Educational Technology

Paul Fain, Inside Higher Ed
The California State University system announced on May 12 that its fall term would be mostly online. The system was the first major U.S. university to make this move, and the announcement set off a flurry of news media coverage and debate among policy makers and college leaders. Tim White, Cal State’s chancellor, takes us inside this decision during the episode. In his discussion with Paul Fain, host of The Key, and Lilah Burke, a reporter at Inside Higher Ed, White talks about how the system is trying to balance its two top goals of protecting the health and safety of more than 480,000 students and 50,000 employees while trying to maintain academic progress at 23 campuses.

https://insidehighered.com/audio/2020/05/26/ep-8-cal-state%E2%80%99s-online-fall

Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Education Dive

About half of college presidents say it’s “very likely” they will resume in-person classes for the coming term, according to a new American Council on Education (ACE) survey of 310 college leaders. In order to restart operations, about two-thirds of presidents with on-campus housing say they plan to set up a space to quarantine students. More than half of all respondents said they will require masks to be worn on campus. The results come as institutions mull whether current and projected public health conditions and access to testing supplies will enable them to begin the new academic year in person.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/half-of-presidents-aim-to-restart-classes-in-person-this-fall-survey-finds/578598/

Hans Taparia, NY Times

Up until now, online education has been relegated to the equivalent of a hobby at most universities. With the pandemic, it has become a backup plan. But if universities embrace this moment strategically, online education could expand access exponentially and drop its cost by magnitudes — all while shoring up revenues for universities in a way that is more recession-proof, policy-proof and pandemic-proof.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/25/opinion/online-college-coronavirus.html

Jonathan Haber, EdSurge

For many, the recent leap to remote instruction felt rushed, chaotic and disorganized. Many things did not translate well online. Yet that discomfort also raises opportunities to question prevailing assumptions about how teaching and learning occurs. Let’s start with one of education’s most hallowed traditions: the lecture.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-05-25-remote-learning-begs-the-question-must-lectures-be-so-long

Richard J. Novak, Vice President for Continuing Studies and Distance Education, Rutgers

As we prepared this issue of Unbound, new article in tow, and as the higher education response to the pandemic evolved, it became apparent to all of us involved with the production that our PCO community was stressed by these changes and challenges, most of us working harder and more intensively to keep the train moving, and we didn’t have the time, energy or inclination to consume a large issue of Unbound in one sitting. It also became apparent that the pandemic was not a month-long crisis, but would be with us for some time. And so we shifted yet again, with a plan to provide a couple articles each month over a span of several months. It is our hope that this will be a more digestible format, timely and useful as the PCO community plays a continuing key role in institutional efforts to operate successfully in this new world. With this as the backdrop, I am delighted to bring to you the first installment of the new issue of Unbound, from its new home at Rutgers University, Division of Continuing Studies.

https://unbound.upcea.edu/online-2/from-the-editor-dr-richard-j-novak/

Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology

From determining a remote learning strategy to planning for the new normal and enabling standards-based practices, these five phases describe the progress institutions are making toward excellence in teaching and learning online.  This is a time for institutions to pause and reflect. Were there any shortcuts taken that need to be undone? In addition, it’s important to survey faculty and students to determine what additional support might be needed. Many institutions may have skipped this stage, feeling the pressure to move forward with planning for the summer and fall terms, the panelists noted.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2020/05/13/the-5-stages-of-moving-online.aspx

Mays Imad, Tomorrow’s Professor

More specifically, I am thinking about students who don’t have a safe environment at home — for whom residence halls and classrooms have served as a sanctuary, students who have found a community within college, or students who rely on college for their sustenance and security. In other words, most students. So how can we, teachers, be that “dancing clays” to balance our students’ mental and emotional loads, so that they may stumble just a little bit less? Reflecting on that experience and my questions, I came up with a short list of what I would’ve liked my teachers to do had I been a student who was sent home due to COVID-19.

https://tomprof.stanford.edu/posting/1799

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/06/several-of-harvards-schools-announce-fall-plans/

BROOKE AUXIER, Pew Research

The ongoing coronavirus outbreak has brought privacy and surveillance concerns to the forefront – from hacked video conferencing sessions to proposed government tracking of people’s cellphones as a measure to limit and prevent the spread of the virus. Over the past year, Pew Research Center has surveyed Americans on their views related to privacy, personal data and digital surveillance.

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/05/04/how-americans-see-digital-privacy-issues-amid-the-covid-19-outbreak/

BY EMILY A. VOGELS, ANDREW PERRIN, LEE RAINIE AND MONICA ANDERSON, Pew Research Center

The coronavirus outbreak has driven many commercial and social activities online and for some the internet has become an ever more crucial link to those they love and the things they need. Chart shows roughly half of adults say the internet has been essential to them during the coronavirus outbreak, but majorities do not think it is government’s responsibility to ensure connectivity for all. A new Pew Research Center survey conducted in early April finds that roughly half of U.S. adults (53%) say the internet has been essential for them personally during the pandemic and another 34% describe it as “important, but not essential.”

https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2020/04/30/53-of-americans-say-the-internet-has-been-essential-during-the-covid-19-outbreak/

