Online Learning Update

by Chris Garbett, EURODL

In recent years there has been growth in online distance learning courses. This has been prompted by; new technology such as the Internet, mobile learning, video and audio conferencing: the explosion in student numbers in Higher Education, and the need for outreach to a world wide market. Web-based distance learning is seen as a solution to problems of outreach and course delivery. The paper concludes that there are savings to be achieved by utilising Web-based distance learning. This saving could, in turn, be passed on to students. Furthermore, the student experience, in terms of contact does not have to suffer and may in fact be enhanced by utilising Web-based distance learning.

http://www.eurodl.org/?article=431

Freddy Priem, et al; EURODL

This three-year Virtual Measurements Environment curriculum development project for higher education within the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Union is the result of intense collaboration among four institutions, teaching applied sciences and technology. It aims to apply the principles and possibilities of evolved distance and e-learning in originally traditional course materials and laboratory experiments during all the stages of the learning and assimilating process. One of the challenges for the consortium was the use of a common electronic learning platform. By filling in questionnaires the students at the partner institutions could contribute to the usefulness of the developed outcomes. Some students even volunteered to go abroad to a partner institution for a short time to execute and evaluate some tasks and laboratory experiments, and thus creating added value to the online learning possibilities. The project outcomes are diverse, ranging from physics to electronics. Subsequently, they can be integrated into a broad spectrum of topics. When taking all the developed modules and laboratory experiments the student is awarded a maximum of 20 ECTS credits. On the whole, this Erasmus project was fascinating not in the least because of the possibilities of the blended problem-based learning model and the difficulties raised by the common electronic learning platform – both technically and pedagogically

http://www.eurodl.org/?article=421

By Jeff Young

Blackboard today announced a new version of its Collaborate software, designed to provide video- and audioconferencing for online classrooms. That means the beginning of the end for two services the company bought last year, Wimba and Elluminate. The company said the new platform combines the best features of both services.

http://chronicle.com/blogs/notebook/2011/07/11/how-will-colleges-innovate-as-the-market-is-disrupted/?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en

by the Southern Regional Education Board

This video is of experienced teachers explaining how online learning enhances and enables learning for their students.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8c-1oGwEKM&feature=youtube_gdata

BY TIM BARKER, Post-Dispatch

In just a few days, Kevin Burley, of Cartersville, Ga., will finish off his master’s degree in sports management from Missouri Baptist University — a school he’s seen only in photos. There’s nothing unusual about that at a time when online classes have become a fixture of the education landscape. But a recent ruling by the U.S. Department of Education is confounding Missouri Baptist and every other institution using online classes to reach students in other states. The federal rule, which went into effect July 1, says schools must get approval from every state in which they enroll students. Experts say it’s forcing some 3,000 colleges and universities to work through a regulatory nightmare that could force some schools to cut back on their online offerings.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/article_c41b7d9b-9fc3-5668-b363-d7bb041b66d2.html

by Young Park, et al; Journal of Educational Technology and Society

This study defines a blog as a contemporary web-based environment that can make a difference in adult informal learning practice. An online survey with 70 adult bloggers in Korea was undertaken to understand the nature of adults’ blogging and its meanings in terms of learning. This study investigates (a) adults’ blogging experiences related to learning, (b) bloggers’ perceptions of the usefulness of blogging in terms of four perspectives on learning processes (i.e., learning as an acquisition process, a reflection process, a practice-based community process, and an embodied co-emergent process), and (c) the link between adult informal learning and blogging. The findings show that the majority of participants became aware of positive changes, including learning experiences, in everyday life after blogging. Among the four perspectives on learning processes, bloggers perceived blogging mainly as acquisition and/or reflection oriented learning process. Also, adult bloggers identified the characteristics of learning through blogging as ‘self-directed,’ ‘practical,’ ‘situative,’ unlimited and accessible,’ and ‘self-regulated,’ which are distinguished from those of formal education in schools. This study therefore implies that the blog can be a meaningful learning environment and the blogging can be a significant factor in having the informal learning for adults more enriched and fulfilled.

http://www.ifets.info/journals/14_2/13.pdf

By Konrad Lawson, ProfHacker Chronicle of Higher Education

One of the several winners of this year’s Knight Foundation media innovation contest that offers great potential for scholars and students is a service and set of open-source tools called DocumentCloud. Currently in beta, it focuses on three primary feature areas designed to help journalists or anyone “reporting on” primary sources: search and analysis, highlighting and annotation, and document sharing.

