Online Learning Update

By EMILY McFARLAN, Sun-Times Media

Fourth-grader Ryan Dooley answers a question by learning coach and teacher Lisa Koscielski during a virtual learning lesson June 2 at Cambridge Lakes Charter School in Pingree Grove. Dooley and another student are the first to enroll in the school’s virtual learning program, where the actual teacher is 200 miles away in Green Bay, Wis. When Ryan got stumped on a vocabulary word, Koscielski stepped in, “Say I met you for the first time and I got an impression of you. What’s an impression?” Ryan answered, “What you think of me.” As a learning coach, Koscielski isn’t the boys’ teacher. Their teacher, Shannon Kojh, was more than 200 miles away in Green Bay, Wis.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/news/schools/2381224,3_1_EL11_04VIRTUAL_S1-100611.article

by Michael Horn, the Yorktown Patriot

Ever since the creation of the Florida Virtual School (FLVS) in 1997, Florida has been among the nation’s leaders in the fast-growing online learning movement. From humble origins serving 77 students with a start-up $200,000 Florida Department of Education “Break the Mold” grant, FLVS grew to serve more than 70,000 students in the 2008-2009 school year. FLVS is not the only online learning provider serving Florida students. Several others provide a variety of offerings in a variety of arrangements. In part because of 2008 legislation mandating that every school district must provide students with an online learning option, Florida districts have entered into contracts with online learning providers of every stripe to help them with home-schooled students, credit-recovery options, dropout-recovery programs, and advanced courses, to name a few.

http://www.yorktownpatriot.com/article_669.shtml

By Erin Monda, TMCnet

Want to go back to college but are too short on time to attend class regularly? Schools like the University of West Alabama are toying with a new online learning technology that allows students to circumvent this issue. The product that is allowing for this new development was created by a U.S. firm, Software Secure. Securexam, as the software is known, can transform any personal or lab computer into a test-taking terminal – without the need for Internet access during exams. It does this by locking down any web-based platforms and allowing students to connect to the Internet through a modified version of Internet Explorer.

http://education.tmcnet.com/topics/education/articles/87839-take-college-tests-home.htm

by the Cookeville Times

The Cookeville/TTU office of the Tennessee Small Business Development Center, in cooperation with the U.S. Small Business Administration, announces the opening of the TSBDC Online Center. The purpose of the Online Center is to provide internet accessible small business seminars and online counseling as part of an ongoing effort to provide easier access to TSBDC services. Online learning seminars are available on 21 different topics, and online counseling sessions are available by appointment. The TSBDC Online Center can be accessed at www.tsbdc.org, or, individuals without internet access may attend online learning classes and arrange for online counseling by visiting a TSBDC online access point at participating chambers of commerce.

http://www.ucdailynews.com/news/business/95903159.html

by Kathryn Stolarz, the Independent Florida Alligator

I think the true test with online learning classes today is one of integrity. Can you resist the temptation and convenience of cheating? You may downplay the downfalls of cheating because you may be used to it, immune to it or even comfortable with it. But I’d rather the world be full of honest people than “successful” people. Hard-working people who aren’t afraid to try hard, play fair and get what they earned are much more admirable than lazy people who lower their ethical standards for the sake of convenience and “success.”

http://www.alligator.org/opinion/columns/article_e3836fda-72b4-11df-a35a-001cc4c03286.html

by Steve Kolowich, Inside Higher Ed

E-textbooks might be the most-talked about and least-used learning tools in traditional higher education. Campus libraries and e-reader manufacturers are betting on electronic learning materials to overtake traditional textbooks in the foreseeable future, but very few students at traditional institutions are currently using e-textbooks, according to recent surveys. Not so in the world of for-profit online education. Online for-profits such as American Public University System and the University of Phoenix have for years strategically steered students toward e-textbooks in an attempt to shave costs and ensure a more reliable delivery method that, in the context of online education, might seem to make more sense.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/06/08/ebooks

by WACH Fox News Center

The attorney general’s office wants to help keep your teenagers safe online. With summer here, Internet use is expected to go up. So the AG’s office is offering classes on how to protect young people as they surf online. The classes will help parents and teens avoid explicit content that can oftentimes be found on the web.

http://www.midlandsconnect.com/news/story.aspx?id=467409

by Eric Bradner, Evansville Courier-Press

State leaders Friday launched an online only university designed to help adults who live in rural areas or whose work schedules make attending regular classes impossible to obtain bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Western Governors University Indiana, the first state branch of the nationwide Internet-based school, has established offices in Indiana and will begin enrolling students in July for classes that can begin as early as August. Gov. Mitch Daniels, who signed an executive order for the creation of WGU Indiana on Friday, said it will provide a convenient and affordable option — tuition is $5,800 per year, and students never have to make an in-person visit — to an underserved population.

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/jun/12/indiana-launchesonlineuniversity/

By Dan Nosowitz, Smart Planet

30% of science students drop out of their science program after their first year in college. It’s the worst possible time to have a dearth of scientists–and Scitable is one solution. Climate change, sustainable food and housing, alternative energy, environmentalism, diseases–these are all problems that can only be solved by scientists. Yet the popularity of the study of hard science is low and getting lower.

http://bit.ly/cTCebl

by Reeve Hamilton and Grant Derigo, Texas Tribune

With rising enrollments and tightening budgets — Texas colleges and universities, along with the Higher Education Coordinating Board, just slashed a combined total of half a billion dollars from their budgets for the current biennium — institutions of higher education are looking for innovative ways to provide access to more students without investing in bricks and mortar.

