Archive of ‘technology’ category

Microcredentials and Digital Badges in Higher Ed

Microcredentials and Digital Badges in Higher Education

November 27 – 29, 2018  Savannah, GA

https://www.academicimpressions.com/microcredentials-and-digital-badges-in-higher-education

Badging programs are rapidly gaining momentum in higher education – join us to learn how to get your badging efforts off the ground.

Key Considerations: Assessment of Competencies

During this session, you will learn how to ask the right questions and evaluate if badges are a good fit within your unique institutional context, including determining ROI on badging efforts. You’ll also learn how to assess the competencies behind digital badges.


 

Key Technology Considerations

This session will allow for greater understanding of Open Badges standards, the variety of technology software and platforms, and the portability of badges. We will also explore emerging trends in the digital badging space and discuss campus considerations.

Key Financial Considerations

During this hour, we will take a closer look at answering key financial questions surrounding badges:

  • What does the business model look like behind existing institutional badging initiatives?
  • Are these money-makers for an institution? Is there revenue potential?
  • Where does funding for these efforts come from?
Partnering with Industry

Badging can be a catalyst for partnerships between higher education and industry. In this session, you will have the opportunity to learn more about strategies for collaborating with industry in the development of badges and how badges align with employer expectations.

Branding and Marketing Badges

Now that we have a better idea of the “why” and “what” of badges, how do we market their value to external and internal stakeholders? You’ll see examples of how other institutions are designing and marketing their badges.

Consultation Time

Alongside your peers and our expert instructors, you will have the opportunity to brainstorm ideas, get feedback, ask questions, and get answers.

Next Steps and the Road Ahead: Where Badging in Higher Ed is Going

Most institutions are getting into the badging game, and we’ll talk about the far-reaching considerations in the world of badging. We’ll use this time to engage in forward-thinking and discuss the future of badging and what future trends in badging might be.

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more on microcredentialing in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=microcredentialing

why universal design

universal design for learning. 80 percent of the people who use captions are NOT deaf or hard of hearing

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6458028833198137345

https://dms.licdn.com/playback/C4E05AQG51Q36MNIIvg/abb00c518fe9498d97db5922183784a8/feedshare-mp4_3300-captions-thumbnails/1507940147251-drlcss?e=1541361600&v=beta&t=mWY_wHU6Ms0fQQXYwil9n1RFLeC3weF6u6e6ybJ4wSw

https://www.facebook.com/business/news/updated-features-for-video-ads

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more on Universal Design in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=universal+design

Oculus Rift and Irish students

How Irish Students Use Oculus Rift VR in the Classroom

https://medium.com/gen-z-pop/how-irish-students-use-oculus-rift-vr-in-the-classroom-f8ef64c1bfb9

Derek E. Baird Oct 11, 2017

Shifts in students’ learning style will prompt a shift to active construction of knowledge through mediated immersion.”-Chris Dede

The theory of constructivist-based learningaccording to Dr. Seymour Papert, “is grounded in the idea that people learn by actively constructing new knowledge, rather than having information ‘poured’ into their heads.”

Moreover, constructionism asserts that people learn with particular effectiveness when they are engaged in constructing personally meaningful artifacts (such as computer programs, animations, 3D modeling, creating spatial environments in virtual reality or building robots).”

Technologies like virtual reality, especially for Gen Z students’, provides avenues that allow them to engage in a social, collaborative, and active learning environment.

Virtual reality, especially when combined with powerful storytelling, allows the student to participate in the story, develop empathy to experiences outside their current realm of understanding and allows them to be fully immersed in their own exploration and learning.

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more on VR in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=virtual+reality

Microcredentials and Digital Badges in Higher Education

Join us in Savannah this November for our conference, Microcredentials and Digital Badges in Higher Education,

Microcredentials and Digital Badges in Higher Education

and learn the strategies and processes that other institutions have used to develop digital badge initiatives and programs. You’ll learn the different ways that badges can add value to the learner experience, key considerations for developing badges, and how to effectively connect learners to industry.

Your instructor panel for this event is an impressive lineup of experienced speakers, all from higher ed themselves, who have been immersed in this work and have likely seen and overcome the same challenges you have. Come ready to learn from the experts.

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more on microcredentialing in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=microcredentialing

multi-user reference support experiences

https://www.emeraldinsight.com/eprint/AU2Q4SJGYQG5YTQ5A9RU/full

Hahn, J. (2018). Virtual reality learning environments | Development of multi-user reference support experiences | Information and Learning Science | Ahead of Print. EmeraldInsight. Retrieved from https://www.emeraldinsight.com/eprint/AU2Q4SJGYQG5YTQ5A9RU/full
case study: an undergraduate senior projects computer science course collaboration whose aim was to develop textual browsing experiences, among other library reference functionality, within the HTC Vive virtual reality (VR) headset. In this case study, readers are introduced to applied uses of VR in service to library-based learning through the research and development of a VR reading room app with multi-user support. Within the VR reading room prototype, users are able to collaboratively explore the digital collections of HathiTrust, highlight text for further searching and discovery and receive consultative research support from a reference specialist through VR.
Library staff met with the project team weekly over the 16 weeks of both semesters to first scope out the functionality of the system and vet requirements.
The library research team further hypothesized that incorporating reference-like support in the VR environment can support library learning. There is ample evidence in the library literature which underscores the importance of reference interactions as learning and instructional experiences for university students
Educational benefits to immersive worlds include offering a deeper presence in engagement with rare or non-accessible artifacts. Sequeira and Morgado (2013, p. 2) describe their Virtual Archeology project as using “a blend of techniques and methods employed by historians and archaeologists using computer models for visualizing cultural artefacts and heritage sites”.
The higher-end graphics cards include devices such as the NVIDIA GeForceTM GTX 1060 or AMD RadeonTM RX 480, equivalent or better. The desktop system that was built for this project used the GeForce GTX 1070, which was slightly above the required minimum specifications.

