Online Learning Update

By Tony Marrero, Tampa Bay Times

More than 1,200 students took at least one eSchool class this year, most of them supplementing coursework at one of the district’s five high schools, said Melody Whitaker, the district’s eSchool guidance counselor. But some students took only online courses. Morrow, for example, joined the program in her senior year, while Garrity took online courses all four years. The program, students say, rewards self-discipline and focus with a level of flexibility and freedom that their peers in traditional schools can only imagine. “It’s definitely not how I would have expected my senior year to go a couple of years ago, but it was still a good experience,” Morrow said.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/new-hernando-graduates-trade-classes-for-clicks/1178975

The OERu project at WikiEducator is chronicling and developing case studies of the emerging phenomena of MOOCs. All are invited to join in the effort and to follow the process.

http://wikieducator.org/OER_university/eduMOOC_planning_group/MOOC_comparison

by the Guardian

The problem is, Gove’s speech represents an outdated concept of technology and learning; it is part of a lingering belief that computers should be used merely as information retrieval and reward systems within the traditional education system. But this is a massive waste. Simplified programming languages like Scratch and Kodu are showing how computers and games can be building blocks in all facets of education, allowing children to construct their own interactive experiences. It’s not just about surfing the web or using other people’s software; computers are a tool for developing and exploring ideas. It’s a fundamental shift in thinking. And as part of this shift, the current line between ICT in the school and entertainment computer use at home needs to be blurred. Livingstone wants to see the return of extracurricular programming clubs, which were hugely popular during the home computer boom of the 1980s and taught today’s high-ranking video game developers that technology is about creativity as much as information. He also mentions the work of forward-thinking teachers like Avril Denton at Girvan primary school in South Ayrshire who gets her pupils to use game design applications in a variety of projects.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2011/jul/05/michael-gove-games-education

By Kevin Makice, Geek Dad

Last May, my community assembled about two dozen interesting people to share what they know on stage. The theme in Bloomington, Indiana’s Buskirk-Chumley theatre that day was “Wisdom of Play.” Speakers included a mix of local, regional and national speakers talking about a range of passions around that broad topic. All of the talks from TEDxBloomington are now online, but there were a handful that specifically dealt with learning and alternative education that resonated with me.

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/07/5-things-to-learn-about-learning-at-tedx/

By Amy Matro, State Press

According to the U.S. Department of Education, approximately 45 million adults nationwide have acquired some college credit but lack a full degree from an accredited university. It is also estimated by the U.S. Department of Education that roughly 500,000 of those people reside in Arizona, which is why ASU has worked to expand its online college. The goal of ASU’s online college is to incorporate, by a mandate from the Arizona Board of Regents, close to 30,000 fully online students by 2020. Ultimately ASU is providing opportunity for anyone, located anywhere, to have access to learning opportunities at a great research university, said William Knocke, Director of Communications of ASU Online.

http://www.statepress.com/2011/07/04/online-college-plans-to-reach-30000-students-by-2020-2/#mce_temp_url#

by Terry Anderson, Jon Dron; IRRODL

This paper defines and examines three generations of distance education pedagogy. Unlike earlier classifications of distance education based on the technology used, this analysis focuses on the pedagogy that defines the learning experiences encapsulated in the learning design. The three generations of cognitive-behaviourist, social constructivist, and connectivist pedagogy are examined, using the familiar community of inquiry model (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000) with its focus on social, cognitive, and teaching presences. Although this typology of pedagogies could also be usefully applied to campus-based education, the need for and practice of openness and explicitness in distance education content and process makes the work especially relevant to distance education designers, teachers, and developers. The article concludes that high-quality distance education exploits all three generations as determined by the learning content, context, and learning expectations.

