From Left: Laura Bekkerus and Kathy Samways in class. Globe University-Woodbury paralegal student, Laura Bekkerus was featured on KSTP in a 5 Eyewitness News Investigation about Minnesota’s adoption system delays. In the interview Laura spoke about her experience within the state’s adoption system when she and her husband adopted their son, Nicos. Laura shared that her son was in the system for almost 19 months before the adoption was finalized by the court. "As a paralegal student, the family law class at Globe really helped me through the adoptions process," said Laura. She continues by noting that she can apply everything she learns at Globe on a daily basis. "I love that I can pull things from one class and somehow it relates to another class," said Laura. "Also, I like when I have basic discussions with my friends and I’m able to talk about real-world issues in a very educated manner." Laura transferred into the paralegal program about one year ago and she has been thriving, according to Globe University-Woodbury Legal Studies Program Chair, Kathryn Samways. She comments that her favorite aspect of the program thus far has been the research and analytical aspect of the legal field. "Laura is one of my awesome Bachelor of Science Paralegal students, and she has a passion for helping people. Her generous spirit, combined with her legal skills, will only benefit the world as she moves forward in her paralegal career," said Samways. The Adoption Need in Minnesota "There really are a lot of children in need of homes right her in Minnesota," said Laura. "My family has every intention of doing a foster adoption again. It really is a process that you need to be aware of. You really have to look at what you can handle and where you are willing to make concessions as well as understand the background of the children that you are considering parenting." Laura concludes by saying that it’s not easy to adopt, but it is absolutely worth it. According to KSTP, Hennepin County currently has 93 children and teenagers in their program waiting for permanent families. The lack of potential adoptive couples or individuals is one reason for the delays. Learn more about adoption in Minnesota or Globe University’s paralegal program. The post Paralegal Program Aids Student in Local Adoption appeared first on Globe University Blog.

Source: Find more e-Learning Infographics | Click here to enlarge The 10 Blended Learning Trends Infographic gives a snapshot on how making student learning more personalized, more engaging, and more collaborative is what’s driving innovation. The student-centered learning experience Soaring numbers of digital learners Building higher-order thinking skills Realizing benefits for both teachers and students A framework for data-driven decision-making in education Personalized learning accompanied by a lean, blended, interactive approach Productive Gamification The mobile world is where learner live now Students’ personal access to mobile devices More broadband, please!

In this episode of MEP, Justin Ballou joins me to discuss about competency based education and his education startup, Socrademy.  Don’t miss it! Guest Bio Justin Ballou teaches social studies at Campbell High School in Litchfield, New Hampshire. With a focus on competency-based education and personalized learning, he is constantly pushing the envelope in the current educational environment in order to foster the abilities of students on their journey to becoming life-long learners. He is the founder of education startup Socrademy, a personalized learning platform that delivers a highly qualified and targeted diploma focused on a student’s future aspirations. Justin is also an entrepreneur engaged in skateboard equipment and apparel, and independent music production and distribution. He graduated from Plymouth State University with a B.S. in Social Science and minor in Education. Show Notes (01:50) Justin’s background (06:00) What does competency-based education look like in your classroom? Can you paint the picture - there’s the student picture and the teacher picture. (10:50) Can you focus on Social Science, what a competency would be and how you test a student on that? (14:45) How long has Campbell been using competency based education and who started it? (19:13) Is there any specific student information system or LMS that the school is using? (21:00) Talk about what Socrademy is and what problems it’s trying to solve. (25:16) How’s the progress been so far? What has been the positives and negatives of the experience so far in this venture? (31:00) If you could have dinner with one person, past or present, who would it be and why? * Franklin Delano Roosevelt Links socrademy.com facebook.com/socrademy @socrademy For more episodes featuring thought leaders in education visit MeetEducationProject.com, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and follow Nick DiNardo on Twitter.

