Online Learning Update

by TODD FINKELMEYER, The Capital Times

“So why now, why MOOCs?” Ray Schroeder, the director of the Center for Online Learning, Research and Service at the University of Illinois-Springfield, asked Thursday in Madison during a session at the 28th annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning. “What’s it going to do to higher ed? What’s it going to do to us and our business plans? Honestly, we don’t know the answer to many of those questions.” … Most would agree that delivering high-quality education to the masses for free is a noble cause. “It’s a phenomenon that’s moving ahead at the speed of the Internet,” Ray Schroeder told conference-goers at the Monona Terrace Convention Center during his jam-packed, 45-minute session. “This year and next year provides an opportunity for each one of us here to join in the process of setting those effective practices and helping make a difference in how MOOCs are rolled out.”

http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/education/campus_connection/campus-connection-is-free-online-course-movement-good-for-higher/article_7ad825ec-e2f2-11e1-b035-001a4bcf887a.html

by Katie Lepi, edudemic

Whatever your stance on Khan Academy, there’s no denying that it’s had quite an impact on the world of education and technology. I was perusing some of their newest videos this afternoon and it dawned on me that it might be helpful to share some of the most popular videos in terms of views. There’s a discussion of SOPA and PIPA, basic mathematics, and more. There’s one overarching theme to these videos. They’re all on relatively basic lessons. This says to me that the vast majority of users are looking for homework help or digital learning on things they want to start getting a better handle on. In other words, users likely want relatively quick solutions or a refresher course on something they aren’t fully grasping. In any case, enjoy the videos.

http://edudemic.com/2012/08/the-5-most-popular-khan-academy-video-lessons-of-all-time/

By Dimitrius Bradford, Reporter-News

The Internet is changing how students learn in and out of the classroom, local college administrators said recently. “There’s lots of available information on the Internet, and I think it changes the way students research information,” said Vicki Dunnam, director of technical support and online studies at McMurry University. Each year, colleges and universities are taking steps to include online courses for their students while keeping traditional classes for those who prefer face-to-face classroom instruction.

http://www.reporternews.com/news/2012/aug/10/online-enrollment-growing-at-abilenes/

by the University of Central Florida

The University of Central Florida (UCF) announces the second offering of its popular MOOC (massive open online course) for blended learning faculty and designers: BlendKit2012. Based around the open-licensed BlendKit Course instructional materials, BlendKit2012 will run as a five-week cohort (from Monday, September 24 to Monday, October 29, 2012) facilitated by UCF’s Dr. Kelvin Thompson and Dr. Linda Futch. Course components include regular communications from facilitators, weekly readings, hands-on tasks, a variety of real time and asynchronous interaction opportunities, and weekly webinars with experienced blended learning instructors.

http://blended.online.ucf.edu/blendkit-course/

by Angela Chen, Chronicle of Higher Ed

An online service offers a new approach to connecting students with potential employers. The service is called Seelio (a portmanteau of “see” and “portfolio”), and it aims to simplify the postgraduate job hunt by creating a place where online student portfolios of learning are seen by a network of companies. Only students with a .edu e-mail address can set up portfolios on the site, and the interactive Web pages include both traditional résumés and multimedia materials including videos, photos, and papers that are relevant to the students’ work experience. But what distinguishes Seelio from existing ePortfolio sites (such as Foliotek and RCampus) is that companies can also create accounts and browse through student profiles, post jobs, and search for potential employees based on skills or relevant projects.

http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/web-site-brings-student-portfolios-and-companies-together/38559

by Eric Stoller, Inside Higher Ed

If there is a “secret sauce” for using social media to increase student engagement, it’s staring back at us in the mirror. Student Affairs professionals have worked earnestly for decades to increase, foster, and contribute to student engagement. Having access to the latest (and greatest) communications tools gives us the capability to further the reach of our endeavors. Social media add to our toolkits in educationally relevant ways as long as we are purposeful and strategic about its use. People are not carpenters simply because of access to tools.  We have communications channels like social media and mobile devices that enable us to connect with our students. Can social media increase and/or contribute to student engagement? Absolutely. However, this only occurs if you are at the helm and actively using the tools in ways that contribute to educationally purposeful activities.

