Online Learning Update

By Eric Randall, Boston Daily

The New York Times Magazine has published a story about a Mongolian MIT freshman. When he was 15 years old, Battushig Myanganbayar of Ulan Bator, Mongolia got a perfect score in the MIT Circuits and Electronics course he took through edX, the online education platform MIT co-founded with Harvard. Because the class was not approved by the ministry of education, students had to take it in addition to their regular courses. Battushig persuaded his parents to upgrade the Internet speed at their home from 1 megabit per second to 3 (the average in the United States is 8.6) to make it easier to watch the lectures. Battushig was one of 20 students, ranging in age from 13 to 17, to enroll in the class. About half dropped out. The course is difficult in any setting—M.I.T. sophomores often pull all-nighters—and the Mongolian students were taking it in a second language […] To help his classmates, [Battushig] made videos in Mongolian that offered pointers and explanations of difficult concepts and posted them on YouTube.

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2013/09/13/mongolian-teen-aces-mit-online-course-gets-mit/

by Inside Higher Ed

Minerva Schools at KGI, the ambitious (and still heavily theoretical) project that aims to educate some of the world’s best students online but in residential settings, said this week that it would give its first group of undergraduates four years of free tuition when they enroll next fall, but ultimately charge $10,000 in annual tuition and under $30,000 in total costs. The project, which is seeking accreditation through Keck Graduate Institute, part of the Claremont University Consortium, aims to enroll students who could qualify for Ivy League and other highly competitive universities but would opt for an experimental alternative. The project has been the subject of both significant interest (and support from powerful friends, such as Bob Kerrey and Lawrence Summers) and a good bit of skepticism.

http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/09/18/minerva-plans-annual-price-29000-online-residential-program

by the University of East Anglia

The University of East Anglia’s (UEA) online brand leadership course will be the first to go live following today’s launch of FutureLearn.com, the first UK-led provider of free, open, online higher education courses. Called ‘The Secret Power of Brands’, the course will be live from October 14, ahead of a further 20 or so courses from other FutureLearn partners over the following months. Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are free online courses allowing large-scale, global participation, usually in short, topical modules. FutureLearn.com is the first UK-led multi-institutional provider, offering courses for people to access wherever they are on their unique platform, designed specifically with mobile devices in mind.

http://www.uea.ac.uk/mac/comm/media/press/2013/September/mooc-futurelearn

by Digital Journal

Nearly three-quarters of online learners surveyed (74 percent) expressed satisfaction with their educational experience. In fact, when comparing those enrolled primarily online to those enrolled at a campus but taking courses online, the satisfaction numbers were in stark contrast: 75 percent to 55 percent. These figures come from the 2013 National Online Learners Priorities Report, published by Noel-Levitz. They also compare to figures from the 2013 National Student Satisfaction and Priorities Report which looks at student satisfaction levels by institutional type. Here, the satisfaction levels ranged from 54 percent for four-year publics and 58 percent for four-year privates to 63 percent for community colleges. (Career and private schools scored 58 percent in overall satisfaction.)

http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1468138

by Open Source Google Blog

A year ago, we released Course Builder, an experimental platform for online education at scale. Since then, individuals have created courses on everything from game theory to philanthropy, offered to curious people around the world. Universities and non-profit organizations have used the platform to experiment with MOOCs, while maintaining direct relationships with their participants. Google has published a number of courses including Introduction to Web Accessibility which opens for registration today. This platform is helping to deliver on our goal of making education more accessible through technology, and enabling educators to easily teach at scale on top of cloud platform services. Google will begin working with edX as a contributor to the open source platform, Open edX. We are taking our learnings from Course Builder and applying them to Open edX to further innovate on an open source MOOC platform. We look forward to contributing to edX’s new site, MOOC.org, a new service for online learning which will allow any academic institution, business and individual to create and host online courses.

http://google-opensource.blogspot.com/2013/09/we-are-joining-open-edx-platform.html

By AMNA H. HASHMI, Harvard Crimson

Every fall, fewer than 40 students gain admission to the popular Harvard Kennedy School course Government 1796: “Central Challenges of American National Security, Strategy, and the Press: An Introduction.” When on October 1 the Kennedy School launches HKS211.1x, the virtual version of the class and the school’s first ever HarvardX offering, the number of students in one semester able to earn some form of credit for the course will increase tenfold. The course will be the second SPOC—small, private, online course—on HarvardX, the Harvard subset of the larger edX initiative, after HLS1x: “Copyright.” Like HLS1x, HKS211.1x will have a 500-participant cap.

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/9/17/kennedy-school-spoc-edx/

by THEODORE R. JOHNSON, the Atlantic

About two years ago, my classmates and I gathered in Harvard Yard to receive our graduate degrees alongside more than 7,000 of the university’s newest alumni. As the procession made its way to our designated seating area, an onlooker eyed our banner with a puzzled look and asked the guy in front of me, “What in the world is the Extension School?” My classmate’s reply: “It’s the back door into Harvard.” Ouch. I often felt the same way – that I’d snuck into one of the world’s premier institutions for higher learning. There is little chance that my slightly-above-average undergraduate GPA and an extra-curricular résumé that only consisted of a part-time job at a music store would’ve secured a spot for me in one of Harvard’s ultra-competitive graduate schools. Yet, with no admission letter in hand and exactly zero hours spent preparing for graduate admissions tests, I became a Harvard student.

