Online Learning Update

by The Associated Press

When bad weather hits this winter, students in a rural western Ohio school district will hit their home computers as part of an experiment. With the Ohio Department of Education looking on, the Mississinawa Valley Schools in Darke County will try to replace days off for snow and other inclement weather with online learning. Department officials say the test could help the state determine the future of calamity days.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/25/AR2010102500987.html

by Steve Kolowich, Inside Higher Ed

In the growing for-profit market for learning management, Blackboard is not king. That crown belongs to eCollege, the learning-management provider owned by the media conglomerate Pearson. A peon in the nonprofit world (it owns less than 2 percent market share, according to the Campus Computing Project), eCollege cornered the for-profit market early on by offering a product tailored to meet the unique needs of that type of institution, says Richard Garrett, managing director of the higher ed consulting firm Eduventures. The online learning platforms offered by eCollege and Blackboard “were evolved with different goals in mind,” says Garrett. The eCollege platform “was built with top-down enterprises in mind,” he says, whereas Blackboard’s product was designed to “enable individual faculty to experiment with online, or to use it at an individual course level as a supplement to the classroom” — more in line with the governance structure of the traditional college, where professors have more autonomy.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/11/01/lms

by Andrew N. Meltzoff et al; Science

Human learning is distinguished by the range and complexity of skills that can be learned and the degree of abstraction that can be achieved compared to other species. Humans are also the only species that has developed formal ways to enhance learning: teachers, schools, and curricula. Human infants have an intense interest in people and their behavior, and possess powerful implicit learning mechanisms that are affected by social interaction. Neuroscientists are beginning to understand the brain mechanisms underlying learning and how shared brain systems for perception and action support social learning. Machine learning algorithms are being developed that allow robots and computers to learn autonomously. New insights from many different fields are converging to create a new science of learning that may transform educational practices.

Thanks to Seb http://schmoller.net

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2776823/

by McVey, Michael, Association for Learning Technology Journal

With the increased interest in using Immersive Virtual Worlds (IVWs) such as Second Life to augment and amplify teaching or to develop communities of practice, the author engaged graduate students, all current K‐12 teachers, in a qualitative study to examine their attitudes about communicating for the first time in a virtual setting represented by an interactive avatar. This study sought to determine if students were able to discern degrees of expertise in other avatars by providing encounters with guests who had a significant amount of experience navigating in a virtual world. The study examined Second Life as a synchronous discussion tool for a higher education setting and finds it lacking in some respects, but is able to make recommendations about training instructors to exhibit behaviours that may inspire confidence while leading a class in such a setting.

http://repository.alt.ac.uk/808/

by Whitton, Nicola and Hollins, Association for Learning Technology Journal

There is growing interest in the use of virtual gaming worlds in education, supported by the increased use of multi‐user virtual environments (MUVEs) and massively multi‐player online role‐playing games (MMORPGs) for collaborative learning. However, this paper argues that collaborative gaming worlds have been in use much longer and are much wider in scope; it considers the range of collaborative gaming worlds that exist and discusses their potential for learning, with particular reference to higher education. The paper discusses virtual gaming worlds from a theoretical pedagogic perspective, exploring the educational benefits of gaming environments. Then practical considerations associated with the use of virtual gaming worlds in formal settings in higher education are considered. Finally, the paper considers development options that are open to educators, and discusses the potential of Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) for learning in higher education. In all, this paper hopes to provide a balanced overview of the range of virtual gaming worlds that exist, to examine some of the practical considerations associated with their use, and to consider their benefits and challenges in learning and teaching in the higher education context.

http://repository.alt.ac.uk/815/

by Wallace Manfrin, Personal Finance Bulletin

So with college education still a good option for many students but student loan debt an increasing problem, what are high school grads to do? One option many have chosen is associate degrees. Another is online degrees. This summer the Department of Education released a study saying that students who studied in an online environment performed better than those in a traditional classroom environment. Online colleges and degrees are clearly less expensive than face-to-face equivalents.

http://personalfinancebulletin.com/online-degrees-a-hedge-against-rising-college-costs/3193/

by DIANE STAFFORD, Kansas City

“The majority of surveyed HR professionals said they think online degrees are viewed more favorably today than five years ago,” said Mark Schmit, director of research at the society. “And a growing number see individual courses taken online as equally credible to courses taken at traditional universities.” Most hirers said they will consider the online schools’ reputations and certifications to help decide how much value they’ll give to applicants’ education credentials. The survey also noted that it’s getting harder to distinguish between online and traditional educators, as more online companies are offering classroom locations and brick-and-mortar schools are offering online programs.