http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/890

by Julie Mackey, Terry Evans; IRRODL

The article explores the complementary connections between communities of practice and the ways in which individuals orchestrate their engagement with others to further their professional learning. It does so by reporting on part of a research project conducted in New Zealand on teachers’ online professional learning in a university graduate diploma program on ICT education. Evolving from social constructivist pedagogy for online professional development, the research describes how teachers create their own networks of practice as they blend online and offline interactions with fellow learners and workplace colleagues. Teachers’ perspectives of their professional learning activities challenge the way universities design formal online learning communities and highlight the potential for networked learning in the zones and intersections between professional practice and study. The article extends the concepts of Lave and Wenger’s (1991) communities of practice social theory of learning by considering the role participants play in determining their engagement and connections in and across boundaries between online learning communities and professional practice. It provides insights into the applicability of connectivist concepts for developing online pedagogies to promote socially networked learning and emphasising the role of the learner in defining their learning pathways.

http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/873

by Roy Williams, Regina Karousou, Jenny Mackness, IRRODL

This paper describes emergent learning and situates it within learning networks and systems and the broader learning ecology of Web 2.0. It describes the nature of emergence and emergent learning and the conditions that enable emergent, self-organised learning to occur and to flourish. Specifically, it explores whether emergent learning can be validated and self-correcting and whether it is possible to link or integrate emergent and prescribed learning. It draws on complexity theory, communities of practice, and the notion of connectivism to develop some of the foundations for an analytic framework, for enabling and managing emergent learning and networks in which agents and systems co-evolve. It then examines specific cases of learning to test and further develop the analytic framework. The paper argues that although social networking media increase the potential range and scope for emergent learning exponentially, considerable effort is required to ensure an effective balance between openness and constraint. It is possible to manage the relationship between prescriptive and emergent learning, both of which need to be part of an integrated learning ecology.

http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/883

by David Annand, IRRODL

The role of social presence as defined by the community of inquiry (CoI) framework is critiqued through a review of recent literature. Evidence is presented that questions the actual extent of knowledge co-construction that occurs in most higher education settings and therefore challenges the framework’s underlying assumption of the need for sustained, contiguous, two-way communication in higher-level online learning environments. The CoI framework has evolved from the description of a learning process within a social constructivist paradigm to an empirically testable construct in an objectivist paradigm. Related research results indicate that social presence does not impact cognitive presence in a meaningful way and that best teaching practices suggested by CoI-based studies are informed by objectivist, cognitively oriented learning theories. These suggest that higher-order cognition may be achieved through wide and varied combinations of learner–teacher, learner–content, and learner–learner interaction. Controlled studies can and should be undertaken to compare learning outcomes using sustained, contiguous, two-way communication to other learning models. To facilitate this, subcategories of social and teaching presences need to be revamped and analysis adjusted to separate processes that support explicitly group-based learning activities from those used by individual students.

http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/924

by Peter Bergström, IRRODL

Shifting from an emphasis on teaching to learning is a complex task for both teachers and students. This paper reports on a qualitative study of teachers in a nurse specialist education programme meeting this shift in a distance education course. The study aimed to gain a better understanding of the teacher-student relationship by addressing research questions in relation to the students’ role, the learning process, and the assessment process. A didactical design comprising three phases focusing on distinct learning outcomes for the course was adopted. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with teachers and were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. The results indicate a shift towards a problematising and holistic approach to teaching, learning, and assessment. This shift highlighted a teacher-student relationship with a shared responsibility in the orchestration of the learning experience. The overall picture outlines a distance education experience of process-based assessment characterised by the imposition of teachers’ rules and a lack of creativity due to the limited role of ICT merely as a container of content.

