universities

I think we’ve run out of time to effectively practice law in the United States of America [Christian]

On 07/25/2022, in 21st century, accreditation, adult learning, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Augmented Reality (AR), Blockchain, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, communities of practice, copyright/ownership/NFTs, corporate / business world, Cost of legal services - including access, credentialing, cryptocurrencies, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, distance education, emerging technologies, engineering, entrepreneurship, experimentation, face-to-face, future, higher education, Holographic comms, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, Hyflex learning, ideas, innovation, instructional design, law schools, leadership, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, learning spaces, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, Metaverse, Michigan, Mixed Reality (MR), Natural Language Processing (NLP), Near Field Communication (NFC), online learning, organizational change, pace of change, platforms, policy, productivity / tips and tricks, reinvent, robotics, skills, society, staying relevant, strategy, surviving, technology (general), telelegal, trends, Uncategorized, United States, universities, using teams, vendors, Virtual courts and law firms, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, vision/possibilities, Web3, workplace, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Given:

the accelerating pace of change that’s been occurring over the last decade or more
the current setup of the legal field within the U.S. — and who can practice law
the number of emerging technologies now on the landscapes out there

…I think we’ve run out of time to effectively practice law in the U.S. — at least in terms of dealing with emerging technologies. Consider the following items/reflections.

Inside one of the nation’s few hybrid J.D. programs — from highereddive.com by Natalie Schwartz
Shannon Gardner, Syracuse law school’s associate dean for online education, talks about the program’s inaugural graduates and how it has evolved.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

In May, Syracuse University’s law school graduated its first class of students earning a Juris Doctor degree through a hybrid program, called JDinteractive, or JDi. The 45 class members were part of almost 200 Syracuse students who received a J.D. this year, according to a university announcement.

The private nonprofit, located in upstate New York, won approval from the American Bar Association in 2018 to offer the three-year hybrid program.

The ABA strictly limits distance education, requiring a waiver for colleges that wish to offer more than one-third of their credits online. To date, the ABA has only approved distance education J.D. programs at about a dozen schools, including Syracuse.

Many folks realize this is the future of legal education — not that it will replace traditional programs. It is one route to pursue a legal education that is here to stay. I did not see it as pressure, and I think, by all accounts, we have definitely proven that it is and can be a success.

Shannon Gardner, associate dean for online education

From DSC:
It was March 2018. I just started working as a Director of Instructional Services at a law school. I had been involved with online-based learning since 2001.

I was absolutely shocked at how far behind law schools were in terms of offering 100% online-based programs. I was dismayed to find out that 20+ years after such undergraduate programs were made available — and whose effectiveness had been proven time and again — that there were no 100%-online based Juris Doctor (JD) programs in the U.S. (The JD degree is what you have to have to practice law in the U.S. Some folks go on to take further courses after obtaining that degree — that’s when Masters of Law programs like LLM programs kick in.)

Why was this I asked? Much of the answer lies with the extremely tight control that is exercised by the American Bar Association (ABA). They essentially lay down the rules for how much of a law student’s training can be online (normally not more than a third of one’s credit hours, by the way).

Did I say it’s 2022? And let me say the name of that organization again — the American Bar Association (ABA).

Graphic by Daniel S. Christian

Not to scare you (too much), but this is the organization that is supposed to be in charge of developing lawyers who are already having to deal with issues and legal concerns arising from the following technologies:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) — Machine Learning (ML), Natural Language Processing (NLP), algorithms, bots, and the like
The Internet of Things (IoT) and/or the Internet of Everything (IoE)
Extended Reality (XR) — Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), Virtual Reality (VR)
Holographic communications
Big data
High-end robotics
The Metaverse
Cryptocurrencies
NFTs
Web3
Blockchain
…and the like

I don’t think there’s enough time for the ABA — and then law schools — to reinvent themselves. We no longer have that luxury. (And most existing/practicing lawyers don’t have the time to get up the steep learning curves involved here — in addition to their current responsibilities.)

The other option is to use teams of specialists, That’s our best hope. If the use of what’s called nonlawyers* doesn’t increase greatly, the U.S. has little hope of dealing with legal matters that are already arising from such emerging technologies.

So let’s hope the legal field catches up with the pace of change that’s been accelerating for years now. If not, we’re in trouble.

* Nonlawyers — not a very complimentary term…
I hope they come up with something else.
Some use the term Paralegals.
I’m sure there are other terms as well.

