edBurst Update

A Newsletter for Education Leaders

Compiled by
BSG Team Ventures
Mary Axelson, Editor


www.bsgtv.com

Forward this newsletter
to a colleague





BSG Activity (2016-2017):

LePort Schools, CEO
The School of the New York Times, Director of Pre-College Division
Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Chief Marketing Officer
KIPPv, Chief of Programs and Impact Officer
MeTEOR Education, VP Sales
eDynamic Learning, VP Sales
Walton Family Foundation, Charter School Finance Officer
One CEO search currently underway under non-disclosure agreement.

Edmentum, Chief Executive Officer (just closed)
Tiber Health/University Ventures, Chief Product Officer (just closed)
Elsevier, Head of Adaptive Solutions (just closed)
Catapult Learning, VP Sales (just closed)
AltSchool, Chief Academic Officer (closed)
Cambridge Education Group, General Manager (closed)
American Public Education System (APUS), President (closed)
Burning Glass, VP Business Development (closed)
GEMS Education, Chief Financial Officer (closed)
OnCourse Learning, Chief Technology Officer; Chief Marketing Officer (both closed)
Center for the Collaborative Classroom, Chief Technology Officer (closed)
Human Capital Institute, Chief Learning Officer; Chief Marketing Officer (both closed)
Quad Partners, Chief Financial Officer; Chief Marketing Officer (both closed)
Honors/Quad Learning, VP Business Development (closed)
Rosetta Stone, Chief Executive Officer (closed)
ILSC, Managing Director (closed)
Texas Teachers, Chief Revenue Officer (closed)




Sources

  • Academic Business Advisors, LLC
  • The Atlantic
  • Bostinno
  • Brookings Institution
  • Campus Technology
  • Center for American Progress
  • Center for Digital Education
  • Center on Education and the Workforce
  • Christian Science Monitor
  • The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • The Clayton Christensen Institute
  • CLO Media
  • CNBC
  • CNET smartplanet.com
  • Computer World
  • Diverse: Issues in Higher Education
  • eCampus News
  • eLearning
  • The Economist
  • The Economic Times
  • edSurge
  • Education Dive
  • Education News
  • Education Next
  • Education Sector
  • Education Week
  • Educause Review
  • Edudemic
  • Edutopia
  • eLearn Magazine
  • Entrepreneur
  • eSchool News
  • Fast Company
  • Forbes
  • Fortune
  • FoxNews.com
  • Geekwire
  • GettingSmart.com
  • Harvard Business Review
  • The Hechinger Report
  • The Heritage Foundation
  • Huffington Post
  • Inside Higher Ed
  • IT World
  • Journal of Applied Research on Children
  • KQEDMind/Shift
  • McKinsey Quarterly
  • MDR EdNet InSight
  • MIT Technology Review
  • Mother Jones
  • National Journal
  • NBCNews.com
  • NewsDay
  • NewsWeek
  • The New Republic
  • The New Yorker
  • The New York Times
  • The Week
  • NPR
  • OnStartups.com
  • Politico
  • Psych Central
  • Rolling Stone
  • San Francisco Chronicle
  • Scientific American
  • SkilledUp
  • Skoll World Forum
  • Slate
  • The Stifel Equity Research Group
  • Social Science Research Network
  • TechCrunch
  • Tech Radar
  • T.H.E. Journal
  • Thomas B. Fordham Institute
  • Time
  • University Business
  • University Ventures
  • University World News
  • US News & World Report
  • Wall Street Journal
  • Washington Post
  • Venture Beat

