EdTechnically

EdTechnically

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EdTechnically episodes

  • McGraw-Hill Cengage Merger Faces Headwinds in the US and UK
    On March 30, the uphill battle education publishers McGraw-Hill and Cengage have been fighting to complete a merger got a little steeper. The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ruled that the companies’ proposal to sell off a number of their current holdings was not sufficient to maintain competition. As a result, the CMA did not extend their blessing for the merger to move ahead.
    Earlier in March, two members of the U.S. House Antitrust Subcommittee, Chairman David Cicilline of Rhode Island and Commerce Chair Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, wrote a letter to the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division asking for increased scrutiny over the deal.
    This episode is also available in podcast form on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and Stitcher. It is also available as a video on YouTube.
    eLearningInside.com
    Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/elearninginside?lang=en
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDeL-h1O9To3txtqFRMnhGA?view_as=subscriber
    8 min
  • Researchers Link Working Memory to Online Learning Habits, a Step Forward in Personalized Learning
    As edtech and eLearning technologies have gone from a novelty to commonplace in education systems around the world, their use has been plagued by a common question: do they work as effectively as traditional instruction? While the question is far too broad to be useful to anyone, a group of researchers recently took a mostly unexplored approach. They wanted to see how learners with different working memory capabilities learned in an online context. What’s more, they identified numerous functions of online modules—such as learning time, repetition of material, and quiz performance—to see if it correlated with working memory.
    While the research has intrinsic merits, the authors also believe their findings can be used to help design eLearning features to be more effective and more personalized for all learners. If educators can identify a learners’ working memory capabilities simply through how they learn online, then they can both adapt future online learning content and in-person instruction to better suit each student.
    “Predicting Visiospatial and Verbal Working Memory by Individual Differences in E-Learning Activities” was authored by a team of researchers from Umea University and Linnaeus University in Sweden and Hypocampus, a Swedish eLearning developer. It was published in Frontiers in Education on March 17.
    This episode is also available in podcast form on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and Stitcher. It is also available as a video on YouTube.
    eLearningInside.com
    Study: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2020.00022/full?utm_source=F-NTF&utm_medium=EMLX&utm_campaign=PRD_FEOPS_20170000_ARTICLE
    Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/elearninginside?lang=en
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDeL-h1O9To3txtqFRMnhGA?view_as=subscriber
    10 min
  • Interpersonal Interaction Is Crucial for Instructional Continuity. But What Does that Mean?
    As coronavirus-related school closures continue to effect education systems around the world, an increasing amount of educators are doing their best to keep their courses going online. In this effort, teachers have coalesced on Twitter around the hashtag #instructionalcontinuity. Many often hear and repeat that, when it comes to online learning, fostering interpersonal interaction is one of the biggest challenges.
    But what, exactly, does that term mean? And what’s the best way of going about boosting interpersonal interaction in an online class? Bloomsburg University Professor Scott Mehall tackles this issue in a recent scholarly article. “Purposeful Interpersonal Interaction in Online Learning: What Is It and How Is It Measured?” was published in the latest version of Online Learning, the official journal of the Online Learning Consortium.
    This episode is also available in podcast form on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and Stitcher. It is also available as a video on YouTube.
    eLearningInside.com
    Latest issue of Online Learning: https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/issue/viewIssue/114/36
    Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/elearninginside?lang=en
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDeL-h1O9To3txtqFRMnhGA?view_as=subscriber
    9 min
  • Coronavirus Has Arrived. Will an LMS Be Enough for Remote Learning?
    In the early months of 2020, coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, surged in China and surrounding countries, leading to large-scale school closings. The virus has since spread around the world and has arrived in the U.S.
    On March 11, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a pandemic. No one knows how far, wide, and long coronavirus will spread. While young people—especially children—tend to handle the virus far more effectively than older patients, closing public institutions like schools where many people mingle on a daily basis has been seen by some as an effective way to combat the spread of the illness.
    We reached out to a handful of remote learning experts, schools, and edtech developers to get their advice on how best to deal with extended coronavirus closures. This post marks the first in a series of three.
    This episode is also available in podcast form on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and Stitcher. It is also available as a video on YouTube.
    eLearningInside.com
    Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/elearninginside?lang=en
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDeL-h1O9To3txtqFRMnhGA?view_as=subscriber
    8 min
  • Wiley Strikes Open Access Publishing Deal with UK Universities
    The academic publisher and edtech provider Wiley announced an ambitious move in digital publishing on March 2. In collaboration with Jisc and U.K. universities, the company has agreed to a four-year deal that will allow researchers to publish their work online in Wiley journals with an open access license at no cost to themselves.
    This episode is also available in podcast form on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and Stitcher. It is also available as a video on YouTube.
    eLearningInside.com
    Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/elearninginside?lang=en
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDeL-h1O9To3txtqFRMnhGA?view_as=subscriber
    8 min
  • Coronavirus: How Schools Are Using Technology to Learn on Lockdown
