Online Learning Update

by Scott McLeod, Des Moines Register

Every year, tens of thousands of Iowa students are denied the opportunity to learn simply because of where they live. Faced with geographic, staffing or budgetary constraints, their school districts simply cannot offer the courses they need to prepare themselves for college or work. It doesn’t have to be this way. Other states have instituted robust systems of online course work that remedy most of these issues for their students.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100502/OPINION01/5020320/-1/NEWS13/Guest-opinion-Online-courses-make-possibilities-virtually-limitless

by Rick Nettesheim, Green Bay Press Gazette

With the end of the school year just around the corner, it’s time for students and their families to consider the abundance of educational opportunities available to Wisconsin students. In light of today’s technology-driven youth, much attention has been given to the increasing popularity of online schools. As students and families explore their educational options, it is important for them to know that online education can actually excel at providing the very aspects many may think of as its shortcomings — a well-rounded education including both high-quality curriculum and necessary social development skills.

http://bit.ly/bFIf2s 

by Meredyth Censullo, ABC news, Tampa

Don Tapia – then in his 60s – decided to return to college, and opted to enroll in the Center for Online Learning at Saint Leo University. For 38 months, Tapia arrived to work early and left at 3 p.m. to take courses online. It took him three-and-a-half years to earn a bachelor’s degree. During that time neither his family nor friends knew that he was taking classes online. In fact, just prior to boarding a plane for commencement at Saint Leo in 2005, Tapia mailed his family letters announcing his achievement. He went on to earn his Master of Business Administration degree in 2007 through the graduate online offering at Saint Leo’s School of Business. Now, as a thank you to Saint Leo, Tapia has donated $4 million to the university.

http://www.abcactionnews.com/content/news/local/pasco/story/Online-grad-makes-4M-donation-to-Saint-Leo-Univer/cU0hbyA6jEmbXOnLLlqT0Q.cspx

by Daniele Yturvide, Pasadena Community College Courier

College classrooms, especially here at PCC, are experimenting with alternative ways of offering courses outside the boundaries of traditional learning and teaching. Online classes have never been so popular among college students than in today’s fast-paced, technological society. The means for availability and access to the internet is more prevalent then ever.

http://bit.ly/9hzVl6

by George Watson & James Sottile, OJLDLA

With the assistance of the Internet and related technologies, students today have many more ways to be academically dishonest than students a generation ago. With more and more Internet based course offerings, the concern is whether cheating will increase as students work and take tests away from the eyes of instructors. While the research on academic dishonesty in general is quite extensive, there is very limited research on student cheating in online courses. ;This study of 635 undergraduate and graduate students at a medium sized university focused on student cheating behaviors in both types of classes (on-line and face to face), by examining cheating behavior and perceptions of whether on-line or traditional face-to-face classes experienced greater cheating behaviors.

http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring131/watson131.html

by Judy Block, OJDLA

This paper will address how the digital divide affects distance education. Lack of access for some students does raise concerns. Access to technology is often defined by what students don’t have: what is called a digital divide. Access also is defined by the speed of Internet connections. Access in the future will be even greater as more computers emerge. The divide is huge. “Even as more Americans purchase computers and flock online , most of the disparities that emerged during the latter half of the 1990’s remain” (Mossberger, Tolbert, & Stansbury, 2003, p. 35).

http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring131/block131.html

by Robert Tipple, OJDLA

Post secondary education leaders and administrators are currently facing two separate but inter-related trends: the growth in online education, and the significant increase in adjunct (part-time) faculty. In order to maximize the educational quality and institutional effectiveness, education leaders must develop an approach that levers the characteristics of online adjunct faculty. The paper describes the characteristics of online adjunct faculty and their motivation for teaching, explores leadership style approaches to lever this highly motivated workforce, and offers a framework to education leaders that draws from the transformational and situational leadership styles.

http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring131/tipple131.html

by Tanya Roscorla, Converge Magazine

Through self-publishing, university faculty members are creating custom course material, saving money and improving their teaching. “It’s still in its infancy,” said Bryce Johnson, director of e-textbook solutions at Follett Digital Resources, “but we’re seeing a strong desire from different institutions and professors to do this, and we’re very excited about the possibilities.”

