Learning Ecosystems

Reflections on “Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds.” [Lamb]

On 01/05/2024, in Daniel S. Christian, faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, psychology, reinvent, relationships, religion, society, by Daniel Christian

Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds. — from letter.visualgrowth.com by Ash Lamb
If you let other people plant those seeds for you, the garden, no matter how big or colorful, won’t be yours, it’ll be someone else’s.

Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds.

What you think, you become.
.

Here’s a powerful mantra.

“I won’t outsource my thinking.”

Don’t let that popular influencer decide how you present yourself to the world.

Don’t allow some generic business guru to decide what type of business you should be focusing on.

From DSC:
I thought that Ash Lamb had some solid points here. And as I’ve read the Scriptures through the years, I’ve realized that ideas are like seeds. Like seeds, ideas can:

start small
take root
grow
become powerful, while transforming something bit by bit

So ideas can start small and be fragile. Many get squashed and never make it. And others don’t have healthy soil in which to grow. But other seeds grow roots.

I’ve learned that we are transformed when our THINKING is transformed.

Here are just a couple of verses of scripture that emphasize that point:

⁵When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. ⁶“Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

⁷They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.”

⁸Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? ⁹Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? ¹⁰Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? ¹¹How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ¹²Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

²Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

So ideas and thoughts/ways of thinking can be good/helpful or bad/not helpful. I just like the point that Ash Lamb made — to NOT outsource our thinking to others.

NOTE: The above thoughts aren’t just about our spiritual lives. People working in many types of organizations have witnessed some of these dynamics/phenomena with new ideas as well.

Your own AI-powered coaching; learn exactly what you need to know for your next job; + AI’s role in skill development

On 01/04/2024, in 21st century, adult learning, Alternatives, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, business, career development, colleges, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, Microsoft, online learning, online media, online tutoring, organizational change, pace of change, platforms, professional development, reinvent, skills, streams of content, training / L&D, United States, universities, vendors, vision/possibilities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Learners’ Edition: AI-powered Coaching, Professional Certifications + Inspiring conversations about mastering your learning & speaking skills — from linkedin.com by Tomer Cohen

Excerpts:

1. Your own AI-powered coaching
Learners can go into LinkedIn Learning and ask a question or explain a challenge they are currently facing at work (we’re focusing on areas within Leadership and Management to start). AI-powered coaching will pull from the collective knowledge of our expansive LinkedIn Learning library and, instantaneously, offer advice, examples, or feedback that is personalized to the learner’s skills, job, and career goals.

What makes us so excited about this launch is we can now take everything we as LinkedIn know about people’s careers and how they navigate them and help accelerate them with AI.

…

3. Learn exactly what you need to know for your next job
When looking for a new job, it’s often the time we think about refreshing our LinkedIn profiles. It’s also a time we can refresh our skills. And with skill sets for jobs having changed by 25% since 2015 – with the number expected to increase by 65% by 2030– keeping our skills a step ahead is one of the most important things we can do to stand out.

There are a couple of ways we’re making it easier to learn exactly what you need to know for your next job:

When you set a job alert, in addition to being notified about open jobs, we’ll recommend learning courses and Professional Certificate offerings to help you build the skills needed for that role.

When you view a job, we recommend specific courses to help you build the required skills. If you have LinkedIn Learning access through your company or as part of a Premium subscription, you can follow the skills for the job, that way we can let you know when we launch new courses for those skills and recommend you content on LinkedIn that better aligns to your career goals.

2024 Edtech Predictions from Edtech Insiders — from edtechinsiders.substack.com by Alex Sarlin, Ben Kornell, and Sarah Morin
Omni-modal AI, edtech funding prospects, higher ed wake up calls, focus on career training, and more!

Alex: I talked to the 360 Learning folks at one point and they had this really interesting epiphany, which is basically that it’s been almost impossible for every individual company in the past to create a hierarchy of skills and a hierarchy of positions and actually organize what it looks like for people to move around and upskill within the company and get to new paths.

Until now. AI actually can do this very well. It can take not only job description data, but it can take actual performance data. It can actually look at what people do on a daily basis and back fit that to training, create automatic training based on it.

From DSC:
I appreciated how they addressed K-12, higher ed, and the workforce all in one posting. Nice work. We don’t need siloes. We need more overall design thinking re: our learning ecosystems — as well as more collaborations. We need more on-ramps and pathways in a person’s learning/career journey.

