Online Learning Update

December 17, 2010

Thoughts about Online Learning

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:10 am

by John Thompson, Sloan Consortium Blog

Most of my graduate teacher education students like online learning not because of any lofty sounding pedagogical reasons. Students like online learning because of its 24/7 flexibility, at least with online learning that is asynchronous (i.e., not real time) so that they can access/use/learn whenever it fits their schedule. I do almost all my teaching from my home, 24/7. Another big benefit of online learning is that there are no driving and campus parking hassles for my grad students (or for me either) when courses are online. But how popular is online learning in K-12 and higher education? A recent NY Times article cited K-12 statistics from the Sloan Consortium that there were 50,000 students enrolled in wholly or partly online courses in 2000 By 2008, there were more than a million.

http://sloanconsortium.org/node/163446

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Online Learning Readiness Assessment

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:05 am

by the San Diego Community College District

To find out if you have the technical and student skills necessary to succeed with online learning, take the Online Learning Readiness Assessment below. Upon submission, you will be provided with feedback based on your results. The following twenty questions will help determine if you are ready for online learning.

http://www.sdccdonline.net/assess.htm

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Student Online Learning Readiness Tool

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:01 am

by Louisiana Board of Regents

Welcome to SORT, the Louisiana Board of Regent’s Student Online Readiness Tool. Online courses offer many advantages for learning anytime, anyplace, but you need to weigh all the possibilities to make sure they are the best solution for you. To find out whether online learning is for you, you must assess your readiness, your goals, and your learning preferences. Research and study tell us that there are six main topics closely related to a student’s success in the online learning environment. To help you make the right decision about enrolling in an online course, we have created this Student Online Readiness Tool (SORT) for you to rate yourself in each of the topic areas.

http://www.yourcallla.org/SORT/sort/html/tool.html

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December 16, 2010

Skills for Effective Online Learning (including self-quiz)

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:10 am

by Portland State University

Much has been written about the characteristics that make some learners successful. The list below represents a compilation of the most common features of successful online learners and some of the best practices that can lead to success. Below is a useful checklist of questions and a key to evaluating your self-assessment. Remember that this is not a definitive assessment; it can also be a guide to help you work on the skills you need as an online learner. This is not an interactive questionnaire, so you’ll need to write down your scores and total them on paper.

http://www.pdx.edu/psuonline/node/36

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Not All Colleges and Universities Will Offer Degrees via Online Learning

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:05 am

by Dona Collins, Technorati

The popularity of online college degrees continually increases year after year. In fact, according to Edu411.org, in 2007 the percentage of people pursuing online degrees increased 12.9 percent, when compared to the amount of enrolled students in 2006. While the flexibility online degree programs offer make it easier for more people to obtain a higher level of education, the US Department of Education reported in 2007 that only 65 percent of colleges and universities offer some type of distance learning program. While you may think it wise for all colleges to jump on the online education bandwagon, there are reasons some colleges don’t plan on implementing online degree programs.

http://technorati.com/lifestyle/article/not-all-colleges-and-universities-will1/

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Online learning courses continue to gain popularity

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:01 am

by KHAS-TV

The University of Nebraska says online credit hours have jumped 30 percent. It’s enough of an increase for officials to say they will expand their virtual offerings.

Here are the numbers: University students logged 87,000 credit hours through the Lincoln, Kearney and Omaha campuses last year. That’s 28 percent higher that the year before. Right now, most of those students taking online courses also take courses on campus. The university says it hopes to attract more online-only students, though. (click link to see the full video report)

http://www.khastv.com/news/local/Online-courses-gain-popularity-111267784.html

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December 15, 2010

Sustaining Students: Retention Strategies in an Online Learning Program

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:12 am

By Emily Boles, Barbara Cass, Carrie Levin, Ray Schroeder, and Shari Smith; Educause Quarterly

The University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS) started offering online classes in 1997 when professors Rassule Hadidi of Management Information Systems and Keith Miller of Computer Science independently tested online teaching. The then-Vice President for Academic Affairs of the University of Illinois system, Sylvia Manning, and her faculty associate, Burks Oakley, director of the newly founded University of Illinois Online program, seeded the founding of an Office of Technology-Enhanced Learning on the Springfield campus. Ray Schroeder, a professor of communication, headed the initiative to foster online teaching and learning beginning in the summer of 1997.

From modest beginnings in a tiny, temporarily unused chemistry laboratory, the online initiative has grown to enroll more than one-quarter of all UIS students in wholly online degree programs and accounted for more than 35 percent of all credit hours taken at the university in academic year 2009–2010.

http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/SustainingStudentsRetentionStr/219104

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College teachers face challenge of creating community in online learning

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:10 am

by Amy West, KHAS-TV

More and more Nebraskans are taking college courses online, but are they missing out on the classroom community? A new study out of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln says yes. Previously scholars have said students perform better if they feel connected in the classroom. Is that consistent with this study? Actually no.

