Online Learning Update

by Katherine Long, Associated Press

This month, Washington State University, which has vigorously promoted its catalog of online degree offerings under the name WSU Global Campus, earned top marks for several of its programs in U.S. News & World Report’s third rating of the best online degree programs in the country. In the past year, enrollment in WSU Global Campus has grown 20 percent. Nationwide, the U.S. Department of Education estimates that 5.5 million students took at least one online course in 2012, and that number is expected to grow. One report puts the number at more than 7 million students and predicts that more than half of all students will take at least one online course within five years.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/21/uw-wsu-offering-more-degree-programs-online/

By David Nagel, Campus Technology

In 2013, for the first time ever, the number of smart phones shipped worldwide in a year topped 1 billion. That’s about one smart phone for every seven human beings alive. According to new research from International Data Corp., smart phone shipments grew by a massive 38.4 percent from the previous year, hitting a little more than 1.01 billion units in 2013. In another first, smart phones also made up the majority of all cell phone shipments (55.1 percent) in 2013. In 2012, smart phones were only 41.7 percent of the total. Total mobile phone shipment

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/01/28/one-seventh-of-the-worlds-population-got-a-smart-phone-last-year.aspx

By Melissa Rayworth, TakePart

A lone student in Singapore sits at a computer, carefully taking notes during a lecture about engineering. Another student does the same across the world in a house in Brazil, and another is listening to the same lecture in an apartment in Australia. The upside is obvious: Lectures from brilliant professors are available to everyone—and these are not one-off TED talks or videos of old lectures. They are full, ongoing courses that really teach something. Until now, the glaring downside has been that these students lack anything close to the communication with professors or teaching assistants that “traditional” online learning (yes, it’s now been around long enough for us to use that term) offers. Many of them also lack the chat-room interaction with other students that online courses are known for. But the State Department is expanding its program to offer MOOC access and group support to a growing number of international students.

http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/01/23/free-college-world

by Nate Cooper, Mashable

There is a skills gap in the marketplace. In a 2013 study, only 15% of hiring managers said nearly all or most job seekers had the skills and traits their companies look for. There’s no better way to make yourself more attractive to a potential employer than to master something new. Lynda, Dash, Thinkful, Coursera and Udemy are helpful resources. All offer competitively priced online learning for a fraction of the cost of attending a traditional university. Better yet, students who take all or part of these types of courses online perform better, on average, than those taking the same courses through traditional face-to-face instruction.

http://mashable.com/2014/01/25/lifelong-learning/

by Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press

Sitting next to his laptop, while holding up a smartphone inside his church office in Southfield, the Rev. Chris Yaw asks: “When you look at the plethora of screens out there, where is the Christian voice?” It’s an issue that many congregations are wrestling with as they struggle to engage people looking for spiritual answers online. To that end, Yaw — the pastor of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Southfield — has created an online Christian learning program through which people and congregations can take classes on their computer or mobile devices.

http://www.freep.com/article/20140127/NEWS05/301270018/Online-Christian-learning

By Katie Lepi, Edudemic

Yep, it’s 2014. And yes, MOOCs are still a thing. With thousands of students still enrolling, and sites like EdX, Coursera, Udacity, and more continuing to add new course offerings, it would seem as though MOOCs are just getting bigger and better. Right? Well, maybe. Or maybe not. Are the pros outweighing the cons, or is traditional, in-person education keeping its stronghold? The handy infographic linked below takes a look at some of the pros and cons of MOOCS, and some statistics about their successes and popularity.

http://www.edudemic.com/mooc-update/

by Melanie C. Johnson, DiamondBar- Walnut Patch

Cal Poly Pomona is about to get its biggest classroom yet — the entire Internet. Beginning this week, people from anywhere — be it Alaska or Argentina, Madagascar or Maine — will be able to register free of charge for the university’s first massive open online course, otherwise known as a MOOC. The course, which begins April 1 and runs 10 weeks, will teach students the essentials of computer programming using the Visual Basic for Applications language in Microsoft Excel, says mechanical engineering Assistant Professor Paul Nissenson, who teaches a similar class for Cal Poly Pomona students.