http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/957

Quality of online learners’ time and learning performance beyond quantitative time-on-task

by Margarida Romero & Elena Barberà, IRRODL

Along with the amount of time spent learning (or time-on-task), the quality of learning time has a real influence on learning performance. Quality of time in online learning depends on students’ time availability and their willingness to devote quality cognitive time to learning activities. However, the quantity and quality of the time spent by adult e-learners on learning activities can be reduced by professional, family, and social commitments. Considering that the main time pattern followed by most adult e-learners is a professional one, it may be beneficial for online education programs to offer a certain degree of flexibility in instructional time that might allow adult learners to adjust their learning times to their professional constraints. However, using the time left over once professional and family requirements have been fulfilled could lead to a reduction in quality time for learning. This paper starts by introducing the concept of quality of learning time from an online student-centred perspective. The impact of students’ time-related variables (working hours, time-on-task engagement, time flexibility, time of day, day of week) is then analyzed according to individual and collaborative grades achieved during an online master’s degree program. The data show that both students’ time flexibility (r = .98) and especially their availability to learn in the morning are related to better grades in individual (r = .93) and collaborative activities (r = .46).

http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/999

by Alison J Head and Michael B. Eisenberg, First Monday

This paper reports on college students’ everyday life information–seeking behavior and is based on findings from 8,353 survey respondents on 25 U.S. college campuses. A large majority of respondents had looked for news and, to a slightly lesser extent, decision–making information about purchases and health and wellness within the previous six months. Almost all the respondents used search engines, though students planning to purchase something were more likely to use search engines, and those looking for spiritual information were least likely to use search engines. Despite the widespread use of search engines, the process of filtering relevant from non–relevant search results was reportedly the most difficult part of everyday life research. As a whole, these students used a hybrid information–seeking strategy for meeting their everyday life information needs, turning to search engines almost as much as they did to friends and family. A preliminary theory is introduced that describes the relationship between students’ evaluation practices and their risk–associated searches.

http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3484/2857

by George Siemens, Elearnspace

My goal is to create a forum where researchers (established and newcomers) can interact with others to discuss research questions and methods. Established researchers will likely already have some existing research techniques (such as social network analytics, discourse analytics, natural language processing, concept development, AI, and so on). If we’re able to get a dozen or so researchers tackling different aspects of MOOCs and exploring their role in traditional education, we could have a substantial increase in the knowledge base surrounding online courses in general, and MOOCS in particular… We’ve created a Google Group as a starting point. http://groups.google.com/group/mooc_research?pli=1

http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/2011/07/04/researching-open-online-courses/

by Kalika Navin Doloswala & Ann Dadich, First Monday

Illegal downloading is a multifaceted social issue. In addition to the loss of intellectual property and revenue for copyright holders, it can implicate perpetrators into the criminal justice system. Despite legislative attempts to curb illegal downloading, lessons to date suggest these do little to reduce the activity. Drawing on psychological literature, this paper offers an innovative approach to address illegal downloading. Attribution theory aims to aid understanding of the causes of human behaviour and highlights the important role of perception. It suggests that illegal downloading might be moderated by increasing opportunities for engagement between the owners and users of intellectual property. Rather than using policy and legislation to restrain access to intellectual property, this theory suggests that policy that closes proximal distances and creates psychological contracts might be effective in curbing these practices. Examples from the music industry are discussed as evidence that this approach can be successful in changing downloader behaviour. To date, public policy informed by attribution theory has not been tested as a way to prevent illegal downloading. The paper concludes that there is a need to examine and critically evaluate non–punitive approaches to curbing illegal downloading from a policy perspective.

http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3412/2984

by Cuihua Shen & Peter Monge, First Monday

By examining “who connects with whom” in an online community using social network analysis, this study tests the social drivers that shape the collaboration dynamics among a group of participants from SourceForge, the largest open source community on the Web. The formation of the online social network was explored by testing two distinct network attachment logics: strategic selection and homophily. Both logics received some support. Taken together, the results are suggestive of a “performance–based clustering” phenomenon within the OSS online community in which most collaborations involve accomplished developers, and novice developers tend to partner with less accomplished and less experienced peers.

