Women in Technology: Why Community is Essential for Progress
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Women in Technology: Why Community is Essential for Progress
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Why Arts Education Is Essential for Students’ Success
Investing in Arts Education
As events at the federal level unfold in ways that will most certainly intensify the debate on public education, it is important to remember that Americans overwhelmingly support arts education.
In a recent survey conducted by Americans for the Arts, 90% of respondents proclaimed the importance of arts education, and 83% supported government funding for arts education programs. Americans know its importance because research consistently shows that a quality arts education is essential for a student’s overall learning experience. Students with access to arts education and arts-integrated classes demonstrate long-term retention of information and increased proficiency in reading, writing, and math. Beyond academics, arts education also positively impacts students’ mental health and emotional well-being. Engaging in the arts helps prevent depression and nurtures empathy and compassion for others.
The value of arts education
While research and anecdotal evidence clearly illustrate the value of arts education, teachers, parents, school leaders, and other stakeholders regularly face challenges related to funding, scheduling, and competing legislative priorities. Low-income students, students with disabilities, students of color, and other underrepresented groups have less access to quality arts education. Yet, these students stand to benefit the most from it and arts-integrated learning. There is strong agreement about the importance of arts education, and more than half of American adults believe students don’t have enough opportunities to take arts classes.
In addition to its academic benefits and vital role in supporting mental and emotional well-being, arts education also prepares students for the workforce by cultivating originality and creativity. Employers value strong communication, problem-solving, and teamwork — abilities developed in art classrooms, theater rehearsals, and band or orchestra performances. Furthermore, 61% of employed American workers say the arts boost their creativity, which makes them more successful at work.
Unlocking even more benefits
The emerging field of neuroarts provides even stronger evidence for the importance of arts education. Neuroarts is the transdisciplinary study of how the arts and aesthetic experiences measurably impact the body, the brain, and behavior, and how this knowledge can be applied to support health and well-being. Researchers Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross have been pioneers in this field, finding that artistic experiences stimulate neurons and brain pathways unlike anything else. Their research shows that art can be integrated with medicine to improve mobility, relieve pain and trauma, enhance learning outcomes, prevent disease, and build resilience. For children in particular, participating in the arts supports brain and language development, emotional regulation, self-expression, and overall learning ability.
With so many profound benefits, the case for quality arts education is well-founded. Investing in arts education helps students become healthier and more likely to succeed both in the classroom and the workplace. It is crucial to ensure every student in the United States has access to a strong arts education.
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7 Essential Benefits of Interoperability in Higher Education
It is true that institutions trying to adapt, innovate, and provide excellent experiences to staff, teachers, and students now depend critically on their capacity to easily integrate and share data across many platforms! Interoperability in higher education—the ability of technologies to cooperate effectively—is not a luxury but rather a need for building responsive and efficient campuses. Particularly, the need for interoperability in student management systems is regarded as crucial for changing the higher education student experience. These seven main arguments explain why developing the university of the future depends on interoperability.
Benefits of Student System Integration for Your Higher Education Team
How to Integrate Systems for a Smarter Campus Environment?
For a smarter campus, facilities, academic tools, and administrative systems must be seamlessly integrated. Interoperable technologies improve student and staff campus experiences via real-time data sharing, automated workflows, and resource management. Energy efficiency, security, and academic creativity can improve with smart buildings and IoT networks.
Top 7 Benefits of Interoperability in Higher Education
EDUCAUSE conducted a survey revealing that 74% of institutions utilizing integrated data systems reported significant enhancements in their monitoring of student performance and retention rates. Let’s split up the core benefits for you!
1. Optimized Scalability
Swift transformations, such as the demand for enhanced online provisions, necessitate scalable systems. Interoperable solutions facilitate the integration of Learning Management Systems (LMS), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) technologies, and other systems into a cohesive digital platform. This guarantees that institutions can effectively expand operations, automate workflows, and incorporate new tools without interruption. A 2024 European Education Area finding figured out that HE’s interoperability can better student mobility and credit recognition by 5X times.