Nearly half of companies say they plan to eliminate bachelor’s degree requirements in 2024 [Crist]

On 01/01/2024, in Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), business, business side of he, career development, change, colleges, community colleges, corporate / business world, cost of getting a degree, higher education, trends, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

Nearly half of companies say they plan to eliminate bachelor’s degree requirements in 2024 — from highereddive.com by Carolyn Crist
Many employers are dropping degree requirements to create a more diverse workforce and increase job candidate numbers, survey results show.

In 2023, 55% of companies removed degree requirements, particularly for entry-level and mid-level roles, the survey shows. Employers said they dropped these requirements to create a more diverse workforce, increase the number of applicants for open positions and because there are other ways to gain skills.

“Due to the expense of attending college, earning a bachelor’s degree is generally more difficult for people from traditionally marginalized groups and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds,” Diane Gayeski, higher education advisor for Intelligent.com and professor of strategic communication at Ithaca College, said in a statement.

“The Digital Era: How Technology is Changing the Way We Hire a Lawyer” [Hire 4] + several other legaltech-related items

On 01/01/2024, in emerging technologies, Europe, ideas, innovation, law schools, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, strategy, tools, trends, United States, Virtual courts and law firms, by Daniel Christian

My 40 Most-Read Blog Posts This Year Tell A Story Of A Legal Industry Consumed With Generative AI — from lawnext.com by Bob Ambrogi

Look over this list of my blog posts that were most popular this year, and there is no doubt about the topic that most captivated the legal industry. Of my 40 most-read posts of 2023, 30 directly involved generative AI and others implicated it.

What I’m watching for in 2024 — from alexofftherecord.com by Alex Su
My view of the legal ecosystem, and why I’m going to pay close attention to generative AI, new Biglaw offerings, and the rise of “independent” attorneys

Today, instead of sharing my predictions about what’s coming to the legal industry, I’ll share where I think the most action will take place next year. In short, it’s (1) generative AI; (2) Biglaw firms adding low-cost capabilities; and (3) strong bench talent among independent attorneys. Before I get into why, I’ll share some observations on the past, and the trends I’m seeing take place right now.

Navigating Ediscovery and AI in Legal Tech – 2023 Trends — from jdsupra.com

In 2023, the legal landscape has been significantly shaped by two key trends: the rapid evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the advancements in ediscovery. These developments have not only transformed legal processes but also presented new challenges and opportunities for legal professionals. As we delve into this first part of our series, we examine the top blogs that have been at the forefront of these trends. These articles offer a window into the current state of legal tech, providing invaluable insights into how these technological advances are reshaping the practice of law.

The Metaverse: A new dimension for legal services — from connections.nortonrosefulbright.com by Lena Haffner

Some of the topics mentioned include:

Virtual law offices
Enhanced client communication
Virtual pitches
Client education and workshops
Virtual asset inspections and tours
Enhanced due diligence

The Digital Era: How Technology is Changing the Way We Hire a Lawyer — from medium.com by Hire 4

In the fast-paced world of the digital era, technology is revolutionizing almost every aspect of our lives, and the legal field is no exception. The traditional process to hire a lawyer, once dominated by word-of-mouth referrals and physical law firm visits, is undergoing a transformation. This shift is not just changing how clients find and interact with legal professionals, but also how legal services are delivered and experienced. In this blog, we delve into the ways technology is reshaping the landscape of hiring a lawyer.

Finding The Right Virtual Assistant For Your Legal Practice — from forbes.com by Raquel Gomes

A virtual assistant can perform administrative tasks for a firm, from client communication and appointment scheduling to legal research, contract management and accounting. Delegating these tasks can be an effective way to free up lawyers to do what they do best. Based on my work with virtual assistants, here are some of the potential benefits and also tips on how you can find a VA who best fits the needs of your practice.

Addendum on 1/2/24:

YEAR IN REVIEW: The top legal technology trends of 2023 — from abajournal.com by Nicole Black

The changing mindset of lawyers toward technology
In 2023, there was a noticeable shift in the mindset of legal professionals. While its direct health impacts remain uncertain, the pandemic’s influence in accelerating technology adoption has been undeniable. Lawyers and judges, traditionally viewed as tech-averse, are now embracing tools like Zoom, iPads and smartwatches with surprising enthusiasm.

Post-pandemic, as lawyers returned to offices—often in a hybrid model—they displayed a newfound curiosity about technology. This change in attitude came at an opportune moment, coinciding with the introduction of new generative AI technologies in the legal field even as legal technology funding declined.

