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The COVID-19 pandemic forced a shift to remote learning overnight for most higher-education students, starting in the spring of 2020. To complement video lectures and engage students in the virtual classroom, educators adopted technologies that enabled more interactivity and hybrid models of online and in-person activities. These tools changed learning, teaching, and assessment in ways that may persist after the pandemic. Investors have taken note. Edtech start-ups raised record amounts of venture capital in 2020 and 2021, and market valuations for bigger players soared.

A study conducted by McKinsey in 2021 found that to engage most effectively with students, higher-education institutions can focus on eight dimensionsof the learning experience. In this article, we describe the findings of a study of the learning technologies that can enable aspects of several of those eight dimensions (see sidebar Eight dimensions of the online learning experience).

In November 2021, McKinsey surveyed 600 faculty members and 800 students from public and private nonprofit colleges and universities in the United States, including minority-serving institutions, about the use and impact of eight different classroom learning technologies (Exhibit 1). (For more on the learning technologies analyzed in this research, see sidebar Descriptions of the eight learning technologies.) To supplement the survey, we interviewed industry experts and higher-education professionals who make decisions about classroom technology use. We discovered which learning tools and approaches have seen the highest uptake, how students and educators view them, the barriers to higher adoption, how institutions have successfully adopted innovative technologies, and the notable impacts on learning (for details about our methodology, see sidebar About the research).

Exhibit 1

Survey respondents reported a 19 percent average increase in overall use of these learning technologies since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Technologies that enable connectivity and community building, such as social mediainspired discussion platforms and virtual study groups, saw the biggest uptick in use49 percentfollowed by group work tools, which grew by 29 percent (Exhibit 2). These technologies likely fill the void left by the lack of in-person experiences more effectively than individual-focused learning tools such as augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR). Classroom interaction technologies such as real-time chatting, polling, and breakout room discussions were the most widely used tools before the pandemic and remain so; 67 percent of survey respondents said they currently use these tools in the classroom.

Exhibit 2

The shift to more interactive and diverse learning models will likely continue. One industry expert told us, The pandemic pushed the need for a new learning experience online. It recentered institutions to think about how theyll teach moving forward and has brought synchronous and hybrid learning into focus. Consequently, many US colleges and universities are actively investing to scale up their online and hybrid program offerings.

Some technologies lag behind in adoption. Tools enabling student progress monitoring, AR/VR, machine learningpowered teaching assistants (TAs), AI adaptive course delivery, and classroom exercises are currently used by less than half of survey respondents. Anecdotal evidence suggests that technologies such as AR/VR require a substantial investment in equipment and may be difficult to use at scale in classes with high enrollment. Our survey also revealed utilization disparities based on size. Small public institutions use machine learningpowered TAs, AR/VR, and technologies for monitoring student progress at double or more the rates of medium and large public institutions, perhaps because smaller, specialized schools can make more targeted and cost-effective investments. We also found that medium and large public institutions made greater use of connectivity and community-building tools than small public institutions (57 to 59 percent compared with 45 percent, respectively). Although the uptake of AI-powered tools was slower, higher-education experts we interviewed predict their use will increase; they allow faculty to tailor courses to each students progress, reduce their workload, and improve student engagement at scale (see sidebar Differences in adoption by type of institution observed in the research).

While many colleges and universities are interested in using more technologies to support student learning, the top three barriers indicated are lack of awareness, inadequate deployment capabilities, and cost (Exhibit 3).

Exhibit 3

More than 60 percent of students said that all the classroom learning technologies theyve used since COVID-19 began had improved their learning and grades (Exhibit 4). However, two technologies earned higher marks than the rest for boosting academic performance: 80 percent of students cited classroom exercises, and 71 percent cited machine learningpowered teaching assistants.

