http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2015/04/03/5-ways-to-ace-discussion-board-assignments-in-an-online-class

5 Ways to Ace Discussion Board Assignments in an Online Class”They are the best part of the classes,” says Paulina Erices, who is earning her online bachelor’s degree in psychology from Pennsylvania State University—World Campus. “The interaction on the discussion boards allows me to hear other people’s opinions. They have life experiences related to what we are studying and it is really interesting because it goes beyond what we are studying to what is happening in the field.” When online discussion boards come together well, students can actually learn more from them than from other parts of class, instructors say. But getting the most out of a discussion board – and earning the high marks to show for it – isn’t easy. Below, experts share tips for how to ace the discussion board component of online class.

By Tamara Chuang, The Denver Post

Jones International University, the first online-only university, is winding down and will close next year because of declining enrollment and competition, the school said Thursday. The Centennial-based school notified students and faculty this week and said it won’t close until it has helped every student graduate or transfer to a new school. “We examined a number of operational strategies and determined that none would be sufficient to turn around the market dynamics,” chief operating officer Bryan Wallace said. Jones faced competition not only from startup schools but traditional universities moving courses online. There was also the economy.

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_27839174/first-accredited-online-school-jones-university-shutter-2016

Rollout begins in Atlanta next month and will reach 18 million American homes by the end of the year. The US cable giant, Comcast, is today announcing a new 2Gbps broadband service, which it will start rolling out in Atlanta from next month. There’s no price yet, but Comcast says it will be symmetrical — meaning you’ll upload just as quickly as you can download — and it won’t be limited “just to certain neighborhoods.” Doug Guthrie, Senior VP of Comcast Cable’s South Region, explains that the company’s “approach is to offer the most comprehensive rollout of multi-gigabit service to the most homes as quickly as possible.” That’s in stark contrast to what Comcast was saying just a couple of years ago, when it dismissed Google’s Fiber efforts as being excessive for most people’s needs.

http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/2/8330267/comcast-2gbps-gigabit-pro-broadband

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/04/01/game-based-simulations-teach-environmental-science-at-asu-online.aspx

Game-Based Simulations Teach Environmental Science at ASU OnlineBy Rhea Kelly, Campus TechnologyTo better engage its online learners, Arizona State University is piloting game-based simulations from Toolwire in its ASU Online environmental science courses.In five story-based games, students “will take on several leadership roles, with increasing responsibility, to help a community address challenging environmental and sustainability issues,” according to a press release. Interactive features include the ability to download digital learning objects, take notes and respond to questions using tools in the game such as mobile phones and e-mails.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150331005182/en/MIT-Professional-Education-Offers-Sessions-Online-Big#.VR3e4vzF-Rs

http://sdtimes.com/w3c-launches-first-html5-course-in-new-partnership-with-edx/

W3C launches first HTML5 Course in new partnership with edXby SD Times NewswireThe World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the global technical standards organization for the Web, announced today that it has joined edX, one of the world’s leading online course platforms, as a new member and will offer its first course on HTML5 on 1 June, 2015. Registration is now open. Under the name of W3Cx, the W3C will develop a number of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), showcasing its authority and expertise across a range of courses on core Web technologies. “W3C’s partnership with edX expands opportunities for Web developers to take courses specifically created for them by W3C,” said Dr. Jeff Jaffe, W3C CEO. “These W3Cx courses will help them increase their skills and empower them to become the next leaders and innovators on the Web.”

http://www.edudemic.com/use-google-voice-commands-google-drive/

How To Use Google Voice Commands In Google DriveSince its inception, Google Drive has been a source of excitement for innovation-minded educators. However, as with any new teaching technology, you may find yourself thinking “it sounds intriguing, but will it really make a difference?” In regards to Drive features like audio feedback, the answer to that question is an unequivocal yes. Aside from offering convenience and helping spare teachers from endless amounts of typing, the addition of voice commenting brings with it profound benefits to the learning experience as a whole. Below, you’ll find five compelling reasons to give it a try, as well as a simple guide on how to get started.