UNL graduate student Robert Vavala who authored the study said online undergrads learn just as well without strong bonds with classmates. But as our world become more and more digital how important is it to create those classroom bonds online?

http://www.khastv.com/news/local/College-teachers-face-challenge-of-creating-community-in-online-learning-111294794.html

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Online Learning Classes Offer Flexibility for Students, Savings for Colleges

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:05 am

by Public Radio WCPN

Local colleges saw their enrollment numbers skyrocket this fall, thanks in part to the down economy. To accommodate all of these students, many of the colleges added more online classes to their course catalogs. ideastream®’s Michelle Kanu reports that the internet is helping colleges serve more students and save a little money.

http://www.wcpn.org/WCPN/news/33217

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Online Social Media: Taming the Beast for the Classroom Part I

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:01 am

by Jeffery Toney, Huffington Post

It is obvious that the way college students communicate with each other has changed dramatically over the past few years. We’ve all seen it: traversing the hallways transfixed by their mobile device, texting while in transit, they seem more attached to this electronic portal than they are to each other. Engagement in this digital world can be consuming; a recent article in The New York Times, “Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction” describes a 14 year old student who “…sends and receives 27,000 texts in a month, her fingers clicking at a blistering pace as she carries on as many as seven text conversations at a time.” Without a doubt, most or all of this communication is social – but can we use this technology for teaching and learning?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-jeffrey-h-toney/online-social-media-tamin_b_791102.html

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December 14, 2010

Online learning popular at University of Nebraska

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:10 am

by Associated Press

The University of Nebraska’s online credit hours have jumped nearly 30%, and officials plan to continue expanding the virtual offerings. University officials say students logged 87,820 credit hours through NU’s Lincoln, Kearney and Omaha campuses during the 2009-2010 school year. That’s 28% higher than the 68,435 credit hours taught at those campuses during the previous school year.

http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=13609904

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University offers bioenergy systems class via online learning in spring

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:07 am

by the Daily Illini

ACES 409 Bioenergy Systems is an online introductory survey course that will cover a broad spectrum of bioenergy issues. Course instructors and experts from industry and academic research will teach the lectures. The presentations are delivered via web (see www.Elluminate.com) to optimize students’ learning and ability, allowing them to interact with the presenters and participants in asking questions live. Topics vary, ranging from biofuels from feedstock production to end-product utilization. “We’re excited to offer this class in bioenergy online. We’ve been teaching it on campus for three years and have had several requests to offer the information in an online format,” said Dr. Hans Blaschek, Director of CABER, in a press release. “Technology is changing so quickly in the bioenergy arena. This class should be beneficial to people throughout the world who are interested in learning more about bioenergy technology and research initiatives at the U of I.” Students interested in learning more about the status of bioenergy systems in the U.S. and the opportunities that await can benefit from taking this class.

http://www.dailyillini.com/blogs/cu-in-the-news/2010/12/02/university-offers-online-bioenergy-systems-class-in-spring

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Scotland combats school closures by offering learning online

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:05 am

by Kirsty Scott, the Guardian

Around 250,000 pupils are expected to stay home today in Scotland as many schools face a fifth consecutive day of closures due to the continuing big chill. But a Scottish education intranet system, now being copied across the world, is allowing teaching staff and pupils to get some work done between the sledging and snowball fights. The Glow programme, which was the world’s first national intranet for education when it was launched in 2007, has been rolled out to all of Scotland’s 32 local authorities. It is designed to link the country’s schools and provide a forum for pupils, teaching staff and parents in which to share lessons and resources. In areas where snow has forced schools to close, Glow has proved its value, say teaching officials. Teachers can set work for pupils and engage with them, even though the school itself is shut.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/dec/03/scotland-school-closures-lessons-online

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December 13, 2010

Online Learning for Service Learning Support

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:10 am

by Global Service Learning

While many of us are fortunate enough to have a very wide variety of resources available to us nowadays, this is unfortunately not the same case for many others. And because a smaller segment of the population does indeed have a much larger accessibility to today’s resources, and because many of today’s more serious global issues continue to compound and demand more attention before they get completely out of control, it is now more important than ever before that we do what we can to help others as much as possible. This has lead to the growing need for more service learning. And what better way to increase the reach and overall effectiveness of service learning than through today’s latest online learning resources? Thanks to a very wide variety of online learning resources and materials students of all ages can conveniently find fun lessons, engaging curriculum and much more. This includes being able to find a number of interactive online education outlets that actually allow students from around the globe to meet up online and share what efforts they have been doing to make the world a better place to live.

http://www.globalservicelearning.org/onlinelearning.html

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A National Primer on K-12 Online Learning, Second Edition

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:05 am

by  iNACOL

This is the second edition of A National Primer on K-12 Online Learning. The first edition was published in May, 2007 and was written by John Watson of the Evergreen Education Group. Given the fast pace of change in the K-12 online learning field, it is a testament to the foresight of the first report’s authors and reviewers that the concepts and issues presented in the initial edition are still quite applicable for today’s online learning landscape. Of course that same fast pace of change has resulted in many of the details in the 3+ year old report no longer being accurate. This second edition of the National Primer continues to maintain a focus on presenting the basics of K-12 online learning useful for policy makers and practitioners alike, while presenting the most current information available.