2. Cost Optimization
Historically, the implementation of new systems in isolation resulted in elevated expenses. A cloud-based, interoperable platform reduces costs through centralized management, streamlined processes, and minimized hardware needs. By leveraging real-time access to advanced tools, institutions may enhance their return on investment and save IT costs. It strengthens relationships and collaborations between students and educators.
3. Cohesive IT Ecosystem
An incoherent array of solutions represents an administrative burden. Interoperability, whether on-site or cloud-based, enhances a cohesive IT infrastructure suitable for hybrid configurations. This method guarantees harmonious functionality of all technologies and facilitates system integration.
4. Enhanced Data Security
Higher education emphasizes data security. Student and institutional data are protected through encryption and customized access controls across compatible platforms. Risks are alleviated and adherence to regulations is attained. Reducing duplicate systems lowers operational costs. The 2024 NASCIO research indicates that interoperable technology allows organizations to focus on strategic goals instead of fragmented systems.
5. Better Decisions with Institutional Info
Institutions can use integrated data by eliminating system silos. Leaders can use real-time data to plan enrollment, student progress, fundraising, and resource allocation. Automating operations dramatically improves efficiency.
6. IT Management Simplified
Interoperability in higher education simplifies system management. Cloud solutions enable streamlined IT staff to concentrate on strategic objectives by delegating technical upkeep. Real-time data can assist leaders in making informed decisions on enhancing engagement, supporting student success, generating revenue, and optimizing resource utilization. Automation significantly enhances operational efficiency.
7. Future-proofing campus IT
Security-focused interoperable systems protect sensitive data better. United data governance reduces breach risk, matching with cybersecurity principles in many higher education technology reports.
Best Practices for Achieving Interoperability in Universities
The best way to get systems in line with institutional goals is to set clear integration goals.
- Implement open standards for assured compatibility and nicer data interchange.
- Remember, encryption and compliance with privacy legislation should be your top priorities when it comes to data security!
- Set up a centralized system for managing data such that there is only one accurate source.
- Ensure ongoing system integration and schedule ongoing training for your teammates.
- Choose scalable solutions that can grow with the institution and a vendor with robust integrated campus management systems!
- Remember, partnering with the right vendor simplifies integration, service, and follow-up!
Conclusion: Building a foundation for the future
Understanding how to combine systems and data will become more important as higher education changes. Interoperable solutions provide the flexibility, security, and scalability institutions need to thrive in an ever-changing environment. Explore how Creatrix’s integrated campus management system can help you create the college of the future with a unified, cross-platform system created for higher education.
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How to Equip Your Students With Essential Soft and Hard Skills Using Ed Tech
Today’s employers don’t just hire based on educational achievement. They’ve increasingly prioritized higher-order learning skills during the hiring process. To help students become job ready and land a role in the current workforce, professors need to empower learners with the necessary 21st-century skills, often called ‘soft skills.’
This guide lays out key information on how to create opportunities for skill-based learning to help smoothen the transition from college to the workforce. It will also describe how to develop these skills in students while they’re still in the classroom. Most significantly, you’ll learn how educational technology can sharpen the essential soft skills students need beyond your course.
Below are 15 soft and hard skills that make up 21st-century learning.
The 4 Cs of 21st-Century Learning
The first four of these higher-order learning skills are widely considered the most vital 21st-century skills in the classroom for students to learn. Commonly known as the 4 Cs of 21st-century learning, they comprise:
1. Critical thinking:
Critical thinking is about problem-solving, and being able to bring a skeptical, discerning perspective to assertions of fact and opinion. Students are given opportunities to question and challenge the information presented to them. Troubleshooting and IT support are two hard skills that rely heavily on critical thinking as a foundation and are in-demand skills for the wide variety of technology-based careers in today’s job market.
How Top Hat helps: Donna M. Smith, a math instructor, is a recipient of the Top Hat Black Educator Grant. A teacher of College Algebra at Sierra College, she has leveraged Top Hat to build a framework that helps students learn how to develop critical-thinking skills, and other soft skills like teamwork, adaptability and time management. She uses this framework to provide students with practice opportunities that demand specific actions from students, then gauges their higher-order learning using Top Hat’s range of assessment tools, spanning all six levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. As a result, she reports, she’s found her students’ rate of success improved dramatically.
