IBL News

Category: Top News

  • The Big Ten Universities Will Accumulate Over $1.7 Billion in Losses Due to the Pandemic

    The Big Ten Universities Will Accumulate Over $1.7 Billion in Losses Due to the Pandemic

    IBL News | New York

    Preliminary estimates of the economic impact from the pandemic at the Big Ten universities, including the nation’s leading research institutions, indicate $1.7 billion in losses, according to columnist Michael T. Nietzel on Forbes.

    Universities’ leaders say that even that figure will grow in the months to come if the institutions are unable to reopen in the fall semester.

    The projected losses are as follows, with a link to the press account or official announcement of each university’s estimate.

    Like other colleges and universities, the big ten schools will receive one-time relief from their share of the $14 billion provided to higher education through the federal Cares Act. Over $425 million were allocated for them.

  • Coursera Will Provide Courses and Curated Programs to Tennis Professionals

    Coursera Will Provide Courses and Curated Programs to Tennis Professionals

    IBL News | New York

    Coursera.org announced yesterday a partnership with the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) to provide players with free access to over 4,000 courses about business, technology, data science, personal development, and mental well-being, along with curated collections of online classes.

    “This will allow tennis players to develop new skills during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has currently forced the suspension of play on the Tour, and even after the crisis when competitive play resumes,” wrote Kim Caldbeck, Chief Marketing Officer at Coursera, in a blog-post.

    An example of course highlighted by Coursera was The Science of Well-Being, from Yale University.

    Andrea Gaudenzi, Chairman at the ATP, highlighted the opportunity for tennis professionals to think long-term beyond their playing careers. “The online format and versatility offered by the Coursera platform is a perfect fit not only while at home but also on the road once the Tour resumes,” he said.

  • Students Find the Learning Experience Provided by Schools To Be Unengaging

    Students Find the Learning Experience Provided by Schools To Be Unengaging

    IBL News | New York

    Executing online teaching well continues to be a challenge for many schools.

    A new survey shows that online class experiences provided by colleges that have shut down due to the pandemic are being contested by students.

    According to a survey by edtech vendor Top Hat, 78% of students called their online class experience as “unengaging”. A similar share, of 75%, have reported missing the face-to-face interactions with others on campus.

    Around 50%of students said they were feeling “anxious,” and worried about passing their classes this semester.

    “As the Fall 2020 semester looms on the horizon, colleges and universities are facing an unprecedented level of pressure to provide students with a significant return on investment in their education,” said Nick Stein, Chief Marketing Officer for Top Hat, in a statement. “Based on the results from this survey, students are expecting a more engaging, interactive, and human experience; getting this right will be critical to the future of higher education,” he added.

    Top Hat’s survey –done among 3,089 higher education students in North America– found that 26% of students are re-evaluating their intentions of returning to school. Nearly 70% consider the online instruction they’re receiving right now to be worse than what they got in person; half said they were spending less time on their coursework.

    The research recommends that schools should focus on enhancing the interactive experience, promoting social experiences with other students, and examining what and how learning materials are being used.

    “The sudden transition to remote teaching in the past few months due to the COVID-19 crisis pushed educators to piece together solutions to deliver their courses online. In many cases, the result was a disjointed experience that required professors to navigate various technology tools and platforms to bring their courses to life in a new learning environment. Although no small feat, many students developed a poor impression of the educational value they received and more than a quarter are now re-evaluating their intentions to return to school in the Fall semester,” states the report.

     

    • Top Hat’s infographic with the findings of the survey.

     

     

  • Udacity Announces Its AWS Cloud Architect Nanodegree Program

    Udacity Announces Its AWS Cloud Architect Nanodegree Program

    IBL News | New York

    Udacity opened yesterday for enrollment its AWS Cloud Architect Nanodegree program, intended to teach experienced developers how to create a highly available network with a fault-tolerant database using the Amazon’s core service.

