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Poll: No matter what their major, today’s college students getting hard lessons in finance

On 04/20/2011, in budgets, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, economics, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, student-related, by Daniel Christian

Poll: No matter what their major, today’s college students getting hard lessons in finance — from WashingtonPost.com by Associated Press

WASHINGTON — In these tight times, college students are getting a lesson in economics no matter what their major. Students say money influences everything from what school they attend and what career they pursue to how quickly they complete their degrees — or whether they graduate at all.

Money problems, not bad grades, are the reason cited by most college students who have considered dropping out, an Associated Press-Viacom poll finds.

…

Recession-battered parents have less money to spend on their kids’ tuition. Jobs that used to be waiting upon graduation aren’t there anymore — consumed by the nation’s 8.8 percent unemployment rate. And college prices keep going up, as states struggle with budget deficits. Average tuition, room and board rose to about $16,000 at in-state public schools this year and $37,000 at private schools.

 

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Infographic re: student loans

On 04/15/2011, in budgets, cost of getting a degree, higher education, legislatures / government / legal, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
I post this because this makes me mad! I don’t have time to verify each piece of information here. But I ask:

  • How is it that Wall Street gets bailed out? Or car manufactures, other corporations, or financial institutions too big to fail?
  • How is it that white-collar crime can strip the nest-eggs of millions of Americans?
  • How is it that our Senators and Representatives have a different health care plan than the rest of us?
  • What happened to our democracy?
  • What happened to our hearts?

Bottom line:
If you are a student, work as hard as you can to not get into debt — or at least not more debt than you can handle. Know what you are getting into. Have a plan for paying it off. Otherwise it looks like you will be hit with a major, expensive hurt!

Don’t get me wrong, we need to pay off our debts. If we take out loans, we need to pay for them.  One quick scripture along these lines says:

Romans 13:8
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.

But some of the “fees” and “charges” below make me sick.

Infographic by College Scholarships.org

 

Student Loans Scheme.

Infographic by College Scholarships.org

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On track for $1 trillion: Student loan debt greater than credit card debt

On 04/13/2011, in budgets, cost of getting a degree, economics, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, society, student-related, by Daniel Christian

On track for $1 trillion: Student loan debt greater than credit card debt — from GOOD Education by Liz Dwyer

student.loans

Last June, for the first time in history, Americans owed more on their student loans, a record $833 billion, than on their credit cards, $826.5 billion. The amount owed on student loans increases at a rate of about $2,853.88 per second, meaning we’re on track for total student debt to cross the $1 trillion mark sometime this year.

According to Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of FinAid.org and Fastweb.com, this increasing student debt has long term, macroeconomic implications for our society. He told NPR’s Marketplace that the amount of money students owe—on average, $24,000—is usually repaid over a 20-year time frame, which means

more and more students are going to still be repaying their own student loans when their children enroll in college. That may make those families less willing to borrow to pay for their children’s educations. It also means that they aren’t going to be as capable of saving for their children’s education or even for their own retirement.

…

The other insidious consequence of the debt is that students are less likely to purse nonprofit careers or work they truly enjoy.


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Some McDaniel College students helping to design the classes that they are taking

On 04/11/2011, in engagement / engaging students, pedagogy, student-related, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

McDaniel students help design the classes they’re taking — from the Baltimore Sun by Childs Walker
Three professors began the collaboration in January in hopes of getting students more engaged

Originally saw this at
Joanne Jacob’s blog

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A hugely powerful vision: A potent addition to our learning ecosystems of the future

On 04/09/2011, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, change, colleges, convergence, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, disruption, distance education, e-books, e-readers, education, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, global / globalization, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, immersion, informal learning, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning agents, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, lifelong learning, marketplaces, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multi-touch, multimedia, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, pace of change, personalized/customized learning, platforms, play, podcasting, professional development, reinvent, RSS, simulations, smart classrooms, social learning / networks, social media, society, storytelling, strategy, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, surviving, tablets, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, technology (general), telecommunications, telepresence, television, transmedia, trends, ubiquitous learning, universities, user experience (UX), using teams, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, webinars, by Daniel Christian

 

Daniel Christian:
A Vision of Our Future Learning Ecosystems


In the near future, as the computer, the television, the telephone (and more) continues to converge, we will most likely enjoy even more powerful capabilities to conveniently create and share our content as well as participate in a global learning ecosystem — whether that be from within our homes and/or from within our schools, colleges, universities and businesses throughout the world.

