Techno-News Blog

By Nicole Ogrysko — the Ithacan

As the price of four-year public and private universities increases nationwide, online education companies are offering up massive open online courses — otherwise known as MOOCs — as a way to bring higher education to students who cannot afford the traditional campus experience. Now, private colleges like Ithaca College are questioning their place in the rapidly changing arena of higher education. In a letter from Ithaca College President Tom Rochon to college employees in February, he said, “We were particularly struck in the just-concluded Board meeting by the depth with which Trustees discussed the subject of online learning, including the rapid development of Massive Open Online Courses, as a threat to the residential college model.”

http://theithacan.org/32401

By DEVON HAYNIE, US News

As Americans increasingly turn to online courses, many wonder just exactly what they’re getting into. But there’s good news for those who seem overwhelmed by digital learning: Experts say it’s fairly easy to adapt to the virtual classroom. “The learning curve is very low,” says Todd Hitchcock, senior vice president of online solutions for Pearson, an education services company. “For the most part, 95 percent of people logging on have been on the Web.” Although distance learning can vary from institution to institution, most online courses have similarities, experts say. Below are what experts consider the four basic components of a typical online course.

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2013/04/24/4-basic-components-of-an-online-course

by Invest in EU

Partners in 11 countries have joined forces to launch the first pan-European ‘MOOCs’ (Massive Open Online Courses) initiative, with the support of the European Commission. MOOCs are online university courses which enable people to access quality education without having to leave their homes. Around 40 courses, covering a wide variety of subjects, will be available free of charge and in 12 different languages. The initiative is led by the European Association of Distance Teaching Universities (EADTU) and mostly involves open universities. The partners are based in the following countries: France, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, UK, Russia, Turkey and Israel. Detailed information about the initiative and the courses on offer is available on the portal www.OpenupEd.eu.

http://www.investineu.com/content/vassiliou-welcomes-launch-first-pan-european-university-moocs-massive-open-online-courses-12c3

by Laura Baverman, Upstart Business Journal

Esquire journalist A.J. Jacobs has a knack for experiential reporting…. Now he has a techie feat, enrolling in (and sometimes completing) 11 online courses offered by Coursera, edX and Udacity. His comical and insightful thoughts on the online learning phenomena called Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) made the Opinion section of Saturday’s New York Times. His overall experience while Grading the MOOC University? A solid B. His biggest praise: Convenience and cost (free). His biggest complaints: Lack of student/professor interaction and accountability (cheating).

http://upstart.bizjournals.com/entrepreneurs/hot-shots/2013/04/22/esquire-journalist-test-drives-online-ed.html

By Nick Anderson, The Washington Post

Entrepreneurs seeking to build an elite global university based on new ways of teaching online announced Monday the creation of a $500,000 prize to be awarded each year to an educator “whose innovations have led to extraordinary student learning experiences.” The prize, described as the largest of its kind for higher education, is part of the start-up of the for-profit Minerva Project, which aims to open an institution of higher education in fall 2015. “Effectively it is a Nobel Prize for teaching,” said Ben Nelson, Minerva’s founder and chief executive and former chief executive of the online photo company Snapfish.

http://bangordailynews.com/2013/04/22/education/minerva-online-college-plans-500000-prize-for-innovative-teaching/

By Todd R. Weiss, eWeek

There’s always a fascinating world to explore using the technology of Google Maps and the creativity of Websites. Google Maps can take Website visitors to amazing places for adventures and exploration or to see beautiful places and cool possibilities around the world. And it’s all done using the magic of the Google Maps API, which allows Website builders to bring “life” to maps and give them new uses, meanings and interpretations. Here are some examples that eWEEK found to be insightful, fun and intriguing.

http://www.eweek.com/cloud/google-maps-find-history-old-maps-pinball-joints-ships-and-planes/

By Nathan Eddy, eWeek

With 78 percent of companies now embracing a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy, companies are creating agile, streamlined environments which require software to support the flexible workplace. Furthermore, the report said businesses are moving away from traditional IT infrastructures to a flexible hybrid model that supports cloud computing, indicating software vendors should offer options to support mobility, but also need to selectively expand to new devices. “Responses to our survey suggest that the days of large-scale sales and implementations are behind us and as a result, software vendors in this demand-driven environment are no longer able to mandate terms,” Patrick Pugh, PwC’s U.S. software and Internet leader, said in a statement. “Today’s software customers have options and expect next-generation sales to be uniquely tailored to their needs and able to move at the pace with which they do business. To stay in the game, leading software vendors need to deepen relationships with customers and offer what they value most.”

http://www.eweek.com/small-business/social-media-byod-changing-enterprise-software-market-pwc/

By Todd R. Weiss, eWeek

The first Google Glass users are wasting no time trying out their new devices and reporting to the rest of us on how they are working. Google Glass is now being shipped and the first recipients have quickly begun unwrapping their prized new $1,500 possessions, setting them up and starting to use them in their daily lives, while excitedly posting their impressions on social media sites. Several of the first Glass users, including Brandon Allgood, the chief technology officer of a data analytics company, and Dan McLaughlin, a software engineer, shared their experiences on their Google+ pages, detailing how the eyewear-mounted glasses work and perform.

http://www.eweek.com/mobile/google-glass-users-taking-to-the-web-to-share-glass-experiences/