    “Learners will be able to monitor availability, test failure scenarios with recovery, and evaluate and harden the cloud environment’s security vulnerabilities,” explained Alison Rodal, Product Leader at Udacity, in a blog-post.

    The program will include three instructors: Tom Verbiscer, Director of Engineering at Current Media, Leslie Bell, Technical Trainer at AWS, and Mehdi Razvi, DevOps & Cloud Security Consultant at NuEra Automotive Solutions.

    The estimated time for completing the program is three months and the overall cost is $226 per month. The company offers the first month for free.

    Udacity’s degree follows the high-demand of cloud architects in a market expected to reach over $600 billion by 2023, with Amazon owning over 30% of the current market.

     

  • Cengage and McGraw-Hill Terminate their Merger to Create a Textbook Giant

    Cengage and McGraw-Hill Terminate their Merger to Create a Textbook Giant

    IBL News | New York

    Cengage and McGraw-Hill Education announced yesterday that they fully terminated their contested merger efforts to create the second-largest U.S. textbook publisher, with 44,000 titles and an overall market value of $3billion.

    The decision, unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, was officially taken after “a prolonged regulatory review process and the inability to agree to a divestitures package with the U.S. Department of Justice,” explained Simon Allen, CEO of McGraw-Hill.

    “The required divestitures would have made the merger uneconomical,” he added.

    Earlier this year, U.S. lawmakers released letters urging the U.S. Department of Justice to closely monitor the proposed merger, which could have effectively created a duopoly in the market–with Pearson as the other major player.

     

  • Google’s Zoom-Like Web Conference, Meet, Makes Free Key Features of Its G-Suite Premium Version

    Google’s Zoom-Like Web Conference, Meet, Makes Free Key Features of Its G-Suite Premium Version

    IBL News | New York

    The search giant announced that its premium video conferencing product, Google Meet–available at meet.google.com or via iOS and Android apps–will be available for free in May.

    “Starting in early May, anyone with an email address can sign up for Meet and enjoy many of the same features available to our business and education users, such as simple scheduling and screen sharing, real-time captions, and layouts that adapt to your preference, including an expanded tiled view,” Google explained in a blog-post last week. “Meetings are limited to 60 minutes for the free product, though we won’t enforce this time limit until after Sept. 30.”

    The company said that since January, Google Meet has surpassed 100 million users, after roughly adding 3 million new users every day since January, according to its own data.

    On its announcement, Google highlighted that “Meet has been designed to operate on a secure foundation, providing the protection needed to keep our users safe, their data secure, and their information private.” Security was Zoom’s weakest point, with many attacks on users’ private conversations–a phenomenon called “zoom-bombing”.

    With a Zoom-like layout, Meet requires using a Google Account and it doesn’t require any plugin, working entirely in Chrome and other browsers. Another interesting feature is live captions powered by speech recognition.

    Until now, Meet has only been available as part of G Suite, Google’s collaboration, and a productivity solution for businesses, organizations, and schools.

     

  • Learning At Scale | May 2020: Indiana, Columbia University, ETS, Zoom, Linux Foundation…

    Learning At Scale | May 2020: Indiana, Columbia University, ETS, Zoom, Linux Foundation…

    [ Newsletter format  |  Click here to subscribe ]

    MAY 2020  –  NEWSLETTER #33  |  Breaking news at IBL News  |  Noticias en Español

     

    Universities

    • An Increasing Number of Colleges Are Deciding to Reopen Campuses for the Fall

    • Fifty Public Universities Can Lose $4.1 Billion In Revenue if Football Season Is Canceled or Altered

    • Pay Cuts Set at The University of Arizona as a result of an Expected Loss of $250 Million

    • Indiana University Authorized to Borrow Up to $1 Billion to Cover Revenue Shortfalls

     

    Protest

    • Columbia University’s TAs Say They Will Not Teach as They Face Financial Precarity

