Leading the eLearning Transformation of Higher Education: Leadership Strategies for the Next Generation - Reviewed by Ramona M. Cutri, Teachers College Record

The second edition historically contextualizes eLearning and provides needed attention to issues of diversity and equity. The majority of the book was written prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, yet the authors eerily speak to issues that have only intensified as a result of the dramatic pivot to emergency remote teaching caused by the closure of universities worldwide in efforts to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. A statement by Karen Swan sums up the gravity of the current state of academia and its modus apparatus: “[I]t isn’t clear that higher education will survive in its current form” (p. 293).... An assertion by Raymond Schroeder further questions the centralized authority of institutions of higher education to not only quantify learning but also to keep track of what is learned.

https://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentId=23639

What Is Starlink? SpaceX's Much-Hyped Satellite Internet Service Explained - Michael Kan, PC Mag

If you live in a city or a big suburb, you probably enjoy fast internet speeds, maybe at 1Gbps or beyond. But imagine enduring internet speeds at 20Mbps, or even as low as 0.8Mbps, every day. What’s worse, your home only has one or two internet service providers to choose from, leaving you stranded with crummy service. Unfortunately, millions of people across the US, and the globe, are stuck in this very situation. Installing fiber in a city, and bringing Gigabit broadband to million of customers is certainly lucrative, but not so much in a rural area home to only a few hundred people. Enter Starlink. The satellite internet system from SpaceX is capable of delivering 150Mbps internet speeds to theoretically any place on the planet. All the customer needs is a clear view of the sky. Last fall, the system began serving its first users, many of whom were based in remote or rural regions of America—and the response has so far been ecstatic.

https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/what-is-starlink-spacex-satellite-internet-service-explained

AI now most favoured major at China universities - China Daily

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become the most popular new major at Chinese universities for the second year in a row amid the country’s drive to build a strong AI talent pool. The subject’s popularity is far above that of any other new major, writes Zou Shuo for China Daily. A list issued by the Ministry of Education on Monday 1 March said universities across the country applied to establish 2,046 new majors last year, with 130 universities receiving approval to establish four-year undergraduate AI-related majors. In 2019, 180 universities set up AI majors, making it the No 1 new major in that year, too.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20210313122642808

Over 3 Million People Took This Course on Happiness. Here’s What Some Learned - Molly Oswaks, NY Times

The Yale happiness class, formally known as Psyc 157: Psychology and the Good Life, is one of the most popular classes to be offered in the university’s 320-year history. “Everyone knows what they need to do to protect their physical health: wash your hands, and social distance, and wear a mask,” she added. “People were struggling with what to do to protect their mental health.” The Coursera curriculum, adapted from the one Dr. Santos taught at Yale, asks students to, among other things, track their sleep patterns, keep a gratitude journal, perform random acts of kindness, and take note of whether, over time, these behaviors correlate with a positive change in their general mood.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/13/style/happiness-course.html

Promoting Community in Your Online Classroom - Linda Dale Bloomberg, Teachers College Press

Instructors often fear that they will lose the interaction and sense of community they have when they teach face-to-face, but that doesn’t have to be the case! Developing learning communities has been at the heart of distance education since its inception, and the challenge of fostering community remains a focal issue. Below are my top 10 tips to optimize your teaching by encouraging a sense of community, resulting in a more effective and meaningful learning experience for you and your students right from the start.

https://www.tcpress.com/blog/promoting-community-online-classroom/

Cautious Optimism About Teaching STEM Online - Lindsay McKenzie, Inside Higher Ed

The shift to remote learning forced STEM instructors to increasingly accept online education. But concerns about how to give students meaningful lab experiences remain.  The findings of a new survey, STEM Education in the Time of COVID, suggest that hesitancy to embrace online education may be changing. Bay View Analytics, a statistical research firm, published the report with the Online Learning Consortium, a membership organization that promotes the use and quality of digital education. The report was supported by Every Learner Everywhere, a network of organizations that promotes online education with a focus on equity, as well as three companies involved in distance education in STEM: Digital Ed, Carolina Distance Learning and HHMI BioInteractive.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/03/11/faculty-still-harbor-concerns-about-teaching-stem-courses-online

Student Perceptions of Data Use Within Higher Education - Jill Dunlap, Iris Palmer, Alexa Wesley; New America

