In the US alone, the web design market is valued at $40 billion. Web designing can be self-taught. While the avenues of education are not free, there are cheaper alternatives than the academic route.

Online courses on web designing and there are resources that you can purchase online. The most important thing is actually determining which aspect of web design to learn first. Such aspects are important when presenting your career as a marketable one.

Back to the question: How to learn web design? From crucial learning tools to marketing techniques, a web designer must know them all.

Web Design and the Job Market

Web designing is a lucrative career path. It pays well, too. According to popular employment site, Glassdoor, a website designer can earn as much as $88,373 per year.

Even if you already have a career, it’s still an advantage to learn web design. Whatever business you are in, a website is always an integral part of it, so web design skills are transferable.

This is particularly essential if you are doing freelance work. As an individual doing business, a website is even more important since you don’t have the manpower to help you with marketing.

Steps on how to learn web design:

Understand the basic tenets of web design

Understanding the basic web design principles is important for your success as a future web designer and developer. What’s really great about web design is that it is a balance of science and creativity. There is a science to creating a website as you have to follow a formula and a process.

The web designer has to understand the concept that needs to be translated into something visually attractive. Part of knowing the basic tenets is also knowing the front end and back end of web design. Whatever you see on a website was due to the work done on the back end. Knowing how to read a webpage is an essential skill that will help your web design, from identifying tags to format adaptability.

The user usually makes a command from the front end. So, when they navigate a web page and press a button for the site to do a specific thing, the server will internalize the information and send it through the back end with all the correct HTML code so that the correct request will be displayed on the screen.

Back-end personnel are called programmers. Their task is not something that a web designer actually needs to master but it’s still good to know about it.

The front end, on the other hand, is where the HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and others have to work together in order to display the right page on the site. This is where web visitors engage with the website. It also follows that you know the basics of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. These are the languages of web design. There are many online courses and tools available to learn this particular skill, from Codecademy to Skillshare.

Learn the principles of visual design

Creativity is usually guided by emotions. In the complex world of web design, creativity is guided by both learned practices and emotion.

Here are the important web design concepts that you need to master:

Line: Every character in the layout for the website is made up of lines. These lines also compose a more generic structure. You need to understand how these lines will create order and organization on the website. It is important that balance is achieved when it comes to the use of the lines on the design.

Shapes: You will be working with three basic designs: circles, squares, and triangles. You have to understand the practical uses of these designs when creating the website. Not only that but there are also emotions attached to these shapes. This just means that you have to be savvy about how to use the shapes to shape a website.

Color: You should know that there are appropriate colors to use for appropriate designs. There are colors that would portray the brand properly. It’s important that every web designer knows the story and the meaning behind every color and if they would mesh well together.

Typography: Just like color and shape, the use of font also conveys a message. You need to know which fonts to use that will make your website easy to understand while also making sure that they look good. There should also be consistency with typography. This doesn’t mean that you have to use only one type of font, just that the different fonts shouldn’t be at war with each other.

Master the foundations of User Experience and User Interface

User experience (UX) is what will make more people visit your website. Sometimes, it’s not the number of people who visit your site, it’s the number of people you have converted into loyal customers.

Users will spend money on the brand if the website makes it easy for them. The creative part and the science part should go well together in order to bring out the best of the website and make people feel good when navigating the site.

There are two important factors that need to be considered: information architecture and user flows. You want the display to be easy to understand and then you want the flow to be easy for the users to operate. Every button and page should be highly functional.

The user interface (UI) is what users see on every page. The content should be easy to read and the buttons should be easy to understand. Coursera provides a 4-month free course on the fundamentals of UX and UI, covering user research and project management.

Creating the Website Layout

Organization is very important in layout as well as continuity. Understanding what makes a good layout will help the UI design. A powerful website is one that can help your client achieve the full potential growth and reach of their business.

To design a website with a great layout, use these tools.

Featured Image:Eftakher Alam, Unsplash. 

The post How To Learn Web Design: 4 Steps To Start Designing appeared first on eLearningInside News.

Even before the pandemic forced everyone inside, our culture was slowly but surely drifting towards the integration of technology. For proof of this, look no further than the development of smartphones and the subsequent generations of the most popular models; each one sleeker, more efficient, able to connect us to the digital world quicker, and with the ability to run applications and perform vital functions more smoothly. All of this is in the palm of our hands 24-7, nevermind the proliferation of devices like laptops and tablets; The next generation was practically born with a tablet in their hands, and if memory serves, tablets are actually being developed for children, albeit with an educational bent.

