org by Ethan Mollick
Technological change brings organizational change.

I am not sure who said it first, but there are only two ways to react to exponential change: too early or too late. Today’s AIs are flawed and limited in many ways. While that restricts what AI can do, the capabilities of AI are increasing exponentially, both in terms of the models themselves and the tools these models can use. It might seem too early to consider changing an organization to accommodate AI, but I think that there is a strong possibility that it will quickly become too late.

From DSC:
Readers of this blog have seen the following graphic for several years now, but there is no question that we are in a time of exponential change. One would have had an increasingly hard time arguing the opposite of this perspective during that time.

 


 



Nvidia’s revenue triples as AI chip boom continues — from cnbc.com by Jordan Novet; via GSV

KEY POINTS

  • Nvidia’s results surpassed analysts’ projections for revenue and income in the fiscal fourth quarter.
  • Demand for Nvidia’s graphics processing units has been exceeding supply, thanks to the rise of generative artificial intelligence.
  • Nvidia announced the GH200 GPU during the quarter.

Here’s how the company did, compared to the consensus among analysts surveyed by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:

  • Earnings: $4.02 per share, adjusted, vs. $3.37 per share expected
  • Revenue: $18.12 billion, vs. $16.18 billion expected

Nvidia’s revenue grew 206% year over year during the quarter ending Oct. 29, according to a statement. Net income, at $9.24 billion, or $3.71 per share, was up from $680 million, or 27 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago.



 

The Public Is Giving Up on Higher Ed — from chronicle.com by Michael D. Smith
Our current system isn’t working for society. Digital alternatives can change that.

Excerpts:

I fear that we in the academy are willfully ignoring this problem. Bring up student-loan debt and you’ll hear that it’s the government’s fault. Bring up online learning and you’ll hear that it is — and always will be — inferior to in-person education. Bring up exclusionary admissions practices and you’ll hear something close to, “Well, the poor can attend community colleges.”

On one hand, our defensiveness is natural. Change is hard, and technological change that risks making traditional parts of our sector obsolete is even harder. “A professor must have an incentive to adopt new technology,” a tenured colleague recently told me regarding online learning. “Innovation adoption will occur one funeral at a time.”

But while our defense of the status quo is understandable, maybe we should ask whether it’s ethical, given what we know about the injustice inherent in our current system. I believe a happier future for all involved — faculty, administrators, and students — is within reach, but requires we stop reflexively protecting our deeply flawed system. How can we do that? We could start by embracing three fundamental principles.

1. Digitization will change higher education.

2. We should want to embrace this change.

3. We have a way to embrace this change.

I fear that we in the academy are willfully ignoring this problem. Bring up student-loan debt and you’ll hear that it’s the government’s fault. Bring up online learning and you’ll hear that it is — and always will be — inferior to in-person education. Bring up exclusionary admissions practices and you’ll hear something close to, “Well, the poor can attend community colleges.”

 

 

A three-headed monster — from rtalbert.org by Robert Talbert

The more I look around higher education, the more clearly it seems to me that there are three practices which we carry out every day – which seemed baked right into the very DNA of our current system of higher education – that are inimical to the actual purpose of higher education. Those practices are:

  • Lecturing,
  • Traditional grading, and
  • Student evaluations of teaching.

Before you get upset, let me say: I don’t think any of these practices is “evil”, and my understanding of the history of education says that all three were developed with good intentions, for legitimate reasons, to solve real problems. (With the possible exception of student evaluations of teaching – I’m working on trying to figure out where these came from and why they were invented.) But regardless of the background and intentions, they have taken over higher education like an invasive species.


Americans Value Good Teaching. Do Colleges? — from chronicle.com by Beth McMurtrie

“If you looked at the average person outside of higher education and said, you know, ‘We’ve created a culture in higher ed where our core thing we do isn’t valued,’ that makes absolutely no sense,” says Amy Hawkins, assistant provost for teaching and academic leadership at the University of Central Arkansas, which has been working to change that dynamic on campus. “It would be like saying in a company, ‘Well, customer service isn’t really a big deal to us. We’re about product development. We treat our customers like crap.’ I mean. That’s nonsensical.”

Does the public know this? And does it care?

Surveys show that what the public values most about higher education is good teaching and meaningful learning. 


