edX Recommends Upgrading its Open edX Platform to Hawthorn.2

This new version of the Open edX platform includes "a few changes and security fixes", according to Ned Batchelder, an edX architect. "If you are running Hawthorn, we recommend updating to open-release/hawthorn.2," he added. These are the commits in hawthorn.2 since hawthorn.1: —- ./edx-platform —- 58d2ac8c92 2018-09-10 (tag: open-release/hawthorn.2, origin/open-release/hawthorn.master, open-release/hawthorn.master) Edit test value to be valid URL format Farhanah Sheets 24f6faf5d8 2018-09-10 Bump RecommenderXBlock version Farhanah Sheets 55a3d659ae 2018-09-07 Merge pull request #18901 from edx/pwnage101/cherry-pick-un-deletion-mgmt-command-gdpr-plat-2308 Ned Batchelder 1a66c1542d 2018-09-06 undo a hand-modification performed as part of a previous cherry-pick Troy Sankey 313be9b2ab 2018-07-30 Mgmt command to cancel user retirement request. John Eskew 715b8d31ac 2018-07-18 Adding user_api call to get retirements by date range and current state bmedx 99a0c368e5 2018-07-13 PLAT-2186 – allow retirement states to be forced by driver script bmedx 32965363db 2018-07-10 PLAT-2217 – fix partner reporting queue 500 errors, reduce log spam bmedx 6090357434 2018-09-06 Merge pull request #18892 from edx/pwnage101/cherry-pick-duplicate-username-prevention-gdpr Ned Batchelder e524783585 2018-08-20 Update bulk_rehash_retired_usernames bmedx c89d08c9cf 2018-08-14 Fix failures due to creating users during initial migrations bmedx 82d10a0bcc 2018-08-08 Upgrade user-util to 0.1.5 bmedx 73885529fd 2018-08-10 Stop acct creation from using usernames still in the retirement queue bmedx f9fb87d0de 2018-08-08 Update retirement to handle multiple UserRetirementStatus rows returned bmedx d6ea0e2cc0 2018-08-10 Add forums renaming to bulk username rehash command bmedx 1107961895 2018-08-08 Bulk rehashing of retired usernames bmedx f81015d052 2018-09-05 Merge pull request #18893 from edx/fsheets/hawthorn-cherrypick Ned Batchelder fbf905c161 2018-08-22 Update recommender-xblock version Farhanah Sheets 5f7e32da8d 2018-08-22 Merge pull request #18820 from edx/mroytman/remove-edit-image-modal-waffle-flag Ned Batchelder 7447baed62 2018-08-16 remove enable_edit_image_modal waffle flag Michael Roytman —- ./cs_comments_service —- 1ad615b 2018-09-05 (HEAD -> open-release/hawthorn.master, tag: open-release/hawthorn.2, origin/open-release/hawthorn.master) NewRelic as optional dependency Beltran Rueda  

Free Online Content from Harvard Faculty on edX to Enrich Classroom Experiences

Anant Agarwal Wins the Yidan Prize for His Work with the edX Platform

Opinion: A Surprisingly Powerful Teaching Tool

The 2018 Best edX Instructors

The edX University Advisory Board has selected the following ten, who represent a diverse range of disciplines – from computer science and business to literature, psychology or life sciences: Lucy Potter, Adelaide X – Shakespeare Matters BUx – Digital Leadership Bridget Tombleson, Curtin X; Katharina Wolf, Curtin X; Lydia Gallant, Curtin X – Reputation Management in a Digital World Jim Freericks, GeorgetownX – Quantum Mechanics for Everyone David Malan, HarvardX – CS50: Introduction to Computer Science Michael Pittman, HKUx – Dinosaur Ecosystems Chris Caplice, MITx – Supply Chain Management Jonathan Weissman, RITx – Cybersecurity The School of Social Policy & Practice Team, PennX – Top 10 Social Issues for the First 100 Days Blake McKimmie, UQx; Barbara Masser, UQx; Mark Horswill, UQx – The Psychology of Criminal Justice This November in Boston during the Global Forum, edX will select a winner the for 3rd annual Exceptional Contributions in Online Teaching and Learning award. With this award, "edX celebrates the contributions and innovations of MOOC teachers in the edX community, and amplifies the powerful role that MOOCs play in the transformation of education today," said Nina Huntemann, Director of Academics and Research at edX. In 2017, the winners were professors Andrew Howells and Bernadette Drabsch, from the University of Newcastle in Australia, for their course, Drawing Nature, Science and Culture: Natural History Illustration 101. edX Blog: Congratulations to the 2018 edX Prize Finalists!