We will be teachers and students at the same time — even within the same hour — with online-based learning exchanges taking place all over the virtual and physical world.  Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) — in the form of online-based tutors, instructors, teachers, and professors — will be available on demand. Even more powerful/accurate/helpful learning engines will be involved behind the scenes in delivering up personalized, customized learning — available 24x7x365.  Cloud-based learner profiles may enter the equation as well.

The chances for creativity,  innovation, and entrepreneurship that are coming will be mind-blowing! What employers will be looking for — and where they can look for it — may change as well.

What we know today as the “television” will most likely play a significant role in this learning ecosystem of the future. But it won’t be like the TV we’ve come to know. It will be much more interactive and will be aware of who is using it — and what that person is interested in learning about. Technologies/applications like Apple’s AirPlay will become more standard, allowing a person to move from device to device without missing a  beat. Transmedia storytellers will thrive in this environment!

Much of the professionally done content will be created by teams of specialists, including the publishers of educational content, and the in-house teams of specialists within colleges, universities, and corporations around the globe. Perhaps consortiums of colleges/universities will each contribute some of the content — more readily accepting previous coursework that was delivered via their consortium’s membership.

An additional thought regarding higher education and K-12 and their Smart Classrooms/Spaces:
For input devices…
The “chalkboards” of the future may be transparent, or they may be on top of a drawing board-sized table or they may be tablet-based. But whatever form they take and whatever is displayed upon them, the ability to annotate will be there; with the resulting graphics saved and instantly distributed. (Eventually, we may get to voice-controlled Smart Classrooms, but we have a ways to go in that area…)

Below are some of the graphics that capture a bit of what I’m seeing in my mind…and in our futures.

Alternatively available as a PowerPoint Presentation (audio forthcoming in a future version)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

— from Daniel S. Christian | April 2011

See also:

Addendum on 4-14-11:

 

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Campus ed tech ‘must haves’ by 2014 [Kim]

On 04/05/2011, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, digital learning, digital video, future of higher education, higher education, mobile learning, new media literacies, online media, student-related, by Daniel Christian

Campus ed tech ‘must haves’ by 2014 — from InsideHigherEd.com by Joshua Kim

 

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A excerpt on preparing students for the real world [Martin]

On 04/05/2011, in future, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, by Daniel Christian

Except from How School Screws Things Up For “Real Life” — from Michelle Martin (emphasis DSC)

What we really need to be teaching young people, if we truly want to prepare them for the “real world,” is that:

  • Work and its problems are really ill-defined. Rarely are there “right” answers. More often than not we are having to make trade-offs that force us to choose between “bad” and “worse” or at least between “OK” and “less OK.” There are always going to be extenuating factors and issues that impede our ability to achieve the ideal, even in those situations that seem the most clear-cut.
  • Sometimes hard work is rewarded. Sometimes it is not. Sometimes following the rules is rewarded. Sometimes it is not. The challenge is learning when to stop beating our heads against a particular brick wall where our hard work and rule-following is not working. When do we need to break the rules? When do we need to work hard at something else or somewhere else?
  • Related to this, working harder isn’t always the answer. Sometimes we are in situations where problems go unsolved and issues are unresolved because of things that are entirely outside of our control. Sometimes there is no answer and we have to learn the lessons of patience and of moving to a new situation, rather than just buckling down and trying to make the best of what we have.
  • There is no “light at the end of the tunnel.” There is just more tunnel. Some parts of the tunnel are darker and some have more light flickering in. But there is always tunnel and we are never sure what lies at the other end.

 

From DSC:
I don’t post this to hammer teachers. Everyday when I drop off my daughter to her school early (so she can feed the animals there), I thank the LORD for the teachers at that school and everywhere! Teachers are awesome!

I post this because it resonates w/ my experiences.