http://www.inacol.org/research/docs/iNCL_NationalPrimerv22010-web.pdf

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Summer online courses coming

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:01 am

By Holly Gaspari, Loyola Phoenix

Loyola will be offering a variety of online courses for the first time this summer, allowing students to continue fulfilling their core, major and minor requirements. Cost for the sessions has not yet been determined. The Unified Student Government Association expressed interest in online courses so that students could take classes without being on campus. The issue was originally brought up to the Board of Undergraduate Studies as a request to extend the amount of non-Loyola courses students could take. Online courses allow them to return home over summer break, if they wish. However, the Board was worried that taking non-Loyola courses wouldn’t prepare students to excel at Loyola. “The best solution to satisfy student interest was to extend the ability of Loyola students to take Loyola courses online, taught by Loyola full-time faculty,” said Jeffrey Rosen, Dean of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies.

http://www.loyolaphoenix.com/2.541/news/summer-online-courses-coming-1.1813914

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December 12, 2010

Blended Learning Experiment Shows Promise of Customized Education

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:10 am

by Nikhil Swaminathan, Good Education MSN

The Wall Street Journal published an interesting article yesterday on an experiment to mix teaching via live instructor and via laptop in the Bronx. The concept, known as “blended learning,” is catching on in New York City, where it’s employed in classrooms at innovative schools, such as School of One and NYC iSchool. According to the Journal article, there are upwards of 80 schools in the city that are augmenting their curriculum with different technological offerings. The real promise of this paradigm is allowing kids to learn at their own pace, an ideal that’s long been difficult to achieve due to lack of resources. One paragraph towards the end of the piece illustrates how powerful customization can be, as it breaks down the different ways a lesson can be taught to a classroom full of kids at different skill levels:

In a recent English class, students read “The Fairy and the Chupacabra and Those Marfa Lights” on their laptops. Some students were reading the story on their own, and those who chose could have the story read to them. The teacher adjusted the vocabulary for students who were more advanced. So some children read that the horse ran, while others read that it galloped.

http://www.good.is/post/blended-learning-experiment-shows-promise-of-customized-education/

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Are We Migrating Education Online Too Fast?

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:05 am

by Nikhil Swaminathan, Good Education MSN

We’re in the midst of an explosion in online learning, in part spurred by the Open CourseWare movement and the prodding of proponents like Bill Gates. A new study, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, however, suggests that the mass migration of material online may result less effective learning circumstances that impact, in particular, traditionally difficult to educate populations (males, Hispanic students, and low achievers).

http://www.good.is/post/are-we-migrating-education-online-too-fast/

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Can Rupert Murdoch Speed the Coming of Online Learning?

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:02 am

by Nikhil Swaminathan, Good Education MSN

GothamSchools reported earlier today that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. announced it was acquiring a Brooklyn-based startup that specializes in education technology called Wireless Generation. It’s the second Brooklyn-born entity with a penchant for using technology to individualize education that Murdoch’s acquired this month. The other was New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, who announced his resignation two weeks ago. Klein joined News Corp. as an executive vice president in charge of looking into opportunities in the digital learning space, part of what Murdoch refers to as the $500 billion K-12 education sector. Over the years, Klein has talked about the promise of digital learning—from online learning to so-called “blended learning” situations, where students learn from a mix of both computer-based and live instruction.

http://www.good.is/post/can-rupert-murdoch-speed-the-coming-of-online-learning/

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December 11, 2010

Online distance learning provides education solution for Armed Forces

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:10 am

by Response Source

Online distance learning differs from traditional methods of studyingIncreasing numbers of military personnel are turning to online distance learning, reports Kaplan Open Learning. This method of learning is the most effective way to continue with essential education while dealing with the unique daily pressures of life in the Armed Forces. For military personnel, continuing with education is essential, not only for developing careers within the Armed Forces; it is also one of the best ways to boost employment prospects within the civilian market. The nature of life in the military with regular relocation and deployments makes it difficult for Armed Forces personnel to organise their time and complete courses to gain qualifications. This is why online distance learning is increasingly being chosen by military personnel.

http://www.responsesource.com/releases/rel_display.php?relid=61132

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Nebraska study shows online students do well

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:04 am

by the Associated Press

Online students aren’t able to bond with students in the classroom, but a Nebraska study says they perform just as well. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln study says the online students felt less connected and less a part of the classroom community. But their grades were just as good. Robert Vavala is a UNL graduate agronomy student who co-authored the study. He says earlier research shows students who feel connected to their classmates usually enjoy their classes more and get better grades. He says online courses could be even more effective if they could foster class cohesion, spirit, trust and interaction.

http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=13580150

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