professional wordpress themes

Very creative architecture!

On 08/14/2024, in architecture, art, Asia, creativity, design, Europe, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
I thought this was very creative! Nice work.

A Curtain-Like Facade Wraps a Seoul Textile Maker in Billowing Brick — from thisiscolossal.com by Kate Mothes and German architecture firm behet bondzio lin architekten

A South Korea fashion brand and textile manufacturer’s headquarters in Seoul gets a stunning new look thanks to German architecture firm behet bondzio lin architekten. Located in Seongsu-dong, a neighborhood historically known for its red brick factory buildings, the new multistory structure defies the material’s traditionally angular application by incorporating an undulating, drapery-like facade.

The architects conceived of a design inspired both by the flow and flexibility of textiles and the consistent rhythm of ocean waves.
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The 2024 CHLOE 9 Report is out. The Changing Landscape of Online Education Project.

On 08/14/2024, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, business side of he, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, instructional design, IT in HE, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, learning spaces, online learning, teaching online, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

2024 CHLOE 9 Report
August 13, 2024

CHLOE 9 | Strategy Shift: Institutions Respond to Sustained Online Demand

The ninth installment of the Changing Landscape of Online Education (CHLOE) report, produced by Quality MattersTM , Eduventures® and Educause — offers an overview of the current state of online learning in higher education as well as insights into its future development. The report was compiled by surveying chief online officers (COLOs) — the professionals best situated to assess the current state of this ever-developing field — at U.S. two- and four-year colleges and universities.

The majority of survey participants report both learner demand for online learning surging and institutional strategic priorities shifting to meet this demand, as well as the adaptation to the new presence of AI tools in the academic environment. Notable findings from the 53-page report include:

Priorities for Online Learning: Institutions are increasingly prioritizing the development of online versions of both on-campus courses (69%) and on-campus degrees (65%) in order to meet demand. In terms of their topmost priority, 43% of COLOs chose online versions of on-campus degrees (the majority of public four-year institutions identified this as their top priority), with online versions of on-campus courses selected as the top priority by 39%.
Tuition and Institutional Revenue: …
AI in Higher Education:  …
Third-Party Servicers:  …
Regular and Substantive Interaction: …

Two-thirds of colleges are prioritizing online versions of on-campus programs, poll finds — from highereddive.com by Natalie Schwartz
The ninth Changing Landscape of Online Education survey offers a glimpse into the distance education marketplace.

Dive Brief: 

  • Roughly two-thirds of colleges are making it a priority to create virtual versions of on-campus classes and programs, according to an annual survey of chief online learning officers.
  • College officials likely see creating online versions of existing programs as easier than launching entirely new academic programs, according to the report.
  • However, 48% of chief online learning officers still said their priorities included launching new online programs with no campus equivalent.

CHLOE 9 Report by Quality Matters, Eduventures, and EDUCAUSE Highlights Continuing Shift of Learner Demand and Institutional Strategy Toward Online Learning — from marketwatch.com
Key findings include increased demand from on-campus students for online options, a notable shift in institutional strategies to align with this demand, and the growing use of artificial intelligence in online education.

BOSTON, Aug. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Quality Matters, EDUCAUSE, and Eduventures Research have released the ninth edition of the Changing Landscape of Online Education (CHLOE) report, compiling the perspectives of chief online learning officers (COLOs) around the United States. CHLOE 9: Strategy Shift: Institutions Respond to Sustained Online Demand reveals a continued increase in student preference for online learning and the strategies institutions are employing to address this demand.

The report also outlines institutional perspectives on a host of other factors contributing to the state of online education, including artificial intelligence, third-party servicers, OPMs and regular and substantive interaction.

Addendum on 8/15/24:

The State of Online Learning | The CHLOE 9 Survey – Part 1 — from onedtech.philhillaa.com by Glenda Morgan

For the uninitiated, since 2017 the CHLOE report has surveyed Chief Online Learning Officers (COLOs) at higher education institutions in the US to map the changing landscape of online education. It has become an invaluable resource in understanding the topography of online learning in the US as well as how it is changing as more institutions move online and that environment becomes more regulated and more competitive.

