Remaining a tech-savvy educator means keeping on top of the myriad changes and trends in education, how technology can support those trends, and how teaching and learning can best benefit from near-constant change.
Below, we’ve gathered some of the latest and most relevant marketplace news to keep you up-to-date on product developments, teaching and learning initiatives, and new trends in education.
Student confidence in classroom technology’s ability to improve their performance is eroding. That is one of the findings from a recent survey of 500 college students conducted by Wakefield Research for VitalSource. While student dependence on technology has increased, their disillusionment and dissatisfaction with the technology offerings in, and implementation into their classes has grown. Nearly one in five students (19 percent) expressed dissatisfaction with the technology currently used in their classrooms. This number represents more than double the students who expressed similar dissatisfaction in 2015. Read more.
Today’s credentialing marketplace is a confusing maze of certifications, degrees, certificates, licenses, badges, and other micro-credentials that are difficult to understand and navigate. Job seekers, students, and workers have more choice than ever to help them get ahead, but a lack of transparency in credentials causes confusion for them and for employers looking to build their workforce. Using Web 3.0 technologies, the Credential Transparency Initiative’s Credential Registry enables job seekers, students, workers, and employers to easily search for and compare credentials, similar to the way travel apps are used to compare flights, rental cars, and hotels. Read more.
Adrienne Decker, an assistant professor of interactive games and media at RIT, and Monica McGill, an associate professor of game design at Bradley University, have received a $1.19 million grant from the National Science Foundation to study the long-term impact of computing activities students have engaged in prior to college. The five-year study will look at the growing number of groups devoted to increasing interest in computing among K-12 students. These governmental, commercial and not-for-profit programs—including code.org, Black Girls Code and university-led summer programs—are fueled by the nation’s critical need for more technology workers with computing skills. Read more.
Gamers playing the popular online puzzle game Foldit beat scientists, college students and computer algorithms in a contest to see who could identify a particular protein’s shape. The study findings have implications for video game enthusiasts and classroom instruction, and showcase the positive impact citizen science can have on research. Read more.
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