Online Learning Update

April 23, 2014

Moore’s Law Touches Education At Last — To Techies’ Delight

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:10 am

by George Anders, Huffington Post

During an ed-tech panel discussion in San Francisco Tuesday evening, led by renowned venture capitalist John Doerr, the consensus was that Moore’s Law is finally making its presence felt in education, too. The showcase example of bolder/faster/cheaper involves companies that operate massive, open, online courses, or MOOCs. The fastest moving of them is Coursera, a Mountain View, Calif., company founded just two years ago. It now has partnerships with more than 100 universities world-wide and it has processed nearly seven million enrollments for its online classes to date. Thanks to “very cheap bandwidth and a lot of machine learning, we can finally do Moore’s Law in education,” said Coursera’s president and cofounder, Daphne Koller, who is also a Stanford professor of computer science. “A single teacher can reach hundreds of thousands of students. That completely changes the economics of everything. The marginal cost of an extra student reaches zero.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/georgeanders/2014/04/16/moores-law-touches-education-at-last-to-techies-delight/?ss=game-changers/

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MOOCs: What’s a Great College Class Worth When It’s Free?

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:05 am

by Annalisa Kraft-Linder, Daily Finance

For the last two months, I’ve been studying at Yale online with noted economist Robert Schiller. There were online office hours, graded quizzes, peer-reviewed papers, a final exam and notable guest speakers like billionaire investor Carl Icahn. If I wanted it, a verified certificate of study was $50. Online forums took the place of study groups. My Financial Markets course consisted of the professor’s in-class lectures and guest speakers on video. It took 20 to 30 hours — whenever I wanted — with quizzes and papers on a grading deadline. Had I taken it for a certificate, I would have barely squeaked by with a “Gentleman’s C.”

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2014/04/16/mooc-great-college-classes-free/

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2014: The year of e-learning?

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:02 am

by Cornerstone, Civil Service World

Employees now use high quality technology – smartphones, tablets, ultrabooks or netbooks – in their everyday lives and also expect to be able to use them at work. Many HR departments have begun to embrace this shift, but many are still catching up – training, learning and development need to reflect the trend to online and mobile not simply because it is the ‘next big thing’ but because it can have genuine and measurable benefits. For example, e-learning provides organisations with a great opportunity to develop their employees, whilst giving them the flexibility to learn at their own pace. This not only benefits employees but also the organisation as a whole, ensuring members of staff have more of an opportunity to develop their talents, review the learning and apply it.

http://www.civilserviceworld.com/articles/sponsored_article/2014-year-e-learning

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April 22, 2014

Proactive on Prior Learning

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:10 am
by Carl Straumsheim, Inside Higher Ed
Florida’s public institutions are anxiously watching this spring’s legislative session, which rounded the halfway point last week. Regardless of what dies on the floor or is signed into law, the universities are still waiting for clarification on the fallout of last year’s session, including the proposed mandate to offer credit for MOOCs. Some universities aren’t waiting around. Florida International University is in the early stages of creating a pilot for prior learning assessment, which could be used to determine if students have learned enough from an outside course — whether of the high school, online or massive open online variety — to qualify for credit. The experiment will begin in in the university’s introduction to psychology course, and if the intended spring 2015 pilot is a success, the model may expand to other disciplines, said Kristin Nichols-Lopez, associate chair of the department.  The university’s plan — which faculty will vote on during an April 24 meeting — involves creating a challenge exam that tests students on a series of core psychology concepts to be determined by the department.
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Out in Front, and Optimistic, About Online Education

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:06 am

By D. D. GUTTENPLAN, NY Times

Coursera’s new president, former Yale President Rick Levin, says “I think the principal investors in Coursera understand that this is a long term play. We’re fortunate to have patient investors; and as Andrew said, we’re quite adequately capitalized. I think we can become financially viable certainly within that five-year framework.” Q. You’re an economist. How do you get from here to there? A. Right now courses are free and we’re charging for certification. We think that as the idea of using Coursera courses for professional advancement grows, the numbers seeking certificates will grow. And the price we charge probably can grow, too. A move from $50 or $60 for Signature Track to $100 is certainly imaginable. At $100 a pop, if you had two or three, or five million people. …