With the advent of the fourth industrial revolution, it’s likely that the future of the working world also lies in digital spheres. Amidst a labor shortage brought on by the pandemic, it’s employees that can work in these spheres and assist corporate colonization of these places that are in the highest demand. If you’re one of the individuals looking to remake their lives in the aftermath of the pandemic, switching career paths to something more likely to make money as time goes on, you may want to consider a career in the technological sphere.

While not an exhaustive list of the jobs and opportunities out there, this article seeks to give you a jumping-off point for selecting your next career, with a couple of options to serve most personality types and work styles.

Let’s take a brief tour of careers that will be more secure as technology continues to develop.

App Developer: An Entrepreneurial Gold Rush

While hardly the most stable option on this list, there is a lot of money to be made in the app development market should you succeed. App development centers are coming up with an idea that will patch an existing hole in the market, building a marketable program around it, and then attempting to (essentially) go viral, attaining a skyrocketing amount of downloads and frequent users. The problem with this is that you can never be sure what will catch on; The app market is famously fickle, and even if your app does manage to get attention, it’s unlikely that your user base will continuously use it for long.

However, you can circumvent this problem, should you choose to go down this path, by using application program interfaces or APIs. APIs allow your software to integrate with an already existing framework of programs used by customers, adding functionality and longevity to your application. APIs such as weather APIs can turn your application into a swiss army knife of useful functions, making it more likely that your consumers view your app as vital or necessary to keep on a device.

UX or UI Web Designer: Architects of the Net

A more stable career option might be becoming a user experience (UX) or user interface (UI) web designer. Both of these categories of web design work together to design products that consumers will find easy to navigate and visually appealing, and both are in high demand as corporations look to renovate their shabby websites and expand their online presence. Web designers get paid around $60,000 annually on average, and with the variety of job opportunities available post-pandemic, creative people with programming know-how might want to consider this extremely lucrative career opportunity.

Cybersecurity Specialist: Protecting and Serving

Cybercrime has been a problem ever since the inception of the World Wide Web, with ne’er do wells looking to take advantage of the new platform to steal from the vulnerable; this has only gotten more true as technology has developed and become more sophisticated. In fact, cybercrime is projected to hit just under $1 trillion in global losses as of 2020, with the pandemic providing ample opportunity for these criminals to thrive. As such, cybersecurity officials have never been in higher demand as businesses attempt to protect their assets and data from digital pirates.

Rake in the Profit

As technology continues to evolve and businesses try to expand their influence in digital spheres, officials with the know-how and the qualifications to help companies adapt to digital culture will become more and more valuable. Take advantage of the opportunities created by this national labor shortage; Switch to a career in the digital sphere today.

Featured Image: Anthony Shkraba. 

The post 21st Century Careers: The Technological Revolution and Viable Career Paths appeared first on eLearningInside News.

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich.- Gale, a Cengage company, has partnered with social and emotional learning (SEL) innovator IMAGO, to launch an online SEL and career readiness platform, Gale Presents: Imago. The video-based platform, covering content from cognitive flexibility to convergent thinking, will be available to K-12 schools and curriculums across the country. With a focus on soft skills development, the learning tool will be used to improve emotional intelligence and social skills among young learners.

“As a society, we haven’t always prioritized personal health and well-being preventively, and we are still helping to normalize mental wellness intervention.” Said Lemma Shomali, a senior director of product management and strategy for domestic learning at Gale. “Gale Presents: Imago will help schools achieve both for their students. The lessons included on the platform will help users understand that wellness, health, and emotional well-being are as critical to developing skills and habits as other “academic” skills, like reading and writing.”

A 2019 psychological study, found among 450 employees of various enterprises, that there was a significant positive effect emotional intelligence had on job performance and satisfaction, which lowered the chances of burnout.

The study also provided evidence showing how high levels of emotional intelligence can act as a competitive advantage for employees. A further study conducted by TalentSMartEQ found among employees of various sectors and levels, that 90% of top performers were high in emotional intelligence, with a higher average income per year.

Gale Presents: Imago is designed to facilitate both synchronous and asynchronous lessons with a wide range of accessibility, so students can access their content at any time, anywhere.

The platform also includes family wellness lessons, which focus on areas such as loneliness, anger, and grief.