Addendum on 1/2/24:

US Supreme Court’s Roberts urges ‘caution’ as AI reshapes legal field — from reuters.com by John Kruzel

WASHINGTON, Dec 31 (Reuters) – Artificial intelligence represents a mixed blessing for the legal field, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said in a year-end report published on Sunday, urging “caution and humility” as the evolving technology transforms how judges and lawyers go about their work.

Roberts struck an ambivalent tone in his 13-page report. He said AI had potential to increase access to justice for indigent litigants, revolutionize legal research and assist courts in resolving cases more quickly and cheaply while also pointing to privacy concerns and the current technology’s inability to replicate human discretion.

“I predict that human judges will be around for a while,” Roberts wrote. “But with equal confidence I predict that judicial work – particularly at the trial level – will be significantly affected by AI.”

Check out this beautiful photography, art, & creativity

On 01/01/2024, in art, creativity, digital photography, Europe, photography, by Daniel Christian

Photographer Mikko Lagerstedt Illuminates the Magical Solitude of the Nordic Winter — from thisiscolossal.com by Mikko Lagerstedt and Grace Ebert

380 Artists, 51 Countries, 14 Years: A Community Embroidery Project Connects Women Around the Globe — from thisiscolossal.com by Grace Ebert

Fav Photos Found in 2023: 75 Photos by 75 Photographers — from booooooom.com

Light Undulates Through Delicate Sheets of Glass in Ben Young’s Sculptural Seascapes — from thisiscolossal.com by Ben Young and Kate Mothes

Generative AI Is Set to Shake Up Education — from morganstanley.com
While educators debate the risks and opportunities of generative AI as a learning tool, some education technology companies are using it to increase revenue and lower costs.

Key Takeaways

Contrary to the view that generative AI is undermining education, it could ultimately improve access and quality.
Education technology companies have opportunities from generative AI that markets may be missing.
Generative AI could bring $200 billion in value to the global education sector by 2025.
Reskilling and retraining alone could require $6 billion in investments by 2025, with edtech companies poised to fill that need.

Outgoing SNHU president: AI means universities must change ‘dramatically’ — from msn.com by Steven Porter

In his next chapter, LeBlanc will work with a team of researchers to study emerging AI trends, impacts on education, and opportunities to innovate. (The initiative harkens back to his early scholarship. During grad school decades ago, LeBlanc studied the ways computers could impact how societies think.)

LeBlanc said the AI-induced changes on the horizon will require educational institutions to reimagine how they assess student learning and grapple with implications for privacy and data security. There are also bigger questions about what jobs will go away and what jobs will be created, which influences the fields of study schools will offer, he said.

AI & Education: A Year in Review — from drphilippahardman.substack.com by Dr. Philippa Hardman
The top five use cases & most popular tools among educators at the end of 2023 – the year than Gen AI shook-up education

Use Case #1: Content Creation
Use Case #2: Brainstorming & Ideation
Use Case #3: Research & Analysis
Use Case #4: Writing & Communicating
Use Case #5: Task Automation

I Used ChatGPT for 12 Months. Here Are Some Hidden Gems That Will Change Your Life — from theaigirl.substack.com by Diana Dovgopol
Transform your life with these ChatGPT’s hidden gems.

1. Summarize videos, articles, papers and posts
Here’s how it works (note that you need to enable browsing or plugins for this)

Find the video/article/paper/post.
Copy the link.
Ask ChatGPT to summarize it for you.

AI ADVISORY BOARDS: Giving Students and Teachers a Voice — from aiadvisoryboards.wordpress.com

My mission is to spread awareness about the incredible potential of AI and AI advisory boards in education. Through my website, aiadvisoryboards.wordpress.com, I aim to inspire educators, administrators, and students to embrace AI and create innovative learning environments.

Report Update: Human and Computer Deep Learning and the Future of Humanity — from by Stefan Bauschard
New Chapter on School Guidance; updates on technology, the labor markets, and deep learning

The biggest things that happened in AI this year — from superhuman.ai by Zain Kahn

January:

Microsoft raises eyebrows with a huge $10 Billion investment in OpenAI.

February:

Meta launches Llama 2, their open-source rival to OpenAI’s models.
OpenAI announces ChatGPT Plus, a paid version of their chatbot.
Microsoft announces a new AI-powered Bing Search.

