Michigan State University Announces its 5th and 6th Food Fraud MOOC (Massive Open Online Course)

by John Spink

In January 2013 Michigan State University created the Food Fraud Initiative to focus on this growing public health threat. The teaching, research, and outreach build upon MSU’s strong history of serving the food industry and business in general.

The Food Fraud Initiative

Our mission is to leverage Michigan State University’s broad leadership position to protect the global and domestic food supply from Food Fraud vulnerability. We are a collaboration point for a wide range of stakeholders including industry, domestic and international agencies, associations, and other academics. Aligned with the Land Grant mission of MSU, we apply research, education, and outreach from theory to practical application with those stakeholders. The research forms the base for the development of new educational programs, and is also applied to evolving outreach engagements. Feedback from those outreach engagements provides insight and direction for our research. One of those outreach engagements is the Food Fraud MOOC.

The MOOC is part of a continuum of courses and its content is aligned with other educational offerings, including our graduate course in Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection and the Graduate Certificate in Food Fraud Prevention.

What is a MOOC?

A MOOC is a massive open online course, a hot new development in open learning. MOOCs invite large-scale participation and are free to anyone in the world via the web. The aim of universities offering these courses is to expand their reach beyond just the classroom to potentially millions of new students.

The Food Fraud Overview MOOC is provided by MSU free to all interested parties across the supply chain and across the globe. The Overview MOOC is a two-session, 2-hour webinar accompanied by assessment quizzes. The MOOC consists of readings and interaction starting a week in advance of the first, 2-hour live lecture, which will take place at the end of the first week. The lecture will be recorded so participants can also watch it later. The second live online lecture will at the end of the second week. Each week concludes with an online quiz assessment. After successfully completing the second week’s assessment, participants will receive an MSU credential badge – this is a digital certificate of completion. The digital badge will link back to MSU to authenticate the certificate as well as to define the scale and scope of the course. Please click here to Register Now: www.foodfraud.msu.edu/mooc.

“The industry support for the Food Fraud MOOC has been phenomenal,” stated Dr. Spink. “Many of the world’s food safety and food protection thought leaders are involved in our research. We incorporate their insights into our research findings to provide a thorough and practical approach to Food Fraud Prevention.”

As more people become aware of the concept and the vulnerabilities of Food Fraud, they will also become more effective at not only intervention and response but also at prevention – the more participants in the MOOC, the safer our global food supply chain can be. The MOOC doesn’t just define the problem, it also focuses on prevention. This MOOC is positioned as a bridge between general webinars and more intensive programs such as the graduate course, graduate certificate, or even a Food Fraud focus in a Master’s degree.

Dr. Spink stated that “The MOOC platform has been an incredible and effective way for us to educate a wide range of participants. The open source concept is a focus for academia and our MOOC is a successful example of translating academic theory into practice. Through the Food Fraud MOOC we’re able help globally harmonize the terminology and the focus on prevention.”

The updated content for the next MOOC reflects that global focus. New content includes: •The UK Elliott Review on Food Fraud •The EU Referendum on Food Fraud •The GFSI’s incorporation of the Food Fraud concept into their Guidance Document (standards) •ISO Technical Committee 247 on Fraud Countermeasures and Controls clearly defining product fraud and the fraud opportunity •Insight on the most recent public statements from the US FDA regarding the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)

Please join us in creating a public forum and expanding awareness of the Food Fraud vulnerability. By participating in the MOOC you demonstrate that this concept is vital to your organization. By forwarding this information to your colleagues around the world you help build harmonization of terms and the prevention focus. By engaging us as a research partner you will help advance the discipline of Food Fraud. JWS.

Contact: Dr. John Spink, Director & Assistant Professor, Food Fraud Initiative, Michigan State University, spinkj@msu.edu , www.FoodFraud.msu.edu , Phone: (517) 381-4491

MIT uses artificial intelligence to predict online learning drop outs

MIT is trying to figure out which students will thrive in massive open online courses as well as the ones that'll drop out.

By Larry Dignan

MIT said it has begun using artificial intelligence and big data techniques to better predict which students will drop out from open online courses.

The news, which was detailed at a conference on artificial intelligence in education last week, is notable for a few reasons. First, online education is promising, but recent surveys have indicated that there are cultural issues at universities hampering online enrollment. The other issue is that some students simply aren't disciplined enough for online learning.

MIT's techniques touch on that latter point a bit.

For massive open online courses, MOOCs for short, it's unclear how many people are there to listen to lectures only and what percentage will actually do the homework. Other students may intend to do the homework, but be distracted by other events.