I found this year’s survey much more engaging than in recent years. Many of the questions asked and the way they were framed address the issues of concern to people managing online learning. There is a lot in the survey, and I am going to break my coverage into two parts. In this first post, I want to cover the more general findings of the survey as well as some of my concerns with it. In my next post, I want to do a deeper dive into what the CHLOE survey reports about outsourcing and OPMs, a topic that we have covered extensively in this newsletter.

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4+ items re: the K-12 learning ecosystem

On 08/14/2024, in accessibility / UDL, Alternatives, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), education, education reform, experimentation, face-to-face, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, neurodivergent/special needs, reading, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, United States, youth, by Daniel Christian

How to use accommodations and modifications in the classroom — from understood.org by Amanda Morin

In a busy classroom, it can be daunting to meet the varied learning needs of all your students. Knowing you’re also responsible for implementing instructional accommodations and modifications in students’ IEPs and 504 plans can make it feel even more challenging. But with the right information, you can provide these important supports to help all students thrive.

Here are key concepts to keep in mind and steps you can take to implement accommodations and modifications for your students.

Unschooling: A way of learning outside of school and it requires no lessons, tests or grades — from cbsnews.com by  Janay Reece

BALTIMORE — What if your child didn’t go to school?

Believe it or not, some parents don’t send their children to school five days a week, and it’s called unschooling.

It is a growing and sometimes controversial approach to homeschooling.

Rather than using a defined curriculum, unschooling parents trust their kids to learn organically. Unschoolers are focused more on the experimental process of learning and becoming educated, rather than with “doing or going to school.”

People Are Hunting for Education ‘Fads.’ What Does That Say About Schools? — from edsurge.com by Daniel Mollenkamp

Public schools are particularly vulnerable to pressure, Cuban said on a call with EdSurge. That’s because national problems tend to become school ones, Cuban says. Schools have to walk a “tightrope,” striking a balance that is both stable for students and able to adapt to changes in the broader society, he says.

Pressure on schools to respond to new issues often ends up altering curricula or introducing new courses, because that’s the easiest part of the public education system to change, Cuban argues. But classrooms are isolated from the superintendent’s office, the school board and other “policy elites” who push change, he says.

Many kids can’t read, even in high school. Is the solution teaching reading in every class? — from hechingerreport.org by Julian Roberts-Grmela
Some high schools and states are experimenting with ways to integrate literacy instruction across all classes

Every teacher at her school, the Health Sciences High and Middle College, in San Diego, shares in the responsibility of teaching students literacy skills, regardless of the subject they teach. That’s because so many students, even incoming ninth graders, arrive at the school without basic reading skills, according to Douglas Fisher, an administrator at the school. While some students also receive one-on-one remediation, Fisher said that research shows those interventions aren’t enough to close the gap.

“We have kids that on our benchmark knowledge assessments are scoring what is the equivalent of second grade, first grade, fourth grade,” said Fisher, who is also a professor and chair of educational leadership at San Diego State University. Yet, by the time students graduate, he said, the goal at the secondary school is that they have “reading levels ready for college.”

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From DSC: You NEED this extension! Clear away the clutter from all of your web-based articles. Instantly.

On 08/14/2024, in Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education technology, Google, learning theories, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, reading, tools, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, vendors, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
[For those folks who use Google Chrome]

When you keep getting distracted from all of the extraneous items — such as those annoying videos and advertisements — that appear when you launch a web page, there is a solution to quickly hiding all of those items. It’s called Postlight Reader. I’ve been using it for years and wanted to put this information out there for folks who might not have heard about it.