Exhibit 4

Although AR/VR is not yet widely used, 37 percent of students said they are most excited about its potential in the classroom. While 88 percent of students believe AR/VR will make learning more entertaining, just 5 percent said they think it will improve their ability to learn or master content (Exhibit 5). Industry experts confirmed that while there is significant enthusiasm for AR/VR, its ability to improve learning outcomes is uncertain. Some data look promising. For example, in a recent pilot study, students who used a VR tool to complete coursework for an introductory biology class improved their subject mastery by an average of two letter grades.

Exhibit 5

Faculty gave learning tools even higher marks than students did, for ease of use, engagement, access to course resources, and instructor connectivity. They also expressed greater excitement than students did for the future use of technologies. For example, while more than 30 percent of students expressed excitement for AR/VR and classroom interactions, more than 60 percent of faculty were excited about those, as well as machine learningpowered teaching assistants and AI adaptive technology.

Eighty-one percent or more of faculty said they feel the eight learning technology tools are a good investment of time and effort relative to the value they provide (Exhibit 6). Expert interviews suggest that employing learning technologies can be a strain on faculty members, but those we surveyed said this strain is worthwhile.

Exhibit 6

While faculty surveyed were enthusiastic about new technologies, experts we interviewed stressed some underlying challenges. For example, digital-literacy gaps have been more pronounced since the pandemic because it forced the near-universal adoption of some technology solutions, deepening a divide that was unnoticed when adoption was sporadic. More tech-savvy instructors are comfortable with interaction-engagement-focused solutions, while staff who are less familiar with these tools prefer content display and delivery-focused technologies.

According to experts we interviewed, learning new tools and features can bring on general fatigue. An associate vice president of e-learning at one university told us that faculty there found designing and executing a pilot study of VR for a computer science class difficult. Its a completely new way of instruction. . . . I imagine that the faculty using it now will not use it again in the spring. Technical support and training help. A chief academic officer of e-learning who oversaw the introduction of virtual simulations for nursing and radiography students said that faculty holdouts were permitted to opt out but not to delay the program. We structured it in a were doing this together way. People who didnt want to do it left, but we got a lot of support from vendors and training, which made it easy to implement simulations.

Despite the growing pains of digitizing the classroom learning experience, faculty and students believe there is a lot more they can gain. Faculty members are optimistic about the benefits, and students expect learning to stay entertaining and efficient. While adoption levels saw double-digit growth during the pandemic, many classrooms have yet to experience all the technologies. For institutions considering the investment, or those that have already started, there are several takeaways to keep in mind.

In an earlier article, we looked at the broader changes in higher education that have been prompted by the pandemic. But perhaps none has advanced as quickly as the adoption of digital learning tools. Faculty and students see substantial benefits, and adoption rates are a long way from saturation, so we can expect uptake to continue. Institutions that want to know how they stand in learning tech adoption can measure their rates and benchmark them against the averages in this article and use those comparisons to help them decide where they want to catch up or get ahead.

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Technology is shaping learning in higher education - McKinsey

PALO ALTO, Calif. and TORONTO, June 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Cohere For AI, a non-profit research lab and community, announced its official launch. Dedicated to contributing open source, fundamental machine learning research, the lab will focus on solving some of the most complex challenges in the field of machine learning.

Sara Hooker will serve as Head of Cohere For AI, bringing a wealth of knowledge across AI and machine learning, with a specialty in deep learning. Prior to Cohere For AI, Sara was a Research Scientist at Google Brain where she focused on training models that go beyond top-line metrics to effectively demonstrate ability to be interpretable, compact, fair, and robust. She also founded Delta Analytics, a non-profit that brings together researchers, data scientists, and software engineers to volunteer their skills for non-profits around the world.

In order to realise the potential of machine learning, we need to make sure were working across a diverse set of people, disciplines, backgrounds, and geographies, said Aidan Gomez, CEO and Cofounder at Cohere. Im so excited to have Sara at the helm of Cohere For AI and cant wait to build the community together.

