AI: Where are we now? — from educause.edu by EDUCAUSE
Is the use of AI in higher education today invisible? dynamic? perilous? Maybe it’s all three.
Also see:
Also relevant/see:
On 06/10/2022,
in 21st century, adjunct faculty, business side of he, change, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, credentialing, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, higher education, leadership, learning ecosystem, learning preferences, liberal arts, motivation, parents/guardians, participation, reinvent, skills, society, student-related, surviving, United States, universities, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
The following items made me reflect upon the place of COVID-19 in causing the current ills within higher education — but also thinking about the ills that were present long before Covid hit us.
Key point:
We should be careful not to conveniently use COVID-19 as the scapegoat for all that’s wrong within higher education.
On the faculty/staff side of the house
The Season of Our Professorial Discontent — from chronicle.com by Paul Musgrave
The pandemic irrevocably changed the student-teacher relationship — and not for the better.
Excerpts:
As pandemic slides into endemic, it’s worth asking: Did the pandemic break something fundamental about academe? Was the spring of 2022 the end of pandemic disruptions, or the start of a new normal?
…
This time, as I delivered the lines to an audience of 30 in a course with 200 students enrolled, I was wondering whether I wanted to give a lecture ever again.
From DSC:
Regarding the first quote…several things were broken within academe long before COID-19. Re: the second quote, what should that tell us if only 30 students showed up in a class with 200 students in it?
Faculty autonomy and faculty satisfaction are being whittled away.
From DSC:
From what I can tell, that’s been happening for years within the K-12 learning ecosystem. It seems like this trend is now occurring within the higher ed learning ecosystem. (I could go off on a tangent about why we didn’t help our fellow educators within K-12 — whose “product” directly impacts those working within higher ed — but I better not. This posting is already packed with reflections.)
Below are some relevant quotes from Kevin McClure’s 5/27/22 article out at The Chronicle of Higher Education (emphasis DSC). I agree with much of what Kevin is saying here.
Don’t Blame the Pandemic for Worker Discontent
It hasn’t just been a tough two years. It’s been a tough two decades.
Excerpt:
The pandemic alone didn’t cause the low morale and turnover you might be seeing among your faculty and staff members just as the lack of personal protective equipment didn’t solely give rise to the Amazon Labor Union. Yes, today’s workers are re-evaluating their workplaces, seeking reassignment within their institutions, and in some cases resigning from jobs altogether. But they are doing so for many of the same reasons they did 20 years ago — poor working conditions.
…
So burnout isn’t just about people struggling to cope with stress; it’s about people struggling in workplaces where stress never subsides.
…
In my own interviews on morale, higher-education workers have talked about leaders who aren’t listening, low compensation, and understaffing.
…
We see our workplaces differently, and our tolerance of poor working conditions has evaporated.
On the student side of the house
“It hasn’t just been a tough two years. It’s been a tough two decades.” The same — and likely more — could be said for the student side of the house, especially in regards to the price of education and how relevant/up-to-date the content has been. As the prices of obtaining a degree have skyrocketed over the last several decades, students and parents now HAVE to ask, “What’s the Return On Investment (ROI) here? Am I gaining the skills in college that will get me hired after college?”
Again, the point I’m trying to make here is that we should be careful not to conveniently use COVID-19 as the scapegoat for all that’s wrong within higher education.
Along these lines, the following two quotes seem relevant to me from Beth McMurtrie’s (6/2/22) Teaching e-newsletter (also from The Chronicle):
I asked Walton to tell me more about the setup at his university. He said classes were fully in person but instructors were encouraged to record lectures and be highly flexible with due dates. The result: Most days he had less than 50-percent attendance, and he received a lot of last-minute emails from students who said they woke up that morning with a headache or otherwise not feeling well. A few filed documented absence requests, but not many, suggesting that these were not serious illnesses, like Covid.
…
I’ve never had more incompletes for courses than in the last two years, so signaling to students that their distribution courses are flexible and accommodating has only let them de-emphasize them even more.
There’s likely a variety of causes/possibilities here — and I’m sure that Covid-related reasons are among them. But it makes me really wonder if students don’t think that the content is all that valuable or relevant to begin with these days. Is college even worth it anymore? Why am I here in the first place? Where is the motivation coming from? Is it extrinsic or intrinsic motivation?
Perhaps it’s time to change the curriculum/content as well as the price.
A graphic I created back in 2009, with Yohan Na’s assistance.
On 06/01/2022,
in adjunct faculty, business side of he, career development, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, engagement / engaging students, faculty, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, law schools, learning ecosystem, liberal arts, Michigan, parents/guardians, participation, reinvent, society, staying relevant, student-related, surviving, United States, universities,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
The items below reminded me that things aren’t looking good for higher education these days. Having a son a quarter of the way through college makes this even more relevant/personal for our family.
The Big Quit | Even tenure-line professors are leaving academe. — from chronicle.com by Joshua Doležal
Excerpts:
We have become accustomed to the exodus of graduate students, postdocs, and adjuncts, but before Covid it was still possible to see tenured and tenure-track faculty members as relatively immune from the stresses of working in higher ed. No more. A 2020 study by The Chronicle and Fidelity Investments found that more than half of all faculty members surveyed were seriously weighing options outside of higher education: either changing careers entirely or retiring early.
“If a return to normal simply means restoring the burnout conditions that the pandemic inflamed, then the rumble of faculty members leaving may build to a roar that no amount of magical thinking can explain away.”
Here’s a relevant quote from a weekly newsletter — Teaching — from The Chronicle of Higher Education (by Becky Supiano)
The bottom line? “You don’t get student success,” McClure says, “unless you have invested in faculty well-being.”
The quote is from Kevin McClure, who is “trying to get the challenges front-line faculty and staff face on the radar of more college leaders.” As primarily a former staff member, I appreciate that he’s including staff members here. Staff are important members of the academe as well.
Drop in Spring-2022 Enrollment Is Worse Than Expected — from chronicle.com byAudrey Williams June
Excerpt:
New data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center provide a final tally on enrollment for the spring of 2022 — and reveal a persistent trend: College attendance continues to decline.
Undergraduate enrollment fell 4.7 percent from a year earlier, a shortfall of more than 662,000 students. Since the pandemic began, the undergraduate student body has dropped by almost 1.4 million students.
But also in play, he said, are students who increasingly question the value of college, are wary about taking out student loans to pay for it, and who have options to join the labor market instead.
Michigan colleges experience nation’s worst spring enrollment dive, new report shows — from mlive.com by Samuel Dodge
Excerpt:
College enrollment across Michigan plummeted 15% during the spring semester this year, dragged down by a 20% hit to four-year public universities, a new report shows. Spring enrollment across all sectors dropped to 360,220 students, a decrease of more than 62,000 from 2021 to this year, according to data released Thursday, May 26, by the National Student Clearinghouse.
[Cost of Inequity] The Student Loan Crisis — from businessinsidre.com by various
How the student loan industry put a $1.7 trillion price tag on the American dream and the proposed reforms that could pay the bill.
A somewhat-related item:
The Future of Higher Education Is the Hybrid Campus — from campustechnology.com by Dr. Jeffrey R. Docking
Blending the best of face-to-face instruction with the flexibility of online learning can enhance the higher ed experience for all types of learners, lower the cost of a degree and better prepare students for the workforce.
Excerpts (emphasis DSC):
What Students Want
Students and families are increasingly rethinking whether a traditional college education is worth the investment, leaving higher ed leaders searching for innovative ways to showcase their school’s value and entice students. When we think about what students really want, they want more than a degree — they want skills training that will ensure a well-paying, rewarding career. In fact, 62% of college students say they would be more likely to re-enroll if their institution offered “new programs and certificates tailored to the new economy” with high-demand majors and education that connects them to employability. This makes sense since employers are continuing to find value in students developing a “broad skill base that can be applied across a range of contexts.”
But over the last several years, and after seeing the success of it at Adrian College, I’ve become convinced that the future of residential colleges is not face-to-face or online, but an intelligent blend of both modalities.
A somewhat-related item:
Navigating career turbulence — from ted.com by Adam Grant; with thanks to Deirdre Honner for this resource
Description:
Everyone’s career will hit some turbulence at some point. Instead of pushing harder against the headwinds, we’re sometimes better off tilting our rudder and charting a new course. In this episode, host Adam Grant speaks with people who have taken unusual steps to battle uncertainty, rethought their approach to finding and landing a job and reached out for help in unexpected places — as well as an expert on recessions who forecasts the future by looking to the past. Listen and subscribe to WorkLife with Adam Grant and more podcasts from the TED Audio Collective wherever you’re listening to this.
On 05/25/2022,
in 21st century, 5G, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, cryptocurrencies, data related items, emerging technologies, future, game-changing environment, global / globalization, innovation, internet, Metaverse, NVIDIA, society, technology (general), trends, United States, Web3,
by Daniel Christian
What technology trends will—and should—lead business agendas in 2022? — from mckinsey.com
Excerpt:
Metaverse. Web3. Crypto. 5G.
These are just a few of the technologies grabbing headlines at the start of 2022. But what technology trends truly sit atop business agendas this year? Which might be under executives’ radars but should be surfaced? And what should business leaders keep in mind as they consider these trends?