K-12

The Atlantic: Why Americans Think So Poorly of the Country's Schools
Are public schools generally meeting Americans' expectations? Or are they teetering on the brink of failure?...more>>
The 74: House Committee Considers Education Spending Bill That Trims Trump's Cuts, Drops Funding for Private Choice
House lawmakers are set to consider an education budget that makes some cuts to the Education Department, though much smaller than what the Trump administration put forth, and does not include sweeping funding the president wanted for new private school choice programs...more>>
US News: Teachers Union Adopts New, Anti-Charter School Policy
The 3-million member National Education Association is taking a new tack when it comes to charter schools, adopting a policy statement Tuesday aimed at limiting charter school growth and increasing accountability on the sector...more>>
EdSource: Votes coming on teacher tenure, for-profit charters, other key bills
Between now and July 21, when they take a month off, state legislators will have to decide the fate of bills that passed one chamber of the Legislature and await action in the other...more>>
The Hill: Why do we need state-level education assessments? Here's why...more>>
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) altered American public education by devolving authority from the federal government to the states...more>>
US News: 10 Best States for Pre-K Through 12th Grade
These states are most effectively preparing their students for college, starting with a quality preschool education...more>>
NYT: Supreme Court Ruling Could Shape Future of School Choice
A Supreme Court ruling that a church-run preschool must be granted publicly funded tire scraps for its playground seemed on Monday to be narrowly drawn, attracting even the votes of two of the court's liberal justices, Elena Kagan and Stephen G. Breyer...more>>
Ed Dive: SCOTUS ruling gives a boost to religious schools
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that state funding for a playground at Trinity Lutheran School in Missouri could not be denied simply because the school is a religious one...more>>
WSJ: New Evidence on School Vouchers
Among teachers unions and their allies, an article of faith is that vouchers to allow attendance at private schools do nothing for students. All the more reason to look at two new studies tracking student performance in two states with voucher programs-Indiana and Louisiana...more>>
US News: The School Voucher Research Wars
Studies on school choice can offer little ammo for either side, but that hasn't stopped opponents and proponents alike from firing away...more>>
US News: A Mixed Bag on Private School Vouchers
As the Trump administration champions school choice policies, new studies show they have both positive and negative effects...more>>
Ed Dive: Ohio online charter takes funding repayment case to state's Supreme Court
The Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, one of the largest online charter schools in the country, is taking a case against the Ohio Department of Education, regarding how much the school must repay the state based on how many student log-ins were counted, to the state's Supreme Court, according to 10TV...more>>
Washington Post: Kids love technology, right? Not always. Why these students couldn't stand it.
An Arizona-born charter school known for its call center-like appearance has run into trouble as it has attempted to expand to other states...more>>
The Atlantic: Are Virtual Schools the Future?
Despite evidence of negative student-learning outcomes, Betsy DeVos appears to think so...more>>
edScoop: Amazon relaunches Inspire after a year of re-tooling
The content repository offers tens of thousands of downloadable educational resources. The "upload and share" feature is expected to follow soon...more>>
EdSurge: What Happened to Amazon Inspire, the Tech Giant's Education Marketplace?
Last summer the world's largest online retailer launched Amazon Inspire, touting it as a hub for educators to exchange lesson plans and other Open Education Resources. But a year later, the site remains in limited, invitation-only beta...more>>
EdSurge: Amid Struggles, Knewton Names Former Pearson Exec as New CEO
Knewton pioneered adaptive-learning technology and amassed more than $157 million in venture capital, but lately the company has weathered through the loss of publishing partners and the departure of its outspoken founder...more>>
Ed Dive: Keep an eye on these 7 notable ed tech tools from ISTE 2017
Game-based learning platforms, eMentoring services and STEM robots caught our eye on the showfloor...more>>
THE Journal: Top 3 Trends Affecting U.S. Test Preparation Market Through 2021
The top three market trends fueling the test preparation market in the United States through 2021, according to market research firm Technavio, are: Increasing emphasis on private tutoring; Rising popularity of benchmark testing; and Growing mobile learning, or "m-learning."...more>>
EdWeek Market Brief: Entrepreneurs, Investor Talk Unmet Ed-Tech Needs at ISTE
With hundreds of ed-tech companies on the scene at the ISTE 2017 conference, all of them touting one product or another, where are there opportunities for new companies with new products to make their mark?...more>>
Ed Dive: 4 key takeaways from ISTE's 'CTO Boot Camp' panel
A group of K-12 tech administrators offered takeaways around expecting the unexpected, planning, cybersecurity and staffing...more>>
EdTech: How to Transition from a Print to Digital Curriculum
Technology and curriculum leaders from districts in Kansas, Arizona and Illinois explain the process of moving toward more digital content in the classroom...more>>
Ed Week Market Brief: K-12 Dealmaking: BrightBytes Acquires Authentica; Nelson Takes In Assets of Edusight
A handful of companies have announced acquisitions in the K-12 space recently. And the Canadian publisher Nelson continues to make deals at a busy pace, following a series of announcements of partnerships with U.S.-based companies with a new acquisition closer to home...more>>
EdSurge: Canadian Publisher Nelson Acquires Digital Portfolio, Gradebook from Edusight
Nelson, a major Canadian education publisher, has agreed to acquire Toronto-based Edusight, a provider of digital gradebooks, assessments and portfolios...more>>
EdTech: Robots and Related Tech Play a Role in Advancing Curricula
Some experts look to AI and robotics as the teaching tools of the future...more>>
EdSurge: BrightBytes Acquires Authentica to Simplify Education Data Management and Integration
Authentica's flagship product, DataSense, helps collect, clean and migrate data spread across different systems used in a school or district. The deal will help BrightBytes "provide educators with fast, easy, and secure data integration, research-based analysis, and actionable recommendations," according to the press release...more>>