Globe University-Sioux Falls is proud to announce the Student of the Month for May is Jana Bruce-Wattier, from the Veterinary Technology program. Jana is a hardworking student, both in and out of the classroom. She always displays a positive attitude and encourages her fellow students to do the same, even under the pressure of homework and exams. Veterinary Technology student Jana Bruce-Wattier. "I cannot say enough about Jana. She has graciously taken over our bulletin board in the Vet Tech hallway and has done a fantastic job keeping it updated. She is great at helping to make sure the students on kennel duty stay organized and can find the supplies they need. She also helps us with inventory and alerts us when supplies are low. I wish she could stay forever and work with us!" said Veterinary Technology program chair Kim Smith. Here’s what Jana had to say about receiving Student of the Month: "I am married to my husband Zach, and we have a fur family of three kitties. I am from California, but spent most of my growing up years in Sioux Falls. I enjoy playing piano, baking, and hiking when the weather permits. I studied piano performance at Northwestern College, and psychology at Augustana College. While both were enjoyable, it wasn’t the right fit. I wanted to work in a field where I could help people while dealing with the hard sciences. I heard about Globe’s veterinary technician program from a friend of my husband, and decided it was worth trying. It ended up being a perfect fit. I did a bake sale fundraiser for the humane society as a service learning project in 2014. I am currently the treasurer of SCNAVTA, as well as a student worker on campus. I try to volunteer when I can. Recently, I volunteered for a Go Big Red silent auction, and Dr. Kreider’s nail trim clinic at Your Pet Stop. Your classmates are your greatest resource as a student. Asking fellow classmates for help in hands-on work and book work can lead to a stronger understanding of the material. They had to work hard to learn it too! Everyone excels in different areas, and asking someone who does well where you struggle can really help you learn." Congratulations, Jana! The post May Student of the Month: Jana Bruce-Wattier, Veterinary Technology appeared first on Globe University Blog.

Marking the seventh deal in less than two years, tech education platform Pluralsight announced the acquisition of on-demand live mentoring platform HackHands for an undisclosed amount. Founded in 2013 by Assis Antunes, Geraldo Ramos and Forest Good HackHands connects coders who are stuck with a problem with on-demand tutors from across the globe. To date HackHands tutors have given over 77.000 minutes of live help. Pluralsight will integrate HackHands in its current portfolio of services with sessions starting at $1 per minute. Aaron Skonnard, founder and CEO of Pluralsight also imagines that learners will eventually turn into mentors, growing the network of on-demand tutors on the platform and boosting Pluralsight’s global community. To date Pluralsight has raised nearly $170 million in venture capital since 2013 after a long period in which the startup grew organically from revenue. Its biggest competitor lynda.com got acquired by LinkedIn in April for $1.5 billion. Further Reading Pluralsight Acquires Live Mentoring Service HackHands | Press Release Pluralsight + HackHands: Enhancing online learning with live mentoring | Aaron Skonnard Link hackhands.com

Students from AP-Applied Ethics class at the Fox Valley Warming Shelter On Wednesday, May 27, my Applied Ethics class along with our instructor, Amanda Loewen, went to the Fox Valley Warming Shelter for our applied learning project.  When we first pulled in, there was a line of people waiting outside the warming shelter.  Connie, the shelter’s Volunteer Coordinator, later explained to us that at 5 PM every night the doors to the shelter open and those who are in need of a place are allowed in.  Once inside, they are provided with shelter, food, clothing and safety.  Then, every morning by 9 AM they must leave the shelter for the day.  Whether they go to a job, go to look for a job, or just hang out at the public library, they are not allowed to be at the shelter during the day.  Connie let us know about how important volunteering and donations are to their shelter.  Every day, they need a group of volunteers who are able to provide and cook a well-rounded dinner for the men and women in the shelter. While at the shelter, we began by weeding around the perimeter of the shelter building.  Once the weeds were gone and the area was freshly raked, we planted flowers and plants along the side of the building.  We also then weeded and raked around a gazebo, as well as along their fence line to plant more plants and flowers.  Once everything was planted, we also put down some newspaper and wood chips to act as mulch so it would conserve water and prevent weeds from growing in the future.  After we were done planting, we also picked up the yard a bit, and then cleaned up.  The plants, dirt and mulch were all made available thanks to a generous donation from Thrivent Financial.  We were incredibly blessed to be able to partner with Thrivent and Fox Valley Warming Shelter to make this applied learning project such a successful one! Students working on raking mulch at the Fox Valley Warming Shelter A few hours of getting dirty, and having fun interactions with my classmates outside of the classroom, was a great way to round off the end of our spring quarter.  We learned a lot while at Fox Valley Warming Shelter and truly enjoyed our time volunteering there. Who they are: Fox Valley Warming Shelter, Inc. seeks to provide overnight temporary shelter to homeless adult men and women. Written By Jennifer Eisch, Business Administration Student The post Volunteering at the Fox Valley Warming Shelter: A Student’s Perspective appeared first on Globe University Blog.