    • An Increasing Number of Students Refuse to Pay Full In-Person Tuition for Online Classes

     

    Non-Profit

    • At-Home Testing Solutions Unveiled for AP Programs, TOEFL and GRE Amid the Covid-19 Pandemic

    • Smithsonian Open Access: Millions of 2D and 3D Digital Items Without Copyright Restriction

     

    Industry

    • Zoom Continues Its Marketing Effort Despite Reports Questioning Its Security

    • Zoom Comes Under Scrutiny Because of the “Zoombombing” Attacks Amid the Pandemic Outbreak

     

    Conferences

    • The Linux Foundation Plans a Massive Virtual Open Source Summit

    • A List of Virtual Educational and Corporate Conferences Due to the Pandemic

    • O’Reilly Eliminates Its Face-to-Face Conference Business, Laying Off Nearly 100 People

     

    Apps

    • Google Classroom, Class Dojo, and TikTok Rank Top Used Apps

    • An App with Augmented Reality Teaches How to Keep Social Distancing

    • Google and Apple Will Release in Mid-May a Controversial Tool to Track Down Infected People

     

    2020 Events 

    • Education Calendar  –   MAY  |  JUNE  |  JULY – DEC  |  Conferences in Latin America & Spain

     

    This newsletter is created in collaboration with IBL Education, a New York City-based company specialized in open-source learning platforms. Read the latest IBL Newsletter   |  Archive of Open edX Newsletters

  • edX & Platforms | May 2020: Develop.com, LabXchange, HarvardX, Coursera, Udacity…

    edX & Platforms | May 2020: Develop.com, LabXchange, HarvardX, Coursera, Udacity…

    [ Newsletter format  |  Click here to subscribe ]

    MAY 2020 – NEWSLETTER #27  |  Breaking news at IBL News  |  Noticias en Español

     

    Open edX 

    • Develop.com, a New Subscription-Based Learning Platform for Tech Professionals

    • LabXchange, Harvard’s Science Platform, Provides a Free Tool to Create Online Classes and Pathways


    edX

    • Harvard’s Credit-Bearing, Free Course on Mechanical Ventilators Has Attracted 170,000 Learners in Two Weeks

    • An edX and Harvard Course to Train Clinicians on Mechanical Ventilators for Covid-19

    • Purdue Launches a Fully Online Master’s in Mechanical Engineering on edX.org


    Coursera

    • Coursera Offers Government Agencies Fighting Unemployment Free Access to Its 3,800 Courses

    • Coursera Offers Free Certificates on 50+ Courses, While It Announces New Programs and Tools

    • Coursera and edX Release New Services to Support Universities


    Udacity

    • A Virtual Conference to Determine How AI Can Be Leveraged In the Fight Against COVID-19


    Online Learning

    • A Student Guide to Remote Learning from GW’s Professor Lorena Barba

    • A Survey Shows that Many College Students Struggle to Maintain Focus and Discipline in Distance Learning


    2020 Events 

    • Education Calendar  –   MAY  |  JUNE  |  JULY – DEC  |  Conferences in Latin America & Spain

    This newsletter is created in collaboration with IBL Education, a New York City-based company specialized in open-source learning platforms. Read the latest IBL Newsletter   |  Archive of Open edX Newsletters

  • A Virtual Conference to Determine How AI Can Be Leveraged In the Fight Against COVID-19

    A Virtual Conference to Determine How AI Can Be Leveraged In the Fight Against COVID-19

    IBL News | New York 

    In an effort to understand how AI can be applied in the fight against COVID-19, Udacity is organizing a virtual two-day, free conference on May 12th and 13th.

    The “AI for Healthcare in the Time of COVID-19” event will gather through leaders who work at the intersection of technology and medicine.

    This conference will offer a blend of panel discussions, keynote speakers, and breakout sessions that will include topics such as AI to detect disease, ethics in AI, deciphering the data of COVID-19, and advancements in wearable technology.