http://www.convergemag.com/classtech/Professors-Control-Course-Content-by-Publishing-E-Textbooks.html

by Ann McClure, University Business

Many higher education institutions are repurposing web conferencing technology originally put in place for synchronous distance online learning classes. A chat function is also available, although in-person meetings or web conferences for remote locations are still the preferred method of real-time communication. As Bills points out, “We use what’s familiar. Under pressure, it’s really easy to make a phone call.”

http://www.universitybusiness.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=1525

by Steve Kolowich, Inside Higher Ed

Professors, particularly those in the senior ranks, might have a reputation for being leery of social media. But they are no Luddites when it comes to Web 2.0 tools such as Facebook and YouTube, according to a new survey. The data suggest that 80 percent of professors, with little variance by age, have at least one account with either Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Skype, LinkedIn, MySpace, Flickr, Slideshare, or Google Wave. Nearly 60 percent kept accounts with more than one, and a quarter used at least four.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/05/04/socialmedia

by Steve Kolowich, Inside Higher Ed

President Obama’s original plan for community colleges included $500 million to create free online courses that individual institutions could then customize for their students. That money never materialized — it was left out of the student aid legislation in last month’s health care bill. But a foundation-supported effort with similar goals is actually growing. The National Repository for Online Courses (NROC) was hoping for that government money to help expand its existing vault of free courses, says Gary Lopez, the repository’s director. Still, with online education becoming mainstream and many community colleges experiencing enrollment booms beyond their physical capacity, NROC’s membership is on the rise.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-04-28-ihe-online-courses_N.htm

By Dara McBride, Daily Orange

When college student Adam Richman found himself and his peers overwhelmed with work, he turned to entrepreneurship for help. Richman helped create a site, cheaphomework.com, that provides a staff to complete a student’s homework in exchange for money. Syracuse University ranked as one of the top three users, Richman said. “We just heard a lot of people complain that they didn’t want to do their homework anymore, that they’d prefer to go out, enjoy their night,” Richman said. “We always saw on people’s Facebook statuses, ‘Hey, I’d pay someone $20 to do my math homework,’ ‘I’d really like to go out tonight, does anyone know someone who could write me an essay?’ And we thought we should probably capitalize on this.”

http://www.dailyorange.com/questionable-online-homework-resource-raises-in-popularity-at-su-1.1432592

by Mini Swamy, TMCnet

Online Science courses are among the last subjects to transition to distance learning courses, and this primarily because the traditional laboratory environment, which is an absolute must for science courses, is difficult to attain. E-Science has succeeded in introducing online lab courses. The course cartridge will provide a single sign-on for the lecture and the lab component. Instructors can add the e-Science manual to their online platform and everything that is required to perform experiments will be delivered to the student.

http://education.tmcnet.com/topics/education/articles/83295-science-education-through-distance-learning-now-reality.htm

by John Darling, the Mail Tribune

SOU, in partnership with RCC, now offers all upper-division Early Childhood Development courses online, said President Mary Cullinan. Enrollment is boosted by the tripling of online courses, she said, as well as new programs, including bachelor’s degrees in Applied Science in Management and Outdoor Leadership, and new minors in Musical Theater, Acting for Film and Arts Management. This fall, SOU will introduce a professional master’s program in Computer Science and is building programs in Digital Arts and Media and in Environmental Science.

http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100427/NEWS/4270310

by Mae Yousif-Basi, News Press Ft. Myers, FL

Whether they are in their pajamas, in between picking up the kids from school and cooking dinner, or jump-starting a new career, more people are opting to take college courses online. During the 2008-09 academic year, nationwide enrollment in community college online courses grew 22 percent compared to the previous year, according to a study by the Instructional Technology Council. And the number of students completing the courses also has increased from about 50 percent 10 years ago to 72 percent in 2009. That’s just slightly less than the 76 percent completion rate for on-campus courses.

http://www.news-press.com/article/20100426/NEWS0104/4260326/1006/Southwest-Florida-colleges-grow-online

by Lori Shull, Watertown Daily Times

Virtual classrooms at SUNY Canton are filling up quickly. In three days, 140 people signed up to take classes online this summer. The college is expecting to break its enrollment records again and hopes to have 1,000 enrollments in 100 courses. Some of those courses already have had to open additional sections to meet demand. “It’s almost as if it’s a grass fire,” said Molly A. Mott, dean of academic services and retention. “It’s really catching.”

