Online Learning Update

by Lauren Westberg, Purdue Exponent

In the fall semester some students may be placed in a new “hybrid” class with online lectures and 10 different professors. Next semester’s PSY 120 class will be split between the traditional lecture hall class and a hybrid course. The hybrid course will involve two hours of lecture a week, recitation and projects. The lectures for the hybrid class are already finished, however. Lectures for this course will be given online by professionals in each field. George Hollich, the director of undergraduate studies for the psychology department, said this will be a great opportunity for students to learn from the top researchers and experts in the various fields of psychology. “The idea is that we have a lot of experts that are doing first class research, not just the one person teaching the class,” Hollich said. “We want to show off all that Purdue is doing.”

http://www.purdueexponent.org/campus/article_b8ea4dbc-ae67-11e0-bf58-0019bb30f31a.html

by East Valley Tribune

Arizona students are taking online classes by the thousands, and with a change in state law, they have more options to do so. Publicly funded online classes for K-12 students have been around since 1998, and in 2010, state lawmakers approved expansion of the program, now named Arizona Online Instruction schools. Today, 28 school districts have received approval for online programs, as well as at least 14 charter schools. Last school year, more than 31,000 students were taking classes from these programs, mostly part-time. Enrollment was just half that four years ago, according to a report by the Arizona Auditor General’s office.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/local/education/article_7f3b4666-ae7b-11e0-be3c-001cc4c002e0.html

by LYNN GREINER, Globe and Mail

Busy people rarely have time to hone their technical and business skills, yet it’s critical to stay ahead of the curve. The solution? Online training. With most E-learning courses, you can proceed at your own pace in your own time (though a few instructor-led classes have fixed schedules). You can review material during a coffee break, or spend time on the laptop while your spouse is engrossed in a television show you can’t stand.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/business-categories/biz-categories-technology/hone-your-skills-with-bite-sized-e-learning/article2096238/

by Champlain College

These three students describe what it is like to take online learning classes. Their experience is not unique to Champlain College, but provides a good example of how quality online learning can be delivered to students who cannot come to campus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VEKsszkYHE&feature=youtube_gdata

by Kelli Palka, Jacksonville Times-Union

For some students, a few virtual classes in addition to a traditional school environment is just perfect. Some prefer to go virtual full-time. For the 2011-12 school year, both groups will get their way thanks to changes in Florida law that offer students more virtual school options. Now students in most grades K-12 are no longer required to have a year of public school education before enrolling full-time in virtual classes. In addition, entering ninth-graders must have at least one virtual class before they graduate.

http://jacksonville.com/news/florida/2011-07-13/story/changes-florida-law-make-it-easier-take-classes-online

by SUNY SLN

Four online courses at SUNY Ulster have been selected as best practice models for the SUNY Learning Network (SLN) that includes online courses, degree programs and certificates offered by accredited State University of New York campuses statewide. The courses and instructors that have been selected to have their courses showcased for all SUNY online instructors are: Professor Shirley Birmingham, who teaches Introduction to Exceptional Children; Professor Jim Hobbs, General Psychology; Professor William Sheldon, Introduction to Microeconomics; and Professor Sean Nixon, History of 20th Century Design.

http://www.poststarnews.com/news/x910603337/SUNY-Ulster-Online-Selected-for-SUNY-Learning-Network

by TROELS SOMMERVILLE, Aukland Stuff

The programme aims to get families like the Blackburn-Rangitaawas – who don’t have any home access to computers – up and running online. They’ve been attending classes at Manurewa High School where they’ve been taught basic skills that will allow them to join the digital world at home. Mum-of-five Missy Blackburn says it’s been good for the family and they’ve learned quite a lot. “Absolutely, it’ll benefit the kids and mum and dad as well,” she says.  “Both of us use computers at work but we’ve never had one at home.” When they graduate from the course today the family will be presented with a refurbished computer and six months of broadband access.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/manukau-courier/5282955/Online-classes-bring-families-together

by Palitha Edirisingha, David Hawkridge, and John Fothergill; University of Leicester

In this paper, we urge practitioners to consider the potential of podcasting for teaching, learning and assessment. Our perspective is drawn from research on IMPALA (Informal Mobile Podcasting And Learning Adaptation), which showed that there is a range of successful podcasting approaches for students on campus. After briefly surveying the background literature, we provide examples of three approaches, from three different universities: 1) helping students to prepare presentations and assessed work, 2) offering feedback from staff on students’ assessed work, and 3) assisting undergraduates to make the transition from school or college to university. Finally, we would like readers to consider how podcasting approaches like these can be converted for distance education. On the evidence available to date from IMPALA and other studies, we feel confident in predicting that podcasting will be integrated more and more into distance education, to the immense benefit of the long distance learner.

