student-related

Two items re: AI in our learning ecosystems

On 11/27/2024, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate universities / corporate training, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, Google, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, research, skills, student-related, teaching & learning, tools, training / L&D, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Notebook LM continues to make waves…

Hopping on the Affordability Bandwagon [Knox]

On 11/27/2024, in business side of he, change, changing business models, colleges, cost of getting a degree, higher education, parents/guardians, student-related, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

Hopping on the Affordability Bandwagon — from insidehighered.com by Liam Knox
Five selective colleges launched strikingly similar student aid initiatives last week for low- and middle-income students. What’s behind the frenzy to boost financial aid?

The announcements have come pouring in at a time when public resentment of elite institutions has reached a fever pitch, doubts about the value of college are at a historic high and the impact of the Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling on demographics is becoming clear. And after last year’s bungled FAFSA rollout, families are warier than ever of financial aid promises.

“We know what’s going on with confidence in higher education, and one element of that is increasing cost and increasing debt levels,” said James Milliken, chancellor of the UT system.

It’s part of a broader marketing and recruitment effort to raise awareness of the financial aid resources at colleges with staggeringly high sticker prices—she calls it a “clear cost” initiative. And as more colleges expand financial aid, it creates a domino effect among peer institutions looking to compete for highly qualified applicants from lower income brackets, she said.

Tania LaViolet, director of research and innovation at the Aspen Institute

How to use NotebookLM for personalized knowledge synthesis — from ai-supremacy.com by Michael Spencer and Alex McFarland
Two powerful workflows that unlock everything else. Intro: Golden Age of AI Tools and AI agent frameworks begins in 2025.

What is Google Learn about?
Google’s new AI tool, Learn About, is designed as a conversational learning companion that adapts to individual learning needs and curiosity. It allows users to explore various topics by entering questions, uploading images or documents, or selecting from curated topics. The tool aims to provide personalized responses tailored to the user’s knowledge level, making it user-friendly and engaging for learners of all ages.

Is Generative AI leading to a new take on Educational technology? It certainly appears promising heading into 2025.

The Learn About tool utilizes the LearnLM AI model, which is grounded in educational research and focuses on how people learn. Google insists that unlike traditional chatbots, it emphasizes interactive and visual elements in its responses, enhancing the educational experience. For instance, when asked about complex topics like the size of the universe, Learn About not only provides factual information but also includes related content, vocabulary building tools, and contextual explanations to deepen understanding.

What DICE does in this posting will be available 24x7x365 in the future [Christian]

On 11/20/2024, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adjunct faculty, adult learning, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, business, career development, changing business models, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, distance education, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, entrepreneurship, experimentation, faculty, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, internet, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, liberal arts, library / librarians, lifelong learning, MBA, microlearning, multimedia, Natural Language Processing (NLP), neurodivergent/special needs, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, personalized/customized learning, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, remote teaching and learning, skills, staying relevant, student-related, surviving, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, training / L&D, universities, vendors, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, vocational / trades, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, web-based collaboration, Web3, webinars, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
First of all, when you look at the following posting:

What Top Tech Skills Should You Learn for 2025? — from dice.com by Nick Kolakowski

…you will see that they outline which skills you should consider mastering in 2025 if you want to stay on top of the latest career opportunities. They then list more information about the skills, how you apply the skills, and WHERE to get those skills.

I assert that in the future, people will be able to see this information on a 24x7x365 basis.

Which jobs are in demand?
What skills do I need to do those jobs?
WHERE do I get/develop those skills?

And that last part (about the WHERE do I develop those skills) will pull from many different institutions, people, companies, etc.

BUT PEOPLE are the key! Oftentimes, we need to — and prefer to — learn with others!

“Trade School Enrollment Surges Post-Pandemic, Outpacing Traditional Universities” + other items re: HE

On 11/19/2024, in colleges, curriculum, game-changing environment, health, higher education, parents/guardians, student-related, trends, United States, universities, vocational / trades, by Daniel Christian

Trade School Enrollment Surges Post-Pandemic, Outpacing Traditional Universities — from businesswire.com
New Report Highlights Growth in Healthcare and Culinary Arts Programs

CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–A new report released today by Validated Insights, a higher education marketing firm, reveals a significant increase in trade school enrollment following the pandemic, with a 4.9% growth from 2020 to 2023. This surge contrasts sharply with a 0.6% decline in university enrollment during the same period, highlighting a growing preference for career-focused education.
…
The report highlights the diverse landscape of trade schools, with varying enrollment trends across different categories and subtypes. While some sectors face challenges, others, like Culinary Arts and Beauty and Wellness, present significant growth opportunities and shifting student attitudes.