March:

OpenAI announces the powerful GPT-4 model, still considered to be the gold standard.
Midjourney releases V5, which brings AI-powered image generation one step closer to reality.
Microsoft launches Copilot for Microsoft 365.
Google launches Bard, its rival to ChatGPT.

…and more

AI 2023: A Year in Review — from stefanbauschard.substack.com by Stefan Bauschard
2023 developments in AI and a hint of what they are building toward

Some of the items that Stefan includes in his posting include:

ChatGPT and other language models that generate text.
Image generators.
Video generators.
AI models that that can read, hear, and speak.
AI models that can see.
Improving models.
“Multimodal” models.
Training on specific content.
Reasoning & planning.
…and several others

The Dictionary.com Word of the Year is “hallucinate.” — from content.dictionary.com by Nick Norlen and Grant Barrett; via The Rundown AI

hallucinate
[ huh–loo-suh-neyt ]

verb
(of artificial intelligence) to produce false information contrary to the intent of the user and present it as if true and factual. Example: When chatbots hallucinate, the result is often not just inaccurate but completely fabricated.

Soon, every employee will be both AI builder and AI consumer — from zdnet.com by Joe McKendrick, via Robert Gibson on LinkedIn
“Standardized tools and platforms as well as advanced low- or no-code tech may enable all employees to become low-level engineers,” suggests a recent report.

The time could be ripe for a blurring of the lines between developers and end-users, a recent report out of Deloitte suggests. It makes more business sense to focus on bringing in citizen developers for ground-level programming, versus seeking superstar software engineers, the report’s authors argue, or — as they put it — “instead of transforming from a 1x to a 10x engineer, employees outside the tech division could be going from zero to one.”

Along these lines, see:

TECH TRENDS 2024 — from deloitte.com
Six emerging technology trends demonstrate that in an age of generative machines, it’s more important than ever for organizations to maintain an integrated business strategy, a solid technology foundation, and a creative workforce.

UK Supreme Court rules AI is not an inventor — from theverge.com by Emilia David

The ruling follows a similar decision denying patent registrations naming AI as creators.

The UK Supreme Court ruled that AI cannot get patents, declaring it cannot be named as an inventor of new products because the law considers only humans or companies to be creators.

The Times Sues OpenAI and Microsoft Over A.I. Use of Copyrighted Work — from nytimes.com by Michael M. Grynbaum and Ryan Mac

The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement on Wednesday, opening a new front in the increasingly intense legal battle over the unauthorized use of published work to train artificial intelligence technologies.
…
The suit does not include an exact monetary demand. But it says the defendants should be held responsible for “billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages” related to the “unlawful copying and use of The Times’s uniquely valuable works.” It also calls for the companies to destroy any chatbot models and training data that use copyrighted material from The Times.

On this same topic, also see:

? The historic NYT v. @OpenAI lawsuit filed this morning, as broken down by me, an IP and AI lawyer, general counsel, and longtime tech person and enthusiast.

Tl;dr – It’s the best case yet alleging that generative AI is copyright infringement. Thread. ? pic.twitter.com/Zqbv3ekLWt

— Cecilia Ziniti (@CeciliaZin) December 27, 2023

Apple’s iPhone Design Chief Enlisted by Jony Ive, Sam Altman to Work on AI Devices — from bloomberg.com by Mark Gurman (behind paywall)

Design executive Tang Tan is set to leave Apple in February
Tan will join Ive’s LoveFrom design studio, work on AI project

AI 2023: Chatbots Spark New Tools — from heatherbcooper.substack.com by Jeather Cooper

ChatGPT and Other Chatbots
The arrival of ChatGPT sparked tons of new AI tools and changed the way we thought about using a chatbot in our daily lives.

Chatbots like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Bing Chat can help content creators by quickly generating ideas, outlines, drafts, and full pieces of content, allowing creators to produce more high-quality content in less time.

These AI tools boost efficiency and creativity in content production across formats like blog posts, social captions, newsletters, and more.

Microsoft’s next Surface laptops will reportedly be its first true ‘AI PCs’ — from theverge.com by Emma Roth
Next year’s Surface Laptop 6 and Surface Pro 10 will feature Arm and Intel options, according to Windows Central.

Microsoft is getting ready to upgrade its Surface lineup with new AI-enabled features, according to a report from Windows Central. Unnamed sources told the outlet the upcoming Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 will come with a next-gen neural processing unit (NPU), along with Intel and Arm-based options.

