EdTech Today

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EdTech Influencer Kevin Hogan leads conversations on the future of teaching and learning.

  1. 08/16/2021 · VIDEO

    Better Math Courses Mean Better STEM Students

    Even before the pandemic, improving student engagement in critical "gateway" math/science courses was a tricky business, especially in traditionally underserved communities. In this episode of EdTech Today, Aurora Martinez, VP & General Manager at Wiley, discusses the diversity gap in tech careers and how we can leverage education to help close it. Prior to joining Wiley, Aurora was the COO and Managing Director at Gamelearn--a game-based learning company and the co-founder and CEO of EVERLEARNING. She spent the majority of her career in executive leadership positions for two of the world's largest education technology and services companies, McGraw-Hill and Pearson Education, and also spent several years with Curriculum Associates where she learned about entrepreneurship and how to grow a start-up—skills that she was able to apply at Trinity Education as Senior Vice President. Wiley announced last week its Diversity in Tech: 2021 U.S. Report, following a survey of more than 2,000 early career tech workers and 270 business leaders. The report verifies the pace of progress is too slow in addressing the lack of diversity in U.S. technology-focused jobs and reveals insights that underscore the challenges companies must address to build more diverse workforces. Key findings include that nearly 70% of U.S. businesses identify a lack of diversity in their workforces, while the same percentage of young tech workers feel a lack of inclusion and belonging in company culture. "It's estimated that U.S. companies collectively are spending more than ever before - about eight billion dollars a year - on diversity and inclusion training,” said Todd Zipper, President of Wiley Education Services. “This report proves that investment alone isn't enough to achieve equity in the workplace. We need to take an ecosystem approach to workforce diversity: making science and math education more accessible for all learners from an early age through college, and creating more equitable on-ramps to employment through short-form skilling and 'last-mile' training solutions." The report provides some key insights and findings about the lack of diversity in workforces including: There is immense power in educating and encouraging secondary-school students to pursue technology-focused roles. According to 18–28-year-old workers currently in the technology field, the most common reason for pursuing a career in technology is encouragement to do so by their high school. Nearly five out of 10 young tech workers (47%) cited this as one of their main motivations, highlighting the necessity for schools to do more to promote tech roles to a wider range of students. To land a tech job or advance in the tech sector, nearly half of women surveyed were concerned about their qualifications; 31% were concerned they are not good enough at math and science; and one-in-three women were worried that they do not have the right educational background. When comparing men and women, women are more concerned about their skillset with 48% worried about their qualifications compared with 43% of males. Though businesses are aware of the lack of diversity in the tech sector, they are unsure how to address it. Nearly nine out of 10 (89%) business leaders surveyed plan to recruit junior tech talent in 2021; of those, more than half (51%) struggle to recruit diverse entry-level technology talent. 68% of businesses surveyed feel there is a lack of diversity in their tech workforce, but only half (46%) are actively trying to address the issue within technology teams. Nearly a quarter (22%) said they do not know how to address the issue. Surprisingly, nearly half (45%) of businesses have yet to invest in anti-bias training for hiring managers. To enable a more diverse workforce, companies need to create more inclusive cultures. Seven out of 10 (68%) young technology workers have felt uncomfortable in a job because of their gender, ethnicity, socio-economic background, or neurodevelopmental condition. When looking at women of color (female respondents who identify as non-white) this number increases to nearly eight out of 10 (77%). Half (50%) of young tech workers said they had left, or wanted to leave, a tech or IT job because the company culture made them feel unwelcome or uncomfortable, highlighting the importance of building inclusive cultures. This number increases to nearly six out of 10 (57%) when looking at women of color. A significant proportion of all surveyed (64%) said they believe people from minority backgrounds are discriminated against in the recruitment process for technology jobs. This number was relatively consistent across the different demographics.

    11 min

  2. 08/13/2021 · VIDEO

    How the Experiential World Will Meet the Workplace

    This week Kevin Hogan and the EdTech Today show went on the road to the ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego. Hogan used the opportunity to sit down with the biggest leaders in EdTech to discuss what they have learned from the successes and failures of remote learning and more importantly the lessons we can take away to improve the technology instead of backing away from it as we exit the pandemic. The CEO of Mursion, Mark Atkinson, sits down with Hogan to discuss how the company is imagining a new era in which all people have equal access to the future. Mursion has been recognized at the summit as being a transformative figure in taking AR and VR into the work place and set a new standard for job training.