A trend colleges might not want applicants to notice: It’s becoming easier to get in — from hechingerreport.orgby Jon Marcus
Despite public perception, and for the first time in decades, acceptance rates are going up

As enrollment in colleges and universities continues to decline — down by more than 2 million students, or 10 percent, in the 10 years ending 2022 — they’re not only casting wider nets. Something else dramatic is happening to the college application process, for the first time in decades:

It’s becoming easier to get in.

Colleges and universities, on average, are admitting a larger proportion of their applicants than they did 20 years ago, new research by the conservative think tank the American Enterprise Institute finds.

The Edtech Insiders Generative AI Map — from edtechinsiders.substack.com by Ben Kornell, Alex Sarlin, Sarah Morin, and Laurence Holt
A market map and database featuring 60+ use cases for GenAI in education and 300+ GenAI powered education tools.

A Student’s Guide to Writing with ChatGPT— from openai.com

Used thoughtfully, ChatGPT can be a powerful tool to help students develop skills of rigorous thinking and clear writing, assisting them in thinking through ideas, mastering complex concepts, and getting feedback on drafts.

There are also ways to use ChatGPT that are counterproductive to learning—like generating an essay instead of writing it oneself, which deprives students of the opportunity to practice, improve their skills, and grapple with the material.

For students committed to becoming better writers and thinkers, here are some ways to use ChatGPT to engage more deeply with the learning process.

Community Colleges Are Rolling Out AI Programs—With a Boost from Big Tech — from workshift.org by Colleen Connolly

The Big Idea: As employers increasingly seek out applicants with AI skills, community colleges are well-positioned to train up the workforce. Partnerships with tech companies, like the AI Incubator Network, are helping some colleges get the resources and funding they need to overhaul programs and create new AI-focused ones.

Along these lines also see:

Practical AI Training — from the-job.beehiiv.com by Paul Fain
Community colleges get help from Big Tech to prepare students for applied AI roles at smaller companies.

Miami Dade and other two-year colleges try to be nimble by offering training for AI-related jobs while focusing on local employers. Also, Intel’s business struggles while the two-year sector wonders if Republicans will cut funds for semiconductor production.

Can One AI Agent Do Everything? How To Redesign Jobs for AI? HR Expertise And A Big Future for L&D. — from joshbersin.com by Josh Bersin

Here’s the AI summary, which is pretty good.

In this conversation, Josh Bersin discusses the evolving landscape of AI platforms, particularly focusing on Microsoft’s positioning and the challenges of creating a universal AI agent. He delves into the complexities of government efficiency, emphasizing the institutional challenges faced in re-engineering government operations.

The conversation also highlights the automation of work tasks and the need for businesses to decompose job functions for better efficiency.

Bersin stresses the importance of expertise in HR, advocating for a shift towards full stack professionals who possess a broad understanding of various HR functions.

Finally, he addresses the impending disruption in Learning and Development (L&D) due to AI advancements, predicting a significant transformation in how L&D professionals will manage knowledge and skills.

Being a College Athlete Now Means Constant Travel and Missed Classes [Witz]

On 11/15/2024, in colleges, entrepreneurship, leadership, society, student-related, surviving, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

Being a College Athlete Now Means Constant Travel and Missed Classes — from nytimes.com by Billy Witz; via Ryan Craig
Players are dealing with far-flung travel, jet lag and the pressures of trying to balance the roles of student, athlete and entrepreneur more than ever before.

Playing football this season for the U.C.L.A. Bruins means being a frequent (and distant) flier. The team began the campaign in August with a win at the University of Hawaii. Their next road games sent the Bruins to Louisiana State, then Penn State, and back across the country to Rutgers. Then, a trip to Nebraska on Saturday and a jaunt up to Washington.

Such is the life of the modern-day college athlete, with U.C.L.A. moving into the Big Ten Conference, the erstwhile standard-bearer for Midwest football that now stretches from Piscataway to Puget Sound.

In all, the Bruins will travel 22,226 miles this season — nearly enough to circumnavigate the globe. It is the equivalent of 33 round trips to the Bay Area to play Stanford or U.C. Berkeley, U.C.L.A.’s former rivals that have moved to a newly bicoastal league of their own.

Longer trips for games, extra missed classes and the effects of jet lag are heaping additional pressure on young adults trying to balance the roles of student, athlete and — in an age when they can cash in on their fame — entrepreneur.
…
The U.S.C. women’s volleyball team, which has four midweek road games, is likely to miss at least 12 days of classes.