How one of the world’s oldest newspapers is using AI to reinvent journalism — from theguardian.com by Alexandra Topping
Berrow’s Worcester Journal is one of several papers owned by the UK’s second biggest regional news publisher to hire ‘AI-assisted’ reporters

With the AI-assisted reporter churning out bread and butter content, other reporters in the newsroom are freed up to go to court, meet a councillor for a coffee or attend a village fete, says the Worcester News editor, Stephanie Preece.

“AI can’t be at the scene of a crash, in court, in a council meeting, it can’t visit a grieving family or look somebody in the eye and tell that they’re lying. All it does is free up the reporters to do more of that,” she says. “Instead of shying away from it, or being scared of it, we are saying AI is here to stay – so how can we harness it?”

This year, I watched AI change the world in real time.

From what happened, I have no doubts that the coming years will be the most transformative period in the history of humankind.

Here’s the full timeline of AI in 2023 (January-December):

January 15: ChatGPT becomes the… pic.twitter.com/przosHYiLQ

— Rowan Cheung (@rowancheung) December 29, 2023

What to Expect in AI in 2024 — from hai.stanford.edu by
Seven Stanford HAI faculty and fellows predict the biggest stories for next year in artificial intelligence.

Topics include:

White Collar Work Shifts
Deepfake Proliferation
GPUs Shortage
More Helpful Agents
Hopes for U.S. Regulation
Asking Big Questions, Applying New Policies
Companies Will Navigate Complicated Regulations

Addendum on 1/2/24:

2024 AI Predictions: Material Progress with Societal and Educational Disruptions — from stefanbauschard.substack.com by Stefan Bauschard
These are my predictions for 2024, focused on AI’s likely technological advances, how AI will impact society, and what developments in the education sector relate to AI.

Microsoft New Future of Work Report 2023

On 01/01/2024, in 21st century, future, game-changing environment, Microsoft, reinvent, skills, society, staying relevant, student-related, surviving, tools, United States, vendors, workplace, youth, by Daniel Christian

Microsoft New Future of Work Report 2023 — from microsoft.com by various authors; via Stefan Bauschard

Throughout 2023, AI and the future of work have frequently been on the metaphorical – and often literal – front page around the world. There have been many excellent articles about the ways in which work may change as LLMs are increasingly integrated into our lives. As such, in this year’s report we focus specifically on areas that we think deserve additional attention or where there is research that has been done at Microsoft that offers a unique perspective. This is a report that should be read as a complement to the existing literature, rather than as a synthesis of all of it.

This is a rare time, one in which research will play a particularly important role in defining what the future of work looks like. At this special moment, scientists can’t just be passive observers of what is happening. Rather, we have the responsibility to shape work for the better. We hope this report can help our colleagues around world make progress towards this goal.
.

Excerpt:

Analyzing and integrating may become more important skills than searching and creating
With content being generated by AI, knowledge work may shift towards more analysis and critical integration

Information search as well as content production (manually typing, writing code, designing images) is greatly enhanced by AI, so general information work may shift to integrating and critically analyzing retrieved information
Writing with AI is shown to increase the amount of text produced as well as to increase writing efficiency (Biermann et al. 2022, Lee et al 2022)
With more generated text available, the skills of research, conceptualization, planning, prompting and editing may take on more importance as LLMs do the first round of production (e.g., Mollick 2023).
Skills not directly to content production, such as leading, dealing with critical social situations, navigating interpersonal trust issues, and demonstrating emotional intelligence, may all be more valued in the workplace (LinkedIn 2023)

For those who celebrate it: Merry Christmas to you and to yours!!! [Daniel S. Christian]

On 12/23/2023, in Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, communications, communities of practice, Daniel S. Christian, Emotion, faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, history, India, relationships, religion, society, UK, United States, by Daniel Christian

For those who celebrate it: Merry Christmas to you and to yours!!!

ChatGPT Has Changed Teaching. Our Readers Tell Us How. [McMurtrie & Supiano] + other items re: AI in our Learning Ecosystems

On 12/20/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adjunct faculty, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, change, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, education, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, faculty, future, game-changing environment, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, K-12 related, leadership, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, more voice more choice more control, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, strategy, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, tools, trends, United States, universities, vendors, vision/possibilities, writing, by Daniel Christian

K12 District-Level Perspectives on AI — from aiforeducation.io by Amanda Bickerstaff, Dr. Patrick Gittisriboongul, Samantha Armstrong, & Brett Roer

Want to know how K12 schools are navigating the adoption of AI and what district-level leaders really think about GenAI EdTech tools?