The use of student data to inform decision-making and communication is still evolving in higher education. Often missing from campus conversations about use of student data are student voices about their preferences and needs. NASPA and New America engaged in a joint research effort to better understand student perceptions of data use within higher education. Insights from these discussions with students led to a set of recommendations for campus administrators about the uses of different types of data, the tools for collecting and sharing that data, the areas of data-related training for faculty and staff, and the framing and delivery of outreach messages informed by student data.

https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/reports/keeping-student-trust/

New tool makes students better at detecting fake imagery and videos - Uppsala University, Science Daily

Researchers at Uppsala University have developed a digital self-test that trains users to assess news items, images and videos presented on social media. The self-test has also been evaluated in a scientific study, which confirmed the researchers' hypothesis that the tool genuinely improved the students' ability to apply critical thinking to digital sources.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210309132557.htm

As admissions season descends, warning signs appear for low-income applicant - Jon Marcus, Hechinger Report

“This is hitting our students in such a more exacerbated way than it’s hitting white, higher-income students,” said Claire Dennison, chief program officer of uAspire, which helps low-income and first-generation families navigate the college admissions and financial aid maze. “They have always faced roadblocks on the way to college, and they certainly have more of those now.” There are already clear indications that fewer low-income, first-generation, Black and Hispanic students are applying to college for the coming year than in the past, while their wealthier classmates have been less affected by the restrictions imposed in response to Covid-19.

https://hechingerreport.org/as-admissions-season-descends-warning-signs-appear-for-low-income-applicants/

The future of work after COVID-19 - McKinsey Global Institute

This report on the future of work after COVID-19 is the first of three MGI reports that examine aspects of the postpandemic economy. The others look at the pandemic’s long-term influence on consumption and the potential for a broad recovery led by enhanced productivity and innovation. Here, we assess the lasting impact of the pandemic on labor demand, the mix of occupations, and the workforce skills required in eight countries with diverse economic and labor market models: China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Together, these eight countries account for almost half the global population and 62 percent of GDP.

https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/the-future-of-work-after-covid-19

Practitioner Perspectives: The DOERS3 Collaborative on OER in Tenure and Promotion - New England Board of Higher Education

In the following Practitioner Perspective, Andrew McKinney, OER coordinator at the City University of New York (CUNY), and Amanda Coolidge, director of Open Education at BCcampus in British Columbia, Canada, share the development of an adaptable matrix to help faculty include OER (Open Educational Resources) in their tenure and promotion portfolios. 

https://nebhe.org/journal/practitioner-perspectives-the-doers3-collaborative-on-oer-in-tenure-and-promotion/

In era of online learning, new testing method aims to reduce cheating - Troy Record

The era of widespread remote learning brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic requires online testing methods that effectively prevent cheating, especially in the form of collusion among students. With concerns about cheating on the rise across the country, a solution that also maintains student privacy is particularly valuable. In research published recently in npj Science of Learning, engineers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute demonstrate how a testing strategy they call “distanced online testing” can effectively reduce students’ ability to receive help from one another in order to score higher on a test taken at individual homes during social distancing.

https://www.troyrecord.com/news/in-era-of-online-learning-new-testing-method-aims-to-reduce-cheating/article_94792548-7aa4-11eb-9f70-7fe56de40ffb.html

Making Education Research Relevant - Daniel T. WillinghamDaniel T. Willingham, Education Next

No matter the reason, it seems many teachers don’t think education research is directly useful to them. We think these teachers have it right. And we think the problem lies with researchers, not teachers.  The first three obstacles listed above—two concerning applicability of research and one concerning perceived constraints research puts on practice—are products of the methods researchers use. Research seems irrelevant to practitioners because it does not pose questions that address their needs. Teachers feel constrained by research because they feel pressured to use research-approved methods, and research creates clear winners and losers among practices that may be appropriate in some contexts but not others.

https://www.educationnext.org/making-education-research-relevant-how-researchers-can-give-teachers-more-choices/

Pandemic Pressures - Elizbeth Redden, Inside Higher Ed

More than half of students worldwide, and three-quarters in the U.S., said their mental health has suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new survey of nearly 17,000 undergraduate students across 21 countries commissioned by the nonprofit arm of Chegg, a controversial textbook rental and educational technology company. Chegg.org commissioned the polling company Yonder to interview 16,839 undergraduates across the 21 countries last fall, with sample sizes in the various countries ranging from 500 to about 1,000. Seventy-five percent of American students surveyed said their mental health had suffered due to the pandemic, second only to Brazil (76 percent) and similar to the percentage of Canadian students who said the same (73 percent). 