http://diamondbar-walnut.patch.com/groups/schools/p/cal-poly-pomona-to-offer-free-online-computer-programming-class-for-all

by Jonathan Haber, Huffington Post

Having gotten past the notion of MOOCs destroying the educational multiverse (for good or ill), it is now time for a more measured conversation about what this extraordinary educational technology can and cannot do, now that we know it isn’t about to replace traditional higher education overnight. And measurement is always a matter of data combined with analysis, with an added dose of humility regarding what we still do not know (and might never now with certainty).

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-haber/more-data-answers-and-questions_b_4645299.html

by the New Media Consortium and EDUCAUSE

The NMC Horizon Report > 2014 Higher Education Edition is a collaborative effort between the NMC and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI), an EDUCAUSE Program. This eleventh edition describes annual findings from the NMC Horizon Project, an ongoing research project designed to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have an impact on learning, teaching, and creative inquiry in education. Learning analytics, flipped modalities, and “quantified self” are among the emerging technologies.

http://www.nmc.org/publications/2014-horizon-report-higher-ed

by Concetta M. Stewart, Huffington Post

One way to meet their needs is by offering options. For example, mixed modality, a hybrid of face-to-face and online learning, gives students the flexibility of mobile learning combined with the on-campus experience. Studies have shown that this hybrid learning style has the potential to increase student learning while lowering attrition rates compared to equivalent, fully online courses. These online options coupled with advances in digital and mobile learning can actually help us better serve students who are underprepared. Intelligent Tutoring Systems that incorporate a self-paced learning model address the simple fact that students learn at different speeds, and perhaps those who have less experience with technology still have the opportunity to succeed in a mobile learning environment. In addition, Open Educational Resources (OER) and e-books along with podcast and video availability on mobile devices have also enhanced our capacity to reach students.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/concetta-m-stewart/meeting-the-needs-of-stud_b_4646926.html

by Fred O’Connor, Computer World

Online course participants are more likely to browse lesson material than stick around to earn a completion certificate, according to a report examining enrollment and usage data from edX, an online learning platform jointly launched by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the fall of 2012. Of the 841,687 people who registered for classes on edX during its first year, 469,702 saw less than half of the course content. An additional 35,937 viewed at least half or more of the course material. And 43,196 people engaged the material enough to earn a completion certification. The remaining 292,852 registrants never accessed the content, said the report, which was released Tuesday.

http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/536667/edx_enrollment_data_shows_online_learners_more_browsers_than_finishers/

by Lauren Landry, BostonInno

Completion rates remain a contentious issue when discussing massive open online courses. Yet, new papers released Tuesday by Harvard and MIT argue there’s more to learning online than a shrinking number of registrants would suggest. Daphne Koller, co-founder of fellow MOOC platform Coursera, acknowledged in a previous interview with the Chronicle of Higher Education that most students who register for an online course have no intention of completing it. And should we knock that? Learning is learning, and education is power. Why knock a platform delivering that power to the entire world? Seventy-two percent of edX registrants were from abroad, while nearly 21,000 of those individuals had IP or mailing addresses from countries on the United Nations’ list of Least Developed Countries.

http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2014/01/22/boston-companies-harvard-and-mit-release-edx-working-papers/

By Katie Blot, Blackboard on Evolllution

Implementation roadblocks are a major hurdle in any new partnership, but creating faculty efficiency with technological tools can help to overcome them. The old days of education technology service partnerships, where acquisition and implementation challenges were the biggest hurdle to what would be deemed ‘success,’ are just that — days of old. The new imperative is to improve learner outcomes through faculty efficiency with education technology. To be sure, implementation roadblocks will inevitably arise in any technology-related project. But it is 2014, and technology departments have come a long way since the early days of online education. Implementation challenges aren’t the millstone they used to be and many of the kinks have been worked out.