    Topics will be specifically covering:

    • Predicting Disease with AI, How AI Improves Clinical Decision-making
    • How AI is Helping Fight the Spread of COVID-19
    • Can AI Predict & Prevent the Next Pandemic?
    • Ethics in AI and Preventing Bias in Healthcare and Diagnosis
    • Top Use Cases in AI & How to Scope Them
    • What’s on the Cutting-edge of AI?

    Udacity instructors who are currently creating the coursework for the upcoming AI for Healthcare Nanodegree program will lead working sessions. Participants will be able to collaborate on a project and gain practical skills in AI within healthcare. Registration is open.

  • An Increasing Number of Colleges Are Deciding to Reopen Campuses for the Fall

    An Increasing Number of Colleges Are Deciding to Reopen Campuses for the Fall

    IBL News | New York

    Universities and college leaders are deciding this month whether or not to reopen campuses for the fall semester.

    The Chronicle of Higher Education is updating a list of colleges with their plans to reopen their institutions, as well as inviting institutions to communicate their decisions. Inside of Higher Ed also wrote a report with details.

    The latest addition includes the university systems of Alabama, Georgia, and North Dakota.

    One of the most adopted approaches points to reopening, although being “prepared for a scenario in which much or all learning will be conducted remotely,” as noted by Harvard University‘s Provost.

    Other institutions such as Stanford University says that “it expects to make a decision in May, but might delay fall quarter till winter.”

     

     

    This is the Chronicle’s List (updated on April 29):

     