“What our partnership with Gale can best control is providing individuals and families with the knowledge, language, mindsets, and emotional intelligence skills to use in their lives and model it in their circles. A healthy home is made with healthy habits.” Said Spencer Wallace, Head of Growth at IMAGO. “Family wellness lessons are a product of the unfortunately frequent school district response to crises such as wildfires in California that annually are closing schools and displacing families. Provided free to families, these wellness lessons are a tool to support well-being in schools and beyond.”

Career readiness is an essential conversation for students. Career counselor Jonie Watanabe Tsuji stressed the importance of starting conversations early for young learners and giving them the space to figure out what they want to do outside of academia. “To me, career readiness is a student who has a good sense of him/herself and is willing to listen and have a conversation about the world of work,” Tsuji explained.

On the purpose of Gale Presents: Imago, Wallace says, “our mission is to embed social and emotional learning into every aspect of the human experience to equip students with the critical skills and knowledge for workforce readiness, success, and beyond.”

Though currently available only on K-12 curriculums, IMAGO has mentioned that they are interested in collaboration and looking into expanding Gale Presents: Imago to a higher education audience.

Featured Image: Gale, A Cengage Company. 

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BENGALURU, INDIA – The world’s largest education technology unicorn, BJYU’s, has launched its new innovation hub, BJYU’s Lab. The company, known best for its online learning platform BJYU’s Future School, launched the product on November 9th, in its continued effort for global market expansion. This innovation hub, based out of the UK, the US, and India, makes use of EdTech’s newest and most sought-after technologies, from augmented reality and artificial intelligence (AI), to computer vision capabilities and gamification.

Dev Roy, Chief Innovation and Learning Officer of BYJU’S said, “The role of online learning is not just to replicate offline classes in digital space but to make it more interactive, engaging, and personalized.

Roy continues: “By combining the ability of computing, technology, and data, we at BYJU’S Lab, want to explore the power of information and technology to create more personalized, enhanced, and democratized learning. As a global company, we are looking to harness a global talent pool to build innovative tools and leverage new technologies to positively impact the learning experiences of children across the world. As we continue to grow and experiment, we will operate at the intersection of business and technology to make innovation real and relevant for our end customers. We are looking at strengthening our team and look forward to working with bright and curious minds to transform the way children learn,” he added.

BJYU has amassed over 100 million online students, 6.5 million of which are paid subscribers, across its learning products.

It’s most popular of which, BJYU’s Future School and BJUY’s Exam Prep have found users from Indonesia to Mexico. BJYU’s products cover a range of educational topics and modes of learning, from classes in coding and maths to vocational exam preparation in banking and law. With an already strong education base, the launch of BJYU’s LAB will see the company incorporate the use of new technology into its learning products.

BJYU’s is currently valued at $18 billion, recently securing $1.2 billion via a term loan from the overseas market, raising much more than its projected $700 million. The company’s buying portfolio has attributed to much of its growing success. BJYU’s acquired AR-focused EdTech company Osmo for $120 million in 2019, as well as the online reading platform Epic for $500 million. From partnering with European and US investors, and securing the $1.2 billion in funding, BJYU’s is looking to expand through further acquisitions. The innovation lab is an effort to cement its reach in the overseas EdTech market.

BJYU’s is also shifting its focus to tech engineers and industry professionals. For BJYU’s Lab, the company is looking to hire machine learning and AI experts from the UK, US, and India. This ensemble of new professionals will work, according to BJYU’s, “to make technology transparent for the user and harness it in a way that tech-enabled education can reach the largest number of people.”

Featured Image: Julia M Cameron, Pexels. 

The post BJYU’s, The World’s Largest EdTech Unicorn, Launches New Innovation Hub, ‘BJYU’s Lab’ appeared first on eLearningInside News.

The E-rate funding application window is expected to open in January 2022. Officially known as the Universal Service Schools and Libraries Program, E-rate supports eligible K-12 schools and libraries across America with access to affordable telecommunications and information services. For the program, participants must carry out a competitive bidding process where they select the most cost-effective companies to provide the goods and services they requested.

The challenges brought about by the pandemic and remote/hybrid learning, have highlighted the main issues and resources needed by education institutions. From network connectivity to cybersecurity, schools and libraries have more insight than ever to invest in resources that strengthen their online reach to their students, wherever they are situated.

Though the window is opening soon, the E-rate bidding season has yet to pick up. According to E-rate compliance services firm, Funds for Learning, though most competitive bids will be posted later on in the year, schools and libraries will fair better by starting early with the bidding process. According to the firm’s research, a key contributor in E-rate delivering faster connection speeds at low costs is the increase in competition in Form 470 competitive bidding process.