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Find the future! An upcoming event/game at the New York Public Library

On 04/01/2011, in educational games / serious games, future, library / librarians, student-related, by Daniel Christian

Find the future -- upcoming event at the New York Public Library -- see game.nypl.org

 

 

Originally saw this at:
Jane McGonigal hits New York Public Library in new game — from cnet.com

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Cal State University to cut enrollment, faculty, staff and more

On 03/23/2011, in adjunct faculty, budgets, business side of he, change, faculty, game-changing environment, higher education, legislatures / government / legal, organizational change, student-related, United States, by Daniel Christian

Cal State University to cut enrollment, faculty, staff and more — from The L.A. Times by Carla Rivera
Facing an 18% cut in state funding, Cal State plans to reduce enrollment by 10,000, cut $11 million from the chancellor’s office and shrink campus funding by $281 million. No tuition hikes are planned, chancellor says.

Also see:

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From Anya Kamenetz on 3-21-11 — DIY U: The transformation of higher education

On 03/22/2011, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, accreditation, active learning, career development, change, changing business models, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, digital learning, disruption, education reform, education technology, engagement / engaging students, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, global / globalization, higher education, informal learning, innovation, learning, learning ecosystem, more voice more choice more control, motivation, new business models, participation, personalized/customized learning, presentations, professional development, relationships, social learning / networks, staying relevant, strategy, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, surviving, teaching & learning, technology (general), traditional / tradition, trends, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

The transformatin of higher education -- 3-21-11 presentation by Anya Kamenetz

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The transformatin of higher education -- 3-21-11 presentation by Anya Kamenetz

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From DSC:
For those of us in more traditional institutions of higher education, if this is where things are heading — or even if pieces of Anya’s presentation come to fruition — what is our response? Strategy?

 

 

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What’s the best way for learners, employees, organizations, & publishers to deal with constantly-moving *streams* of content?

On 03/18/2011, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, active learning, adult learning, career development, change, collaboration, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital textbooks, distance education, informal learning, instructional design, learning ecosystem, learning theories, lifelong learning, microlearning, online learning, online media, pace of change, professional development, publishing, RSS, social learning / networks, social media, staying relevant, strategy, student-related, surviving, teaching & learning, textbooks, training / L&D, ubiquitous learning, workplace, by Daniel Christian

What's the best way to deal with ever-changing streams of content? When information has shrinking half-lives?

From DSC:
After looking at some items concerning Connectivism*, I’ve been reflecting upon the following questions:

  • What’s the best way for us to dip our feet into the constantly moving streams of content?
    (No matter the topic or discipline, the streams continue to flow.)
  • What’s the optimal setup for K-12 based “courses”?
  • What’s the optimal setup for “courses” within higher education?
  • How should L&D departments deal with this phenomenon?
  • How do publishers and textbook authors want to address this situation?

Thinking of Gonzalez (2004; as cited in Siemens (2005)) description of the challenges of rapidly diminishing knowledge life:

“One of the most persuasive factors is the shrinking half-life of knowledge. The “half-life of knowledge” is the time span from when knowledge is gained to when it becomes obsolete. Half of what is known today was not known 10 years ago. The amount of knowledge in the world has doubled in the past 10 years and is doubling every 18 months according to the American Society of Training and Documentation (ASTD). To combat the shrinking half-life of knowledge, organizations have been forced to develop new methods of deploying instruction.”

Stephen Downes addresses this and points to a possible solution to this phenomenon in his presentation from 3/15/11 entitled “Educational Projection: Supporting Distributed Learning Online.”

Excerpt/slides:

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I need to put more thought into this, but wanted to throw this question out there…more later…

 

 

* From DSC: Some of the items I looked at regarding Connectivism — some directly related, others indirectly-related — were:

Siemens, G.  (2005).  Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age.  Retrieved from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm.

Downes, S.  (2005).  An introduction to connective knowledge.  Retrieved from http://www.  downes.  ca/post/33034.  Downes noted that this was published in Hug, Theo (ed.  ) (2007): Media, knowledge & education – exploring new spaces, relations and dynamics in digital media ecologies.  Proceedings of the International Conference held on June 25-26, 2007.  November 27, 2007.

Kop, R.  & Hill, A.  (2008).  Connectivism: Learning theory of the future or vestige of the past? International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, v9 n3 p1-13 Oct 2008.