From DSC:
There is hope though. As Gabe Teninbaum just posted the resource below (out on Twitter). I just think the lack of responsiveness from the ABA has caught up with us. We’ve run out of time for doing “business as usual.”

Law students want more distance education classes, according to ABA findings — from abajournal.com by Stephanie Francis Ward

Excerpt:

A recent survey of 1,394 students in their third year of law school found that 68.65% wanted the ability to earn more distance education credits than what their schools offered.

An interesting question: “What happens to a college’s online programs if the company operating them changes hands?” [Swaak]

On 07/25/2022, in change, colleges, community colleges, education technology, future of higher education, higher education, ideas, India, instructional design, leadership, learning ecosystem, online learning, online media, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

An Overseas Ed-Tech Firm Wants to Buy 2U. What Could That Mean for Colleges? — from chronicle.com by Taylor Swaak

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

What happens to a college’s online programs if the company operating them changes hands? It’s a question on the minds of higher-ed leaders as an overseas ed-tech company attempts to buy 2U.

Byju’s, an ed-tech behemoth based in India, has put more than $1 billion on the table to acquire the online program manager, Bloomberg first reported late last month. 2U is one of the largest online-program managers, or OPMs, in the United States, known for scaling up online-degree programs and teaming up with more than 130 American colleges, including large institutions such as Arizona State, New York, and Syracuse Universities. It’s also the parent company of the online-course provider edX.

These Professors Were Thinking About Quitting. So They Turned to Social Media. [Myskow]

On 07/24/2022, in business side of he, career development, change, colleges, community colleges, higher education, social media, United States, universities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

These Professors Were Thinking About Quitting. So They Turned to Social Media. — from chronicle.com by Wyatt Myskow

Excerpts:

One pointed him to a Facebook group, “The Professor Is Out,” dedicated to academics who are quitting. It helped him realize that “it’s not impossible for me to shift out of this thing.”

“The Professor Is Out” allows people to post anonymously, an important feature for academics who are still on the fence about quitting. When Kelsky created the group, she expected around 1,000 people to join. Now it has more than 24,000 members.
…
Another popular forum for maybe-quitters is the subreddit r/Professors, which has more than 100,000 members — dubbed “Guardians of Academe.”

Related postings:

Over half of higher ed employees likely to seek another job, survey finds — from highereddive.com by Jeremy Bauer-Wolf

Dive Brief:

More than half of college employees reported they are likely to leave their jobs in the next year in a new survey from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, CUPA-HR.
The most common reason workers gave for seeking new employment was the prospect of higher pay, followed by an opportunity to work remotely, and more flexible work hours.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents reported they’re working mostly or completely on campus, but almost 70% wanted to work remotely at least part time.

More Than Half of Campus Staff Members Are Thinking About Quitting, Survey Finds — from chronicle.com by Megan Zahneis

Excerpt:

Results of a new survey paint a grim picture for higher ed’s hopes of retaining staff members: More than half of them are considering leaving their job in the next year.

That’s according to staff members polled in May by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources; initial results of the survey were released this month.

Survey: More Than Half of Higher Ed Workers Plan to Leave — from insidehighered.com by Josh Moody

Excerpt:

Many higher education employees are headed for the exits, according to a new survey from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, which found that more than half of respondents said they were likely to look for other employment within the next 12 months.

7 Amazing Ways Technology Is Changing Higher Education for the Better [Newton]

On 07/21/2022, in assessment, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, creativity, engagement / engaging students, higher education, innovation, learning ecosystem, personalized/customized learning, technology (general), tools, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

7 Amazing Ways Technology Is Changing Higher Education for the Better — from innotechtoday.com by Emily Newton

Excerpt:

As society has stepped decidedly into the digital age, there’s been a lot of debate about how technology is changing higher education. Some people believe there are benefits of technology in education, while others are concerned about tech’s impact on learning and motivation. Technology in higher education can be a major distraction or an incredibly helpful resource.

Technology is only as good or as bad as what you do with it. In education, AI, coding, and media creation are tools that teachers can use to motivate their students and help them grasp new ideas. Keeping pace with everyday tech is important for modern students. Here are seven amazing ways technology is changing higher education for the better.

Forget long screen recordings. These tools automate your company’s how-tos. — from protocol.com by Lizzy Lawrence
Scribe and Tango take screen recordings and automatically turn them into step-by-step lists.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

If only there were a better way of transferring this knowledge, Smith thought at the time. Later, she worked in venture capital and kept hearing the same thing: How do we efficiently spread the company wisdom that’s trapped inside people’s heads? Without the thick binder or the 45-minute screen recording? Thus began Scribe.

