Category Archives: Technology

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR), a leader in secure, AI-driven networks, today announced that Allo Technology Sdn. Bhd. (Allo), an Information and Communication Technology service provider in Malaysia, has selected Juniper Networks to upgrade its existing network infrastructure. The upgrade will support current and future demands for crucial high-speed internet connectivity, especially in previously underserved communities, as more Malaysians work and learn at home while enterprises offer increasingly comprehensive experiences and services during the pandemic.

As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tenaga Nasional Berhad, the largest electricity utility company in Malaysia and the largest power company in Southeast Asia, Allo has played a pivotal role in supporting MSC Malaysia1 by providing world-class fiberization connectivity to Cyberjaya2, a Special Economic Zone and ICT Hub. The company is responsible for deploying the Cyberjaya Metro Fibre Network, Malaysias first fully fiber optic open access network, and was recently entrusted by the Malaysian government to implement the National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan Pilot in Jasin, Melaka under the National Broadband Initiative to enable nationwide broadband connectivity.

In 2020 when Malaysia introduced lockdown measures to curb the impact of the pandemic, service providers experienced a sudden surge in mobile data consumption. The country registered the highest growth in mobile data usage amongst neighboring countries at 35.2% YoY growth in mobile data consumption between January 2020 to January 20213. This unrelenting network traffic growth continued into 2021, driven by ubiquitous video consumption, cloud adoption and mobile penetration, posing a strain to retail service providers and enterprise networks alike.

To keep pace with the growing demand for high-speed connectivity, Allo has expanded its fiberisation coverage nationwide targeting 180,000 premises by end 2021. Allo strengthened its network with Juniper to further modernize its digital infrastructure by implementing the Juniper Networks MX480 Universal Routing Platforms. These solutions deliver unprecedented scale for business and residential edge applications and services, enabling enterprises and consumers, especially those in underserved areas, to enjoy high-quality, low latency broadband and mobile connectivity. Allos network team achieved a faster time-to-market by engaging Juniper Professional Services, allowing for maximized operational efficiency while reducing costs and minimizing risk.

Allo will now be able to provide improved services to its customers and partners, which include some of Malaysias largest retail service providers. With the countrys internet penetration rate standing at 84.2%4, these network upgrades will also enable Allo to scale their network nationwide efficiently and better support the pace of cloud adoption and 5G capabilities across the country, in line with MyDIGITAL5 national initiatives to transform Malaysias economy.

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We are excited to expand our partnership with Juniper Networks in support of Malaysias immense digital transformation. The government and our partners have repeatedly entrusted us to deliver high-speed and high-quality connectivity. As we continue to pave the way toward a fiberized nation, alongside Juniper Networks, we remain committed to creating the connectivity that will enrich the lives of all Malaysians, especially in the previously underserved communities across our nation.

- Muhammad Mohd Yunos, Chief Technology Officer, Allo Technology Sdn. Bhd.

It is a privilege to be able to work hand-in-hand with Allo Technology, a company leading the charge in driving digital inclusion through connectivity. Especially in such a dynamic and fast-growing landscape like Malaysia, we are excited to empower Allo in their quest to provide high-speed connectivity across major cities and the country. By providing easily scalable network solutions, we are confident that we can help Allo to enable innovation, deliver superior end-user experiences and achieve their goal in bringing world-class connectivity to the entire nation.

- Perry Sui, Senior Director, ASEAN & Taiwan, Juniper Networks

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About Juniper Networks

Juniper Networks is dedicated to dramatically simplifying network operations and driving superior experiences for end users. Our solutions deliver industry-leading insight, automation, security and AI to drive real business results. We believe that powering connections will bring us closer together while empowering us all to solve the worlds greatest challenges of well-being, sustainability and equality. Additional information can be found at Juniper Networks (www.juniper.net) or connect with Juniper on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Juniper Networks, the Juniper Networks logo, Juniper, Junos, and other trademarks listed here are registered trademarks of Juniper Networks, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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1 Formerly known as the Multimedia Super Corridor2 Cyberjaya is a city with a science park as the core that forms a key part of the Multimedia Super Corridor in Malaysia. Cyberjaya is adjacent to, and developed along with Putrajaya, Malaysia's government seat. 3 Malaysias mobile data consumption surge in 2020 dwarfed that of neighbouring countries 4 Digital 2021: Malaysia 5 Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint

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Allo Technology Chooses Juniper Networks to Deliver High-Speed Connectivity Nationwide and Bridge the Digital Divide in Malaysia - Business Wire

Nina Xiang is the founder of FutureLogic, a media platform bridging the Asian and global innovation economy. She is the author of "US-China Tech War: What Chinese Tech History Reveals About Future Tech Rivalry."

Chinese president Xi Jinping has been worried about China's reliance on foreign technology for a while, repeatedly airing his concerns ever since he became president.

Perhaps most memorably, Xi said in 2016 that the Chinese internet sector's reliance on foreign core components was like "building a house on someone else's foundation" that would not withstand wind and rain no matter how beautiful.

Later that year, China's State Council issued a national policy that aimed to fundamentally reverse the country's heavy reliance on foreign technology by 2025. But these words and policies did not translate into earnest actions until after 2018, when the lethality of U.S. sanctions was laid bare, causing something of a Sputnik moment in China.

Yet three years into Xi's campaign to replace foreign tech with homemade versions, it is becoming clear that this effort will take much longer than Beijing originally planned. Nor can its success be taken for granted yet.

One core part of Beijing's strategy is what is being called Xin Chuang,or building up a comprehensive self-reliant domestic information technology industry that can produce chips, operating systems and applications. Imagine a Chinese tech sector without Intel, Qualcomm, Microsoftor Android: that's what Beijing sees as a secured tech sector free from the fear of U.S. sanctions.

This strategy is being carried out in three steps. First, China is nurturing a self-reliant market in the relatively closed government and Party-related sphere valued at dozens of billions of dollars.

Then, domestic replacements will expand to key state-owned sectors, including telecommunications, rail, electricity, health care, aerospaceand energy. This market could be four to five times bigger. The last step is to cover the consumer market, which includes consumer phones, that is worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

So far, when it comes to steps one and two, domestic replacement efforts have achieved some progress. But there has been very little progress when it comes to the third step.

Phytium Technology, the absolute leader among China's self-developed processor chip companies tailored to government entities, delivered 1.5 million chips in 2020 and expects to ship over 2 million chips this year.

It does not make sense to compare it to Intel's 2021 shipments, which are expected 1.14 trillion. Still, the company has taken the first step in a long march, even compared to driver-assistance chip specialist and Intel subsidiary Mobileye, which delivered 19.3 million chips in 2020.

Another challenge for China's tech industry is policy uncertainty. For example, both Phytium and Huawei Technologies' chip design unit HiSilicon's processors are based on permanent chip architecture licenses they had obtained from British chip design company ARM.

Even if Beijing can block ARM's sale to Nvidia to prevent ARM from becoming an American company, it remains uncertain whether chips based on ARM designs can be 100% secure for China.

While ARM had stopped working with Huawei after U.S. bans in 2019, the company is embroiled in a distracting dispute with ARM China over control of its China business. All of this puts into doubt the ability of Huawei and other Chinese companies to continue using ARM architecture in a highly uncertain position.

Nor is there consensus among China's IT industry whether the country should bet on the ARM structure, which works well for future applications like internet-of-things and has a mature ecosystem, or focus on using a completely self-developed chip structure.

Moreover, Beijing'srequirements for "domestic-made" products are unclear and disparate. After proposing that a "domestic product" be defined as a product having over 50% of its total costs coming from domestic sources, Chinese agencies have yet to issue a final rule. As a result, each government organization uses a different definition.

Such policy and regulatory uncertainties cause confusion and fragmentation. From chip designers to operating systems to software developers, they must navigate different localization rules in each city. That increases costs, in addition to making interoperability across the supply chain much harder.

Because interoperability and adaptation are progressing slowly, it is common for users in government and Party-related entities to install two sets of operating systems and software: one domestic system to meet localization requirementsand another system such as Microsoft's Windows to ensure usability.