    In the early weeks of 2020, coronavirus has spread around the world. As the death toll from the respiratory virus has surpassed 2,500, numerous regions and cities have restricted travel, discouraged public gatherings, or put lockdowns in place. While many have been forced to cancel their plans as a result, a growing number of schools, businesses, and organizations have sought to conduct business and education as usual using technology and eLearning applications.
    This episode is also available in podcast form on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and Stitcher. It is also available as a video on YouTube.
    eLearningInside.com
    Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/elearninginside?lang=en
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDeL-h1O9To3txtqFRMnhGA?view_as=subscriber
    12 min
  • Instructure Failed to Gain Shareholder Support for a Private Equity Buyout. What Comes Next?
    On February 13, Instructure shareholders were set to vote on the proposed private equity buyout deal with the firm Thoma Bravonews on February 13. But before the vote, news emerged that Instructure had failed to gather enough investor support to allow it to go through. The company postponed the shareholder vote to February 25.
    Then, on February Instructure CEO Dan Goldsmith announced on February 18 that he plans to leave his role as chief executive of the company, along with his position on the board of directors. Goldsmith will remain in his post until March 6. In the meantime, senior Instructure leaders will form a joint office of the CEO as they begin a search to fill the role with the help of a hired firm.
    On the same day, Thoma Bravo revised their definitive agreement with Instructure. They will begin a tender offer at some point before February 25 to buy all outstanding Instructure stock at $49.00 a share. After the tender offer is completed, Instructure plans to merge with Thoma Bravo.
    This episode is also available in podcast form on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and Stitcher. It is also available as a video on YouTube.
    eLearningInside.com
    Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/elearninginside?lang=en
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDeL-h1O9To3txtqFRMnhGA?view_as=subscriber
    10 min
  • What Role Should Blended Learning Play During Crises? Insights from the #FeesMustFall Movement
    In recent years, online and blended learning has been put to use frequently during periods when teaching face to face is impossible. eLearning has been used to maintain instruction during hurricanes, heavy snows, floods, and fires. Educators have even continued to teach with online and blended learning during violent conflicts when traveling to schools becomes no longer safe. Communities often rally behind these efforts and view it as a best-case-scenario with all things considered. But that is not always the case. In a recently published article, researchers interview professors from the University of Cape Town (UCT) who were abruptly forced to take their courses online when protesters shut down campus. Though placed in a highly unique situation, their insights carry relevance for other online and blended learning responses to crises and the pedagogy more generally.
    University of Cape Town researchers Laura Czerniewicz, Henry Totter, and Genevieve Haupt recently published “Online teaching in response to student protests and campus shutdowns: academics’ perspectives,” in The International Journal of Education Technology in Higher Education.
    This episode is also available in podcast form on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and Stitcher. It is also available as a video on YouTube.
    eLearningInside.com
    Original article: https://news.elearninginside.com/what-role-should-blended-learning-play-during-campus-crisis-or-unrest-insights-from-the-feesmustfall-movement/
    Study: https://educationaltechnologyjournal.springeropen.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s41239-019-0170-1
    Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/elearninginside?lang=en
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDeL-h1O9To3txtqFRMnhGA?view_as=subscriber
    11 min
  • Liberty University Invested Big in Private Data and Admissions Leads to Grow their Online Program
    Liberty University is one of the biggest universities in the U.S., especially when it comes to private institutions and online enrollment. LU is an Evangelical Christian school, and sports Division I football and basketball teams. They also maintain confusing and even questionable statistics when it comes to important institution factors, like admissions, graduation rates, and post-graduate earnings. While the school struggled to maintain enrollment during the early and mid-2000s, it experienced massive enrollment growth beginning in 2007. Publicly available data indicates that this is due to both to a largely-expanded online program and aggressive investments in digital marketing and leads generation.
    This episode is also available in podcast form on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and Stitcher. It is also available as a video on YouTube.
    eLearningInside.com
    Original story with links to information and resources: https://news.elearninginside.com/liberty-university-one-of-americas-largest-online-educators-spent-over-157-million-on-admission-leads-between-2009-and-2016-their-8-year-graduation-rate-is-44/
    Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/elearninginside?lang=en
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDeL-h1O9To3txtqFRMnhGA?view_as=subscriber
    14 min
  • College Board Trends Report: Higher Education Still Pays
    Few higher education forecasts—for students or schools—have been sunny lately. On the one hand, tuition and fees have risen sharply in the past thirty years. Total student loan debt reached $1.5 trillion in the third quarter of 2019. Colleges and universities, meanwhile, are facing drops in enrollment that are expected to last through this decade, if not further. But a new report out from the College Board paints a different picture. For graduates, college still pays off financially, and is correlated with increased health benefits, civic engagement, and more.
    Since 2004, College Board has prepared annual reports titled Education Pays: The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society. The latest iteration was published on January 14.
    This episode is also available in podcast form on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and Stitcher. It is also available as a video on YouTube.
    College Board report: https://research.collegeboard.org/pdf/education-pays-2019-full-report.pdf
    eLearningInside.com
    Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/elearninginside?lang=en
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDeL-h1O9To3txtqFRMnhGA?view_as=subscriber
    8 min

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