To use Scribe, you record your screen as you go through a standard workplace process. When you finish recording, Scribe automatically generates a step-by-step written guide with screenshots that you can edit and share with whomever you want. It’s a browser extension and a desktop app, meant to be as easy as possible for both the sender and recipient of information.

Reflections on “Higher Ed Is Looking to Refill Jobs. But It’s Finding a ‘Shallow and Weak’ Candidate Pool.” [Zahneis]

On 07/20/2022, in business side of he, career development, change, colleges, community colleges, Daniel S. Christian, funding / grants, higher education, organizational change, teaching & learning, United States, universities, using teams, by Daniel Christian

Higher Ed Is Looking to Refill Jobs. But It’s Finding a ‘Shallow and Weak’ Candidate Pool. — from chronicle.com by Megan Zahneis

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

While higher education has largely recovered nearly all of its pandemic-associated job losses, the task of recruiting and hiring administrators and staff members has become a daunting one, according to a Chronicle survey of college leaders, hiring managers, and administrators that was conducted with support from the Huron Consulting Group.

Nearly 80 percent of the 720 respondents said their campus has more open positions this year than last, and 84 percent said that hiring for administrative and staff jobs has been more difficult in the last year.

Those positions are harder than ever to fill, too: 78 percent of leaders said their campus had received fewer applications for open jobs in the last year, and 82 percent agreed that they’d fielded fewer applications from qualified candidates. Said one person who took the survey: “The pools have been shallow and weak.”

From DSC:
Ask any ***staff*** member who has been working within higher education these last 10-20 years if this development is surprising to them, and they would tell you, “No, this is not a surprise to me at all.” Working within higher education has lost much of its value and appeal:

Budgets have been shrinking for years — so important/engaging new projects get taken off the plate (or indefinitely postponed). So opportunities for personal growth and new knowledge for staff members have been majorly curtailed. Also, members of administrations may decide to outsource those exciting projects that do survive to external consultants.
Oftentimes, salaries don’t match inflation — and they were never stellar to begin with.
Staff are second-class citizens within the world of higher education
- They aren’t part of the governing bodies (i.e., the Faculty Senates out there don’t include staff). Faculty members have much more say, control, and governance over things and get the opportunities to travel, learn, present, grow, share their knowledge, etc. much more so than staff members.
- There are few — if any — sabbaticals for staff members.
- Even those working within teaching and learning centers and instructional designers don’t have their hands on many steering wheels out there. Many faculty members prefer to hold their own steering wheels and they won’t listen to others who aren’t people they consider their “peers” (i.e., essentially other faculty members).
- They often don’t get the chance to do research and to make money off that research, like faculty members do
Staffing levels are inadequate, so one takes on an ever-increasing amount of work for the same pay.

And others could add more items to this list. So no, this is not a surprise to me at all. In a potential future where team-based content creation may thrive, it appears that some team members are dropping out.

Now 2,627+ OPM, Bootcamp and Pathways Partnerships with Universities globally [HolonIQ]

On 07/20/2022, in business side of he, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, global / globalization, higher education, marketplaces, online learning, online media, United States, universities, using teams, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Now 2,627+ OPM, Bootcamp and Pathways Partnerships with Universities globally — from holoniq.com
Slower partnership growth for the first half of 2022 with 186 new OPM, Bootcamp or Pathways partnerships. Another ‘post-COVID’ transition?

Reflecting on identities in educational development [Mihai]

On 07/20/2022, in adjunct faculty, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, education technology, Europe, faculty/staff, higher education, instructional design, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, pedagogy, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

Reflecting on identities in educational development — from educationalist.substack.com by Alexandra Mihai

Introduction:

Welcome to a new issue of “The Educationalist”! In the past weeks I had the chance to reflect a lot on my identity as an educational developer, through inspiring conversations with colleagues and peers from my global personal learning network passionate about the topic. For me this is one of the professional identities, alongside being a scholar and an educator. Believe it or not, I think I found a way to combine them that works well and helps me stay enthusiastic about my work. In the past years I’ve been fortunate to hear so many interesting stories from faculty developers around the world, and I am always fascinated by them. It is a complex space, a diverse space and what I’m bringing to you this week are only some initial reflections, by no means a comprehensive account of what being an educational developer (or faculty developer, will use the terms interchangeably here) means. I hope that, even if this is more like an essay than a curated collection of practical tips and resources, it will still resonate with some of you, whether you are working as Faculty, educational developers, in university administration or leadership roles. I added some articles for those of you who would like to dive deeper into the topic, I can guarantee they make very thought-provoking reads. As usual, I welcome your ideas and comments. Have a nice week!

