Online Learning Update

By Chris Riedel, THE Journal

According to Project Tomorrow CEO Julie Evans, “Today’s students have their own ‘student vision’ for how they want to use technology for learning. That vision,” she said, “is really a statement of how students want to learn in general.” Speaking at FETC National Conference in Orlando, FL last week, Evans covered data from the 2010 and 2011 editions of the Speak Up Survey, with a specific focus on the use of digital media for learning. The Speak Up surveys include input from hundreds of thousands of teachers, students, parents, and administrators each year. What the data pointed to, she said, is a growing “frustration among students, not just with the lack of technology in their schools, but by the lack of sophisticated use of that technology.”

According to Evans, the data from those surveys indicated that students:

Have a growing interest in social-based learning;

Want to connect with and develop a personal network of expert resources;

Are looking for tools that increase untethered learning; and

Want a digitally rich learning environment, unencumbered by traditional rules.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2012/02/01/digital-learning-what-kids-really-want.aspx

by Ryan Craig, Inside Higher Ed

First, MIT announced that it would extend its successful OpenCourseWare initiative and offer certificates to students who complete courses. MITx will allow students to access content for free. But students who wish to receive a certificate will be charged a modest fee for the requisite assessments. The kicker is that the certificate will not be issued under the name MIT. According to the University: “MIT plans to create a not-for-profit body within the institute that will offer certificate for online learners of MIT coursework. Then, Sebastian Thrun, who invited the world to attend his fall semester artificial intelligence course and who ended up with 160,000 online students, announced he had decided to stop teaching at Stanford and direct all his teaching activities through Udacity, a start-up he co-founded that will offer online courses from leading professors to millions of students.

http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2012/02/03/essay-massive-online-courses-not-game-changing-innovation

By: Pamela Knudson, Grand Forks Herald

Online education accounts for an increasing portion of UND’s enrollment, officials there say, and will be an important component as the school develops a new model for ensuring enrollment stays stable. “Online education is very important for our growth opportunities, because if you look at high school demographics, they’re decreasing,” said Lori Reesor, UND vice president for student affairs. “President (Robert) Kelley has said he believes we’re at the right size. Now it’s more about maintaining enrollment and shaping the class by increasing the quality and diversity of our students,” she said. “It’s not just the right number of students but insuring that the students who come here are prepared to be here.”

http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/228255/

By Robert M. Shireman, Chronicle of Higher Ed

It is clear that Andrew Rosen, the chief executive of Kaplan, wants to leave readers of Change.edu with the idea that for-profit colleges are innovative, efficient, and effective in serving people left out by traditional higher education, and that their bad reputation is the result of unfair attacks. The eye-opening, gasp-inducing elements involve Rosen’s descriptions of the intense pressures on company executives to produce quick, huge profits for investors by shortchanging students. “An investor who wants to make a quick hit can, at least theoretically, buy an institution, rev up the recruitment engine, reduce investment in educational outcomes,” and deliver “a dramatic return on investment.”

http://chronicle.com/article/Changeeduthe-Problem/130596/

Catherine Westbrook and Anglia Ruskin, EURODL

At our University, the Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education has delivered a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate courses via flexible distance learning for many years. Distance learning can be a lonely experience for students who may feel isolated and unsupported. However e-learning provides an opportunity to use technology to motivate students to interact with each other and their tutors and work together towards common goals. If done properly, this provides distance learners specifically with a sense of learning within a community and therefore enables them to learn more effectively. Five years ago, the Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education started using a virtual learning environment (VLE) to expand and develop our materials and provide a variety of resources to support our students. In the postgraduate Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) course this was further developed by implementing several collaborative learning initiatives where students work together online. The purpose of this was to attempt to improve the student experience of distance learning. The aim of this review is to analyze the effectiveness of three online collaborative tools used in the postgraduate distance learning MRI course and make recommendations for the implementation of similar initiatives throughout health care education.

http://www.eurodl.org/?article=475

by Mark A. Hommes and Henk T. Van der Molen, EURODL

This article describes a study on the effects of a self-instruction training programme in communication skills for psychology students at the Open University of the Netherlands in comparison to a fully supervised training. We expected both training programmes to increase students’ knowledge and skills, as well as their self-efficacy and motivation concerning the use of skills. Furthermore we expected that both training programmes would lead to the transfer of these skills to daily life situations one year after training. The results show that almost all expectations were met, and that the effects of the self instructional programme in this study were comparable to those of the fully supervised training. The main conclusion is that it is possible to construct an effective self-instruction programme in communication skills for psychology students in distance education and this method could be promising for communication skills training for others groups.