"Classroom is a new, free tool coming to Google Apps for Education that helps teachers easily and quickly create and organize assignments, provide feedback, and communicate with their classes" (Source). "Classroom weaves together Google Docs, Drive and Gmail to help teachers create and organize assignments quickly, provide feedback efficiently, and communicate with their classes with ease…it lets students organize their work, complete and turn it in, and communicate directly with their teachers and peers" (Source). The following video highlights the experiences of some of the teachers and students who provided feedback as Google developed Classroom. Benefits for Classes Easy to Set up Teachers can add students directly or share a code with their class to join. It takes just minutes to set up. Saves Time The simple, paperless assignment workflow allows teachers to create, review, and grade assignments quickly, all in one place. Improves Organization Students can see all of their assignments on an assignments page, and all class materials are automatically filed into folders in Google Drive. Enhances Communication Classroom allows teachers to send announcements and questions instantly. Since students can post to the stream, they can help out their classmates. Affordable and Secure Like the rest of our Google Apps for Education services, Classroom contains no ads, never uses your content or student data for advertising purposes, and is free for schools. For more info or to request an invite to Google Classroom, visit http://www.google.com/edu/classroom While I agree with Joshua Kim that this announcement by Google focused on K-12 education has little direct impact immediately on higher education, providing an increasing number of elementary and secondary students access to LMS-type technologies has the potential to further grow the expectations of students when they arrive at the postsecondary level for faculty to effectively make use of online technologies in their teaching. And, any additional competition in the online educational technology space will only help spur future innovation. What is your response to this latest announcement by Google? Are you planning on requesting an invite? Will there be interest by teachers at your school to try Google Classroom? Leave a comment with your thoughts!

Pet owners are always looking for reasons to show off their adorable four-legged friends. Globe University-Sioux Falls and the veterinary technology program know this all too well, and came up with a plan that let students bring their pets on campus while helping other animals in need. On Wednesday, June 3rd, SCNAVTA, or Student Chapter of National Veterinary Technicians of America, held a fundraiser for Animal Disaster Relief and Response Fund on campus. Students and staff brought their pets in for nail trims and baths for a small fee, and could also pay for the potluck hosted in the student lounge. The proceeds will help support animals who are the victims of natural disasters. "I had a great time with the students giving baths and seeing them practice their hands-on skills performing nail trims. We had a great turnout for the event and will definitely repeat it in the future!" said SCNAVTA supervisor Audree Cermak. "I had a really fun time working with everyone and giving dogs baths! Audree brought her dog Sam in, and it took four of us to wash him. I think we got a bath right along with him!" said veterinary technology student Sami Koontz. "It was a fun way to kick off the nice weather! Also, it was a great opportunity to get to know classmates while washing some cute dogs." said another veterinary technology student Jana Bruce-Wattier. We look forward to seeing this event on campus again. SCNAVTA is a great organization on our campus and very valuable to our students! Veterinary technology student Kelsey Nemec gives a friendly dog a bath during the fundraiser. Massage therapy student Tracey Schmidt participates in the SCNAVTA fundraiser by bringing her dog in for a bath and nail trim. The post Veterinary Technology SCNATVA Students Host Fundraiser to Help Animals Injured in Disasters appeared first on Globe University Blog.