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/14/education/out-in-front-and-optimistic-about-online-education.html

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Stanford K-12 Online Learning Program’s Effectiveness Confirmed by New York U

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:01 am

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

New York University has confirmed the effectiveness of a Stanford University-run online program designed to accelerate learning for students K-12 schools. This confirmation comes just as the program is being officially handed over to a for-profit company to offer expanded service. The project by the Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools at New York U examined research on the work done by Stanford’s Education Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY). “The findings in the report are clear and unequivocal: EPGY is a powerful tool with enormous potential for assisting schools in meeting the needs of individual students,” the New York U report stated.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/04/09/new-york-u-confirms-value-of-stanford-k12-online-learning-program.aspx?admgarea=news

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April 21, 2014

Desperately Seeking Linux Programmers

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:10 am

By Jack M. Germain, LinuxInsider

Few people know just how pervasive Linux has become, and that is causing a big problem for companies that increasingly rely on it. “There is a shortage of software developers in the U.S. The employment rate for these jobs is down to 2.3 percent in the last quarter. The opportunity for jobs is now there for people who come in to get this training,” said Dice President Shravan Goli. The Linux operating system and Linux servers are so widely used today that not enough Linux-trained coders and system techs exist. Software developers and enterprise IT departments have jobs but no takers. To fill this shortage, the Linux Foundation has partnered with edX to offer a free online course to help computer engineers learn Linux.

http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/Desperately-Seeking-Linux-Programmers-80290.html

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Minority Students Should Weigh Pros, Cons of Online Education

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:05 am

By Devon Haynie, US News

Trina Jordan, a 49-year-old single mom from Nashville, Tenn., was always aware of her race in college. As an African-American undergraduate at Tennessee State University, a historically black school, she felt like other students were judging her for her dark skin. But that all changed when she signed up for an online master’s degree in professional studies at Middle Tennessee State University. There, Jordan was comfortable with her virtual classmates — and her skin color — in ways she never was in an on-campus setting. “With an online course, nobody knows who you really are,” says Jordan, who works for the Tennessee Board of Regents, the state’s higher education system. “They don’t know your ethnicity unless you have a picture on your profile. I felt like, ‘I can do this. There is no one stereotyping me.'”

http://news.yahoo.com/minority-students-weigh-pros-cons-online-education-130000307.html

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Group considers future of online classes at KU

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:02 am

By Ben Unglesbee, Lincoln Journal World

A group of Kansas University faculty, staff and students delving into the rise of online education recommends that the university keep watch over the quality of digital courses and online learning while making sure that faculty are fairly compensated for their time developing courses. Instructors and administrators have pushed for the development of more online coursework to ensure KU keeps up with its peers in the field. But trying to translate centuries-old instruction methods into online technology is tough. So is trying to determine how online classes can or should fit in at KU, with its dozens of departments and schools and thousands of individual instructors and students.

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2014/apr/12/group-considers-future-online-classes-ku/

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April 20, 2014

Don’t give up on online education

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:05 am

by Bill Lowry, Michael Wysession and Scott Krummenacher, WU Student Life

Recently, the faculty of Arts & Sciences voted to terminate the Semester Online program for undergraduates. We are the three Washington University professors who actually taught courses in this program. We write not to restart the debate over this program but rather to continue the discussion of online teaching in general. Hopefully, such discussion will continue. Indeed, some of the critics of the Semester Online program stated at the last ArtSci faculty meeting that their criticisms were not directed at online education per se but rather at the current arrangement with Semester Online. Given that, we thought it would be useful to offer the lessons we learned from teaching in this program.

http://www.studlife.com/forum/op-ed-submission/2014/04/10/dont-give-up-on-online-education/

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LaunchCode may expand beyond St. Louis