Cohere For AI aims to create open collaboration with the broader machine learning community. The lab is committed to supporting fundamental research on machine learning topics, while also prioritizing good stewardship of open source scientific practices.

This is the lab I wish had existed when I entered the field, said Hooker, Head of Cohere For AI. Depending on where youre located, theres often a lack of opportunities in machine learning. Cohere For AI aims to reimagine how, where, and by whom research is done. Im inspired by the opportunity to make an impact in ways that dont just advance progress on machine learning research, but also broadens access to the field.

In addition to contributions to fundamental research, Cohere For AI will support a machine learning community where members can connect with each other, discover new colleagues, and spur open discussion and collaboration. The lab and community will work to create new points of entry to machine learning research and will, ultimately, reflect the diversity of its members experiences and interests.

To get involved, browse our open research positions at jobs.lever.co/cohere, and stay in the loop on new programs and lab developments by signing up here.

About Cohere For AICohere For AI is a non-profit research lab and community dedicated to contributing fundamental research in machine learning, working to solve some of the field's most challenging problems. It supports responsible research across machine learning, while also prioritizing good stewardship of open source scientific practices. As a borderless research lab, Cohere For AI is community-driven and motivated by the opportunity to establish an inclusive, distributed community made up of brilliant research and engineering talent from across the globe.

Media Contactpress@cohere.ai

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Cohere For AI Announces Non-Profit Lab Dedicated to Open Source Fundamental Research - GlobeNewswire

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"Fox & Friends Weekend" co-host Pete Hegseth joined "Outnumbered" Tuesday to discuss the subtle push from Democrats to persuade President Biden not to run for re-election. Hegseth said the "powers that be" in the Democratic Party realize Biden will not help the party's chances to win in 2024.

TOMI LAHREN: DEMOCRATS KNOW BIDEN WOULD LOSE TO TRUMP OR DESANTIS

PETE HEGSETH: I say every year that the Minnesota Vikings are going to be Super Bowl champs. I have to say that even though it's been over 50 years of futility. They have to at least until the midterms. This was headquarters, the New York Times, putting out an order that this guy ain't going to cut it in 2024. When you've got 50 Democratic strategists almost universally saying it can't be Joe, that is a reflection of the powers that be inside the Democratic establishment, saying if we want a shot at winning in 2024 - forget about 22, that's a foregone conclusion - it's not going to be Joe Biden.

The one hope Democrats might have is the Republican Party also didn't see Donald Trump coming in 2014. So doesn't mean the existing crop that's there would be their answer. But I think their instinct would be to go far left, which doesn't help them either.

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This article was written by Fox News staff.

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Hegseth on 'Outnumbered': Democrat 'powers that be' are saying it 'can't be Joe' in 2024 - Fox News

Democratic candidates running for Oregons three open seats in the U.S. House will get extra help from a special Red to Blue program run by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Oregon has just one solidly Republican congressional district and Democrats have an edge in all three of the targeted districts, which are the states new 6th District and the redrawn 4th and 5th districts.

However, as Democrats strategize how to hold onto control of the U.S. House, or at least minimize their losses, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committees selection of the three Oregon candidates for its Red to Blue program shows the state plays a central role. Only 25 Democratic congressional candidates have so far been selected.

This slate of Democratic candidates Val Hoyle, Jamie McLeod-Skinner, and Andrea Salinas are proven champions for Oregon families and will fight for a strong economy, good-paying jobs, affordable health care, and a womans right to choose, committee spokesperson Johanna Warshaw wrote in a press release. The DCCC looks forward to working alongside them to help ensure their victory this November.

Hoyle, labor commissioner and a former longtime state lawmaker, is running for Oregons 4th U.S. House seat and will face Republican Alek Skarlatos, a former Army National Guard soldier who became widely known after he helped thwart a terrorist attack on a European train in 2015.