After a quiet period, the language learning vertical within education technology is on the upswing once again with young, innovative startups entering the arena attracting a new generation of language learners. Certainly, it’s the established players that are only too willing to satisfy the growing demand. However, there is now a plethora of new and hungry startups in the language learning space coming in the market whose offers go beyond digitized textbooks and English training only. And it’s startups we specialize in at EDUKWEST. [purchase_link id="11312" text="Purchase" style="button" color="blue"] Overall, the online language market is doing well and growing at a CAGR of 10.04 over the period of 2014-2019. Tech solutions for learning English are booming in China, with growth of 23.6 percent in the past five years, and the Middle East, with an estimated market size of $215.7 million by 2018. Our Startup List: Language Learning Global gives you access to over 150 edtech startups in the language education space across the globe. Each entry is carefully researched and covers the following points (when information is publicly available): Company Name, Website Country, City Founding Date, Founders B2C, B2B, Vertical, Type, Age Group, Language Tech Investment, Accelerator User / Download numbers CrunchBase / AngelList Profile Key Findings The 150+ language learning startups we tracked for this list have raised over $480 million in the past 15 years, with OpenEnglish ($120m), TutorGroup ($115m), 51Talk ($65m), Duolingo ($38m) and Babbel ($32m) leading the list. In terms of popularity we see the verticals of ESL (English as Second Language), self-paced online language courses, online learning communities and language exchange, tutoring platforms and marketplaces leading the list. ESL: 42 Online Course: 23 Community: 19 Marketplace: 11 51 language learning startups on this list are located in the USA, 63 in Europe (including Russia) and 24 in Asia. [purchase_link id="11312" text="Purchase" style="button" color="blue"] What is a Startup List EDUKWEST Startup Lists exclusively contain startups, companies whose image is one of a digital company, and whose main business, if not exclusively, is generated through their online presence. We therefore exclude traditional businesses from our lists that have added online components to their portfolio as an additional revenue stream but remain focused on their real-life operations. Startups in our definition are new companies with high future growth potential that are exploring a new area or niche in the education market, and are (often) in search of their business model. They don’t need to be venture funded but can be entirely bootstrapped, or have an "exit" strategy. Startups included in our lists are often, but not exclusively, rather young companies. Purchasing this Startup List will help you to analyze the most promising markets and verticals for online language learning products worldwide and to evaluate the different market segments within online language learning. The Startup List comes in Excel format, so you can sort it easily by market segment, investment and other variables or add your own data to it. You also get a glossary, explaining how we define the different verticals in the language learning market. With this Startup List you will be able to see how startups approach the global language learning market, track down competitors and what they do. In many cases you also get data on how many users the listed language learning startups have today as well as how much venture capital the startups raised. [purchase_link id="11312" text="Purchase" style="button" color="blue"] Picture License  Some rights reserved by ToastyKen

I’m looking forward to the opportunity to teach online this summer the course, ETT 511: Advanced Instructional Media Design, for Northern Illinois University’s Department of Educational Technology, Research & Assessment. Students enrolled in this course are a part of an online cohort pursuing a Master’s in Education in Instructional Technology with a K-12 Type 10 Technology Specialist Certification. It’s an honor for me to teach as part of this US News #1 Ranked Online Program. During this accelerated (10 week) online course students will explore advanced design of mediated instruction as they engage in a wide variety of activities, designed to help them meet the following course objectives: Review current literature regarding message design principles in design and production of materials. Apply message design principles to the evaluation of existing instructional materials. Apply message design principles to the design and production of instructional materials in print, slide and video formats. As I design and develop this online course, I plan to follow the best practices I’ve previously shared for designing exemplary courses in Blackboard and will be trying a few new features and techniques along the way. In addition to using the built-in interaction and collaborative features of Blackboard, I plan to incorporate blogging, videos, and podcasts as supplemental media options for my students in addition to course news and reminders via Remind101. I’ll also be tweeting using hashtag #ett511 and will be encouraging my students to do the same. I’m also going to go out on a limb and share my experience and tips for incorporating these new techniques in Blackboard here on my blog, so stay tuned. My goal in doing so is to not only share my experiences for other faculty but also to give my students a behind-the-scenes look at how I’ve gone about incorporating the media elements into their course, should they so wish to use them as a model in the future. Speaking of blogging…my students will be setting-up their own blogs in this course as they begin developing their own "digital footprint" while also gaining valuable experience communicating using a combination of media elements. In an attempt to model the possibilities for my students, I’ll be blogging for my students here and plan to preface all my course-specific posts with #ETT511. I may include other posts as well as I feel they may be appropriate. If you are one of my students reading this…get ready, it’s going to be a great course!