3 Questions for Susan Aldridge — from insidehighered.com by Edward J. Maloney and Joshua Kim

Excerpt:

According to RNL research (2022), over each of the last five years, face-to-face undergraduate and graduate enrollments had a net decline, while online enrollments have seen significant expansion. The pandemic further accelerated online growth. University presidents and provosts are taking advantage of the post-pandemic environment to transform their universities by building digital ecosystems.

 

Majority of workers who quit a job in 2021 cite low pay, no opportunities for advancement, feeling disrespected — from pewresearch.org by Kim Parker and Juliana Menasce Horowitz

Excerpt:

A new Pew Research Center survey finds that low pay, a lack of opportunities for advancement and feeling disrespected at work are the top reasons why Americans quit their jobs last year. The survey also finds that those who quit and are now employed elsewhere are more likely than not to say their current job has better pay, more opportunities for advancement and more work-life balance and flexibility.

Also relevant/see:

EDUCAUSE QuickPoll Results: The Workforce Shakeup — from by Mark McCormack
A sizable wave of staff departures is headed toward higher education. Staff cite either institutional or personal reasons for staying or leaving, suggesting a range of institutional strategies for attracting and retaining talent.

Excerpt:

Middle-managers and middle-tenure staff, in particular, may be at risk of leaving, suggesting a number of solutions institutions might deploy to help attract and retain needed talent.

Addendum on 3/13/22:

 
 

ABA TECHSHOW 2022: Modernizing Court Technology with Judge Scott Schlegel — from legaltalknetwork.com
Judge Scott Schlegel shares essential technology tips for facilitating virtual court.

Description of podcast:

As the pandemic necessitated major tech innovations in the legal system, courts had to work hard to facilitate the continuance of justice. Host Joe Patrice chats with Judge Scott Schlegel about the process of moving to virtual proceedings, how they’re doing now, and what tech was most helpful along the way.

 

 

Is Artificial Intelligence Undermining The Legal System? — from lawyer-monthly.com
Globally recognised artificial intelligence expert Dr Lance Eliot explains how AI is undermining the legal system.

Excerpt:

Well, imagine if I told you that the text messages, the emails, and the video clips were all crafted via the use of AI-based deepfake technologies. None of that seeming “evidence” of wrongdoing or at least inappropriate actions of the prosecutor are real. They certainly look to be real. The texts use the same style of text messaging that the prosecutor normally uses. The emails have the same written style as other emails by the prosecutor.

And, the most damning of the materials, those video clips of the prosecutor, are clearly the face of the prosecutor, and the words spoken are of the same voice as the prosecutor. You might have been willing to assume that the texts and the emails could be faked, but the video seems to be the last straw on the camel’s back. This is the prosecutor caught on video saying things that are utterly untoward in this context. All of that could readily be prepared via the use of today’s AI-based deepfake high-tech.

So, be on the watch for getting AI-based deepfake materials produced about you.

 

The Metaverse Will Radically Change Content Creation Forever — from forbes.com by Falon Fatemi

Excerpt:

Although the metaverse promises to touch nearly every person in our society, there’s one demographic that will almost certainly see disproportionately strong disruption: creators. The metaverse has the potential to fundamentally disrupt the content creation process.

The metaverse is slated to help creators make more interactive and immersive content, thanks in large part to advances in VR and AR. The stakes will be raised as creators will be expected to build more immersive and interactive content than ever before.

Also related/see:

The Amazing Possibilities Of Healthcare In The Metaverse — from forbes.com by Bernard Marr

Excerpts:

What’s generally agreed on, however, is that it’s effectively the next version of the internet – one that will take advantage of artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and ever-increasing connectivity (for example, 5G networks) to create online environments that are more immersive, experiential and interactive than what we have today.

Metaverse involves the convergence of three major technological trends, which all have the potential to impact healthcare individually. Together, though, they could create entirely new channels for delivering care that have the potential to lower costs and vastly improve patient outcomes. These are telepresence (allowing people to be together virtually, even while we’re apart physically), digital twinning, and blockchain (and its ability to let us create a distributed internet).

From DSC:
That last paragraph could likely apply to our future learning ecosystems as well. Lower costs. A greater sense of presence. Getting paid for one’s teaching…then going to learn something new and paying someone else for that new training/education.

 

US Department of Labor announces availability of $55M in grants to provide pre-release training, employment services to incarcerated people
Funding aims to improve employment opportunities, meet needs of local labor market

WASHINGTON – Each year, state prisons release approximately 573,000 people who need the resources and support to re-enter and find stable employment in their communities successfully.

Pre-release services have proven to help reduce the likelihood that formerly incarcerated people will return to prison and help these individuals fully reintegrate into their communities. To support this effort, the U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of $55 million in Pathway Home 3 Grants that seek to reduce barriers to employment by providing training and employment services to incarcerated individuals before their release from state correctional facilities, or county or local jails. Funds will also support continued comprehensive services post-release.