Domestic replacement among state-owned enterprises is also just beginning and faces similar challenges of fragmentation. Bank of Chinaadopted an operating system from local supplier UnionTech, while China Construction Bank's credit card system adopted another operating system called Kirin.

It is good to have competition initially, but the consolidation of operating systems is critical. This could take longer as various players compete for dominance.

It is unlikely that China will be able to reverse its heavy foreign reliance by 2025,or hit the industry forecast of having half of the country's $104 billion computing market be Xin Chuang systems in 2023. Judging by the progress made thus far, it remains to be seen if China can achieve its goal of total self-reliance in the next decade,or even further in the future.

American companies are getting hurt too. Qualcomm's shipments in China shrank 48.1% year-on-year in 2020 as Chinese phone makers sought to diversify their supply network. U.S. companies in the telecommunications, medical devicesand marine equipment sectors may also find themselves soon shut out of the Chinese market as Beijing retaliates.

Both Washington and Beijing should try to avoid this lose-lose situation by returning to the negotiation table ready to compromise.

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China stumbles on the long march to close the technology gap - Nikkei Asia

Fashion retailer, boohoo group, has launched a Debenhams online marketplace, powered by Mirakl technology.

As part of a Love Brings Love tribute to late founder Alber Elbaz, fashion startup AZ Factory has launched a range of limited edition t-shirts that will each come with a unique NFT.

The five organic cotton t-shirt styles feature a specific quote from the designer, as well as signature grosgrain ribbon embroidery and hand drawn prints.

Each one is linked to its own NFT of an original Elbaz drawing. As there will be a limited number of NFTs produced for each shirt, the drawings will also show its original identification number, helping to verify and track ownership.

Avery Dennison has announceda partnership with lifestyle brand UpWest, and ReCircled, an apparel and footwear recycling and reuse focused organisation.

This taps the formers Digital Care Label solution, showing how it can be used in an upcycling context and provide a retail/brand experience.

Piglet in bed, a bedwear and linen retailer, has partnered withWunderkind, a consumer engagement platform that scales one-to-one messages for retailers and brands, to power its personalisation capabilities.

Russias largest consumer electronics retailer, M.Video-Eldorado Group, has partnered with Yandex.Cloud tofully move customer facing digital products development and operations to the cloud.

Go Instorehas announced a partnership with Pets at Home.

The retailer will tap its HD-video technologythatenablescustomers and their petsto connectwith store colleagues via video calls.

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Last week's biggest retail technology deals at a glance Retail Technology Innovation Hub - Retail Technology Innovation Hub

Emerging technology, evolving threats Part III: 5G and the new surfaces and strategies This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more. This Website Uses CookiesBy closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Learn MoreThis website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.

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Emerging technology, evolving threats Part III: 5G and the new surfaces and strategies - Security Magazine

VERB expects this partnership to be the first of many sports franchises that would use its tools to increase sales and fan engagement

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. and SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Verb Technology Company, Inc. (Nasdaq: VERB) ("VERB" or the "Company"), the leader in interactive video-based sales enablement applications, including interactive livestream eCommerce and shoppable video, webinar, CRM, and marketing applications for entrepreneurs and enterprises, today announced that the Company has entered into a partnership with the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL) to provide its industry-leading interactive sales software to drive ticket and merchandise sales. The Pittsburgh Penguins, known to be one of the most innovative professional sports franchises in North America, immediately saw the value Verb's technology provides.

We look forward to working with Verb to implement their innovative video sales software to enhance our customer reach and fan engagement and drive business in an ever-changing, technologically advancing world, said Terry Kalna, Chief Revenue Officer of the Penguins.

Verb is absolutely thrilled to partner with the five-time Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins to bring our interactive technology to the professional sports world, said Rory J. Cutaia, CEO of VERB. We have no doubt that this will prove to be one of many future sports entertainment partnerships for the Company and it speaks to the Penguins vision and innovative focus as the first to embrace the interactive sales space.

