Online Learning Update

by Bill Jacobs, Data Center Knowledge

Deployment of predictive analytics to production will deliver operational, performance and risk improvements across large organizations in 2015. Whether by integrating on-demand analytics into BI dashboards and reports, or by computing predictions as part of the business application logic, predictive analytics will go production for many this year. For those already in production, historical methods such as re-coding predictive models into Java or C++ prior to deployment have reached end-of-life. As application teams accelerate model deployment cycles, lower development costs and minimize coding inaccuracies, direct deployment of new models is needed. For IT, this means onboarding of new production systems that compute predictions, and with them, come challenges.

http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2015/01/12/just-thought-predictive-analytics-will-impact-data-center/

By ALEXANDRA ALTERJAN, NY Times

Simon & Schuster is making a push into paid online video, with a new website offering online courses from popular health, finance and self-help authors. The cost of the first batch of online courses ranges from $25 to $85, and includes workbooks and access to live question-and-answer sessions with three authors: Dr. David B. Agus, the best-selling author of “The End of Illness”; Zhena Muzyka, who wrote the self-help book “Life by the Cup”; and Tosha Silver, the author of the spiritual advice book “Outrageous Openness.” The courses will be available on the authors’ individual websites and on the company’s new site, SimonSays.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/12/business/media/simon-schuster-to-sell-online-courses-taught-by-popular-authors.html?_r=0

by Rick Morton, THE AUSTRALIAN

Online teacher training has the potential to overcome the malaise affecting the sector, with a major audit suggesting the pool of ­teacher talent is significantly improved using distance education, particularly in regional and ­remote Australia. Students enrolled in online courses are achieving at the same level academically as their peers who turn up to campus every week, the audit by the NSW Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards has found. Charles Sturt University faculty of education executive dean Toni Downes said “shipping” graduate teachers out into the country was not working. Online courses attracted people who wanted to enrol in teaching courses but stay in their communities.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/education/online-fix-to-classroom-crisis/story-fn59nlz9-1227182740095?nk=ccacb96e55d04e14eb634499d75aba4a

by Imperial College London

Electronic learning could enable millions more students to train as doctors and nurses worldwide, according to research. A review commissioned by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and carried out by Imperial College London researchers concludes that eLearning is likely to be as effective as traditional methods for training health professionals. eLearning, the use of electronic media and devices in education, is already used by some universities to support traditional campus-based teaching or enable distance learning. Wider use of eLearning might help to address the need to train more health workers across the globe. According to a recent WHO report, the world is short of 7.2 million healthcare professionals, and the figure is growing.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-01/icl-eag010815.php

By HANNAH SMATI, Harvard Crimson

When edX courses Entrepreneurship 101 and 102 opened Friday, enrollees had an extra incentive to complete the courses: Users who pass either class will receive $1,000 in credit to spend on Amazon Web Services. “[The Amazon offer] is to provide a valuable incentive for people to take and finish the course,” edX spokesperson Nancy Moss said. According to the edX blog post announcing the offer, students who pass either course can participate in web training, attend virtual office hours with experts, and receive assistance from companies that help start-ups.

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2015/1/11/edx-amazon-credit-offer/

Anant Agarwal, chief executive of edX in Financial Times:

For providers of Moocs (massive open online courses), I am enthusiastic about what the next five years will hold. Overall, we are discovering that current and prospective students engage with online education more as additional options become available…. I expect that these options – in courses, credentials and programme design – will continue to diversify.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/f8a03bbe-9802-11e4-b4be-00144feabdc0.html

by John Robertson, Christian Today

A retired high school principal and former business owner have spoken of their lucrative new lives as e-book writers. The former has found her niche in the romance genre, while Sydney resident, Angela Vassallo, is riding the success of a book based on her personal experiences with marriage and parenthood. Annie Seaton told the Brisbane Times on Friday that prior to her retirement from the education sector she had always wanted to pen a romance novel. Although she received a rejection letter for her first effort, she was concurrently placed on Amazon’s best-selling e-books chart. Her first book, “Winter of the Passion Flower”, led to offers from five e-publishing outlets.

http://www.christiantoday.com.au/article/australians.learning.the.financial.power.of.e.books/19273.htm

by Nelson Garcia, KUSA

One of the people at the 109th annual National Western Stock Show is a Denver student who does not always spend a lot of time in Denver. “I was working on a ranch at the time that school started and I didn’t want to go back to public school,” Jacob Leyba, 16 years old, said. Leyba did enroll in public school. He signed up for Denver Online High School to take classes on his own schedule and location. He was working on a ranch near Steamboat Springs. “The flexibility is what makes ranchers successful,” Leyba said.

http://www.9news.com/story/news/education/2015/01/10/rancher-takes-advantage-online-school/21582635/

by University of Missouri Extension

University of Missouri Extension is offering online training for board members of nonprofit organizations. While board members can bring valuable skills and knowledge, they might not be ready to deal with issues such as conflicts of interest, maintaining minutes and other required documents, compensation of paid employees, and proper handling of grants, donations and other income, Mefford said. Bringing new board members up to speed can be difficult and expensive for small nonprofits, especially in rural communities.