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/03/01/global-student-survey-focuses-mental-health-and-financial-and-other-pressures

Distance learning nightmare: What to do when your Wi-Fi goes out - ZACHARIAH NASH, Daily Cal

With instruction entirely online this semester, there is one scenario that is absolutely terrifying: having the Wi-Fi go out. When that happens, your ability to get schoolwork done and attend class is incredibly hampered or even outright impossible. It isn’t the end of the world, though. There are plenty of ways to get through it. Here are some of the steps you should take if you’ve lost connection. 

https://www.dailycal.org/2021/02/28/distance-learning-nightmare-what-to-do-when-your-wi-fi-goes-out/

Five Tips to Creating a More Engaging Online Course for Adult Learners - Jacqueline Crockford, Faculty Focus

As society changes to include more online learning opportunities, the field of education must stay abreast of these shifts and use these strategies to provide the best education possible for new and longtime professionals. When teaching courses online, consider applying evidence-based strategies to improve engagement, satisfaction, and comprehension for your students of all ages. The following five tips have been developed from research geared toward pivoting live classes into effective online or blended learning courses.

https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/online-student-engagement/five-tips-to-creating-a-more-engaging-online-course-for-adult-learners/

Top Zoom Tips for Better Video Calls - Jill Duffy, PC Mag

Part of what makes Zoom one of the best video conferencing services is its resiliency at keeping calls going, despite wavering Wi-Fi and faltering 4G. Zoom elegantly figures out what to adjust on the backend to keep your call as smooth as possible, despite the occasional freeze. Aside from its technical prowess, Zoom also has great features for making video calls better and more fun. You can smooth out your skin, drop in a virtual background, and automatically suppress loud noises. And yes, you can turn yourself into a cat, but—more importantly—do you know how to check that those settings are off before your next call?

https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/top-zoom-tips-for-better-videoconferencing-in-a-locked-down-world

How Much Will Your University Likely Get? Simulated Distribution of Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds - ACE American Council on Education

​​The American Rescue Plan Act ​provides almost $40 billion in relief funds that will go directly to colleges and universities to support the overwhelming costs that institutions and students face in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.​​​ These sortable, searchable databases below are a simulation of how ED might distribute the emergency funds for public and private nonprofit and proprietary institutions. Click here for the methodology on how we compiled the numbers. (Note: It is not known if ED will use this methodology, but previous simulations on CARES Act and Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act have been very accurate.)

https://www.acenet.edu/Policy-Advocacy/Pages/HEA-ED/ARP-Higher-Education-Relief-Fund.aspx

How Open Education Resources (OER) Can Cross the Digital Divide - Kevin Hogan, Marketscale

  Less than a decade after publishing its first free, openly licensed textbook, OpenStax — Rice University’s educational technology initiative — has saved students $1.2 billion. In this episode of Edtech Today, Kevin Hogan sits down with the Managing Director of OpenStax, Daniel Williamson, to discuss his organization’s efforts to offer openly licensed textbooks integrated with personalized learning technology.

https://marketscale.com/industries/education-technology/how-open-education-resources-oer-can-cross-the-digital-divide/

In defense of online learning - Nancy Gleason, University Business

While some bemoan the loss of in-person classes, the remote learning forced by COVID-19 offers us an opportunity to expand access, confront opportunity gaps, and prepare for future growth of higher education. The ongoing pandemic means that many students will continue to attend classes online for the foreseeable future. For starters, e-learning works. While some college administrators still balk at the idea that high-caliber education can be attained outside brick-and-mortar settings, the evidence suggests the opposite. Distance learning empowers educational outcomes, enables more teaching flexibility, opens doors to disadvantaged students, and is, for many college students and faculty, as effective at conveying knowledge as in-person learning. This has been particularly true during the pandemic.

https://universitybusiness.com/in-defense-of-online-learning/

Google Renames G Suite for Ed, Adds Pile of New Features - Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

