Online Learning Update

BY R.F. MACKAY, Stanford

Law Professor Richard Thompson Ford is among the recipients of seed grants to develop online courses. Ford’s course, which he will teach in conjunction with colleagues from Berkeley, Calif., and France, is called Comparative Anti-Discrimination Law. Ten faculty teams representing four schools will receive funding in Stanford Online’s latest round of seed grants. The grants will help faculty develop online and blended classes for Stanford students or as massive open online courses (MOOCs). Several will have an international bent. Three of the selected projects are from the Graduate School of Education (GSE); two are from the School of Humanities & Sciences; two are from the Law School; and three are from the School of Medicine.

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2013/june/online-seed-grants-062513.html

by CPA Practice Advisor

The internet and the availability of free courses have dramatically changed how users around the world are learning. This is readily apparent in the infographic at the URL below. According to the organization, in 1999, the University of Tübingen in German became the first college to offer Open Courseware (OCW), aka, free college course materials online. In 2002, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) started its Open Courseware website. By 2013, more than 250 colleges and universities around the world offer more than 9,000 free courses online. The infographic also includes details on how web-based courses have impacted education around the world, including effects on students and educators.

http://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/news/10987654/infographic-how-online-courses-have-changed-the-way-people-learn

By Rich Barlow, BU Today

New online education courses will be developed at BU by a special faculty-led team. Chrysanthos Dellarocas, an SMG professor and chairman of information systems, will lead the new Digital Learning Initiative (DLI). The DLI will develop online courses called MOOCs (massive open online courses), which will be available to people around the world whether or not they are matriculated BU students. It will also distribute seed grants this fall to faculty to craft innovative online education on campus, for BU students living on and off campus.

http://www.bu.edu/today/2013/new-team-will-power-bu-online-education/

By DEVON HAYNIE, US News

More high school students are enrolling in programs to earn simultaneous credit for high school and college courses, experts say. More high school students are enrolling in programs to earn simultaneous credit for high school and college courses, experts say. As a high school student, Holly Harvey was determined to take as many college courses as possible. There was just one problem – the nearest community college was 45 minutes away from her home in Carrollton, Texas. And she didn’t have her driver’s license. So Harvey got creative and signed up for an online course at the community college. By the time she earned her high school diploma, she had already completed 45 hours of classes that could be applied toward a college degree.

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2013/07/16/consider-online-college-courses-in-high-school

by Amanda Hollman, UVU Review

Like most colleges, Utah Valley University offers many online courses to give students a variety of options to achieve their degree. Like any other choice, there are benefits and downfalls. Before clicking the submit button to register for that online class, check out if that is a good option for you. Online courses give students a chance to learn on their own time, which is especially helpful for many. UVU has many working students trying to pay their bills, and often finding a job that works with your class schedule is difficult. While online classes have deadlines just like traditional classes, they give you a chance to plan your education when you have time for it.

http://www.uvureview.com/2013/07/15/how-to-survive-online-courses/

by Mary Beth Marklein, USA TODAY

With online courses growing more popular, there’s a push to make sure that students who sign up for them are actually taking them. Colleges are ramping up strategies to ensure that the student who gets the grade for taking an online course is the same person who does the homework and completes the exams. The impetus is a federal law, passed in 2008, requiring colleges that are eligible for federal student aid for online programs to take steps to discourage financial aid and academic fraud. Federal regulations require students to have secure log-ins and passwords for online course offerings, but industry experts expect more stringent standards to come. “We don’t know when and how, but they’re probably going to tighten up,” says David Richardson, CEO of Louisville-based Learning House, founded in 2001 to help schools develop online degree programs

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/16/internet-online-classes-security-college-courses/2518175/

By KEVIN ABOUREZK, Lincoln Journal Star

The University of Nebraska’s online distance education program saw a 12 percent increase last year in the number of credit hours taken by students who enrolled in only online courses, university regents learned Thursday. Those students enrolled in 56,952 online credit hours in 2012-13, compared to 50,907 the year before, said Mary Niemiec, director for Online Worldwide, the university’s distance education program.