Ed Dive: 4 ed tech trends shaking up the first quarter of 2017
The education technology market is growing rapidly and expected to hit $252 billion globally by 2020, according to the 2017 Kahoot! EdTrends Report, which identifies four major trends in ed tech based on a survey of 50 million active users, and 580 U.S. teachers...more>>
Ed Dive: ISTE 2017: Our recap of the K-12 innovation mega-gathering
We've got you covered on Chromebook success strategies, advice for CTOs and more...more>>
Ed Week: Online Classes for K-12 Schools: What You Need to Know
Millions of K-12 students now spend time taking online classes. But what those experiences look like, the reasons such courses are offered, and the entities that provide them all vary tremendously...more>>
Ed Week Market Brief: An Inside Look at the Federal Title I Program, and How School Districts Spend Money
School districts have more flexibility to spend federal Title I dollars than they might think, and vendors should understand what's possible...more>>
EdSurge: Abl Raises $7.5M Series A to Help Schools Solve Befuddling Scheduling Problems
To borrow from the poet Robert Burns, the best-laid plans of teachers and principals often go awry and unfinished-especially when it comes to a school's master schedule. Just ask Lee Fleming, a principal at Bonsall High School in San Diego...more>>
Ed Week Market Brief: K-12 Dealmaking: Hero K12 Takes In $150 Million; Lingokids Raises $4 Million
In recent dealmaking news, several ed-tech startups announced they have drawn investments, including student behavior management app Hero K12, which received $150 million from private equity firm BV Investment Partners...more>>
EdSurge: Lingokids Lands $4 Million-and a Partnership With Oxford University Press
If there's one market that continues to attract entrepreneurial interest and venture capital, it's the demand for language acquisition. The latest beneficiary is Lingokids, the developer of an app that aims to help young children pick up a new tongue...more>>
Business Wire: Hero K12 Announces Equity Partner, $150M of Available Capital for Expanded EdTech Platform
Hero K12 will invest in education technology businesses that expand its breadth of solutions, delivering an integrated platform to help educators create safe, connected, positive learning environments...more>>
The PIE News: GEMS Education reportedly weighing up IPO valued at $4bn
The Dubai-based international schools giant GEMS Education could be gearing up for an initial public offering valued at as much as $4bn and as early as next year, it has been reported...more>>
EdSurge: From Mexico to China: Why the World Is Interested in the US Edtech Market
In the past, experts have made big projections for the global edtech market, with some groups estimating as much as $252 billion pouring into the market by 2020...more>>
NYT: Can a Tech Start-Up Successfully Educate Children in the Developing World?
Bridge International Academies - a chain of inexpensive private schools - has ambitious plans to revolutionize education for poor children. But can its for-profit model work in some of the most impoverished places on Earth?...more>>
The 74: Shift From Pre-K to Kindergarten "Fraught With Stress and Uncertainty"; Report Points to 4 Model States Easing the Transition
The path between preschool and kindergarten can be rocky for both families and educators, argues a new paper from New America's Education Policy program...more>>
Getting Smart: The Results Are In: Kindergarten Transition Programs Work
As educators, we know that starting kindergarten off on the right foot is one of the strongest indicators of a child's success in school...more>>
US News: California Leads Gold Rush of State Pre-K Funding
State's injection of cash boosts funding for early childhood education to new high...more>>
The 74: Montessori Was the Original Personalized Learning. Now, 100 Years Later, Wildflower Is Reinventing the Model
For a classroom of a dozen 3- through 6-year-olds, things are surprisingly quiet inside Wildflower Montessori...more>>
NYT: How Silicon Valley Pushed Coding Into American Classrooms
At a White House gathering of tech titans last week, Timothy D. Cook, the chief executive of Apple, delivered a blunt message to President Trump on how public schools could better serve the nation's needs...more>>
Hechinger: Study: Potential earnings not a factor in high school students' college choices
But researchers say wage prospects could have an impact if included with other information...more>>
Hechinger: Reimagining failure: 'Last-chance' schools are the future of American high schools
Why the latest trends in high school reform come from alternative schools aimed at dropouts...more>>
EdSurge: ?Micro-Credentials for Micro-Students-Kindergarteners Swap Grades for Badges
For kindergarteners in Pennsylvania's Elizabeth Forward School District, grades have become a thing of the past. Instead, students earn badges, awarded for crossing academic milestones...more>>
Getting Smart: Imaging the Future: How Innovative School Districts Are Looking Ahead
For the last 50 years, school districts have acted as a central pillar for American communities. They not only provide education for our students, but they provide a sense of culture and community in neighborhoods that is difficult for anything else to match...more>>
EdTech: AI in Education Will Grow Exponentially by 2021
Recent research predicts that the use of AI in the education sector will grow 47.5 percent through 2021, eSchool News reports. Of all the areas where AI might work in K-12, the article indicates the potential to create adaptive learning features that personalize tools for each student's learning experience is the biggest...more>>
Observatory: Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative has an ambitious plan to push personalized learning
Priscilla Chan and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg will be investing "hundreds of millions of dollars a year in whole-child personalized learning," with the aim to expand the efforts to provide every student with a customized education, reports Benjamin Herold in Education Week...more>>
Real Clear Education: Would You Bet on This 'Next Big Thing' in Education Reform?
Many parents and community leaders might have enjoyed attending a May 17th summit in Burlingame, California on "reimagining" pre-K-12 education, where attendees brainstormed "the next big thing" in school reform...more>>
Hechinger: When it comes to teacher training, the U.S. could learn a thing or two from Canada
How the province of Alberta handles preparation and certification...more>>

