Building A Skills-Based Organization: The Exciting But Sober Reality — from joshbersin.com by Josh Bersin
Excerpt:
Fueled by new AI tools and skills technology, nearly every company wants to become a “skills-based organization.” Now that we’ve had a few years to study this trend, I’d like to share some of the realities and calm some of the hype.
Private Student Loans Have Gotten 2x More Expensive Since 2021 — from forbes.com by Vinay Bhaskara; via GSV
Excerpts:
Higher ed may appear less impacted on the surface. But a small yet critical cohort of students and families has been heavily affected – students and parents who take out private student loans. Private student loans are a small piece of the overall student loan puzzle, representing roughly 8% of outstanding student debt (~$146.9 billion) according to a March 2023 analysis from Federal Student Aid.
…
Private student loans have gotten way more expensive
With that context in mind, it’s worth analyzing how the rise in interest rates has impacted borrowing costs for families. The numbers are staggering. As the Fed has hiked interest rates, private loan borrowing costs have more than doubled since November of 2021. The average interest rate on a 10-year private student loan has jumped from a low of 3.3% in November 2021 to 7% at the end of May 2023. Interest rates for 5-year private loans have skyrocketed even faster, jumping from a low of 2.4% all the way to 8.70% across the same period.
.
Higher Ed 101: Accreditation Explained — a podcast from futureupodcast.com by Jeff Selingo and Michael Horn
Excerpt:
Tuesday, June 6, 2023 – Far too often, individuals in higher education don’t understand the nuances of how accreditors operate and the role they play in supporting—or constraining—institutions. Jeff and Michael welcome Barbara Brittingham, former president of the New England Commission on Higher Education, to give the history of accreditation, break down how accrediting agencies operate, show how they compare to one another, and delve into how they might evolve in the future with an eye toward how these organizations impact institutional transformation and support learners in achieving their education and career goals. This episode is made possible with support from Ascendium Education Group, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Course Hero.
.
Building Apprenticeship Nation with Ryan Craig of Achieve Partners — a podcast from edtechinsiders.buzzsprout.com with Ryan Craig
.
Rich Novak (Rutgers University) on Evaluating the Changes in Higher Ed — a podcast from Illumination by Modern Campus with Amrit Ahluwalia and Rich Novak. Thanks Amrit for all that you’ve done and are doing.
Excerpt:
On today’s episode of the Illumination by Modern Campus podcast, host Amrit Ahluwalia was joined by Rich Novak to evaluate the changes in higher education over the past decade, and the opportunities ahead for continuing education.
.
Council Post: Learning In The Digital Age: Reskilling And The Evolution Of Education — from forbes.com by Daphne Kis
Excerpt:
Partnering With Higher Education
I believe that companies can gain a competitive edge in hiring and retention by establishing long-term partnerships with educators, universities and other pedagogically-driven institutions. However, it is crucial to design these partnerships with scale and replication in mind in order to avoid high costs and low adoption rates that can result in failure.
Establishing a successful partnership will also require companies and universities to determine and agree on the skill-based outcomes they aim to achieve. They will have to find effective ways to share data, develop timelines and measure success for both parties.
This is a shift from traditional partnerships, which often focus on research and innovation initiatives. With this, intellectual property was the outcome of the collaboration. Instead, in a reskilling partnership, in-demand skills are the outcome.
.
EDUCAUSE and WCET QuickPoll Results: Current Trends in Microcredential Design and Delivery — from er.educause.edu by Jenay Robert
Microcredentialing programs remain nascent at many institutions, but interest continues to grow. As the demand for flexible learning experiences increases, stakeholders might find renewed interest in and uses for microcredentials.
2023 Workplace Learning Report: Building the agile future — from learning.linkedin.com
L&D puts people and skills at the center of organizational success
Excerpt:
This moment requires agility — and L&D can lead the way.
For individuals, agility fuels career growth and relevance. For organizations, agility equals the ability to survive and thrive even amid economic headwinds.
And what is agility if not constant learning? To build a resilient and adaptable future, learning leaders are working across HR to ensure everyone has the tools, the career paths, and the skills to succeed.
Read on for insights and ideas to power your own path.
