Education

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 23 may 2015

According to a recent report by US Department of Agriculture, nearly 58000 high-skill agriculture-related jobs, requiring at least a bachelor's degree, are expected to open up between 2015 and 2020. But the report estimates that during the same time period fewer than 36000 qualified grads in related fields of study will enter the workforce. US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack comments, 'Not only will those who study agriculture be likely to get well-paying jobs upon graduation, they will also have the satisfaction of working in a field that addresses some of the world's most pressing challenges. These jobs will only become more important as we continue to develop solutions to feed more than 9 billion people by 2050.' 46% of the jobs in agriculture will have management and business orientation. Moreover 27% of the new high-skills jobs will require a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) education. As per the data mentioned in the report for 2012-13 school year, female graduates outnumbered men in agriculture and life sciences, forestry and veterinary programs in US. This shows that women are better prepared for employment in agriculture sector which is becoming more high-tech and high-growth. In a 2014 interview with US News, Claudia Ringler, the deputy director of the International Food Policy Research Institute's environment and production technology division, said 'Improved land management strategies are very important - that includes no-till, precision agriculture and integrated soil fertility management. You need a mix of technologies and approaches.' Read on...

US News & World Report: STEM Skills a Necessity for 27 Percent of New Agriculture Jobs
Author: Andrew Soergel

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 19 may 2015

Today's architects require knowledge and expertise of architecture-focused technology tools and softwares to stay ahead of the curve. Moreover they have to continue to upgrade and update their skills through variety of courses and tutorials available through traditional educational institutions, corporate training programs, paid online courses and free tutorials on internet. ArchDaily has compiled a categorised list of online tutorial websites that offer learning of architectural softwares - (1) General Purpose Tutorial Sites: Lynda.com (Online courses and video tutorials site); Visualizing Architecture (Alex Hogrefe has created a comprehensive list of tutorials for creating compelling images. Most techniques can be achieved using SketchUp and Photoshop); Ronen Bekerman's Blog (Provides case studies. Showcases their own work, explaining how they created a single render from the modeling stage to post-production). (2) Pre-Production (Modeling, Drawing and BIM): Autodesk's Youtube Channel; Bond-Bryan BIM Blog by Rob Jackson; Nick Senske on Youtube; Jose Sanchez's tutorials at Plethora Project on Unity3D game engine, Autodesk's Maya software, C#, Python and Javascript and also Rhino and Grasshopper; NYCCTfab on Vimeo (Tutorials by New York City College of Technology's Department of Architectural Technology Fabrication Lab, on Revit, Rhino and Grasshopper). (3) Production (Rendering and other forms of image creation): Simply Rhino Webinars; V-Ray Website. (4) Post-Production (Adobe Photoshop and other image manipulation software): Vyonix Tutorials; ARQUI9 Visualisation on Youtube. Read on...

ArchDaily: Architecture Software Tutorials - Which Are The Best Out There?
Author: Rory Stott

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 09 may 2015

Digital revolution is affecting and impacting every aspect of human lives. Education is one sphere where the transformation is beginning to happen and schools are applying technology-enabled learning methodologies. But to truly accomplish what technology promises in education, the strategies have to go beyond just providing technology devices and softwares to students. It must try to provide students with enhanced learning capabilities and equip them with skills for success. Arne Duncan, US Secretary of Education, provides his views and ideas on how educational technology and innovation will bring the changes in the learning environment of the future. According to him, 'Innovation in education isn't about the latest gadget or app, or about how adept a student is at using a smartphone to consume the latest Internet meme. It's about how technological tools can empower students to become who they want to be, and who we need them to be - the kind of children and young people who ask - What can I improve? How can I help? What can I build?' He provides following suggestions regarding what technology can do in education - (1) We must make education technology more equitable. (2) Teachers and students must be empowered as creators, not just consumers. (3) We must make teaching more sustainable. He further explains, 'Everyone has an essential role to play in elevating and supporting the teaching profession. Teachers must be willing to explore new ways of supporting and challenging themselves and their students. Students must assume more responsibility for their own learning. Principals must create school climates that honor innovation and experimentation. Elected officials and policymakers must be willing to incentivize policies and programs that lift up the profession - through more resources, support, and funding.' Read on...