http://www.eurodl.org/?article=470

by Sylvia van de Bunt-Kokhuis, Nabil Sultan, EURODL

The digitalisation of educational communities has increased rapidly in the last decade. Modern technologies transform the way educational leaders such as teachers, tutors, deans and supervisors view and manage their educational communities. More often, educational leaders offer a variety of gateways, guiding the e-learners in their search for finding and understanding information. A new type of leader is required for understanding the needs and requirements of geographically dispersed online learners. This calls for a compassioned kind of leader, able to reconcile the dilemma of high-tech versus hi-touch in the online classroom. This article examines servant-leadership and its implications for e-learning in the 24/7 classroom where community building is key.

http://www.eurodl.org/?article=472

By Paul Fain, Inside Higher Ed

A broad range of institutions, including American Public University System, Community College System of Colorado, Rio Salado College, University of Hawaii System, University of Illinois-Springfield, and the University of Phoenix are participating. Six major for-profits, research universities and community colleges — the sort of group that doesn’t always play nice — are sharing the vault of information and tips on how to put the data to work. “Having the University of Phoenix and American Public University, it’s huge,” said Dan Huston, coordinator of strategic systems at Rio Salado College, a participant. According to early findings from the research, at-risk students do better if they ease into online education with a small number of courses, which flies in the face of widely-held belief in the benefits of full student immersion.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/02/01/using-big-data-predict-online-student-success

By Mary Grush, Campus Technology

A vast amount of open content is now accessible to educators online, but there’s not much evaluation data or guidelines on how to use it. Campus Technology asked Michael Cottam, associate dean of instructional design and new program development at Rio Salado College (AZ), how higher ed could better evaluate open education resources (OERs) and help course designers leverage them more appropriately.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2012/02/01/grading-oers-for-class.aspx

By: Maryellen Weimer, Faculty Focus

For me examples are like pictures; worth a 1,000 words. In last week’s post I wrote about the need to intervene in the development of student self-assessment skills, leaving the process less to chance and making it more the result of purposeful intervention. At a recent Teaching Professor Workshop, I saw an assignment that illustrates that kind of intervention. It was from a 100-level, Introduction to U.S. Government course, but is adaptable to any course. The assignment has two parts and they are the first and last pieces of work students complete in the course.

http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-professor-blog/student-self-assessment-a-sample-assignment/

By Donald Marron, Christian Science Monitor

Former Stanford professor Sebastian Thrun has already taught a class of 160,000. Now he’s aiming to teach 500,000 students. Sound impossible? Well, he’s already taught a class of 160,000 students. As Felix Salmon recounts: Thrun told the story of his Introduction to Artificial Intelligence class, which ran from October to December last year. It started as a way of putting his Stanford course online — he was going to teach the whole thing, for free, to anybody in the world who wanted it. With quizzes and grades and a final certificate, in parallel with the in-person course he was giving his Stanford undergrad students. He sent out one email to announce the class, and from that one email there was ultimately an enrollment of 160,000 students.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Donald-Marron/2012/0127/Can-one-professor-teach-500-000-students-at-once

by the College Network

Carla A. Downing, gives an example of implementing pedagogical and andragogal theory at the 16th Annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning in November, 2010 in her presentation “The Importance of Pedagogy and Andragogy.” Dr. Downing, using herself as an example, provides additional insight into how incorporating pedagogical and antragogical theory can increase the quality of discourse in student-student and student-instructor discussions and how students can move up Bloom’s taxonomy to mastery of concepts.

http://youtu.be/ykc70tYMgqw

By Audrey Watters, Inside Higher Ed

The Open Badges Project is a recognition that “learning looks very different today than traditionally imagined. Legitimate and interest-driven learning is occurring through a multitude of channels outside of formal education, and yet much of that learning does not “count” in today’s world. Mozilla is responsible for the design of the technical infrastructure of the badge ecosystem. This means, no surprise coming from Mozilla, that the technology is open-source (documentation, source code). Of course, making an open source and openly accessible system like this flies in the face of the proprietary systems that currently control those “real-world results like jobs or formal credit” — namely, universities. The proposed Open Badges Project challenges not just certification, but also assessment. What does it mean that anyone can issue any sort of badge? Does a badge offer a better representation of skills or competencies than having a formal degree? If so, when? Will these badges be meaningful — to students, to schools, to employers? Will they be accepted? If so, by whom?

http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/hack-higher-education/how-will-mozillas-open-badges-project-affect-higher-ed

by Bruce Johnson, Online College Courses

The use of technology to enable the learning process already seems cutting edge; however, what makes online education even more exciting is that advances are continually being made that may improve the online learning experience. Some of the latest technological trends have already been implemented and are evident in many schools – while other potential new technological tools are still under development. The 2011 Horizon Report pinpointed six trends that are likely to have the most impact for online courses over the next five years. These include e-textbooks, mobile learning, augmented reality, game-based learning, gesture-based computing, and learning analytics.