MIT is interested in that latter group that may miss a few deadlines and miss the benefits of the class. These students are deemed stopped out of the class. MIT researchers' predictive model revolved around the following:

A set of variables around courses such as time spent per homework problem or time spent on video lectures. Normalized variables compared against class averages. An algorithm that finds correlations between variables and a stopout. The algorithm looks at courses as well as its parts. MIT's model turned out to be accurate, but researchers also sampled importance based on weightings from similar students in courses as well as new variables. One variable could include time spent on a course on the weekend. That variable indicates motivation as well how busy a person is.

IS FACEBOOK THE NEXT FRONTIER FOR ONLINE LEARNING?

LIFE+SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Contact(s): Christine Greenhow , Andy Henion

Social-networking sites such as Facebook can help students learn scientific literacy and other complex subjects that often receive short shrift in today’s time-strapped classrooms.

In a first-of-its-kind study, Michigan State University’s Christine Greenhow found that high school and college students engaged in vigorous, intelligent debate about scientific issues in a voluntary Facebook forum.

Such informal learning not only could supplement the content knowledge students acquire in class, but also connect them with professionals and experts in the field, spur interest in careers and inspire civic engagement.

“One of the things we struggle with as educators is how to take students’ spark of interest in something and develop it in ways that can serve them,” said Greenhow, assistant professor of educational psychology and educational technology. “If students had these kinds of niche communities to be part of, in addition to their formal curriculum, that could really provide a rich environment for them.”

For the study, which appears online in the journal Computers in Human Behavior, students ages 16-25 voluntarily joined a Facebook app that dealt with climate-related science news such as coal-burning regulations and environmentally friendly housing.

Greenhow, recognized as one of the most social media savvy professors in America, analyzed the students’ activity on the Facebook app and found their discussion on various science issues to be largely on-topic, civil and sophisticated.

Past research has looked at online forums run by the teacher or professor and found mixed results when it came to student engagement and the quality of debate.

This appears to be the first study of social media forums that are voluntary and more informal. Greenhow said students likely feel comfortable participating in the informal forum because it’s already part of their everyday lives and can be less hierarchal and forced than a forum mandated by an instructor.

The findings make a case for popular online sites such as Facebook as possible learning tools. Facebook has more than a billion users, but critics say excessive use can distract kids from academics, spur loneliness and depression, and facilitate cyberbullying.

Greenhow’s previous research suggests another popular site, Twitter, has become a new literary format that is improving learning for students. Thus, while there’s a huge push to integrate new technology into classrooms, she said, more consideration should be given to this informal online learning that occurs in students’ natural environments.

“While any social network site can be misused,” Greenhow said, “there’s also a significant and underexplored opportunity to develop these spaces as forums for learning, healthy academic debate and career development.”

Five steps to advance your LP career

Loss Prevention

Jennifer Overstreet

The quickly evolving retail landscape is fertile ground for driven and ambitious professionals. But retail employees need more than ambition to move up the corporate ladder, especially in the demanding field of loss prevention. Two industry veterans from Office Depot, Kevin Ach, senior director of retail LP and safety, and John Voytilla, vice president of global loss prevention, shared some career advancement tips with attendees at the NRF PROTECT Loss Prevention Conference this week. While the two leaders addressed peers in loss prevention, these tips are great reminders for anyone looking to take their professional life up a notch.

MAKE A PLAN AND WRITE IT DOWN.

Maybe you don’t need a detailed manifesto, but “you have to force yourself to write down your plan and individual strategy,” said Voytilla. He advocated creating an individualized development plan that includes clear, action-based goals. Once you map out your plan, don’t stop there. Review it regularly with your supervisors and others who can help you with your goals. Most importantly, find ways to include your passions.

FIND A MENTOR — AND BE ONE.

“Your mentorship is critical to your career,” said Voytilla. And while a mentoring relationship goes both ways, you need to be responsible for cultivating relationships with a few key people to rely on for good advice. What’s more, you need to pay it forward. Ach pointed out that as individuals move up in their organizations, they need to pass on what they’ve learned along the way. In other words, don’t just seek out a mentor. Be a mentor to someone else.

BUILD AND EXPAND YOUR NETWORK.

Creating a network takes time and effort. Going to industry events like NRF PROTECT or joining organizations outside your industry is one step, but also consider the way you work within your own company. Voytilla recommends a policy of having multiple connections at different levels for each organization you work with. Not only will you expand your network, but those connections will help you work together more effectively.

DIFFERENTIATE YOURSELF.

How can you use your personal strengths to stand out? Whether it’s stepping up for a volunteer project, putting your own agenda aside for the greater good or taking a risk that will make you stand out, think about how to incorporate your unique qualities into your career plan.

DON’T STOP LEARNING.

Whether it’s reading leadership books and industry publications or taking advantage of educational opportunities and earning certifications, it’s essential to constantly be learning. “When you think you know it all, you just lost it,” said Voytilla.

- See more at: https://nrf.com/news/five-steps-advance-your-lp-career#sthash.D1qxRm8w.dpuf