    13 min

  3. 08/09/2021 · VIDEO

    How Higher Ed Must Adapt to Survive

    The more data that drops, the clearer the message for institutes of higher learning—in order to keep pace with today's society, operations must change. In this episode, Kshitij Nerurkar, Education Business Leader at Cognizant, drills down on his numbers for further evidence. Cognizant last week released the findings of its study, “The Work Ahead in Higher Ed: Repaving the Road for the Employees of Tomorrow.” The study reveals disruption for students and educators caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has only just begun with 45% of educators surveyed believe the pace is accelerating. With the sudden pivot to online and hybrid learning, and the renewed awareness of education inequities, higher education is now in the throes of a major reinvention. Increasingly, educators need to examine the rigid, lengthy approach to how students learn and earn a degree over their academic careers.  The study uncovers the need for a more fluid, flexible and personalized approach to education in order to meet the new ways students will engage with professors and achieve academic success. “The role of the modern university is being disrupted,” said Kshitij Nerurkar, Education Business Leader, Cognizant.  “The pandemic has shined a spotlight on many inequities and challenges that higher education institutions are facing as they pivot to new ways of teaching students. Students are not interested in sitting in classrooms anymore and taking exams. To prepare the next generation of students will require institutions to be more flexible and adopt new technologies and digital modes of education delivery.” With the new and ever-changing skills required to meet the rise of AI, analytics and automation in the workplace, students are now faced with the prospect of having not one but multiple careers in their lifetime, making the traditional linear model of education-employment-career inadequate. Technologies such as hyperconnectivity, artificial intelligence (AI) and big data/analytics will help Higher Ed institutions adopt to the new ways of learning. These technologies will create a new path for educators to teach, but they will need to be re-trained to elevate their skills as machines take on more repetitive tasks, such as administrative activities.  Educators continue to be skeptical that this level of learning can be delivered. The study highlights key educational and technology takeaways that institutions need to carry forward to provide a better student experience, including: Intelligent Systems and Connectivity: more than half of respondents are doubtful their existing educational systems are ready for the adaptations needed. The greatest drivers of change are hyperconnectivity (45%), AI (42%) and analytics (42%), which will drive better student engagement, greater educational access, and personalization. Adoption is Slow: while educators acknowledge the importance of these technologies, widespread implementation of AI and analytics are minimal, only 7% and 4%, respectively. The improvements so far, 29% being the higher end, have been small, but improvement is expected between now and 2023. Financial Commitment: investments need to rise to reap much-needed gains. With an expected growth of just 3.5%, higher education’s digital investments are the lowest among industries surveyed.  While just 5.6% of higher-ed respondents’ revenues are derived through digital channels today, that figure is expected to nearly double by 2023, to 10.6%. Future Learning Experiences Going forward students will learn differently. In a digital-first world, they will expect content that responds to them. Students will require learning experiences that are easy to access and be highly compelling, even bingeworthy, drawing students from one module to the next like the latest television show on a streaming service. In a hyperconnected world, rote classroom activities will give way to a fusion of lesson plans with pick-and-choose, video game-like distance learning options (or motion-activated learning while on the move, with an audio lecture or podcast and no screens or devices at all). Technology should be used to “nudge” or check in with students, whether through chatbots, texting, conversational AI or other mechanisms, using analytics and machine learning algorithms to detect when such engagement would be most effective, to make student communications easier, constructive and persistent. Like musicians or filmmakers, we might see teachers and professors begin to franchise or license lessons with on-demand revenue allocation. The rise of offerings like Master Class — a fee-based streaming platform that offers stepwise lessons from the world’s virtuoso storytellers, chefs, filmmakers, etc. — provides an idea of how this might work.

