Articles about Education

Google has just announced that it will be offering free digital skills training to everyone in the UK with the aim of ensuring that the country's population is able to take advantage of its online tools.

The company's CEO Sundar Pichai offered further details regarding Google's latest program, saying: "No matter where you live, no matter where you're from, no matter what your job is – you deserve access to all the information, education, and opportunity the web has to offer. Our aim is to make sure that every individual and business in the UK has the support they need to make the most of online tools to innovate, compete and have fruitful careers in the digital age".

Continue reading →

Open source software and ideology is critical to the future of technology. As more and more people demand transparency in the programs and applications they use, companies will have to take notice.

To keep the open source movement going, it must be handed down to incoming developers. In other words, the children are our future, and education is key. Google's "Code-In" contest is a great program that invites teen students to directly contribute to quality open source projects. Now, the search giant finally announces the projects that will be participating as "mentors".

Continue reading →

Many companies like to talk about diversity and inclusion nowadays, but for some, it seems to be nothing more than a way to get positive publicity. True diversity is not about having a balanced employee pie chart to show off to the media, but giving everyone opportunities despite things like gender, skin color, sex, and religion.

Today, Google announces that its 'Code Next' initiative is officially launching in Oakland, California. What is it, exactly? The search giant is looking to help Black and Hispanic students to get excited about computer science. Sadly, according to Google, more than half of Black students, and close to half of Hispanic students, do not have access to computer science learning. 'Code Next' is looking to change this.

Continue reading →

Back in January, Microsoft announced Minecraft: Education Edition. Later, the company released an 'early access' version to some educators. At the time, some folks were dubious that a video game could serve as a legit tool in the classroom. With that said, Minecraft isn't really a video game in the traditional sense -- it can be viewed more as a virtual world. In theory, the platform could better engage young students when compared to, say, sitting in a dull classroom and staring at a chalkboard.

Whether Minecraft: Education Edition will be a success remains to be seen, but we will find out soon. You see, on November 1, the tool will leave 'early access' and become available to all educators. It will be sold, of course, on the Windows Store. It will cost $5 annually per user, but Microsoft promises price breaks for school districts that purchase certain licenses. In other words, larger districts can likely negotiate to pay less per user.

Continue reading →

Classrooms could be a thing of the past by 2025, according to new research by Polycom. Its Education in 2025 -- Technology Innovation survey takes a closer look at education and technology and has some interesting takeaways. While almost two thirds (64 percent) of respondents believe students engage with content primarily in the classroom, just a quarter (25 percent) believe that will still be the case in ten years' time.

More than half (53 percent) of education professionals believe real-time video collaboration and mobile devices will be the number one way students will engage with content in 2025. At the moment, however, things should be much, much better than they are.

Continue reading →

The highest rates of ransomware are now found in the education and government sectors according to the findings of a new report from BitSight.

The report looks at how ransomware is impacting almost 20,000 companies in six major industries: finance, retail, healthcare, energy/utilities, government and education. The findings show that the rate of new ransomware strains, such as Locky and Cryptowall, has spiked over the last couple of years, and numerous industries are beginning to fall victim to these ransomware attacks.

Continue reading →

As someone who often works on the go, I find myself in various coffee shops -- such as Starbucks -- during the week. While I obviously want to use the free Wi-Fi, their caffeinated beverages keep me fueled-up too. Coffee is one of the best productivity boosters, folks.

Inside Starbucks, I am surrounded by other people doing the same. They are using expensive Windows laptops and MacBooks, drinking pricey coffee drinks, and yet there is one area they seem to skimp -- the carry bag. They use ugly bags that seemingly offer little protection. This is crazy to me, as a good bag can not only prevent damage to your devices, but improve the overall appearance too -- it is also fashion. Today, Booq announces its latest such bag, called simply 'Pack Pro'.  It looks to be an excellent choice for professionals that value high-quality laptop backpacks.

Continue reading →

Between the rather contentious USA presidential election, natural disasters, terrorism, gun crimes, and other terrible things reported in the news, it is a wonder that people get out of bed in the morning. With that said, positive news just doesn't get as much coverage, making the negativity seem overly prominent. There is plenty of good in the world, folks. Be happy.

Today, Google launches its 2016 'Doodle 4 Google' contest with a focus on fun and good. If you aren't familiar, it invites children across the USA (grades K-12) to use art skills to 'doodle' the Google logo, focusing on a certain theme. It is fun, educational, and quite frankly, makes me smile. It is a refreshingly light annual reminder that enjoyment is alive and well. This year, the theme is "What I see for the future".

Continue reading →

If you are looking to buy a new computer for college or high school, there are many great options. In my shopping guide, I listed some choices, with one being the Huawei MateBook. Like the Surface Pro, it is technically a tablet, but when the keyboard attachment is connected, it is functionally a laptop too.

Unfortunately, having to buy the Portfolio Keyboard adds $129 to the overall price. Thankfully, this is no longer an issue. You see, for a limited time, Microsoft will give you that keyboard for free when you buy the Huawei Matebook. Best of all, this promotion includes the base model, meaning you can get the full Windows 10 experience for a steal!

Continue reading →

Holy cow. The end of August is approaching, signaling the end of summer vacation for many students around the USA. This is the time when those learners, and -- depending on student age -- their parents, begin shopping for back-to-school items.

If you aren't sure what to buy, I am going to help you out. Keep in mind though, BetaNews is a technology site -- I won't be advising on pens, pencils and binders. What I will help with, however, is smartphones, tablets, laptops, and more.

Continue reading →

A third of students are either considering starting a business, or already have one, new research from Santander Universities says. This equates to a total of 518,000 students, who generate £913 million every year, the report adds.

However, it’s not (just) money that motivates these people. Instead, they’re more interested in pursuing a hobby or personal interest (70 percent). Financial gain is only placed second (58 percent), right before work experience (26 percent).

Continue reading →

UK's Science and Technology Committee recently published a report stating that the digital skills gap is costing the UK economy £63 billion a year in lost GDP. It’s a time of turbulent change, both politically and economically and fostering home grown talent with the most up to date digital skills is more important than ever.

We caught up with Julian Wragg, EMEA Managing Director at online IT learning provider Pluralsight, to see what can be done to address the STEM and IT skills gap in the UK.

Continue reading →

According to the latest figures compiled by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), computer science graduates are still at the top of the UK’s higher education unemployment rankings.

During the academic year of 2014/2015, 10 percent of computer science graduates were unable to find a job six months after graduation. This figure is even higher than the 7.7 percent for students, who studied Mass Communications and documentation, Physical sciences, or Engineering and technology, that had difficulty finding work after graduation.

Continue reading →

Microsoft today introduces a pretty sweet back to school deal, giving students the option to save $300 with the purchase of a Surface device and an Xbox One console. Part of the bundle are three free extras, one of which is a wireless controller.

The promo is valid for all configurations of the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4, and starts at just $878. For the money, students get the base Surface Pro 4 and a 500GB Xbox One game bundle. The two devices are normally available to students for $809.10 and $279, respectively, when purchased separately.

Continue reading →

Google wants more people to make Android apps, so it has teamed up with Udacity to create a new program aimed at aspiring developers. Called Android Basics Nanodegree, it offers a series of courses and services that will teach students, with little to no coding experience, how to make their first Android app.

"The courses walk you through step-by-step on how to build an order form for a coffee shop, an app to track pets in a shelter, an app that teaches vocabulary words from the Native American Miwok tribe, and an app on recent earthquakes in the world. At the end of the course, you will have an entire portfolio of apps to share with your friends and family", says Google.

Continue reading →