What makes an effective microcredential programme? — from by Temesgen Kifle
Short, flexible and skills-focused, microcredentials must balance the needs of students and industry. Here are tips on how to develop courses that achieve this

Here are tips for higher education institutions (HEIs) to consider when creating and delivering microcredential programmes so they meet the needs of all stakeholders.

  1. Collaborate with accrediting bodies, employers and other HEIs
  2. Develop curricula with specific learning outcomes
  3. Review and update programmes regularly
  4. …and others mentioned here

An introduction to creating escape rooms — from timeshighereducation.com by Bernardo Pereira Nunes
Bernardo Pereira Nunes offers tips on how to get started on an escape room experience that will boost students’ teamwork, leadership, communication and problem-solving skills


Are you saving enough for college? Here’s what to know — from npr.org by Cory Turner

But I’ve also been hearing one intriguing question, over and over, that isn’t directly about loans or repayment, so much as it is about how to avoid them entirely. And it’s coming from parents of kids who’ve not yet traded in their sticker collections for student loans.

“I’ve got one little guy who’s about six years old,” Caleb Queern, of Austin, Texas, told me recently. “And my questions are, number one: How much should we be saving between now and the time my little guy is ready for college? And number two: What’s the best way to save for it?”


The Power of New Value Networks in Revolutionizing Education Systems — from michaelbhorn.substack.com by Michael B. Horn

Is school transformation possible without replacing the existing education system? In addition to Tom, Kelly Young of Education Reimagined joined me to argue that it’s not. In an educational landscape that constantly seeks marginal improvements, my guests spoke to the importance of embracing new value networks that support innovative approaches to learning. The conversation touched on the issue of programs that remain niche solutions, rather than robust, learner-centered alternatives. In exploring the concept of value networks, they both challenged the notion of transforming individual schools or districts alone. They argue for the creation of a new value network to truly revolutionize the education system. Of course, they admit that achieving this is no small feat, as it requires a paradigm shift in mindset and a careful balance between innovation and existing structures. In this conversation, we wrestle with the full implications of their findings and more.

 

Higher Ed’s Ruinous Resistance to Change — from chronicle.com by Brian Rosenberg

I dwell on this story not merely because the irony of defending the role of research by ignoring the research on the topic is exquisite, but because it is emblematic of a widespread problem within higher education. The resistance to anything like serious change is profound. By “change” I don’t mean the addition of yet another program or the alteration of a graduation requirement, but something that is transformational and affects the way we do our work on a deep level.

If maintenance of the status quo is the goal, higher education has managed to create the ideal system.

Cut through all the graphs and economic data and the problem is straightforward: When the service you provide costs more than people are willing and able to pay for it, when you are unable to lower the cost of that service, and when the number of your potential customers is shrinking, you have what one might describe as an unsustainable financial model.

“College teaching has probably seen less change than almost any other American institutional practice since the days of Henry Adams.”

 

From DSC:
In Rick Seltzer’s Daily Briefing for 9-18-23, he ends the briefing with this important point:

The bigger picture: Culture is exceedingly hard to change, especially after trust evaporates in a crisis. And crises can be particularly wrenching when institutions haven’t established cultures of transparency and accountability during good times. Instead, trust continues to erode in a vicious cycle.

And I thought to myself, the scope of Rick’s conclusion could likely be expanded/applied to institutions of higher education as a whole.

 

A First Look at Teaching Preferences since the Pandemic”— from library.educause.edu/ by Muscanell

2023 Faculty & Technology Report: A First Look at Teaching Preferences since the Pandemic

This is the first faculty research conducted by EDUCAUSE since 2019. Since then, the higher education landscape has been through a lot, including COVID-19, fluctuations in enrollment and public funding, and the rapid adoption of multiple instructional modalities and new technologies. In this report, we describe the findings of the research in four key areas:

  • Modality preferences and the impacts of teaching in non-preferred modes
  • Experiences teaching online and hybrid courses
  • Technology and digital availability of course components
  • Types of support needed and utilized for teaching

From DSC:
Polling the faculty members and getting their feedback is not as relevant and important to the future of higher education as better addressing the needs and wants of parents and students who are paying the bills. Asking faculty members what they want to post online is not as relevant as what students want and need to see online.


From DSC:
More fringe responses — versus overhauling pricing, updating curriculum, providing more opportunities to try out jobs before investing in a degree, and/or better rewarding those adjunct faculty members who are doing the majority of the teaching on many campuses.


