Online Learning Update

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/

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/

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

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

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

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

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

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/

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/

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

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

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

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

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/

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/

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

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

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/

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