By Bridget McCrea, eSchool News

As schools make recorded lessons available to students online, they may not be making them accessible.  In February, advocates for the deaf filed federal lawsuits against Harvard and M.I.T., stating that both universities violated antidiscrimination laws by failing to provide closed captioning in their online lectures, courses, podcasts, and other educational materials. In Harvard and M.I.T. Are Sued Over Lack of Closed Captions, the New York Times highlighted portions of the complaint and zeroed in on the fact that, “Much of Harvard’s online content is either not captioned or is inaccurately or unintelligibly captioned, making it inaccessible for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.”

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/03/27/online-accessibility-520/

By Ron Bethke, eCampus News

Though the majority of respondents agreed that digital courseware has the potential to improve learning for non-traditional students as well as broaden educational access, many also agreed that uncertainty looms when it comes to widespread adoption. “I feel pressured to use online instruction in some way at our institution, but I believe it mostly requires an increase in labor for instructors,” stated a full-time tenured faculty survey respondent. “I am not sure of the benefit it actually provides over traditional delivery in my area of teaching.” Specifically, the survey results uncovered three major barriers to faculty adoption of digital courseware: The first major barrier, as identified by 40 percent of respondents, is the “additional time required for faculty” to find existing digital courseware that effectively fits course goals, as well as the professional development needed to properly implement the courseware. This was the top obstacle reported by instructors from both public and private four-year institutions.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/faculty-digital-courseware-918/

by eCampus News

Mobile use among college students is on the rise, and has jumped 40 percent from 2013 to 2014, according to new research released by McGraw-Hill Education. The second annual report, “The Impact of Technology on College Student Study Habits,” conducted by McGraw-Hill Education and Hanover Research, found that 81 percent of students included in the study use mobile devices (such as smartphones and tablets) to study, the second most popular device category behind laptops and up 40 percent year over year. Of the different types of learning technologies available, surveyed students found that adaptive learning technologies were the most effective, with 85 percent indicating a moderate or major improvement in grades.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/mobile-campus-study-893/

by All Points West, CBC

An elementary school in Courtenay, B.C. is teaching kids computer programming code by using a free online learning tool. “I’d love to see every teacher doing it,” said Kyle Timms, the principal at Courtenay Elementary School. In 2013, U.K. schools made it mandatory to teach coding to children as young as 5 years old. The new course is an effort to update the country’s computer science curriculum and fill job skills gaps in the growing technology sector. Coding is not currently in the B.C. curriculum, but a new curriculum is in development.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/code-studio-a-free-learning-tool-allows-courtenay-school-to-teach-kids-to-code-1.3009591

by BIG THINK EDITORS

If you’re learning, you’re being taught, no matter who is doing the teaching or where the lesson is taking place (and conversely, if you’re not learning, you’re not being taught). That message reflects the mission of the Khan Academy, an online learning platform that offers free lessons to anyone, anywhere, in subjects ranging from algebra to art history. Created by Salman Khan after tutoring his cousins by telephone, the Khan Academy not only teaches academic subjects, but it also develops skills like grit and determination that are needed to take ownership of information. And this, says Khan, is what the essence of education is all about: “There’s this illusion that is created in our classical education system and even at university that someone is teaching it to you. Really they’re creating a context in which you need to pull information and own it yourself. … And when you think online, that becomes that much more important.”

http://bigthink.com/think-tank/you-are-the-essence-of-learning-not-a-school-or-university

by California State University Orion

Students attending any California State University will now have the opportunity to enroll in online classes at other campuses in the system. Assembly Bill 386 requires that every fully online course offered by the CSU system be made available to all eligible students at no extra cost beginning in the fall. The new bill relies on students to self-certify themselves and choose the right online class that is offered at any CSU.