http://www.onlinecollegecourses.com/2012/01/27/emerging-tech-trends-for-online-courses/

by CNN

Computers have long had a place in many classrooms, but what about learning online completely? The number of full time online K-12 students is growing. An estimated quarter of a million students in kindergarten through 12th grade were enrolled in full-time online schools last year, a 25 percent increase over the previous year.

http://www.kypost.com/dpp/news/national/online-education-for-k-12-students-is-growing1327775597677

by Justin Fritz, the Wall Street Daily

The online learning landscape is changing at a rapid pace, thanks to new platforms that allow students to take full, quality courses online. Take Apple’s iTunes U, for instance. Then there are websites like Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s OpenCourseWare and Coursera. Similar to iTunes U, these websites offer courses ranging from Introduction to French and Developmental Psychology, to Computer Graphics and Game Theory. What’s great about these platforms is that you’re not learning from someone with zero credibility. In fact, many courses are taught by professors from institutions like Stanford and MIT (in the case of MIT’s OpenCourseWare, all the material is by MIT’s faculty). Not to mention, they’re free. So anyone with an internet connection can take Ivy League-level courses without accumulating massive student loan debt. Which is one reason a Stanford professor is ditching his tenure and starting up an online university of his own.

http://www.wallstreetdaily.com/2012/01/27/the-coming-paradigm-shift-in-higher-education/

By CAROL HEARD, Post Searchlight

Tucked away in a newly-renovated building of Bainbridge College’s main campus is a center devoted to supporting instruction at the college — but not the type of instruction from yesteryear. The Center for Teaching Excellence, which is located in a recently renovated building that used to house the Continuing Education Division on the main campus, is developing and supporting teaching excellence in all BC courses, but here in the early days of its existence, is devoting much of its resources to improving online learning.

http://www.thepostsearchlight.com/2012/01/27/teaching-excellence-goes-online-at-bc/

By: Mary Bart, Faculty Focus

College course work is meant to be challenging. The content and the vocabulary used are often unfamiliar to many students. For at-risk learners, the challenges are even greater. In some cases, these students have physical or learning disabilities that create accessibility issues, other times the challenges may be the result of the fact that they’re an international student, have anxiety issues, or a strong learning style preference that runs counter to the instructor’s style. For all of these reasons and more, today’s student body is a highly diverse group with many different learning challenges, often manifesting in problems with notetaking and listening comprehension. All of this creates what Keith Bain calls an “accessibility imperative.” And although there are many legal obligations that institutions must satisfy with regards to accessibility, Bain says recording and transcribing lectures can improve retention and success for all types of students.

http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-with-technology-articles/multimedia-lectures-tools-for-improving-accessibility-and-learning/

By Jennifer Howard, Chronicle of Higher Ed

An approach called altmetrics—short for alternative metrics—aims to measure Web-driven scholarly interactions, such as how often research is tweeted, blogged about, or bookmarked. “There’s a gold mine of data that hasn’t been harnessed yet about impact outside the traditional citation-based impact,” says Dario Taraborelli, a senior research analyst with the Strategy Team at the Wikimedia Foundation and a proponent of the idea. Interest in altmetrics is on the rise, but it’s not quite right to call it a movement. The approach could better be described as a sprawling constellation of projects and like-minded people working at research institutions, libraries, and publishers.

http://chronicle.com/article/As-Scholarship-Goes-Digital/130482/

by Steve Kolowich, Inside Higher Ed

Udemy, a company that allows anyone to create and sell courses through its online platform, has announced a new area of its site, called The Faculty Project, devoted to courses by professors at a number of top institutions, such as Colgate, Duke University, Stanford University, Northwestern University, Vanderbilt University, the University of Virginia, Dartmouth College and Vassar College. While Udemy is a for-profit enterprise, the Faculty Project courses will be free. The goal is to “elevate the brand,” according to Gagan Biyani, Udemy’s president and co-founder. The company says it has no immediate plans to monetize the Faculty Project, and would never do so without the input and permission of its faculty contributors.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/01/27/company-unveils-line-free-online-courses-elite-college-faculty

by Stephen Downes, Half an Hour

I generally describe my process under three major headings: interaction, usability, and relevance. I foster a wide and diverse network of contacts and connections from around the world, in order to draw from the widest range of experience and feedback. To that end I have created what is sometimes called a ‘personal learning network’ supported by my own online writing as well as places where I can read blogs and comments. Under the heading of ‘usability’ I foster consistency and simplicity in my life and in my learning. To this end I strive to be clear about my values and purpose, to organize my knowledge around my own understandings, and to represent my understandings from my own perspective and in my own words. Finally, under the heading of ‘relevance’ I strive to ensure my learning serves my own needs as well as the needs of those whom I serve. I seek learning that is appropriate to the task at hand and accessible to me in both content and format. (See more here: http://www.downes.ca/presentation/138  )

http://halfanhour.blogspot.com/2012/01/advice-to-teachers-on-online-learning.html