Online Learning Update

by Sarah Fudin, MAT@USC

Teaching in a classroom requires a passion for education, dedication to your students and creativity and teaching online classes is no different. It takes a great teacher to successfully translate his or her teaching abilities to an online forum. A great teacher exudes confidence and energy in the classroom, and to be an effective online teacher, you must maintain that same aura. It is this transition that Karen Kipp, Online Teacher of the Year in 2011, says is the most challenging aspect of teaching online classes. Karen, who teaches for the 21st Century Virtual Academy in Jefferson County, Colorado, says teaching online is not easier, despite what people might think. It’s all about learning what works and what doesn’t — how to best apply your skills to an online setting and communicate with your students in the most effective way.

http://mat.usc.edu/teaching-online-classes/

by Alyshah Hasham, Toronto Star

Shorter undergraduate degrees, online learning and year-round studying could help students get into the workplace faster and with less debt according to an unpublished government paper on reforming the post-secondary education system. But, if businesses could get a say in improving the system, what would they want to see in their future employees? The most valuable reform would be more work experience, say Rowan O’Grady, president of recruiting firm Hays Canada. Internships and co-op placements make people more employable when they graduate, he said. “It’s one thing to learn a topic and understand it theoretically and nearly always different to work in the industry.” With youth unemployment at about 14 per cent in Canada – double the national average – giving graduates the skill they need to get hired is a pressing concern.

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1136418–post-secondary-education-who-cares-about-length-of-study-what-about-work-experience

By ELIZABETH COOPER, Observer-Dispatch

From the way classes are taught to how college officials respond in times of emergency, technology is changing local colleges. The uses are as diverse as technology itself and as mixed as the academic disciplines it serves. Students and private-sector technicians will use a massive clean room planned for SUNYIT as part of a partnership with the Albany College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. At Utica College, a simulated stock trading floor helps students learn about the world of investing. And at Mohawk Valley Community College, professors are using more videos and other web-based learning tools, and even piping in guest lecturers from other countries.

http://www.uticaod.com/business_review/x1353887346/More-online-classes-just-one-tech-trend-for-colleges

Originally published by Hannah on Diplo

A recent study at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) challenges the view that members of the so-called ‘net generation’ share certain characteristics, as often claimed, such as the ability to adapt quickly and efficient to technological revolutions. This generation (sometimes called ‘digital natives,’ as opposed to ‘digital migrants’) includes people who have grown up surrounded by media and computing; roughly, those born after 1980. Studies suggest common features: ‘being digitally literate, continuously connected, showing a need for immediacy in receiving information, preference for social activities, being active experiential learners, showing a capacity to carry out several tasks simultaneously and being involved to the community.’ However, a number of recent studies cast doubt on the claim that this generation shares certain features.

http://govinthelab.com/do-digital-natives-learn-online-differently-than-digital-migrants/

Written by Adam Bockler, FLOAT Learning

If there was one takeaway from yesterday’s Mobile Learning Conversations webinar on the Seven Myths of Mobile Learning, it’s that there are more than seven myths of mobile learning. The following list is the myths that were the cornerstones of the conversation:

Mobile content can’t be as secure as online learning content.

Mobile learning content should be SCORM-compliant.

Mobile learning is not as effective as either instructor-led training (ILT) or online learning.

Rich media files are compelling but hard to prepare and distribute.

Flash content works easily on any smartphone.

You should limit the variety of mobile devices your organization supports for mobile learning.

Integrating mobile learning results with other learning data can be very difficult.

http://floatlearning.com/2012/02/the-seven-myths-of-mobile-learning/

by Steve Kolowich, Inside Higher Ed

Now four lecturers at the University of Edinburgh are trying a different advocacy tack — one more suited to the viral culture of the modern Web. The Edinburgh lecturers, who teach in an e-learning master’s degree program at the university, have written a “Manifesto for Teaching Online” that looks less like a traditional academic paper than an exceptionally wordy bumper sticker. It contains provocative assertions — “Distance is a positive principle, not a deficit,” “The best online courses are born digital,” “Place is differently, not less, important online” — set against a black backdrop and punctuated by colorful asterisks.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/02/24/online-education-advocates-look-make-their-message-viral/

by Online College

When you think about online learning, it may be MBAs and traditional academic disciplines that come to mind. What about the fine arts? Convenience and access are both motivators for online learners, including those in the arts. Students who are working and managing family obligations can benefit from the flexibility made available through online courses. Online options also open up new possibilities for those who want to study a particular field, but don’t have programs in their local areas. More online options are emerging for those interested in learning about music, art, dance, and theatre. From full academic programs to continuing education courses learning opportunities are available through traditional colleges, online schools, and other organizations. The level and type of classes also ranges from art appreciation to studio art, as well as art education.

http://www.onlinecollege.org/2012/02/24/learning-the-arts-online/

by The Canadian Press

A report before the Ontario government is calling for universities and colleges to move a third of their courses online — a proposal that’s received a failing grade from a prominent students’ organization. The draft report obtained by The Canadian Press calls for a shift toward web-based learning that would have students take up to three courses out of five online each semester. “As the world of online learning expands, Ontario will be at the forefront of this digital, portable and low-cost alternative,” reads the document, which was prepared for the ministry that oversees post-secondary education. It advises that “approximately one-third of courses each year be available online and count toward a student’s undergraduate degree.”

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120222/ontario-should-move-courses-online-120222/20120222

by HEMLATA CHARI, Ed Tech Debate

India is a country of diversity. The present scenario of higher education is overwhelming. As all are aware India is the Second populous country of the world. There is a growing imbalance between the intake of students and those seeking admissions. Today there are around 300 universities and equivalent institutions together with 13,000 colleges with 8.8 million students. Though such an expansion has democratized higher education, (40 per cent of students are from low socio-economic strata together with 35 per cent being women). Technology has reached almost all provinces in India, it’s true that every house even in remote places there is at least one mobile in every home. This has led to a window to the world of techno savvy inquisitives maybe using computers or Mobiles.

https://edutechdebate.org/open-and-distance-learning/open-and-distance-learning-in-india-maintaining-balance-with-technology/

by Michael Horn, Forbes

An article on Yahoo! News caught my eye a little while back because of what it says about the potential—and perhaps likelihood—of India leapfrogging the U.S. education system. Titled “In India, the challenge of building 50,000 colleges,” the article also provides a window into the theories of disruptive innovation, as it details the government’s goal of building 1,000 universities and 50,000 colleges (or so it says) within the next decade to cope with the wave of young people that will increase the country’s labor pool by 100 million workers by 2020.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelhorn/2012/02/22/how-to-build-50000-new-colleges/