Higher Ed

Inside Higher Ed: What Happens If Higher Ed Collapses?
Nothing good, possibly very bad...more>>
The Atlantic: Why Do Republicans Suddenly Hate College So Much?
Whether it's safe spaces and free-speech issues or Trump's lack of interest in higher education, the ramifications for the nation's economy and schools could be serious...more>>
Fortune: How Higher Education Is Bad for America
In a recent Pew Research Center survey, 58% of Republicans and conservative-leaning respondents said they felt that colleges and universities negatively affect the U.S. By comparison, only 19% of Democrats and liberal-leaning respondents felt the same way...more>>
Washington Post: The war on college continues to be prosecuted on multiple fronts
In The Ideas Industry, I argued that underlying shifts in American politics had made weakened the standing of universities in the public sphere...more>>
WSJ: Number of Students Applying for Federal Aid Rises 6%, After Several Years of Decline
Technical glitch doesn't seem to have affected number of applicants...more>>
Inside Higher Ed: (Largely) Shunning White House on Higher Ed Spending
In draft bill, House Republicans reject administration plan to slash research reimbursements, propose increased spending on NIH and college prep programs, and sustain AmeriCorps. Panel would take $3.3 billion from Pell surplus...more>>
Career Education Review: Higher Education and Accreditation: A Dialogue With The U.S. Secretary of Education
Now is the best time for higher education and its accreditors to invite a dialogue with Secretary Betsy DeVos about accreditation and quality oversight of higher education. While her appointment generated controversy because of her views on K-12 schooling...more>>
Washington Post: Trump changes higher ed with rollback of Obama-era consumer protections
Step by step, the Trump administration is walking back policies and rules in higher education that its predecessor said were needed to protect students who rely on federal funding to pursue a degree...more>>
Career Education Review: CECU Statement on Gainful Employment Delay
The following statement can be attributed to Steve Gunderson, CECU president & CEO in response to the announcement from the Department of Education that they will delay the gainful employment rule: "We applaud the Department of Education for delaying the gainful employment rule. The rule is clearly flawed...more>>
National Review: Will Combining Purdue and Kaplan Improve Higher Education?
Mitch Daniels was an excellent governor, keeping Indiana in the black and avoiding the ruinous spending and regulation that are dragging down many other states.7-12...more>>
NPR: Back To The Starting Line On Regulating For-Profit Colleges
Betsy DeVos has put the brakes on two Obama-era regulations aimed at protecting student borrowers. Beginning with two public hearings this week, one in Washington, D.C., on Monday and a second Wednesday in Dallas, the Education Department is asking stakeholders to go back to the starting line...more>>
US News: Trump Administration Begins Rewriting For-Profit Regulations
The Trump administration on Monday began the process of overhauling Obama-era regulations meant to protect federal student loan borrowers, mainly from for-profit colleges, and to provide relief to students defrauded by them...more>>
Career Education Review: SEC settles fraud charges against defunct for-profit college company ITT
The Securities and Exchange Commission has settled its fraud case against ITT Educational Services, but it continues to pursue top executives from the defunct for-profit college firm for allegedly deceiving investors about high rates of late payments and defaults on student loans backed by the firm...more>>
Inside Higher Ed: For-Profit Universities 2.0
The institutions must recapture public trust and return to their roots as work force-focused innovators if they are to recover from their woes, Deborah Seymour and Michael Horn write...more>>
NYT: U.S. Halts New Rules Aimed at Abuses by For-Profit Colleges
The Trump administration is formally reconsidering - and may dismantle - two new rules that were a cornerstone of the Obama administration's crackdown on predatory for-profit colleges...more>>
Chronicle: DeVos Will Roll Back 2 Obama Regulations, a Blow to Consumer Advocates
The U.S. Department of Education is beginning the process of rolling back two Obama-era regulations aimed at holding for-profit colleges accountable and helping students who may have been misled or defrauded by them...more>>
NYT: As Paperwork Goes Missing, Private Student Loan Debts May Be Wiped Away
Tens of thousands of people who took out private loans to pay for college but have not been able to keep up payments may get their debts wiped away because critical paperwork is missing...more>>
EdSurge: What a Reinvented College Looks Like: 4 Alternative Higher-Ed Models
Below is a quick look at five campuses that offer a new model of the undergraduate college experience. Most assume that students don't care about specific academic disciplines, or about honoring "tradition" when it comes to education...more>>
EDUCAUSE: Six Steps to Innovation
...In higher education today, an obvious question is whether the traditional classroom lecture - even with PowerPoint, video, or other technology - is the most effective pedagogy...more>>
Forbes: The Future of Our Economy Rests On Innovating Our Higher Education System
Today, there are more than 5.5 million unfilled jobs in the U.S. labor market, up from 3.2 million just five years ago. It's not due to a lack of workers aspiring for better jobs, but a lack of workers qualified for the very positions employers need filled...more>>