As someone not so familiar with the E-Rate bidding, how does the E-rate process work?

The bidding process is designed to increase competition and lower costs. Once an eligible school or library determines what telecommunications goods or services it needs, it files Form 470, and possibly a request for a proposal (RFP). These forms provide a specific, detailed description of what the school or library is looking for, and serve as the formal request for competitive bids. Vendors review the requests and submit bids, outlining how their specific products and services can best support school and library needs. Schools and libraries then select the vendor they want to work with and apply to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) for purchase approval.

Why is E-Rate so important for schools and libraries, and why should they prioritize it when looking into new technology?

Technology touches every part of our lives, and that’s a trend that shows no signs of slowing down or reversing. Schools and libraries can use the internet, apps, IoT devices, and more to give students unique learning experiences, make research and studying easier, and prepare them for future careers. E-Rate makes even the latest technologies affordable for any school or library.

COVID has naturally made an impact on E-Rate bidding, the count of Form 470s is lower than it has been in recent years. Why do you think there has been a steady decline in applications?

I think many eligible schools and libraries aren’t aware of how many technologies can be purchased using E-Rate. In the beginning, E-Rate was largely seen as a great way to bring high-speed WiFi to schools, and it is, but there are so many more products and services available that can help students, teachers, librarians, administrators, and staff. I think we need to do a better job sharing that information.

Has COVID highlighted anything specifically in bidding behavior?

The government realized the additional burden that was suddenly put on the IT staff, and allowed additional time for certain forms.

There are a variety of technology offerings and solutions available to schools right now. What kinds of technology do you think schools and libraries should be investing in? Especially during this time of remote and hybrid learning?

It’s important to keep students and all library users connected and engaged – with each other, with teachers, and with the world. Technologies that support that – whether by improving the WiFi, providing apps or VR simulations for an out-of-the-classroom experience, or more – are a good investment.

It’s also critical for schools and libraries to have remote access to their WiFi networks, so any technology that provides that is key right now. With remote access, IT can analyze, troubleshoot, and optimize networks even if teams are unable to be onsite. This keeps everything running smoothly, and makes sure that end-users (students, staff, teachers, etc.) have uninterrupted access to everything that depends on the WiFi – which is a lot.

Schools and libraries will currently be in the process of planning their bids. From previous years, what factors should they consider before making their bids, and how should they best prepare for this season?

Ideally, they all have access to historical network data and can see how network behavior and performance have changed over time. This includes the performance of connected devices and infrastructure. This data helps decision-makers predict future needs, which is great when it comes to preparing E-Rate bids. If anyone doesn’t already have access to that data, I recommend taking a month to gather as many data points as possible from the entire network, and then use that information to decide what goods and services are most needed.

Is there anything schools and libraries should avoid when placing bids/sending applications during the E-Rate process?

E-Rate is a time-based process, so the sooner one can start the better it is. Our recommendation is to not wait until the last minute to submit Form 470/471. There is a 28-days waiting period after Form 470 has been submitted. Similarly, there is a deadline to submit Form 486. On the process side, it is always a good idea to state “equivalent products are acceptable”, to allow an open bidding process, and prevent PIA queries.

It is very important to choose not only the right Category under which a selected product or service belongs but also the correct “Service Type”. Having either of these incorrect can result in funding request denial from USAC. Since USAC does not allow amendments to a Form 470 that has already been submitted, it is often good practice to reference an RFP linked externally, even if it is an empty one. Some changes can be indicated via an RFP amendment.

Why is WiFi automation necessary, and how do you get Wifi Automation technology through E-Rate?

School and library WiFi networks often consist of hundreds of devices – everything from access points to laptops, projectors, printers, thermostats, and more. These devices send thousands of data packets a second, and those packets have the information that IT needs to understand network health and behavior. It’s impossible for a human to analyze that much data, identify issues and their root causes, and resolve them in real-time, yet, that’s exactly what is needed for reliable, optimized WiFi. This is why WiFi Automation is necessary.

WiFi Automation platforms automate the analytics process. Depending on the platform, they can keep eyes on the entire network ecosystem 24/7, automatically alert IT to any issues, and provide actionable resolutions for quick troubleshooting, often before end-users are affected. This saves schools and libraries significant amounts of time and money. Wyebot’s Wireless Intelligence Platform is an award-winning, vendor agnostic WiFi Automation platform and it is E-Rate eligible.

