Literature
Journal articles relevant to learning technologies and higher education
This is the second volume of Inside Higher Ed.'s study of faculty adoption of technology. The study surveys a nationally representative sample of higher education faculty members and focuses on what aspects of digital life faculty members are embracing and which they don not. Some areas of digital life which are explored include social media, Learning Management Systems, online education, digital-only publications and for-profit education. The findings are many-fold and have direct implications for anyone involved in education and technology.
Amid a long list of measurable factors, some have been shown to correlate strongly with academic outcomes, while others are not strong indicators of student success. The representations—often graphical—of the patterns and insights gleaned from analytics are a central component of how that information is understood and used. The most effective learning analytics programs will be institution-wide efforts, taking advantage of a wide range of resources and possible interventions.
Two year colleges have often been viewed as dead-end roads for students who should have aimed higher. This article provides a counter argument, exploring the benefit of of a community college education. A new study found that for the vast majority of students, the alternative to attending community college is not enrolling at a four-year institution, but not to attend college at all. Further, attendance at a two-year institution increases the odds of students to eventually earn a bachelor's degree.
