Periodic text message table

I’m not a fan of using abbreviations in my text messages, but this is too good not to share.  Source: http://www.edudemic.com/2013/09/text-message-acronyms/

A map of education technology

This article speculates about the nature of education technology over the next few decades. “Considering that 10 years ago very few students carried smartphones, and tablets didn’t even exist, it’s impossible to look 20 or 30 years into the future. It is likely, however, that cloud-based technology will be the foundation for educational technology and that remote, online learning will continue to grow at a faster pace.”

Infographic: Rising student debt

The infographic paints a troubling story of rising student debt in the US.  Students in Canada face similar challenges. Perhaps all those politicians who make a point of reminding us that our children are our future should take a long and hard look at how this translates to tangible measures to help ensure that these children will have the access to the education they need.

 

Fifteen innovations in higher education

 Steven Mintz, executive director of the University of Texas system’s Institute for Transformational Learning, proposes the following innovations that will impact higher education:

1. e-Advising
2. Evidence-based pedagogy
3. The decline of the lone-eagle teaching approach
4. Optimized class time
5. Easier educational transitions
6. Fewer large lecture classes
7. New frontiers for e-learning
8. Personalized adaptive learning
9. Increased competency-based and prior-learning credits
10. Data-driven instruction
11. Aggressive pursuit of new revenue
12. Online and low-residency degrees at flagships
13. More certificates and badges
14. Free and open textbooks
15. Public-private partnerships

Digital skills students need for the future

According to the Pew Report The impact of digital tools on student writing and how writing is taught in schools, teachers believe that judging the quality of information (91%), behaving responsibly online (85%), and understanding privacy issues pertaining to online and digital content (78%), are essential to students’ success later in life. It’s good to see that information literacy skills are ranked so highly by teachers, which is ironic, when you consider how school librarian positions are being eliminated in so many provinces in Canada.

Blended learning and the role of instructors

Source: http://gettingsmart.com/2013/04/blended-learning-the-teaching-profession/

Why mobile learning is the future of workplace learning

Source: http://edudemic.com/2013/04/mobile-learning-workplace/

Milestones of educational technology

Source: http://edudemic.com/2013/04/the-22-milestones-of-education-technology/

The five best tools for creating videos without installing software

This post lists five tools that educators can use to create videos without installing software:

• Pixorial
• Wevideo
• Wideo
• PowToon
• Weavly

Dire economic warning for UK universities

According to this post, “established UK universities will go out of business within the next 10 years unless they adapt to survive an era of intense pressure driven by globalisation, technology, rising student expectations, and competition for funding, a report has warned.” The most interesting conclusion of the article is that universities need to specialize, arguing that “increased competition from privately funded research and free online courses mean the traditional university with a range of degrees and modestly effective research has had its day.’  Given the increasing cuts to more generalist programs in the arts and social sciences, studies such as these don’t bode well for the model of the all-rounded scholar upon which so many of our universities have been founded.