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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- Google’s Gemini 2.5 Flash introduces ‘thinking budgets’ that cut AI costs by 600% when turned down - Michael Nuñez, Venture BeatGoogle has launched Gemini 2.5 Flash, a major upgrade to its AI lineup that gives businesses and developers unprecedented control over how much “thinking” their AI performs. The new model, released today in preview through Google AI Studio and Vertex AI, represents a strategic effort to deliver improved reasoning capabilities while maintaining competitive pricing in […]
- AI has grown beyond human knowledge, says Google's DeepMind unit - Tiernan Ray, ZDnet"Incredible new capabilities will arise once the full potential of experiential learning is harnessed," write DeepMind scholars David Silver and Richard Sutton in the paper, Welcome to the Era of Experience.The two scholars are legends in the field. Silver most famously led the research that resulted in AlphaZero, DeepMind's AI model that beat humans in […]
- How Tech Giants Are Tackling AGI Safety Risks - Forward FutureIn a world where the boundaries between human and artificial intelligence are becoming increasingly blurred, we are on the cusp of a technological revolution that could fundamentally change our lives. Artificial General Intelligence—AI systems that are at least as capable as humans in almost all cognitive areas or, depending on the definition, an autonomous AI […]
- Workforce 2025: Power Shifts -The shifting dynamics between employer control and employee expectations are powering up the future of work - Korn FerryWhen companies need to cut labor costs, middle managers are often the first in line for layoffs. And that tactic seems to be affecting many workers this year. In our 2025 Korn Ferry Workforce survey, 41% of employees told us that their organization has slashed management layers. 43% of employees say their leaders aren't aligned, […]
- Navigating tariffs with a geopolitical nerve center - Cindy Levy, Mihir Mysore, Shubham Singhal, and Varun Marya - McKinseyGiven the web of interdependencies that govern global trade, business leaders realize that they can’t define and prepare for the path forward using traditional forecasting and planning methods. What they need is a geopolitical nerve center—a central hub that tracks new developments in global trade, plans across several horizons, and guides decision-makers on ways to […]
- Developers can now start building with Gemini 2.5 Flash. - Google KeywordWe’re excited to roll out an early version of Gemini 2.5 Flash today in preview in the Gemini API via Google AI Studio and Vertex AI. Building upon the popular foundation of 2.0 Flash, this new version delivers a major upgrade in reasoning capabilities, while still prioritizing speed and cost. Our new 2.5 Flash model […]
- It’s all about connection, support, and lifting each other up. - Amy Shaiman, EDUCAUSEThis YouTube short discusses the significance of mentorship within higher education. The speaker emphasizes supporting team members horizontally and offering help to superiors when suitable [00:07]. Additionally, the value of community feedback for gaining an external perspective on different situations is acknowledged [00:42].https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDkIIXuZFcA
- OpenAI launches o3 and o4-mini, AI models that ‘think with images’ and use tools autonomously - Michael Nuñez, Venture BeatOpenAI launched two groundbreaking AI models today that can reason with images and use tools independently, representing what experts call a step change in artificial intelligence capabilities. The San Francisco-based company introduced o3 and o4-mini, the latest in its “o-series” of reasoning models, which it claims are its most intelligent and capable models to date. […]
- Google used AI to suspend over 39M ad accounts suspected of fraud - Jagmeet Singh, TechCrunchGoogle on Wednesday said it suspended 39.2 million advertiser accounts on its platform in 2024 — more than triple the number from the previous year — in its latest crackdown on ad fraud. By leveraging large language models (LLMs) and using signals such as business impersonation and illegitimate payment details, the search giant said it […]
- Pilots, Principles, nd Pop-Ins: A Practical Path to Campus AI - Jill Forrester, Dave Weil, Cynthia Golden and Jack Suess, EDUCAUSE ReviewThis podcast features a discussion with Dave Wild from Ithaca College and Jill Forester from Dickinson College about leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) in smaller higher education institutions. They share their backgrounds [01:01] and discuss the creation of a roadmap to guide institutions in adopting AI [04:13]. Both colleges are actively engaging their campuses through initiatives […]
- Introducing OpenAI o3 and o4-mini: Our smartest and most capable models to date with full tool access - OpenAIToday, we’re releasing OpenAI o3 and o4-mini, the latest in our o-series of models trained to think for longer before responding. These are the smartest models we’ve released to date, representing a step change in ChatGPT's capabilities for everyone from curious users to advanced researchers. For the first time, our reasoning models can agentically use […]