Collaboration: Library as client.

Specific to this course collaboration, computer science students in their final year of study are given the option of several client projects on which to work. The Undergraduate Library has been a collaborator with senior computer science course projects for several years, beginning in 2012-2013 with mobile application design and chat reference software re-engineering (Hahn, 2015). (My note: Mark Gill, this is where and how Mehdi Mekni, you and I can collaborate)

The hurdles the students had the most trouble with was code integration – e.g. combining various individual software parts towards the end of the semester. The students also were challenged by the public HathiTrust APIs, as the system was developed to call the HathiTrust APIs from within the Unity programming environment and developing API calls in C#. This was a novel use of the HathiTrust search APIs for the students and a new area for the research team as well.

There are alternatives to Unity C# programming, notably WebVR, an open source specification for VR programming on the open web.

A-Frame has seen maturation as a platform agnostic and device agnostic software programming environment. The WebVR webpage notes that the specification supports HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, Google Daydream and Google Cardboard (WebVR Rocks, 2018). Open web platforms are consistent with library values and educational goals of sharing work that can be foundational in implementing VR learning experience both in VR environments and shareable on the web, too.

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more on VR in libraries in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=virtual+reality+library

VR resurgence

vr seasickness nauseaState’s universities envision VR resurgence

Chris O’Malley

https://indianapolis.crains.com/article/news/state%E2%80%99s-universities-envision-vr-resurgence

why the sudden interest in VR and AR after years of hype that failed to live up to expectations?

Heather Bellini, of Goldman Sachs Research, noted in a report last year that faster microprocessors and more powerful graphics cards have allowed more images per second to be delivered since the industry’s potential was hyped a decade ago.

There have also been advancements in AR gear, like glasses that allow vision of the real world but also have data or graphical images projected onto part of the glass.

As such, Goldman Sachs is projecting VR and AR to become an $80 billion market by 2025 – roughly equivalent to the size of the current PC market.

he big problems with VR is “motion to photon latency,” which is the time it takes to turn your head and the screen to refresh at the same rate.

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more on XR in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=extended+reality

https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=virtual+reality+education

Firefox Reality

available for Viveport, Oculus, and Daydream

From the moment you open the browser, you will be presented with immersive experiences that can be enjoyed on a VR headset directly from the Firefox Reality browser. We are working with creators around the world to bring an amazing collection of games, videos, environments, and experiences that can be accessed directly from the home screen.

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more on VR in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=virtual+reality+education

Cybersecurity Risks in schools

FBI Warns Educators and Parents About Edtech’s Cybersecurity Risks

By Tina Nazerian     Sep 14, 2018

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-09-14-fbi-warns-educators-and-parents-about-edtech-s-cybersecurity-risks

The FBI has released a public service announcement warning educators and parents that edtech can create cybersecurity risks for students.

In April 2017, security researchers found a flaw in Schoolzilla’s data configuration settings. And in May 2017, a hacker reportedly stole 77 million user accounts from Edmodo.

Amelia Vance, the director of the Education Privacy Project at the Future of Privacy Forum, writes in an email to EdSurge that the FBI likely wanted to make sure that as the new school year starts, parents and schools are aware of potential security risks. And while she thinks it’s “great” that the FBI is bringing more attention to this issue, she wishes the public service announcement had also addressed another crucial challenge.

“Schools across the country lack funding to provide and maintain adequate security,” she writes. “Now that the FBI has focused attention on these concerns, policymakers must step up and fund impactful security programs.”

According to Vance, a better approach might involve encouraging parents to have conversations with their children’s’ school about how it keeps student data safe.

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more on cybersecurity in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=cybersecurity

human nature cybersecurity

Keynote: Cybersecurity Awareness Is Dead! Long Live Cybersecurity Awareness!

Tuesday, August 21 | 12:05pm – 12:30pm ET |

https://events.educause.edu/special-topic-events/webinar/2018/encore-selections-from-the-educause-security-professionals-conference-2018/agenda/keynote-cybersecurity-awareness-is-dead-long-live-cybersecurity-awareness#_zsJE1Le1_zlSvd65

Far too often, cybersecurity awareness-raising training fails to account for how people learn and proven ways to change behaviors. The cybersecurity community too easily falls into the trap of thinking that “humans are the weakest link.” In this talk, Dr. Jessica Barker will argue that, if humans are the weakest link, then they are our weakest link as an industry. With reference to sociology, psychology, and behavioral economics, as well as lessons from her professional experience, Jessica will discuss why a better understanding of human nature needs to be a greater priority for the cybersecurity community.

Outcomes: Explore how we can apply knowledge from other disciplines to improve cybersecurity awareness-raising training and communications * Understand where the cybersecurity industry can improve with regards to awareness, behavior, and culture * Develop ideas to improve how you communicate cybersecurity messages and conduct awareness-raising training

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more on cybersecurity in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=cybersecurity

50 years since invasion Czechoslovakia

The Invasion of Czechoslovakia Through Women’s Eyes

https://www.rferl.org/a/invasion-of-czechoslovakia-through-womens-eyes/29442053.html

Fifty years ago, five Warsaw Pact nations invaded Czechoslovakia. Here are stories of four women who didn’t hesitate to act bravely during these days.

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more on history in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=history

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