    23 min

  4. 08/06/2021 · VIDEO

    EdTech AI About to Get Much Smarter

    Big news this week from Digital Promise—it will co-lead a new five-year, $20 million initiative aimed at creating artificial intelligence (AI) tools to advance human learning and education. In this episode of EdTech Today, Jeremy Roschelle, Executive Director of Learning Sciences Research at Digital Promise and one of the co-Principal Investigators (PIs) of the NSF grant, explains what this phase change will mean for future learning tools. The NSF AI Institute for Engaged Learning will produce transformative advances in STEM teaching and learning by bringing together a team that includes researchers from four universities (North Carolina State University, Indiana University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Vanderbilt University). Digital Promise will bring its learning sciences researchers as well as educational practitioners, policy makers, and product developers into the work and ensure the knowledge is broadly communicated. The investment is part of a broader effort by NSF to advance our understanding of AI technologies and how they can drive innovation to address real-world challenges. “We’re energized to create a nexus of activity and communication to strongly involve educators, policy makers, innovators, and additional researchers in defining the future of engaged learning with AI,” said Jeremy Roschelle, executive director of learning sciences research at Digital Promise and one of the co-Principal Investigators (PIs) of the NSF grant. The institute will focus on three areas that complement each other. First, the institute will create AI platforms that generate interactive story-based problem scenarios that foster communication, teamwork and creativity as part of the learning process. Second, the institute will create AI characters capable of communicating with students through their speech, facial expression, gesture, gaze and posture. These characters, or “agents,” will be designed using state-of-the-art advances in AI research to foster interactions that engage students effectively in the learning process. Lastly, the institute will create a sophisticated analytics framework that analyzes data from students in order to make the tools truly interactive. In other words, the system will be able to customize educational scenarios and processes to help students learn, based on information the system collects from the conversations, gaze, facial expressions, gestures, and postures of students as they interact with each other, with teachers, and with the technology itself. Researchers involved with the institute will work with a broad range of stakeholders, including schools, museums, and nonprofit organizations. This collaborative approach is designed to ensure that the institute creates tools that can be used to meet educational goals while also ensuring its AI-driven learning environments are ethically designed and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. “Building on our strong commitment to equity and inclusion, Digital Promise will facilitate vigorous engagement of educators, policy makers, edtech developers, and other stakeholders in the institute’s contribution to a future for learning technology that minimizes bias, increases fairness, emphasizes transparency, and builds on the personal and cultural assets of diverse learners,” says Roschelle. Over its nearly 10-year history, Digital Promise has created the nation’s leading networks where educators, innovators, and researchers come together to realize the promise of digital technology for improving teaching and learning. Due to the importance that AI and emerging technologies will have in the next decade, Digital Promise is leading a portfolio of related projects to develop the research-based guidance that will be needed for emerging technologies to make a positive difference in education.

    22 min

  5. 08/05/2021 · BONUS VIDEO

    Educator Confidence Report Highlights Dip in Teachers' Perception of Role

    Houghton Mifflin Harcourt recently released its 2021 educator confidence report, and the findings were not particularly optimistic. In this clip from MarketScale's EdTech Today, host Kevin Hogan weighs in on what the report's findings might mean for both the short and long-term future of education. "As with most news coming out these days about the state of education in the midst of the pandemic, there are good numbers and there are bad numbers. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt came out with their annual 2021 educator confidence report, which is an annual barometer, now in its seventh year, where they ask how educators on the front lines in schools across the country are feeling about the state of teaching and learning. This year, only 38% of educators reported a somewhat or very positive view of the state of their profession, which is down from 49% in 2020. [Further,] 37% of educators reported thinking the pandemic would increase respect for teachers this year, which is a significant decrease from 63% in 2020. It's very disappointing figure in the conversations that I've been having with EdTech Today guests that, across the board, it seems that the perception as a parent or as a professional that everyone has seen the recognition of what these folks do for the kids. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be getting through to them. Now, there was also some good news that came out of that. And that comes when we talk about the use of education technology in school — 77% now believe the technology will help them be better teachers post-epidemic. Additionally, 56% of educators reported the improved ability of students to access instructional content anytime, anywhere, which reinforces the value of technology for K-12 education and should give educators and parents a peace of mind that the progress is being made on that front. So not all good news, not all bad news. I think, at this time and this date, as we go forward to the 2021-2022 school year, we just need to keep on keeping on."

    3 min

  6. 08/02/2021 · VIDEO

    How Artificial Intelligence Can Improve the Classroom Experience

    Levi Belnap wants to make this clear from the beginning—artificial intelligence will never replace human teachers, at least not in our lifetime. What he and his colleagues at Merlyn Mind believe is that AI can enhance teachers' work. In this episode, Levi introduces us to his nascent company's offering and provides some insights on how they believe the classroom experience can be better for all involved. The company launched out of stealth mode last month to unveil the first digital assistant built specifically for education that empowers teachers to more naturally use the technology in their classrooms and simplify their work. The company also announces it has closed $29 million in funding to date, led by Learn Capital. The Merlyn Mind team spent the last three and a half years working in tandem with educators to create Merlyn, the first digital assistant built specifically for education. In 2021 alone, Merlyn Mind has piloted Merlyn in over 50 classrooms across more than 20 different schools as the company accelerates the release of Merlyn to help educators take back their classrooms from the complexities of technology. Merlyn gives teachers more natural command of the devices and digital services in their classrooms and untethers them from the front of the room. Responding to both voice and remote control, Merlyn empowers teachers with choices that simplify how they use classroom technology. “We've been investing in education technology companies for more than a decade at Learn Capital, and Merlyn Mind has brought together what is quite simply the dream team,” said Rob Hutter, Founder & Managing Partner at Learn Capital and board member of Merlyn Mind. “Incredible professionals from IBM Watson Labs, HP Education, Amazon Alexa, Google, Facebook, Broadcom, and Roku have come together to work on a unified product experience for an extremely urgent mission--that of reclaiming the classroom for teaching from the complexity of technology itself.” “I’ve worked closely with the Merlyn Mind team to understand what educators really need from their technology, and what we know is teachers don’t just need more technology, they need the right technology,” said Emily Schindler, Associate Director at Creativity Labs, University of California-Irvine. “Merlyn Mind wants to give teachers what they need most, more time and freedom to think about student learning and the ability to better leverage their greatest asset, themselves.” Before COVID-19, teachers already spent half of their time focused on administrative tasks (McKinsey & Co., 2020), managing more than 900 different applications in the classroom according to LearnPlatform. After COVID-19, teachers’ jobs have become even more difficult, with more than 97% of K-12 educators reporting learning loss in students over the past year when compared with children in previous years, according to Horace Mann Educators Corporation. Merlyn helps teachers manage the complexity of teaching with technology in the classroom and frees teachers to focus more of their time on the individual needs of their students. The Merlyn assistant is accessed through Symphony Classroom, an AI hub custom-built for the unique needs of education. With Symphony Classroom, teachers can control classroom devices like the front-of-room displays, teacher laptops, the internet browser, and the applications teachers use daily. Merlyn integrates with the apps and devices teachers already use and love, including Google Slides, Google Drive, Classcraft, Nearpod, Newsela, and more to meet teachers where they already are.

    18 min

  7. 07/30/2021 · VIDEO

    EdTech Today David Blake V02

    The current economic zeitgeist suggests that workers need to start re-educating themselves if they want to not only survive but thrive. David Blake, CEO of Learn In, thinks differently. On this of EdTech Today, David breaks down why the employers are the ones that should shoulder the burden of educating the workers in order to not only retain workers but save money in the process. His company recently announced that it has partnered with Degreed, the leading enterprise learning experience platform. The partnership will enable Degreed’s 7 million users access to a marketplace of short, cohort-based learning experiences, plus innovative tools that unlock employer tuition assistance, allocate and manage necessary time for learning, and support via personal coaches. "Through partnerships like this, we empower companies to build the talent they need, effectively addressing the skills shortage,” said Learn In co-founder and CEO, David Blake. “We can provide a unique set of high value learning opportunities through a novel solution for funding rapid, job-ready skill building at scale. By tapping into employers’ existing tuition assistance budgets, Corporate Learning, Talent and HR teams can develop essential capabilities faster and easier than ever before.” Blake, a serial edtech entrepreneur, co-founded Degreed in 2012, and co-founded Learn In along with Chief Operating Officer, Yael Kaufmann, and Chief Product Officer, Taylor Blake in 2020. “Our research consistently shows that lack of time, guidance and support are the biggest barriers to employee skill development,” said Kat Kennedy, President of Degreed. “Degreed helps companies overcome this gap by enabling workers to create skill profiles and connect with the content, people and experiences that matter most to their futures. Now, with Learn In available through Degreed, this data can give our users recommendations for more intensive upskilling and reskilling opportunities, all potentially paid for via their company’s tuition assistance program.” Learn In works with enterprises to scale the number of employees building job-ready skills. Learn In’s technology allows companies to navigate a curated marketplace of world-class bootcamps and certificate programs aligned to business needs. The options cover a variety of the most in-demand skills, such as data science and digital marketing. To drive action towards completing these programs, companies use Learn In to precisely target teams with approved learning time, synchronous cohort-based learning, support via 1-on-1 coaching and prepaid financing tied to specific programs. On top of this, Learn In’s analytics show HR and learning leaders the ROI of every dollar spent along with the skill-building progression of participants. “When more targeted and intense, expert-led instruction is needed to close skill gaps, enterprises look to Learn In. That’s what we aim to bring to Degreed’s clients through this partnership. Once people know via Degreed what skills are required to progress at work, they then need financial support, focused time to learn with others, plus support and coaching on-hand,” noted Kaufmann. In Degreed’s 2021 State of Skills report, 60% of all respondents say that COVID and the subsequent economic crisis has accelerated their need to develop new skills; in the same moment, 46% say their employer has reduced upskilling opportunities during the pandemic. By aligning upskilling opportunities with companies’ existing tuition assistance programs, this partnership enables companies to leverage tax-advantaged dollars that they already have in place. Through the Learn In and Degreed partnership, those dollars can now be used on any upskilling program or course—not just traditional degree programs.  "Upskilling requires, on average, 480 hours and a $24,800 investment, per the World Economic Forum. It is a big job to upskill even a single individual-- and companies must increasingly do it at scale or fall behind,” says Blake. “This is a new job for companies, one they historically outsourced to universities. As companies take on this intensive role in upskilling their employees, they need help. Degreed plus Learn In have partnered to deliver the most comprehensive upskilling journey to date.”

    25 min

  8. 07/28/2021 · BONUS VIDEO

    For Some Students A Remote Setup Meant Learning Gains

    New research released today by the Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL) at Columbia University finds that digitally accessible, high-quality instructional materials designed to bring students, families and educators together increased student learning and engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research reveals possibilities for sustained partnership between schools and families moving forward. Despite challenges associated with remote learning, students, families, and educators from nine school districts and charter school organizations across seven states told researchers that students with access to high-quality instructional materials and support from a caregiver learned about the same – and sometimes more – than they would have in a "typical" year. Their experience was in contrast to students who struggled academically, and at a time that many fear learning loss among students because of pandemic-related learning disruptions. "We learned through virtual schooling that educators' use of high-quality, culturally responsive instructional materials that are enabled by technology and educative for families can be a game changer," said Elizabeth Chu, Executive Director of CPRL. "Instead of families being 'passive recipients' of instruction, it's time for a new model in education that brings families fully into the instructional process by using high-quality instructional materials to help foster close coordination and collaboration between students, families and educators." The findings are spelled out in a new report, "Fundamental 4: Pandemic Learning Reveals the Value of High-Quality Instructional Materials to Educator-Family-Student Partnerships." View the report here. "In Hartford, we've learned how important it is for our students, the majority of whom are students of color and/or from families that are economically disadvantaged, to have access to high-quality instructional materials on a daily basis to foster strong academic partnerships with families," said Mario Carullo, Director of Mathematics at Hartford Public Schools, a study site.  "The adoption and implementation of high-quality curriculum materials was an essential key to turning around the district and ensuring our students could reach their academic potential. The pandemic was not an excuse not to continue to ensure our students received access to these materials. Our district team worked hard to ensure all of those materials were fully accessible online when the vast majority of students were learning online. This was a commitment to equity for our students," said Dr. Nikolai Vitti, Superintendent at Detroit Public Schools Community District, a study site.  Researchers from CPRL found that high-quality instructional materials are strongest and most impactful when dimensions of "high-quality" are expanded from being aligned to standards to also include being 1) tech enabled, 2) culturally responsive and sustaining, and 3) designed to enhance families' ability to guide student learning and instruction. The report recommends expanding the definition of "high quality" to include these additional components. It also provides recommendations for dedicating federal pandemic relief funds: Adopt instructional materials that meet that expanded definition of "high quality." Invest in curriculum-based professional learning that supports educators to implement high-quality instructional materials in ways that respond to student, family and community needs. Create systems and structures in schools to support continued collaboration between families, teachers and students around academics and learning. CPRL conducted more than 290 interviews between February 2021 and June 2021 with administrators, teachers and families from the following sites: Clarksdale Collegiate: Clarksdale, MS Detroit Public Schools Community District: Detroit, MI Excellence Community Schools: New York, NY and Stamford, CT Hartford Public Schools: Hartford, CT Hayward Community School District: Hayward, WI New York City Department of Education's Community School District 11 Richmond Public Schools: Richmond, VA Rocky Mountain Prep: Aurora, CO and Denver, CO Stoughton Area School District: Stoughton, WI

    2 min
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About

EdTech Influencer Kevin Hogan leads conversations on the future of teaching and learning.

Information

  • Creator
    MarketScale
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    67
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2021
  • Show Website
    EdTech Today