- I took Google’s 9-hour prompt engineering course: Here’s everything I learned in 5 minutes - Bijin Jose, Indian ExpressPrompting is simply the way we communicate with an AI model, or how we ask these systems to generate desired outputs. I too have felt overwhelmed in the beginning, but ever since, it has been a journey of learning. Over the weekend I decided to take up Google’s Prompting Essentials course, a nine-hour-long programme to […]
- The Role of Microlearning and Andragogy in Enhancing Online Student Engagement - Faculty FocusIn this light, designing and facilitating online discussions to increase student engagement, peer connection, and idea exchange, as well as creating a cohesive online learning community for knowledge creation, is far more important for the success of online education. However, delivering online education is crucial in this circumstance as it is really challenging to effectively […]
- OPINION: AI is not the enemy of learning — outdated education standards are - Ara Arellano, Daily WildcatIn today’s world, with the rapid advancement of technology, artificial intelligence is clearly the next step in our evolution. Yet many educators and institutions have been quick to criticize and demonize this technology instead of embracing its potential. The era of ChatGPT in higher education has ushered in significant challenges. Professors are increasingly relying on […]
- Sam Altman at TED 2025: Inside the most uncomfortable — and important — AI interview of the year - Michael Nuñez, Venture BeatOpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed that his company has grown to 800 million weekly active users and is experiencing “unbelievable” growth rates, during a sometimes tense interview at the TED 2025 conference in Vancouver last week. “I have never seen growth in any company, one that I’ve been involved with or not, like this,” Altman […]
- How An AI Tutor Could Level The Playing Field For Students Worldwide - David Prosser, ForbesA landmark study by educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom found “90% of tutored students ... attained the level of summative achievement reached by only the highest 20% of the control class”. The real-life impact of this gap is to exacerbate inequality. Well-off students able to access one-on-one tutoring will perform better than classmates who learn in […]
- ChatGPT will remember everything you tell it now - like a real personal assistant - Sabrina Ortiz, ZDnetChatGPT has proven itself capable of helping with everyday tasks such as writing, coding, and researching. The chatbot's latest feature builds on that foundation and could even make it a more effective personal assistant. On Thursday, OpenAI unveiled an update to the memory feature in ChatGPT: it can now reference all of your past conversations […]
- OpenAI is building a social network - Kylie Robinson and Alex Heath, the VergeOpenAI is working on its own X-like social network, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. While the project is still in early stages, we’re told there’s an internal prototype focused on ChatGPT’s image generation that has a social feed. CEO Sam Altman has been privately asking outsiders for feedback about the project, our […]
- Khan Academy’s Framework for Responsible AI in Education - Khan AcademyKhan Academy developed a framework for responsible AI in education following the launch of their AI learning tool, Khanmigo. This framework adapts principles from The Institute for Ethical AI in Education, focusing on using AI to achieve educational goals, improve assessments, increase efficiency, promote equity, empower learners, balance data privacy with utility, maintain transparency, foster […]
- Consider this: Enhancing student success in a digital environment - Shirley Wilfong-Pritchard, the Quad (University of Alberta)When Alex Gainer decided to collaborate with the course design team in Online Learning and Continuing Education (OCE) to upgrade his online economics classes, he never anticipated the process would be so enjoyable or the results so impressive – so much so that it has received international recognition. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gainer […]
Other Curated News:
News from UPCEA:
How will the rise of AI in the workplace impact liberal arts education? (Higher Ed Dive)
Demand for liberal arts education has declined in recent years as students increasingly eye college programs that directly prepare them for jobs. But according to many tech and college experts, as businesses launch advanced AI tools or integrate such technology into their operations, liberal arts…
An Online Pivot That Continues to Pay Off (Inside Higher Ed)
Unity Environmental University has celebrated explosive enrollment growth since it transitioned to a predominantly online institution beginning in 2016. And at a time when many small colleges are struggling with stagnant enrollment and financial challenges, Unity’s strategic pivot to digital learning continues to pay off. […]…
AI Reshapes Higher Ed and Society at Large by 2035
There are important steps to be taken in higher education as we prepare for the deep society-wide changes that will take place in the next five to ten years. In general, these columns have focused on the incremental actions that should be taken to benefit…
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