Scaling up student aid; Reflecting on higher ed’s pandemic year; Our most popular podcast episodes

No. 249 | 12/25/20 | Subscribe to this newsletter This issue is sponsored by An education chatbot celebrates its first birthday this week.     That would be Aidan, the robotic assistant that the U.S. Department of Education created to answer student questions about federal financial aid. We wrote about Aidan's launch in December 2019 and decided to check back in for its anniversary.    Over the past year, Aidan rolled out slowly to the millions of customers of the office of Federal Student Aid. As of last month, the tool is now available to all users.    Aidan answered more than 1.6 million messages from more than 652,000 customers between December 2019 and October 2020, according to a department spokesperson. The tool, represented by a little owl, "has learned and acquired new skills through these interactions with customers," the spokesperson told EdSurge, and can now answer more than 3,000 variations of frequently asked questions.   Among the most common: "What kind of grants are available to pay for college?" "What's my repayment plan?" "What's my account balance?" In addition to serving up information, Aidan delivers some personality too, according to a recent government write-up explaining that the bot is a skilled communicator who "enjoys helping others fulfill their potential" and "believes strongly that higher education can drive a more successful future for students, parents, and borrowers." 👂 EAR TO THE GROUND   MAKE IT QUICK: A company's growth statistics usually feel celebratory. But the 2020 figures of Edquity, a college student emergency aid company, hint at how difficult the year has been for those in higher ed. When the pandemic threw campuses into crisis, here's how Edquity helped one college get its federal relief dollars to students in need—and signed up a bunch of new clients.   SECRETARY SELECTION: The Biden-Harris administration named its pick for the top education job in the country: Miguel Cardona. He has spent most of his life and career in Connecticut, where he studied, taught and currently heads the state department of education. Here's what we know about the nominee for the 12th U.S. Education Secretary.   PUT ON THOSE NEW HEADPHONES: One way we tried to capture the nuances of teaching during a health crisis was through audio storytelling. Listen to our most popular podcast episodes of 2020. (They'll sound great on any new headphones you got for the holidays.) Spoiler alert: Zoom fatigue emerged as the biggest draw. ✍️ REFLECTING ON 2020    (ANOTHER) YEAR OF THE MOOC: As millions suddenly found themselves with free time on their hands during the pandemic, many people turned to online courses—especially, to free courses known as MOOCs, or Massive Open Online Courses. In fact, Dhawal Shah,  founder of MOOC discovery platform Class Central, argues 2020 just might be the second year of the MOOC.   DARE TO CARE: Community college students struggled this year with loss of income, a lack of technology and feelings of isolation. To address that last problem, faculty and staff must build relationships that help students feel like they belong in higher education, argue Linda L. García and Courtney Adkins of the Center for Community College Student Engagement in an opinion piece this week. It's part of a series of year-end reflections EdSurge is publishing as 2020 concludes. The following is a message from our sponsor New webinar from Epic Games Want to create opportunities for all students to have deeper and more meaningful learning experiences? Watch this free webinar 'Innovating in the Classroom with Interactive 3D Tools'. Register now to learn how to bring interactive 3D to core subjects and explore strategies for leveraging real-time technology like Epic Games' Unreal Engine as a tool for teaching and learning. 🎧 ON THE PODCAST   HOW MINDS 'GRASP': Forgetting is a feature, not a bug. That's one of the surprising truths about how the brain works found in the new book "Grasp: The Science Transforming How We Learn." We talk with the book's co-author, Sanjay Sarma, a professor and the vice president for open learning at MIT, who says the way teaching is typically done doesn't match with how the brain actually learns. 📈 STAT-O-MATIC 36 The number of questions on the shortened version of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid proposed in legislation that Congress is considering at the end of the year, according to NPR. The current FAFSA has 108 questions, some of which critics say serve as a barrier to low-income students receiving financial support for college. 