http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/documentcloud-not-just-for-journalists/34528?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en

UMass Online

Based on reports provided by the five University of Massachusetts campuses, UMassOnline announced today that for fiscal year 2011, the University’s online course and program offerings saw a 16% increase in revenue, from $56.2 million to $65.2 million, and a 12% increase in enrollments from 45,772 to 51,097 year over year. This marks the 10th consecutive year in which UMassOnline, founded in 2001, has reported on behalf of the University double digit growth in both enrollments and revenues from online and blended programs developed and offered by the University’s five campuses. UMassOnline, which is the online learning consortium for the University of Massachusetts, provides technology support and marketing in support of these offerings. According to UMassOnline Chief Executive Officer Dr. Ken Udas, highlights for the year included at least five initiatives from across the campuses as well as within UMassOnline as it seeks to keep pace on behalf of the University’s campuses with trends, technology, and marketing in the rapidly evolving world of online higher education. In overview, he said, outstanding progress was made in new programs from the campuses, new partnerships, new technology directions, new forms of institutionalized outreach and dialogue, and expanded marketing.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110706005892/en/UMassOnline-Reports-12-Increase-Enrollments-16-Increase

By David Nagel, THE Journal

Heather Staker: “The question … is whether blended learning becomes a disruptive innovation to today’s brick-and-mortar classrooms or a sustaining innovation for them.” Blended learning isn’t like other technology-driven movements in education. It isn’t about supporting current instructional models. In fact, just the opposite, according to researcher and education analyst Heather Staker: It’s about eliminating the “monolithic, factory-based architecture of today’s school system” altogether.  Staker is the senior research fellow and project manager for the education practice at the Innosight Institute. In “The Rise of K-12 Blended Learning: Profiles of Emerging Models,” she and her team of researchers identified models for blended learning based on 40 existing programs and concluded that those models are “disruptive” in the way they bring innovation to schools. That is, they transform even as they improve teaching and learning.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2011/07/06/the-disruption-of-blended-learning.aspx

Join tech leaders at the eduMOOC streaming site – 2:00 pm EDT today LIVE 2p EDT today, Thursday, July 14:

https://sites.google.com/site/edumooc/eduedumooc-week-three-online-technologies-today-and-tomorrow

Online Learning Tech leaders @tektrekker @alexpickett @npb_est1979 @emmcee talk about new and emerging technologies in online learning.  Learn how Google+ may be used to enhance learning.  Questions received live via twitter stream.  Join us for this great and timely conversation today.

by Jeff Young, Chronicle of Higher Education Wired Blog

Google Plus, the social-networking platform, is so new that most Internet users are not yet able to see it—an invitation is required while the service is in its test phase. But some professors who have tried it say they already see possible uses for teaching and research if the service catches on. The new Google service, announced last week, is similar in many ways to Facebook. It provides a way to share updates, photos, and recommendations with friends and colleagues. One key difference is that Google Plus makes it easier to share information with isolated subgroups of contacts, rather than sending all updates to every online “friend.”

http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/professors-consider-classroom-uses-for-google-plus/32131?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en

by Larry Ferlazzo, Best Websites of the Day

I’m still trying to figure out how, and if, I’m going to find the time for another network (for those of you who don’t know, Google+ is Google’s brand-new effort to create a Facebook-like social network), but enough people whose judgment I respect seem to think it could be a valuable tool. So I’m going to spend some time checking it out. In the process of beginning to do this exploring, I’ve found some useful resources that I thought I’d share here. Feel free to make other suggestions, too. I’m going to start off with posts from educators.

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2011/07/10/the-best-resources-for-learning-what-google-is-all-about/

by the FSU College of Medicine

Great video showing ways in which FSU is advancing innovations in learning for physicians.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1glnyGXftv4&feature=youtube_gdata

by WCET

Today (July 12, 2011), the United States District Court for the District of Columbia struck down the distance education portion of the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDOE) ‘state authorization regulations. The decision is as a result of a lawsuit brought by the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities. You can read the complete ruling on the Court’s website. The ‘state authorization’ section begins on page 35.

http://wcetblog.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/court-%e2%80%9cvacates%e2%80%9d-distance-ed-portion-of-state-authorization-regulation/