Inc: This Startup Is Pitching a 1-Year Alternative to College for Zero Money Down
If you go through MissionU's program designed to impart in-demand career skills, you don't owe any money until you get a well-paying job...more>>
Campus Technology: Fixing the Textbook Model
Indiana University's Brad Wheeler explains how his institution is ditching the college textbook and replacing it with digital alternatives that are accessible to students from day one...more>>
EDUCAUSE: Transforming Higher Education: The Guided Pathways Approach
Community colleges must move from a model that promotes access to enrollment to one that supports access to completion. Leveraging technological resources can be a key to instituting transformative change...more>>
Huff Post: Will Mergers and Acquisitions Dominate the Future of Higher Education?
A hotly debated topic making the rounds in higher education now is whether American colleges and universities - public and private - face a round of mergers and acquisitions over the next several years...more>>
Inside Higher Ed: Proliferating Partnerships
Interest is high in public-private partnerships, which are allowing universities to pursue new types of financing and projects. But speakers warn that they aren't a magic bullet...more>>
Hechinger: Higher Ed's juggling act - Giving more low- and middle-income students better opportunities, while still cutting costs
How to enact needed large-scale reform without sacrificing quality...more>>
The Guardian: Generation Z is starting university - but is higher education ready?
Smarter than baby boomers and way more ambitious than Millennials: universities don't seem to be considering the impact of Gen Z...more>>
The 74: Analysis: Ed Tech Decision Makers Are Under Pressure in Higher Education
This is the fourth in a series of essays surrounding the EdTech Efficacy Research Symposium, a gathering of 275 researchers, teachers, entrepreneurs, professors, administrators, and philanthropists to discuss the role efficacy research should play in guiding the development and implementation of education technologies...more>>
Washington Post: Overseas students would face close scrutiny under proposal floated at DHS
Senior officials at the Department of Homeland Security are floating a proposal that would require foreign students to reapply for permission to stay in the United States every year...more>>
Inside Higher Ed: Shaky International Yields
At undergraduate level, Southern institutions appear to be having a tougher time attracting students from outside the U.S. Nearly half of graduate deans see declines at the master's level, and 31 percent at the Ph.D. level...more>>
WSJ: Political Lines Shape U.S. College Picks of Some Foreign Students
International students accepted to U.S. schools are planning to enroll at a similar rate as last year in most areas except the southern part of the country, especially Texas, according to data from 165 U.S. colleges and universities...more>>
Washington Post: Despite worries, international students are still planning to enroll in U.S. colleges, study finds
After President Trump announced a temporary travel ban in January, academic leaders were swift to condemn it, and to warn that it would shut out some of the world's most talented scholars...more>>
Diverse Education: Report: International Student Yield for U.S. Colleges Holds Steady
Despite fears that international students might stay away from the U.S. because of President Donald Trump's proposed travel ban, which has been partially permitted pending Supreme Court review, that doesn't appear to be happening this fall, a new survey has found...more>>
EdTech: Campus Technology 2017: What's on Tap for This Year's Conference
Experts and professionals will share challenges, solutions and innovations about everything related to higher education technology...more>>
EDUCAUSE: Globalization, Open Access, and the Democratization of Knowledge
In many ways, developments in information and communication technology (ICT) and open access have disrupted inequities in academic publishing and global information flows...more>>
EDUCAUSE: What Is the Next Generation?
If we want to see our digital learning environments evolve quickly and in a particular direction, we need to understand what evolution means. What are the generational changes that have happened so far, and what were the drivers for those changes?...more>>
EDUCAUSE: Next Generation Classroom-Some Random Thoughts
When you think of a next generation classroom, what comes to mind? Is it a classroom visibly filled with the newest, flashiest technology?...more>>
Career Education Review: College enrollment has plummeted, and private universities are scrambling
Behind the deceptive quiet of a small college campus in the summer, things are buzzing at Ohio Wesleyan University...more>>
Times Higher Education: Higher Education in 2040: A Global Approach, by Bert van der Zwaan
A thoughtful study by the head of Utrecht University focuses on the forces reshaping the sector, says David Wheeler...more>>
Business Insider: Inside the world's most exclusive university, where the acceptance rate is just 1.5%
Ivy League universities are notoriously hard to get into, but compared to the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), they might as well be open to everyone...more>>
Pursuit: Daring to Learn How to Learn
A study of over 100,000 online learners finds that learning is a skill in itself that involves being prepared to take a risk, engaging with peers and having an independent streak...more>>
Observatory: Online students want to be part of a community