    Institution Control State Plan
    American University Private DC “preparing for a return to campus for classes and activities in the fall”
    Amherst College Private MA hopes to decide by June
    Baylor University Private TX “We intend to safely resume in-person teaching, learning and residential life for the fall 2020 semester.”
    Beloit College Private WI shifting to a “module based semester” to allow flexibility to move toward either online or in-person classes
    Boston University Private MA leaning toward in-person classes
    Brown University Private RI The university is leaning toward in-person classes. Brown’s president, Christina Paxson, wrote an op-ed in The New York Times that called the reopening of college campuses a “national priority” and that proposed strict virus testing and tracing protocols to ensure safety.
    California Baptist University Private CA “planning to resume on-ground classes for the fall semester”
    California State University at Fullerton Public CA “Our goal is face-to-face, on-campus instruction,” but faculty are being asked to prepare to start the fall semester teaching online.
    Central Christian College of the Bible Private MO plans to open campus in the fall but use online instruction if necessary
    Centre College Private KY block-scheduling courses in shorter segments to allow flexibility to shift toward either in-person or remote learning
    Chapman University Private CA optimistically planning for a safe return in the fall with social distancing and safety constraints in place”
    Christopher Newport University Public VA “We are planning for our classes to resume on campus in the fall” depending on the state of coronavirus and guidance from state and federal authorities.
    Claremont Colleges Private CA “Committed” to in-person fall classes, but no final decision expected till July 1
    Clemson University Public SC exploring a range of scenarios, from in-person classes to entirely online
    Cornell University Private NY no decision expected until June
    Dartmouth College Private NH “The probability of a full residential, business-as-usual fall term is not very high,” the provost says.
    Drury University Private MO planning to reopen in the fall
    East Carolina University Public NC “We intend to be back on ECU’s campus in the fall, although we will do so while taking the necessary precautions.”
    East Tennessee State University Public TN hopes to make a decision by early June
    Elon University Private NC “Elon is planning to conduct fall semester classes on campus,” but that could change “depending on the ongoing threat.”
    Emory University Private GA likely to decide by early May, according to the student newspaper
    Furman University Private SC will announce plans by mid to late June
    George Fox University Public OR plans to open campus in the fall
    George Mason University Private VA says more information could come by early June
    George Washington University Private DC will provide “a more detailed communication about our plans for operation by May 15”
    Gonzaga University Private WA “will work with the goal of returning to operations and re-opening our campus – including resuming in-class instruction – for fall semester 2020”
    Harvard University Private MA Will be open, but the provost says “we will need to prepare for a scenario in which much or all learning will be conducted remotely.”
    Haverford College Private PA “We expect on-campus learning to resume for the fall semester.”
    Iowa Board of Regents Public IA planning “a full normal operation” for its universities, including the Iowa State University, the University of Iowa, and the University of Northern Iowa; “in person classes, reopening of residence halls” in the fall
    James Madison University Public VA “We are expecting to open as scheduled for in-person classes.”
    Longwood University Public VA exploring how it can “safely reopen for in-person learning in the upcoming fall semester”
    Loyola Marymount University Private CA planning for an in-person fall semester
    Macalester College Private MN Our strong preference is to complete two full semesters of on-campus instruction, but says academic calendar may be tweaked and — only if necessary — instruction could be online
    Marquette University Private WI will resume campus operations this fall if governmental and medical authorities say it is safe to do so”
    Marshall University Public WV The university “has begun tentative plans to have in-person classes for the fall 2020 semester.”
    Merrimack College Private MA planning to be “residential and open in the fall”
    Midwestern State University Public TX intends to be “fully operational this fall for in-person instruction”
    Montana State University Public MT planning for the return of students in the fall, subject to guidance from a task force
    New York University Private NY “proceeding on the basis that it will resume in-person operations” in the fall
    Nicholls State University Public LA
    North Carolina State University Public NC “We fully expect to have our new and continuing students on campus for the fall semester.”
    North Dakota University system Public ND intends to have students back on its 11 campuses in the fall, including North Dakota State University and the University of North Dakota
    Northern Illinois University Public IL Hopes to announce fall plans within the next two months
    Oakland University Public MI “a hybrid approach” that includes both face-to-face and remote instruction” in the fall
    Ohio State University Public OH leaning toward in-person classes, with a final decision by late June
    Pace University Private NY “It is our hope and intention to resume our regular schedule of face-to-face classes across all three of our campuses for Fall 2020,” the provost wrote. “But ultimately that decision will not be ours to make.”
    Purdue University Public IN planning to start fall semester in person if testing and contact tracing allows
    Radford University Public VA will reopen on August 3, with face-to-face instruction beginning on August 24
    Randolph College Private VA planning to resume on-campus, residential operations
    Rhodes College Private TN will share plans by May 27
    Saint Francis University Private PA Intends to return students to campus in the fall
    San Jose State University Public CA planning to offer online and hybrid courses
    Seton Hall University Private NJ “We have a team in place finalizing plans for our collective return to campus in the fall,” but contingency plans are being made “to ensure we are prepared should the science or government guidance delay a return or require modified approaches.”