Online college enrollment is on the rise: What brings students to virtual campuses? — from digitaljournal.com by Jill Jaracz and Emma Rubin; via GSV

Before the pandemic, online learning programs were typically for people going back to school to augment or change their career or pursuing a graduate degree to enhance their career while they work. That attitude is shifting as students juggle learning with jobs, family responsibilities, and commutes. In California, 4 in 5 community college classes were in person before the pandemic. By 2021, just 1 in 4 were in person, while 65% were online, according to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.

Younger students are also opting for online classes. EducationDynamics found in 2023 that the largest share of students pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees online is 35 or younger. That said, 35% of students pursuing online undergraduate degrees are between


 

***
From DSC:
Having come from various other areas of higher education back in 2017, I was *amazed* to see *how far behind* legal education was from the rest of higher ed. And this is directly tied to what the American Bar Association allows (or doesn’t allow). The ABA has done a terrible job of helping Americans deal with today’s pace of change.

 

From DSC: If this is true, how will we meet this type of demand?!?

RESKILLING NEEDED FOR 40% OF WORKFORCE BECAUSE OF AI, REPORT FROM IBM SAYS — from staffingindustry.com; via GSV

Generative AI will require skills upgrades for workers, according to a report from IBM based on a survey of executives from around the world. One finding: Business leaders say 40% of their workforces will need to reskill as AI and automation are implemented over the next three years. That could translate to 1.4 billion people in the global workforce who require upskilling, according to the company.

 

Student loan debt: Averages and other statistics in 2023 — from usatoday.com by Rebecca Safier and Ashley Harrison; via GSV

Excerpt:

The cost of college has more than doubled over the past four decades — and student loan borrowing has risen along with it. The student loan debt balance in the U.S. has increased by 66% over the past decade, and it now totals more than $1.77 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve.

Here’s a closer look at student loan debt statistics in the U.S. today, broken down by age, race, gender and other demographics.

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 54% of bachelor’s degree students who attended public and private four-year schools graduated with student loans, according to the College Board. These students left school with an average balance of $29,100 in education debt.

From DSC:
With significant monthly payments, many graduates HAVE TO HAVE good jobs that pay decent salaries. This is an undercurrent flowing through the higher ed learning ecosystem — with ramifications for what students/families/guardians expect from their investments.


‘Pracademics,’ professors who work outside the academy, win new respect — from washingtonpost.com by Jon Marcus
What’s in a word? A way to help impatient college students better connect to jobs.

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

Among its approaches, the university focuses on having students learn from people like Taylor, who work or have worked in the fields about which they teach. Sheffield Hallam even has a catchy word to describe these practical academics: “pracademics.”

American universities have pracademics, too, of course. They’re among the more than 710,000 part-time and non-tenure-track faculty members who now make up some 61 percent of all faculty, according to the American Association of University Professors. Other adjectives for them include “adjunct,” “casual,” “contingent,” “external” and “occasional.”

From DSC:
For several years now I’ve thought that adjuncts are the best bet for our current traditional institutions of higher education to remain relevant and have healthier enrollments (i.e., sales) as well as offer better ROI’s that the students are looking for. Why? Because adjuncts bring current, real-world expertise to the classroom.

But the problem here is that many of these same institutions have treated adjunct faculty members poorly. Adjunct faculty members are often viewed as second-class citizens in many colleges and universities — even though they provide the lion’s share of the teaching, grading, and assessing of students’ work. They don’t get benefits, they are paid far less than tenured faculty members, and they often don’t know if they will actually be teaching a course or not. Chances are they don’t get to vote or have a say within faculty senates and such. They are often without power…without a voice.

I’m not sure many adjunct faculty members in the U.S. will stay with these institutions if something better comes around in the way of other alternatives.


Colgate Adds Trade School to Higher Education Employee Benefit — from colgate.edu by Daniel DeVries; via Brandon Busteed on LinkedIn

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

One of Colgate University’s most important employee benefits has been expanded to support employee children as they seek trade or vocational education. 

Colgate, like many leading universities, offers financial support for employee children who attend an accredited college or university in pursuit of an undergraduate degree. Now, at the University, this benefit has been expanded to include employee children who enroll in trade or vocational schools.


