Micro-credentials: The solution to the skills gap and accessible education
By reformatting existing programs into micro-credentials and certificates, you can market these new programs to employers and bring new learners through your doors.
At the end of 2020, 80% of U.S. employers said they had more difficulty filling job openings due to skills gaps compared to the year before — and the skills gap isn’t going away anytime soon.
In fact, a recent Gartner survey found that 58% of employees need new skills to successfully do their work.
To start offering micro-credential programs:
- Identify gaps: You don’t have to start from scratch to create a micro-credentialing program. Instead, take a proactive approach by comparing the skills offered in your existing courses with the abilities and expertise employers are searching for in their job postings and identify any gaps that micro-credentials can fill for organizations. You can then align the skills offered in your current course offerings with organizations’ needs.
- Create stackable degree programs: You can also make your micro-credentials stackable and build them into a larger qualification (e.g., offer them as degree credits) to entice employees to further their education at your university. This elevates the overall value for learners who may want a degree down the line.
Newbutt, N., Schmidt, M. M., Riva, G., & Schmidt, C. (2020). The possibility and importance of immersive technologies during COVID-19 for autistic people.
Journal of Enabling Technologies,
14(3), 187–199.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JET-07-2020-0028
#lowend #mmersive approach for students with #autism
The authors also pursue low-end vs hi-end approach in the adoption of immersive technologies:
here my annotations in hypothes.is
or if you don’t use it, link to the article
it also follows the same venue of mindful use of immersive, which Gill, Mark C and i tried to pursue several years ago
As described and developed by
Riva and Wiederhold (2020) we suggest that the use of a low-cost spherical, video-based virtual reality mindfulness intervention could reduce the psychological burden of COVID-19 for autistic people, alongside a developed package of at-home educational and support materials to empower families/caregivers delivered via an online eLearning platform to support effective implementation.
https://www.ecampusnews.com/2021/11/11/viewpoint-can-ai-tutors-help-students-learn/
the Kyowon Group, an education company in Korea, recently developed a life-like tutor using artificial intelligence for the very first time in the Korean education industry.
Kyowon created its AI tutors for two-way communication–teacher to student and student to teacher–by exchanging questions and answers between the two about the lesson plan as if they were having an interactive conversation. These AI tutors were able to provide real time feedback related to the learning progress and were also able to identify, manage, and customize interactions with students through learning habits management. In addition, to help motivate student learning, the AI Tutors captured students’ emotions through analysis of their strengths and challenges.
While AI is being used in various industries, including education, the technology comes under scrutiny as many ask the question if they can trust AI and its legitimacy?
Although there are some meaningful use cases for deepfake, such as using technology to bring historical figures of the past to life, deepfake technology is mostly exploited. However, the good news is that groups are working to detect and minimize the damage caused by deepfake videos and other AI technology abuses, including credible standards organizations who are working to ensure trust in AI.
For education, the best and only way AI tutors will be adopted and accepted
can only be done with innovative real-time AI conversational technology that must include accurate lip and mouth synchronization in addition to video synthesis technology. Using real models, not fake computer-generated ones, is critical as well.
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more on playful pedagogy in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=playful+pedagogy
NuEyes Becomes a Channel Partner With T-Mobile, Bringing the Metaverse Closer Than Ever Before
https://www.newswire.com/news/nueyes-becomes-a-channel-partner-with-t-mobile-bringing-the-metaverse-21557049
With the combination of T-Mobile’s nationwide 5G network – the largest, fastest, and most reliable – for wireless connectivity and NuEyes line of connected Augmented Reality Smart Glasses, for the first time, consumers can be connected to the metaverse no matter where they are.
U.S. Ed Tech Spending to Reach $27.6 Billion in 2021
https://campustechnology.com/articles/2021/10/07/report-u.s-ed-tech-spending-to-reach-27.6-billion-in-2021.aspx
The report forecast China’s growth in ed tech spending to be 15.6 percent over the same period, reaching $34.2 billion by 2026. Japan, Canada and Germany are all expected to see double-digit growht in ed tech spending over the report period as well: Japan at 14.5 percent, Canada at 14 percent and Germany at 11.9 percent CAGR.
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More on educational technology in this blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=Educational+technology
Better questions to ask might be:
- What is this project’s purpose, and is the technology that’s being used helping to achieve and enhance that purpose?
- Why is technology being used the way it is? Is it still effective?
- Is there a better way to accomplish this that we weren’t previously aware of or that we didn’t previously have access to?
iPads have come a long way since our initial investment in interactive whiteboards.
- Is there a better way to accomplish this that we weren’t previously aware of or that we didn’t previously have access to? iPads have come a long way since our initial investment in interactive whiteboards. Perhaps they can offer us a purposeful and innovative solution that wasn’t previously available.
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more on SAMR in this blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=samr
https://hyp.is/go?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.academia.edu%2F25810340%2FGamification_in_Higher_Education_Toward_a_pedagogy_to_engage_and_motivate_students&group=__world__