 

I highly recommend it if you are having trouble reading an article and processing the information that it contains. Instructional Designers will know all about Extraneous Load (one of the types of Cognitive Load) and how it negatively impacts one’s learning and processing of the information that really counts (i.e., the Germane Cognitive Load).

Note the differences when I used Postlight Reader on an article out at cbsnews.com:

 

The page appears with all kinds of ads and videos going on…I can hardly
process the information on the article due to these items:

 

 

Then, after I enabled this extension in Chrome and click on
the icon for Postlight Reader, it strips away all of those items
and leaves me with the article that I wanted to read:

 

 

If you aren’t using it, I highly recommend that you give it a try.

 

Postlight Reader – Clear away the clutter from all of your articles. Instantly.

The Postlight Reader extension for Chrome removes ads and distractions, leaving only text and images for a clean and consistent reading view on every site. Features:

  • Disable surrounding webpage noise and clutter with one click
  • Send To Kindle functionality
  • Adjust typeface and text size, and toggle between light or dark themes
  • Quick keyboard shortcut (Cmd + Esc for Mac users, Alt + ` for Windows users) to switch to Reader on any article page
  • Printing optimization
  • Sharing through Facebook, Twitter and Email
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44% of Americans Expect Importance of College Education to Decline Over Next 10 Years, New Survey Reveals

On 08/14/2024, in business side of he, change, colleges, community colleges, cost of getting a degree, Emotion, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, learning ecosystem, parents/guardians, reinvent, staying relevant, surviving, United States, universities, vocational / trades, by Daniel Christian

44% of Americans Expect Importance of College Education to Decline Over Next 10 Years, New Survey Reveals — from prnewswire.com by College Consensus

New College Consensus poll shows most Americans think traditional 4-year college best route to satisfying career, but nearly half expect importance of traditional college education to decline over next decade, with trade school offering an equal or better return on investment.

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C., Aug. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — College Consensus, a comprehensive resource for college rankings and information, has released results of a new poll asking Americans about their confidence in higher education. Their findings can be seen at:

https://www.collegeconsensus.com/research/trust-in-higher-education/

The key takeaways of that report are that:

  • Americans still largely trust traditional higher education, but not as much as they used to
  • Nearly half of Americans believe traditional college education will decline in importance in the next decade
  • Americans view trade school as offering almost equivalent ROI to traditional college
  • Trust in community college and online college is lower than traditional, but still strong
  • Technology bootcamps struggling to gain trust

The above is happening at the same time as this:

US colleges are cutting majors and slashing programs after years of putting it off — from apnews.com

It’s part of a wave of program cuts in recent months, as U.S. colleges large and small try to make ends meet. Among their budget challenges: Federal COVID relief money is now gone, operational costs are rising and fewer high school graduates are going straight to college.

The cuts mean more than just savings, or even job losses. Often, they create turmoil for students who chose a campus because of certain degree programs and then wrote checks or signed up for student loans.

“For me, it’s really been anxiety-ridden,” said Westman, 23, as she began the effort that ultimately led her to transfer to Augsburg University in Minneapolis. “It’s just the fear of the unknown.”

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12+ resources regarding what’s happening in the world of AI (in general)

On 08/13/2024, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Apple, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, assistive technologies, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), content development, aggregation, repositories, digital learning, digital photography, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, Google, graphics, human-computer interaction (HCI), internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, Microsoft, neurodivergent/special needs, NVIDIA, Open AI, platforms, tools, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, vendors, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
The above item is simply excellent!!! I love it!

Also relevant/see:

3 new Chrome AI features for even more helpful browsing — from blog.google from Parisa Tabriz
See how Chrome’s new AI features, including Google Lens for desktop and Tab compare, can help you get things done more easily on the web.

On speaking to AI — from oneusefulthing.org by Ethan Mollick
Voice changes a lot of things

So, let’s talk about ChatGPT’s new Advanced Voice mode and the new AI-powered Siri. They are not just different approaches to talking to AI. In many ways, they represent the divide between two philosophies of AI – Copilots versus Agents, small models versus large ones, specialists versus generalists.