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20100425/NEWS05/304259980

Jeanne P. Sewell, Karen H. Frith & Martha M. Colvin, JOLT

Instructors who design online courses have an opportunity to develop assessments to monitor students’ progress toward achievement of learning objectives. When combined with well-designed learning objectives, assessment techniques can close the feedback loop and provide excellent artifacts not only for course evaluation but programmatic and campus wide assessment. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the essential elements for the design and use of formative and summative online assessments including discussion postings, assignments, SCORM modules, and proctored and non-proctored tests or quizzes. Issues associated with online test security and “cheating” will also be discussed. The paper is designed to provide an overview about design and use of assessment strategies for instructors who are novices to online learning.

 http://jolt.merlot.org/vol6no1/sewell_0310.htm

by Nick Linardopoulos, JOLT

The increased availability of online coursework in higher education has prompted a number of research studies regarding the academic rigor and marketability of those courses. However, the existing literature pays little attention to the opportunities and challenges of the online delivery of skills based courses that require the mastery of a practical component in addition to the theory. This paper is a case study in the teaching of a public speaking course in a fully online setting. The format of the online setting of the course is analyzed and the challenges faced from an instructional and student perspective are described. The paper also discusses the effectiveness of teaching this specific course in an online setting based on student feedback. The paper concludes with a discussion of the educational implications and opportunities stemming from the development of teaching and learning skills based courses in an online setting.

http://jolt.merlot.org/vol6no1/linardopoulos_0310.htm

by Michele A. Parker & Florence Martin, JOLT

Virtual classrooms are online environments that enable students and instructors to interact as if they were face to face in a classroom. In this study, the researchers compared the perceptions of 57 undergraduate students who used the virtual classroom in a fully online and a blended education course. Students in the fully online course rated the virtual classroom features and characteristics higher than students in the blended course. There were statistically significant differences for 9 out of the 16 features that were investigated. Three of the four characteristics were statistically significant. Instructors can integrate this information in their course design and delivery to ensure that students benefit from a rewarding learning experience.

 http://jolt.merlot.org/vol6no1/parker_0310.htm

by John B. Stav, Kjetil L. Nielsen, Gabrielle Hansen-Nygård and Trond M. Thorseth, Electronic Journal of E-Learning

A new type of Student Response System (SRS) based upon the latest wireless technologies and handheld mobile devices has been developed to enhance active learning methods and assess students’ understanding. The key services involve a set of XML technologies, web services and modern mobile devices. A group consisting of engineers, scientists and instructors with pedagogical competence, from seven European countries has designed the services. The new SRS provides intuitive control interfaces, which an instructor quickly learns how to use, provides more flexible and cheaper response services than existing on-site technologies based upon so-called “clickers”, since it uses the Wi-Fi or mobile network to provide responses from students. The technology may be used for in-class, laboratory and distance training purposes, the latter being an entirely new option in SRS technology. We report experiences from using this SRS technology in physics teaching in engineering classes, as well as in distance learning in Europe.

http://www.ejel.org/Volume-8/v8-i2/v8-i2-art-14.htm

by Thanos Hatziapostolou and Iraklis Paraskakis, Electronic Journal of E-Learning

Formative feedback is instrumental in the learning experience of a student. It can be effective in promoting learning if it is timely, personal, manageable, motivational, and in direct relation with assessment criteria. Despite its importance, however, research suggests that students are discouraged from engaging in the feedback process primarily for reasons that relate to lack of motivation and difficulty in relating to and reflecting on the feedback comments. In this paper we present Online FEdback System (OFES), an e-learning tool that effectively supports the provision of formative feedback. Our aims are to enhance feedback reception and to strengthen the quality of feedback through the way feedback is communicated to the students. We propose that an effective feedback communication mechanism should be integrated into a student’s online learning space and it is anticipated that this provision will motivate students to engage with feedback. Empirical evidence suggests that the developed system successfully addresses the issues of student engagement and motivation and achieves its objectives. The results of using the system for two years indicate a positive perception of the students which, in turn, encourages us to further explore its effectiveness by extending its functionality and integrating it into a an open source learning management system.

http://www.ejel.org/Volume-8/v8-i2/v8-i2-art-7.htm