An open learning environment for the diagnosis, assistance and evaluation of students based on artificial intelligence

The personalized diagnosis, assistance and evaluation of students in open learning environments can be a challenging task, especially in cases that the processes need to be taking place in real-time, classroom conditions. This paper describes the design of an open learning environment under development, designed to monitor the comprehension of students, assess their prior knowledge, build individual learner profiles, provide personalized assistance and, finally, evaluate their performance by using artificial intelligence. A trial test has been performed, with the participation of 20 students, which displayed promising results

Assistive Technology at Work

[Excerpt] Although an immediate transition into an institution of higher learning is ideal for some students who relied on assistive technology in high school, many make the decision to enter the workforce after graduation. It is estimated that about 85 percent of students with learning disabilities (LD) transition directly from school to work.1 Furthermore, statistics addressing employment among people with disabilities indicate that the workplace consists of approximately 18.6 million people with disabilities, ranging in age from 16 to 64. This represents about 56% of all people with disabilities in this age category.2 Given the vast number people with disabilities in the workplace, the potential for assistive technology (AT) to increase productivity is great

Scaling Up: Reform Lessons for Urban Comprehensive High Schools

Policy interest in the challenge of improving urban high schools has grown recently, as high-profile business leaders and politicians have called the preparedness of graduates for college work into question. The National Governor's Association and President Bush have cited high school reform as a top education priority. Across the nation, foundations, large and small, are attempting to finance a revolution to push the archaic world of secondary education into the 21st century. Still, the majority of urban high school students - those served in large comprehensive high schools - have yet to benefit from their new high profile among politicians and reform funders. The purpose of this report is to lay out an action agenda for large comprehensive high schools and to clarify what needs to happen at the school, district and state levels in order for sustainable change to take effect. This report highlights the lessons that comprehensive high schools must heed in enacting improvement efforts and provides promising examples of urban high schools that are making it possible for all students to achieve at high levels. The report explores three interrelated pieces of the reform puzzle, each of which is an essential component of whole school improvement. They are: Personalizing the learning environment;Building teacher capacity, andSetting and meeting high expectations for all students. This report builds on the December 2003 Rennie Center report, Head of the Class, which detailed the characteristics of higher performing urban high schools in Massachusetts. Scaling Up continues the work of Head of the Class by addressing the question of how we can take the lessons of urban high schools to scale. Throughout the report, recommendations are provided for leaders at the school, district and state levels. Some report recommendations include: Provide ongoing opportunities for teachers to collaborate and engage in high quality, content-based professional development at the school level.Create a sense of urgency at the district level around improvement based on student data.Commit resources to urban high school improvement at the state level

Learning For Life: The Opportunity For Technology To Transform Adult Education - Part II: The Supplier Ecosystem

In fall 2014, Tyton Partners (formerly Education Growth Advisors), with support from the Joyce Foundation, conducted national research on the role and potential of instructional technology in the US adult education field. The objective was to understand the current state of the field with respect to technology readiness and the opportunities and challenges for increasing the use of technology-based instructional models within adult education. The initial publication in the series, "Part I: Interest in and Aptitude for Technology," focused on demand-side dynamics and addressed adult education administrators' and practitioners' perspectives on the role and potential of technology to support their students' needs and objectives. This second publication, "Part 2: The Supplier Ecosystem," highlights market composition and supply-side dynamics, instructional resource use, and opportunities for innovation

Hire Education: Mastery, Modularization and the Workforce Revolution

This new research identifies online competency-based learning as the solution to shifting demands for specialized workforce skills and the front runner for disrupting higher education

Quality Indicators Guiding Secondary Career and Technical Education Programs of Study

The purpose of this study was to examine quality indicators currently guiding the rigor of secondary career and technical education (CTE) programs of study in the United States. Quality indicators are desirable characteristics or expectations for a comprehensive and effective CTE program of study. As of May 2017, we were able to locate publicly accessible secondary CTE quality program standards/guidelines for 38 states. A majority (n=24) updated their secondary CTE quality program standards/guidelines within the last five years (i.e., 2012-2017). Deductive content analysis was conducted to examine the 38 state profiles using the Association of Career and Technical Education (ACTE) Quality CTE Program of Study Framework 4.0 for coding purposes. Common quality elements and key quality indicators were identified from those state documents, which supplements the ACTE Framework. Implications and examples for practice are also discussed