MIT's Introductory Course about Computer Science on edX Reaches 1.2M Online Learners

“This course is about teaching students to use computation, in this case described by Python, to build models and explore broader questions of what can be done with computation to understand the world,” explained John Guttag, MIT's professor who co-developed this class along with Eric Grimson. The course, derived from a campus-based and OpenCourseWare subject at MIT and now offered on the edX platform, was initially developed as a 13-week course, but in 2014 it was separated into two courses, 6.00.1x and 6.00.2x. In 2017, MITx partnered with Silicon Valley-based San Jose City College to offer the course as part of a program for students who have not had access to a Computer Science curriculum. “This course is designed to help students begin to think like a computer scientist,” said Grimson. “By the end of it, the student should feel very confident that given a problem, whether it’s something from work or their personal life, they could use computation to solve that problem.” The following video with testimonials reflects the achievements from learners.    

FUN Open edX Platform's Revenue Streams to Achieve Financial Sustainability

Berkeley Adds Another Blockchain Course on edX

TU Delft Reaches the Two Million Learners Milestone

Opinion: The Time of Micro-Credentials

In parallel with the need for continuous learning, we need to showcase our new knowledge to employers. This is the time of digital micro-credentials. For a fraction of the price of a classic Master’s degree, a growing number of institutions and schools are starting to offer short-form certificate programs. These offerings are an opportunity to learn and help update specific, career-enhancing skills. Beyond traditional colleges, Coursera, edX, Udacity and Pluralsight are convenient educational platforms to acquire micro-credentials. To grant non-credit certificates, Coursera offers Specializations; edX, MicroMasters; Udacity, Nanodegrees; and Pluralsight, certificates of completion. Mikel Amigot is the Founder of IBL News and IBL Education (Open edX)

Learning Innovation | September 2018: MasterClass, Knewton, ASU, Google, UT Austin…

SEPTEMBER 2018 – NEWSLETTER #15 ON LEARNING INNOVATION • MasterClass.com, which offers celebrity-taught classes, raised $80 million, after doubling sales last year. • Woz U, Steve Wozniak's academy, successfully completes its first year. • UT Austin gets the 5th most powerful supercomputer in the world with a grant of $60 million from the National Science Foundation. • Arizona State University (ASU) Online students are using VR for their Biology class. Berkeley College and the University at Buffalo are testing VR, too. • Knewton closed another round of $25 million, which will be used to expand its adaptive learning experience into OER product line. • Lumen Learning reached a milestone of 100,000 students enrolled in its OER-supported courses. • Expert tells how to optimize Linkedin profiles for an edtech job hunt. • VitalSource acquired Acrobatiq, an adaptive learning platform that spun out of Carnegie Mellon. • General Assembly's $1 million settlement asks: are instructors employees or contractors? • WeWork-owned Flatiron School made another acquisition: a Chicago-based design education firm. • MOOCs are no longer massive, and they serve different audiences than first imagined, says in a podcast expert Dhawal Shah. • Google is polishing its education offerings with updates to Classroom, Google Docs, virtual reality offerings, and teacher training. • Moodle announced it ended its partnership with Blackboard and would no longer allow this company using the Moodlerooms name. Blackboard reaffirmed its commitment to open source. • Education Events Calendar by IBL News This newsletter is a monthly report compiled by the IBL News journalist staff, in collaboration with IBL Education, a New York City-based company that builds data-driven learning ecosystems and courses with Open edX. Archive: IBL Newsletter #14 – August 2018