Online Learning Update

By Doug T. Graham, Daily Eastern News

For the first time in more than 10 years, Geography of Illinois, a course that originated in the 1970s, will be taught at Eastern and for the first time ever it will be taught online. The revisions to the course, first proposed by Chris Laingen, an assistant geography professor, in the spring of 2011, were approved by the Council on Academic Affairs at its meeting Thursday. Laingen, who appeared before the council to explain the revisions and answer their questions, said the course has been on the books since the 1970s. He said the last evidence of the course being taught at Eastern is in the late 90s or the early 2000s.

http://www.dennews.com/news/old-course-brought-back-to-life-online/article_2b0fcaa4-48a8-11e1-a30a-001a4bcf6878.html

by Andrea Zellner, Grad Hacker, Inside Higher Ed

What is Digital Learning Day? Started by the Alliance for Learning, and in partnership with the National Writing Project, Digital Learning Day celebrates innovative teaching practices that make learning more personalized and engaging and encourage exploration of how digital learning can provide more students with more opportunities to get the skills they need to succeed in college, career, and life. (via NWP)

Today, February 1, is Digital Learning Day. As part of the celebration of all things digital learning, we here at Gradhacker are offering an invitation to our readers to participate with us.

http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/happy-digital-learning-day

by WBOY

West Virginia University President Jim Clements and chancellor of the W.Va. Community and Technical College System signed an agreement to allow students who begin at their local community colleges to finish their bachelor’s degrees online through WVU, according to a news release from the university. “One of the goals of our state is to increase the number of our citizens with college credentials,” Skidmore said. “This effort between West Virginia University and our 10 community and technical colleges will assist the state in reaching that goal. Additional educational opportunities should have no barriers.” Community college transfers are not new but what is unique about this ‘B.A. Pathway’ initiative is that it allows students, particularly adults, the option of staying in their own communities and finishing their degree online, officials said.

http://www.wboy.com/story/16608549/2012/01/26/online-learning-brings

by Murray Rosenbaum 14-year-old student in New York, Huffington Post

Salman Khan is the creator of the website and is the only person who has made and posted all 2,700 current videos! He is a teacher who had a student sick one day, and the student asked him if he could post the lesson on YouTube. Salman went ahead and told the lesson to a camera and posted it on YouTube that night. That same student came in the next day and understood the topic more than anyone. Salman was puzzled by this, then the kid said to Salman, “I learned much faster from the YouTube version of you.” Salman asked why, and the student replied, “Because I could pause you, rewind you, or fast-forward you.” The reason why I loved what this student said is that whenever any student asks a teacher to repeat something more than once, they get agitated. The ability to stop, rewind, or fast-forward really makes a difference in learning. Salman continued this quest still to this moment, and he has made videos on math, geography, history, trigonometry, physics, the recent SOPA bill, and even banking!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/murray-rosenbaum/is-online-learning-the-fu_b_1224405.html

By Jon Marcus, Washington Post

An emerging group of entrepreneurs with influential backing is seeking to lower the cost of higher education from as much as tens of thousands of dollars a year to nearly nothing. These new arrivals are harnessing the Internet to offer online courses, which isn’t new. But their classes are free, or almost free. Most traditional universities have refused to award academic credit for such online studies. Now the start-ups are discovering a way around that monopoly, by inventing credentials that “graduates” can take directly to employers instead of university degrees. “If I were the universities, I might be a little nervous,” said Alana Harrington, director of Saylor.org, a nonprofit organization based in the District. Established by entrepreneur Michael Saylor, it offers 200 free online college courses in 12 majors.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/online-course-startups-offer-virtually-free-college/2012/01/09/gIQAEJ6VGQ_story.html