Educational Technology

BY R.F. MACKAY, Stanford News

As new MOOCs are made available to the world at large, professors innovate on campus to make Stanford-only courses more exciting and effective. Among the MOOCs offered in spring is ‘Democratic Development,’ taught by Larry Diamond, a professor of political science and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. Around 20 Stanford courses will be taught entirely or partially online this spring. According to the university’s Office of the Vice Provost for Online Learning, some courses have been taught before, others are brand new; some are entirely for public consumption, while others are reserved for on-campus students. While at first online courses tended to emphasize computer science and engineering, the offerings now include courses from political science, the humanities and public health, among many other fields.

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2013/march/spring-online-courses-032513.html

By Norman Matloff, Bloomberg

For the first time, state legislators in the U.S. may require their public universities to grant students credit for online courses given by outside providers. A bill introduced in the California Senate would extend this concession only when a required class is full and not offered online at the college. The legislation, which is expected to be adopted in some form, has been hailed nationally as a leap for massive open online courses — MOOCs, for short. Advocates pitch MOOCs as classes for the masses, enabling a resident of, say, the Gobi Desert to study nuclear physics. Those who oppose the spread of such an idealistic movement are dismissed as Luddites who wish to restrict higher education to a privileged few. But if altruism is the driver, why were two major purveyors of MOOCs, Coursera Inc. and Udacity Inc., established as for-profit companies? (A third new venture, edX, is a not-for-profit consortium.)

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-25/the-perils-of-an-online-university-education.html

by Robin Wauters, the Next Web

If you’d like to learn a new language on the Web, there are actually quite a few options to choose from in this day and age. One that’s been growing like gangbusters, however, is online language learning company Babbel. The Berlin startup is currently present in more than 190 countries and boasts over 15 million users, with its strongest footprint in German-speaking regions. The company aims to expand aggressively in other European countries, the Americas and emerging markets, however, and recently acquired San Francisco-based social language-learning iOS app maker PlaySay to advance those plans.

http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/03/26/online-language-learning-startup-babbel-nabs-10m-from-nokia-reed-elsevier-and-others/

by Brian Warmoth, Edudemic

MOOCs may or may not save higher education, and if they save it they may further widen the gap between elite and lesser-known schools. They may also reinforce existing achievement gaps for students. As massive open online courses continue to evolve, however, educators need to know what they are and how they are changing the education landscape. In fact, teachers and professors could be well served by trying out MOOCs for themselves. After all, the classes are free and full of information. Providers such as Coursera, edX and Udacity offer catalogs of subject- and skills-organized options for new MOOC-takers. For anyone working in education, though, the best first stop might be “Education” category at Coursera.

http://edudemic.com/2013/03/5-moocs-educators-should-take-as-students/

By Melissa Slager, the Herald

The American Academy program will target those who have already dropped out and work with them one-on-one to get back on track. “If that helps just one student acquire a diploma who otherwise might not have earned one, than it is an initiative worth trying,” Assistant Superintendent Patrick Murphy said. Jordan Stengrim, 17, of Gold Bar, is taking courses through the Sultan-based American Academy program and is on track to graduate by next summer. Stengrim said he was failing classes at Sultan High School, the result of frequent absences and a lack of focus in the classroom. Since switching to The American Academy online courses, his grades have improved dramatically, he said. Stengrim said he likes doing things at his own pace. “To me it’s easier than regular school because I don’t want to talk to my friends all the time,” he added.

http://heraldnet.com/article/20130325/NEWS01/703259983

By Noel K. Gallagher, Kennebec Journal

“I firmly believe that it’s a very, very important program,” said Dave Patterson, who oversees AP4ALL for the state Department of Education. The department is currently accepting applications for this fall. This year, there are about 200 students in the 17 AP courses. Next year the state will offer 21 courses and could have as many as 420 students enrolled.

http://www.kjonline.com/news/online-ap-program-gets-raise-in-funding_2013-03-25.html