Your guide to AI – August 2024 — from nathanbenaich.substack.com by Nathan Benaich and Alex Chalmers

Microsoft says OpenAI is now a competitor in AI and search — from cnbc.com by Jordan Novet

Key Points

  • Microsoft’s annually updated list of competitors now includes OpenAI, a long-term strategic partner.
  • The change comes days after OpenAI announced a prototype of a search engine.
  • Microsoft has reportedly invested $13 billion into OpenAI.

Excerpt from by Graham Clay

1. Flux, an open-source text-to-image creator that is comparable to industry leaders like Midjourney, was released by Black Forest Labs (the “original team” behind Stable Diffusion). It is capable of generating high quality text in images (there are tons of educational use cases). You can play with it on their demo page, on Poe, or by running it on your own computer (tutorial here).

Other items re: Flux:

How to FLUX  — from heatherbcooper.substack.com by Heather Cooper
Where to use FLUX online & full tutorial to create a sleek ad in minutes

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Also from Heather Cooper:

Introducing FLUX: Open-Source text to image model

FLUX… has been EVERYWHERE this week, as I’m sure you have seen. Developed by Black Forest Labs, is an open-source image generation model that’s gaining attention for its ability to rival leading models like Midjourney, DALL·E 3, and SDXL.

What sets FLUX apart is its blend of creative freedom, precision, and accessibility—it’s available across multiple platforms and can be run locally.

Why FLUX Matters
FLUX’s open-source nature makes it accessible to a broad audience, from hobbyists to professionals.

It offers advanced multimodal and parallel diffusion transformer technology, delivering high visual quality, strong prompt adherence, and diverse outputs.

It’s available in 3 models:
FLUX.1 [pro]: A high-performance, commercial image synthesis model.
FLUX.1 [dev]: An open-weight, non-commercial variant of FLUX.1 [pro]
FLUX.1 [schnell]: A faster, distilled version of FLUX.1, operating up to 10x quicker.

Daily Digest: Huge (in)Flux of AI videos. — from bensbites.beehiiv.com
PLUS: Review of ChatGPT’s advanced voice mode.

  1. During the weekend, image models made a comeback. Recently released Flux models can create realistic images with near-perfect text—straight from the model, without much patchwork. To get the party going, people are putting these images into video generation models to create pretty–trippy–videos. I can’t identify half of them as AI, and they’ll only get better. See this tutorial on how to create a video ad for your product..

 

7 not only cool but handy use cases of new Claude — from techthatmatters.beehiiv.com by Harsh Makadia

  1. Data visualization
  2. Infographic
  3. Copy the UI of a website
  4. …and more

Achieving Human Level Competitive Robot Table Tennis — from sites.google.com

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14+ resources regarding AI in our learning ecosystems

On 08/13/2024, in adjunct faculty, adult learning, Australia, CMS/LMS, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, digital learning, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, experimentation, faculty/staff, Google, heutagogy, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, instructional design, intelligent systems, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, leadership, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning theories, lifelong learning, Microsoft, multimedia, Open AI, platforms, policy, productivity / tips and tricks, religion, strategy, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, tools, training / L&D, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

What Students Want When It Comes To AI — from onedtech.philhillaa.com by Glenda Morgan
The Digital Education Council Global AI Student Survey 2024

The Digital Education Council (DEC) this week released the results of a global survey of student opinions on AI. It’s a large survey with nearly 4,000 respondents conducted across 16 countries, but more importantly, it asks some interesting questions. There are many surveys about AI out there right now, but this one stands out. I’m going to go into some depth here, as the entire survey report is worth reading.

