Educational Technology

By Meredith Burns, The Daily Tar Heel

Prominent public universities are moving toward offering more virtual degrees — a push university leaders say could lower tuition costs and better serve residents. The UNC system currently offers 210 online degree programs — 70 of those are baccalaureate. Alisa Chapman, the UNC system’s vice president for academic and university programs, said system leaders are currently conducting research to determine the needs of the state. “We certainly see the need to be more strategic in our direction of our online presence,” she said. “One aspect we’re working very hard on is inter-institutional collaboration.” UNC-CH does not have a completely online degree program, but it is working to improve existing online programs and create new ones, said Robert Bruce, director of the Friday Center. One program being developed would allow students with more than 60 academic credit hours to finish their degree online, Bruce said.

http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2013/04/517883b4129ae

by Armando Fox, the Berkeley Blog

We at Berkeley and our colleagues on other UC campuses are working hard to proactively inform the media, the private sector, and the public servants in Sacramento and elsewhere about both the opportunities and the pitfalls of online education. Our intention is to persuade them that “proceed optimistically but with care” is the right thing to do by our students, who are entrusting us with four or more years of education and career development when they arrive on campus. As with any new technology, effective use of online learning can improve both the quality and quantity of what we do, but misapplication of the technology can just as surely lead to teaching the largest number of people in the shallowest possible way, which is in nobody’s interest. Using online learning to improve what we are good at, while doing the research to illuminate the opportunities we haven’t yet taken advantage of, are key to sustaining the reputation of quality that has taken nearly a century and a half to build.

http://blogs.berkeley.edu/2013/04/24/massive-open-online-courses-moocs-have-a-role-in-high-ed/

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 Charles Huckabee, Chronicle of Higher Ed

Public colleges and universities, which educate the bulk of all American college students, have been slower than their counterparts in the for-profit sector to embrace the potential of online learning to offer pathways to degrees. A new report from the New America Foundation suggests a series of policies that states and public higher-education systems could adopt to do some catching up. The report, “State U Online,” by Rachel Fishman, a policy analyst with the foundation, analyzes where public online-education efforts stand now and finds that access to high-quality, low-cost online courses varies widely from state to state.

http://chronicle.com/article/How-to-Improve-Public-Online/138729/

by Brittany Bassler, WUFT

On Monday, Governor Rick Scott signed an education bill that will let the University of Florida offer bachelor’s degrees entirely online. Still, some wonder how online education compares to the typical college experience. The Career and Professional Education Act provides UF with $10 million to set up an online learning institute by next January. UF spokeswoman Janine Sikes says a handful of degrees the university already offers will be available online, including criminology and law, health affairs, sports management, environmental management and business. “The standards for a student to enroll in the University of Florida will remain the same,” Sikes said. In terms of cost, an online degree from UF will be less expensive than the traditional approach of taking classes on campus.

http://www.wuft.org/news/2013/04/23/uf-to-offer-online-degree-programs/

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 Paul Fain, Inside Higher Ed

Community college leaders haven’t exactly jumped on the “disruption” bandwagon. That may be understandable given the popular narrative that digital innovation will replace faculty members and even entire colleges. But the two-year sector’s wariness seems to be fading, if the annual convention of the American Association of Community Colleges is any indication. The conference, which began in this tech-friendly city over the weekend, featured many sessions on how budget-strapped colleges can use self-paced online courses and free digital content, such as massive open online courses, to boost efficiency and serve more students.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/04/22/community-colleges-warm-free-self-paced-course-content

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/