United States

‘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).

“Opportunities for Education in the Metaverse” [Downes] + “What Should Higher Ed in the Metaverse Look Like?” [Schaefer]

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 Wednesday, the AAUP released a national survey of tenure practices — the first of its kind since 2004 [Chronicle.com]

On 05/20/2022, in adjunct faculty, business side of he, career development, colleges, community colleges, faculty/staff, higher education, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

Gensler warns as crypto crashes: ‘The public is not protected’ [Pimentel]

On 05/20/2022, in business, cryptocurrencies, economics, legislatures / government / legal, United States, by Daniel Christian

Gensler warns as crypto crashes: ‘The public is not protected’ — from protocol.com by Benjamin Pimentel
The SEC chair had sounded alarms about crypto’s risks, and now those risks are in plain sight.

Excerpt:

SEC Chair Gary Gensler warned Congress Wednesday that consumers and investors are vulnerable in an increasingly volatile crypto market now reeling from a sharp downturn.

Citing the recent collapse in the crypto market’s value, Gensler said, “This is a field that is now worth $1.2 trillion. Two weeks ago it was supposedly worth $2 trillion.”

“The public is not protected,” he testified at a House Appropriations Committee hearing on the proposed budget for the SEC and the FTC. “They don’t have the disclosures from these entrepreneurs.”

From DSC:
A topic for personal finance courses? Economics courses?

The Pandemic’s Lasting Lessons for Colleges, From Academic Innovation Leaders — from edsurge.com by Nadia Tamez-Robledo, Rebecca Koenig, and Jeffrey R. Young

Excerpts:

“Universities are in the business of knowledge, but universities do a very poor job of managing their own knowledge and strategy,” says Brian Fleming, associate vice chancellor of learning ecosystem development at Northeastern University. “You may have faculty members who study organizational development, but none of that gets applied to the university.”
…
University leaders should learn to think more like futurists, he argues, working to imagine scenarios that might need planning for but are beyond the usual one-year or five-year planning cycles.

The pandemic prompted more faculty to ask the question, “What do we actually want to use class time for?” says Tyler Roeger, director of the center for the enhancement of teaching and learning at Elgin Community College. And the answer many of them are landing on, he adds, is: “Actual face-to-face time can be dedicated to problem-working, and working in groups together.”

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:

Breakout rooms (for think/pair/share);
Polls and quizzes that are low-stakes and anonymous to encourage full engagement;
Using the whiteboard option; and
Having reviews of material at the end of class.

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.

You can practice for a job interview with Google AI — from engadget.com by J. Fingas
You’ll know how to answer key questions.

The Exit Interview: Nine departing presidents on how the job — and higher ed — is changing. [Kelderman]

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/staff, 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

A Rubric for Selecting Active Learning Technologies [Bush, Cormier, & Anthony]

On 05/19/2022, in active learning, colleges, community colleges, education technology, elearning, faculty/staff, higher education, IT in HE, learning, learning spaces, liberal arts, teachers, teaching & learning, technology (general), tools, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

A Rubric for Selecting Active Learning Technologies — from er.educause.edu by Katie Bush, Monica Cormier, and Graham Anthony
A rubric can be an invaluable aid in evaluating how well technologies support active learning.

Excerpt:

Because the use of active learning is characterized by a broad range of activities in the classroom, comparing technology and determining which option provides more benefit to an active learning classroom can be difficult. The Rubric for Active Learning Technology Evaluation can provide some differentiation when comparing technology offerings. It has been designed to reveal subtle but impactful differences between technology in the context of active learning. The rubric was designed to be a tool for comparative technology evaluation and as such should be quick to use when comparing similar technologies. It is freely available to use and adapt under a Creative Commons license.

Why Improving Student Learning is So Hard — from opencontent.org by David Wiley

Excerpt:

2. Student behavior will normally change only in response to changes in faculty behavior – specifically, the assignments faculty give and the support faculty provide.

For many students, the things-they-do-to-learn are all located within the relatively small universe of things their faculty assign them to do – read chapters, complete homework assignments, etc. For a variety of reasons, and many of them perfectly good reasons, “students don’t do optional” – they only do what they’re going to be graded on.

Therefore, students will likely engage in more effective learning behaviors ONLY IF their faculty assign them more effective learning activities. Faculty can further increase the likelihood of students engaging in more effective learning activities if they support them appropriately throughout the process.

From DSC:
I can put an “Amen” to the above excerpt. For years I managed a Teaching & Learning Digital Studio. Most of the students didn’t come into the Studio for help, because most of the faculty members assigned the normal kinds of things (papers, quizzes, and such). Had there been more digitally-created means of showing what students knew, there would have been more usage of the T&L Digital Studio.

Also, if we want to foster more creativity and innovation — as well as give our learners more choice and more control over their learning — we should occasionally get away from the traditional papers.