The study Online College Students 2017: Comprehensive Data on Demands and Preferences, by Learning House, shows that students value the sense of being part of an engaged community...more>>
The EvoLLLution: Reimagining Business Education: MOOCs and the MicroMasters
Traditional models no longer cut muster in today's competitive and changing business education environment-it's critical to experiment with new delivery models and focus on meeting the needs of industry and students to stay ahead of the curve...more>>
EdSurge: MOOCs Find Their Audience: Professional Learners and Universities
...In my last year's analysis of the MOOC space, I concluded that there's been a decisive shift by MOOC providers to focus on "professional" learners who are taking these courses for career-related outcomes...more>>
Ed Dive: Intel to invest millions in HBCUs
Intel has pledged to commit $4.5 million over the next three years to six historically black colleges and universities in an effort to boost the low representation of African-Americans in STEM educational pathways, according to Campus Technology...more>>
University World News: Are MOOCs deepening divisions in higher education?
Technology is often described in the literature as an enabler, a facilitator, a supporter, as an enhancer and as empowering, but for millions around the world, this is not always the case...more>>
Inside Higher Ed: MOOCs Moving On, Moving Up
Cathy Sandeen looks back at her past predictions and claims about massive open online courses to see how they've held up...more>>
Observatory: Report suggests that MOOCs might get similar learning outcomes as on-campus courses
During the fall semester of 2016, MIT allowed students to complete an edX version of its Circuits and Electronics for credit class. The goal was to provide flexibility in learning for students with scheduling conflicts, which was intended to reduce stress. MIT has released an analysis of the course data that shows interesting insights...more>>
eCampus News: 3 big ways today's college students are different from just a decade ago
Gen Z, the digital generation, non-traditional students, and potentially many more descriptions have been used to label the current postsecondary body of students, but what may not be so evident is exactly how much their preferences, lifestyles and experiences have radically changed from even a decade ago...more>>
Good Call: How the College Experience Changed in 10 Years
Forget yearning for the "good old days." The college experience has changed a lot during the past decade. First and foremost, maybe, the cost of education has been at the center of the conversation, but many other aspects have also changed...more>>
Observatory: Graduating on time: One of the biggest concerns for college students today
College students today have a lot on their hands. From getting good grades, paying tuition, to getting a job and a balanced social life, students today are stressed. The 2017 Student Life and Technology Survey released by DubLabs, a provider of personalized campus mobile applications, found that all these responsibilities have more than a third of students worried that they won't graduate on time...more>>
EdSurge: What If Students Are the Biggest Barrier to Innovation?
As Alexandra Pickett worked to bring new technology and teaching styles to New York State University, she faced an unexpected challenge. Pickett, who directs the Center for Online Teaching Excellence, said one of the biggest barriers to innovation has been student resistance...more>>
HR Dive: New report questions power of postsecondary credentials in the labor market
A new report from Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce considers the economic worth of postsecondary credentials and also questions whether colleges are doing all they can to communicate that worth to students...more>>
Hechinger: Why we need to know more, not less, about what students get from college
The federal government, in concert with the states and institutions, could do more to increase transparency and enhance market accountability in higher education...more>>
Quartz: A leading Silicon Valley engineer explains why every tech worker needs a humanities education
In 2005, the late writer David Foster Wallace delivered a now-famous commencement address. It starts with the story of the fish in water, who spend their lives not even knowing what water is. They are naively unaware of the ocean that permits their existence, and the currents that carry them...more>>
NYT: A New Kind of Tech Job Emphasizes Skills, Not a College Degree
A few years ago, Sean Bridges lived with his mother, Linda, in Wiley Ford, W.Va. Their only income was her monthly Social Security disability check. He applied for work at Walmart and Burger King, but they were not hiring...more>>
EdSurge: ASU's Starbucks Deal Was Just the Beginning
About two years ago Arizona State University famously inked a deal with Starbucks, allowing its baristas to get steeply discounted (in some cases free) tuition to take online courses from ASU. A cover story in The Atlantic hailed it as the future of college access...more>>
EdSurge: What Is 'Quality'? Task Force Seeks Comment on Higher-Ed Outcomes Reporting Standards
What does a "quality" education mean? What should it enable learners to do? From getting a job to getting into graduate school, programs make a variety of claims about how they help students...more>>
Campus Technology: Adults Regret Their College Education Decisions
Most adults would change at least one big decision related to their college education if they could, related to their major (36 percent), what institution they attended (28 percent) or what type of degree they pursued (12 percent)...more>>