Google announced a pallet full of changes to its education offerings, including a renaming of its education bundle of productivity applications and a limit to free storage for schools and colleges. Security and engagement updates are also being added to the education version of Google Meet, and Google Classroom will see enhancements later this year. The announcements came during a 90-minute virtual session on "learning with Google." Replays of the event will be available for viewing by registered users after Feb. 19, 2021.  G Suite for Education has been renamed. Starting today, it's known as Google Workspace for Education.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2021/02/17/google-renames-g-suite-for-ed-adds-pile-of-new-features.aspx

This chart shows the connections between cybercrime groups - Catalin Cimpanu, ZD Net

Cybersecurity reports often talk about threat actors and their malware/hacking operations as self-standing events, but, in reality, the cybercrime ecosystem is much smaller and far more interconnected than the layperson might realize. Cybercrime groups often have complex supply chains, like real software companies, and they regularly develop relationships within the rest of the e-crime ecosystem to acquire access to essential technology that enables their operations or maximizes their profits. According to cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, these third-party technologies can be classified into three categories: services, distribution, and monetization.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/this-chart-shows-the-connections-between-cybercrime-groups/

Here's Where Americans Are Using Starlink's Satellite Internet Service - Sascha Segan, PC Mag

SpaceX's Starlink satellite ISP is poised to make a big difference in rural America, according to exclusive Ookla Speedtest data shared with PCMag. Starlink is currently in a semi-public beta, serving more than 10,000 users at speeds up to 170Mbps, with no data caps, according to beta testers. 

Ookla located US counties with at least 30 Starlink samples since December, and charted Starlink's speeds county by county against all other fixed internet providers. Our own analysis shows that Starlink will make the biggest difference in rural, low-density, low-population counties with few options other than lower-quality satellite services.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/exclusive-heres-where-americans-are-using-starlinks-satellite-internet

Now is the time to rethink undergraduate education in the liberal arts - JEAN-PAUL BOUDREAU, University Affairs

While our 20th-century models of education celebrated specialization, it is becoming clear that no one profession or technology or set of skills is capable of navigating the inscrutable way ahead. Instead, I believe the 21st century belongs to the thinkers: the agile, inquisitive, empathetic, and counterintuitive collaborators who embrace a diversity of knowledge. These are tomorrow’s changemakers and entrepreneurs, who both ask, “What if?” and answer, “Here’s how.” So where will we find these minds? Primarily, in undergraduate liberal arts institutions across this country: the place where ideas are our lifeblood and critical and creative thinking our consequence.

https://www.universityaffairs.ca/opinion/in-my-opinion/now-is-the-time-to-rethink-undergraduate-education-in-the-liberal-arts/

Higher Ed's Future at the Intersection of Learners and Employers - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed

Fewer students started or returned to college last fall -- numbers were down half a million below 2019 [1]. In understanding those numbers, we should remember that enrollments have dropped each of the past 10 years. Prospective students have been balancing the prospect of launching a career or at least a full-time salary or putting that aside for college benefits such as greater long-term income, campus social life, maturing and finding the right career. It is, as Michael B. Horn and Bob Moesta suggest, “A Not-so-Tidy Narrative [2].” Nevertheless, as Horn and Moesta point out, “According to the University of California, Los Angeles’s annual survey of freshmen entering four-year colleges and universities, roughly 85 percent say they are going so they can get a job. That is up from roughly two-thirds in the 1970s, although down slightly from its peak in 2012.”

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/blogs/online-trending-now/higher-eds-future-intersection-learners-and-employers

It’s Time to Take College Student Hunger and Homelessness Seriously - Jireh Deng, Nicole Delgado, Rashida Crutchfield and Stephanie Ibarra, EdSurge

The national numbers for food and housing insecurity demonstrate the very real struggle students have to balance between supporting themselves and working toward a degree. The costs of living and tuition require most students experiencing food and housing insecurity to work while also taking on a full-time course load. For example, the California State University at Long Beach Division of Student Affairs highlighted that 80 percent of their students worked while in school to support their families. Many of the jobs were in the retail and restaurant industries, which typically afford flexible hours to students but have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic closures.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2021-02-18-it-s-time-to-take-college-student-hunger-and-homelessness-seriously

Depression, anxiety, loneliness are peaking in college students - Boston University