Another comment here is that it’s hard to change what faculty members do, when Instructional Designers can’t even get in the car to help faculty members navigate. We need more team-based efforts in designing our learning experiences.

“The Future of Work Is Flexible. Will Higher Ed Stay Stuck in the Past?” [McClure] + several other items re: higher education

On 05/13/2022, in adjunct faculty, business side of he, colleges, community colleges, higher education, instructional design, learning ecosystem, teaching & learning, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

The Future of Work Is Flexible. Will Higher Ed Stay Stuck in the Past? — from edsurge.com by Kevin R. McClure (Columnist)

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

We know that institutions are capable of making big changes. We pivoted in March 2020, then again in fall 2020, then again in fall 2021. Institutions have achieved things in the last two years that some considered unimaginable. Faculty and staff want to see that type of willpower and creativity directed at working conditions and cultures. They want the type of “reimagining” the Future of Work@Iowa report promised but didn’t deliver.

In a city full of adjunct faculty members, many struggle to get by — from washingtonpost.com by Lauren Lumpkin; with thanks to Ray Schroeder for this resource
Adjuncts across the region are protesting what they say are unfair working condition

7 Ways the Pandemic Changed Faculty Development — from er.educause.edu by Amy Kuntz, Sara Davis and Erica Fleming
Pandemic lessons about faculty development should be understood and factored into future offerings.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Regarding this perspective shift, conference session participant Lindsay Wood, manager of instructional design at Penn State Abington, stated, “When reflecting on the impact of pandemic teaching, those of us working in faculty development and learning design know that there has never been and likely will never be another opportunity to upskill faculty and improve teaching and learning so broadly. It’s important … to really take a deep dive into how we meet the moment and ensure the positive changes are lasting. It would be a shame to squander a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to adopt innovative practices because we didn’t adequately identify the lessons learned and apply them to the future.” This seemed to resonate with many participants; they want to see the positive changes from the past two years integrated at an institutional level.

Is Hybrid Learning Here to Stay in Higher Ed? — from edsurge.com by Daniel Lempres

State of Continuing Education 2022 — from resources.moderncampus.com; with thanks to Amrit Ahluwalia for this resource

Universities Share Lessons Learned from Ransomware Attacks — from edtechmagazine.com by Chris Hayhurst
Universities that faced security breaches share advice from their experiences.

“Is the virtual courtroom the future of the justice system?” [Sonntag]+ seven other legal related items

On 05/11/2022, in 21st century, Canada, change, changing business models, India, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, policy, society, United States, Virtual courts and law firms, by Daniel Christian

Is the virtual courtroom the future of the justice system? — from deseret.com by Zakary Sonntag
Video proceedings have increased court access but raised questions of rights amid case backlog

Excerpt:

The justice system in Utah is straining under the weight of an immense backlog of criminal cases, especially serious felony cases, leaving many defendants to languish in custody as additional filings continue to accumulate.

The buildup began in 2020 after the Utah Supreme Court ordered the shutdown of in-person proceedings in response to the coronavirus, which left attorneys and judges to hash out settlements through a remote, Webex court process.

The pandemic’s impact on the legal sector and what emerging lawyers need to know — from timesofindia.indiatimes.com by Roma Priya

Excerpt:

For aspiring lawyers and law school graduates who have commenced practice recently, one of the best ways to stay relevant is to upskill yourself. Apart from the legal industry-related skills as a lawyer, such as in-depth knowledge about clients, the law, and other subjects, communication skills, problem solving and analytical skills, and tech skills are crucial.

Today, digitally-savvy lawyers are in high demand as technology continues to evolve and progress. And as the Indian Judiciary System gradually acquaints itself with cutting-edge technologies, emerging lawyers must do the same.

About one-fifth of lawyers and staffers considered suicide at some point in their careers, new survey says — from abajournal.com by Debra Cassens Weiss

A new survey of lawyers and staff members hailing mostly from BigLaw has found that anxiety, depression and isolation remain at concerning levels, despite a slight decrease in the percentages since the survey last year.

When is a legal department ready to transform? — from advisory.kpmg.us by Eric Gorman, Kimberly Majure, and Jeff Ikejiri
Explore the catalysts for change

…legal departments that identify and agree on a motive to change, and then are alert for opportunities to act, are legal departments that are ready to transform.

From DSC:
I saw the link to LitSoftware at the posting entitled, Three Lessons In Persuasive Trial Technology (from legaltechmonitor.com by Stephen Embry).. I thought it offered some interesting software:

The Top 3 Legal Technology Trends of 2022 — from lexology.com by Sean Heck

Excerpts:

Web-Based Contract Management Tools for Remote Legal Operations
Online, Web-Based Document Editing
Contract AI With Machine Learning for Intelligent CLM

Litera legal survey shows that technology is driving change in all aspects of M&A practice — from canadianlawyermag.com by Annabel Oromoni

Excerpt:

The global pandemic and the increasing reliance on technology to facilitate remote legal work and collaboration have accelerated the legal profession’s interest in technology-based solutions. A recent survey by Litera, a legal tech company, revealed that technology significantly impacts M&A practices in law firms.