Is there anything else you’d like to mention which I have not covered?

In case there is a need to amend a Form 470, one would need to submit a new Form 470. A commonly-used trick is to use a nickname, and then later change the nickname to “Cancelled”. This will indicate to bidding vendors to respond to the correct/updated Form 470.

Featured Image: SCREEN POST, Unsplash. 

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Digital distraction isn’t just a problem facing the young. Adults in business meetings and even elected officials also have a difficult time avoiding digital distraction. In schools, however, the problem is rampant. One 2017 study carried out at Michigan State University discovered that students in an introductory psychology course spent up to one third of their time surfing unrelated sites during class time, even though they were well aware of the fact that researchers were tracking their computer use while they were in class. Now, NetRef wants to provide educators with a solution to the growing problem of digital distraction.

How NetRef Works

NetRef offers solutions to both teachers and administrators. For teachers, NetRef essentially operates as a classroom Internet monitor. Among other features, teachers can control how students use school- or student-owned digital devices during class time. They can also use NetRef to filter sites and block web browsing, as well as access to specific apps and platforms.

Joseph Heinzen, founder and CEO of Zoozil, a company that works closely with NetRef, emphasizes just how easy it is to use NetRef. As Heinzen recently told Forbes, “For example, if I was a teacher using NetRef and I wanted my students only to have access to Khan Academy during that class period, I could make that setting for all the students in my class in one click. Now the only website my students can use is Khan Academy, and I don’t have to worry about my students going to inappropriate apps or time-wasting sites.”

NetRef also offers a host of features for school administrators. For example, it facilitates reporting at the school and district levels. Administrators can also solicit reports to discover how their teachers are using online resources in the classroom.

Is Heightened Control and Censorship the Only Solution?

Since laptops and cell phones started to arrive in classrooms about twenty years ago, educators and administrations have been debating whether or not these devices should simply be banned.  While there is certainly widespread support for device bans, not everyone agrees. 

In a recent interview with NPR, Jesse Stommel, Director of the Division of Teaching and Learning Technologies at the University of Mary Washington, explained, “Ultimately, I see strict laptop policies (and especially blanket bans) as a form of control.” Stommel further noted, “I don’t think the attention of students is actually something teachers can or should control.” In lieu of this authoritarian approach, Stommel suggests conversion: “We can talk to students about attention and have them talk to us about how attention works for them.”

While Stommel’s approach may be ideal, especially at the postsecondary level, could it work in a classroom with 34 tween-age students or is a solution like NetRef needed instead? Unless one’s middle schoolers are exceptionally well behaved, this seems unlikely. Unfortunately, the consequences of not intervening are also significant.

The authors of a 2017 survey on media multitasking (MMT), which examined the results of multiple research studies on MMT, found “A growing body of research investigating MMT has generally, but not always, revealed reduced performance on cognitive tasks and well-being surveys.” The authors of the study note that such research raises concerns regarding the impact of MMT behavior during certain types of activities, including homework. Based on these facts, the authors offer the following advice to educators: “Until we are able to understand the direction of causality, suggest to people of all ages and abilities that they give careful consideration to how they engage with media.”

Given that mere suggestions don’t always work when it comes to controlling the use of digital devices in the classroom, it seems likely that NetRef will attract the attention of many educators and school administrators.

Photograph: Watchdog by Tobias Jussen (available on Unsplash).

The post The EdTech Company That Is Putting the Brakes on Digital Distraction appeared first on eLearningInside News.

Over the past year, eLearning Inside has interviewed dozens of founders, investors, and researchers in the edtech sector. As we look forward to 2019, we decided to reach out to some of the people we talked to in 2018 along with a few new voices to gather predictions on edtech for the coming year. In this two-part feature, we share five experts’ predictions for edtech in 2019. Today’s post includes perspectives from Ukraine and the United States.

Predictions for EdTech in 2019

Europe

Kirill Bigai, Founder and CEO, Preply, Ukraine

Preply was established in 2011 by Kirill Bigai and co-founders Dmytro Voloshyn and Serge Lukianov. Today, the Ukraine-based edtech company continues to grow. To date, the company has raised $5.6 million in seed funding and is currently undergoing an ambitious expansion in a bid to reach new language-learning markets around the globe. For this reason, it is no surprise that Bigai is optimistic about what 2019 has in store both for Preply and the edtech sector.