Hire Instructional Designers: The Complete Guide — from teamedforlearning.com
Excerpt:
So you think you want to hire an instructional designer. Great choice. Instructional designers are eLearning industry superheroes. They create learning experiences and develop instructional materials to make learning accessible. Whether you’re creating training modules for your employees or building online courses for students, an instructional designer is an essential member of your eLearning team.
Addendum on 6/6/23, a somewhat relevant posting:
Professional Organizations for Instructional Designers — from christytuckerlearning.com by Christy Tucker
What professional organizations are useful for instructional designers? The Learning Guild, ATD, TLDC, Training Magazine Network, and LDA.
082 | Generating Voices — from thebrainyacts.beehiiv.com
Excerpts:
Conventional Use Cases
Unconventional Use Cases
Last night, Jensen Huang of NVIDIA gave his very first live keynote in 4-years.
The most show-stopping moment from the event was when he showed off the real-time AI in video games. A human speaks, the NPC responds, in real time and the dialogue was generated with AI on the fly. pic.twitter.com/TDoUM1zSiy
— Matt Wolfe (@mreflow) May 29, 2023
From DSC:
And how long before that type of interactivity is embedded into learning-related applications/games?!
Nvidia ($960B) is now worth more than:
– Facebook ($665B)
– Tesla ($618B)
– Netflix ($168B)This is a company that started 30 years ago at Denny’s and was for decades only a video game chip maker.
Here’s why Nvidia is surging: pic.twitter.com/km7pECk4Kw
— Peter Yang (@petergyang) May 27, 2023
AI in Learning: The Impact of ChatGPT on L&D & Workflow Learning — from linkedin.com; this event by Bob Mosher features his conversation with Donald Clark
The future is already here.
The 1% who understand it will run the world.
Here’s a list of 24 top resources to get up to speed (for free):
— Misha (@mishadavinci) May 28, 2023
Bill Gates says AI is poised to destroy search engines and Amazon — from futurism.com by Victor Tangermann
Who will win the AI [competition]? (DSC: I substituted the word competition here, as that’s what it is. It’s not a war, it’s a part of America’s way of doing business.)
“Whoever wins the personal agent, that’s the big thing, because you will never go to a search site again, you will never go to a productivity site, you’ll never go to Amazon again,” Gates said during a Goldman Sachs event on AI in San Francisco this week, as quoted by CNBC.
These AI assistants could “read the stuff you don’t have time to read,” he said, allowing users to get to information without having to use a search engine like Google.
EdX launches ChatGPT-powered plugin, learning assistant — from edscoop.com
The online learning firm edX introduced two new tools powered by ChatGPT, the “first of many innovations” in generative AI for the platform.
The online learning platform edX introduced two new tools on Friday based on OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology: an edX plugin for ChatGPT and a learning assistant embedded in the edX platform, called Xpert.
According to the company, its plugin will enable ChatGPT Plus subscribers to discover educational programs and explore learning content such as videos and quizzes across edX’s library of 4,200 courses.
Bing is now the default search for ChatGPT — from theverge.com by Tom Warren; via superhuman.beehiiv.com
The close partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI leads to plug-in interoperability and search defaults.
Excerpt:
OpenAI will start using Bing as the default search experience for ChatGPT. The new search functionality will be rolling out to ChatGPT Plus users today and will be enabled for all free ChatGPT users soon through a plug-in in ChatGPT.
How ChatGPT Could Help or Hurt Students With Disabilities — from chronicle.com by Beth McMurtrie
Excerpt:
It’s not all on you to figure this out and have all the answers. Partner with your students and explore this together.
A new antibiotic, discovered with artificial intelligence, may defeat a dangerous superbug — from edition.cnn.com by Brenda Goodman
8 YouTube Channels to Learn AI — from techthatmatters.beehiiv.com by Harsh Makadia
Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Teaching and Learning | Insights and Recommendations — with thanks to Robert Gibson on LinkedIn for this resource
VR system to be used to prepare crime victims for court — from inavateonthenet.net
Excerpt:
An innovative VR system is being used to help victims of crime prepare for giving evidence in court, allowing victims to engage with key members of the judicial process virtually.
The system, designed by Immersonal, is to be rolled out across 52 Scottish courts over the next year, with the technology also being piloted in the Hague as part of the International Criminal Court. The aim is to dissuade the fears and discomfort of victims and witnesses who may be unfamiliar with the court process.
