Author Archive

Google policy privacy

Google is giving data to police based on search keywords, court docs show

Court records in an arson case show that Google gave away data on people who searched for a specific address.

https://www.cnet.com/news/google-is-giving-data-to-police-based-on-search-keywords-court-docs-show

Recently unsealed court document found that investigators can request such data in reverse order by asking Google to disclose everyone who searched a keyword rather than for information on a known suspect.

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

hypothes.is and Perusall

https://web.hypothes.is/

 

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Perusall : https://perusall.com/

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Assess students online and minimize cheating

https://www.chronicle.com/article/7-ways-to-assess-students-online-and-minimize-cheating

  • Break up a big high-stakes exam into small weekly tests.
  • Start and end each test with an honor statement.
  • Ask students to explain their problem-solving process. 
  • Get to know each student’s writing style in low- or no-stakes tasks.
  • Assess learning in online discussion forums.
  • Don’t base grades solely on tests. 
  • Offer students choice in how they demonstrate their knowledge.

As we all work to improve our online teaching, we have the opportunity to rethink practices we’ve relied on for years in our physical classrooms.

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

Musk’s brain-computer startup

Elon Musk’s brain-computer startup is getting ready to blow your mind

Musk reckons his brain-computer interface could one day help humans merge with AI, record their memories, or download their consciousness. Could he be right?

https://www.zdnet.com/article/elon-musks-brain-computer-startup-is-getting-ready-to-blow-your-mind/

The idea is to solve these problems with an implantable digital device that can interpret, and possibly alter, the electrical signals made by neurons in the brain.

the latest iteration of the company’s hardware: a small, circular device that attaches to the surface of the brain, gathering data from the cortex and passing it on to external computing systems for analysis.

Several different types of working brain-computer interfaces already exist, gathering data on electrical signals from the user’s brain and translating them into data that can be interpreted by machines.

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If we put computers in our brains, strange things might happen to our minds

Using a brain-computer interface can fundamentally change our grey matter, a view of ourselves and even how fast our brains can change the world.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/if-we-put-computers-in-our-brains-strange-things-might-happen-to-our-minds/

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more on AI in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=artificial+intelligence

LMS market acceleration

https://philonedtech.com/lms-market-acceleration-an-initial-view-in-north-america/

Chart of new LMS implementations per year in US and Canadian K-12 districts, dropping from peak in 2015 but accelerating in 2020.

  • UCLA is completing its LMS evaluation and migration plans, moving from Moodle to Canvas;
  • SUNY has released its RFP for a systemwide LMS;
  • CUNY is doing an LMS evaluation in preparation for its contract end date in 2021;
  • Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) is in the final contract stage of its systemwide LMS decision – expect a separate blog post on this one later this fall;
  • NYU is moving from Sakai to D2L Brightspace; and
  • Texas A&M and several CalState campuses are moving to Canvas.

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

Beyond Incrementalism

Beyond Incrementalism

https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2020/09/22/too-many-presidents-are-focusing-tactics-rather-strategy-during-challenging-time

In a time of growing and increasingly complex challenges, too many top administrators, leadership teams and boards are focusing on tactics rather than strategy

how should presidents begin to think strategically about the content and the pedagogy of the education their institutions will offer going forward? How should they lead their institutions to take concrete steps to eliminate systemic inequities on their campuses? How can they facilitate a commitment to combat racism not only on their campuses but also in their local communities and beyond? How can they manage all this as many face daily threats to their institution’s financial health?

Some of the presidents with whom I talked, along with several trustees and faculty members, have inspired the following suggestions for how at least some campus leaders may begin to think about the future.

Move even more online. 

Rethink goals in light of demographic realities, concerns about costs and shifting student interests.

Reconceptualize and streamline institutional structures to better serve faculty and student realities.

Consolidate student support services. 

Embrace the virtue of the out-of-doors. 

Budget for mission, with long-term strategies in mind. 

Address systemic racism, sexism, homophobia and other biases.

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Responding to Susan Resneck Pierce’s excellent Views piece, “Beyond Incrementalism.”

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/blogs/learning-innovation/online-learning-not-strategic

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

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