http://theorion.com/blog/2015/03/26/new-legislation-increases-access-to-online-classes/

by the Economist

One reason is that universities are wary of undermining the value of their degrees. Resistance by faculty also slows down the adoption of new technology. When academics at San Jose State University were asked to teach a course on social justice created for EdX, a MOOC, by Michael Sandel, a Harvard professor, they refused, telling Mr Sandel that such developments threatened to “replace professors, dismantle departments and provide a diminished education for students in public universities”. Similar protests have been echoing around the country. For now, the interests of academics generally prevail over those of students.

http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21646986-online-learning-could-disrupt-higher-education-many-universities-are-resisting-it-not

By Stephen Noonoo, eSchool News

Did you know you can see all your copy/paste history in Chrome in a click? Bookmark all your browser tabs at once? Create choose your own adventures in Google Slides? More than half a dozen Google Certified Teachers recently descended on Palm Springs to share their favorite tips, tricks, add-ons, and extensions during a packed session at the Annual CUE 2015 conference. Each presenter shared a micro-presentation honing in on their top ways for teachers and students to make the most out of the Google ecosystem.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/03/24/google-classroom-978/

by Richard M. Felder, Tomorrow’s Professor

How about the courses you teach? If you went to some of your alumni and asked them what in their college education turned out to be really useful after graduation, what do you suppose they’d tell you? I did that a few years ago. I surveyed 72 chemical engineering alumni I had taught, asking them to reflect on their college experience and tell me what about it was helpful in preparing them for their current careers, and 50 of them responded. Practically none of the curriculum content made their lists. Skills, yes, especially the problem-solving skills they learned from those endless assignments (25) and the communication and time management skills they got from team projects (23). Only one specific course was nominated by more than two people, however-material and energy balances, naturally (8). As far as the students were concerned, the content of those 4-5 years of math and science and engineering and general education courses was mostly irrelevant to their post-graduation careers and lives.

http://cgi.stanford.edu/~dept-ctl/cgi-bin/tomprof/enewsletter.php?msgno=1397

by Seb Murray, Business Because

The business school as we know it is ripe for innovation by new technologies. For the liquid Mooc developers disrupting the market, employment is increasingly the priority. In an office complex in California’s Mountain View on the fringes of Silicon Valley is Coursera — a $300 million+ start-up trying to bring about a new age in education. The university as we know it is ripe for innovation by the disruptive use of new technologies. Online learning groups like edX and Udacity emerged as providers of free education to the masses but have evolved into colossal entities that are on the cusp of rivalling the traditional degree and providing the same boost to careers. As they scramble to understand emerging threats, universities and business schools are being forced to evolve their content to be delivered in blended forms – accessible from both classrooms and smart devices. Wharton, Stanford and INSEAD have all invested heavily digital tech.

http://www.businessbecause.com/news/mba-distance-learning/3176/mooc-developers-hone-careers-focus

By Charlie Osborne, ZDNet

The Explorer program, a scheme which allowed interested parties to apply for a headset, ended abruptly in January. At the time, Google said the program was being closed so its developers could “focus on what’s coming next,” and there will be “future versions of Glass when they are ready.” The Google Glass project has now moved out of the Google X research lab, where the headset was first developed, and is now a stand-alone unit overseen by Tony Fadell, the leader of Google’s Nest connected devices and Internet of Things (IoT) division. Nest was acquired by Google last year for $3.2 billion.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/google-glass-headset-isnt-dead-says-schmidt/

by Frank Smith, EdTech Magazine

The online-learning market is on track to reach $37.8B globally by 2020. With the cheaper rates at which mobile broadband data is available, 74 percent of eLearners will be mobile learners,” according to a March 2 blog post from TalentLMS. Online learning is also changing the culture of learning itself. An introductory course in computer science at Harvard College, Computer Science 50, broke course registration records in the fall when 819 undergraduates signed up for the class. In the previous year, the same course had 153 students enrolled. Part of the success behind that course’s enrollment is the online aspect. CS50 was exempted from a newly instated Harvard regulation that prohibits students from enrolling in classes that have overlapping times, according to The Harvard Crimson. This means that students can review lessons from the course through videos instead of attending class in person. The full infographic is linked below:

http://www.edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2015/03/20-facts-about-e-learning-todays-colleges-infographic