Authorized by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Pathway Home 3 Grants will fund projects to serve adults convicted under federal, state or local law and who are scheduled for release within 20 to 270 days from the time they enroll in the project.

The department’s Employment and Training Administration will award up to 15 grant projects – ranging from $1 million to $4 million each – to teach returning citizens foundational skills such as job readiness and job search strategies, and to provide apprenticeships and occupational training leading to industry-recognized credentials.

Organizations seeking grants must partner with a state correctional facility or a local or county jail. Applicants are encouraged to collaborate with employers, industry organizations or union partners to commit to providing work experience, onsite job-related mentoring and post-release employment opportunities for participants. Successful applicants will provide training that leads to in-demand skills to meet the needs of local employers.

Building on the findings from the Linking Employment Activities Pre-Release implementation study, the grants are designed to help eliminate the time gap between release from prison and enrollment into a workforce development reentry program leading to skills-based employment.

Learn more about the Department of Labor’s Reentry Employment Opportunities program.

 

Corporate Leaders Lag in Digital Skills; L&D Can Help — from learningsolutionsmag.com by Pamela Hogle

Excerpt:

As we move into a reality where digital skills dominate and the pandemic has pushed many organizations to accelerate their digital transitions, a yawning skills gap has become apparent: Fewer than a third of digital leaders rate themselves as “effective in digital acumen” according to the DDI Global Leadership Forecast.

But HR and leaders rank digital acumen, which is seen as “a significant predictor not only for digital transformation readiness, but also for innovation and responding to the competitive environment,” as a must-have skill, the DDI report said.

This gap is bad for business. “The world’s most digitally mature companies lead all other companies in value creation. They also have proved much more resilient during the crisis,” research by the Boston Consulting Group found.

Also from learningsolutionsmag.com see:

 

CT kids have opportunity to learn about state’s legal system in virtual program — from wfsb.com by Ayah Galal

Excerpt:

HARTFORD, Conn. (WFSB) – Kids in Connecticut have a unique opportunity to learn about the state’s legal system and various social justice issues.

It’s being done in an interactive way by the Kids Court Academy Program.

The hope is to elevate children’s voices and empower them to envision themselves in fields like civil and human rights law.

“If you know how politics works and you know how government works then you can have a voice. You can be a part of the process,” said Cheryl Sharp, Deputy Director at the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities.

 

Excerpt:

The use of telehealth has soared during the pandemic, broadening access to care while also allowing providers, patients, and payers to consider possibilities, from expanding care at home to managing costs. But stakeholders have starkly different views on this next wave of healthcare: In a recent McKinsey survey, two-thirds of physicians and 60 percent of patients said they agreed that virtual health is more convenient than in-person care for patients, but only 36 percent of physicians find it more convenient for themselves. Explore these insights to understand the ongoing transition of IRL (in real life) to URL (virtual) medical care offerings…

Also from McKinsey, see:

What technology trends will—and should—lead business agendas in 2022?

Excerpt:

We asked leaders in industry, academia, and at McKinsey to share their perspectives on the technology trends likely to headline business agendas this year, the ones that could—but shouldn’t—slip through the cracks, and what executives should think about when considering new technologies. Here is what they told us.

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?

 

The Hidden Role of Facial Recognition Tech in Many Arrests — from wired.com by Khari Johnson
The technology is spreading fast among police, and often wrong. But people charged with crimes are rarely told an algorithm came into play.

Excerpt:

Across most of the US, neither police nor prosecutors are required to disclose when facial recognition is used to identify a criminal suspect. Defense attorneys say that puts them at a disadvantage: They can’t challenge potential problems with facial recognition technology if they don’t know it was used. It also raises questions of equity, since studies have shown that facial recognition systems are more likely to misidentify people who are not white men, including people with dark skin, women, and young people.

 
 

What is unschooling? Meet the families who have shunned the formal education system — from thenationalnews.com by Resmi Jaimon
It’s not for everyone, but some families say their children are thriving outside of traditional learning environments

Excerpt:

It has often been said that real learning transpires beyond the classroom. There is a lot of knowledge to be gleaned by being more observant, by reading vociferously and by experiencing the realities of life.

Many families also believe that learning can become more effective and entertaining when it’s done together, while others realise their children thrive best in an independent learning environment. Welcome to the era of unschooling.

Several countries offer supporting infrastructures for the unschooled. And unschooled children can gain admission into higher grades or colleges based on entrance tests, essays and other criteria.

It’s certainly not for everyone, but here are six families who have gone down this path — and their reasons for and expectations of the method.

 

AI Could Power the Next Generation of Smart Glasses — from lifewire.com by Mayank Sharma. I’d like to thank Mayank for letting me contribute some thoughts to this article.
Making the bigger picture clearer

Key Takeaways

  • Biel Glasses has created a pair of smart glasses to enhance the mobility of users with low vision.
  • Experts believe smart glasses will soon outpace VR headsets in terms of adoption and use.
  • This new generation of smart glasses will infuse AI together with AR to give users a new and better perspective.

 
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