Online and Professional Continuing Education News
See below for a listing of curated news articles of the day brought to you by Ray Schroeder, Senior Fellow at UPCEA.
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- AI Digital Agents: Sending Advanced Computer Agents on Personal Tasks - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher EdIn short, it means we humans will be able to virtually replicate and extend our personae in multiple simultaneous forms around the world. Our agents will be in many places simultaneously. Our AI-extended knowledge, values and personalities will be omni-present. Imagine the implications for exceptional faculty members in their roles as teachers and researchers! One […]
- How Are Higher Ed Instructors Using GenAI Today? - Brandon Paykamian, GovTechWhile ChatGPT remains king in terms of GenAI tools used by college professors to create content and guide lessons, other tools are emerging for specific purposes such as transcription, coding and making presentations. According to a recent survey of educators from over 1,200 institutions conducted by the ed-tech company Cengage, about 75 percent of higher-ed […]
- Report: The Advantages that AI Brings to Higher Ed - Arrman Kyaw, Diverse Education“In the case of South Carolina State University, I think they gained 400 staff hours by using customer service chatbots,” she said. “The cultural responsiveness of staff at HBCUs and really the beauty of community of HBCUs, is the people.” South Carolina State has used AI in its admissions efforts. The school’s incoming classes have […]
- Forget Chatbots. AI Agents Are the Future - Will Knight, WiredStartups and tech giants are trying to move from chatbots that offer help via text, to AI agents that can get stuff done. Recent demos include an AI coder called Devin and agents that play videogames. Devin’s creators brand it as an “AI software developer.” When asked to test how Meta’s open source language model […]
- Do adults without degrees see the value of college? - Laura Spitalniak, Higher Ed DiveAmong the 3,130 non-enrollees surveyed in 2023, 57% said a four-year degree is a good or excellent value, down from 60% in 2022. In comparison, 75% said earning a license is a good value, up from 70% the year before. Nearly the same share, 72% called professional certificates a good value, rising from 67% in […]
- Apple just hinted at its AI plans, and they could be game-changing. Here’s why - Michael Grothaus, Fast CompanyNowhere does it mention its own apps, which lack jaw-dropping generative AI features. However, this AI narrative is likely to shift this summer when Apple previews its upcoming operating systems, including iOS 18 for iPhone and macOS 15 for the Mac. It is with these releases that Apple is expected to bake in AI features […]
- The First 15 Seconds: How to Hook Your Online Students and Keep Them Engaged - Melinda McGuire, Faculty FocusImagine you have eight to 15 seconds to impress someone you meet for the first time. That’s how long you have to hook your online students and make them feel welcome in your class. This is crucial for setting the tone and establishing your presence as an instructor. But how do you do this when […]
- How free online courses from MIT can “transform the future of the world” - Sara Feijo, MIT Open Learning“I believe OpenCourseWare and Open Learning resources will transform the future of the world for the better — in financial markets I know it already has,” says Michael Pilgreen, a sculptor, painter, and poet from Memphis, Tennessee, who discovered OpenCourseWare when he found himself unemployed in 2020 and used it to jumpstart a new career […]
- Inflection AI Is A Sleeping Giant - JURGEN GRAVESTEIN: SubstackInflection AI announced their newest model to date, Inflection-2.5, an upgrade from their in-house large language model, competitive with the world’s leading LLMs. This achievement is particularly impressive considering Inflection’s young and much smaller team compared to tech giants like Google and Microsoft. But what truly sets the company apart is its product focus; their […]
- How Early Adopters of Gen AI Are Gaining Efficiencies - Prasanna Tambe, Knowledge at WhartonSnyder, whose company EVERSANA is in the life sciences industry, sees even bigger possibilities ahead. “There are so many that I get excited about, like giving a voice back to people that have lost it because you can now generate it from their previous history and conversations. Or sight,” he said. “Ultimately, I think of […]
- Cognition emerges from stealth to launch AI software engineer Devin - Shubham Sharmar, Venture BeatThe human user simply types a natural language prompt into Devin’s chatbot style interface, and the AI software engineer takes it from there, developing a detailed, step-by-step plan to tackle the problem. It then begins the project using its developer tools, just like how a human would use them, writing its own code, fixing issues, […]
- How Texas is preparing higher education for AI - Kate McGee, Texas TribuneTexas colleges are thinking about how to prepare students for a changing workforce and an already overburdened faculty for new challenges in the classroom. The president of The University of Texas at San Antonio said the Hispanic-serving institution on the northwest side of the Alamo City needs to make sure its students are ready for […]
- Twitter users perceptions of AI-based e-learning technologies - Luisa Stracqualursi & Patrizia Agati, Nature.ComToday, teaching and learning paths increasingly intersect with technologies powered by emerging artificial intelligence (AI).This work analyses public opinions and sentiments about AI applications that affect e-learning, such as ChatGPT, virtual and augmented reality, microlearning, mobile learning, adaptive learning, and gamification. The way people perceive technologies fuelled by artificial intelligence can be tracked in real […]
- Michigan Hybrid Program Aims to Reach 50,000 Adult Students - Lauren Coffey, Inside Higher EdNow the two have teamed up to launch what they call a first-of-its-kind hybrid program within Grand Valley State University—with an ambitious mission of reaching 50,000 students in the first five years. “It’s a bold goal. It’s a high impact goal,” Mantella said. “But we’re committed to it and not afraid to say it.” The […]
- How universities can prepare graduates for an AI-driven world - Nido Qubein, Higher Ed DiveColleges should focus on teaching the life skills that will outlast inevitable technological changes, the president of High Point University contends. I believe the answer is life skills — the kind that outlast and extend beyond inevitable technological changes. We should stop fearing AI and instead teach students to be resilient, self-reliant, compassionate and capable […]
- The impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence on Higher Education - Swansea.AC.UKGenerative Artificial Intelligence is a branch of artificial intelligence that uses deep learning algorithms, trained on large datasets, to generate content such as text, images, videos, and music. Open AI’s ChatGPT – a type of generative AI, has disrupted many aspects of industry in a very short space of time, leading many decision and policy […]
- Bans on diversity, equity and inclusion may halt Latino progress in higher education - Suzanne Gamboa and Iris Kim, NBC NewsLatino enrollment in higher education institutions has been growing with the Hispanic population, and Latinos have made substantial strides in earning college degrees. But the elimination of DEI programs is occurring as Latinos' degree-earning is still failing to keep pace with that of white students. The share of white Americans 25 and older with a […]
- New App Uses AI to Generate Practice Tests from Course Content - Government TechnologyA new artificial intelligence-powered app launched in February that generates various kinds of practice tests for students based on any content, such as YouTube videos, PDF documents or class notes. According to a recent news release, the CreateMyTest app, from a Toronto company of the same name, analyzes course content uploaded by the user, pulls […]
- OpenAI is expected to release a 'materially better' GPT-5 for its chatbot mid-year, sources say [also includes AI Agents] - Business InsiderThe generative AI company helmed by Sam Altman is on track to put out GPT-5 sometime mid-year, likely during summer, according to two people familiar with the company. "It's really good, like materially better," said one CEO who recently saw a version of GPT-5. OpenAI demonstrated the new model with use cases and data unique […]
- Online MBAs move beyond isolated, independent study - Andrew Jack, Financial TimesThe Covid-19 pandemic was a turning point for many, as it demonstrated the value of remote learning in allowing students and teachers, alike, to attend wherever they were located, and whatever their work and personal commitments. Isabelle Bajeux-Besnainou, dean of the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — which came […]
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