This week, ed tech blew up the Twittersphere in the US with more than 100 education leaders descending upon the White House as part of the “ConnectEd to the Future” initiative. This efforts aims to provide 99% of American students with access to next-gen digital tools for more personalized, interactive learning.

Just go to Twitter and check out the number of conversations trending around the hash tag #FutureReady. We’re pretty excited about this initiative as offering K-12 students a better learning experience increases their odds of succeeding in college and empowers them to take a stake in their own education.  Be on the lookout for a blog post on this topic tomorrow.

Meanwhile, here are some other happenings and noteworthy posts from the world of higher ed and ed tech that caught my eye this week:

  • There are many arguments about what’s wrong with higher education today. But older, tenured professors aren’t one of them. In fact, these faculty members hold the treasured keys to a wealth of knowledge that isn’t easily replaced upon their retirement.
  • Back to higher ed being front-page news this week. Emmy-winning director Andrew Rossi penned a blog for CNN questioning the value of a college education amid skyrocketing student debt. The weight of this debt combined with fewer job prospects is resulting in a new generation of “boomerang kids” returning to live with their parents after graduating. And just as I’m about to become an empty nester (maybe not for long). I’ll be tuned in to Rossi’s film “Ivory Tower” tonight and will post about it next week.
  • While we’re on the topic of student debt, here’s a US map pinpointing the states where students have the highest levels of student loan debt. You can see where other countries across the globe stand in terms of student loan debt here.
  • Our mantra here at Echo360 is not to create technology that replaces the teacher, but rather solutions to enhance their teaching and create a stronger connection with their students. Instructors aren’t and never will be replaceable with technology; I don’t care how good it may be. (I’m not interested in paying $40K a year for my child to learn from a drone – thank you very much). That’s why I loved this article – it’s not the technology, it’s how you use it.
  • Are more instructors using technology in their teaching and if so, how are they using it and why? A new survey from the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA polled 16,000 full-time undergraduate instructors at 269 four-year institutions.

If you’re in our Australia/New Zealand audience, be sure to stop by and see us at ascilite next week. Before you go, check out how Box Hill Institute is using Echo360 across a broad array of vocational training courses:

 


 

I’ll be on hiatus for the US Thanksgiving holiday next week – it’s my turn to host the festivities. So to all our US readers, Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!