In the same vein, 93 percent of students surveyed in a Top Hat research report said the variety of assessment types Top Hat offers help them learn how to develop critical-thinking skills.
2. Creativity:
This is the process of approaching problems from a variety of perspectives, including ones others might not notice. It helps develop trust in one’s own instincts and helps students seek out new solutions to old problems.
3. Communication skills:
This is the ability to convey thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively. In a 21st-century education, that includes being able to communicate well digitally, from texts, emails and social media, to podcasting and video conferencing.
How Top Hat helps: Top Hat’s Discussion feature helps develop skill-building via collaboration in the classroom. While not all students are always on an equal playing field when it comes to comfort in group discussions, this Top Hat feature meets students where they are by allowing them to respond to comments and questions from any device. They can use simple text or incorporate images, sound bites and videos to propel the conversation forward. Teachers can even employ anonymity to make students comfortable engaging in sensitive topics. Teachers can use this Top Hat feature to drive up classroom participation significantly.
4. Collaboration:
This is the ability to work with others as a team to solve a problem or achieve a shared goal. It helps develop the abilities to share control, pitch solutions and discuss and decide with others the best course of action. It also helps students learn to effectively deal with others who may not agree with them, develop the critical abilities to resolve conflicts effectively and consider different viewpoints from their peers.
Research shows that students who enter the workforce with knowledge and experience in the 4 Cs of 21st-century learning tend to be more adaptable and flexible in the constantly-shifting workplace environment. The 4 Cs of 21st-century learning, in turn, empower students to work better across cultures and are more prepared to take on leadership roles.
Key Higher-Order Learning Skills
Other important 21st-century skills in the classroom include:
5. Problem-solving:
This is the use of both conventional and innovative methods to solve different types of unfamiliar problems. It involves identifying and asking meaningful questions to clarify different viewpoints and arrive at more effective solutions.
How Top Hat helps: The Top Hat Assignment feature enables teachers to provide students with interactive homework assignments that actively engage them in their own higher-order learning outside the classroom. A multimedia-friendly tool with 14 easy-to-use question types and automatic grading, this versatile feature keeps collaboration, communication and other essential skills front and center. It incorporates reading, answering questions and viewing media with worksheets, case studies and simulations to help students develop a deeper understanding of a problem and a multifaceted approach to its potential solutions. An added benefit for instructors is that it provides insights into students’ comprehension, participation and completion in real-time.
6. Information literacy:
This includes the ability to access, evaluate, utilize and manage information, critically and efficiently. It also involves the accurate and creative application of available information to the current problem or issue. It requires managing data flow from multiple sources, and the application of fundamental legal and ethical knowledge regarding access to and use of that information.
7. Technology skills and digital literacy:
Often abbreviated as ICT literacy (Information, Communication and Technology,) this is the collective set of abilities that allow students to effectively apply digital technologies to researching, evaluating, organizing and communicating information across digital channels. This may include using computers, mobile devices, social networks and other communication tools. Jobs in machine learning, product management and software development require understanding of technological platforms and apps. Individuals in these careers must be proficient in these skills in order to suceed.
How Top Hat helps: Top Hat improves general literacy and digital literacy at the same time with Interactive Textbooks. Dynamic courseware incorporates text with high-quality images, videos and 3D simulations to captivate students’ interest and help them absorb and retain information better. They include case studies and customizable, interactive assessments, and students can access them anytime and from any device. Teachers can use Top Hat’s interactive textbooks in combination with physical textbooks, or on their own.
Incorporating interactive textbooks and other digital technologies also helps students with skill-building and better prepare them to enter the 21st-century workforce by providing one-to-one computing, giving them the technology required to utilize their higher-order thinking skills in coursework.
8. Media literacy:
This includes the ability to analyze media and create media products. It involves understanding how, why and for what purpose various entities construct media messages, including what values and viewpoints they choose to include or exclude, and why. It also examines how people interpret messages differently and how that influences behaviors and beliefs.