About VERB

Verb Technology Company, Inc. (Nasdaq: VERB), the market leader in interactive video-based sales applications, transforms how businesses attract and engage customers. The Companys Software-as-a-Service, or SaaS, platform is based on its proprietary interactive video technology, and is comprised of a suite of sales enablement business software products offered on a subscription basis. Its software applications are available in over 60 countries and in more than 48 languages to large enterprise and small business sales teams that need affordable, easy-to-use, and quick-to-get-results sales tools. Available in both mobile and desktop versions, VERB's applications are offered as a fully integrated suite, as well as on a standalone basis, and include verbLIVE (an Interactive Livestream eCommerce and Shoppable Video and Webinar applications), verbCRM (a White-labelled Interactive Video-based Customer Relationship Management application), verbTEAMS (a Self On-boarding version of verbCRM with built-in verbLIVE and Salesforce synchronization for small businesses and solo entrepreneurs), verbLEARN (an Interactive video and gamified Learning Management System application), and verbMAIL (an interactive video mail solution integrated seamlessly into Microsoft Outlook). With 200 employees, the Company maintains offices in Newport Beach, California and American Fork, Utah.

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For more information, please visit: http://www.verb.tech.

Follow VERB here:VERB on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VerbTechCo/VERB on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VerbTech_CoVERB on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/verb-tech/VERB on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0eCb_fwQlwEG3ywHDJ4_KQDownload verbMAIL here: verbMAIL on Microsoft AppSource Store

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This communication contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future results, performance or achievements, and may contain words such as anticipate, expect, project, plan, or words or phrases with similar meaning. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release relate to, among other things, the Company's projected financial performance and operating results, including SaaS Recurring Revenue, as well as statements regarding the Company's progress towards achieving its strategic objectives, including the successful integration and future performance of acquisitions. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health measures on our business, customers, markets and the worldwide economy; our plans to attract new customers, retain existing customers and increase our annual revenue; the development and delivery of new products, including verbLIVE; our plans and expectations regarding software-as-a-service offerings; our ability to execute on, integrate, and realize the benefits of any acquisitions; fluctuations in our quarterly results of operations and other operating measures; increasing competition; general economic, market and business conditions. If any of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if any of our assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results could differ materially from the results expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Investors are referred to our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, for additional information regarding the risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we do not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements provided to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made, except as required by law.

Investor Relations: 888.504.9929 investors@verb.tech

Media Contact: 855.250.2300, ext.107 info@verb.tech

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VERB Partners with the Pittsburgh Penguins to Provide Interactive Sales Technology to Drive Ticket and Merchandise Sales - Yahoo Finance

Tim Vaughan, technology and engineering education teacher at Marsteller Middle School, has been named the 2021 Virginia Middle School Technology Education Teacher of the Year.

The award was presented at the Virginia Technology and Engineering Education Association summer conference, held virtually this year.

Vaughan was nominated for local recognition by his colleagues and was then selected at the Northern Virginia regional level earlier this year, putting him in the running for the state award. This award is one of the highest honors given to technology and engineering education teachers and recognizes a teachers outstanding contributions to the profession and to students.

Prince William County Public Schools Superintendent LaTanya McDade presented a recognition plaque to Vaughan in his classroom on the first day of school. He will also receive the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association Teacher Excellence Award at the associations annual conference in Orlando, Fla., in March.

While Vaughan always had an interest in engineering, he said his grandmothers example led him to education.

My grandma was an elementary school teacher in Ireland; she inspired me to get involved in teaching, said Vaughan, who has been teaching at Marsteller Middle for nearly 20 years and taught in Dublin, Ireland, for 13 years before that.

My high school engineering teacher in Ireland inspired me to get involved in the [engineering] field, he added. With the addition of technology, the field is always changing, and you have to evolve; I like it because you have to keep adapting to stay current.

At Marsteller, Vaughan also serves as the department chair for exploratory arts and foreign languages. In 2020, he designed a mentoring program for students at the school, and he was featured in a story on ABC News about a virtual beehive tour video he created for science colleagues and students.