.
.
.
Here’s another interesting item for you…one that also may eventually be XR-related:
.
Brainyacts #57: Education Tech— from thebrainyacts.beehiiv.com by Josh Kubicki
Excerpts:
Let’s look at some ideas of how law schools could use AI tools like Khanmigo or ChatGPT to support lectures, assignments, and discussions, or use plagiarism detection software to maintain academic integrity.
AI Will Democratize Learning — from td.org by Julia Stiglitz and Sourabh Bajaj
Excerpts:
In particular, we’re betting on four trends for AI and L&D.
In a world where only 7 percent of the global population has a college degree, and as many as three quarters of workers don’t feel equipped to learn the digital skills their employers will need in the future, this is the conversation people need to have.
…
Taken together, these trends will change the cost structure of education and give learning practitioners new superpowers. Learners of all backgrounds will be able to access quality content on any topic and receive the ongoing support they need to master new skills. Even small L&D teams will be able to create programs that have both deep and broad impact across their organizations.
The Next Evolution in Educational Technologies and Assisted Learning Enablement — from educationoneducation.substack.com by Jeannine Proctor
Excerpt:
Generative AI is set to play a pivotal role in the transformation of educational technologies and assisted learning. Its ability to personalize learning experiences, power intelligent tutoring systems, generate engaging content, facilitate collaboration, and assist in assessment and grading will significantly benefit both students and educators.
How Generative AI Will Enable Personalized Learning Experiences — from campustechnology.com by Rhea Kelly
Excerpt:
With today’s advancements in generative AI, that vision of personalized learning may not be far off from reality. We spoke with Dr. Kim Round, associate dean of the Western Governors University School of Education, about the potential of technologies like ChatGPT for learning, the need for AI literacy skills, why learning experience designers have a leg up on AI prompt engineering, and more. And get ready for more Star Trek references, because the parallels between AI and Sci Fi are futile to resist.
The Promise of Personalized Learning Never Delivered. Today’s AI Is Different — from the74million.org by John Bailey; with thanks to GSV for this resource
Excerpts:
There are four reasons why this generation of AI tools is likely to succeed where other technologies have failed:
Latest NVIDIA Graphics Research Advances Generative AI’s Next Frontier — from blogs.nvidia.com by Aaron Lefohn
NVIDIA will present around 20 research papers at SIGGRAPH, the year’s most important computer graphics conference.
Excerpt:
NVIDIA today introduced a wave of cutting-edge AI research that will enable developers and artists to bring their ideas to life — whether still or moving, in 2D or 3D, hyperrealistic or fantastical.
Around 20 NVIDIA Research papers advancing generative AI and neural graphics — including collaborations with over a dozen universities in the U.S., Europe and Israel — are headed to SIGGRAPH 2023, the premier computer graphics conference, taking place Aug. 6-10 in Los Angeles.
The papers include generative AI models that turn text into personalized images; inverse rendering tools that transform still images into 3D objects; neural physics models that use AI to simulate complex 3D elements with stunning realism; and neural rendering models that unlock new capabilities for generating real-time, AI-powered visual details.
Also relevant to the item from Nvidia (above), see:
Unreal Engine’s Metahuman Creator — with thanks to Mr. Steven Chevalia for this resource
Excerpt:
MetaHuman is a complete framework that gives any creator the power to use highly realistic human characters in any way imaginable.
It includes MetaHuman Creator, a free cloud-based app that enables you to create fully rigged photorealistic digital humans in minutes.
Also relevant/see:
Accessibility Do’s and Don’ts for Website Navigation — from boia.org
Excerpt:
If people can’t navigate your website, they can’t use it — and you miss an opportunity to connect with your audience.
Navigation controls can present a significant barrier to people with disabilities, making it difficult for them to find and interact with the content they need.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) includes a list of success criteria to ensure that navigation controls are operable (they don’t require interactions that a user can’t perform). These criteria are put in place to assist users with a wide variety of abilities, including individuals who use assistive technologies (AT).
If you’re new to web accessibility, WCAG’s requirements may seem overwhelming. Fortunately, they’re based on simple principles — and by understanding a few basic concepts, you can avoid common mistakes.
Also relevant/see:
Assistive Technology: What’s an “Alternative Input Device?” — from boia.org
Examples:
