Posts tagged College
College Graduates Aren’t Ready to Be Big Data Workers [Infographic]
Jun 27th
Employers want workers with hands-on business intelligence experience, and experience working with large data sets. We’ve looked at the demand for business intelligence and data skills before, so this isn’t surprising. But students aren’t learning those skills in college according to a survey commissioned by Business Intelligence Congress II co-hosted by data warehousing vendor Teradata and the Special Interest Group on Decision Support, Knowledge and Data Management Systems.
Of the 129 schools polled, only three had BI or data analytics as an undergraduate major. That’s probably not, in itself, a big deal – but schools that want to prepare students for the workforce will need to do better at providing opportunities for students to gain experience working with business data.
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Photo by Aldo Gonzalez
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Gates Foundation Distributes $10M to Build Tech Tools to Boost College Graduation
Apr 7th
Last fall, the Gates Foundation, along with the ed-tech non-profit EDUCAUSE announced its Next Generation Learning Challenges initiative, a multi-year, multi-million dollar project to help support programs that boost college readiness and college completion.
Today, the Next Generation Learning Challenges has named the 29 projects that will receive the first round of funding.
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Using Tech to Boost College Graduation Rates
These first award recipients are developing tools and programs for higher education, all in order to boost college graduation rates.
Although the country’s abysmal high school graduation rate that often get the most attention, college graduation rates in this country are pretty lousy too. According to recent Department of Education numbers, only 29.0% of students at public colleges and universities graduate in the traditional four-year time frame. “Tradition” is fast becoming six years to get a degree, and when you look at that time frame, graduation rates do jump to 54.7%. That’s still no good, and even with degree in hand, those extra two or more years are pretty costly.
The Challenges, The Grant Winners
The Next Generation Learning Challenges program wants to tackle this issue by supporting various innovative technology efforts at colleges and universities. Applicants for the grants had to address at least one of the following areas:
Blended Learning: programs that combine face-to-face instruction with online learning
Better Engagement: apps like games, video, simulations, and social media that will encourage deeper learning and more engagement
Open Courseware: free and open-licensed educational content, particularly for introductory courses in math, science and English (which often have low rates of student success)
Learning Analytics: real-time monitoring of students’ progress, with customized student support
Winners included Arizona State University’s simSchool, a game-like simulation that develops teaching skills, Marist College‘s Open Academic Analytics Initiative, that will develop an open-source learning analytics tool, and OpenStudy, which has built a social learning network around open courseware.
“The Next Generation Learning Challenges and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation share our goal of making topflight education accessible to the masses by leveraging technology,” OpenStudy’s CEO and co-founder Chris Sprague told ReadWriteWeb, describing the plans to build out the peer-to-peer teaching and study groups on the site and transform open educational resources into “the world’s biggest, most diverse, equal-access classrooms.”
You can read the full list of winners here.
Next Generation Learning Challenges received more than 600 applicants for the program, and the 29 chosen will receive grants ranging from $180,000 to $750,000. The organization is currently reviewing the applications for its second round of funding, with grants targeted at middle school students. Look for an announcement of those winners in June.
Image credits: Flickr user John Walker, alamosbasement
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College Grads Looking for Work at a NYC Startup? Try the NYC Startup Job Fair
Mar 18th
It’s that time of year again, when college seniors start thinking about the next phase of their lives. In other words, that means it’s time to start looking for a job, polishing up the resume, and hitting the campus career fairs.
As we’ve discussed here before in relations to internship programs, many campus events and recruitment efforts still cater primarily to large, established companies. This can make it challenging for startups looking to hire new talent and difficult for graduates hoping to find work opportunities at small or new companies.
The NYC Startup Job Fair – scheduled for the afternoon of April 8 – hopes to address this with an event expressly aimed at matching graduates with startups.
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Now in its second year, the job fair is hosted by the Columbia Venture Company and the NYU Venture Company. Over 50 startups have already applied for booths, which certainly puts it on track to outdo its last year’s sell-out event.
According to organizer Alex Horn, the NYC Startup Job Fair is trying to attract a diverse group of companies this year, including green tech, fashion, and food startups. But says Horn, “Our goal continues to be bringing more awareness of the growing NY startup scene especially among young qualified job seekers. We hope the fair leads to resume exchanges and converting some would-be bankers and lawyers into the entrepreneurial path.”
Job seekers and startups can still apply for a spot, but the event did sell out last year, so you might want to do so soon.
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1 in 4 College Textbooks Will Be Digital By 2015
Mar 16th
Sales of digital textbooks still only account for a small fraction of the U.S. college market. But according to the latest report by the social learning platform Xplana, we have reached the tipping point for e-textbooks, and the company predicts that in the next five years digital textbook sales will surpass 25% of sales for the higher education and career education markets.
That figure is a revision from the company’s report last year, which predicted that one in five college textbooks would be digital by the year 2014. Due to the rate at which colleges are embracing digital textbooks, Xplana now projects that sales will grow by 80 to 100% over the next four years.
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Factors Leading to The Adoption of Digital Textbooks
One of the major reasons why Xplana’s report has more optimistic figures for textbook adoption is the popularity of the iPad. Xplana’s 2010 report was published before the impact of the iPad could really be assessed. No doubt, the success of the iPad has fueled the consumption of digital content in general. But the iPad has also spawned a number of new digital textbook companies, such as Inkling.
Along with their embrace of the iPad, consumers have also bought e-readers in higher-than-expected numbers. Only about 5% of millennials own e-readers according to a recent Pew Study on the adoption of electronic gadgetry, but undoubtedly, the exploding popularity of trade e-books will impact the acceptance of e-textbooks.