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/09/did-i-really-go-to-harvard-if-i-got-my-degree-taking-online-classes/279644/

by Daytona News-Journal

The Digital Learning Now Report Card, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit, recently gave Florida a “B” in its digital educational efforts. Only Utah did better. Only five other states got a “B.” Forty-four states got a “C” or lower. So Florida is ahead of the game. But in the digital world, complacency leads to falling behind, and fast. That is why it is good to see Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford declare that the Sunshine State will endeavor to lead the nation in online education, from pre-kindergarten to college. It’s a commendable goal. The marketplace, colleges, other states and even other nations are beginning to wake up and take in the great potential of virtual education. While no one expects online education to replace classroom instruction, it is likely that digital education will increasingly supplement campus-based instruction.

http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20130916/OPINION/130919611/1027?Title=Online-classes-will-modernize-education-in-Florida-nation

By Padmaparna Ghosh, TNN

What would you say is a sustainable revenue model for a MOOC?

We have been investigating many revenue models. So, one is that our courses are free but we ask students to pay a nominal fee when they want the certificate once they pass. We can also offer some services even though the course can be free – the freemium model. Second, we are working with corporations and NGOs to whom we offer courses but we charge them a fee.

How should the Indian education system adapt for the future?

In terms of national infrastructure, we need to move from bricks and mortar to bits and bytes. We need to create networking capabilities in towns and villages. I also think every university needs to embrace online technologies.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/interviews/education-should-go-from-bricks-and-mortar-to-bits-and-bytes-anant-agarwal-edx/articleshow/22595888.cms

by Steve Kolowich, Chronicle of Higher Ed

MITx, a division of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that offers courses on the nonprofit edX’s platform, announced on Tuesday that it would soon offer special certificates to students who completed a prescribed sequence of massive open online courses from MIT. The sequences will be called XSeries. T plans to offer its first XSeries sequence, Foundations of Computer Science, beginning this fall. The computer-science series will consist of seven courses that together “will cover content equivalent to two to four traditional residential courses and take between six months and two years to complete,” according to a news release. By offering certificates to students who complete a sequence of MOOCs, edX seems to be pushing alternative credentials to the next logical step.

http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/mit-will-offer-mooc-curricula-not-just-single-courses-on-edx/46715

by Lauren Landry, BostInno

Coursera has successfully cleared the hurdle many massive open online course platforms continue to face. The company announced Thursday its Signature Track program has garnered 25,000 signups, earning it $1 million in revenue. Launched in January, Coursera’s Signature Track program gives students the ability to earn a verified certificate for completing one of their online courses. The feature also lets students link their coursework to their identity so they can securely show employers what they have achieved while using the platform. Beyond Signature Track, Coursera has started working with the American Council on Education on credit equivalency, and has also launched a recruiting service to help committed Coursera students connect with employers.

http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2013/09/13/coursera-hits-1-million-in-revenue-verified-certificates/

By Kasey Wien, Duke Chronicle

The council voted against the motion to approve for-credit online courses, with 16 voting to approve the motion, 14 against it and two abstentions April 25. The vote broke a contract with online education company 2U’s Semester Online consortium. The council passed a motion last year, however, to continue embracing online innovation while exploring a variety of online platforms. The council is therefore seeking input from the broader arts and sciences community and develop curricular policy recommendations, said David Malone, director of the service learning program. The council will determine how many online and non-Duke courses can be used as major requirements as well as the approval procedures for potential online courses. Additionally, the council will decide the criteria students must meet to receive credit for online courses.

http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2013/09/13/arts-and-sciences-council-focuses-online-education

by James Call, the Florida Current

Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford may have been a day earlier than the agenda but on Thursday he proposed a big hairy audacious goal for education at the Florida Leaders Summit. He wants the state to assume national leadership in on-line education. “Starting with preK-12 through higher education we should be the state that everyone looks to and says ‘Wow, what’s Florida doing? It’s really exciting and it looks like they figured out this online learning thing,’” Weatherford said to summit participants. Weatherford participated in a discussion with Miami University President Donna Shalala and Daphne Koller, a professor in the Stanford School of Engineering. The three talked about how technology is changing the way people learn and can free up teachers’ time, create value for institutions and provide more opportunities for people seeking a higher education.

http://www.thefloridacurrent.com/article.cfm?id=34448967

BY JANE DARBY MENTON AND JULIA ZORTHIAN, Yale Daily

With enrollment now open for Yale’s first four courses on Coursera — a platform for massive online open courses, or MOOCs — faculty are leading efforts to expand different forms of online education, funded by two major donations on the horizon. University President Peter Salovey said the Committee on Online Education, a group of 14 faculty members, will look into and experiment with other forms of online education and the Coursera courses using the donations to find the form best for Yale. The University’s effort to expand its programs in online education will be faculty-driven, rather than mandated by administrators.