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Marsteller teacher named tops in technology education | Headlines | insidenova.com - Inside NoVA

She unconsciously fidgeted at the level of attention she was commanding from the audience in the room. But her words to delegates back in 2018 during COP24 were precise, measured and calm.

The first thing I have learned is that you are never too small to make a difference, said the young Swede Greta Thunberg in a short but powerful phrase that has been widely used since.

What rarely appears, though, is what she said next, when she added: Imagine what we could all do together if we really wanted to.

Which is where what we do in our own lives comes in. Together, each small action makes a difference.

For most of us that begins at home. A simple action, such as requesting a smart meter installation from our energy supplier to help lay the foundations for a cleaner, greener energy system, is just one way to play an active part in the solution.

Thats because smart meters are a first step in creating a smart energy system. A system that could help us better plan the energy we need nationally, and that can pinpoint where faults are occurring more quickly. A system that will in conjunction with smart meters help consumers to take action to lessen their carbon footprint.

Other good habits, such as turning down the thermostat, switching TVs and game consoles off rather than leaving them on stand-by, can all make a contribution to our energy saving.

These changes can then be tracked in near-real time with just a glance at a smart meter, available at no extra cost from our energy suppliers.

Even using white goods, such as washing machines, off-peak on cheaper tariffs can contribute to not only cutting down on carbon, but also helping us save money on bills while making better use of our resources.

In the future, technology may completely change how we interact with both energy, and our homes. For younger generations, new houses may replace resource heavy bricks and mortar with low-cost 3D printed, carbon-friendly homes.

Technology could become smarter washing machines may never break down again as The Internet of Things learns how to predict if they may have an issue and automatically order replacement parts.

Other technologies have been predicted that re-imagine how even furniture may adapt to our needs on the fly.

Smart fridges could produce a shopping list for you as stocks run low, possibly even placing the orders. Linked health apps might even influence what you eat, suggesting plant-based or dairy-free alternatives that are linked to supermarket reward schemes, as suppliers are encouraged to shift consumer eating and spending habits.

Dishwashers may learn not to kick into action until the households energy tariff is at its lowest or greenest drawing from renewable supplies or from battery storage, either in the form of a local community network or even our individual electric cars parked outside.

Medical interventions may be triggered by energy use in the homes of the most vulnerable, signalled by smart meters with user consent. Research into this possibility is already underway.

In the future, a smart energy system may even suggest the most appropriate tariffs to meet your needs and open up the potential of future reward for flexible usage.

SMART METERS AND INFRASTRUCTURE

For the UKs part, advances such as smart meters are among those technologies that make it possible for Britain to integrate intermittent renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, fully and efficiently.

Just last year, renewables met 97 per cent of Scotlands electricity needs with a target to be entirely green within grasp.

That helps in making progress on transport, where building for an electric future is underway, or in home energy, where policymakers see huge gains to be made in cutting emissions and ending fuel poverty all key areas for debate at the COP26 world leaders gathering to be held in Glasgow next month.

SMART METERS HOME INTEGRATION

It is also where our consumer choices at home can be influenced. A smart energy system will make it more efficient to charge our cars and integrate solar panels or heat pumps, all helping to reduce bills and our carbon footprints. It could even lead to ways for communities to generate their own energy together.

In the coming days and weeks as nations descend upon Glasgow, we might learn that no country is too small to make a difference.

Imagine then how making even small changes in our lifestyles and in our homes or in embracing new technologies such as smart meters could help us all tackle climate change together.

Join the energy revolution and contact your energy supplier to request a smart meter. For more information visit smartenergygb.org

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How smart meters could play a key role in the home technology revolution after COP26 - The Scotsman

Scores for Ontario standardized-reading tests have been inflated by the use of assistive technology, according to a recent report.

The Ontario branch of the InternationalDyslexia Association (IDA) examined data from the standardized reading tests administered by Ontario's Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) dating back to 2005.

Between 2005 and 2019, EQAO has reported a steady increase in reading scores for students in grades3 and 6. Thereport notes, however, there is an increasing number of students, most with a learning disability, who use assistive technology to complete the test, which can inflate the numbers.