What’s a Special Education Aide Worth? A $9,607 Raise, to the Average Teacher [Lovison & Hyunjung Mo]

On 11/13/2024, in education, education reform, ideas, K-12 related, leadership, neurodivergent/special needs, productivity / tips and tricks, strategy, student-related, teachers, by Daniel Christian

What’s a Special Education Aide Worth? A $9,607 Raise, to the Average Teacher — from educationnext.org by Virginia S. Lovison and Cecilia Hyunjung Mo
Survey evidence shows teachers would trade additional salary for expert support

Teachers’ preferences are clear: they want to work where they will have the support of full-time experts in special education and pediatric physical and mental health. An overwhelming majority describe these supports as “beneficial” or “extremely beneficial” when asked to rate special-education co-teachers (93 percent) and paraprofessionals (92 percent), as well as counselors (89 percent) and school nurses (88 percent).

These roles are so important that teachers are willing to forgo salary increases when asked to choose between the two. Our analysis shows the average teacher is willing to trade a 21 percent raise for the full-time support of a special-education co-teacher and an 18 percent raise for a full-time special-education aide.

Also from Education Next, see:

The Education Exchange: Hoover Institution Proposes Massive K–12 School Reform — from educationnext.org by Paul E. Peterson
Education Futures Council recommends putting teachers and principals in charge

Macke Raymond, a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution and director of the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a report from the Education Futures Council, which looks to identify and remove barriers to student success within the K-12 educational system.

From DSC:
I like the sound of putting teachers and principals in charge! As I just mentioned the other day, those on “the front line” (so to speak) know what’s working, what’s not working, and how best to fix things. Less legislators, more teachers.

Using AI to brainstorm students own learning objectives [Potkalitsky] + other items re: AI in our learning ecosystems

On 11/13/2024, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adjunct faculty, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Canvas - and other Instructure-related items, change, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate universities / corporate training, digital learning, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, emerging technologies, ethics, experimentation, faculty, formal learning, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, informal learning, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning spaces, liberal arts, mathematics, morals/values, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, skills, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, tools, UK, United States, universities, vendors, youth, by Daniel Christian

“The Value of Doing Things: What AI Agents Mean for Teachers” — from nickpotkalitsky.substack.com by guest author Jason Gulya, Professor of English and Applied Media at Berkeley College in New York City

AI Agents make me nervous. Really nervous.

I wish they didn’t.

I wish I could write that the last two years have made me more confident, more self-assured that AI is here to augment workers rather than replace them.

But I can’t.

I wish I could write that I know where schools and colleges will end up. I wish I could say that AI Agents will help us get where we need to be.

But I can’t.

At this point, today, I’m at a loss. I’m not sure where the rise of AI agents will take us, in terms of how we work and learn. I’m in the question-asking part of my journey. I have few answers.

So, let’s talk about where (I think) AI Agents will take education. And who knows? Maybe as I write I’ll come up with something more concrete.

It’s worth a shot, right?

From DSC:
I completely agree with Jason’s following assertion:

A good portion of AI advancement will come down to employee replacement. And AI Agents push companies towards that.

THAT’s where/what the ROI will be for corporations. They will make their investments up in the headcount area, and likely in other areas as well (product design, marketing campaigns, engineering-related items, and more). But how much time it takes to get there is a big question mark.

One last quote here…it’s too good not to include:

Behind these questions lies a more abstract, more philosophical one: what is the relationship between thinking and doing in a world of AI Agents and other kinds of automation?

How Good are Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini at Instructional Design? — from drphilippahardman.substack.com by Dr Philippa Hardman
A test of AI’s Instruction Design skills in theory & in practice

By examining models across three AI families—Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini—I’ve started to identify each model’s strengths, limitations, and typical pitfalls.

Spoiler: my findings underscore that until we have specialised, fine-tuned AI copilots for instructional design, we should be cautious about relying on general-purpose models and ensure expert oversight in all ID tasks.

From DSC — I’m going to (have Nick) say this again:
I simply asked my students to use AI to brainstorm their own learning objectives. No restrictions. No predetermined pathways. Just pure exploration. The results? Astonishing.

Students began mapping out research directions I’d never considered. They created dialogue spaces with AI that looked more like intellectual partnerships than simple query-response patterns.

The Digital Literacy Quest: Become an AI Hero — from gamma.app

From DSC:
I have not gone through all of these online-based materials, but I like what they are trying to get at:

Confidence with AI
Students gain practical skills and confidence in using AI tools effectively.
Ethical Navigation
Learn to navigate the ethical landscape of AI with integrity and responsibility. Make informed decisions about AI usage.
Mastering Essential Skills
Develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills in the context of AI.