Join us for this free webinar where we discussed AI technology, literacy, training, and the responsible adoption of GenAI tools in K12. Our panel explored what is working well – and not so well – across their districts from a school leader and practitioner’s perspective.

ChatGPT Has Changed Teaching. Our Readers Tell Us How. — from chronicle.com by Beth McMurtrie and Beckie Supiano

Those vastly different approaches to college writing pretty much sum up the responses to generative AI: They’re all over the map.

One year after its release, ChatGPT has pushed higher education into a liminal place. Colleges are still hammering out large-scale plans and policies governing how generative AI will be dealt with in operations, research, and academic programming. But professors have been forced more immediately to adapt their classrooms to its presence. Those adaptations vary significantly, depending on whether they see the technology as a tool that can aid learning or as a threat that inhibits it.
…
Nearly 100 faculty members shared their stories. While not a representative sample, they teach at a wide range of institutions: 15 community colleges, 32 public and 24 private four-year colleges or universities, seven international institutions, and one for-profit college. They teach a variety of subjects, including animal science, statistics, computer science, history, accounting, and composition. Many spent hours learning about AI: enrolling in workshops and webinars, experimenting with the tools, and reading articles, so that they could enter the fall semester informed and prepared.

The Disruption of AI in CTE Is Real — from techlearning.com by Annie Galvin Teich
An ACTE expert panel urges CTE educators to jump on the AI train as it’s already left the station

10 Best Practices for AI and CTE

Embrace AI and use it first for simple tasks to create efficiencies. Then use it to individualize instruction and for formative assessment tools aligned to standards.
Be creative and conscious of internal bias and ethics. Focus on DEI and access.
Encourage students to use apps and tools to start moving toward an integrated curriculum using AI.
Prepare students for jobs of the future by partnering with industry to solve real problems.
…and others

How are universities responding to generative AI? — from medium.com by Nic Newman
What’s next for higher education as we enter a new wave of edtech innovation: AI-powered learning

Where will AI make a big difference?
At Emerge, we have identified eight high-level trends — what we’re calling “engines of opportunity”. These eight “engines of opportunity” capture our ideas about how AI is being used to drive better practice and outcomes in HE, now and into the future.

They fall into two main categories:

Making learning more engaging: solutions that scale high quality pedagogy at low cost.
Making teaching more efficient: solutions that save educators and organisations time and money.

The rise of AI fake news is creating a ‘misinformation superspreader’ — from washingtonpost.com by Pranshu Verma
AI is making it easy for anyone to create propaganda outlets, producing content that can be hard to differentiate from real news

Artificial intelligence is automating the creation of fake news, spurring an explosion of web content mimicking factual articles that instead disseminates false information about elections, wars and natural disasters.

Since May, websites hosting AI-created false articles have increased by more than 1,000 percent, ballooning from 49 sites to more than 600, according to NewsGuard, an organization that tracks misinformation.

Historically, propaganda operations have relied on armies of low-paid workers or highly coordinated intelligence organizations to build sites that appear to be legitimate. But AI is making it easy for nearly anyone — whether they are part of a spy agency or just a teenager in their basement — to create these outlets, producing content that is at times hard to differentiate from real news.

AI, and everything else — from pitch.com by Benedict Evans

Chevy Chatbots Go Rogue — from
How a customer service chatbot made a splash on social media; write your holiday cards with AI

I just bought a 2024 Chevy Tahoe for $1. pic.twitter.com/aq4wDitvQW

— Chris Bakke (@ChrisJBakke) December 17, 2023

Their AI chatbot, designed to assist customers in their vehicle search, became a social media sensation for all the wrong reasons. One user even convinced the chatbot to agree to sell a 2024 Chevy Tahoe for just one dollar!

This story is exactly why AI implementation needs to be approached strategically. Learning to use AI, also means learning to build thinking of the guardrails and boundaries.

Here’s our tips.

