Category: technology

Blockchain in Higher Education: Are we on the Cusp of Transformation or Still Gathering Information?

.Reading time 21 minutes.
a visual representation of blockchain, connected and lit blue lines

Blockchain? In higher ed? Maybe? Yes? No? We had so many questions about this trending topic, so, we found some experts and asked them about it. Today, Megan Raymond, WCET’s Director of Programs and Sponsorship, is here to discuss her interview with three higher education experts about blockchain and the opportunity for this technology in […]

Read More

California to Open a New Community College and Progress at the Other 114

.Reading time 9 minutes.
photo of a blueprint, ruler, and pencil

If you could start completely from scratch, how would you design an institution of higher education? The California Community College System plans to open its 115th institution in October. And it is an interesting answer to that question. Based upon their published materials and a presentation to Online Teaching Conference in June, Calbright College, which […]

Read More

Feeling the Ground by Getting Some Air

.Reading time 14 minutes.
A person on a skate board jumping over sidewalk

A few months ago, Rosa and I released a list of recommended podcasts, which we had elicited from our members. Gettin’ Air was one of these recommended listens. So, I was thrilled when our Director of Open Policy, Tanya Spilovoy, connected me with the host of the podcast, Terry Greene, to write for us today. […]

Read More

Creating Videos to Explore Open Education

.Reading time 12 minutes.
A flowchart for the video creation workflow. 1. Reflect, think about what you wnat to say and what you want your audience to learn. 2. script: draft and refine the script for your video. add explicit pauses in the script to break up topics. 3. record: record your audio/video. Expect this process to require multiple taks. 4. Create: create visuals for your video. If you recorded live video, create graphics and end screens. 5. Edit your audio, sync audio and visual cures, and add openly licensed background music. 6. Export: export your finished video, review for quality, and tweak export settings for the best results. 7. Upload: upload your video to youtube, vimeo, or your preferred space for sharing content. 8. Finish: add a video description, captions, CC license, citations for related works, and additional metadata.

Welcome today to Abbey Elder, the Open Access & Scholarly Communication Librarian for Iowa State University, who is here to discuss the development of a series of videos about open education. Abbey’s post today provides a wonderful outline for how you could create your very own series of educational videos, including an open access flowchart […]

Read More

From Policy to Compliance: What do Faculty Need to Develop Accessible Course Content?

.Reading time 15 minutes.
Geographic distribution of the responses. Note higher concentration of responses in the eastern United States.

Accessibility of college and university materials and services is an important topic for all those involved in education today. Higher Education institutions are working to develop policies and guidelines for ensuring accessible content for all learners. Do such policies result in more accessible digital environments? How can institutions help support faculty to develop more accessible […]

Read More

Building a Network for Curation – the #femedtech movement

.Reading time 10 minutes.
Logo for #femedtech. A skateboard with #femedtech on the bottom

As a women working in edtech, open education, and higher education, the #femedtech network has provided hope, joy, and encouragement for me and many others working within the space. Although Maren and I have never met in person, I am a Twitter friend and I invited her to write a WCET blog post exploring the […]

Read More

Adaptive Learning: The Future is Up to Us

.Reading time 11 minutes.
a group of students around a table

Today we’re excited to welcome back Patricia O’Sullivan, the Program Manager for Externally Funded Academic Innovation Projects at the University of Mississippi. Patti inspired us last year with the University of Mississippi’s work in this area to help their students and improve student success. Today she’s back to Frontiers to consider what’s happening with adaptive […]

Read More

An Introspective Look at WCET’s Own Accessibility Practices, Part II

.Reading time 10 minutes.
Photograph showing a pink accessibility sign, which points towards a “Step Free Route.”

Last week, I began to explain what WCET is doing – and potential areas of improvement – about web accessibility, based on different disabilities and barriers that people with those disabilities may encounter as described by The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Check out my first post for background information on what led me to […]

Read More

An Introspective Look at WCET’s Own Accessibility Practices, Part I

.Reading time 15 minutes.
Alt text: Icon produced by the Accessible Icon Project showing a person in motion in a wheelchair.

Are your course materials and institutional websites accessible for all learners? Here at Frontiers, we discuss accessibility quite often, but today we have a very practical post that directly reviews content to determine accessibility for all. I’m excited to welcome Rosa Calabrese, WCET’s Digital Designer, who is here to discuss her review of the accessibility […]

Read More