http://journalstar.com/news/local/education/nu-sees-big-jump-in-online-courses/article_adc79eb9-755e-59c1-b575-28e39c546db4.html

by MyEducation.com

The number of online learning students is close to 7 million….we’d say now’s the time to dispel some of those online learning myths and get at the “click into school” truth! Great infographic starts with the “Myth: You can’t get a job with an online degree…”

http://www.myeducation.com/blog/infographic-7-myths-and-facts-about-online-learning/

by AM NewYork

Like online dating before it, online education has surpassed stereotypes and is being embraced by New Yorkers as a real alternative to the brick-and-mortar university experience. Most NYC-area colleges and universities — both public and private — offer some sort of online courses. Classes are sometimes entirely online or a hybrid mix of online and on-campus meet-ups. But more and more universities are also creating unique classes specifically meant for online students, and the focus has shifted to small classes that are highly interactive. Online classes can help students fulfill post-baccalaureate requirements, switch careers, get masters degrees or certificates. And universities report that enrollment, demand and diversity of offerings are up across the board.

http://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/redefining-online-education-focus-shifts-to-engagement-1.5686874

By Jessica Knott, etcjournal

MOOCulus is an online learning platform, developed at Ohio State, to provide students a place to go to practice Calculus problems. The key to learning Calculus is to do problems, tons of problems.  Our MOOC platform provider, Coursera, didn’t offer an engaging method for students to simply practice problems so we built MOOCulus to provide that opportunity for Calculus fun! MOOCulus was developed by Jim Fowler, a Math lecturer in our Math department at Ohio State. He and his team used Ruby on Rails to build the platform. It will be promoted for use in several sections this coming fall. However, any student, anywhere, can access MOOCulus, anytime, by logging into the site using their Google ID.

http://etcjournal.com/2013/07/11/mooculus-for-calculus-fun-an-interview-with-tom-evans/

By JOSH FUNK, Huffington Post

A free online course offerx students the chance to learn about giving from Warren Buffett and help decide how to spend more than $100,000 of his sister’s money. More than 4,000 people have already signed up for the course that will also feature philanthropic advice from baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr. and the founders of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. Boston Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner and journalist Soledad O’Brien are other featured guests. The amount being given away could grow if more students sign up.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/14/giving-with-purpose-warren-buffett_n_3595932.html

By LEE SHEARER, Online Athens
Summer enrollment is down at the University of Georgia for the third straight year and is now at its lowest in 14 years. Final figures show a summer semester student count of 13,562 at UGA’s Athens and extended campuses, said Tracy Giese, public relations coordinator in the UGA Office of the Vice President for Instruction. That’s down 2.1 percent from last year, a smaller decrease than in the previous two years
Summer enrollment dropped from 15,731 in 2010 to 14,812 in 2011, then declined again to 13,854 last summer, an overall decline of nearly 14 percent. This summer’s 13,562 students is the lowest summer enrollment at UGA since 1999. The decline might have been even steeper without the addition of a slate of three dozen online courses, which allow students to continue their studies while they’re back home for the summer or traveling. About 1,100 students this summer enrolled in the courses.

http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-07-13/summer-enrollment-down-uga-lowest-1990s

by KAREN RIVEDAL, Wisconsin State Journal

“The average age of our students is 37,” program director Crystal Fey said. “They have kids, jobs, charity commitments — they have their whole lives to run.” “I’ve had students who have been doing their homework while they sat at their mom’s bed at hospice,” Fey added. “I had another woman call me about how excited she was about her coursework, while she was on her way with her daughter-in-law for the delivery of her first grandchild.” Aimed at students who have an associate’s degree or who earned their prerequisites through a different bachelor’s degree, the program was developed and is taught by faculty members from four campuses in the University of Wisconsin System. Students watch taped lectures on video and use multimedia software for required online discussions and even group projects. “This is a rigorous program, but there’s never a requirement to be online at a certain time,” Fey said. “We did that very deliberately, because some people work nights and some work days, and you might have students in a class who live on opposite coasts.”

http://host.madison.com/business/uw-extension-s-first-online-degree-program-lets-working-adults/article_aae9ef34-0895-5229-b2e6-e55ebb43dc16.html

by Emma Penrod, Deseret News

Economic and social forces have churned up a perfect storm for higher education. Consequently, the university of the future may bear little resemblance to education today, panelists told attendees at the New Knowledge Economy summit July 10. Education will need to adapt to meet the needs of a changing society, higher education experts from organizations such as the New America Foundation and California Competes told an audience at the Wednesday morning summit. Those needs include increased access to higher education (the number of jobs that require education beyond high school is expected to account for two-thirds of the job market by 2020) and greater flexibility to accommodate nontraditional students, who already account for 75 percent of today’s degree seekers. The future, they concluded, is online.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865582968/Changing-job-market-could-dramatically-change-education-panel-says.html