"There are so many students out there who's experiences are being hidden right now in the EQAO reporting,"Alicia Smith, president of the IDA's Ontario branch, told CBC Radio'sOntario Today.

Assistive technology allows students who have been identified as having difficulty readingto listen to an audio version of the text and comprehension questions. Often these students are accompanied by an adult, either a teacher or volunteer, who can then write down the students' verbal response.

The report says nearly one in five students, 18 per cent,used assistive technology to complete the EQAO assessmentin 2019, which was up from threeper cent in 2005.

Smith argues the technology is being used as a crutch rather than a learning tool.

"We should never be providing the assistive technology in place of teaching children to read," she said.

For the Grade 3 reading test, 59 per centmet the provincial standard in 2005. That jumped to 74 per cent in 2019.

The IDA report found students who met the standard without the use of assistive technology was 56 per cent in 2005 and only 62 per cent in 2019.

WATCH | Father says assistive technology doesn't help reading skills:

David Logan's son Noah is currently in Grade 5 but struggled with reading in earlier grades, and was later diagnosedwith a learning disability.

Since then Noah's school in Kingston, Ont., has pushedhim to use assistive technology, which his father says is "not a practical solution" and won't help his son improve his literacy.

"I can't understand how him listening to the device and then speaking to someone to get it [written] down is going to help,"Logan said.

Logansaidassistive technology won't be able to help his son outside the classroom, so he does not want him to use a crutch.

"There is literally no plan to get him off that device," he said. "It almost feels like he's been written off."

Logan and his wife sought a private reading clinic to help their son, who they say is now close to reading at the same level as his classmates.

ManyOntario parents take similar steps, Smith added, but most families can't afford private tutoring.

Her association wants the provincial government to change the curriculum to focus more on teaching children to sound words and letters out,and initiate a screening test as early as kindergarten to identify children who may have reading difficulties.

A spokesperson for Ontario Education Minister Stephen Leccesaid assistive technology doesn't change a student's ability to understand content in the EQAO assessment, only the way the assessment is administered.

Lecce's office also said it isclosely watching an Ontario Human Rights Commission inquiry on services provided to students with learning disabilities specific to reading. The inquiry report is expected to be released in February 2022.

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Ontario reading test scores inflated by assistive technology, report says - CBC.ca

Saundra McGuire (top left), the director emerita of the Center for Academic Success and a retired Assistant Vice Chancellor and Professor of Chemistry at LSU, delivered the keynote address Sept. 29 during the 20th annual Focus on Teaching and Technology Conference, organized by staff members in UMSLs Center for Teaching and Learning, including Assistant Director Jennifer McKanry (top right) and Assistant Vice Provost for Academic Innovation Keeta Holmes (bottom). (Screenshots)

Saundra McGuire remembers hearing the phrase teach students how to learn sometime back in the mid-1980s.

At the time, McGuire, now the director emerita of the Center for Academic Success and a retired Assistant Vice Chancellor and Professor of Chemistry at LSU, thought it was nonsense.

How are you going to teach students how to learn? she asked rhetorically last Wednesday while delivering a virtual keynote address for the Focus on Teaching and Teaching Conference, hosted by the University of MissouriSt. Louis Center for Teaching and Learning. If they dont know how to learn and you teach them how to learn, theyre not going to learn it because they dont know how to learn. It just didnt make any sense at all to me.

McGuires developed a different view over the course of her long and decorated career, which included authoring a book titled Teach Students How to Learn: Strategies You Can Incorporate Into Any Course to Improve Student Metacognition, Study Skills, and Motivation.

Now I know exactly what it means, McGuire said. It means that we need to teach students that learning is a process.

In her nearly 90-minute address, McGuire discussed the importance of metacognition and shared ideas for helping students better understand the way they take in and process material so they can build more effective study habits and increase learning.

More than 1,900 educators mostly higher-education faculty members from across the St. Louis region and far beyond registered to hear from McGuire and the other presenters in what was the 20th annual Focus on Teaching and Teaching and Technology Conference.