Et Alia

EdTech Update: The History of Ed-Tech: What Went Wrong?
There's a popular origin story about education technology: that, it was first developed and adopted by progressive educators, those interested in "learning by doing" and committed to schools as democratic institutions...more>>
EDUCAUSE: Tearing Down Walls to Deliver on the Promise of Edtech
Working toward the full implementation of the NGDLE framework not only will allow the edtech industry to cement the powerful role that technology can play in solving our efficiency and effectiveness issues but also will enable us to achieve an immensely positive impact on education at large...more>>
Observatory: Is Facebook testing an online learning platform?
Rumor has it Facebook is working on an online learning platform. A group of managers of Facebook groups that are listed as a class or school reported to have recently noticed a few updates in their group pages. The upgrade is an "Add a course unit" option where they can upload courses and also track student progress...more>>
WSJ: Paying Professors: Inside Google's Academic Influence Campaign
Company paid $5,000 to $400,000 for research supporting business practices that face regulatory scrutiny; a 'wish list' of topics...more>>
PC Mag: Google Classroom Could Bridge a Gap in Online Learning
With its emphasis on simplicity and collaboration, Google Classroom could be a conduit for in-person classrooms and learning management systems...more>>
The 74: House Reauthorizes Career and Tech Ed Bill While Members Speak Out Against Trump Funding Cuts
The House on Thursday passed a reauthorization of the federal law governing career and technical education, even as civil rights groups expressed concerns about a scaling back of federal authority and members of both parties worried about a proposed federal funding cut....more>>
McKinsey: What CEOs are reading in 2017
Leaders of some of the world's biggest organizations share which books will keep them occupied in the weeks ahead...more>>
Getting Smart: Getting Students Ready for the Gig Economy
Some interesting numbers to consider: $924: Average amount AirBnB hosts make through the platform each month-?: Number of Americans (and counting) already engaged in some form of gig or project-based work.-5.7 million: Amount of funding one organization (one of many) is investing in supporting students with short-term jobs at companies...more>>
The 74: House Committee Considers Education Spending Bill That Trims Trump's Cuts, Drops Funding for Private Choice
House lawmakers are set to consider an education budget that makes some cuts to the Education Department, though much smaller than what the Trump administration put forth, and does not include sweeping funding the president wanted for new private school choice programs...more>>
eSchool News: Trump touts rural broadband internet access in $1 trillion infrastructure plan
Rural communities' broadband internet access has become a key part of President Donald Trump's $1 trillion infrastructure proposal, which would promote high-speed internet access across rural America, including schools, classrooms and libraries...more>>
HBR: The 4 Types of Innovation and the Problems They Solve
One of the best innovation stories I've ever heard came to me from a senior executive at a leading tech firm. Apparently, his company had won a million-dollar contract to design a sensor that could detect pollutants at very small concentrations underwater...more>>
HBR: When Leaders Are Hired for Talent but Fired for Not Fitting In
Over and over again, organizations are unable to appoint the right leaders. According to academic estimates, the baseline for effective corporate leadership is merely 30%, while in politics, approval ratings oscillate between 25% and 40%...more>>
China Daily: Internet education next darling of startups in China
Internet education will be the next big thing when it comes to attracting startups, said experts at the China Internet Conference in Beijing on Tuesday...more>>
NYT: To Close Digital Divide, Microsoft to Harness Unused Television Channels
Silicon Valley has dreamed up hot air balloons, drones and constellations of mini-satellites to connect the world to the internet. Now Microsoft is adding its own moonshot to solve the digital divide into that mix...more>>
EdSurge: Enter the NetDragon: Math Blaster Developer JumpStart Acquired by Chinese Gaming Giant
NETDRAGON, a Chinese gaming company that has its eyes set on the education industry, has acquired JumpStart, the Los Angeles-based developer of classic learning games including Math Blaster...more>>
Bryan Alexander: Towards the future of the LMS: to Moodle and beyond
Ah, the learning management system (LMS) (VLE to some people). One of the central ed technologies, as well as one of the most controversial, and yet also accepted as a nearly universal commonplace. I've been tracking it since the 20th century...more>>
Huff Post: The Global Search for Education: Re-imagining Learning on July 4th with Dr. Howard Gardner
"Mastering disciplines, learning to communicate effectively, engaging civilly in discussion and argument-these have and should remain at the forefront of an education," says Harvard professor of Cognition and Education, Howard Gardner...more>>
PR Newswire: China Online Education industry expected to grow to 241.6 million in 2021
China's online education industry has expanded at a rate of around 20% in recent years, with the market worth of RMB150.7 billion in 2016, a year-on-year growth of 23%...more>>
TechCrunch: In the knowledge economy, we need a Netflix of education
With 4.6 billion pieces of content produced daily, it might seem that our hunger for knowledge should be satisfied - but information production and distribution is not the same as consumption and it's not as simple as just putting information out there...more>>
CNN Money: How much do parents spend on education?
A new HSBC (HSBC) survey conducted in 15 countries and territories found that parents in Hong Kong spend the most on learning. Hong Kong parents shelled out an average of $132,161 per child between grade school until the end of an undergraduate degree...more>>
The Next Web: How the cloud has changed education and training
Here's a look at how cloud-based education has changed things for the better...more>>
Forbes: The Real Cost Of Asia's Billion Dollar Shadow Education Industry For Students
...while tutoring and admissions services - often called Shadow Education, because it tracks the movements of mainstream education - is seeing impressive growth worldwide, nowhere is this more prominent than in Asia...more>>
Forbes: The Elephant in the Room With EdTech Data Privacy
Imagine that it's the year 2025 and 22-year-old Dede, a recent college graduate, is looking for a job. She believes that she has a strong cover letter and resume for the entry-level positions to which she is applying, but unbeknownst to her, a company has been compiling data about her academic career and selling it to potential employers...more>>
The Next Web: While US STEM education market declines, China invests heavily
The United States is a global superpower, but recent political decisions have called to question its commitment to certain core concepts, including science, technology, engineering and math education...more>>
EdSurge: Why I'm Optimistic About the Next Wave of Education Technology