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North America

Gustavo G. Dolfino, Founder and CEO, myKlovr, United States

Gustavo G. Dolfino is the Founder and CEO of myKlovr.  myKlovr is an AI-based platform that serves as a virtual counselor for college-bound students, including those who have traditionally struggled to access college counseling services.  When we reached out to Dolfino to ask about his thoughts on edtech in 2019, he had many predictions.

“I think the way we communicate and access information at all levels will continue to improve, at a faster pace though,” says Dolfino.  He also predicts that in 2019, “Teachers will continue to look for ways to access the combined devices students use and will be looking for apps that make that happen. The key thing here is that those apps are agnostic across different systems and platforms and that they work with the cloud.”

Many of Dolfino’s other predictions for edtech in 2019 focus on artificial intelligence (AI). “Analytics will guide AI to help teachers design coursework based on individual gaps,” says Dolfino. He also predicts that in 2019, “More systems and hardware will become AI enabled for interactive learning allowing teachers to predict a student’s learning behavior.” Finally, he is optimistic that over the coming year, “AI enabled teaching assistants, virtual reality, and augmented reality will finally converge to allow for accurate data collection and analysis resulting in accurate and predictive student assessments.”

On the downside, Dolfino also cautions that in 2019, “Security will become a bigger issue for administrators, as confidential data and privacy become exposed to the digital universe.”

The post EdTech in 2019: Experts and Founders Around the World Share Predictions (Part 2) appeared first on eLearningInside News.

On November 28, Joy Rankin posted an article on Medium that essentially served as an open letter to Michigan State University. In the letter, she offers an explanation for her decision to leave her tenure-track position at the institution. The story is a bit long and convoluted, but in a nutshell, Rankin’s decision to leave is at least partially connected to a dispute about the history of online learning and the role of women played in the development of PLATO–the first online learning network.

Joy Rankin’s Account of Women on the PLATO Project Team

As Joy Rankin explains in her November 28 post on Medium, back in March 2017, she participated in an conference hosted by California’s Computer History Museum. At the conference, she gave an approximately 20-minute talk on women’s participation in PLATO–an online learning network developed at the University of Illinois in the 1960s to 1970s. As she explains, “The talk was based on the extensive research I had undertaken for my book A People’s History of Computing in the United States. At this conference, I was presenting for the first time a focused analysis on gender and PLATO, seeking feedback from the audience of fellow academics at the conference. I pointed out some ways in which circa 1960–75 PLATO reinforced American Cold War gender roles. I briefly discussed and analyzed evidence of women complaining about harassment on the PLATO network in the 1970s, pointing out that social media misogyny has a long history.” While none of this may sound controversial, the talk and its content ended up at the center of a larger controversy.

While Rankin says most conference attendees were enthusiastic about her discoveries, not everyone was happy. As Rankin notes, “In May, a man named Brian Dear posted a very long blog post about my short conference talk. He publicized his blog post on his personal website under the title ‘When Historians Attack.'” In the post, Dear, author of The Friendly Orange Glow, essentially argued Rankin had gotten the facts all wrong. Despite coming across hundreds of notes from workers on the PLATO project that pointed to hostility toward female consultants, Dear alleged that Rankin’s research was deeply flawed.

An article on the scandal published on the Inside Higher Education site on November 30 cites Dear’s critique of Rankin at length: “Rankin’s presentation makes assertions about the PLATO system, its developers, its users, and its online and offline culture at [Illinois] in the 1960s and 1970s, that paint a decidedly negative picture, one where Rankin declares PLATO suffered from ‘endemic misogyny’ and that she likens to a ‘fortress of patriarchal heterosexual power in American computing … Such a description stands in stark contrast to the picture described to me by roughly 1,000 PLATO people over the course of more than thirty years of research.” Notably, Inside Higher Education also reports that Dear interviewed several women mentioned by Rankin in her talk and “the women appeared to disagree with Rankin’s interpretation of their comments or actions.”

Misconduct Allegations

While writers and researchers frequently have debates over historical accounts, what happened next in Joy Rankin’s case is a bit more unusual.

First, a woman who had worked on the PLATO team in the 1970s who knew Dear contacted Rankin’s university and launched a complaint about her research. Then, based on the complaint and Dear’s blog post, which had been widely circulated online, an official at Michigan State University launched Research Misconduct Allegations against Rankin. Normally, such allegations are only launched in more series cases (e.g., when a researcher has deliberately harmed a research subject in a study). In the end, as Rankin notes in her own November 28 Medium post, the investigation found, “There is no evidence whatsoever that Rankin’s work in any way commits Misconduct … Rankin drew conclusions from her research with which Dear takes strong issue. That does not make them the product of Misconduct.” So, what was really going on?