Our priority is really to provide professional development for faculty, and particularly now in these challenging times of teaching during a pandemic, said Jennifer McKanry, the conference co-chair and the assistant director of the Center for Teaching and Learning. Many of our faculty are still teaching blended or online components to their classes, as well as juggling high flex environments that flex around potential student illness issues. We really wanted to provide a forum that helps support those faculty.

The need is strong as evidenced by the conferences record participation more than 700 more registrants than in 2020 and more than 1,000 more than when the conference was last held in person in 2019.

McKanry and her co-chair, Mary Painter, CTLs learning analytics coordinator, made the decision last spring to hold the conference virtually again this year.

We wanted to be able to go forward and go forward full steam, McKanry said. We committed to a virtual format and one that really addressed a lot of the feedback we got from last year. We knew it meant we were going to be able to hold a solid conference and not have to make last-minute shifts.

Cognizant of Zoom fatigue and attendees who would be logging into the conference while still fulfilling typical work and life responsibilities, they decided to stretch the conference over three days instead of two. They offered more session blocks with fewer concurrent sessions, allowing attendees to space out their participation and have the opportunity to participate in more sessions.

Bonni Stachowiak, host of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast and the dean of teaching and learning at Vanguard University, discussed the importance of cultivating imagination in students during her Sept. 30 keynote address in the Focus on Teaching and Technology Conference.

They also added a second keynote on Thursday, delivered by Bonni Stachowiak, the dean of teaching and learning at Vanguard University and the host of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, which has had more than 2.5 million downloads since its launch in 2014.

Stachowiak, who helped promote the conference to her podcast audience in the weeks leading up to it, used her keynote presentation to discuss the importance of imagination in learning.

Not imagination for imaginations sake, Stachowiak said, but imagination for igniting possibility within ourselves and our teaching, and most importantly, igniting a sense of possibility with students as well.

McKanry and Pointer tried to replicate the in-person conference experience of attendees by incorporating a new tool called Gather Town for the conferences virtual exhibit hall. The tool allowed attended to walk around the conference space with their avatar and engage with other attendees.

They built the lobby of the space to resemble the lobby of the J.C. Penney Conference Center, where the Focus on Teaching and Technology Conference has traditionally been held. They also took advantage of the programs templates to build a virtual beach with chair yoga and a Tiki Bar for participants to hold conversations.

The conference also provided asynchronous opportunities to engage, including a series of pre-recorded Tech Tracks videos and associated discussion boards.

Tech Tracks really highlight different tools that faculty enjoy using in their teaching, McKanry said. Usually, the requirement is that it has to be a free tool or part of some sort of a suite of tools thats really readily available on most campuses. Its something that helps faculty members engage and improve their teaching.

Short URL: https://blogs.umsl.edu/news/?p=90991

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Focus on Teaching and Technology Conference brings more than 1,900 educators together online in 20th year - UMSL Daily

October 11, 2021

The full proceedings of a national roundtable to identify Australia's RNA science and technology priorities have been released.

The roundtable was held on Thursday, 29 July 2021, hosted by the Australian Academy of Science and the Australia and New Zealand RNA Production Consortium.

The proceedings, aimed at policymakers and science funders, detail the discussions about how Australia can play a leading role in the global ecosystem of RNA science and harness the opportunities for Australian industry to develop RNA-based products and services for global markets.

"This roundtable was a step forward in presenting a united voice on RNA science and technology in Australia: what we are capable of and what we have the potential to achieve," saidProfessor John Shine, President of the Australian Academy of Science, in the foreword to the proceedings.

The group, comprising 38 experts in RNA biology and biotechnology from the Australian university and research sectors along with industry, has called on Australia to play a leading role in the global ecosystem of RNA science and harness the opportunities for Australian industry to develop RNA-based products and services for global markets.

Associate Professor Archa Fox from the University of Western Australia, co-chair of the the roundtable, said that Now is the time to be bold.

Professor John Mattick from UNSW Sydney and Professor Trent Munro from the University of Queensland were also co-chairs.

The agreed recommendations from the roundtable include:

Read the fullroundtable proceedings.

Read the full statement from the roundtable.

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Proceedings of National RNA Science and Technology Roundtable released - Australian Academy of Science