Tracey, R.  (2009). Instructivism, constructivism or connectivism? Training & Development in Australia, December, 2009. p08-09, 2p.  Retrieved from EBSCOhost. ISSN 0310-4664.

Kerr, B.  (2007).  A challenge to connectivism.  Retrieved at http://learningevolves.  wikispaces.  com/kerr.

Sims, R.  (2008).  Rethinking (e)learning: A manifesto for connected generations.  Distance Education Vol.  29, No.  2, August 2008, 153–164.  ISSN 0158-7919 print/ISSN 1475-0198 online.  DOI: 10.  1080/01587910802154954

Lisa Dawley.   (2009).  Social network knowledge construction: emerging virtual world pedagogy.  On the Horizon, 17(2), 109-121.   Retrieved from ProQuest Education Journals.  (Document ID: 1880656431).

Hargadon, S.  (2011).  Ugh.  Classic politics now extends to social networking in education.  Retrieved from http://www.  stevehargadon.  com/2011/03/ugh-classic-politics-now-extends-to.  html.

Cross, J.  (2001).  Crowd-inspired innovation.  Retrieved from http://www.internettime.com/2011/03/crowd-inspired-innovation.

Rogers-Estable, M..  (2009).  Web 2.0 and distance education: Tools and techniques.  Distance Learning, 6(4), 55-60.  Retrieved from ProQuest Education Journals.  (Document ID: 2017059921).

Marrotte-Newman, S..  (2009).  Why virtual schools exist and understanding their culture.  Distance Learning, 6(4), 31-35.  Retrieved from ProQuest Education Journals.  (Document ID: 2017059881).

Hilton, J., Graham, C., Rich, P., & Wiley, D. (2010). Using online technologies to extend a classroom to learners at a distance.  Distance Education, 31(1), 77-92.  Retrieved from ProQuest Education Journals.  (Document ID: 2074810921).

Attwell, G. (2010). Personal learning environments and Vygotsky. Retrieved from http://www.pontydysgu.org/2010/04/personal-learning-environments-and-vygotsky.

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CourseKit.com

On 03/17/2011, in CMS/LMS, interface design, social learning / networks, student-related, by Daniel Christian

coursekit.com -- from students at the University of Pennsylvania

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From DSC:
I saw this at Mashable, and I wanted to post it here for a couple of reasons:

  1. Note the consistent interface between their courses — when putting a course online, we are entering into the world of interface design where consistency is very key, very helpful.
  2. Students at the University of Pennsylvania created this — so this provides a glimpse into what these students think a “course” should look like.

 

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IBM launches global skills initiative on business analytics software

On 03/11/2011, in analytics, business, global / globalization, student-related, vendors, by Daniel Christian

IBM launches global skills initiative on business analytics software — from ASTD.org by J. Lorens

IBM has launched a global skills initiative to educate clients, business partners and college students how to use its business analytics and information management software, and other technologies of the Watson computing system to capture information from new sources and use it to create business opportunities.

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For those who didn’t catch it — Sal Khan’s March 2011 talk at TED

On 03/11/2011, in analytics, collaboration, digital learning, elearning, emerging technologies, flipping -- inverted learning, motivation, online learning, online media, pedagogy, student-related, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Salman Khan: Let’s use video to reinvent education — March 2011

Salman Khan talks about how and why he created the remarkable Khan Academy, a carefully structured series of educational videos offering complete curricula in math and, now, other subjects. He shows the power of interactive exercises, and calls for teachers to consider flipping the traditional classroom script — give students video lectures to watch at home, and do “homework” in the classroom with the teacher available to help.

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Sal Kahn at TED -- March 2011

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From DSC:
Before rushing to a quick take/judgment on this, hear him out. Turning over more control to the students during the relaying of the information makes sense to me. They can pause, rewind, fast forward, etc.  They can re-listen to the lecture again and again, without affecting the flow of a typical face-to-face classroom. Then they come into class and can get help on their homework, instantly and when they need the assistance.

Also see:



 

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Seven habits of great online college students

On 03/08/2011, in online learning, student-related, by Daniel Christian

Seven habits of great online college students — StraighterLine.com

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