In Fight Against Ableism, Disabled Students Build Centers of Their Own [Lu]

On 07/19/2022, in accessibility / UDL, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), collaboration, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, higher education, leadership, learning ecosystem, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, neurodivergent/special needs, relationships, social learning / networks, student-related, United States, universities, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

In Fight Against Ableism, Disabled Students Build Centers of Their Own — from chronicle.com by Adrienne Lu

Excerpt:

Thanks to student advocates, including Sullivan and Lockwood, the university recently became the latest in a growing number with disability cultural centers, which aim to shine light on the perspectives and experiences of disabled people, foster a sense of community, and promote activism and disability justice. Altogether, at least 12 disability cultural centers now exist nationwide; in addition, students are working to create new centers on about a dozen other campuses.

‘Hologram patients’ and mixed reality headsets help train UK medical students in world first

On 07/18/2022, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, content development, aggregation, repositories, Design Thinking, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, face-to-face, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, health, higher education, Holographic comms, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, Mixed Reality (MR), UK, universities, usability, user experience (UX), using teams, vendors, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

‘Hologram patients’ and mixed reality headsets help train UK medical students in world first — from uk.news.yahoo.com

Excerpts:

Medical students in Cambridge, England are experiencing a new way of “hands-on learning” – featuring the use of holographic patients.

Through a mixed reality training system called HoloScenarios, students at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, part of the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, are now being trained via immersive holographic patient scenarios in a world first.
…
The new technology is aimed at providing a more affordable alternative to traditional immersive medical simulation training involving patient actors, which can demand a lot of resources.

Developers also hope the technology will help improve access to medical training worldwide.

What’s the current state of OPM and UK university partnerships? [Moseley]

On 07/18/2022, in collaboration, distance education, higher education, instructional design, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, online learning, UK, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

What’s the current state of OPM and UK university partnerships? — from neilmosley.com by Neil Mosley

Excerpt:

One of the big changes of the past couple of years has been the number of universities getting serious about what they are doing in the online distance education space.

Whilst the number of online distance education courses on offer in UK higher education has been steadily growing, the events of the last couple of years have spurred some universities to more intentionally consider what they are doing in this space.

For universities looking to develop an online distance education portfolio there has tended to be two main choices – make the necessary investment to do this themselves or partner with an online programme management (OPM) company.

In the UK, OPM partnerships tend to go under the radar and there’s not much widespread knowledge about who they are and what they do. I think more people in UK higher education should have an understanding of these types of partnership, not least because the number of new partnerships are accelerating.

Also from Neil, check out:

What role will MOOC platforms play in UK universities online futures?

Excerpt:

Nevertheless, as we enter a new era for online education, one in which there seems to be more universities developing partnerships to offer an online portfolio of courses, it will be interesting to observe whether MOOC platform partnerships will play a role in that and what this ultimately begins to look like.

Dead Malls and Future Campuses — from insidehighered.com by Joshua Kim
Thoughts on Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall.

Excerpt:

Can we learn anything about the future of the university from the history of the shopping mall?

If any lessons connecting malls to colleges are to be found, the starting place is Meet Me by the Fountain. It is hard to imagine a more complete social, architectural, cultural, economic or cross-national comparison of shopping malls than this book provides.

For some, all the detail, theorizing and analysis of the mall’s history, relevancy and meaning might be a bit too much. For those looking for clues about how the university might evolve post-pandemic, the deep dive into malls that Meet Me by the Fountain provides is helpful.

Reflections on “Hypercompetition Is Harming Higher Ed” [Reuben]

On 07/15/2022, in colleges, community colleges, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, economics, higher education, leadership, society, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

Hypercompetition Is Harming Higher Ed — from chronicle.com by Julie A. Reuben
Colleges should ease off the branding and remember their shared values.