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/10/23/2344309/a-few-degrees-of-uncertainty.html

By Jordan Dolbin, Baker Orange

So, everybody knows what interterm is. We get a five-week break for Christmas but we have to spend about three weeks of that break taking a class here at Baker or at some cool place like the Virgin Islands. Well, as cool and fun as that sounds, I’d like to be able to enjoy my Christmas break at home in California. I think a good alternative to being on campus would be to allow out-of-state students to take an online interterm. It seems to me, this is a very reasonable request, because personally, having to cut Christmas break short for one class is kind of turning me off to Baker University. I understand that interterm classes are intended to be fun and a change of pace from the regular classes we take throughout the semester, but I think an online interterm is a very good alternative for someone who lives out of state.

http://www.thebakerorange.com/out-of-state-student-asks-for-online-interterm-option-1.2377339

By Laila Barakat, State Hornet

The California State University chancellor’s office has sent a mass e-mail to students telling them that NoteUtopia, a note-sharing website founded by Sacramento State alumnus Ryan Stevens, violates the California Education Code. t”California Education Code section 66450 prohibits any business or person from selling or otherwise distributing or publishing class notes for a commercial purpose,” Lori Varlotta, Sac State’s vice president for student affairs, said in her e-mail sent a week and a half ago. “This means that any CSU student selling class notes, including on the NoteUtopia website, is subject to discipline, up through and including expulsion from the University.”

http://www.statehornet.com/news/csu-warns-students-about-new-note-sharing-website-1.1716811

by John Birmingham, The Australian

It’s more than four months since the release of Apple’s iPad, and gadget fiends still hover over demo models on shop counters. Heads still turn when one of the bright touch screens powers up in a cafe or on a plane, and tellingly it is not just grown men and small boys who are interested. The appeal of the device reaches across genders, through ages, and up and down income scales. Competitors are rushing to get a host of rival tablets to market before Steve Jobs comes to own a whole class of technology in the same way he did with the iPod.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/e-books-rewrite-the-rules-of-engagement/story-e6frg6zo-1225942072478

by Mae Kowalke, TMCnet

Blackboard’s Collaborate suite includes products brought on board this year through the acquisition of Elluminate (unified learning and collaboration via Web conferencing and social networking) and Wimba (collaborative learning services and solutions). Customers like University of California Riverside Extension and University of North Texas have used Elluminate, Wimba or other mobile learning products for a while, and are now finding that these tools are even more powerful when connected with Blackboard solutions. One example: University of California Riverside, which has been using Moodle, a free, open source PHP Web application for creating Internet-based courses. Moodle and Blackboard integration is adding even more value. “The Elluminate Bridge for Moodle is a powerful tool that makes it easy for our instructors to incorporate the real time interaction offered by Elluminate right inside their courses,” UC Riverside’s Distance Learning Coordinator Brian Reilly said in a statement to the press.

http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/mobile-learning/articles/110633-blackboard-highlights-commitment-integration-with-other-online-learning.htm

by Shari Rodriguez, Ashford University

As students increasingly opt for the accessibility and flexibility of earning their degrees in cyberspace, demand for online educators escalates. Online teaching appeals to professors for the same reason as it does to online students — class schedules on their own time to fit their busy lives. Dr. Larry Flegle, 62, dubbed “the fishing professor” obtained his nickname because he has successfully combined his greatest passions — online teaching, fishing and radio. It’s commonplace to find him aboard his cabin cruiser in the middle of Lake Chatuge in northern Georgia, grading papers and taking students’ phone calls, fishing rod in hand. An online educator since 1999, Dr. Flegle has taught marketing management at Ashford University, an accredited university offering online and on-campus degree programs, for three years. His online teaching career has provided him with the flexibility to simultaneously pursue other interests.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/online-teaching-careers-provide-flexibility-for-educators-105425763.html

by San Diego News 10

The number of online continuing education courses offered by the University of California, San Diego increased by 83 percent last year, the university announced Wednesday. During the 2009-10 school year, online courses offered through UCSD Extension served a record 11,738 enrollees in 791 courses, up from 432 classes the previous year. Elizabeth Meyer, director of online learning for UCSD Extension, said online courses are being looked at more favorably than in the past. “The lingering attitude that online education lacks the rigor of traditional face-to-face classroom instruction is changing,” Meyer said.