9. Global awareness:
This is the use of 21st-century skills to comprehend and address issues of global magnitude, and to collaborate with those from diverse backgrounds. It also involves taking an equitable or inclusive mindset when presenting new information. For example, educators might draw connections between cultural references in an English or cultural studies course. Teaching students the importance of global awareness also starts with reflecting on current and real-time events in your teaching, such as incorporating case studies on political or social uprisings.
10. Self-direction:
This is the ability to effectively set goals and manage time, as well as to work independently. It requires determining tangible and intangible criteria for success and balancing short-term tactical goals with long-term strategic ones. It also requires demonstrating initiative and commitment and working independently, including defining, prioritizing, monitoring and completing tasks without oversight, while reflecting on past experiences and learning from them.
11. Social skills:
This is the ability to effectively interact with others and work in diverse teams. Students recognize the appropriate times to listen or speak while remaining open-minded to diverse values and ideas. Students also learn how to conduct themselves professionally in a respectful manner, including when working with people from different backgrounds. Those looking to pursue careers in nursing or other areas of healthcare must be proficient in providing both emotional and physical care to patients. Common hard skills required for these careers include Basic Life Support (BLS), Patient Safety and Critical First Aid.
12. Perseverance:
This is the ability to persist in a determined effort in spite of obstacles and setbacks. It requires many of the other higher-order thinking skills, including problem-solving and self-direction, to employ effectively.
How Top Hat helps: Top Hat’s 21st-century learning suite includes many tools that help educators make sure no student falls behind. Not least among them is learning insights. By tracking every interaction between a student and the software automatically, Top Hat enables you to see which students need additional help, in what area and when. Gauge attendance, progress, comprehension, participation—and act on these insights proactively in real-time.
13. Literacy skills:
Basic literacy skills include the abilities to create, comprehend, analyze, absorb, retain and recall written information. In the 21st-century workplace and modern economy, they especially apply to business, economic, financial, health and entrepreneurial interests.
14. Civic literacy:
Students become familiar with how civic decisions have local and global implications. This type of literacy involves effective participation in civic life by remaining informed and comprehending the processes of government. It also requires knowing how to exercise citizenship rights and obligations.
15. Social responsibility:
This encompasses everything from human rights, labor practices, the climate and the environment, fair operating practices, consumer issues and community involvement and development. It requires accountability, transparency, ethical behavior and respect for stakeholder interest, the rule of law, international norms of behavior and human rights.
Why 21st-Century Skills Are Important
Importance of Soft Skills for Students
At its most basic level, teaching 21st-century skills, like critical thinking, provides a framework for higher-order learning. Beyond that, however, it also helps students develop the skills that ensure they will thrive when they leave the classroom and enter the workforce.
Today’s workplaces are changing constantly, and the role of technology is ever-evolving and growing. That means that persistent, continual learning is essential to succeed and an emphasis on the importance of soft skills for students. Today’s graduates require not only the knowledge and skills for their chosen careers, but critical-thinking skills to navigate an always-changing landscape.
Good for the World
The greater community also benefits from new workers entering the workforce with a 21st-century education. The wellbeing of our broader society requires workers with competence and experience in:
- Civic engagement
- Critical thinking
- Digital literacy
- Effective communication
- Global awareness
Graduates equipped with these higher-order learning skills comprehend their role as good citizens and their connection to their neighbors and their shared environment. This way, they are more tolerant, they think more equitably and they aim to build a more diverse workforce. They are empowered to approach all they do in their work with a civic-minded focus.
Conclusion
As a 2017 research review in Nurse Education in Practice reported, “Technology has advanced in quantity and quality; recognized as a requirement of 21st-century learners.” Integrating curricula on critical thinking and other soft skills in your classroom will help your students enter the 21st-century workplace better equipped to meet the challenges facing future workers and leaders. As technology becomes an increasingly inseparable part of the working world, it’s becoming more evident that teachers who make effective use of it have an advantage in helping students prepare for life beyond the classroom.
The developers and designers of Top Hat, including professional educators themselves, are singularly focused on employing the latest in 21st-century education technology to help educators empower students to achieve these aims.