Medium: What Can Technology Do for Tomorrow's Children?
Author: Arne Duncan

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 16 apr 2015

Using technology to bring social change and improve people's lives is a challenging task. 'One-size-fits-all' approaches to implement technology strategies may not be effective and provide expected results. There is need to have proper context, clarity of purpose and supportive environment to fulfil the promises that technology intends to bring for the well-being and welfare of the society. Professor Kentaro Toyama of University of Michigan, in his latest book 'Geek Heresy: Rescuing Social Change from the Cult of Technology', argues that technologists undermine efforts at social progress by promoting 'packaged interventions' at the expense of more difficult reforms. Prof. Toyama has worked extensively in India and launched various projects that sought to use computers and Internet connectivity to improve education and reduce poverty. Following are selected excerpts from his Q&A session done by Brian Bergstein, deputy editor of MIT Technology Review - • 'There are already several randomized, controlled trials of schools with and without One Laptop per Child. Generally, what most of these studies show is that schools with laptops did not see their children gain anything in terms of academic achievement, in terms of grades, in terms of test scores, in terms of attendance, or in terms of supposed engagement with the classroom.' • 'I think it's perfectly sensible for parents to want a certain amount of exposure to technology for their children, both as a form of explorative play and as a way to get them used to technology that they'll undoubtedly encounter later in their life. I think the fundamental error people make is that, therefore, we should have the computer be the primary instrument of education for all children...I think one of the issues is we tend to think of education as being the content. We overemphasize the importance of content, as opposed to emphasizing the part that's really difficult in any good education, which is adult-supervised motivation - the motivation of the child to learn something.' • 'If you measure some positive benefit in the technology case, your conclusion is that technology helped. But it was always the people that we worked with, the partners that we chose and the people on the ground who interacted with the people that we wanted to support. All of those human factors were required for the technology itself to have an impact; whether the technology helped or not was really up to people.' Read on...

MIT Technology Review: Putting Technology in Its Place
Author: Brian Bergstein

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 07 apr 2015

Technology-enabled learning is an important part of today's education landscape. MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), interactive learning platforms, course management systems, learning analytics, mobile learning and education apps are some of the technological innovations transforming education. Following is a partial list of ways, identified by researchers and teachers, in which technology has influenced learning and education - (1) Critical Thinking: Technology fosters analogical, expressive and experiential thinking, and also problem solving ability. Authors of 'Meaningful Learning With Technology', David H. Jonassen, Jane L. Howland and Rose M. Marra, argue that students do not learn from teachers or from technologies. Rather, students learn from thinking. Thinking mediates learning. (2) Mobile Learning: Tablets and smartphones are driving mobile learning. In one survey, 73% of teachers said that they and their students use smartphones for educational purposes. (3) Access to Education: X-Prize is challenging entrepreneurs to develop open-source software that children can use to acquire basic literacy and arithmetic skills on their own. According to Matt Keller, director of the Global Learning X-Prize, 'It's based on the supposition, still unproven, that kids can teach themselves how to read and write.' (4) Deeper Learning: 'The most powerful uses are where people are producing,' says Karen Cator, president and CEO of Digital Promise and former head of the Office of Technology at the US Department of Education. (5) Continuous Feedback: At Utah State University researchers conducted a study to examine the use of frequent, anonymous student course surveys as a tool in supporting continuous quality improvement (CQI) principles in online instruction. (6) Unlimited and Immediate Learning (7) Creation and Contribution (8) Social Connectedness: Researchers at the University of North Texas found that university students who used text messaging to communicate with other students during group projects felt more socially connected and communicated more often with questions and ideas. (9) Global Awareness: José Picardo, head of modern foreign languages at Nottingham High School, says 'Options that would not have occurred to us before stand out as obvious if we understand how other people experience the world. That's why it is so important for students to have a deeper global awareness and understanding of other cultures.' (10) Understanding Learning: Professor Rich Lamb of Washington State University has figured out a dramatically easier and more cost-effective way to do research on science curriculum - through video games. Called 'computational modeling', it involves a computer 'learning' student behavior and then 'thinking' as students would. Prof. Lamb says, 'The process could revolutionise the way educational research is done.' Read on...

Innovation Excellence: 10 Most Powerful Uses of Technology for Learning
Author: Saga Briggs

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 27 mar 2015

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 'With reduced demand for production workers, total US manufacturing employment dropped from approximately 19 million in 1980 to 11.5 million in 2010. Most of manufacturing job losses were in the section of the workforce without a high school diploma.' The recent report 'Making Value for America' by National Academy of Engineering (NAE), points out the changing face of US manufacturing and the challenges faced by the human resources employed in manufacturing. The report suggests need of collaborative approach between government, companies and educators to strengthen workforce training programs and enhance innovation and productivity. Manufacturing is to be considered an important component of the value chain and businesses that focus on the entire system of product and service delivery help make value for their customers and are less likely to be disrupted by new technologies or increased competition from emerging economies around the world. According to the report, 'While technological advances offer companies new ways to understand customers' needs and in turn increase demand for their products, automation and streamlined operations are likely to supplant an increasing number of workers in a variety of occupations.' Nicholas Donofrio, chair of the committee that conducted the study, says 'Advancing skills and creating skilled jobs are the best bet to aid the workforce that has been left behind by changes in manufacturing and the broader economy.' Read on...