http://www.10news.com/news/25456270/detail.html

by NationalService, Youth Service America

NYLC is offering new online courses designed to help K-12 educators improve the quality of service-learning in their classrooms. Presented in partnership with Viterbo University, these courses offer graduate-level credit for designing high-quality service-learning experiences in the classroom. Completing both of these courses qualifies educators to apply for the NYLC Certificate of Excellent Practice in K-12 Service-Learning. The CEP, which involves an extended period of practice and study, recognizes educators who effectively implement the K-12 Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice. Register now for one or both of these new courses at http://www.nylc.org

http://servicewire.org/content/20101019/nsb/Online-Content/Online-Courses-Offer-Graduate-Credit-Service-Learning

by J.G Enriquez, Seer

The University of North Carolina plans to expand its online and distance learning offerings in an effort to keep its courses more affordable amid budget cuts. UNC officials said that they want to retain the quality of education given to their students even if next year’s budget will be significantly smaller. The UNC system already has 135 online and distance learning programs with 74,000 enrollees. But the university wants to expand them to include more students.

http://seerpress.com/unc-plans-to-extend-distance-learning-program/10385/

By Dennis Carter, eCampus News

UMass Lowell leader eases faculty concerns over video lectures as program proves popular among students. Jacqueline Moloney wants college students to do less transcribing and more listening. Moloney, executive vice chancellor and head of online learning at the University of Massachusetts Lowell campus, has overseen an effort to make lecture capture technology a standard feature in the university’s classrooms, along with a host of other technologies that can be tailored to fit instructors’ preferences.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/technologies/online-learning-official-lecture-capture-helps-students-review-review-review/

By Michelle C, University of Minnesota Library Blog

While online learning gives you more flexibility in managing your work-life-study commitments, it sometimes requires you to make certain changes in your habits/lifestyle. Hear what a student has to say about some of the changes he had to make to accommodate his online classes.

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/tel/blog/2010/10/changes-i-had-to-make-as-an-on.html

by Stanford University

Stanford Channel on YouTube: Catch up on the latest Stanford news videos and share your favorite courses, lectures and interviews all from within your web browser of choice.

Stanford on iTunes U: Put Stanford in your pocket. Take courses, faculty lectures, interviews, music and more with you, and enjoy Stanford content when you want it, where you want it.

Stanford Engineering Everywhere: Some of Stanford’s most popular engineering classes offered free of charge to students and educators. View lecture videos, access reading lists and other course handouts, take quizzes and tests, and communicate with other SEE students, all at your convenience.

Stanford Health Library, Entrepreneurship Corner, The Human Experience, and Stanford Knowledgebase provide even more online learning opportunities

http://www.stanford.edu/dept/ucomm/neighbors/online-learning/

by Ahmad F Al-Shagra, the Next Web

Online language learning is a multi million dollar industry that has it’s well established players from the US to China, but have gotten one more addition from the Middle East to give those interested in learning Arabic a tutor from the region at the luxury of their homes. ArabicCoach won as the second runner up in 2009′s MIT Arab Business Plan Competition which landed its team a $5000 cash prize and immediate regional recognition. The website which is still in testing gets you up and learning in 3 simple steps: 1. Find a Teacher according to your native language from a gallery displaying teachers according to language skills, hourly rates, experience, and even country of origin in addition to an eBay style star rating system learners rate them by.

http://thenextweb.com/me/2010/10/19/learning-arabic-online-with-arabiccoach-com/

by Samantha Wilson, Washington Square News

NYU has launched a pilot Open Education program that will make taped lectures available to the public. The initiative, funded by the Office of the Provost and supported by Information Technology Services, places cameras and recording equipment in lecture halls to capture the class. Editing is completed by ITS staff and undergraduate volunteers, but the slow process requires substantial funding. Current equipment was purchased for previous usage and adopted by the OpenEd staff. The ambitious project cites Pennsylvania’s university system, which is considering making foreign language courses online only. According to NYU, in the future professors may reuse taped lectures or create online assignments so class time can be spent on discussion.

http://nyunews.com/news/2010/10/18/19education/

by Mac Adkins, Smarter Measure

Online learning is a growing trend. Research shows online enrollments are increasing at almost 20% per year. Do all students have the skill set it takes to be successful in online learning? Learn more from the 2010 Student Readiness Report draws data from over 200,000 students from 271 colleges and universities. Statistically significant differences were found among the demographic factors of gender, ethnicity, age, institution type, and the number of prior online courses taken. For example, females were found to have statistically significant higher means on the constructs of individual attributes and typing accuracy. Males were found to have statistically significant higher means on the constructs of reading rate and technical knowledge. The SRR will be presented publicly at the upcoming Sloan-C conference in Orlando, FL.

http://goo.gl/NhMp