http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/student-affairs-and-technology/social-media-increases-student-engagement

by Cathy Davidson, MacArthur Foundation Hastac Blog

Isn’t it curious (or maybe just typical) that with all the mania around MOOC’s (Massive Online Open Courseware), and all the “students today learn differently” talk, that there has been almost no conversation with students about (a) whether they would rather learn online or face to face or (b) how they learn best when they do learn online–lectures? interactives? quizzes? challenges? games? tutorials? augmented with social networks? augmented with actual study groups? New forms of assessment? If you do not include students in the conversation, you are merely replicating the hierarchical Sage-On-The-Stage model of pedagogy but on line. If students and learning are not intrinsically part of the MOOC conversation, then we’re not talking education. We’re talking $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

http://hastac.org/blogs/cathy-davidson/2012/08/04/why-have-students-been-left-out-mooc-discussion

by Jenny MacKeness, jennymackness blog

This week I am working online on the Academic BEtreat run by Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner. Whilst the discussion has been centred around Etienne’s 1988 book and their more recent value creation framework (written with Maarten de Laat), a couple of us in the BEtreat, are interested in MOOCs and how these learning environments relate to communities of practice. As a result I have been asked the following questions in relation to the question in the title. This is a copy of the questions and my responses.

http://jennymackness.wordpress.com/2012/08/03/how-does-a-mooc-demonstrate-its-value/

by Pamela Rossow, Education Connection

Maybe you haven’t heard the acronym “MOOC” before. You might have read about the wildly popular, free online courses offered by Harvard, M.I.T. and Stanford, though. It is basically the same thing. MOOC stands for “massive online open classrooms” and these powerhouse universities dove right in. A free online class was uncommon up until recently. Where could you attend an online course and pay nothing? Of course, you don’t earn course credits—at the moment—for these free classes, but that could change in the future. The University of Washington is talking about offering free classes for credits soon. For now, MOOCs permit huge student groups to study subjects like artificial intelligence or ‘how to create smartphone apps.’ There is a rush for colleges to get on board and the University of Illinois along with Duke and the University of Virginia are now opening up online classes to the public.

http://www.educationconnection.com/blog/2012/08/moocs/

by Jeffrey R. Young, Chronicle of Higher Ed

Coursera, an upstart company working with selective universities to offer free online courses, announced this week that it had reached one million registered students. A rival company, Udacity, which also offers what have become known as Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOC’s, says it has more than 739,000 students. The numbers, however, are more symbolic of interest in free online courses than indicative of the amount of learning taking place. For instance, a co-founder of Coursera, Andrew Ng, noted in an e-mail interview that the number of active students is significantly lower because many registrations are for courses that have not yet begun. And many people sign up for the free courses but don’t end up following through by doing the coursework.

http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/coursera-hits-1-million-students-with-udacity-close-behind/38801

by TOM PULLAR-STRECKER, NZ STuff

Children’s brains may be developing differently as a result of exposure to digital technology, with profound implications for the education system, says the prime minister’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Peter Gluckman. Sir Peter made the claim to Parliament’s science and education committee, which in May kicked off an unprecedented inquiry into “21st century learning and digital literacy”, examining in particular how schools may need to change in the wake of the Government’s $1.5 billion investment in ultrafast broadband. The inquiry has pitched progressives, who want to see teachers quickly evolve into tech-savvy new-age knowledge brokers, against conservatives, who worry about the practicalities and believe there remains a big role for traditionally delivered classroom teaching.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/7412699/Mapping-our-way-on-the-e-learning-highway

by Virtual College (UK)

Virtual learning environments will cause significant disruption to higher education in the immediate future. This is according to Parneet Gosal, writer, strategist and founder of digital strategy consultancy Seedwalker, who wrote in a blog for the firm that universities across the world are implementing e-learning programmes and looking into the possibilities provided by distance learning online. Wide-spread public demand for improved access to education is driving this change, she continued, highlighting the fact that there are many “ordinary people” who wish to study a particular subject at their own pace and without a teacher “looking over [their] shoulder”. “There is every indication that online learning works,” the expert stated, pointing to research that appears to indicate students on e-learning courses learn content faster than people participating in face-to-face instruction.

http://www.virtual-college.co.uk/news/Distance-learning-online-is-set-to-transform-education-newsitems-801421930.aspx

By AMYRA WOODS, The South End

The new frontier that concerns educators is distance learning, according to a study by Inside Higher Ed and the Babson Survey Research Group. Fifty-eight percent of faculty members surveyed said online education is more fearful than exciting. The study reported 80 percent of administration staff was more excited about distance learning than frightened. According to Inside Higher Ed, this fear is sparked from most teachers – 61 percent of them – not having much experience with online or blended classroom technology. The study reported that “75 percent of the respondents were full-time faculty members, many of whose teaching careers predate the online boom.”