References
Ross, D. (2017, April 24). Empowering Our Students with 21st-Century Skills for Today. Getting Smart. www.gettingsmart.com/2017/04/24/empowering-students-21st-century-skills/
What is social responsibility? (n.d.). ASQ. asq.org/quality-resources/social-responsibility
LinkedIn Jobs on the Rise 2022: The 25 U.S. roles that are growing in demand (2022, January 18). LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-jobs-rise-2022-25-us-roles-growing-demand-linkedin-news/
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The essential PLUS for returning to learning at Liverpool by Sarah Hanson – ALL @ Liverpool Blog
If you are a mature student, returner to learning or someone who has experienced a disrupted education, you may be anxious about the support available for anyone not familiar with higher education and its challenges. Starting your higher education journey is one of the most exciting times of your life, but we realise you might have some concerns as well. Whatever they might be, you don’t need to worry as the University of Liverpool offers lots of support.
Our Student Services team, who offer a huge range of services, including mental health support like counselling, a Mental Health Advisory Service and wellbeing support including self-help guides, workshops and events. They also provide financial advice, including guidance on managing the rising cost of living and support for disabled students through initiatives like Disability Coaches, a peer support service of trained students with lived experience of disability and accessing disability support. Disability Coaches can help with initial enquiries, support plans, obtaining medical evidence and Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA).
The Liverpool Guild of Students offer free and confidential advice to all students about the options available to you, covering academic, housing, wellbeing issues and more. Through the Guild you can access a huge range of Societies, providing a brilliant opportunity to make new friends through shared interests. They also provide schemes like Give It A Go and lots of volunteering programmes, giving you the chance to enhance your student experience.
From September 2024, Go Higher students will be able to access Liverpool Plus, a brand new post-entry support programme. Including an Enhanced Welcome package, 1-2-1 support with your transition into first year, bespoke events with University services like Global Opportunities and Libraries, and priority access to schemes like the Liverpool Advocate programme.
With Liverpool Plus, we’ll provide the support you need to make the most out of your time at University
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Three Essential AI Tools and Practical Tips for Automating HR Tasks – CUPA-HR
by Julie Burrell | March 27, 2024
During his recent keynote at CUPA-HR’s Higher Ed HR Accelerator, Commissioner Keith Sonderling of the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission observed, “now, AI exists in HR in every single stage of employment,” from writing job descriptions, to sourcing candidates and scheduling interviews, and well into the career lifecycle of employees.
At some colleges and universities, AI is now a routine part of the HR workflow. At the University of North Texas at Dallas, for example, AI has significantly sped up the recruitment and hiring timeline. “It helped me staff a unit in an aggressive time frame,” says Tony Sanchez, chief human resources officer, who stresses that they use AI software with privacy protections. “AI parsed resumes, prescreened applicants, and allowed scheduling directly to the hiring manager’s calendar.”
Even as AI literacy is becoming a critical skill, many institutions of higher education have not yet adopted AI as a part of their daily operations. But even if you don’t have your own custom AI like The University of Michigan, free AI tools can still be a powerful daily assistant. With some common-sense guardrails in place, AI can help you automate repetitive tasks, make software like Excel easier to use, analyze information and polish your writing.
Three Free Chatbots to Use Now
AI development is moving at a breakneck pace, which means that even the freely available tools below are more useful than they were just a few months ago. Try experimenting with multiple AI chatbots by having different browser windows open and asking each chatbot to do the same task. Just don’t pick a favorite yet. With AI companies constantly trying to outperform each other, one might work better depending on the day or the task. And before you start, be sure to read the section on AI guardrails below — you never want to input proprietary or private information into a public chatbot.
ChatGPT, the AI trailblazer. The free version allows unlimited chats after signing up for an account. Right now, ChatGPT is text-based, which means it can help you with emails and communications, or even draft longer materials like reports. It can also solve math problems and answer questions (but beware of fabricated answers).
You can customize ChatGPT to make it work better for you by clicking on your username in the bottom lefthand corner. For example, you can tell it that you’re an HR professional working in higher education, and it will tailor its responses to what it knows about your job.