Skarlatos also ran for Congress in 2020 and lost to U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio by around 25,000 votes. Democrats advantage grew in the new congressional lines that state lawmakers drew in 2021, and The Oregonian/OregonLive has described the 4th District as a safe Democratic seat. Still, Skarlatos is well-funded and well-known. He played himself in a movie based on the attempted terrorist attack and competed on the television show Dancing with the Stars. He is currently a senior fellow at the Freedom Foundation, which pays him to advocate for forestry management policies, according to its website.

The 6th District Democratic candidate, state Rep. Andrea Salinas, of Lake Oswego, is a former congressional staffer and state lobbyist who led House Democrats redistricting work last year. She won a closely watched primary in May in which outside groups, including at least one connected to a Bahamas-based cryptocurrency billionaire, spent more than $12 million to support political newcomer Carrick Flynn. If elected in November, Salinas would become the first Latina member of Congress from Oregon. According to The Oregonian/OregonLives analysis of the new district last year, it tilts in Democrats favor.

The most competitive new congressional district for Democrats is the 5th District, which is a virtual 50-50 tie in terms of how voters drawn into the district have sided in key Republican-Democratic match-ups since 2015, an analysis by The Oregonian/OregonLive shows.

In the 5th District, Democrat Jamie McLeod-Skinner defeated longtime U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader in the May primary and will now face Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who owns an anesthesiology business with her husband and is the former mayor of Happy Valley. Like Salinas, she would be the first Latina member of Congress from Oregon. McLeod-Skinner is an attorney whos worked as an emergency response coordinator and city planner.

National Republicans are also focused on Oregon and on Tuesday, the National Republican Congressional Committee selected Chavez-DeRemer as one of its Young Gun candidates, which the committee describes as a program to support candidates in competitive districts who have built a winning campaign infrastructure.

Our campaign won decisively in the primary because of our strong grassroots efforts, and we now head into the general election with tremendous momentum to bring commonsense solutions to D.C., " Chavez-DeRemer said in a press release.

-- Hillary Borrud; hborrud@oregonian.com; @HBorrud

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National Democrats will focus on three Oregon congressional races in bid to hold onto U.S. House - OregonLive

News Analysis

What do recent news reports suggest about the political future of progressive Democrats this year, given that President Joe Bidens polling numbers continue to slide downward?

The latest Biden job approval numbers at RealClearPolitics, which averages the results of eight polling organizations through June 9,show that 39.4 percent of Americans approve of his job performance, while 54.9 percent disapprove.

Bidens approval numbers are at risk of going down as the daily average price of gasoline continues to rise (now above an average of $5 per gallon nationwide), not to mention the June 10 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that the May consumer price index (CPI) reflected a year-over-year increase of 8.6 percent, which exceeded most analysts expectations and wasup from 8.3 percent in April.

Perhaps even more important to progressives is the Biden administrations failure to enact their legislative priorities since they are the driving force behind Democrat policy initiatives, and passing progressive legislation into law is their raison dtre.

Progressives around the country are lamenting the failure of the Democrat-controlled federal government to deliver on issues important to them, as noted here by Democracy Now: Given that a majority Democratic Congress and sitting Democratic president have not delivered on campaign promises such as canceling student debt, protecting Roe v. Wade and passing Build Back Better, the party will be in jeopardy in the upcoming elections.

Will that depress the Democrat vote in November?

The presumption among many progressives would appear that delivering on these issues will somehow improve the election chances of congressional Democrats going into November. But is that really the case?

A recent Politico/Morning Consult poll conducted on June 45 shows that a plurality of voters are concerned with economic issues, including taxes, wages, jobs, unemployment, and spending, with no other issues coming close, as reported by Breitbart News (emphasis added).

Let us examine some other recent news reports and attempt to gain insight into the political future of progressive Democrats.

This has been a progressive Democrat slogan since the beginning of the Black Lives Matter-related street violence that ravaged predominantly Democrat-run cities after George Floyds death in May 2020.