By Howell Williams, Kentucky.com

The e-learning trend is established. But how do we sustain it as the opportunity for unfettered access to education that it is? In a word: broadband. It is an unfortunate irony that many of the rural Kentucky communities that could most benefit from online education lack the Internet access to achieve it. By expanding wireless broadband availability to more rural areas, we can present more Kentucky residents with online education opportunities. We can also ensure that those pursuing online learning have the best new technologies at their disposal. Improved and expanded broadband access is touted as a goal of politicians on both the national and state levels. But the private sector also offers opportunities for expansion, in line with the political goals. T-Mobile and AT&T, for example, currently have proposed a plan to merge. If approved, the merger will allow the combined company to extend its 4G Long-Term Evolution system — the most advanced network type available — to areas that currently do not have access. An expansion of that magnitude could be significant for Kentucky’s educational institutions, both traditional and online.

http://www.kentucky.com/2011/07/09/1805395/online-learning-requires-broadband.html

Online Learning Potential? – Google+ Added $20 Billion To Google’s Market Cap

By TechCrunch.com

How much is social worth to Google? Investors added $20 billion to Google’s market cap the first week after the launch of Google+ on June 28. A Morgan Stanley downgrade on Friday, brought the total down to $15.8 billion because of doubts whether Google will indeed be able to capitalize on new products such as Google+. But somewhere in between there, give or take a few billion, is how much more the market thinks Google is worth than before the launch of Google+.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/google-added-20-billion-to-googles-market-cap/2011/07/10/gIQA2bGC7H_story.html

By EdTech Toolbox

This is a fantastic tool put together by Kathy Schrock. Kathy has numerous websites and blogs including a fabulous site on the use of Infographics in education. She has made a major contribution to the idea of sharing on the net and we thank her for her continued commitment and dedication to enhancing the learning of students. Make sure you take the time to visit her sites for up to date Web tools and fantastic resources to improving the learning of your students.

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/

http://edtechtoolbox.blogspot.com/

By JOE LIGHT, Wall Street Journal

The University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School is taking its brand online. While online programs are still mostly seen as the purview of for-profit schools, like the University of Phoenix and Capella University, UNC is hoping to change that image. The business school this Monday launched an online M.B.A. program with 19 students, dubbed MBA@UNC, that will offer the same core curriculum as its regular full-time M.B.A. program. It is the first online program of its kind from a top-20 U.S. business school. Other universities, including Indiana University, Northeastern University and Howard University, offer or will soon offer online M.B.A. degrees.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304793504576430073081938258.html

by Virtual College

Increasing demand for language tutition could result in more accessible online learning courses for students, a report has suggested. According to the Guardian, e-learning could be used as an alternative teaching method for individuals looking to learn English as a second language. The predictions emerged after ELT researcher David Gaddol estimated there will be two million people looking to learn the language in the next ten to 15 years. Internet users are able to take advantage of free online content in a bid to develop their skills and better their career prospects, with some of the most useful tools available in the UK.

http://www.virtual-college.co.uk/news/Online-learning-courses-could-provide-alternative-to-English-students-800613417.~

By Caytlin Hentzel, Iowa State Daily

The New York Times recently reported the Department of Education’s findings that “[on] average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.” I am taking a few online courses this summer. I tend to agree with the DoE, but the applicability of its findings depends on a variety of factors, among them the course in question and the type of student taking the online course. Online courses can vary in length, types of material covered, and student assesment methods. Online courses during the summer typically last only eight weeks, depending on the institution offering the course. In the fall and spring, they last 18 weeks. The more time someone has to take the class, more material it will generally cover. In addition, the longer courses will be more in-depth, so that the student can truly comprehend and apply the information in real life. It would be beneficial to take a longer course so that cramming and just filling in a bubble is not all that is focused on.

http://iowastatedaily.com/opinion/article_122ca698-a807-11e0-b8c1-001cc4c03286.html

By: Elizabeth St. Germain, Faculty Focus

Much of what passes for an “online course” these days could more accurately be described as the electronic version of class hand-outs. These courses usually consist of a course description, a syllabus, lecture notes, reading lists, and assignment checklists. In other words, whatever materials a student might have viewed on paper in the past are now read onscreen, and whatever presentations a student might have watched in the classroom are now observed on their screen. Perhaps this suffices to replicate the classroom experience for students who are participating at a distance, but is this the best way to use the capabilities of a computer to support learning? It’s not unlike typing text into a slide presentation without realizing you could add sound, images, animations, colors, links, and videos. If you would like your online course to go beyond the offline paradigm, you will need to avoid the following five pitfalls of online course creation.

http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/five-common-pitfalls-of-online-course-design/