http://www.texastribune.org/stories/2010/jun/07/going-distance/

by the Associated Press

All of the University of Nebraska’s online education programs can now be accessed at a single location because of a new platform called Online Worldwide. Online Worldwide, at http://www.nebraska.edu/online, offers more than 80 accredited programs, including bachelors, advanced degrees, certificates and endorsements. More than 1,000 courses in agriculture, biology, business, computer science, education, engineering, journalism, public administration and other fields are also offered.

http://www.kcautv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12605089

by the University of Central Florida

The Florida Virtual School’s Elementary Physical Education course actively engages students in 150 minutes of physical activity every week, meeting the minimum required under the new FIT KIDS ACT. The new on-line courses are designed for Elementary Grades 3–5 students and teachers. “During today’s challenging economic times, our partner schools have expressed great interest in a blended model of online Elementary Physical Education,” explained Sarah Sprinkel, director of Elementary School Programs at FLVS. “Our course blends academics and deliberate movement with a purpose and provides flexibility for brick-and-mortar schools and home-schooled students to use in a number of ways.”

http://today.ucf.edu/phys-ed-for-kids-online/

BY JORGE BARRIENTOS, Bakersfield Californian

Deia Scott understands it takes a village to teach children. And technology helps, too. The veteran third-grade teacher at Chavez Science Magnet School in east Bakersfield has just wrapped up her first year of using a new Bakersfield City School District online curriculum system called Learning Village. It’s changing the way educators work together to teach kids, not only here but nationwide.

http://www.bakersfield.com/news/local/x1008890696/Whats-working-Teacher-uses-online-curriculum-to-spread-knowledge

by One India ANI

Wendy Kraglund-Gauthier and David Young both design online courses at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia insist most people have a false sense of security about their online dealings. They claim technology is changing so fast that privacy protection rules, laws and guidelines can’t keep up. Kraglund-Gauthier and Young, in a paper presented at the 2010 Congress for the Humanities and Social Sciences

http://news.oneindia.in/2010/06/06/onlinelearning-tools-not-as-private-as-youthink.html

by The International Society for Technology in Education

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE®) has named the winners of the 2010 SIGOL awards (formerly Telelearning). Sponsored by ISTE’s Online Learning Special Interest Group (SIGOL), the awards recognize creative teachers worldwide for their pioneering use of telecommunication networks to provide innovative online learning opportunities for school-age students in grades K-20. The awards will be presented at ISTE’s annual conference and exposition, ISTE 2010, in Denver, Colo., June 27-30, 2010. This year’s SIGOL Online Learning Award winners have been selected from a field of outstanding international submissions.

http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=26109

by Larry Magid, Huffington Post

Our goal in putting together the report was to look not only at the history of online safety efforts over the past nearly 20 years but also the emerging research that shows how young people use social media. What we concluded is that we need to go beyond worrying about predators and pornography and start thinking about young people as active participants – true citizens – in an increasingly interactive online environment where young people are just as likely to create content as they are to consume it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-magid/report-to-congress-stress_b_601504.html

By KAREL HOLLOWAY / The Dallas Morning News

While thousands of students in the region walked the stage to accept their diplomas this graduation season, others who dropped out, didn’t earn enough credits or failed the state test are taking a different path to graduation. They are paying businesses that guarantee a diploma, sometimes in as little as 24 hours, based on credits or tests the businesses offer. Resolute offers online classes to students without the minimum credits, Cathey said. Those classes are basically online tests that the student completes using whatever resources are available. It can be Wikipedia, Google or friends, Cathey said.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/DN-hsdiploma_05met.ART.State.Edition1.29a6139.html

by University of Wisconsin-Stout

School never really is out at University of Wisconsin-Stout, and that has never been truer than this summer. UW-Stout’s summer session is booming. Officials report an extraordinary increase of 15 percent in registrations for summer session course credits: 19,597, up from 17,040 in 2009. The increase since 2007 is even more remarkable at 29 percent. Janice Coker, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, said the increase can be attributed to a number of factors, including the variety of courses offered in the summer and ease of convenience that students find in taking many courses online during the summer.

http://www.weau.com/home/headlines/95628759.html

by killer startups

For millions around the world, Online Learning is the way to go. And based on my experience, I can tell you that many people who are against it have never actually given such a modality of learning a good try. If you are one such individual, let me introduce you to this site. It is not radical, but it is a fine exponent of what these websites are all about, and the way in which relationships are built between tutors and students across the Internet. On this site, online learners and teachers become connected through free classifieds in which they list their actual needs.

http://www.killerstartups.com/Web20/onlinecoursesplus-com-online-courses-of-every-kind

By Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service

Got a cell phone handy? It could be your ticket to keeping up with your professional development requirements. That’s just one concept being explored at Air Education and Training Command, the Air Force’s training and education component. Like its counterparts in the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, AETC hopes to take advantage of new and emerging technologies to provide more efficient, effective educational opportunities to the force. Most servicemembers are familiar with the concept of distance learning, with training delivered through the Internet or snail mail. Distance online learning is a big money saver for the military, reducing travel and temporary duty costs associated with classroom training. And in light of heavy mission requirements, it enables servicemembers to meet many of their educational requirements without extended absences from their duty stations and loved ones.

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=59442

By Matt Townsend, Bloomberg

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s biggest retailer, plans to offer its U.S. employees the opportunity to earn college degrees in a partnership with American Public University. Workers will be eligible for grants from American Public totaling 15 percent of tuition, the Charles Town, West Virginia- based online educator said today in a statement. Earning degrees in fields such as security management, employees will receive credit for on-the-job experience, American Public University said. Academic work will be done through online classes beginning in September.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-olster/virtual-education_b_597545.html