Engineering.com: National Academy of Engineering - U.S. Must Take Action to Strengthen Manufacturing Innovation, Productivity, and Workforce Training
Author: James Anderton

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 19 mar 2015

Organizations grow and stay competitive by carefully planning and applying 'Learning and Development' (L&D) strategies and aligning them effectively with their business goals. Frank Jaquez, L&D head for H. J. Heinz & Company, suggests steps to successfully define and create L&D strategies - (1) Develop better understanding of the business. (2) Define priorities and develop the plan: Discuss variety of issues related to the team like its priorities, challenges, skills upgradation etc, with senior leadership and functional heads; Create strategy framework like L&D visions, business goals, L&D roadmap, resources required and project timeline. (3) Align leadership with the developed plan and effectively convince them the importance and need of the L&D plan to bridge the gap between business's strategy and performance. Read on...

ATD: Aligning L&D to the Business Strategy
Author: Frank Jaquez

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 18 mar 2015

As life sciences industry and markets are continuously evolving, managers need to acquire new skills and expertise to adapt, perform and succeed. Health economics, biopharmaceutical supply chain, research & development and innovation are some of the areas that require special consideration in this regard. According to Professor Jan Rosier of Michael Smurfit GSB at University College Dublin, 'For years marketing has been a driving factor when launching new drugs. Now people in the industry need to look much more at how much a drug is going to cost, the impact of this and the effectiveness of the drug in this context. The cost of a drug and how it is linked to the treatment of diseases will come much more to the fore.' Read on...

Business & Leadership: Management skills need to move beyond marketing and profit in life sciences
Author: Sorcha Corcoran

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 10 mar 2015

Gartner predicts that the global education industry (including higher, primary and secondary sectors) technology spending will grow 2.3% to reach US$ 67.8 billion in 2015. According to Jan-Martin Löwendahl, vice-president of research at Gartner, 'An increasing number of technical innovations and technology trends are emerging from within the industry, but most will emerge outside the industry, driven by major forces such as digital business and the consumerisation and industrialisation of IT.' Following are Gartner's top 10 strategic technologies for 2015 - (1) Adaptive Learning (2) Adaptive E-Textbooks (3) Customer Relationship Management (CRM) (4) Big Data (5) Sourcing Strategies (Represent a collection of technologies and vendor services, from hosting to cloud, homegrown to open source, to subscription models for acquiring software/hardware capabilities) (6) Exostructure (Means acquiring the critical capability of interoperability as a deliberate strategy to integrate the increasing numbers of partnerships, tools and services in the education ecosystem) (7) Open Microcredentials (8) Digital Assessment (9) Mobile (10) Social Learning. Read on...

Memeburn: 10 technologies that will have a huge impact on education in 2015 and beyond
Author: Myolisi Sikupela

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 03 mar 2015

In addition to just aesthetics, architects are now applying neuroscience, by studying how brain reacts to various environments through brain scanners, to design schools, hospitals, community spaces etc. Eve Edelstein, president of consulting firm Innovative Design Science, says 'Understanding the power and significance of design is not a luxury. It has a direct impact on wellness issues and a direct influence on activity within that space.' According to Betsey Olenick Dougherty of Dougherty + Dougherty Architects, 'Visual access to sky, trees and landscape stimulates brain function. Providing vistas throughout the facility and particularly in classrooms has been a major strategy in the design of this building (Corona del Mar High School, Newport Beach, California).' Justin Hollander, co-author of the book 'Cognitive Architecture' and urban planning professor at Tufts University, says 'Patterns matter. And edges matter. The research argues that not only do we need order but our brain likes hearing stories...When you go to Times Square, you're told a story. You go to Disneyland, it's a story.' He further adds, 'Humans have a clear bias for curves over straight or sharp lines. Studies have shown that curves elicit feelings of happiness and elation, while jagged and sharp forms tend to connect to feelings of pain and sadness.' Hospitals and care centers are now being designed based on how brains of Alzheimer's patients reacts or how lighting affects patient's sleep cycle. Neuroscience shows light triggers brain reactions far beyond vision. 'It has an impact on heart rate.' says Edelstein. Michael Arbib of University of Southern California Brain Project and the vice president of the Academy of Architecture and Neuroscience, says 'Smart architecture can learn from brain science. To use artificial intelligence to build buildings that can better interact with people...is going to be very applicable to a home.' Read on...

Al Jazeera: Smart buildings- Architects using brain science for design guidance
Author: Haya El Nasser

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