Leveraging Employer Practices in Global Regulatory Frameworks to Improve Employment Outcomes for People with Disabilities

Work is an important part of life, providing both economic security and a forum to contribute one’s talents and skills to society, thereby anchoring the individual in a social role. However, access to work is not equally available to people with disabilities globally. Regulatory environments that prohibit discrimination and support vocational training and educational opportunities constitute a critical first step toward economic independence. However, they have not proven sufficient in themselves. In this article, we aim to infuse deeper consideration of employer practice and demand-side policy reforms into global policy discussions of the right to work for people with disabilities. We begin by documenting the employment and economic disparities existing for people with disabilities globally, followed by a description of the international, regional, and local regulatory contexts aiming to improve labor market outcomes for people with disabilities. Next, we examine how policies can leverage employer interests to further address inequalities. We discuss employer policies and practices demonstrated in the research to facilitate recruitment, hiring, career development, retention, and meaningful workplace inclusion. The goal of the article is to synthesize existing international literature on employment rights for people with disabilities with the employer perspective

The Issues and Optimization Strategies in the Modernization of Vocational Education in the Era of Chat GPT

The emergence of Chat GPT technology represents a significant breakthrough in natural language processing, revolutionizing human-machine interaction and presenting profound challenges to vocational education modernization in China. In the Chat GPT era, vocational education undergoes transformative changes, including personalized learning reaching new heights, big data-driven intelligent decision-making entering a new phase, and the integration of education resources on unprecedented scales. However, this modernization effort also encounters several critical issues, such as overreliance on technology and the associated risks of unemployment, threats to data privacy and security, erosion of ethical values, and the widening digital divide in education. To ensure the high-quality development of vocational education modernization with the support of artificial intelligence tools like Chat GPT, it is crucial to enhance supervision and regulation of Chat GPT technology applications, promoting its safe and responsible use. Moreover, prioritizing technology ethics and moral education becomes imperative to nurture students’ ethical awareness and moral compass in the utilization and development of technology. Lastly, optimizing the distribution of digital educational resources is essential to promote educational equity and bridge the digital divide among students

Personalized patterns of teachers training in document science course subjects in a vocational pedagogical university

The article is focused on the study of challenging issues which occur when updating methodological-pedagogical support and applying personalized educational paths in the training of future teachers of document science course subjects for intermediate vocational education institutions, as well as according to various other programmes of students training as part of the "Vocational training (by branches)" course. The key method of the given problem research is meant to be analysis and experience summarization of vocational-oriented, academic, teaching and guiding and scientific work with the students of Russian State Vocational Pedagogical University, being taught according to principal educational programme "Document management in an organization" as part of "Vocational training (by branches)" preparation as well as learning methodological approaches for creating personalized educational paths for them. Research results: developed approaches to applying personalized educational paths in the training of students in a vocational pedagogical university; drawn-up recommendations on updating methodological-pedagogical support in the training of future teachers of document science course subjects for intermediate vocational education institutions, undertaken analysis of the possible ways of improving their training. The content of the article may prove helpful for: university faculty and universities chief executives for the improvement of the training quality of future professionals, for more effective educational process organization, for forming personalized educational paths in the training of students; for chief executives of intermediate vocational education institutions where the specialized training "Document support of management and archive science" is provided; for students being trained as part of "Vocational training (by branches)" course. © Authors

By Design: Engaging Employers in Workforce Development Organizations

Workforce development practitioners and policymakers have come to recognize the importance of employers as customers. Too often, however, not enough time is devoted to considering (much less implementing) the organizational and programmatic changes necessary to truly engage employers. By Design describes strategies used by three organizations to effectively engage employers in workforce development efforts. Jewish Vocational Service, San Francisco; Training, Inc., Boston and WIRE-Net, Cleveland, have successfully involved employers in a variety of different waysfrom including them on the Board of Directors to having them teach training classes. By Design outlines employer-engagement strategies in detail to help other organizations substantively involve employers in daily activities and services