Despite increasing damage to private and public property from the out-of-control riots at the time, Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) sponsored the BREATHE Act in July 2020, which would have slash[ed] federal funds to local police along with federal agencies, and spen[t] the money on social welfare, health care, education, and environmental programs.

With two years worth of defund the police sloganeering (see one list of Democrat supporters here), Democrats are associated with that issue in the publics conscience.

However, Just the News reported on June 10 that Democrat mayors and mayoral candidates now embracing comparatively pro-police and tough-on-crime policies and rhetoric, with the clear implication that the progressive Democrats defund the police campaign is a clear loser even in Democrat-run cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland, and Washington.

ARasmussen Reports national telephone poll and online survey shows that if the election were held today, 48% of Likely U.S. Voters would vote for the Republican candidate, while 39% would vote for the Democrat.

Note that the political leanings of both parties are not broken down into factions; for example, GOP establishment versus America First, or moderate versus progressive Democrat.

However, what is particularly interesting about this poll is that 26 percent of black voters and 39 percent of other minorities would vote Republican in the hypothetical election. These are core constituencies of the Democratic Party that traditionally support progressive Democrats and their policies, and the numbers represent a historical shift in their preferences. Consider that in the last midterm election in 2018, Democrats captured 90 percent of black and 69 percent of Hispanic voters, as reported by Pew Research here.

Democrats were shocked when a leading progressive Democrat district attorney was overwhelmingly recalled by San Francisco voters on June 8. Chesa Boudin, the son of left-wing radicals Kathy Boudin and David Gilbert, was elected in 2019 on a progressive platform.

According to NBC News: Boudin ran on a platform of ending mass incarceration, eliminating cash bail, creating a unit to review wrongful convictions and refusing to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, as well as prosecuting ICE agents who violate so-called sanctuary city laws.

After three years of car break-ins, public defecation, viral smash-and-grab robberies at major retail stores, and drug-related street crimes, crime victims and their advocates led the recall, which apparently resonated with average San Franciscans.

Boudin is one of several progressive Democrat district attorneys who are demonstrably weak on crime and facing the voters this year, with a recall effort targeting Los Angeles DA George Gascon gaining steam after Boudins recall.

Deputy District Attorney Jon Hatami (who preceded Boudin as San Franciscos DA)publicly warned Gascon on June 8: Youre next. The people of Los Angeles have had enough.

Bottom line: weak-on-crime policies of progressive Democrats are not popular even in Democrat-run cities.

All politics are local, as the old adage goes, and each political race is driven by personality and charisma, which sometimes trump ideology and the stance on issues. Here is a smattering of primary results that featured progressive Democrat candidates:

Primary elections are not indicators of who will win in November, as the Democrat primary choices were essentially between center-left Democrats and far-left progressives (there are no conservative Democrats). The contrast between the Democratic and Republican parties is particularly stark this election season, and the Generic Congressional Ballot leans heavily Republican at this point in time.

Will the progressive Democrats support for restrictions on the Second Amendment, multi-trillion dollar Build Back Better spending, abortion on demand, and (the fading) defund the police campaign overcome voters concerns about the economy, inflation, and federal spending?

A recent Nelson Research poll may be a harbinger: Republican Christine Drazan is just slightly ahead of progressive Democrat Tina Kotek in the governors race in deep blue Oregon. Republicans have not won an Oregon gubernatorial race in 40 years. That poll likely shocked the Democratic National Committee and the House Progressive Caucus (all Democrats).

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Stu Cvrk retired as a captain after serving 30 years in the U.S. Navy in a variety of active and reserve capacities, with considerable operational experience in the Middle East and the Western Pacific. Through education and experience as an oceanographer and systems analyst, Cvrk is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, where he received a classical liberal education that serves as the key foundation for his political commentary.

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Progressive Democrats and the 2022 Midterm Elections - The Epoch Times