Educational Technology

by Ginny Skalski, OpenSource.com

UoPeople uses collaborative peer-to-peer learning with the guidance of instructors. We believe this model provides a more enhanced and empowering experience—creating a truly global classroom where students from around the world can discuss not only course materials but also learn about different cultures. Open Educational Resources (OER) as well as the open source technology Moodle are adapted by our volunteer course developers and redesigned to fit into the curriculum for our four degree options (B.S. and A.S. in Computer Science and Business Administration). UoPeople tries to make sure that a student with any Internet connection, even the most rudimentary one, is able to access our courses and study at our university. For this reason, we do not use video or audio in our assigned coursework; these items require a broadband connection. Additionally, in our effort to provide access to higher education for all students worldwide, we have kept our course material asynchronous to accommodate students from various time zones. We have seen that our model is successful and meets the needs of our students. Over 95% of UoPeople students recommend our program to their peers and cite UoPeople as a great place to study.

http://opensource.com/education/13/8/university-people-interview

by Sophia Pink, Fresno Bee

Last year, while my classmates at Washington (D.C.) International School sat at their desks by day and did their homework by night, I skipped school. And not just once. I didn’t attend a single day of 10th grade. In ninth grade, I was frustrated. In school, I marched to other people’s orders, leaving little time to complete projects I was really interested in. So I arranged with my parents and my school to take a year off — my own sabbatical. I loved it.

http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/08/24/3460048/pink-why-this-washington-dc-student.html

By MORGAN SMITH, Texas Tribune

The number of full-time cyberschools serving Texas public school students will double in the coming school year despite a history of lackluster performance and a new law limiting the number of online courses that public school students are allowed to take at the state’s expense. Expanded coverage of Texas is produced by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit news organization.  That bill’s sponsor, State Representative Ken King, Republican of Canadian, said its goal was to encourage virtual learning models that blended online classes with a traditional classroom experience. Mr. King said he added language limiting the number of tuition-free online classes that students could take to three per year because of concerns that the legislation might lead to more full-time online schools in the state and that the bill’s intent was not to have more “kids sitting on their couch at home taking online classes.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/25/education/cyberschools-grow-fueling-new-concerns.html

by Louis Bedigian, Benzinga

Since its inception, Google has been very protective of Google Glass. The company has only allowed select individuals to play with the device, and it explicitly prohibits users from sharing the unit with others. It will not allow users to sell or rent the device either — if they do, Google will deactivate the glasses. For better or worse, Google cannot protect this project forever. If it intends for consumers to purchase Google Glass, it will have to become comfortable with the notion that consumers may want to test the unit before making a purchase. Google will also have to ease up on its sharing restrictions — and allow users to sell the unit whenever they please. If the “no re-sale” restriction is in place for the consumer version, some people may be afraid to buy the device. Others may be reluctant to upgrade (when new models become available) because their old version would be turned into a useless paperweight that can’t be sold or shared.

http://www.benzinga.com/news/13/08/3861854/can-google-sell-expensive-high-tech-glasses-without-a-store-presence

by David F. Carr, Information Week

Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and the career management ervice Zapoint worked with CareerBuilder to create the Moneyball service that CareerBuilder announced in June, which delivers short sales training videos to supplement on-the-job training. The product takes its name from the book and movie Moneyball, which dramatized the rise of data-driven sports management. “We created some 300 course modules companies can provide to their salespeople, and they are all platform-agnostic and completely mobile,” said John Cady, Kelley’s executive director for executive education. “People are not being trapped to their desktop, which is really important.”

http://www.informationweek.com/education/online-learning/kelley-school-of-business-chunks-courses/240160346

by VIGNESH RAMACHANDRAN, Mashable

I have a confession. Back in high school, I satisfied my required gym credit by taking a nutrition class — online. With online education becoming more prevalent these days, some states in the U.S. allow students to satisfy high school physical education requirements through online courses. Making gym class virtual may seem ironic in an era when more than one in three American children and teens are overweight or obese. But online classes open doors for students who don’t have space in their schedule or for those who might prefer to workout in private.

http://mashable.com/2013/08/24/online-physical-education-pros-cons/