Bob Pepalis, Reporter Newspapers

The shift to virtual working and education forced by the coronavirus pandemic is here to stay, says former Georgia Tech president and current Regents professor George “Bud” Peterson. “I don’t think we’ll ever get back to the old normal,” said Peterson, speaking May 21 as part of the Dunwoody Perimeter Chamber of Commerce’s “Return to the Perimeter” virtual discussion series about post-pandemic business. The lingering challenge of developing a COVID-19 vaccine or similar medical measures is one reason the “old normal” isn’t coming soon, said Peterson. But the changes will be even more long-lasting than that, he said.

https://www.reporternewspapers.net/2020/05/23/old-normal-is-gone-virtual-learning-will-stay-after-pandemic-says-ex-georgia-tech-president/

Brandon Busteed, Forbes

EVERFI’s ‘AlcoholEdu for College’ course, which first debuted in 2000, has been taken by more than 10 million students, including more than 1/3 of all college first-year students who now take it each fall as a requirement for matriculation. How on earth did a course on alcohol abuse prevention become the largest course on the World Wide Web, you might ask? The answer is a very timely lesson about how to ensure online education is engaging and effective in the age of Covid-19.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brandonbusteed/2020/05/23/the-largest-online-course-ever-a-surprising-answer-and-timely-example/#20609d459d67

TODD BISHOP, Geek Wire

With the advantage of 22 years of hindsight, Locke chuckled over the 1998 New York Times story’s first sentence. But beyond that, Locke said he and the professors were actually on the same page, then and now. “I’ve always been a major proponent of that personal interaction between the faculty and the students,” he said. “Clearly, using technology can make it easier for both faculty and students. But there’s still no substitute for that human interaction.”

https://www.geekwire.com/2020/governor-alarmed-professors-22-years-ago-disturbing-vision-distance-learning-2020-heres-says-today/

CARIN DORGHALLI, Enterprise-Record

Seniors will continue their learning endeavors, despite a pandemic. The transition to online learning will be rough for some, but highly influential to others. For the first time in its 30-year history at Chico State, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute will offer 100 percent of its classes digitally this summer. One week before Chico State announced its transition to online learning, OLLI suspended its classes because its population is more susceptible to experiencing complications from the coronavirus, Anne Nikolai, program director said. Leaders worked tirelessly to transition some classes to an online format. It worked, but not all former students joined in as they ordinarily would.

https://www.chicoer.com/2020/05/23/olli-transitions-courses-to-online-format/

Vijay Govindarajan and Anup Srivastava, Harvard Business Review

University leaders must use what they are learning in crisis now to position their institutions for greatest impact in the decades to come. That means using data now from the current forced online learning experiment and initiating small pilots during the next academic year to test future higher education models. This article is intended to set the agenda for university leaders to develop a point of view about the future which can guide short-term action. They must choose between the three paths.

https://hbr.org/2020/06/a-post-pandemic-strategy-for-u-s-higher-ed

Brendan O’Malley, University World News
Some 72% of prospective international students remain open to starting their studies in the United Kingdom this academic year, even if it means beginning their course online, according to data gathered by QS Quacquarelli Symonds, the higher education think-tank and compilers of the QS World University Rankings.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200522140411693

Yojana Sharma, University World News
The COVID-19 crisis and pre-existing China-United States tensions exacerbated during the pandemic will mean a rebalancing of cross-border academic relations, student and academic mobility, and in the pattern of research collaborations with China. But while the new landscape is not yet clearly mapped out, some trends are emerging, experts on China and international higher education have said.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200520100218970

Technology Decisions

The Cornell University study, titled ‘Online Education Platforms Scale College STEM Instruction With Equivalent Outcomes at Lower Cost’, tracked more than 300 students in Russia, where top universities standardise online classes for use by institutions with fewer resources.  “This new study offers the best available evidence to judge whether online learning can address issues of cost and instructor shortages, showing that it can deliver the same learning outcomes that we’re used to, but at a much lower cost.” These online courses cost institutions 80% less per student than in-person classes, the study found, while blended classes combining online lectures with in-person discussions lowered the per-student cost by nearly 20%.

https://www.technologydecisions.com.au/content/futureed/news/online-learning-just-as-effective-for-stem-students-study-665442902

Shreya Atrey, the Guardian

Several problems have already emerged. Online teaching needs more than just the basics. Lecturers need access to a computer that supports teaching software and a reliable internet connection. Meanwhile, for students, even basic hardware and software are far from guaranteed in many homes, as families share equipment and internet providers struggle with increased traffic.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/may/20/universities-beware-shifting-classes-online-so-quickly-is-a-double-edged-sword

Hope Reese, Tech Republic

COVID-19 has brought schools and workplaces online. Here’s what the transition means for the future of MOOCS. The coronavirus pandemic is radically shifting the global economy, transforming workplaces, community spaces, and education.  And overall education online–including virtual classrooms, language apps, online tutoring, or online education software–has also surged during the pandemic, with the market expected to hit $350 billion by 2025.

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/online-learning-now-at-an-all-time-high-signals-a-new-future-for-education/

Elizabeth Johnson, Inside Higher Ed

Most colleges and universities quickly pivoted to remote instruction after COVID-19 forced suspension of on-campus activities. Academic leaders and faculty across the nation did yeoman’s work to effect such a drastic change. Yet we learned this spring that the basic transition of face-to-face courses into remote delivery did not provide the comprehensive learning experience students require.

https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2020/05/20/how-turn-springs-remote-courses-high-quality-online-courses-fall-opinion