Over the past 25 years, multiple waves of education technology and innovation have slowly washed into America's schools and colleges...more>>
The 74: Bror Saxberg, All-Star Learning Scientist, Joins Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Kevin Durant heading to the Warriors." That's what one education insider tweeted matter-of-factly upon hearing the news on Friday that Bror Saxberg, Ph.D., a leading learning scientist and researcher who most recently served as chief learning officer for Kaplan, Inc., is heading to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative...more>>
Corporate Online Language Learning Market in the US to Grow at a CAGR of Over 16% Through 2021, Reports Technavio
Technavio market research analysts forecast the corporate online language learning market in the US to grow at a CAGR of more than 16% during the forecast period, according to their latest report...more>>
EdSurge: How Boundaries Between Colleges and Companies Will Continue to Blur
Some employers are starting to focus more energy on offering educational benefits to their employees, while colleges are struggling to respond to the growing interest by students in helping them land a job...more>>
HRM Asia: What's the future of corporate universities?
Laurence Smith, host of HRM Asia's Digital Mindset forum, takes a crystal-ball look at the future of corporate universities...more>>
eLearning Industry: Executive Learning And Development Issues Revealed In Latest Survey
Four key views have emerged from this year's Corporate Pulse Survey from Financial Times |IE Business School Corporate Learning Alliance...more>>
Fast Company: Why This Tech CEO Keeps Hiring Humanities Majors
One Y Combinator-incubated startup founder makes the case for "STEAM" over "STEM."...more>>
HBR: Liberal Arts in the Data Age
From Silicon Valley to the Pentagon, people are beginning to realize that to effectively tackle today's biggest social and technological challenges, we need to think critically about their human context-something humanities graduates happen to be well trained to do...more>>
eLearning Industry: 6 eLearning Trends For Instructional Designers In 2017
The eLearning industry has grown over the traditional approach and employed modernized learning methodologies to facilitate educational materials to learners and professionals worldwide...more>>
Bloomberg: Bain to Seek RISE Education Sale at $1 Billion Valuation
Bain Capital is preparing to sell its controlling stake in Chinese education provider RISE at a valuation of about $1 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said...more>>
SHRM: Generation Z Is Changing How Work Gets Done
Klein Tools, a family-run manufacturer of hand tools for electricians, needs to think about where it's going, said Aimee Carey, its HR information systems and compensation analyst...more>>
Observatory: A new report on career pathways shares five ways to connect college and careers
The report Career Pathways: Five Ways to Connect College and Careers, argues that postsecondary education needs to be more closely aligned to careers to better equip learners with the skills they need to succeed in the 21st-century economy...more>>
EDUCAUSE: The Origins of Innovation in the Edtech Ecosystem
The learning management system (LMS) as we have known it is fading in its importance. Supplanting it are hundreds of tools and innovations, created by a plethora of vendors, institutions, students, and instructors in a frothy, bubbling world known as the edtech ecosystem...more>>
Observatory: A study that says that young men are working less due to video games causes polemic
A new paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research states that young men exhibit a large decline in working hours and calculates that innovation to gaming explains the increase in leisure time, but other experts say that the claims of the study are excessive...more>>
Career Education Review: The Future Of Our Economy Rests On Innovating Our Higher Education System
Today, there are more than 5.5 million unfilled jobs in the U.S. labor market, up from 3.2 million just five years ago. It's not due to a lack of workers aspiring for better jobs, but a lack of workers qualified for the very positions employers need filled...more>>
HR Technologist: Widening Skill Gap a Big Concern
Skill gap is becoming a major concern and is more prevalent in the IT industry, compared to the non-IT industries. The lack of personnel with appropriate skills is making HR departments uneasy, causing them to rethink their strategies, according to a new report released by CompTIA called "Assessing the IT Skills Gap"...more>>
TechCrunch: The 'last mile' in education and training
After graduating from college in 1994, I spent a few years at McKinsey & Co. - a young kid in an ill-fitting suit naively but energetically attempting to convince experienced and jaded managers to do their jobs differently...more>>
Gallup: 3 Ways to Realign Higher Education With Today's Workforce
There's a stark misalignment between the talents employers demand and the skills graduates have as they enter the U.S. workforce. And many higher education leaders fail to see it...more>>
Village Capital: Shake It Up: Twelve Startups Solving the 6 Million Jobs Gap
Village Capital's next education technology cohort is helping set Americans up for career success...more>>
Financial Times: US workforce: paying young Americans to learn the right skills
With more than 6m jobs unfilled, business is becoming the driving force behind a rethink of how to organise training...more>>
Huff Post: Reframing how we talk about career and technical education
As the White House shines a spotlight on workforce development to address the skills gap, the German model of apprenticeships has been appropriately offered as the gold standard from which the United States can learn...more>>
Tes: Employers rebadge existing training as apprenticeships
The CBI/Pearson Education and Skills Survey reveals that, of firms planning to offer apprenticeships, almost two-thirds will reconfigure existing training...more>>
Observatory: Report: How alternative pathways programs could accelerate employment for low-income adults
A new paper highlights how innovative education-to-employment programs can accelerate employment prospects for low-income adults. The two-part report by Tyton Partners and The James Irvine Foundation, "Path to Employment: Maximizing the Impact of Alternative Pathways Programs," examines how Alternative Pathways Programs can prepare participants for validated, in-demand workforce opportunities...more>>
WSJ: Donald Trump Signs Order Seeking to Expand Apprenticeship Programs
Initiative aimed at allowing industry groups, companies develop own apprentice guidelines...more>>
Education Next: Emulating Germany's Apprenticeship System Won't Make America Great Again
When U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would expand the federal program on apprenticeships, interest in the job training plan picked up considerable steam...more>>
Forbes: Private Education Finds a Lucrative Market In The Middle East
Education at a national and household level is critical in economic growth and is one of the most powerful tools in eradicating poverty, increasing tolerance, improving quality of life and above all creating a humane and loving society...more>>