"Half of students in fall 2020 screened positive for depression and/or anxiety," says Sarah Ketchen Lipson, a Boston University mental health researcher and a co-principal investigator of the nationwide survey published on Februray 11, 2021, which was administered online during the fall 2020 semester through the Healthy Minds Network. The survey further reveals that 83 percent of students said their mental health had negatively impacted their academic performance within the past month, and that two-thirds of college students are struggling with loneliness and feeling isolated -- an all-time high prevalence that reflects the toll of the pandemic and the social distancing necessary to control it.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210219190939.htm

The future of online learning: the long-term trends accelerated by Covid-19 - Richard Doughty, The Guardian

For Prof John Domingue, director of the Open University’s pioneering research and development lab, the Knowledge Media Institute (KMI), the “online genie” is out of the bottle and won’t go back in. So what can universities undertake to make online learning more than just a heavy focus on streaming and recording technology? Domingue points to artificial intelligence (AI) and the concept of an online library for educators based on a Google search engine dedicated to education, and a Netflix-style recommendation tool that tracks down content to suit a lecturer’s own field, based on previous searches.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/feb/16/the-future-of-online-learning-the-long-term-trends-accelerated-by-covid-19

For colleges, $7B in federal broadband aid highlights extent of digital divide - Daniele McClean, Higher Ed Dive

Institutional leaders fear the lack of access is widening higher education's class divide and forcing students to drop out or not enroll in college. The latest federal coronavirus relief package, which passed in December, included $7 billion to help expand broadband to underserved communities and connect people who do not have the means to pay for it. A significant chunk of that money will help minority-serving institutions and students who receive Pell Grants, which are given to those with the greatest financial need. The package follows an earlier round of emergency relief, passed in March, some of which was used by states, cities and colleges to expand access to the internet. However, experts and institutional leaders say the funds were merely a Band-Aid that helped many students transition online quickly, but they did not close the digital divide. 

https://www.highereddive.com/news/for-colleges-7b-in-federal-broadband-aid-highlights-extent-of-digital-div/595007/

Students adapt to taking online classes with a roommate -Maya Morita, Athens Post

Students living in residence halls this semester are having to adapt to doing online classes while in the same room as their roommate. With some classes starting at the same time, students may find themselves having to adjust their learning in order to be courteous to their roommate. Erin Ashley, a sophomore studying meteorology, said that she feels that she has to leave the room in order to speak in class.

https://www.thepostathens.com/article/2021/02/covid-roommates-online-learning-difficulties

7 questions–and answers–about copyright during online learning - ROY KAUFMAN, eSchool News

In determining whether to apply fair use to an infringement, the courts look at four factors set out in the statute (although even the statute itself says that these factors are “non-exclusive”–meaning that a judge can take other, similar factors into account as well):

1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
2. The nature of the copyrighted work
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole

https://www.eschoolnews.com/2021/02/15/7-questions-and-answers-about-copyright-during-online-learning/2/

Bridging the educational divide with tech skilling - JACKY WRIGHT, eCampus News

Digital competencies will be essential for students' future success as workers--here's why tech skilling is critical. Closing the educational divide and the digital skills gap has always been important to technologically-minded educators, but the disruptions of COVID-19 have brought a new urgency. Ensuring all students can participate equitably and fulfill their dreams in society hinges on having the right access to technology, especially in the education system.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2021/02/12/bridging-the-educational-divide-with-tech-skilling/

Who is ‘best in class’ for HE digital transformation? - Nic Mitchell, University World News

The best in class for the digital transformation of higher education take a holistic approach, covering everything from student recruitment to enhancing the value of the student experience and improving outcomes and employability, according to market research for the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group. But they are the exception, with an international survey of 17,000 students finding that 70% of these higher education students worldwide were in institutions “not digitally mature” and some universities were “digitally distraught” when the COVID-19 shutdowns began.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20210212110216804

Have universities learned how to be ready for a crisis? - Nita Temmerman, University World News

The traditional and continuing main functions of universities are to teach and to research and, in so doing, to meet the needs of society and improve it. The organisational structure should ensure teaching and research are both able to flourish. The structure should ensure the organisation is agile and that it encourages innovation. The structure should promote open, understandable communication and timely and appropriate decision-making. Ultimately, it is the leadership at the very top that impacts on what organisational design is adopted and how well governed the university is. Good governance should lessen, not increase, senseless bureaucracy and confusion around decision-making.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20210208125319719