Expanding access to the Gemini app for teen students in education — from workspaceupdates.googleblog.com

Google Workspace for Education admins can now turn on the Gemini app with added data protection as an additional service for their teen users (ages 13+ or the applicable age in your country) in the following languages and countries. With added data protection, chats are not reviewed by human reviewers or otherwise used to improve AI models. The Gemini app will be a core service in the coming weeks for Education Standard and Plus users, including teens,

5 Essential Questions Educators Have About AI — from edsurge.com by Annie Ning

Recently, I spoke with several teachers regarding their primary questions and reflections on using AI in teaching and learning. Their thought-provoking responses challenge us to consider not only what AI can do but what it means for meaningful and equitable learning environments. Keeping in mind these reflections, we can better understand how we move forward toward meaningful AI integration in education.

FrontierMath: A Benchmark for Evaluating Advanced Mathematical Reasoning in AI — from epoch.ai
FrontierMath presents hundreds of unpublished, expert-level mathematics problems that specialists spend days solving. It offers an ongoing measure of AI complex mathematical reasoning progress.

We’re introducing FrontierMath, a benchmark of hundreds of original, expert-crafted mathematics problems designed to evaluate advanced reasoning capabilities in AI systems. These problems span major branches of modern mathematics—from computational number theory to abstract algebraic geometry—and typically require hours or days for expert mathematicians to solve.

Rising demand for AI courses in UK universities shows 453% growth as students adapt to an AI-driven job market — from edtechinnovationhub.com

The demand for artificial intelligence courses in UK universities has surged dramatically over the past five years, with enrollments increasing by 453%, according to a recent study by Currys, a UK tech retailer.

The study, which analyzed UK university admissions data and surveyed current students and recent graduates, reveals how the growing influence of AI is shaping students’ educational choices and career paths.

This growth reflects the broader trend of AI integration across industries, creating new opportunities while transforming traditional roles. With AI’s influence on career prospects rising, students and graduates are increasingly drawn to AI-related courses to stay competitive in a rapidly changing job market.

New Partnership Offers Online Tutoring in Michigan Schools [govtech.com]

On 11/13/2024, in collaboration, culture, education, education technology, K-12 related, leadership, learning ecosystem, Michigan, student-related, teachers, teaching online, United States, vendors, virtual K-12 schools, virtual tutoring, by Daniel Christian

New Partnership Offers Online Tutoring in Michigan Schools — from govtech.com via GSV
The online education nonprofit Michigan Virtual has partnered with Stride Tutoring to offer remote academic support for students in 700 school districts as part of a statewide push to reverse pandemic learning loss.

Online education provider Michigan Virtual is working with a Virginia-based online tutoring company to increase access to personalized academic support for Michigan students, according to a news release last month. The partnership is in line with a statewide push to reverse pandemic learning loss through high-impact tutoring.

Speaking of education — but expanding the scope of this posting to a global scale:

Kids worldwide face huge educational challenges. Is better leadership a solution? — from hechingerreport.org by Liz Willen
Amid dismal data, educators from around the world gather in Brazil and say they can rise to the challenges

While the conversation clearly focused on a continuing worldwide crisis in education, the UNESCO conference I participated in was different. It emphasized a topic of huge importance to improving student outcomes, and coincided with the release of a report detailing how effective leaders can make a big difference in the lives of children.

From DSC:
Leadership is important, for sure. But being a leader in education is very difficult these days — there are many different (and high) expectations and agendas being thrown your way from a variety of shareholders. But I do appreciate those leaders who are trying to create effective learning ecosystems out there!

One more for high school students considering going to college…

Wondering what life will be like at college? This tool can help — from hechingerreport.org by Olivia Sanchez and Noble Ingram
Our new guide answers your campus culture questions

Below are several items from edutopia.org:

Doing the Best You Can With the Time You Have — by Jay Schauer
These strategies can help overwhelmed teachers prioritize tasks and find a balance between perfectionism and efficiency.
.

How to Support Teachers’ Emotional Health — by Hedreich Nichols
Emotional well-being plays a major role in teachers’ job satisfaction, and it’s essential that they have effective resources for support.

Teachers cannot be expected to teach SEL effectively without first being intentional about their own emotional health. If we want educators to guide students through emotional regulation, they must have the time, space, and support to do that work themselves. This goes beyond surface-level wellness initiatives—teachers need opportunities to reflect on their emotional triggers, manage their own stresses, and receive genuine support from their schools. Only when teachers are empowered to process their own emotional challenges can they truly foster a healthy social and emotional environment for their students.