To make another long story short, when Rankin presented her paper back in 2017, she had already launched a sexual harassment complaint against a colleague. The alleged harasser, a tenured professor and associate dean, happened to have a lot of power in her institution given his associate dean role. Rankin suspects that the research misconduct allegations were launched as a form of retaliation and had little to do with the substance of her research.

While Rankin may no longer have a tenure-track position at Michigan Start University, she is certainly still an active researcher. Rankin’s new book, A People’s History of Computing in the United States, was published by Harvard University Press in October 2018.

The post Women in Tech Shaped eLearning History, but Controversy Lingers Over What Happened on the PLATO Team appeared first on eLearningInside News.

Over the past year, eLearning Inside has interviewed dozens of founders, investors, and researchers in the edtech sector. As we look forward to 2019, we decided to reach out to some of the people we talked to in 2018 and a few new voices to gather predictions on edtech for the coming year. In this two-part feature, we share five experts’ predictions for edtech in 2019. Today’s post begins with three perspectives from edtech leaders baed in Brazil, the United States, and Poland.

Predictions for EdTech in 2019

South America

Carla Zeltzer, Co-Founder and CEO, TecZelt-FazGame, Brazil

In 2018, eLearning Inside talked to Carla Zeltzer, Co-Founder and CEO of TecZelt-FazGame–an innovative education company that uses games to help raise the retention and graduation rates of students in Brazil’s schools. When we reconnected with Zeltzer to ask about her predictions for 2019, she emphasized that her country is currently in the midst of massive changes, which will hopefully help local municipalities access more educational technologies.

As Zeltzer explained, several years ago ago, Brazil introduced new guidelines for curriculum strategies that aim to shift the focus to active methodologies or a ‘learn by doing’ model. In some cases, this curricular shift, which has been approved at the elementary level and is about to be approved at the secondary level, is already creating new opportunities for educational technologies to be integrated in the classrooms at the K-12 level. As Zeltzer explained, “Some bigger municipalities are running processes to choose startups that can run pilots to solve challenges–for example, increasing student motivation, access to quality digital materials, communication with students and parents, and expanding management systems that can help improve learning indicators. Private schools are also bringing more and more technology to the curriculum, with classes that include programming skills, robotics, and game creation. Some schools are starting to run sophisticated projects in partnership with corporations – for example, one São Paulo school, in partnership with IBM, is introducing high school students to artificial intelligence.”

However, as Zeltzer also emphasizes, there is a lot of work yet to be done: “There is still a gap between traditional curriculum content and other knowledge areas, such as technology, citizenship, and future of work. There is a challenge at schools in creating learning experiences that integrate traditional curriculum content with these knowledge areas.” But she is hopeful about the future: “As government policy starts to adopt eLearning, there is a huge opportunity to create digital materials for segments such as high school and youth and adult education.” Over all, Zeltzer expects to see a lot of challenges and opportunities in Brazil in the year to come.

North America

Stacy Hawthorne, Director of Online Learning, Davidson Academy Online High School, United States

Stacy Hawthorne, who serves as director of Davidson Academy Online High school, one of the top-ranked online high schools in the United States, is confident that 2019 will be another great year for edtech. “For the first time in years, technology is catching up with the demands of instructors and students,” says Hawthorne. “Software platforms, including learning management systems, document sharing systems, and video conferencing platforms have advanced to the point where technology enables rather than inhibits collaboration. The next big barrier is seamless audio and video integration–regardless of bandwidth. While audio and video integration is slowly making strides, telepresence robots have provided educators with a huge leap forward in resolving the issue and [they] bring with them many other benefits.”

Hawthorne is also optimistic that over the coming year, we will start to see more telepresence robots in the classroom. As she notes, “A few years ago, robots seemed like something straight from a science fiction movie. We’ve come a long way since Lost in Space and the famous phrase ‘Danger Will Robinson.’ Telepresence robots, while still costly, have the potential to blur the lines between online and in-person learning in education. This is why I believe they will be a trend to follow in 2019.”

If telepresence robots are the future, however, then Davidson Academy is already there. As Hawthorne explains, “Through the use of a telepresence robot, Davidson Academy students are able to participate ‘in-person’ in advanced courses that are not available in their local area while still having one-on-one interactions with their classmates and instructor.” The robots also are impacting how students learn on site. As Hawthorne says, “Students in the physical campus report viewing their telepresence classmates with the same regard as their in-person classmates while the instructor marvels at how well the technology works. This is why telepresence robots are something to watch out for in 2019 and beyond!”