Litera’s survey included insights from over 200 lawyers whose practices focus on M&A in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

David Curle, legal content and research lead at Litera, says the legal profession is fragmented, and Litera sought to receive responses about technology use, adoption, and spending from M&A lawyers specifically.

6 Types of Software for Your In-House Legal Team Needs — from jdsupra.com

Excerpt:

Most legal teams rely heavily on documents and communication for their work, and handling all the related operations may not be as simple as you would like it to be. Unless you change your approach to document management and start exploring tech solutions that improve team efficiency.

Automation software has helped many businesses and departments streamline all or most of their operations and improve their efficiency. The same can be done for a legal team.

In this article, let’s focus on the types of automation software for in-house counsel along with some of the top examples.

Addendum later on 5/11/22:

ANALYSIS: Lawyers’ Top Legal Tech Tools—And Biggest Blind Spots — from news.bloomberglaw.com by Racheal Pikulski, Princess Onyiri, and Lida Ouyang

Addendum later on 5/11/22:

The ABA is again trying to end LSAT requirements. Will it stick this time? — from highereddive.com by Jeremy Bauer-Wolf
A 2018 push to stop assessment mandates died amid worries for underserved law school applicants, but the accreditor is returning to the idea.

Three items re: hyflex classrooms/learning [Beatty & Samuel]

On 05/11/2022, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, adjunct faculty, collaboration, colleges, communications, community colleges, corporate universities / corporate training, digital audio, digital video, distance education, education technology, experimentation, faculty/staff, higher education, Hyflex learning, instructional design, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, learning theories, liberal arts, pedagogy, platforms, remote teaching and learning, smart classrooms, teachers, teaching & learning, technology (general), telecommunications, tools, training / L&D, United States, universities, user experience (UX), vendors, videoconferencing, by Daniel Christian

Technology for HyFlex Classrooms: Major Considerations — from hyflexlearning.org by Brian Beatty

Excerpts:

This post describes four aspects of classroom technology that are very important to address when developing a HyFlex approach that can be effective at scale.
…

The classroom technology needs can be organized into four areas:

two-way audio stream (connection),
incoming video presentation of remote learners
outgoing video presentation of classroom and learners
interactive technology to support interaction, engagement, and formative assessment

Also re: hyflex teaching — where some students are physically present and some are coming into the class remotely– see:

Part I – Motivating Learners by Building Efficacy (Confidence) through Scaffolding and Support— from hyflexlearning.org by Jeanne Samuel

Excerpts:

HyFlex delivery may be new to many learners. Therefore, it is important to provide them with the supports they need to be successful. Regardless of the delivery mode, learners are motivated by success and by instructor presence. In part one of this topic post, we will write about how instructor support and feedback (a form of guidance) can motivate learners and build learner confidence.

PART II- Feedback for Improving Student Success and Satisfaction — from hyflexlearning.org by Jeanne Samuel

Excerpt:

In part 1 of this post, we focused on how feedback and support promote learner confidence. Learner confidence can lead to improved learner retention, progression, and success regardless of the class delivery mode. In part 2, we focus on feedback strategies.

Radar trends to watch: May 2022 — from oreilly.com
Developments in Web3, Security, Biology, and More

Excerpt:

April was the month for large language models. There was one announcement after another; most new models were larger than the previous ones, several claimed to be significantly more energy efficient.

Learning Ecosystems

‘Stackable credentials’ could be future of higher education in Colorado [Brady]

On Wednesday, the AAUP released a national survey of tenure practices — the first of its kind since 2004 [Chronicle.com]

Gensler warns as crypto crashes: ‘The public is not protected’ [Pimentel]

The Pandemic’s Lasting Lessons for Colleges, From Academic Innovation Leaders [Tamez-Robledo, Koenig, & Young]

4 Online Tactics to Improve Blended Learning [Burke]

The Exit Interview: Nine departing presidents on how the job — and higher ed — is changing. [Kelderman]

Carol Quillen

A Rubric for Selecting Active Learning Technologies [Bush, Cormier, & Anthony]

A brief reflection on “Why Improving Student Learning is So Hard” [Wiley]

“The Future of Work Is Flexible. Will Higher Ed Stay Stuck in the Past?” [McClure] + several other items re: higher education

“Is the virtual courtroom the future of the justice system?” [Sonntag]+ seven other legal related items

“But maybe we are finally to the moment when more professors choose to learn new ways to engage students in the classroom. Maybe they finally feel the disconnect too.” [Anderson]

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