Why America has so few carpenters https://t.co/bjC3X69ObP
— Paul Czarapata (@pczarapata) May 22, 2022
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4 Online Tactics to Improve Blended Learning — from campustechnology.com by Megan Burke, CPA, Ph.D.
An accounting professor shares how best practices from online pedagogy have helped her create a blended learning environment that supports student success.
Excerpts:
Now that students are back in the classroom, I have been combining these tactics with in-person instruction to create a blended learning environment that gives my students the best of both worlds.
The right activities, on the other hand, can make a significant difference. For example:
I also encourage faculty (and myself!) to get out and meet with employers and ask what we can do to better prepare students, so that we can get a better feel for what first-year staff really need to know — and ensure that we present that knowledge and information in the classroom.
Coursera launches skills training academy for colleges and companies — from highereddive.com by Natalie Schwartz
Experts say the move could help the company strengthen its focus on selling courses to colleges rather than consumers.
Excerpts:
Coursera, like other popular MOOC platforms, has made its name by bringing online classes to the masses. But lately, the company has been expanding efforts to provide these offerings to colleges and employers rather than solely to consumers.
The company doubled down on that strategy Wednesday, when it announced the launch of a career training academy that enables users to earn entry-level certificates from companies like Meta and IBM in fields such as data analytics, social media marketing and user experience design. Institutions — including colleges, businesses and government organizations — can sign up to make the platform available to their students or employees.
The move signals a shift in strategy for the company. While Coursera is still focused on delivering courses directly to consumers, it’s also been building out its offerings to colleges and employers. This business segment includes Coursera for Campus, which allows colleges to use the platform’s content in their classes.
From DSC:
For those who think MOOCs have come and gone:
Coursera has been using academic content created by universities for years to build its audience, amassing some 97 million users by the end of last year, according to its latest earnings report.
Addendum on 5/11/22:
The rise of alternative credentials in hiring — from shrm.org; with thanks to Ryan Craig for this resource
Increasingly, U.S. workers are turning to alternative credentials as a way to enhance and demonstrate skills and work readiness. But can certifications, badges and apprenticeships stand in for traditional education and work experience when seeking a new job?
Excerpts:
Alternative credentials can be defined as any microcredential, industry or professional certification, acknowledgment of apprenticeship (registered or nonregistered), or badging that indicates one’s competencies and skills within a particular field. Alternative credentials do not include traditional academic degrees or required occupational licensures.
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However, one potential barrier to employers’ wider recognition of alternative credentials is actually a technical one. Automated applicant tracking systems (ATS) frequently don’t pick up on them, because often there is still no standard approach to collecting this information as systems do for traditional education and work experience. Only one-third of HR professionals whose organizations use automated prescreening say this prescreening even recognizes alternative credentials. Such inconsistency offers a clear direction for both HR and the providers of applicant screening tools to improve the ways alternative credentials are captured in the application process.
I Grew Up Believing I Was Dumb. A College Education Behind Bars Healed That Wound https://t.co/PsUZ2LyOxa via @MarshallProj
— Paul Czarapata (@pczarapata) April 21, 2022
Seeing the possibilities, I finally took a chance. I studied English, political science and finite math, and each class I passed deepened my confidence and self-love.
This growing self-love was key to my academic development. Growing up, I didn’t experience much real love, outside of my mother and a few family members. I most often encountered the kind of false love expressed through violence and monetary possessions. College changed the way I thought about myself and others. I worked hand-in-hand with men from all backgrounds to complete assignments, and even taught other students. Before I knew it, I was getting A’s on my essays and solving quadratic equations in math class.
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When people question why it’s important to educate prisoners, I remind them that to see change, we must support change. We must give individuals the opportunity to see themselves as more than the harm they’ve caused, more than what was once broken within them.
Christopher Blackwell
Also relevant/see:
The Skills Needed to Practice “New Law” — from abaforlawstudents.com by Ram Vasudevan
Excerpt:
…but proficiencies in technology, data and analytics, math and statistics, finance and budgeting, and large-scale project management are among the most valuable. Each of these skill sets now comes into play in the practice of law on a near-daily basis.
All these new legal competencies have in common the recognition that legal projects involve far more than legal skills. Too many lawyers, however, are still narrowly focused on the legal aspect of their work and are therefore missing out on a whole host of opportunities. Rising lawyers and law firm graduates who might have previously struggled to be part of the hiring conversation can now make themselves highly marketable by becoming experts in one or more of these areas and filling a pressing need in today’s legal organizations.
Also relevant/see:
The top 5 benefits of art programs for children — from thetechedvocate.org by Matthew Lynch
Excerpt:
Schools across the country are removing art programs and classes. Some do so due to a lack of funding; others just don’t believe it’s an essential subject for children. Unfortunately, many schools and learning institutes don’t realize the dangers of removing art. You wouldn’t question Math or English as core subjects, but many question the importance of art.
Art nurture’s a child’s inner creativity. So, what benefits does art bring to a child?
L&D is going through an identity crisis — here’s why that’s a good thing — from chieflearningofficer.com by Linda Cai
We’re in a new situation, and we need to do something different. Our employees are hungry for growth and purpose amidst the Great Reshuffle, and companies need to respond and act or risk watching their talent walk out the door.
Excerpt:
That’s why organizations need our expertise more than ever. The demand for L&D specialists increased by 94 percent between July and September of 2021 compared to the previous three month period, according to our just-released 2022 Workplace Learning Report.
At the same time, our research also revealed that we have work to do. The report reveals L&D professionals spent 35 percent less time learning than their HR colleagues in 2021. It is not surprising, since a lot of them are overwhelmed by workload, and well-being has decreased. But the L&D function is going through what might be its most consequential transformation to date, and our success depends on whether we can learn the skills that this new world of work requires of us. Are we prepared to take on this increasingly strategic role for years to come?
It will not be easy. But we can start this important work by doing two things: loosening up how we think about ourselves, and going back to why many of us got into this business — to help people do their best work and be their best selves.
Here’s a relevant quote from the 2022 Workplace Learning Report:
“We really need to change and think about more productive and sustainable ways to help connect talent to opportunity, and our view is that that’s going to be done through a skills-based approach.”
Ryan Roslansky
CEO, LinkedIn