Coursera’s degree and certificate offerings help drive Q2 revenue growth — from highereddive.com by Natalie Schwartz
The MOOC platform’s CEO touted the company’s strategy of allowing students to stack short-term credentials into longer offerings.

Dive Brief:

  • Coursera’s revenue increased to $153.7 million in the second quarter of 2023, up 23% compared to the same period last year, according to the company’s latest financial results.
  • The increases were partly driven by strong demand for the MOOC platform’s entry-level professional certificates and rising enrollment in its degree programs.
  • During a call with analysts Thursday, Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda attributed some of that enrollment growth to new offerings, which include a cybersecurity analyst certificate from Microsoft and artificial intelligence degree programs from universities in India and Colombia.

Are ‘quick wins’ possible in assessment and feedback? Yes, and here’s how — from timeshighereducation.com by Beverley Hawkins, Eleanor Hodgson, Oli Young
It takes coordination, communication, and credibility to implement quick improvements in assessment and feedback, as a team from the University of Exeter explain 

One way to establish this is to form an “assessment and feedback expert group”. Bringing together assessment expertise from educators and academic development specialists, and student participants across the institution establishes a community of practice beyond those in formal leadership roles, who can share their experience and bring opportunities for improvement back into their local networks.

Focusing the group on “quick wins” can encourage discussion to address specific tips and tricks that educators can use without changing their assessment briefs and without significant preparation.

Also re: providing feedback see:

Five common misconceptions on writing feedback — from timeshighereducation.com by Rolf Norgaard , Stephanie Foster
Misapprehensions about responding to and grading writing can prevent educators using writing as an effective pedagogical tool. Rolf Norgaard and Stephanie Foster set out to dispel them

Writing is essential for developing higher-order skills such as critical thinking, enquiry and metacognition. Common misconceptions about responding to and grading writing can get in the way of using writing as an effective pedagogical tool. Here, we attempt to dispel these myths and provide recommendations for effective teaching.


How generative AI like ChatGPT is pushing assessment reform — from timeshighereducation.com by Amir Ghapanchi
AI has brought assessment and academic integrity in higher education to the fore. Here, Amir Ghapanchi offers seven ways to evaluate student learning that mitigate the impact of AI writers

Recommended assessment types to mitigate AI use
These assessment types can help universities to minimise the adverse effects of GAI:

  • Staged assignments
  • In-class presentations followed by questions
  • Group projects
  • Personal reflection essays
  • Class discussion
  • In-class handwritten exams
  • Performance-based assessments

Instructors Rush to Do ‘Assignment Makeovers’ to Respond to ChatGPT — from edsurge.com by Jeffrey R. Young

(Referring to rubrics) But, Bruff says, “the more transparent I am in the assignment description, the easier it is to paste that description into ChatGPT to have it do the work for you. There’s a deep irony there.” 

Bruff, the teaching consultant, says his advice to any teacher is not to have an “us against them mentality” with students. Instead, he suggests, instructors should admit that they are still figuring out strategies and boundaries for new AI tools as well, and should work with students to develop ground rules for how much or how little tools like ChatGPT can be used to complete homework.


Nearly 90% of staff report major barriers between traditional and emerging academic programs — from universitybusiness.com by Alcino Donadel
Only 53% of respondents recognized an existing strategic initiative at their institution with regard to PCE units; 17% indicated none existed, and 30% were not sure.

In the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers’ (AACRAO) new survey on how institutions are mediating PCE units’ coexistence with the academic registrar, they found that once-siloed PCE units that are now converging with the academic registrar are causing internal tension and confusion.

“Because the two units have been organically grown for years to be separate institutions and to offer different things, it is difficult to grow together without knowing the goals of each or having a relationship,” one anonymized respondent said in the report.

 

Strengthening Elementary Reading Instruction — from nctq.org

Excerpt:

The status quo is far from inevitable. In fact, we know the solution to this reading crisis, but we are not using the solution at scale. More than 50 years of research compiled by the National Institutes of Health, and continued through further research, provides a clear picture of how skilled reading develops and of effective literacy instruction. These strategies and methods—collectively called scientifically based reading instruction, which is grounded in the science of reading—could dramatically reduce the rate of reading failure. Past estimates have found that while 3 in 10 children struggle to read (and that rate has grown higher since the pandemic), research indicates that more than 90% of all students could learn to read if they had access to teachers who employed scientifically based reading instruction.