📢 SPOKEN WORD   "'Twas the week before Christmas  when all through the Zoom lonely colleagues pretend to convene in a room They save the receipts from their takeout with care and hope reimbursement won't be a nightmare With my boss in a costume and I wearing none Hoping that, in a brisk 45, we'll be done When what to my wondering eye should appear but a prompt for a sing-a-long (I need a beer)  I knew that the talent show would be a bust The musician was muted, then wasn't, then cussed The raffle was almost successful — Alas, the winner was absent; they'd fired his ass The best part of the party was most unexpected They'd given us avatars, got us connected, then gave us the run of a virtual clone of our office; I went off exploring, alone  ...and soon came upon a familiar place I "sat" at my "desk," and then stared into space And I whispered a wish for the end of this plight: "Happy Christmas to all; logging off for the night." —Steve Kolowich, an assignment editor at the Washington Post, in a Twitter thread. He insists a Twitter thread near Christmas is called a garland. 💼 BYTE-SIZED BRIEFS   Congressional deal would give higher ed $23 billion. (Inside Higher Ed)   Congress clinches deal to restore Pell grants for prisoners 26 years after ban. (Politico) Zoom may launch an email service and calendar app to compete with Google and Microsoft. (The Verge) 📚 FROM THE ARCHIVES   AT YOUR SERVICE: Trying to make federal student aid operate more like a "world-class financial firm" means updating its customer service processes. So last winter, the U.S. Department of Education introduced a new tool to support borrowers: Aidan, a financial aid chatbot. The goal: make the federal financial-aid process "modern, streamlined, and simply easier for students."  Looking for a job in edtech? You've come to the right place. EdSurge has the leading edtech jobs board in the industry with openings from schools, nonprofits and companies.   Post a job | See all jobs Assistant Director, Center for Public University Transformation | Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) is seeking an Assistant Director for the Center for Public University Transformation (CPUT), which aims to advance student success, equity, and university transformation. Product Management • Non Profit • Washington D.C. or Remote   Chief Information Officer | Mary Institute and Country Day School MICDS seeks a chief information officer, starting July 1, 2021, to oversee all areas of technology: strategy, infrastructure, data and web applications, support services, and instructional technology. C-Level Executive Leadership • School • St. Louis, MO   The Edward John Noble Foundation Deputy Director for Learning and Audience Engagement | DRG The DDLAE will lead and oversee the design of bold and inspired educational strategy, programming, and community building experiences across the Museum that align with and amplify MoMA's global mission as a leader in connecting audiences with art. C-Level Executive Leadership • Non Profit • New York, NY   Instructional Technology Trainer | Digital Promise The Instructional Technology Trainer will be responsible for delivering high-quality live and recorded professional development for teachers, coaches and leaders within the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools. Customer Implementation / Customer Success • Non Profit • Remote   Research Project Manager - Education Practice | Christensen Institute The Christensen Institute seeks a highly motivated individual to join the Social Capital R&D Project team immediately, providing essential project management, research assistance, and writing support to the project's co-directors. Research • Non Profit • Lexington, MA or Remote   Director, Learning Futures Initiatives | Arizona State University The Learning Futures Collaboratory at Arizona State University is seeking a Director of Learning Futures Initiatives. Higher Ed Admin Operations • School • Tempe, AZ   Events Post an event • See all events and meetups   Learning and the Brain 59: Teaching Purposeful Minds This virtual conference will explore the importance of purpose, connections (including love and belonging), and curiosity and exploration, and how they can help support learning, coping, and personal growth. Apr 17-18 • Online • More than $250  THANKS FOR READING   ➔ Got any feedback? We love hearing from readers. Shoot us a note, critiques, a joke—whatever you've got! ➔ Interested in reaching our readers? Sponsor this newsletter. ➔ Event planners: Feature your in-person or virtual event on our calendar & newsletters. EdSurge covers and connects the people, ideas and technologies that shape the future of learning. We are an independent news and research initiative of the International Society for Technology in Education. International Society for Technology in Education, 621 SW Morrison Street, Suite 800, Portland, Oregon 97205, USA, 800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 503.342.2848 (Int'l) Unsubscribe Manage preferences