Just as new devices have helped spawn the growth in e-books, Xplana also points to some significant developments around open educational resources (OER) and open textbooks. States and institutions have embarked on a number of OER initiatives to help address the affordability and availability of textbooks, including Washington State’s Open Course Library project, a program that aims to make core college materials available on the Web for less than $30 per class.
But Do Students Really Want E-Textbooks?
Making textbooks affordable addresses one of the major complaints that college students have about the cost of their education. But are e-books available at the right price yet? And even if they are, do students actually want digital textbooks?
An oft-cited study by the Book Industry Study Group found that 75% of college students say they prefer print textbooks. But Xplana says that rather than take that study as a sign that students will refuse use digital books, we should instead marvel that, at a time when only 1% of college textbooks are available in an electronic format, that already 25% of college students say they prefer to study this way.
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The Gates Foundation Invests in a Facebook App for College Students
Feb 9th
Can social networking boost college completion? The education technology company Inigral believes it can. Its product, the Schools App, is built on the Facebook platform and aims to connect university students and boost their integration and involvement in campus life, increasing the likelihood they’ll graduate.
And the company can now tout a major backer in that endeavor. It has received $2 million in funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the first direct equity investment by the Gates Foundation in a for-profit company as part of its charitable mission.
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“We’re excited that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation shares our vision for the promise of social media to enhance educational outcomes,” said Michael Staton, Inigral co-founder and CEO. “A college student’s decision to drop out creates a lot of challenges, for that individual’s future and our society at large. Our Schools App can increase a student’s sense of belonging and integration within an institution, lowering the chances of attrition.”
Boosting College Completion Through Facebook
The investment will help Inigram develop and market Schools App, currently in use by eleven schools, including Arizona State University, Stetson University and The University of Texas at Tyler. Students use the application to receive and share information about the academic and social environment at their school, as well as to find other students with similar interests, experiences or course loads and to organize face-to-face meetings. The cost for colleges to implement Schools App is based on the number of students, typically running between $10,000 and $50,000 per year.
Some college officlals contend that increased social and academic integration can boost student’s learning and promote college completion. “The Schools App finds students where they live – online and on Facebook,” says Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University. “Social media technology can help facilitate the transition to college life and encourage more students to earn a degree.” Speaking to NPR, ASU’s Kari Barlow says “We have some indication that first-time freshmen who opted to participate in the application were highly more likely to be retained for the next semester.”
More research needs to be done, however, to establish a clear link between Facebook and graduation. Regardless, college graduation rates in the U.S. have remained stagnant for many years. According to some estimates, when today’s fifth graders graduate from high school, an estimated 63% of jobs will require an education beyond high school. But currently, only 22% of high school students go on to earn a college degree.
The Gates Foundation’s investment is part of its support for ways to improve education. Last year, it launched the Next Generation Learning Challenges, earmarking $30 to fund innovative programs to promote college readiness and completion.
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Google Luring College Recruits With Swag And Pizza
Jan 31st
Google is holding a recruiting drive at Carniege Mellon University and it seems just the idea of a chance to work at Google is no longer enough to fill a college hall with potential interns and aspiring employees.
The Facebook info on the event reads “Want to know more about the new Google chrome book? Can’t get enough Google swags? Want some tips on interviews with Google next week & some information about working in Google from the “insider” point of view? Or just want free pizza?”
Click to read the rest of this post…
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Brevard College hosts reception for art gallery installation – Asheville Citizen-Times
Jan 17th
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Brevard College hosts reception for art gallery installation
Asheville Citizen-Times … College Art Department will host an opening reception for a gallery installation by East Carolina University associate art professor Seo Eo on Friday. … |
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College Students Admit To “Shocking” Text Messaging Habits in Class
Dec 2nd
While teens are renowned for the frequency with which they text, those in the 18-24 age range are also fairly avid text-messagers. According to data released from Nielsen this fall, that age group sends around 1,630 texts per month – roughly three texts per hour. So it’s not terribly surprising that a recent study by two psychology professors at Wilkes University finds that college students text message during class. A 50-minute lecture gives you time to send at least a couple messages, right?
But in the words of the students who took the survey, professors would be “shocked” if they knew how much texting went on in class.
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Professors Deborah Tindell and Robert Bohlander asked students from over 250 colleges to assess their text messaging habits. 95% of respondents said they bring their phones to class every day, and almost all of them – 99% – believed they should be allowed to do so.
Texting During Class
91% admitted they have used their phones to text during class. Almost half said it’s easy to get away with doing so without their instructor noticing. And 62% said that they feel they should be allowed to text in class as long they don’t disturb others.
However, students did admit that cellphones could be “disturbing.” About 25% said that texting causes a distraction to those nearby, and 75% said they’ve been disturbed by someone’s phone ringing in class. And about a third of students said they thought that texting in class would be a distraction for the person sending the message, causing a loss of attention and/or poor grades in class.
About 10% of college students said they’ve sent or received texts during exams. And 3% said they have actually sent exam information during a test.
The latter is certainly an issue of academic dishonesty, but unlike the terribly low-tech behavior of passing notes, there’s something about cellphone use in classroom that seems to generate a heightened level of concern about college students’ behavior in the classroom.
Engaging Students (With Technology)
The Wilkes University professors offer several pieces of advice to tackle this – design clear classroom policies, walk around the classroom – particularly the back of the class, and avoid paying too much attention to the blackboard. (Seriously.) “Make eye contact.”
Or – and this is my suggestion – we can find ways to engage with students and with technology, using text messaging as a way to field questions and discussion right in class. I mean, eye contact is good too though.
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US college drinking culture can change – UPI.com
Nov 13th
 The Brandeis Hoot |
US college drinking culture can change
UPI.com Dong-Chul Seo of Indiana's University School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation says a three-tiered program that included having freshmen living … Multi-Leveled Interventions Can Change College Drinking Culture |
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