http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2013/09/13/yale-pushes-online-expansion/

by EdSurge

Coursera announced that its Signature Track program, which allows students to earn official certificates for courses, has surpassed 25,000 signups and $1 million in revenue. The Palo Alto-based MOOC started the program in January, and by April reported $220K in earnings. At the time of writing, Coursera has 94 courses that offer Signature Track certificates, which each cost $39 to $49.

https://www.edsurge.com/n/2013-09-12-coursera-s-1-million-milestone

By Hannah Winston, Chronicle of Higher Ed

The board that governs California’s 112 community colleges has started requiring that courses, research, and other work paid for by the system chancellor’s office be made available free to all users under Creative Commons “attribution” licenses. While the system will retain the copyright on the materials, other users will be able to take advantage of them as long as the originators are properly credited. Cable Green, director of global learning at Creative Commons, says that requiring work to be covered by Creative Commons licenses will allow people to get the most for their money. He says he sees open educational resources growing on a national scale as colleges realize that Creative Commons licensing allows work to be widely disseminated and creates a collaborative working environment. In 2010, Washington State enacted a similar open-access policy for community and technical colleges. Because the work is publicly financed, he says there is no reason it shouldn’t be available to everyone. “The public should get what they pay for,” he says.

http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/californias-community-colleges-shift-to-creative-commons-licenses/46665

by Caltech

Caltech’s Online Education programs aim to improve both how we educate future generations of scientists and engineers here at Caltech and to show how our intense approach to education in science and engineering can make a difference beyond our own student body. Upcoming online learning opportunities will be available through Coursera and edX, educational technology platforms that offer online university-level courses in a wide range of disciplines to a worldwide audience at no charge.

http://online.caltech.edu/

by Erik Rancatore, Huffington Post

While most might imagine future nuclear engineers training exclusively at plants across the country or spending their time memorizing key components in a laboratory, the next generation is adapting to an ever-more-common learning model: the online classroom. At Florence-Darlington Technical College (FDTC) in Florence, S.C., a grant from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) allowed administrators and academics to create new models to support workforce development in the regional nuclear power field. The prototype physics course “Power Up: High Tech Online” allows faculty and students alike to concentrate on nuclear energy and innovation without stepping into a classroom. The program, still in its pilot stage, had several specific goals. Working students can have increased difficulty in getting to class and abiding by lab hours, so the FDTC team hoped to address their needs and schedules. Additionally, they hoped to attract a more diverse student population. Because nuclear engineering is traditionally a predominately white, male field, the focus of the course would be more diverse, in hopes of increasing the appeal to a variety of learners.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/erik-rancatore/where-online-education-and-nuclear-science-meet_b_3893664.html

by the Gazette

The Iowa Board of Regents wants to know whether Iowa’s public universities have considered increases in online learning before proposing more than $200 million in building projects on the campuses. Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad vetoed funding for these same projects in June, saying he feared campus overbuilding as online learning continues to grow. “I have to ask this: have we adequately considered an online teaching component?” Regent Milt Dakovich, asked Warren Madden, Iowa State University vice president for business and finance, at a regents committee meeting Tuesday in Cedar Falls.

http://thegazette.com/2013/09/10/iowa-board-of-regents-committee-asks-universities-whether-online-learning-should-mean-fewer-building-projects/

By Nina Shapiro, Seattle Weekly

Last fall, an engineering professor at San Jose State University named Khosrow Ghadiri tried something radical in his Introduction to Circuits course. He made a MOOC a central part of the his class curriculum. He gave two quizzes every class to see what students understood from the material. He would spend 15 minutes going over the most difficult concepts, and then break up into group work. He says students told him they got a lot out of the teamwork, and they apparently didn’t dare missing the quizzes. Hardly anyone ever skipped class, which was far from the case before. After each class, Ghardiri analyzed the quizzes and sent e-mails to students about their results. “I think you should put your effort here,” he might say. He appreciated the benefits of this careful analysis. “This is the first time in my entire life that I know my students one by one,” he says. In the past, he says, he would “go to a lecture hall and look at 86 students he didn’t recognize.”

http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/948803-129/class-students-mooc-online-says-ghadiri

by Molly Greenberg, In the Capital

EdX made a huge announcement on Tuesday that may very well change the way we perceive digital education. Unveiling a brand new partnership with Google, edX and the tech titan will be working together to develop the open source learning platform, Open edX, and collaborate on building out and hosting MOOC.org – a new site for universities, businesses, and professors not already associated with edX to introduce their lessons to a global audience. Developed by bright minds from Harvard and MIT, edX immediately caught the attention of the masses upon first entering the online learning realm, and has since lived up to the hype. The platform has only grown bigger, progressively increasing its higher education partnerships, which is why it’s pursuing even greater dominance of the digital world today. And what better company to partner with than Google is you truly want to make a splash on the tech scene.

http://inthecapital.streetwise.co/2013/09/10/edx-partners-with-google-to-create-mooc-org-online-learning/