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:04 am

By David Nicklaus, Post-Dispatch

LaunchCode, which began last year as an effort to increase the amount of computer programming talent in St. Louis, is looking at expanding to other cities. LaunchCode founder Jim McKelvey said this morning that he already has office space in Miami and will move there temporarily in June to work on a Miami version of the training and job-placement program. Baltimore, Philadelphia and Denver also are likely destinations for LaunchCode, he said. McKelvey, speaking at an Innovation St. Louis forum at the Missouri Botanical Garden, said officials of EdX, an education joint venture between Harvard and MIT, encouraged him to expand LaunchCode. In St. Louis, LaunchCode is using a free EdX computer science class to train programmers. The class is offered online, but LaunchCode is offering hands-on sessions to augment the coursework.

http://www.stltoday.com/business/columns/david-nicklaus/launchcode-may-expand-beyond-st-louis/article_d3335341-b8d9-5b51-ab04-ac185dbc5645.html

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UW-Madison expanding online course offerings for summer term

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:02 am

By Karen Herzog, the Journal Sentinel

The University of Wisconsin-Madison announced this week it has expanded summer online course offerings so students who return to their hometowns for jobs or who have internships elsewhere can stay on track to complete a degree without disrupting other summer activities. “The students asked for flexibility and we responded,” said Jeffrey Russell, vice provost of lifelong learning and dean of continuing studies. “One benefit of studying during the summer is students then can move toward their graduation goal faster and ultimately join the workforce sooner. Making that transition from student to salary-earning professional is an important goal.” UW-Madison is offering 100 online courses this summer, up from 64 last summer and 49 the summer before.

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/254600311.html

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April 19, 2014

Universities See Regional Broadband as Critical to Success

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:10 am

By John Pulley, Campus Technology

Scattered throughout the country are technological oases where data-thirsty Internet users can access blindingly fast, affordable broadband service. These super-connected communities are engines of innovation and economic progress. They are, of course, our nation’s universities. Forward-looking institutions are investing in broadband infrastructure both for themselves and for the regions they serve. Beyond the brick-walled perimeters and filigreed iron gates of campuses, the Internet service available to neighborhoods that ring our universities tends to be comparatively slow and considerably more costly. “Students expect and need broadband, especially WiFi, in class, in their residence and in outside areas. In other words, everywhere,” said Joanna Young, chief information officer at the University of New Hampshire. “Universities have a vested interest in broadband for themselves and their communities, as well as the regions they serve.”

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/04/10/universities-see-regional-broadband-as-critical-to-success.aspx

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Utah State University lowers tuition for online classes

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:05 am

By Morgan Jacobsen, Deseret News

Utah State University recently announced its plan to lower tuition for in-state students taking online courses starting in summer semester this year. The university’s tuition plateau level was also lowered from 13 credits to 12 credits. That means students can take up to 18 credit hours per semester, but they only pay for 12. Previously, USU students were charged as much as 60 percent more per credit for online classes than traditional on-campus classes. Online credits weren’t included in the tuition plateau for traditional courses.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865600631/Utah-State-University-lowers-tuition-for-online-classes.html

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UC Berkeley School of Law to offer its first interactive online course

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:02 am

By BECCA BENHAM, Daily Cal

Starting this summer, the UC Berkeley School of Law will be offering its first interactive online course specifically aimed at an international audience of both current law students and practicing attorneys. Championed as an “anti-massive open online course,” campus law lecturer Bill Fernholz’s “Fundamentals of U.S. Law” class is designed to create a tight-knit community despite the students’ diverse geographical locations. This online opportunity allows both international law students and lawyers with international caseloads to master U.S. law from their homes.

http://www.dailycal.org/2014/04/08/uc-berkeley-school-law-offer-first-interactive-online-course/

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April 18, 2014

Udacity Will No Longer Offer Free Certificates

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:08 am
by Steve Kolowich, Chronicle of Higher Ed
Udacity hopes the certificates it offers to people who complete its massive open online courses are worth something. Now the company plans to charge students accordingly. “Discontinuing the ‘free’ certificates has been one of the most difficult decisions we’ve made,” wrote Sebastian Thrun, Udacity’s founder, in a blog post about the policy change. So far Udacity has given students who complete a MOOC the option of downloading a free certificate. But lately the company has been designing courses that combine the promise of instructional rigor with premium services to create tuition-based offerings. Those “full” courses cost $150 per month and include contact with human coaches, project-based assignments, and job-placement services.
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Online speech therapy meets a number of schools’ and students’ needs