Google’s powerful AI chatbot, Gemini (formerly known as Bard). You’ll need to have or sign up for a free Google account, and it’s well worth it. Gemini can understand and interact with text just like ChatGPT does, but it’s also multimodal. You can drag and drop images and it will be able to interpret them. Gemini can also make tables, which can be exported to Google Sheets. And it generates images for free. For example, if you have an image you want your marketing team to design, you can get started by asking Gemini to create what you have in mind. But for now, Gemini won’t create images of people.
Claude, often considered the best AI writer. Take Claude for a spin by asking it to write a job description or memo for you. Be warned that the free version of Claude has a daily usage limit, and you won’t know you’ve hit it until you hit it. According to Claude, your daily limit depends on demand, and your quota resets every morning.
These free AI tools aren’t as powerful as their paid counterparts — all about $20 per month — but they do offer a sense of what AI can do.
Practical Tips for Using AI in HR
For a recent Higher Ed HR Magazine article, I asked higher education HR professionals how they used AI to increase efficiency. Rhonda Beassie, associate vice president for people and procurement operations at Sam Houston State University, shared that she and her team are using AI for both increased productivity and upskilling, such as:
- Creating first drafts of and benchmarking job descriptions.
- Making flyers, announcements and other employee communications.
- Designing training presentations, including images, text, flow and timing.
- Training employees for deeper use of common software applications.
- Providing instructions on developing and troubleshooting questions for macros and VLOOKUP in Microsoft Excel.
- Troubleshooting software. Beassie noted that employees “can simply say to the AI, ‘I received an error message of X. How do I need to change the script to correct this?’ and options are provided.”
- Creating reports pulled from their enterprise system.
AI chatbots are also great at:
- Being a thought partner. Ask a chatbot to help you respond to a tricky email, to find the flaws in your argument or to point out things you’ve missed in a piece of writing.
- Revising the tone, formality or length of writing. You can ask chatbots to make something more or less formal or friendly (or whatever tone you’re trying to strike), remove the jargon from a piece of writing, or lengthen or shorten something.
- Summarizing webpages, articles or book chapters. You can cut and paste a URL into a chatbot and ask it to summarize the page for you. You can also cut and paste a fairly large amount of text into chatbots and ask it for a summary. Try using parameters, such as “Summarize this into one sentence,” or “Please give me a bulleted list of the main takeaways.” The summaries aren’t always perfect, but will usually do in a pinch.
- Summarizing YouTube videos. (Currently, the only free tool that can do this is Gemini.) Just cut and paste in the URL and ask it to summarize a video for you. Likewise, these summaries aren’t always exactly accurate.
- Writing in your voice. Ask a chatbot to learn your voice and style by entering in things you’ve written. Ask it to compose a communication, like a memo or email you need to write, in your voice. This takes some time up front to train the AI, and it may not remember your voice from day-to-day or task-to-task.
Practice Your Prompts
Just 10 minutes a day can take you far in getting comfortable with these tools if you’re new to them. Learning prompting, which may take an upfront investment of more time, can unlock powerful capabilities in AI tools. The more complex the task you ask AI to do, the more time you need to spend crafting a prompt.
The best prompts will ask a chatbot to assume a role and perform an action, using specific context. For example, “You are a human resources professional at a small, liberal arts college. You are writing a job description for an HR generalist. The position’s responsibilities include leading safety and compliance training; assisting with payroll; conducting background checks; troubleshooting employee questions in person and virtually. The qualifications for the job are one to two years in an HR office, preferably in higher education, and a BA.”
Anthropic has provided a very helpful prompt library for Claude, which will also work with most AI chatbots.
AI Guardrails
There are real risks to using AI, especially the free tools listed above. You can read about them in detail here, or even ask AI to tell you, but the major dangers are:
- Freely available AI will not protect your data privacy. Unless you have internal or enterprise software with a privacy agreement at your institution, assume everything you share with AI is public. Protected or confidential information should not be entered into a prompt.
- AI fabricates, or hallucinates, as it’s sometimes called. It will make up facts that sound deceptively plausible. If you need accurate information, it’s best to consult an expert or trusted sources.
- You don’t own copyright on AI-created work. In the United States, only human-produced work can be copyrighted.
- Most of these tools are trained only up to a certain date, often a year or more ago for free chatbots. If you need up-to-the-minute information, use your favorite web browser.
Further AI Resources