Also relevant/see:

 


Though not related to reading, here are some potentially-valuable resource re: mathematics for homeschoolers:


 


From DSC:
The Bible talks about listening quite frequently. The authors ask people to listen to what is being communicated.

Proverbs 16:20
Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers,
and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.

Unfortunately, it often involves people NOT listening to the LORD and/or to others and, instead, going their/our own way. In my own life, things don’t go so well when I do that. I think the same is true on a more general/corporate level as well.

For example, Israel in ancient days thought and behaved this way too. Read 1 Kings and 2 Kings to see what I mean. They didn’t listen to the LORD. They didn’t listen to instruction. They thought they knew it all. They didn’t give credit to Whom credit was due. They made up their own gods and worshipped the things that they created.

The LORD wanted to bless them — and us. But they didn’t — and we still don’t — want to listen and submit to His will at times (even though His will is meant to BLESS US).

I used to see the LORD looking down from heaven, with a stern or disappointed look on His face. He was tapping His foot, and had His arms folded. I imagined Him saying, “Daniel, get your stuff together!!!” I didn’t see Him as being on my team.

Through the years He has shown me that He IS on my team and that He is active in my heart, mind, and life. He is full of grace, truth, patience, forgiveness, vulnerable love, and wisdom. He’s awesome. I love Him and His ways — but that’s taken me decades to be able to say that.

He wants what is best for us. He gave us gifts and wants us to use those gifts to serve others.

 

AI-driven Legal Apprenticeships — from thebrainyacts.beehiiv.com by Josh Kubicki

Excerpts:

My hypothesis and research suggest that as bar associations and the ABA begin to recognize the on-going systemic issues of high-cost legal education, growing legal deserts (where no lawyer serves a given population), on-going and pervasive access to justice issues, and a public that is already weary of the legal system – alternative options that are already in play might become more supported.

What might that look like?

The combination of AI-assisted education with traditional legal apprenticeships has the potential to create a rich, flexible, and engaging learning environment. Here are three scenarios that might illustrate what such a combination could look like:

    • Scenario One – Personalized Curriculum Development
    • Scenario Two – On-Demand Tutoring and Mentoring
    • Scenario Three – AI-assisted Peer Networks and Collaborative Learning:

Why Companies Are Vastly Underprepared For The Risks Posed By AI — from forbes.com by
Accuracy, bias, security, culture, and trust are some of the risks involved

Excerpt:

We know that there are challenges – a threat to human jobs, the potential implications for cyber security and data theft, or perhaps even an existential threat to humanity as a whole. But we certainly don’t yet have a full understanding of all of the implications. In fact, a World Economic Forum report recently stated that organizations “may currently underappreciate AI-related risks,” with just four percent of leaders considering the risk level to be “significant.”

A survey carried out by analysts Baker McKenzie concluded that many C-level leaders are over-confident in their assessments of organizational preparedness in relation to AI. In particular, it exposed concerns about the potential implications of biased data when used to make HR decisions.


AI & lawyer training: How law firms can embrace hybrid learning & development — thomsonreuters.com
A big part of law firms’ successful adaptation to the increased use of ChatGPT and other forms of generative AI, may depend upon how firmly they embrace online learning & development tools designed for hybrid work environments

Excerpt:

As law firms move forward in using of advanced artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT and other forms of generative AI, their success may hinge upon how they approach lawyer training and development and what tools they enlist for the process.

One of the tools that some law firms use to deliver a new, multi-modal learning environment is an online, video-based learning platform, Hotshot, that delivers more than 250 on-demand courses on corporate, litigation, and business skills.

Ian Nelson, co-founder of Hotshot, says he has seen a dramatic change in how law firms are approaching learning & development (L&D) in the decade or so that Hotshot has been active. He believes the biggest change is that 10 years ago, firms hadn’t yet embraced the need to focus on training and development.

From DSC:
Heads up law schools. Are you seeing/hearing this!?

  • Are we moving more towards a lifelong learning model within law schools?
  • If not, shouldn’t we be doing that?
  • Are LLM programs expanding quickly enough? Is more needed?

Legal tech and innovation: 3 ways AI supports the evolution of legal ops — from lexology.com

Excerpts:

  1. Simplified legal spend analysis
  2. Faster contract review
  3. Streamlined document management

AI’s Potential for Access to Justice -- a podcast from the Legal Talk Network

 
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