In Praise of the Humble Document Camera — by Emily Rankin
Revisiting a simple edtech tool can help you introduce rigor and engage students more deeply in their lessons.

4 Ways to Use a Document Camera in Your Classroom— by Emily Rankin
If a document camera is gathering dust in a classroom, its lack of impact is probably linked to the user, not what the gadget is capable of. Case in point, I wasn’t using mine regularly because I didn’t know the value it could add to my teaching and learning. Here are some of the practices I now know are possible:

Guided practice. …
Assessment for learning. …
Sharing materials. …
Expanding teaching and learning possibilities.

Weighing Inquiry-Based Learning and Direct Instruction in Elementary Math — by Vivian Quan
Teachers can ask themselves three key questions in order to choose the most effective instructional approach to a topic.

One factor to consider is the subject. In math, students need opportunities to work on rich tasks and solve problems in ways that make sense to them. However, that doesn’t mean direct instruction is totally absent from math time. The questions below can guide you in deciding whether to use direct instruction, when it would be appropriate, and who else in the classroom you might involve.

Increasing Talk Time in World Language Classes — by Kate Good
Teachers can experiment with a variety of strategies to build and assess students’ ability to converse in the target language.

To capitalize on my students’ (seemingly inexhaustible) desire to chat, I work to increase student talk time in our Spanish immersion classes. I use several strategies to build and assess students’ oral language.

Boosting Student Engagement with Interactive and Practical Teaching Methods — from campustechnology.com by Dr. Lucas Long

One of my biggest goals as an educator is to show students how the material they learn in class can be applied to real-world situations. In my finance courses, this often means taking what we’re learning about financial calculations and connecting it to decisions they’ll have to make as adults. For example, I’ve used real-life scenarios like buying a car with a loan, paying off student debt, saving for a wedding, or calculating mortgage payments for a future home purchase. I even use salary data to show students what they could realistically afford given average salaries after graduation, helping them relate to the financial decisions they will face after college.

These practical examples don’t just keep students engaged; they also demonstrate the immediate value of learning financial principles. I often hear students express frustration when they feel like they’re learning concepts that won’t apply to their lives. But when I use real scenarios and provide tools like financial calculators to show them exactly how they’ll use this knowledge in their future, their attitude changes. They become more motivated to engage with the material because they see its relevance beyond the classroom.

Career Cluster Appendix [GettingSmart.com]

On 11/04/2024, in business, career development, corporate / business world, creativity, curriculum, education, entrepreneurship, experimentation, health, pathways, student-related, vocational / trades, workplace, youth, by Daniel Christian

Career Cluster Appendix — from gettingsmart.com
New technology, global challenges and initiatives point to new pathways and new opportunities in our economies career clusters. The following resources highlight exemplars, entrepreneurial opportunities and high schools who are leading the way in pathway development and implementation.

Two items re: enrollment data for higher education

On 11/01/2024, in business side of he, colleges, community colleges, funding / grants, higher education, legislatures / government / legal, parents/guardians, student-related, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

Undergraduate enrollment rises 3% despite drop in first-year students, early data shows — from highereddive.com by Laura Spitalniak
Headcounts declined among students attending college directly after high school, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center found.

Dive Brief:

Undergraduate enrollment rose this fall for the second year in a row, up 3% compared to similar early data from fall 2023, according to preliminary figures released Wednesday by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
Enrollment jumped 1.9% in bachelor’s degree programs and 4.3% in those for associate degrees. While all credential types saw gains, the number of undergraduate certificate seekers increased the most, at 7.3%.
However, enrollment among first-year students shrank 5%, the first dip since the decline seen at the start of the pandemic. Declining enrollment among 18-year-olds — a proxy for students who attend college directly after high school — accounted for most of that drop, the clearinghouse said.

What preliminary enrollment data from fall 2024 tells us — from highereddive.com by Laura Spitalniak
Higher education experts broke down some trends in the early data and what may have prompted the decline in first-year students.

Higher education news tends to be a mixed bag, and the most recent enrollment report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center is no exception.

Last week, the clearinghouse released preliminary findings for fall 2024 and found that undergraduate enrollment rose 3% compared with early data from last year. On the other hand, it showed enrollment among first-year students dropped 5% compared with the year before, the first decline since the drop at the start of the pandemic.

The youngest adults, 18-year-olds, drove a majority of the decrease, according to the clearinghouse. Its researchers used this group as a proxy for students who enroll in postsecondary education directly after they graduate high school, it said.

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