http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3551/2991

By Barry W. Cull, First Monday

While the Internet is a text–saturated world, reading online screens tends to be significantly different from reading printed text. This review essay examines literature from a variety of disciplines on the technological, social, behavioural, and neuroscientific impacts that the Internet is having on the practice of reading. A particular focus is given to the reading behaviour of emerging university students, especially within Canada and the United States. A brief overview is provided of the recent transformation of academic libraries into providers of online digital text in addition to printed books and other materials, before looking at research on college students’ preferences for print and digital text, and the cognitive neuroscience of reading on screen.

http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3340/2985

by Daily News and Analysis

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a software that facilitates an innovative approach to active reading — an interactive process that helps readers achieve better comprehension and recall of their reading materials. Taking advantage of touch-screen tablet computers, the LiquidText software — developed by Georgia Tech graduate student Craig Tashman and Keith Edwards, an associate professor in the Georgia Tech School of Interactive Computing— enables active readers to interact with documents using finger motions. LiquidText can significantly enhance the experiences of active readers, a group that includes students, lawyers, managers, corporate strategists and researchers.

http://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/report_coming-soon-interactive-touch-screen-software-to-support-active-reading_1560376

by Education-Portal

The higher education ‘bubble’ has grown quite large. We are likely to see a growing number of students seeking more affordable options than the traditional path to a college degree. Online learning certainly offers a reduction in commuting costs and college residential costs. Open resources such as open textbooks offer a reduction in the average of $900 that college students pay for texts each year. Over the next decade we may see the advent of the OERu – a model in which students take open college courses freely available on the Web and then seek academic credit through credentialing of their learning at a university which provides assessment, validation and academic credit at a cost lower than formal classes.

http://education-portal.com/articles/Open_Education_Is_Transforming_the_Way_We_Learn_Ray_Schroeder_Speaks_to_Education-Portalcom.html

by Joyce Britton, edLab blog Columbia Teachers College

Today, the University of Illinois Springfield begins its first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), “Online Learning Today… And Tomorrow”. I mentioned these MOOCs before, but it occurred to me today as I was reading this article that the best way to make any intelligent commentary on MOOCs is by participating in one. After all, they’re free. They’re open to everyone. And, hey! This particular course is all about online learning, which is pretty much perfect.

http://edlab.tc.columbia.edu/index.php?q=node/5979

by Polly Peterson, Education Insider News

Imagine taking an online class with approximately 2,500 students from all over the world. What if no credits were awarded, it was on-demand whenever time permitted and the structure allowed participants to choose their own adventure? Welcome to a Massive Open Online Class (MOOC). The topic of the latest MOOC is the current state of online education and its future trajectory. The Center for Online Learning, Research and Service at the University of Illinois at Springfield is currently offering an 8-week, free Web course about eLearning that’s open to anyone who’s interested in collaborating, networking and discussing distance education. The eduMOOC runs from June 27-August 19, 2011. It can be completely asynchronous, with all course materials (links to blogs, e-journals, etc.) and discussion forums posted for participants to sift through on their own time. Participants can join the weekly 1-hour panel discussions every Thursday by tweeting questions through the #edumooc Twitter backchannel, or they can watch a recording that’s uploaded a day later.

http://education-portal.com/articles/A_Massive_Open_Online_Class_for_Edupunks.html

by Mehpare Tokay ARGAN et al; TOJDE

Today, like in all areas, the Internet has had an important effect in the area of health as well. With the development of the Internet many new and different applications have developed and one of the most important of these are probably virtual communities. Virtual communities, which are used as a tool for providing information and word of mouth communication, have become a widely used marketing tool in the area of healthcare services in recent years. A virtual community is a group that does not depend on space and time to maintain ties or participation in the group whose members share the same interest and to maintain closeness, that is based on internet communications and whose membership is based on free will. In these kinds of communities whose services are provided on a membership basis, health services of various kinds are offered to the members. In virtual communities, virtual interactive communications established between the members can be an important determining factor when choosing a product, service or doctor.

http://tojde.anadolu.edu.tr/tojde43/articles/article_16.htm