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AI is forcing a teaching and learning evolution — from eschoolnews.com by Laura Ascione
AI and technology tools are leading to innovative student learning–along with classroom, school, and district efficiency

Key findings from the 2024 K-12 Educator + AI Survey, which was conducted by Hanover Research, include:

  • Teachers are using AI to personalize and improve student learning, not just run classrooms more efficiently, but challenges remain
  • While post-pandemic challenges persist, the increased use of technology is viewed positively by most teachers and administrators
  • …and more

From DSC:
I wonder…how will the use of AI in education square with the issues of using smartphones/laptops within the classrooms? See:

  • Why Schools Are Racing to Ban Student Phones — from nytimes.com by Natasha Singer; via GSV
    As the new school year starts, a wave of new laws that aim to curb distracted learning is taking effect in Indiana, Louisiana and other states.

A three-part series from Dr. Phillippa Hardman:

Part 1: Writing Learning Objectives  
The Results Part 1: Writing Learning Objectives

In this week’s post I will dive into the results from task 1: writing learning objectives. Stay tuned over the next two weeks to see all of the the results.

Part 2: Selecting Instructional Strategies.
The Results Part 2: Selecting an Instructional Strategy

Welcome back to our three-part series exploring the impact of AI on instructional design.
…
This week, we’re tackling a second task and a crucial aspect of instructional design: selecting instructional strategies. The ability to select appropriate instructional strategies to achieve intended objectives is a mission-critical skill for any instructional designer. So, can AI help us do a good job of it? Let’s find out!

Part 3: How Close is AI to Replacing Instructional Designers?
The Results Part 3: Creating a Course Outline

Today, we’re diving into what many consider to be the role-defining task of the instructional designer: creating a course design outline.

ChatGPT Cheat Sheet for Instructional Designers! — from Alexandra Choy Youatt EdD

Instructional Designers!
Whether you’re new to the field or a seasoned expert, this comprehensive guide will help you leverage AI to create more engaging and effective learning experiences.

What’s Inside?
Roles and Tasks: Tailored prompts for various instructional design roles and tasks.
Formats: Different formats to present your work, from training plans to rubrics.
Learning Models: Guidance on using the ADDIE model and various pedagogical strategies.
Engagement Tips: Techniques for online engagement and collaboration.
Specific Tips: Industry certifications, work-based learning, safety protocols, and more.

Who Can Benefit?
Corporate Trainers
Curriculum Developers
E-Learning Specialists
Instructional Technologists
Learning Experience Designers
And many more!
…

ChatGPT Cheat Sheet | Instructional Designer

5 AI Tools I Use Every Day (as a Busy Student) — from theaigirl.substack.com by Diana Dovgopol
AI tools that I use every day to boost my productivity.
#1 Gamma
#2 Perplexity
#3 Cockatoo

I use this AI tool almost every day as well. Since I’m still a master’s student at university, I have to attend lectures and seminars, which are always in English or German, neither of which is my native language. With the help of Cockatoo, I create scripts of the lectures and/or translations into my language. This means I don’t have to take notes in class and then manually translate them afterward. All I need to do is record the lecture audio on any device or directly in Cockatoo, upload it, and then you’ll have the audio and text ready for you.

…and more

Students Worry Overemphasis on AI Could Devalue Education — from insidehighered.com by Juliette Rowsell
Report stresses that AI is “new standard” and universities need to better communicate policies to learners.

Rising use of AI in higher education could cause students to question the quality and value of education they receive, a report warns.

This year’s Digital Education Council Global AI Student Survey, of more than 3,800 students from 16 countries, found that more than half (55 percent) believed overuse of AI within teaching devalued education, and 52 percent said it negatively impacted their academic performance.

Despite this, significant numbers of students admitted to using such technology. Some 86 percent said they “regularly” used programs such as ChatGPT in their studies, 54 percent said they used it on a weekly basis, and 24 percent said they used it to write a first draft of a submission.

Higher Ed Leadership Is Excited About AI – But Investment Is Lacking — from forbes.com by Vinay Bhaskara

As corporate America races to integrate AI into its core operations, higher education finds itself in a precarious position. I conducted a survey of 63 university leaders revealing that while higher ed leaders recognize AI’s transformative potential, they’re struggling to turn that recognition into action.