Excerpt:

Competition has long been viewed as a key to the greatness of the American college. But developments over the last half century have knocked the balance between competition and cooperation out of whack. These changes include rising tuition; the use of merit aid and other discounts to drive enrollment; the increased importance of rankings; soaring student debt; a surge in revenue-seeking activities, such as patenting and corporate partnerships; increases in revenue-containment strategies, such as the use of contingent faculty; and uneven or declining support at the state and federal levels. Researchers have used terms such “privatization,” “market-oriented,” or “neoliberal” to characterize this larger transformation. The pursuit of institutional advantage at the expense of the health of the larger sector is both a consequence and a driver of these changes.

The excessive competition may be bringing the whole system down. As that happens, even the institutions with the strongest brands will suffer.

Leaders are more interested in defining the distinctive qualities of their institutions than in debating what higher education writ large should be.

From DSC:
I like what Julie’s saying, and I agree with much of it. That said, I’m very skeptical that we can achieve this. From the earliest ages, we introduce a great deal of competition to our youth. How fast can you run the 50 or 100 yard dash? What violin chair are you in the school orchestra? What’s your GPA? Where are you on the Bell Curve?

Capitalism — our basic economic system here in the U.S. — further compounds these dynamics.

We focus more on ourselves as individuals than we focus on our communities.

So while I hope we can achieve what Julie’s saying, I’m not optimistic here.

Somewhat related items:

People from elite backgrounds increasingly dominate academia, data shows — from washingtonpost.com by Andrew Van Dam
First-generation academics were always rare. Now they’re vanishing.
The College-Affordability Conundrum — from chronicle.com by Audrey Williams June

Along the lines of competition, the following item was added on 7/16/22:

Does Our Academic System Unnecessarily Pit People Against Each Other? — from edsurge.com by Jeffrey R. Young

17 Best Video Converter Software in 2022 (Free and Paid) [Cecilia Hwung]

On 07/14/2022, in A/V -- audio/visual, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate universities / corporate training, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, education technology, experimentation, higher education, instructional design, IT in HE, K-12 related, tools, training / L&D, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

17 Best Video Converter Software in 2022 (Free and Paid) — from videoproc.com by Cecilia Hwung

Excerpt:

Looking for the best video converter software? We may need a free or paid video converter for various reasons. For instance,

Change videos into different formats for playing on iPhone, TVs, PS4, Xbox, Mac…
Convert videos recorded by GoPro, DJI, iPhone, DSLR cameras, or screen captures to editing-friendly format
Transcode videos for sending on Discord, Pinterest, Twitter, and other social media without quality loss
Share the same video on different platforms with different formats for getting the best outcomes on each platform
Convert DVDs (including the new and 99-title DVDs) with favored chapters, subtitles, and languages
…

Given the fact that hundreds of paid and free video converters out there claim themselves to be powerful, fast, and easy-to-learn while giving no compromise to quality, choosing the best video converter software becomes one of the most frustrating roadblocks you may encounter.

Lucky you are here. We have carefully selected and assembled a list of the best video converter software you can get right now. Most of them are open-source and cross-platform, meaning they are completely free video file converter programs for Windows 11/10/8/7, macOS, Linux, and web.

The new labor market: No bachelor’s required? [Lanahan]

On 07/14/2022, in 21st century, Alternatives, business, career development, change, colleges, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, higher education, skills, society, United States, universities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

The new labor market: No bachelor’s required? — from hechingerreport.org by Lawrence Lanahan
More workers without degrees are landing jobs they’d have been shut out of before. Will it last?

Excerpt:

Thanks to a tight labor market, more good jobs are opening up to workers who lack a bachelor’s degree. A month after Maryland’s announcement, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis directed government agencies in his state to embrace hiring workers for skills, not degrees. Private sector employers have been rolling back B.A. requirements too.

Learning Ecosystems

An interesting question: “What happens to a college’s online programs if the company operating them changes hands?” [Swaak]

7 Amazing Ways Technology Is Changing Higher Education for the Better [Newton]

Reflections on “Higher Ed Is Looking to Refill Jobs. But It’s Finding a ‘Shallow and Weak’ Candidate Pool.” [Zahneis]

Now 2,627+ OPM, Bootcamp and Pathways Partnerships with Universities globally [HolonIQ]

Reflecting on identities in educational development [Mihai]

‘Hologram patients’ and mixed reality headsets help train UK medical students in world first

What’s the current state of OPM and UK university partnerships? [Moseley]

Dead Malls and Future Campuses [Kim]

Reflections on “Hypercompetition Is Harming Higher Ed” [Reuben]

The new labor market: No bachelor’s required? [Lanahan]

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