Rite Aid used facial recognition on shoppers, fueling harassment, FTC says — from washingtonpost.com by Drew Harwell
A landmark settlement over the pharmacy chain’s use of the surveillance technology could raise further doubts about facial recognition’s use in stores, airports and other venues

The pharmacy chain Rite Aid misused facial recognition technology in a way that subjected shoppers to unfair searches and humiliation, the Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday, part of a landmark settlement that could raise questions about the technology’s use in stores, airports and other venues nationwide.
…
But the chain’s “reckless” failure to adopt safeguards, coupled with the technology’s long history of inaccurate matches and racial biases, ultimately led store employees to falsely accuse shoppers of theft, leading to “embarrassment, harassment, and other harm” in front of their family members, co-workers and friends, the FTC said in a statement.

Tips on making professional-looking, engaging videos for online courses — from timeshighereducation.com by Geoff Fortescue
Making videos for online classes doesn’t have to be costly. Here are ways to make them look professional on a budget

During lockdown, we were forced to start producing videos for Moocs remotely. This was quite successful, and we continue to use these techniques whenever a contributor can’t come to the studio. The same principles can be used by anyone who doesn’t have access to a media production team. Here are our tips on producing educational videos on a budget.

Learning Societies — “A sweet spot between traditional schooling and at-home online learning” [Gottlieb]

On 12/20/2023, in Alternatives, education, education reform, experimentation, homeschooling/homeschoolers, ideas, instructional design, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, online learning, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, United States, user experience (UX), vision/possibilities, youth, by Daniel Christian

The Rise of Learning Societies — from educationnext.org by Alan Gottlieb
A small experiment in rural Idaho holds big promise for student success

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

The basic idea is this: Some parents who, for a variety of reasons, hesitate to send their children to a traditional brick-and-mortar school have neither the time, inclination, or temperament to homeschool or to monitor a full-time online program. Learning Societies provide an intimate environment where kids, supervised by professional educators, learn online and in small, in-person groups for six hours a day. Gem Prep leaders describe it as a sweet spot between traditional schooling and at-home online learning. It is particularly well suited to rural areas.

Learning Societies have the potential to achieve a happy medium that combines the strengths of both homeschooling (or online learning from home) and a traditional brick-and-mortar school.

The Evolution of Collaboration: Unveiling the EDUCAUSE Corporate Engagement Program — from er.educause.edu

The program is designed to strengthen the collaboration between private industry and higher education institutions—and evolve the higher education technology market. The new program will do so by taking the following actions:

Giving higher education professionals better access to corporate thought leaders who can help create change at their institutions
Educating corporate partners on the nuances of higher education and the major challenges it faces so that they can help provide meaningful solutions
Giving the EDUCAUSE staff and leadership better access to corporate change-makers in order to advocate for change on behalf of our institutional community
Providing the institutional community with higher-quality content and services from companies that are deeply invested in the success of higher education
Providing the corporate community with custom-built packages that allow more meaningful connections with the institutional community—not only at our in-person events but also through online opportunities year-round

By building better bridges between our corporate and institutional communities, we can help accelerate our shared mission of furthering the promise of higher education.

Speaking of collaborations, also see:

Could the U.S. become an “Apprentice Nation?” — from Michael B. Horn and Ryan Craig

Intermediaries do the heavy lifting for the employers.

Bottom line: As I discussed with Michael later in the show, we already have the varied system that Leonhardt imagines—it’s just that it’s often by chaos and neglect. Just like we didn’t say to 8th graders a century ago, “go find your own high school,” we need to design a post-high school system with clear and well-designed pathways that include:

Apprenticeships outside of the building trades so students can learn a variety of jobs by doing the job.
Short-term certificates that lead to jobs without necessarily having the college degree immediately, but having the option to return for a college degree later on.
Transfer pathways where credits earned in high school really count in college and the move from two-year college to any four-year institution is seamless.

Listen to the complete episode here and subscribe to the podcast.

Learning Ecosystems

Reflections on “Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds.” [Lamb]

Nearly half of companies say they plan to eliminate bachelor’s degree requirements in 2024 [Crist]

“The Digital Era: How Technology is Changing the Way We Hire a Lawyer” [Hire 4] + several other legaltech-related items

Check out this beautiful photography, art, & creativity

“Generative AI Is Set to Shake Up Education” [Morgan Stanley] + other items re: AI in our learning ecosystems

For those who celebrate it: Merry Christmas to you and to yours!!! [Daniel S. Christian]

Tips on making professional-looking, engaging videos for online courses [Fortescue]

DSC: Always nice to see efforts to break down the barriers between our silos –> Unveiling the EDUCAUSE Corporate Engagement Program

Greetings!

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