This struggle is familiar for higher education — gifted with the mission of educating America’s youth but plagued with a myriad of operational and financial struggles, higher ed institutions often lag behind their corporate peers in technology adoption. In recent years, this gap has become threateningly large. In an era of declining enrollments and shifting demographics, closing this gap could be key to institutional survival and success.

The survey results paint a clear picture of inconsistency: 86% of higher ed leaders see AI as a “massive opportunity,” yet only 21% believe their institutions are prepared for it. This disconnect isn’t just a minor inconsistency – it’s a strategic vulnerability in an era of declining enrollments and shifting demographics.

(Generative) AI Isn’t Going Anywhere but Up — from stefanbauschard.substack.com by Stefan Bauschard
“Hype” claims are nonsense.

There has been a lot of talk recently about an “AI Bubble.” Supposedly, the industry, or at least the generative AI subset of it, will collapse. This is known as the “Generative AI Bubble.” A bubble — a broad one or a generative one — is nonsense. These are the reasons we will continue to see massive growth in AI.

AI Readiness: Prepare Your Workforce to Embrace the Future — from learningguild.com by Danielle Wallace

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing industries, enhancing efficiency, and unlocking new opportunities. To thrive in this landscape, organizations need to be ready to embrace AI not just technologically but also culturally.

Learning leaders play a crucial role in preparing employees to adapt and excel in an AI-driven workplace. Transforming into an AI-empowered organization requires more than just technological adoption; it demands a shift in organizational mindset. This guide delves into how learning leaders can support this transition by fostering the right mindset attributes in employees.

Claude AI for eLearning Developers — from learningguild.com by Bill Brandon

Claude is fast, produces grammatically correct  text, and outputs easy-to-read articles, emails, blog posts, summaries, and analyses. Take some time to try it out. If you worry about plagiarism and text scraping, put the results through Grammarly’s plagiarism checker (I did not use Claude for this article, but I did send the text through Grammarly).

Survey: Top Teacher Uses of AI in the Classroom — from thejournal.com by Rhea Kelly

A new report from Cambium Learning Group outlines the top ways educators are using artificial intelligence to manage their classrooms and support student learning. Conducted by Hanover Research, the 2024 K-12 Educator + AI Survey polled 482 teachers and administrators at schools and districts that are actively using AI in the classroom.

More than half of survey respondents (56%) reported that they are leveraging AI to create personalized learning experiences for students. Other uses included providing real-time performance tracking and feedback (cited by 52% of respondents), helping students with critical thinking skills (50%), proofreading writing (47%), and lesson planning (44%).

On the administrator side, top uses of AI included interpreting/analyzing student data (61%), managing student records (56%), and managing professional development (56%).

Addendum on 8/14/24:

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Building a Collaborative Lifelong Learning Ecosystem [moderncampus.com]

On 08/13/2024, in changing business models, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, culture, curriculum, future of higher education, higher education, ideas, learning ecosystem, lifelong learning, podcasting, reinvent, skills, staying relevant, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

Building a Collaborative Lifelong Learning Ecosystem — from by Bryan Benjamin and Amrit Ahluwalia

Staying current and relevant is essential for institutions in today’s rapidly evolving higher education landscape. However, innovative work cannot be accomplished in isolation.

On this episode, Bryan Benjamin, Executive Director of The Ivey Academy and Amrit Ahluwalia, Executive Director of Continuing Studies at Western University, discusses the importance of institutional collaboration and creating a scalable lifelong learning ecosystem.

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DSC: Think about the impacts/ramifications of global, virtual, real-time language translations!

