Helping students process political violence; Predicting the future of higher ed; Live podcast invitation

No. 251 | 01/08/21 | Subscribe to this newsletter This issue is sponsored by One of the functions of higher education is to slow things down and offer a place to reflect and put events of the moment in perspective.   That, at least, is what one historian at Carleton College, Amna Khalid, stressed during this week of political chaos in America, after a mob egged on by President Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol building in a deadly effort to halt the transfer of power to a new democratically elected president.    "This is happening because we've forgotten how to have intelligent conversations with one another," she told EdSurge Thursday. "Everyone knows how to speak—especially with social media. But really understanding where someone's coming from really requires a suspension of your judgment, which we need to teach students to do."   That's not to say there's no room for judgment after someone's been heard. The professor joined a chorus of voices around education in condemning the actions of those who stormed the Capitol. Even Trump's loyal secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, resigned late yesterday in protest. But she said professors have a role to play in helping to show students how to disagree productively.     Her discipline of history offers plenty of lessons for this moment, she said. For one thing, she has studied how diseases can influence world events. It turns out that previous pandemics have led to political crises elsewhere. "These are moments," she added, "when the fault lines of a society become sharply visible." 👂 EAR TO THE GROUND   REACTING TO CAPITOL ATTACK: Academics and higher education leaders strongly condemned President Trump this week for encouraging his supporters to violently disrupt the workings of democracy. Many issued statements calling for the immediate removal of the president, either through impeachment or by invoking the 25th Amendment. Others pointed to resources for how to help students put this week's events in historical context and to foster better civic dialogue.   REFLECTING POOL: We asked more than a dozen educators, researchers and edtech innovators to share their thoughts on the lessons they learned during 2020 and the challenges that remain to be solved. They wrote about student basic needs, renewed classroom creativity, budget woes and the need to build equity into education. Find the collection here.   TIME CRUNCH: Time is the biggest barrier for upstart efforts trying to encourage working adults to acquire new skills and for companies allocating time for employees to learn new skills, argues Michelle Weise, a senior advisor at Imaginable Futures. The pandemic has revealed just how much people are juggling—caring for kids, supporting older family members and managing other responsibilities—and that needs to be recognized when designing higher education efforts. ✍️ COLUMNIST CORNER    2021 TEA LEAVES: While everyone's happy 2020 is over, many of the changes it accelerated will be here to stay, writes columnist Michael Horn. Among them: an increased reliance on cheaper, more convenient educational offerings, and a further crumbling of the false dichotomy between the value of short-term credentials and full degrees. 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. 🎙️ LET'S TALK   WHAT PANDEMIC CAMPUS FELT LIKE: With a global pandemic raging, everyone knew that the fall 2020 semester would be challenging. But what was it really like to try to keep learning going—both at campuses that went back in person, and those to go fully online? For this special EdSurge Live forum next Tuesday, Jan. 12, we'll talk with the students and professors who shared their experiences all semester on our Pandemic Campus Diaries podcast series. RSVP here. 🎧 ON THE PODCAST   TELLING MOMENTS: Listen to Dave Eggers' concerns about what he sees as overuse of tech in education. Hear how one professor created an unusual final exam simulation that involved trained chickens. Learn what it was like to be a first-year teacher during a pandemic. On this week's EdSurge Podcast, we're revisiting some of the most memorable moments from our podcast in 2020. 📈 STAT-O-MATIC 85.4 percent The share of college students who said pandemic conditions hurt their academic performance in fall 2020, according to a survey of more than 14,000 students at 232 colleges by OneClass, a platform that offers study resources. 📣 SPOKEN WORD   "I'm leaning to the view that we might be better off if the internet didn't exist. There are terrific parts of the internet that I wouldn't want to give up. I know more about music because I can get everything that's ever been recorded on Spotify, and I feel smarter for taking Stanford University courses on YouTube. There are important social movements like Me Too and Black Lives Matter that might not exist or might have developed more slowly without online networks. But we now also have the possible weakening of democracy in this country, the mass surveillance of people in China and the sense that the world has grown more chaotic and unpredictable because of technology." —Farhad Manjoo, technology columnist. (The New York Times) 💼 BYTE-SIZED BRIEFS   Education secretary Betsy DeVos resigns over Capitol riot, blaming Trump rhetoric. (CNBC)   University of California at San Diego uses vending machines to dispense COVID-19 tests. (CNN)   Alabama State University is experimenting with using drones to disinfect its football stadium as a COVID-19 safety measure. (News 19 Huntsville) 📚 FROM THE ARCHIVES    SQUAD GOALS: Pre-pandemic, colleges were transforming library rooms and dorm halls into esports arenas designed to gather gamers to play and watch together, in person. In part that's because there's big money flowing through the video game industry. But it's also to help esports fans create community—and to make sure students play in moderation. 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