Europe

Michal Korpys, Head of Product and Co-Founder, NUADU, Poland

Michal Korpys is one of the co-founders of NUADU, an AI-based platform that is transforming how students achieve learning goals and how teachers assign and evaluate student work. In 2019, Korpys looks forward to a growing focus on data-driven adaptivity in education, which he considers an evolutionary extension of digital assessment. His hope is that this shift will free up teachers to spend more time doing what they do best: helping students achieve their learning goals.

“Digital assessment tools already provide us with the data and framework to feed it back to learning systems to facilitate knowledge acquisition and evaluation in schools, homes, and learning centers,” observes Korpys, “Eventually we’ll get to the point of ‘smooth education,’ where teachers have quality time teaching students, students have quality time learning in the most efficient way, and the systems running underneath have quality time as well; performing their tasks, deep within within the digital realm of adaptive learning support and dungeons of paperwork administration.” But these are not Korpys’s only predictions for the 2019.

“In 2019,” says Korpys, “I also see people growing more open to AI-led personalized learning paths. When it comes to self-study, nothing can beat a good teacher, or a simple digital companion that is able to predict your learning path and adjust it to your learning goals in real-time.” But for this to work, Korpys emphasizes, the complexity of human-machine interactions needs to keep growing. He’s optimistic this will continue to happen in 2019.

Finally, Korpys is hopeful that in 2019, we will also increasingly turn our attention to soft skills: “The world needs it badly and we need to build a new culture based on excellence in that. Sustainable development: ecology, recycling, plastic war–all that is part of the emerging paradigm where solutions to complex problems are animated by empathy, based on big data analysis, and solved by innovations.”

The post EdTech in 2019: Experts and Founders Around the World Share Predictions appeared first on eLearningInside News.

On Monday, the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and LearnLaunch Accelerator announced they would collaborate to offer support and resources for edtech startups. The non-profit organization that has administered the SATs, GREs and TOEFLs among other widely used tests, will essentially lend its clout and deep pockets to the ongoing work of LearnLaunch.

LearnLaunch Accelerator has funded 45 edtech startups over the years. It is currently accepting applications from new companies until June 10th. Successful applicants will be selected by the end of the summer. Beginning in September, they’ll undergo LearnLaunch’s program, which includes help with product design, market entry, and growth for the future. For the real kicker, LaunchLearn invests up to $120,000 in promising companies. It’s unclear whether that ceiling will be maintained or raised under the new partnership. Notable alumni of the accelerator include Kaymbu, Entri, and LearnBolt.

ETS Has Deep Pockets

ETS commits itself to “advance quality and equity in education by providing fair and valid assessments, research and related services. [Their] products and services measure knowledge and skills, promote learning and performance, and support education and professional development for all people worldwide.”

In that respect, supporting edtech startups vaguely falls under their purview. But on the other hand, the non-profit that’s all but maintained a monopoly on college admissions testing for the last 70 years certainly has some cash to throw around.

In 2016, ETS reported total assets of nearly $1.17 billion. Annual compensation from trustees who work an average of 2 hours per week ranged from $10,500 to $104,000. That’s not a bad hourly rate. Walter B. McDonald, the organization president, received a salary of over $1.2 million in the same year.

Spending for a Good Cause

“While ETS remains committed to providing fair and valid assessments, research and related services, this initiative provides another avenue for ETS to use its considerable resources to positively impact the future of education,” the company writes in a release.

“ETS’s work has evolved over time as the needs of our many stakeholders have changed. This is the next phase in our evolution,” said Scott Weaver, ETS’s Chief Strategy Officer. “Our research has always supported innovation and informed education policy. The marriage of ETS’s research-driven portfolio and LearnLaunch’s agile startups can create a world of new possibilities for using technology to achieve better educational outcomes.”

“We’re excited to partner with ETS on what we believe is the future of edtech acceleration. We share similar viewpoints on challenges the market faces and are working together, utilizing our complementary resources, to impact the next generation of teaching and learning companies,” said Jean Hammond, Co-Founder and General Partner of LearnLaunch Accelerator. “Our goal is to promote the growth and development of the edtech sector and this partnership further enables us to expand our domain expertise and offer really unique support to our entrepreneurs.”

Cover Image: Rodion Kutsaev, Unsplash.

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