On 08/12/2024, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, assistive technologies, business, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, education technology, emerging technologies, Europe, experimentation, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, languages and translation, law schools, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Open AI, society, technologies for your home, telelegal, telemedicine / telehealth / virtual health, tools, training / L&D, United States, universities, usability, user experience (UX), vendors, videoconferencing, Virtual courts and law firms, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

ChatGPT Voice Mode Is Here: Will It Revolutionize AI Communication?

Advanced Voice Mode – FAQ — from help.openai.com
Learn more about our Advanced Voice capabilities.

Advanced Voice Mode on ChatGPT features more natural, real-time conversations that pick up on and respond with emotion and non-verbal cues.

Advanced Voice Mode on ChatGPT is currently in a limited alpha. Please note that it may make mistakes, and access and rate limits are subject to change.

From DSC:
Think about the impacts/ramifications of global, virtual, real-time language translations!!! This type of technology will create very powerful, new affordances in our learning ecosystems — as well as in business communications, with the various governments across the globe, and more!

 

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7.2M Americans Over 50 Hold Student Debt, New Report Shows [Blake]

On 08/12/2024, in business side of he, colleges, community colleges, cost of getting a degree, economics, faculty/staff, generational differences, higher education, parents/guardians, society, sociology, student-related, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

7.2M Americans Over 50 Hold Student Debt, New Report Shows — from insidehighered.com by Jessica Blake
Urban Institute researchers say the financial burden not only puts a strain on the borrowers themselves but also the social welfare programs designed to be their safety net.

However, a recent series of reports and blog posts published by Urban Institute shows that older adults are also struggling to pay back their student loans.

By analyzing a nationally representative sample of credit records from roughly four million adults aged 50 and older, Urban Institute’s report concludes that as of August 2022, approximately 6 percent of older adults—or 7.2 million Americans—have yet to pay off their student loans. Among those same borrowers, 8 percent, or 580,000 individuals, are behind on payments. The median amount of delinquent debt was approximately $11,500.

“These disadvantages can compound over decades within and across generations, making these borrowers less able to repay their loans on time,” wrote Mingli Zhong, an Urban Institute senior research associate who specializes in borrowing behavior. “Over all, older adults are carrying more debt, not just student loan debt but all kinds of debt [medical, mortgage, etc.] into retirement,” she later told Inside Higher Ed.

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Colleges Race to Ready Students for the AI Workplace [Surjadi]

On 08/12/2024, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, career development, change, colleges, community colleges, curriculum, higher education, skills, student-related, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

Colleges Race to Ready Students for the AI Workplace — from wsj.com by Milla Surjadi (behind a paywall)
Non-techie students are learning basic generative-AI skills as schools revamp their course offerings to be more job-friendly

College students are desperate to add a new skill to their résumés: artificial intelligence.

The rise of generative AI in the workplace and students’ demands for more hirable talents are driving schools to revamp courses and add specialized degrees at speeds rarely seen in higher education. Schools are even going so far as to emphasize that all undergraduates get a taste of the tech, teaching them how to use AI in a given field—as well as its failings and unethical applications.

Speaking of AI, also see Educause’s Artificial Intelligence (AI)-related resources, which includes the following excerpt:

The Basics of AI in Higher Education

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The Digital Writing Lab: Supporting teachers to develop and empower digitally literate citizens. [McKnight, Furze, Zomer]

On 08/12/2024, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Australia, blogs / blogging / vlogging, collaboration, content development, aggregation, repositories, creativity, digital learning, education, education technology, emerging technologies, ethics, experimentation, ideas, instructional design, intelligent systems, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, multimedia, new media literacies, parents/guardians, pedagogy, professional development, research, teachers, teaching & learning, writing, youth, by Daniel Christian

Welcome to the Digital Writing Lab -- Supporting teachers to develop and empower digitally literate citizens.

Digital Writing Lab

About this Project

The Digital Writing Lab is a key component of the Australian national Teaching Digital Writing project, which runs from 2022-2025.

This stage of the broader project involves academic and secondary English teacher collaboration to explore how teachers are conceptualising the teaching of digital writing and what further supports they may need.