    Shenandoah University Private VA plans to make a decision by around July 1
    Southern New Hampshire University Private NH planning to allow students to move into dorms, and is offering full tuition scholarships to incoming freshmen
    Stanford University Private CA expects to make a decision in May, but might delay fall quarter till winter
    Stetson University Private FL planning for in-person classes but will make a decision by mid to late June
    Syracuse University Private NY developing “multiple fall opening scenarios” with the “hope and intention that we will be welcoming students back to campus”
    Texas Tech University Public TX Plans to resume in-person instruction in the fall with a “phased return”
    Tulane University Private LA No guarantees, but “we very much hope to hold face-to-face, on-ground classes in fall 2020.”
    University of Alabama system Public AL “We are expecting to have a fall semester at all of our universities,” the president said.”We understand that things could happen that make it impossible, but that’s what we are planning for at this time.”
    University of Arizona Public AZ planning to hold in-person classes
    University of Arkansas at Fayetteville Public AR plans to announce around June 1
    University of California at Berkeley Public CA Some or all classes will be delivered via remote instruction.
    University of California at San Diego Public CA intends to offer a combination of in-person and remote instruction
    University of Central Florida Public FL leaning toward in-person classes
    University of Chicago Private IL plans to decide by the end of June
    University of Colorado at Boulder Public CO leaning toward a hybrid plan; will announce by June
    University of Connecticut Public CT no decision till summer
    University of Delaware Public DE “We remain cautiously optimistic that we will be in a position to welcome all students on campus this fall.”
    University of Denver Private CO “We plan to reopen with face-to-face classes when we begin our fall quarter in mid-September, as long as we can do so safely and responsibly. … We will make a final decision no later than July 15.”
    University of Georgia system Public GA The university plans a “phased, gradual reopening” in the summer and will resume in-person instruction during the fall 2020 semester.
    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Public IL “We are planning for in-person classes to begin as scheduled.”
    University of Maine system Public ME planning for in-person classes
    University of Mary Washington Public VA intends to start in-person instruction in August but says “we should also be prepared for the unknown”
    University of Maryland system Public MD planning to start in-person, but some larger classes may be online
    University of Miami Public FL “Our expectation is to begin our fall semester on time and on campus, so long as we can do so safely”
    University of Michigan Public MI hoping to hold classes in-person
    University of Nebraska system Public NE The system “expects to hold classes on its campuses in the fall.” The chancellor of the flagship University of Nebraska at Lincoln wrote in a letter on April 24, “UNL will be open in the fall for in-person instruction.”
    University of New Haven Private CT intends to bring students back to campus in August, but is also “exploring academic contingencies for a variety of scenarios”
    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Public NC optimistic for on-campus classes this fall, but still considering a variety of options
    University of North Carolina at Pembroke Public NC “We fully expect and it is our present intention to be back in our classrooms, labs, and offices this fall.”
    University of Oklahoma Public OK “Our intention is to return to in-person educational operations on all three campuses by this fall, offering traditional instruction and residential life.”
    University of Oregon Public OR The university is aiming for in-person instruction in the fall, but the president says “it is unlikely that our fall quarter will look just like last fall.”
    University of Pennsylvania Private PA “planning for a likely combination of in-class and virtual teaching.”
    University of Pittsburgh Public PA says “back to normal probably is not likely” for the fall
    University of Portland Private OR The university’s goal is to operate in-person, but the president said it may adjust the academic calendar and “conduct some or all of our instruction in an online format if absolutely necessary.”
    University of Southern California Public CA hopes to announce fall plans within the next two months
    University of South Carolina Public SC decision expected by June 15
    University of Puget Sound Private WA “We plan to welcome new and returning students to campus in the fall and resume in-person courses … while adhering to public health guidelines.”
    University of Tennessee at Knoxville Public TN eyeing three scenarios: in-person instruction, a fully online semester, or a hybrid of the two
    University of Texas at Austin Public TX decision expected by the end of June
    University of Vermont Public VT “Based on information currently available, I am confident UVM will be able to return to in-person status in fall 2020,” the president said.
    University of Virginia Public VA plans an update on fall plans by mid June
    University of Wisconsin-Madison Public WI decision by the end of July, currently considering face-to-face, entire online, and hybrid models
    Utah System of Higher Education Public UT intends to resume in-person classes in the fall
    Virginia Commonwealth University Public VA “We have every intention of opening our fall semester in-person as long as it is safe to do so.”

     
    Wake Forest University Private NC “We plan to conduct fall semester classes on campus.”
    Washington State University Public WA planning for in-person classes
    Wayne State University Public MI leaning toward starting fall classes online
    West Virginia University Public WV exploring a range of scenarios, from in-person to entirely online
    Wheaton College (Mass.) Private MA “We have affirmed our intention to deliver an on-campus fall semester” subject to the guidance of public-health experts.
    Whitworth University Private WA plans to reopen the campus and resume in-person classes
    William Jewell College Private MO intends to open for fall semester
    Williams College Private MA plans to announce by July 1
    Yale University Private CT decision expected by early July