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:05 am

by Laura Devaney, eSchool News

Speech-therapyOnline learning extends educational opportunities to a number of different student groups, and those needing special interventions are able to benefit from expanded learning opportunities, too. One fast-growing online intervention is online speech therapy, which connects students with highly-qualified speech therapists who might not otherwise be accessible to students, whether due to geographical limitations or funding issues.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/04/09/online-speech-therapy-745/

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Online learning: tutors at your fingertips

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:02 am

by the Telegraph

The Tutors’ Association – launched in October to regulate this burgeoning industry – is also turning its attention to the emerging online sector. And so, it seems, are many parents. Online tutoring service Tutorhub, which has more than 5,000 students and 700 tutors on its books, has been among those at the receiving end of parents’ attention. “We’ve seen a 500 per cent growth in demand over the last 12 months, across every subject imaginable, at every level – especially from students in rural areas,” says its founder, Jon Ellis. “With an online teaching hub you can offer a lot of specialist knowledge that students aren’t going to be able to find locally.” And the price of this knowledge – imparted by teachers, lecturers, examiners and Oxbridge graduates – averages £20 per hour. It’s a similar story for MyTutorWeb. Since its launch last year, this online service has enabled 3,500 tutoring sessions, delivered by Oxbridge and Russell Group university students at £17 an hour. On most days it signs up six new parents in search of tutors.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationadvice/10741448/Online-learning-tutors-at-your-fingertips.html

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April 17, 2014

Minnesota students and instructors are developing an online platform similar to a MOOC

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:10 am

By Taylor Nachtigal, Minnesota Daily

As the nature of higher education evolves from traditional classrooms to online, a group of graduate and professional students want to ensure the University of Minnesota follows the trend. Some students and instructors are working with the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly to develop an online platform for graduate and professional students to pool their knowledge and expertise to address common, University-wide problems. The website will work similarly to a MOOC, or massive open online course, and serve as a virtual learning platform that allows people to connect anytime to explore shared interests or solve common problems. “The nature of knowledge is changing,” said Christiane Reilly, a Ph.D. student who is consulting project leaders. “Younger generations are used to solving problems by looking up information on the Internet when they have a problem.”

http://www.mndaily.com/news/campus/2014/04/08/gapsa-develops-online-platform

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Facial Biometrics Replacing Passwords in Online Learning

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:05 am

by FindBiometrics

Biometrics have a very special place in multilingual deployment scenarios. The human body speaks its own universal language of identity. We have seen this particularly benefit the healthcare industry through field deployments that leverage fingerprint biometrics to better keep track of health records regardless of language or literacy barriers. Now, we are beginning to see this philosophy applied to the space of online learning. Biometric ID and motion analysis specialist KeyLemon SA announced yesterday that it has partnered with Swissteach AG in order to bring facial recognition sign-on to the Global Teach online learning management system. Currently a supplemental level of logical access security, the resultant demo solution uses 20 points of facial data to guard sensitive information.

http://findbiometrics.com/facial-biometrics-replacing-passwords-in-online-learning/

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Online courses, gateway to limitless knowledge

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:02 am

by ASHIK GURUNG, Republica

KATHMANDU, April 07: In the heart of every scholar’s woes is their never-ending thirst for knowledge; the constant ‘need to know all’ basis and the burning desire to challenge the mind to higher analytical thinking and problem solving skills. To add to their distress, complications arise when they cannot find the required resources to quench their thirst: lack of teachers, overcrowded classrooms, exorbitant fees, missing books, unavailable courses; the list just goes on and on. But with the recent evolution of high-tech gadgets, these scholars can seek solace in the newly found panacea for their difficulties – online courses.

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=72424

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