https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/9217/2/Edirisingha_Hawkridge_Fothergill_EURODL.pdf

by Richard Culatta

Definition of affordances and the importance of creating online learning environments that allow for interaction and collaboration are the focus of this YouTube Video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8pdjCUhi4c

Online Learning Changing the World

by GetSMarter TV

This video shows ways in which online learning helps everyone learn. The point of the video is that learning is now woven into the fabric of lives of more and more people worldwide.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8pdjCUhi4c

by Pierre-Antoine Ullmo, Sabine Schumann; eLearning Europa

The Digital Agenda Assembly explored new ideas regarding how to make change happen in the educational system. At the eG8, Robert Murdoch recalled that education was a pending challenge for our already digital societies. However, the question remains: do we have concrete ideas about how to make changes in educational systems? The politics and practices surrounding the integration of technology and education raise many questions, and the extent to which this integration enacts real change is currently a critical debate within our field. Therefore, this discussion opens with a series of challenges related to the discourse on change, expressed in terms of four key areas:  innovation, infrastructure, impact and pedagogical vision.

http://www.elearningeuropa.info/en/download/file/fid/23229

by J.V. Burr, My Next College

Self-efficient people are usually the most successful at online classes because they tend to be wired as hardworking and determined. They like to set their own agendas and work the best when they are on their own time. They like to also multi-task and can manage a lot of different tasks at once. Though online classes will have set deadlines, the online environment is much more laid-back than that of actual college campuses and this allows online students to take care of other priorities outside of their education if they have to.

http://www.mynextcollege.com/3590/would-an-online-education-fit-your-learning-style/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=would-an-online-education-fit-your-learning-style

By Frank Donoghue, Innovation – Chronicle of Higher Education

One thing for certain is that online education is here to stay. No matter what happens to Blackboard, online course management software programs are firmly entrenched in too many institutions (traditional and for-profit alike) for online learning ever to go away. The best place to learn more is to visit the Sloan Consortium’s Web site. That team has done comprehensive studies of online learning since 2001. Not surprisingly, the demand for online instruction has grown extraordinarily, and that demand seems to be increasing more rapidly than ever. The seventh annual Sloan Survey of Online Learning, published in 2009, reveals that “online enrollment rose by nearly 17 percent from a year earlier. The survey, a collaborative effort between the Babson Survey Research Group, the College Board, and the Sloan Consortium, is the leading barometer of online learning in the United States. Using results from more than 2,500 colleges and universities nationwide, the report finds approximately 4.6 million students were enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2008.” That’s nearly a third of the overall student population in the country.

http://chronicle.com/blogs/innovations/online-learning-good-bad-inevitable/29814

Based οn mу 20+ years experience іn distance education аѕ a student, administrator, recruiter, аnd faculty member, I know firsthand thаt thеrе аrе numerous advantages tο online learning. Listed below аrе mу Top Ten advantages οf earning аn accredited online degree. Check thеm out аnd see іf аn online education mаkеѕ sense fοr уου. 1. Accredited Online Schools Arе Gaining Popularity аnd Acceptance. During thе past few years, thе availability аnd variety οf online degrees hаѕ exploded. Thе reason fοr thіѕ explosive growth hаѕ bееn thе increased acceptance οf thіѕ type οf education аnd method οf delivery. Aѕ demand fοr online education hаѕ increased, іt hаѕ required many major colleges аnd universities tο institute Internet based learning programs.

http://www.ladsoflagos.com/advantages-of-online-learning/

L&D professionals should embrace the potential of e-learning

by Lisa Minogue-White, Personnel Today

Too many learning and development professionals fear online learning. Lisa Minogue-White of WillowDNA believes that learning and development needs to wake up to the huge potential e-learning presents and attempt more than simple “tick-box” training. Online learning is not the trend du jour or cheap training option to turn to when budgets are slashed. It’s not a buzz word, the latest initiative, or a flash in the pan that will pass before we all troop back into the classroom. Sadly though, the learning and development community can end up treating online learning as such, as I know from experience. Many organisations get it wrong at the outset by focusing on cutting costs. Thirty minutes of generic e-learning using cheesy business simulations and dull visuals can be the most isolating of learning experiences. Bad experiences like this only prove the point of those trainers and learners who feel that there is no substitute for face-to-face time.