http://www.evolllution.com/institutional_operations/facultys-technological-literacy-central-avoiding-implementation-roadblocks/

by Jason Hardy, Deseret News

A new report in Forbes argues that 2014 will be a big year for higher education. The article by Todd Hixon argues that its current business model is largely outdated, and that innovation will be critical for students and future employers alike. In fact, online education is starting to create virtual boom towns across the nation as a means of addressing tuition hikes, student loans, graduation rates, and other troubling trends.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865594554/Online-learning-gaining-steam-as-a-disruptive-innovation-in-higher-education.html

BY YUVAL BEN-DAVID, Yale Daily News

The four professors teaching Coursera courses have all been involved with Yale’s online education initiatives. Kleiner spearheaded Yale’s offerings at AllLearn, another online education platform, and she also founded, directed and taught on Open Yale Courses, in which Shiller and Bloom have also participated. Bloom regularly teaches courses on Yale’s online summer session, for which Amar will also teach this summer. Kleiner and Bloom are both members of the University’s committee on online education. Yale’s online education team approached these specific professors about Coursera because the four exemplify Yale’s excellence in scholarship, Wright said.

http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2014/01/16/with-coursera-yales-online-education-expands/

By DEVON HAYNIE, US News

Enter the U.S. State Department, which has launched a new initiative aimed at making online learning a more interactive experience for learners across the globe. The program, called MOOC Camp, invites people taking the courses to gather at U.S. embassies, consulates and other spaces over a period of several weeks to discuss class content. Discussions are led by Fulbright scholars, embassy staff or others with a connection to the State Department. The State Department ran a pilot version of the program over the summer but is starting a new group of courses this winter. Courses are being offered in India, Nigeria, Tanzania and Peru, among other countries. The State Department plans to announce new locations in coming days and weeks, and students are encouraged to check the department’s website for new announcements.

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2014/01/20/state-department-hosts-mooc-camp-for-online-learners-abroad

by Dave Waddell, Ontario Star

The Ontario government’s announcement of a $42-million investment to increase post-secondary online learning is being welcomed by the University of Windsor and St. Clair College. Ontario Online is expected to launch in 2015. “This is clearly a priority of the government and it’s a priority of the University of Windsor,” said Leo Groarke, U of W provost and vice-president academic. “Their direction is part of the future of post-secondary education. The University of Windsor plans to be an active part of that.” The university set up the Office of Open Learning about a year ago to expand its online offerings.

http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2014/01/15/new-online-learning-initiative-lauded/

By KIRSTY CHADWICK, Biz Community

E-learning has been around for quite some time now, and as its popularity continues to grow within the corporate and educational sectors, so does its capabilities. Computers are becoming increasingly essential as educational tools, while technologies are becoming more portable and cost-effective – mobile learning is a perfect example of this. It has become imperative in recent years to look critically at the learning outcomes of training and to adapt those outcomes accordingly. Organisations no longer require an endless accumulation of general knowledge, but the focus is now rather on skills that help them to save money, decrease downtime and increase effectiveness. According to research firm, Ambient Insight, the global market for self-paced e-learning products and services reached US$ 27.1 billion by 2009 and is likely to double by 2014.

http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/424/107615.html

By Kate Albers, The Daily Tar Heel

UNC sophomore Sarah Morton couldn’t find the nutrition class she needed on Connect Carolina this semester, forcing her to enroll in an online course at N.C. State University. Similar to other universities, Morton had to pay an additional fee on top of tuition to take an online course at N.C. State. “My parents pay my tuition, and they were not happy about it,” she said. “This money is an additional cost.”

http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2014/01/online-classes-present-cost-challenge-for-students

by David Talbot, Technology Review

Pro-neutrality types have worried that a few giant companies will end up controlling, or at least mediating, the Internet experience for much of the population because of special deals they’ve struck with Internet providers for prioritized or subsidized data delivery. But in the emerging economies of the world, that’s pretty much how things already work, thanks to a growing number of deals Google and Facebook have struck with mobile phone carriers from the Philippines to Kenya.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/523736/around-the-world-net-neutrality-is-not-a-reality/