Archive of ‘information technology’ category

information gerrymandering

Information gerrymandering in social networks skews collective decision-making

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02562-z

https://www.facebook.com/mariana.damova/posts/10221298893368558

An analysis shows that information flow between individuals in a social network can be ‘gerrymandered’ to skew perceptions of how others in the community will vote — which can alter the outcomes of elections.

The Internet has erased geographical barriers and allowed people across the globe to interact in real time around their common interests. But social media is starting to compete with, or even replace, nationally visible conversations in print and on broadcast media with ad libitum, personalized discourse on virtual social networks3. Instead of broadening their spheres of association, people gravitate towards interactions with ideologically aligned content and similarly minded individuals.

n information gerrymandering, the way in which voters are concentrated into districts is not what matters; rather, it is the way in which the connections between them are arranged (Fig. 1). Nevertheless, like geographical gerrymandering, information gerrymandering threatens ideas about proportional representation in a democracy.

Figure 1 | Social-network structure affects voters’ perceptions. In these social networks, ten individuals favour orange and eight favour blue. Each individual has four reciprocal social connections. a, In this random network, eight individuals correctly infer from their contacts’ preferences that orange is more popular, eight infer a draw and only two incorrectly infer that blue is more popular. b, When individuals largely interact with like-minded individuals, filter bubbles arise in which all individuals believe that their party is the most popular. Voting gridlock is more likely in such situations, because no one recognizes a need to compromise. c, Stewart et al.1 describe ‘information gerrymandering’, in which the network structure skews voters’ perceptions about others’ preferences. Here, two-thirds of voters mistakenly infer that blue is more popular. This is because blue proponents strategically influence a small number of orange-preferring individuals, whereas orange proponents squander their influence on like-minded individuals who have exclusively orane-preferring contacts, or on blue-preferring individuals who have enough blue-preferring contacts to remain unswayed.

Positioning the Academic Library within the Institution

Positioning the Academic Library within the Institution: A Literature Review

John Cox, Galway, Ireland, May 2018

https://doi.org/10.1080/13614533.2018.1466342

Higher education institutions are experiencing radical change, driven by greater accountability, stronger competition, and increased internationalization. They prioritize student success, competitive research, and global reputation. This has significant implications for library strategy, space, structures, partnerships, and identity. Strategic responses include refocusing from collections to users, reorganizing teams and roles, developing partnerships, and demonstrating value. Emphasis on student success and researcher productivity has generated learning commons buildings, converged service models, research data management services, digital scholarship engagement, and rebranding as partners. Repositioning is challenging, with the library no longer perceived as the heart of the campus but institutional leadership often holding traditional perceptions of its role.

Teaching Cybersecurity

Teaching Cybersecurity: What You Need to Know

Wednesday, Nov. 13 @ 4 pm CT

REGISTER HERE

In 2014, there were 1 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs globally. By 2021, it’s estimated that number will grow to 3.5 million. Exposing K-12 students to cybersecurity through a well-designed curriculum and set of activities will help alleviate the shortage by increasing the interest and skills of the new generation. Unfortunately, current secondary school curricula across the country leave students and educators with minimal or no exposure to cybersecurity topics.
Many K-12 school districts are looking for ways to create cybersecurity training programs. This edWebinar will focus on best practices for teaching and learning cybersecurity skills, including the following learning objectives:
  • What skills does the instructor need to teach an introductory cybersecurity course?
  • What are some best practices for teaching an introductory cybersecurity course?
  • Where can instructors get help teaching their courses?
  • What tools/resources do students and instructors need to teach an introductory cybersecurity course?
This edWebinar will be of interest to middle school through higher education teachers and school and district leaders. There will be time to have your questions answered at the end of the presentation. Learn more.

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

surveillance in schools

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-10-22-high-tech-surveillance-comes-at-high-cost-to-students-is-it-worth-it

The phrase “school-to-prison pipeline” has long been used to describe how schools respond to disciplinary problems with excessively stringent policies that create prison-like environments and funnel children who don’t fall in line into the criminal justice system. Now, schools are investing in surveillance systems that will likely exacerbate existing disparities.

number of tech companies are capitalizing on the growing market for student surveillance measures as various districts and school leaders commit themselves to preventing acts of violence. Rekor Systems, for instance, recently announced the launch of OnGuard, a program that claims to “advance student safety” by implementing countless surveillance and “threat assessment” mechanisms in and around schools.

While none of these methods have been proven to be effective in deterring violence, similar systems have resulted in diverting resources away from enrichment opportunities, policing school communities to a point where students feel afraid to express themselves, and placing especially dangerous targets on students of color who are already disproportionately mislabeled and punished.ProPublica

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

Learning analytics, student satisfaction, and student performance

Learning analytics, student satisfaction, and student performance at the UK Open University

https://www.tonybates.ca/2018/05/11/11025/
Rienties and his team linked 151 modules (courses) and 111,256 students with students’ behaviour, satisfaction and performance at the Open University UK, using multiple regression models.

There is little correlation between student course evaluations and student performance

The design of the course matters

Student feedback on the quality of a course is really important but it is more useful as a conversation between students and instructors/designers than as a quantitative ranking of the quality of a course.  In fact using learner satisfaction as a way to rank teaching is highly misleading. Learner satisfaction encompasses a very wide range of factors as well as the teaching of a particular course. 

this research provides quantitative evidence of the importance of learning design in online and distance teaching. Good design leads to better learning outcomes. We need a shift in the power balance between university and college subject experts and learning designers resulting in the latter being treated as at least equals in the teaching process.

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

AI Ethics, Policy and Governance

https://hai.stanford.edu/?sf111258978=1

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

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