Previous stages of the project included archival research reviewing materials related to digital writing in Australia’s National Textbook Collection, and a national survey of secondary English teachers. You can find out more about the whole project via the project blog.

Who runs the project?

Project Lead Lucinda McKnight is an Associate Professor and Australian Research Council (ARC) DECRA Fellow researching how English teachers can connect the teaching of writing to contemporary media and students’ lifeworlds.

She is working with Leon Furze, who holds the doctoral scholarship attached to this project, and Chris Zomer, the project Research Fellow. The project is located in the Research for Educational Impact (REDI) centre at Deakin University, Melbourne.

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Teaching Digital Writing is a research project about English today.

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Colleges keep closing. Are regulators doing enough to warn students? [Schermele]

On 08/05/2024, in adjunct faculty, business side of he, change, colleges, community colleges, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, faculty/staff, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, learning ecosystem, parents/guardians, society, student-related, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

Colleges keep closing. Are regulators doing enough to warn students? — from usatoday.com by Zachary Schermele
The Biden administration has aggressively tackled college oversight. But universities are still closing without warning, leaving students and faculty in the lurch.

That task is challenging, regardless of who’s in the White House because the federal government’s metrics for identifying at-risk private colleges have long been flawed. The most recent flutter of high-profile closures underscores how necessary federal intervention may be to protect the lives of students and faculty from getting derailed in the coming years. Tragic stories from students like Hebert are bringing new urgency to efforts to improve the government’s warning signs that a campus is flailing.

“It’s hard to see a world where colleges stop closing,” said Robert Kelchen, a higher education professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a renowned policy expert. “So the challenge becomes: When do people know that their college is at risk?”

Also relevant/see:

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Google is an illegal monopoly, federal court rules [Dou & De Vynck]

On 08/05/2024, in Amazon, Apple, Facebook / Meta Platforms, Google, legislatures / government / legal, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Google is an illegal monopoly, federal court rules — from washingtonpost.com by Eva Dou and  Gerrit De Vynck
Judgment delivers a victory to the Justice Department as it takes on a string of federal antitrust lawsuits against Big Tech.

A federal court has found that Google illegally abused its market power to quash competition in internet search, handing the Justice Department a landmark victory against Big Tech.

“Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” Judge Amit P. Mehta wrote in his judgment on Monday.

Mehta wrote that Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc., has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act by maintaining its monopoly in two product markets in the United States — general search service and general text advertising — through exclusive distribution agreements with customer companies.

The case has been closely watched in antitrust law circles as the first of a string of cases federal prosecutors have launched against high-tech giants. Antitrust enforcers argue that Big Tech has gotten too powerful and doesn’t serve the public interest. Lawsuits have also been filed against Amazon, Meta and Apple.

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Using Class Discussions as AI-Proof Assessments [McPhillips]

On 08/05/2024, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, assessment, collaboration, communications, education, education technology, ideas, instructional design, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, participation, pedagogy, teachers, youth, by Daniel Christian

Using Class Discussions as AI-Proof Assessments — from edutopia.org by Kara McPhillips
Classroom discussions are one way to ensure that students are doing their own work in the age of artificial intelligence. 

I admit it: Grading essays has never topped my list of teaching joys. Sure, the moments when a student finally nails a skill after months of hard work make me shout for joy, startling my nearby colleagues (sorry, Ms. Evans), but by and large, it’s hard work. Yet lately, as generative artificial intelligence (AI) headlines swirl in my mind, a new anxiety has crept into my grading life. I increasingly wonder, am I looking at their hard work?

Do you know when I don’t feel this way? During discussions. A ninth grader wiggling the worn corner of her text, leaning forward with excitement over what she’s cleverly noticed about Kambili, rarely makes me wonder, “Are these her ideas?”

While I’ve always thought discussion is important, AI is elevating that importance. This year, I wonder, how can I best leverage discussion in my classroom?

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