• College of the Canyons makerspace

    Report Shares Makerspace Impact in California CCs

    According to "Makerspace Impact: Implementation Strategies & Stories of Transformation," the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office's $17 million grant enabled 24 community colleges to open or expand their makerspace efforts. Those spaces were used by an estimated 64,310 students; drew 1,296 employers as partners in the endeavor; engaged 691 faculty members; and funded 844 internships. And the impact has been broad, according to those immersed in the initiative. 12/12/2019

  • Instructure Going Private with VC Buyout

    The company that staked its claim in the LMS market by taking its learning management system open source in 2011 has agreed in principle to be acquired by a venture capital firm. Instructure recently announced the transaction. Thoma Bravo has offered stockholders $47.60 per share in cash, valuing the company at about $1.79 billion. 12/12/2019

  • blockchain

    Why We Are Using Blockchain for Digital Credentialing

    East Coast Polytechnic Institute is giving students full control over their academic records with blockchain-enabled digital credentials that are sharable and verifiable anywhere in the world.   12/12/2019

    • Features and Cover Stories
  • Office and Penetration Testing Software Increasingly Becoming Vectors for Malware

    Half of all malware that tried to infect computers during the third quarter of 2019 was already known. The other half was "zero-day" malware, which bypassed (and therefore went undetected by) traditional signature-based security software. 12/11/2019

  • College Completion Rates Inch Up Again

    Once again, college completion rates this year rose across the board for students attending all types of colleges and universities. The latest analysis by the research arm of the National Student Clearinghouse found that the overall national six-year completion rate for 2.3 million students reached 59.7 percent for those entering school for the first time in fall 2013, up from 58.3 percent for students who entered in 2012. 12/11/2019

  • Smartphone Market Expected to Pick Up in 2020

    Personal computing device shipments are looking stronger than expected for 2019, and smartphone deliveries are expected to bump up in 2020, according to two separate analyses by International Data Corp. 12/11/2019

  • Report: Community-Based Threat Intelligence Can Help Prevent Violent Events

    According to a report from LiveSafe, mass shooting incidents can be prevented when people who are part of those communities detect "deviations" from the norm — "when something appears dangerous, when a person is acting suspicious, or when a friend or colleague is in crisis." 12/11/2019

  • Adult Learning Worldwide Not Keeping Pace with Need

    A worldwide study of adult learning has found that those who most need it have the greatest trouble getting it. According to a report on the research, adults (defined as people over the age of 15) with disabilities, who are older, who are refugees or migrants, who live in areas of conflict, who are part of minority groups or other disadvantaged segments of society are "particularly under-represented" in education programs intended to deliver lifelong learning opportunities. 12/10/2019

  • closeup of college application

    Virtual Advising Alone Insufficient to Make a Difference in College Admission

    A working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that virtual advising may work for some prospective college students, but targeting who it can benefit is difficult. According to the research, "many students probably need in-person and more intensive help to increase four-year enrollments." 12/09/2019

  • Digital Transformation: A Focus on Creativity, Not Tools

    Veteran education technologist Ellen Wagner examines a point that is too often missing from discussions of "digital transformation". 12/09/2019

  • laptop on desk with "online course" on screen

    5 Proven Ways to Make Your Good Online Course Great

    Recent research uncovered just a handful of distinct elements that set great online teaching apart from the merely good. The findings came out of interviews with eight faculty members who have won awards for their online teaching from three professional associations: the Online Learning Consortium, the Association for Educational Communications & Technology and the United States Distance Learning Association. 12/09/2019

  • ed tech conference calendar

    Upcoming Events, Webinars & Calls for Papers (Week of Dec. 9, 2019)

    Upcoming events include EdgeCon 2020, the Association of American Colleges & Universities 2020 Annual Meeting, and LearnLaunch Across Boundaries Conference. 12/09/2019

  • row of students gaming on computers

    4 Schools Laying Groundwork to Host Esports Tournaments

    A company that produces esports tournament software has entered into partnerships with four universities to host collegiate esports competitions. Texas A&M University, the University of Texas at Austin, Louisiana State University and Houston's University of St. Thomas will use Mainline.GG software to host tournaments through 2020. 12/05/2019

  • New Top Hat Intro Courses Offer All-in-One Learning Materials

    Digital course materials company Top Hat is launching six new “Intro Courses” that provide a variety of learning materials and instructor resources in an all-in-one course solution. 12/05/2019

  • student studying in library with laptop

    Mixing in Online Courses Boosts Outcomes for CC Students

    A statewide study of 30 SUNY community colleges found that, overall, students who successfully completed online courses nearly doubled their chances of earning a degree or transferring to a four-year college. 12/05/2019

  • server hardware on fire

    Is Your ERP Platform Burning?

    As legacy ERP solutions begin to show their age, the difference between "cloud-enabled" and "cloud-native" software is becoming a flash point for many higher education institutions. 12/05/2019

    • Features and Cover Stories
  • human hand touching robotic hand

    Gartner: 10 Ways Technology Will Change What It Means to Be Human

    "The human condition is being challenged as technology creates varied and ever-changing expectations of humans," according to research firm Gartner. That's the theme behind 10 strategic predictions it has made for 2020 and beyond: ways that technology will change the way humans work and interact with their environment and each other. 12/04/2019

  • Audiovisual company Maxell has released a new lecture capture system that lets operators upload interactive video content and collaborate with classrooms across remote locations. The MA-XL1 is intended for education settings.

    Maxell Lecture Capture System Adds Collaboration Tools

    Audiovisual company Maxell has introduced new lecture capture hardware that lets operators upload interactive video content and collaborate with classrooms across remote locations. The MA-XL1 is intended for education settings. 12/04/2019