By Samantha Gordon, US News

Students go online to enhance the learning experience. Technology is very rapidly becoming integrated with almost every aspect of life, and higher learning is no exception. Whether students are pursuing associate’s degrees, bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees or doctorates, having access to the Internet is proving very useful in a variety of ways. In addition to having the ability to learn remotely via online classes, students are able to conduct thorough research more easily, stay connected with peers and explore their subjects in a more interactive manner. Google compiled data in its Digital & the New College Experience survey, which details just how far-reaching technology is for students.

http://www.usnewsuniversitydirectory.com/articles/online-learning-continues-to-prove-beneficial-to-c_13265.aspx#.UeIDRtLYdy1

by Ry Rivard, Inside Higher Ed

After six months of high-profile experimentation, San Jose State University plans to “pause” its work with Udacity, a company that promises to deliver low-cost, high-quality online education to the masses. The decision will likely be seen as a setback for a unique partnership announced in January by California Gov. So far, that future is elusive. San Jose State Provost Ellen Junn said disappointing student performance will prompt the university to stop offering online classes with Udacity this fall as part of a “short breather.”

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/18/citing-disappointing-student-outcomes-san-jose-state-pauses-work-udacity

by the Business Recorder

Online education service Coursera on Wednesday announced a fresh round of funding from the investment arm of the World Bank and other backers. The Silicon Valley-based start-up said that it took in $43 million from a group of investors that included the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation and Russian venture capitalist Yuri Milner. “Coursera is on the forefront of transforming the $4.5 trillion dollar learning industry,” said Michael Moe, chief of GSV Capital, which also participated in the funding round. “Coursera is democratising access to the best universities and professors in the world.” Coursera.org was created by Stanford University professors and launched in April of last year as an online venue for free university classes.

http://www.brecorder.com/general-news/172/1209987/

by Sean McMinn, USA TODAY

Every college atop a leading national university ranking is now embracing massive open online courses (MOOCs). Every college atop U.S. News and World Report’s national university rankings is now embracing them. In addition, the nation’s two largest public university systems — the California State University and State University of New York systems — are poised to join them. In June, the University of Chicago became the last of the country’s top 10 universities to announce it would begin offering MOOCs. A widely discussed trend in higher education, MOOCs routinely enroll tens of thousands of students across the world, often for free.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/11/moocs-top-colleges-and-universities/2509883/

by Sara Grossman, Chronicle of Higher Ed

Bill Gates says that this is the “golden era” of learning, thanks to massive open online courses and easy access to information. The chairman of Microsoft gave the keynote address on Monday at Microsoft Research’s Faculty Summit, an annual event that brings together Microsoft researchers and academics from more than 200 institutions for a two-day conference in Redmond, Wash., on current issues facing computer science. At the summit, Mr. Gates told the audience that he sees enormous potential for MOOCs but cautioned that online education still faces many challenges. He also talked briefly about online education during an question-and-answer session with the audience. This will be “a global phenomenon,” he said. “We’re on the beginning of something very profound.”

http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/bill-gates-discusses-moocs-at-microsoft-researchs-faculty-summit/44809

by Jim Farmer, e-literate

As part of the transformation of teaching and learning in higher education, decisions are being made on the type and scope of online learning and whether to participate in MOOCs—a specific form of online learning. Two papers about MOOCs and online learning have been published by Dallas-based Academic Partners, an academic support company. They deserve the attention of those in colleges and universities making those decisions. What makes these specific papers important is Sir John Daniel’s participation as author or editor. Leading the UK’s Open University from 1990 to 2001, he assembled a talented and dedicated team that had to develop learning processes adapted to the needs of non-residential students, to lead the transition into learning technologies, ensure quality, and be financially successful. Combining this background and a history of scholarship, his thorough and pragmatic approach yielded two publications that share his insight as an understandable guide for discussions with Boards, state executives and legislators, and the press and public.

http://mfeldstein.com/review-sir-john-daniel-on-moocs-online-learning-and-quality/

By DEVON HAYNIE, US News

Graduate students should ensure online programs offer substantial student services. While many online programs are ramping up their support services for students, experts say many others have a long way to go before they rival the offerings of their on-campus counterparts. Students considering an online graduate degree should explore whether the program offers tutoring, advising, library services and career counseling, says Susan Aldridge, a senior fellow at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. Ideally, she says, those services would be available and accessible to students outside of traditional working hours. “If the support systems for the online students are only 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., they aren’t that useful to the online students,” she says.

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2013/07/12/how-to-compare-online-on-campus-graduate-programs