http://thesouthend.wayne.edu/article/2012/08/online-classes

by Jessica Moore, the Telegraph

Elite US universities are known globally for their excellent standards of education, and for their astronomical course fees. At Harvard, the full whack for an undergraduate programme is around $60,000 a year. For all the current anxiety in the UK, that makes our new £9,000-a-year maximum look like pocket money. But then, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.Or is there? Enter “Massive open online courses”, or MOOCs – a rapidly growing phenomenon launched around a year ago in the US, whereby prestigious universities such as Harvard make selected courses available over the internet to absolutely anybody around the world for free.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/9446127/Distance-learning-The-online-learning-revolution.html

By Lee Chang-sup, Korea Times

Three decades after a successful pro-democracy movement, Korea is witnessing new types of democratization — this time not of the government, but of learning, knowledge, journalism, organizations and the economy. The democratization of learning is progressing rapidly, jeopardizing the once-thriving private learning institutions in posh southern Seoul. The proliferation of mobile devices such as mobile phones, tablets and e-readers as learning tools is revolutionizing how we learn; these days, e-learning, e-libraries, e-coaching, reverse mentoring (where younger staff teach senior executives about the latest in technology, social media and other workplace trends), on-demand mentoring, mobile learning, mass mentoring and micro-feedback have become common avenues for learning.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2012/08/137_116495.html

by Michael Crow, Educause Review

Michael M. Crow became the 16th president of Arizona State University in July 2002, with the goal of transforming ASU into what he calls a “New American University”—an institution combining the highest levels of academic excellence, inclusiveness to a broad demographic, and maximum societal impact. The six-year graduation rate for the freshman cohort entering in fall 2004 was 58.7 percent, up 19.3 percent from the rate for the cohort that entered in fall 1995. Freshman persistence in fall 2011 increased to 84 percent, 9 percent higher than in fall 2002. In addition, the number of first-time, full-time, low-income Arizona freshmen increased 647 percent from FY2003 through FY2011. President Crow attributes much of this success to the use of analytics.

http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/no-more-excuses-michael-m-crow-analytics

by TED Talks

Daphne Koller is enticing top universities to put their most intriguing courses online for free — not just as a service, but as a way to research how people learn. Each keystroke, comprehension quiz, peer-to-peer forum discussion and self-graded assignment builds an unprecedented pool of data on how knowledge is processed and, most importantly, absorbed. Daphne Koller is bringing courses from top colleges online, free for anyone who wants to take them.

http://www.ted.com/talks/daphne_koller_what_we_re_learning_from_online_education.html

By Angela Chen, Chronicle of Higher Ed

An online degree-granting institution called World Education University, set to open this fall, plans to try an advertiser-driven model to support its free content. “Any Silicon Valley start-up will tell you that if you can drive enough eyeballs to your Web site, you can find ways to leverage that and monetize it,” said Scott Hines, the university’s chief executive. “We’re very transparent to students. They understand that their education is being underwritten generally through advertisers.” The university plans to offer 120 to 150 courses in areas such as art history, psychology, and business administration. Although it plans to develop its own content instead of forming partnerships with existing universities, Mr. Hines said that the initial course materials—such as videos and syllabi—are being provided by two colleges with which the university has confidentiality agreements.

http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/at-new-online-university-advertisers-will-underwrite-free-degrees/38483?

By Tanya Roscorla, Converge

In 12 years, higher education could look totally different. Or it could be almost the same. It just depends on whom you talk to. A survey of 1,021 technology stakeholders and critics by Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project and Elon University School of Communications showed both of these responses. Just more than half of respondents agreed that higher education would be different by 2020, complete with more hybrid classes that combine online and in-person pieces. Thirty-nine percent agreed with the opposite statement that higher education wouldn’t be much different, and in-person classes would remain a mainstay.

http://www.convergemag.com/policy/Higher-Education-2020.html

By Tanya Roscorla, Converge

A flurry of tweets this week showed people signing up for classes with Coursera, edX and Udacity, three organizations that work with universities to provide massively open online courses to anyone at no charge. These student sign-ups follow two major announcements recently: 12 more universities partnered with Coursera and UC Berkeley joined edX. In light of these events, three working professionals share why they decided to take massively open online courses.

http://www.convergemag.com/policy/Why-Massively-Open-Online-Courses.html

By Angela Chen, Chronicle of Higher Ed

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University have each contributed $30-million to the edX online-learning program, but a third university will provide technology instead. The University of California at Berkeley is bringing a new online platform to the project. The nonprofit group edX is working to create courses specifically for online learning; seven of them will start this fall. The new platform, called CourseSharing, allows students to complete multiple-choice assignments online and receive automated grades and feedback as soon as they click “submit.”

http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/berkeley-contributes-online-learning-platform-to-edx/38283