Posts Tagged ‘digital equity’

digital equity

https://www.govtech.com/network/infrastructure-bill-promises-historic-boost-for-digital-equity

The recently signed $1.2 trillion federal infrastructure package includes $2.75 billion for digital equity and inclusion work, delivering an investment that advocates are calling unprecedented and historic.

Within the $65 billion going toward broadband, the $2.75 billion for digital equity and inclusion is set for two programs made up of grants. First, the money will go toward a digital equity capacity grant program for states.

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More on digital equity in this blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=digital+equity

 

college after discruption

https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/opinion/2020/12/19/guest-opinion-online-education-improve-2021/3947676001/

Online learning is here to stay

Greater focus on equitable access

Employers will partner with universities to develop talent

Increased demand for nondegree credentials 

In 2021, we will see individuals supplement their current or past postsecondary degrees with nondegree credentials and in-demand skills.

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

Proctorio

Students Are Rebelling Against Eye-Tracking Exam Surveillance Tools

https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7wxvd/students-are-rebelling-against-eye-tracking-exam-surveillance-tools

Algorithmic proctoring software has been around for several years, but its use exploded as the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to quickly transition to remote learning. Proctoring companies cite studies estimating that between 50 and 70 percent of college students will attempt some form of cheating, and warn that cheating will be rampant if students are left unmonitored in their own homes.

Like many other tech companies, they also balk at the suggestion that they are responsible for how their software is used. While their algorithms flag behavior that the designers have deemed suspicious, these companies argue that the ultimate determination of whether cheating occurred rests in the hands of the class instructor.

As more evidence emerges about how the programs work, and fail to work, critics say the tools are bound to hurt low-income students, students with disabilities, students with children or other dependents, and other groups who already face barriers in higher education.

“Each academic department has almost complete agency to design their curriculum as far as I know, and each professor has the freedom to design their own exams and use whatever monitoring they see fit,” Rohan Singh, a computer engineering student at Michigan State University, told Motherboard.

after students approached faculty members at the University of California Santa Barbara, the faculty association sent a letter to the school’s administration raising concerns about whether ProctorU would share student data with third parties. 
In response, a ProctorU attorney threatened to sue the faculty association for defamation and violating copyright law (because the association had used the company’s name and linked to its website). He also accused the faculty association of “directly impacting efforts to mitigate civil disruption across the United States” by interfering with education during a national emergency, and said he was sending his complaint to the state’s Attorney General.

here is a link to a community discussion regarding this and similar software use:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/RemakingtheUniversity/permalink/1430416163818409/

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more on Proctorio in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=proctorio
“Some of the more prominent companies offering these services include ProctorioRespondusProctorUHonorLockKryterion Global Testing Solutions, and Examity.”

remote learning and equity

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/05/27/862705225/survey-shows-big-remote-learning-gaps-for-low-income-and-special-needs-children

experts in distance learning warned that it can magnify inequities, with the most able and highly advantaged learners humming along while learners who need more support fall far behind.

ParentsTogether, in its survey of 1,500 of its members across the country, discovered big gaps — both by income levels and between families with and without children in special education. The online survey wasn’t a scientifically weighted sample, but it was geographically, racially and socioeconomically diverse.

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

Digital Equity Act 2019

Representatives McNerney, Lujan and Clarke introduce Digital Equity Act in U.S. House

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more on digital equity in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2019/04/02/net-inclusion-2019/