We asked some members of the McKinsey Technology Council, a group of global experts convened to assess, track, and debate real emerging trends in business and technology, for their perspectives on these questions. Specifically, we asked the following:
- What technology trend do you predict will headline business agendas for the remainder of 2022 and why?
- What technology trend do you think is under businesses’ radars but merits more of executives’ attention?
- What’s one piece of advice you would give to business leaders as they consider incorporating new technologies into their business?
Also relevant/see:
The top trends in tech — from mckinsey.com
Which technologies have the most momentum in an accelerating world? We identified the trends that matter most.
Marketing in the metaverse: An opportunity for innovation and experimentation — from mckinsey.com
Although widespread adoption of the metaverse may take some time, leading brands are already rewriting the rules of marketing.
Marketers would be remiss if they didn’t start exploring what the metaverse can offer. Now is the right time to adopt a test-and-learn mindset, to be open to experiments, and to move on quickly from failure and capitalize on success.
From DSC:
And not just marketers. How about teachers, professors, trainers, and instructional designers?
#Metaverse #learningfromthelivingclassroom #learningecosystems #learning #training #education #K12 #highereducation #vocations #careers #corporatetraining #learninganddevelopment
On 05/25/2022,
in business, business side of he, career development, change, colleges, cost of getting a degree, funding / grants, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, organizational change, United States,
by Daniel Christian
Private colleges’ net tuition revenue from first-year students declined in 2021-22, study finds — from highereddive.com by Rick Seltzer
The revenue drop comes as tuition discount rates for first-year undergraduates rose to 54.5%, NACUBO found. Selective colleges discounted less than others.
Dive Brief (emphasis DSC):
- Tuition discount rates for full-time first-year students attending private nonprofit colleges rose 2.1 percentage points to average 54.5% in 2021-22, a new record high, according to the National Association of College and University Business Officers.
- Average tuition discount rates also climbed for all undergraduates attending private nonprofits, increasing by 1.4 percentage points to 49%, an annual NACUBO study released Thursday found. That measure hit its highest recorded mark as well.
- Net tuition revenue from first-time undergraduates fell for just the second time in 10 years, with colleges that aren’t selective in admissions struggling most.
Also relevant/see:
Smaller and Restructured: How the Pandemic Is Changing the Higher Education IT Workforce — from educause.edu by Jenay Robert
On 05/23/2022,
in business, business side of he, career development, change, changing business models, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, corporate / business world, Daniel S. Christian, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, higher education, learner profiles, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, lifelong learning, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, United States, universities, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
‘Stackable credentials’ could be future of higher education in Colorado — from thedenverchannel.com by Nicole Brady; with thanks to Ray Schroeder for this resource out on LinkedIn
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
DENVER — Metropolitan State University of Denver is one of Colorado’s largest four-year institutions, but some students are spending just months there — not years — before joining the workforce.
They’re doing it by “stacking” credentials.
“Stackable credentials are really a convergence of individuals wanting to learn in smaller chunks and industries being willing to accept those chunks,” said Terry Bower, associate vice president of Innovative and Lifelong Learning at MSU Denver.
The career launchpad lays out exactly what steps are needed to work in those industries and how much money a person can earn with different credentials.
For students who decide they want to add more credentials or work toward a degree, they can return to MSU with no credits lost.
From DSC:
That part that says “The career launchpad lays out exactly what steps are needed to work in those industries and how much money a person can earn with different credentials” will likely be a part of a next-generation learning platform. Here are the skills in demand. Here are the folks offering you the ability to learn/develop those skills and here’s what you can expect to earn at different levels of this type of job. The platform will be able to offer this type of information and these types of opportunities throughout your lifetime.
Cloud-based learner profiles will be part of this new setup — along with recommendation engine-based results based upon one’s learning preferences (not learning styles — which don’t exist — but upon one’s learning preferences).
On 05/20/2022,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, 3D, accessibility / UDL, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Augmented Reality (AR), Canada, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, cryptocurrencies, digital learning, distance education, education, education technology, emerging technologies, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, interaction design, interactivity, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning spaces, Metaverse, Mixed Reality (MR), MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, presentations, professional development, remote teaching and learning, trends, United States, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, web-based collaboration, Web3, XR - extended reality,
by Daniel Christian
Opportunities for Education in the Metaverse — from downes.ca by Stephen Downes
Excerpt:
This short presentation introduces major elements of the metaverse, outlines some applications for education, discusses how it may be combined with other technologies for advanced applications, and outlines some issues and concerns.