http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2011/07/12/57784/l-and-d-professionals-should-embrace-e-learning.html

by Liza Smith, EZine Mark

For good or evil, online courses are here and they are here to stay. Online courses have gained immense popularity and there is no sign of their popularity ebbing down any time soon as more and more working professionals are getting attracted to these courses as they are offering the flexibility they are looking for long. These courses are meant for those people who are unable to pursue regular courses for one reason or the other. So, online courses have opened up a new opportunity for people to increase their knowledge even if they are unable to attend classes. Universities have finally realized the importance of online courses and which is why some of the best and finest universities are now offering different courses. All you need to get registered and there you go. No need to travel down to Canada to get a degree from a prestigious online university Canada as now you can have that without stepping out a step out of your home.

http://education.ezinemark.com/online-courses-redefining-the-education-7d2f60234c80.html

by dcieslak, iLearn Project

In today’s Internet-driven world, the importance of physical location is diminishing. A rapidly growing number of people shop online, get all their news online, even go to work online. We can have a face-to-face conversation with a friend on another continent—online. Yet, when it comes to education, location means everything. Living on one side of a district line can make the difference between a good education and a bad one. And a good education can make the difference for a lifetime. Desperate parents have been arrested for falsifying a home address in order to put a child in a better school.

http://getfree.tv/ilearnproject/?p=1474

by Jen – Argosy

Even if writing isn’t your strong suit, it doesn’t need to be the worst part of your online learning experience. Read on for some tips to help you improve.In order to feel more comfortable in your relationship with the written word, it helps to read as much as you can. This includes not only your assigned class readings, but novels, magazines, newspapers, blogs, or anything else that interests you. Exposure to a wide variety of writing styles can give you ideas that you might incorporate into your own writing, and it can also help you improve your vocabulary.

http://online.argosy.edu/blog/post/Writing-and-the-Online-Learning-Experience.aspx

by Blackboard

Blackboard Inc. has announced a partnership with The Quality Matters™ Program (QM), an independent not-for-profit organization focused on identifying and promoting core principles and effective practices for quality online education. Recognized as a leading provider of online education quality assurance and evaluation, QM develops research-supported standards, evaluation tools and procedures. Together, Blackboard and QM will work to arm institutions and educators with resources, tools and best practices for online instruction, course design, assessment, student engagement and accessibility. The new offerings are available today and include the QM Program Overview and Applying the QM Rubric training. Under terms of the deal, Blackboard Consulting(SM) staff will be trained by QM and will offer support in faculty development and course design, specifically structured to help institutions implement sustainable, scalable programs grounded in QM’s effective practices and core principles. “This partnership acknowledges the importance of course quality and the role it plays in creating learning outcomes,” said Ray Henderson.

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/07/13/3767633/blackboard-partners-with-quality.html

iPads Featured in MCCC’s Writing for Public Relations Campaigns

By Neree Aron-Sando, Ambler Patch

There’s an app for that. If not, there may be soon. Thomas Donlan, assistant professor of speech communication at Montgomery County Community College, is featuring Apple’s iPads in his Writing for Public Relations Campaigns course for the fall 2011 semester. The hybrid course will be conducted mostly by online learning, according to a MCCC press release. The course is intended to provide the social media skills students need as they enter the communications field or to update their skills in their current jobs or as they pursue their careers. However, students will come to class in the middle of the semester to participate in a four-session writers’ workshop, using the new Apple iPads.

http://ambler.patch.com/articles/ipads-featured-in-mcccs-writing-for-public-relations-campaigns

by Tom Vander Ark, Huffington Post

Teachers have tough jobs — lots of kids and lots of responsibility — and budget cuts are making things worse. They have administrators telling them to boost achievement and personalize learning, but most of them are on their own without tools. But that is beginning to change as schools are beginning to blend traditional teaching with online learning. Blended learning is a shift to an online learning environment, for at least a portion of the student day, made to improve learning and operating productivity. In two important ways, this definition is different than layering computers on top of how we’ve always done things. First, this definition of blended learning means that technology is core to instructional delivery and it incorporates some student choice over time, location, and/or rate. Second, it requires differentiated (different levels) and distributed (different locations) staffing.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-vander-ark/10-reasons-teachers-love-_b_894222.html