ered course recommendation system called Degree Compass. The tool, highlighted as a success story in OET’s report, is designed to help students choose “the courses that best fit their talents and program of study for upcoming semesters.”
Adaptive courses that use analytics to provide real-time feedback to educators have started to trend in higher education. OET’s report indicates that a student-centered institution can provide timely and targeted assistance to students. Data-empowered courses can certainly help with this.
At the University of California, Santa Cruz, students who are placed into math courses based on assessment are also put into an adaptive program to help them move on more quickly to an advanced course, Inside Higher Ed reports.
“We often in the past put students into classes where they only needed some of the materials,” says Jaye Padgett, the interim vice provost for student success, in the article. “It can be really disheartening, very dispiriting to the students. And that undermines their success.”
ONLINE EDUCATION AND COLLABORATION TOOLS OPEN ACCESS TO EDUCATION FOR ALL TYPES OF STUDENTS
About 73 percent of students pursuing higher education have at least one nontraditional characteristic that often makes it difficult for them to complete their education, the National Center for Education Statistics reports.
OET indicated that a student-centered education would allow for students to adjust the timing or format of their education to meet their needs. Thanks to online learning, students can access their courses anywhere; and thanks to tools like those offered by the Online Learning Consortium, universities can make sure those courses are of the highest quality.
Using collaboration tools, students can attend classes digitally. But as Susan Aldridge, Drexel University’s vice president for online learning, told Campus Technology, robotics could help students join in classroom activities that would normally require a physical presence.
WHAT DOES A NEW ADMINISTRATION MEAN FOR EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY?
These principles from the Office of Education Technology present an authoritative view that trends in education are helpful to students. On the heels of President Obama’s administration, these tech-heavy tips for bettering education are not surprising.
Considered the most tech-savvy president, Obama’s legacy is one of merging technology into education, as evidenced by his support of broadening access to STEM education, reports AOL Tech’s Engadget.
A Forbes article points out that proposed Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’s stance on higher education technology (and higher ed in general) is unclear.
However, on the campaign trail, President Trump was vocal about the need to drastically scale back the Department of Education, which could mean the end of the OET, Forbes reports.
Written by Meghan Bogardus Cortez