Also relevant/see:
What Should Higher Ed in the Metaverse Look like? – from linkedin.com by Joe Schaefer
Excerpt:
The Metaverse is coming whether we like it or not, and it is time for educators to think critically about how it can benefit students. As higher education continues to evolve, I believe every learning product and platform working with or within the Metaverse should, at least, have these functionalities:
Addendum on 5/23/22:
On 05/19/2022,
in business side of he, career development, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, cost of getting a degree, curriculum, faculty, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, leadership, parents/guardians, participation, society, United States, universities,
by Daniel Christian
The Exit Interview Nine departing presidents on how the job — and higher ed — is changing. — from chronicle.com by Eric Kelderman
“One of the things I’ve learned in this job is that it’s time for us to really think hard about the obligations the postsecondary educational sector has to the country,” Quillen said. “What is, as it were, the social contract between that sector and the society that supports us? And what do we need to do to fulfill our obligations there?”
Carol Quillen
Carol Quillen
On 05/13/2022,
in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, accessibility / UDL, Augmented Reality (AR), future, game-changing environment, global / globalization, Google, innovation, languages and translation, tools, user experience (UX), user interface design, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, XR - extended reality,
by Daniel Christian
Google teases new AR glasses at #GoogleIO2022 pic.twitter.com/Ui5gAm2hAE
— The Verge (@verge) May 11, 2022
From DSC:
I love the parts about seeing instant language translations — including sign language! Very cool indeed!
(With thanks to Ori Inbar out on Twitter for this resource.)
Also see:
- AR Smart Glasses Make Their Way To The Veterinary Office — from vrscout.com by Kyle Melnick
- Johnson & Johnson will train Mexican students and doctors in the metaverse — from entrepreneur.com; with thanks to Dany DeGrave out on Twitter for this resource
The company launches an Innovation Room with state-of-the-art technology that demonstrates the academic use that can be given to immersive viewers that serve to access the metaverse.
On 05/11/2022,
in Australia, blended learning, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, education, experimentation, face-to-face, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, hybrid learning, Hyflex learning, ideas, innovation, instructional design, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, learning spaces, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, online learning, participation, platforms, reinvent, remote teaching and learning, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, society, staying relevant, student-related, surviving, teachers, technologies for your home, universities, videoconferencing, vision/possibilities,
by Daniel Christian
Airbnb’s design for employees to live and work anywhere — from news.airbnb.com; with thanks to Tom Barrett for this resource
Excerpt:
Airbnb is in the business of human connection above all else, and we believe that the most meaningful connections happen in person. Zoom is great for maintaining relationships, but it’s not the best way to deepen them. Additionally, some creative work and collaboration is best done when you’re in the same room. I’d like working at Airbnb to feel like you’re working at one of the most creative places on Earth, and this will only happen with some in-person collaboration time.
The right solution should combine the best of the digital world and the best of the physical world. It should have the efficiency of Zoom, while providing the meaningful human connection that only happens when people come together. We have a solution that we think combines the best of both worlds.
We’ve designed a way for you to live and work anywhere—while collaborating in a highly coordinated way, and experiencing the in-person connection that makes Airbnb special. Our design has five key features…
Now, a thought exercise on that item from Tom Barrett:
While you are there, extend the thought experiment and imagine the new policy for a school, college or university.
- You can work from home or the office
- You can move anywhere in the country you work in, and your compensation won’t change
- You have the flexibility to travel and work around the world
- We’ll meet up regularly for team gatherings, off-sites, and social events
- We’ll continue to work in a highly coordinated way
From DSC:
As a reflection on this thought experiment, this graphic comes to my mind again. Teachers, professors, trainers, staff, and students can be anywhere in the world:
On 05/09/2022,
in Alternatives, business side of he, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, cost of getting a degree, credentialing, curriculum, digital learning, experimentation, game-changing environment, health, higher education, learning ecosystem, legislatures / government / legal, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, online learning, policy, teaching & learning, technology (general), trends, United States, universities,
by Daniel Christian
100 Universities established an OPM, Bootcamp or Pathways partnership in Q1 2022 — from holoniq.com
Bootcamps are directing more resources B2B and B2G, OPMs are growing existing partnerships further and evolving their technology and healthcare programs.
Excerpt:
Higher Education, like the broader economy, is awkwardly emerging from an almost exclusively digital, isolated and stimulus fuelled environment into… well it’s not clear yet. University Partnerships continued to be established at pace through Q1 2022, albeit at a much slower rate than through 2021.
Also relevant/see:
College contracts with OPMs need better oversight, watchdog says — from highereddive.com by Natalie Schwartz
Excerpt from Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Department of Education should strengthen oversight of colleges’ relationships with companies that help them launch and build online programs, according to a new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, an auditing agency for Congress.
Addendum on 5/11/22:
- 2021 Global Learning Landscape — from globallearninglandscape.org