http://www.lakenewsonline.com/article/20150110/NEWS/150109168/-1/sports

by Michael Scharnoff, eCampus News

East coast and Midwest public universities dominate in best online bachelor programs rankings. Online education is appealing for its approach to teaching, flexibility, and cost. This phenomenon can be expected to grow. In 2013, the number of students taking at least one online course increased by over 411,000 to a new total of 7.1 million, according to a study by Babson Survey Research Group. Interested in capitalizing on all the benefits online learning has to offer, but unsure which program is best? You’re in luck, because U.S. News & World Report has released the Best Online Program Rankings in 2015. These rankings, accessible on both USNews.com and USNewsUniversityDirectory.com, includes more than 1,000 programs–an increase of more than 20 percent from last year, according to a USNewsUniversityDirectory.com press release.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/online-program-rankings-245/

by Jack McNeel, Indian Country

Washington State University is now offering an online program in American Indian Studies that leads to certification. This will provide an opportunity for those living away from campus to expand their education and enhance their opportunities for future employment. Michael Holloman, Colville/Coeur d’Alene, heads up the American Indian Studies program at WSU. He talked of the advantages in having an online certification program, not only for Native people but also for others who work with reservations and tribes in a variety of ways.

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/01/09/wsu-brings-classroom-students-online-certification-american-indian-studies-158617

By Christi Parsons, Tribune

President Barack Obama rolled out a new plan on Jan. 8 to make two years of community college free, or nearly so, for millions of students across the country, a major investment that the White House cast as changing the face of higher education. The program, inspired by new initiatives in Tennessee and Chicago, could benefit up to 9 million students, advisers said. At its heart is dedicated federal funding to cover 75 percent of tuition, with the states picking up the rest of the tab.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/obama-community-college-034/

By MIKE BUNDRANT, NLP

In a recent voluntary survey on willpower, 85% of participants reported an increase in willpower through a free, 5-day online willpower boot camp conducted via email. As of this writing, 121 people have participated in the online willpower course. Updates may be posted at intervals as more data is acquired from future participants. Participants registered for the course on a voluntary basis and paid no fee. For five consecutive days, participants received an email that asked them to report their results. A final survey delivered the results show below.

http://blogs.psychcentral.com/nlp/2015/01/increase-in-willpower-survey-results/

By: Lauren Coffey, University of Iowa

College officials are discussing how far online courses can go after a few football players at Mt. San Antonio community college were found to be taking an online math course that was known to be an easy way to boost their GPAs. “I love online classes, I don’t think there’s any problem with them when they’re done correctly,” Matthew Judd says, dean of natural sciences at San Antonio College. “…the biggest issue students have is the perception that these classes are easier. There’s the issue of student preparedness. When students aren’t studying there becomes a potential issue of academic fraud.”

http://college.usatoday.com/2015/01/08/online-courses-are-here-to-stay/

by Devon Haynie, US News

Asynchronous learning, or self-paced learning, can also be great for students who may feel more comfortable using the written word than speaking in class, says Vickie S. Cook, director of the Center for Online Learning, Research and Service at the University of Illinois—Springfield. “It gives you a more level playing field – even the thoughtful, introverted student can really take time to think about a response,” she says. In addition, she says, asynchronous learning gives struggling students the chance to review information or move at a slower pace, while also allowing advanced students to zip through the material. While asynchronous learning has its benefits, some believe live, online sessions provide the best education.

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2015/01/09/decide-between-live-self-paced-online-classes

by Shelly Palmer

Technological advancements always empower people to behave differently – what makes today different is that the rate of technological advancement is accelerating beyond our capacity, perhaps even our ability, to react – and this… is new. On demand is not new… ask anyone who has ever cared for an infant. What is new is the speed with which the technological infrastructure to deliver almost everything you could ask for on demand is evolving – albeit heterogeneously. The white space is obvious and the trend is clear: What’s next?….. (ed note: “on demand learning!)

http://www.shellypalmer.com/spb/2015/1/1/2015-the-year-of-on-demand

by Harvard Gazette

If your New Year’s resolution involves learning more about Einstein or the history of the blues, you’re in luck! Harvard’s Online Learning gateway houses all of the University’s open online learning opportunities under one roof for the first time, and anyone can access the breadth and depth of Harvard’s learning content. Featuring both free courses and courses for credit, the platform also offers museum collections, lectures, podcasts, and popular programs such as “CopyrightX” and Michael Sandel’s “Justice.”  “With the site, we have created a path for Harvard faculty to showcase their incredible teaching, for schools to highlight a single course or a full degree program, and for learners, in particular alumni, to dive deep into any subject imaginable,” said Peter Bol, vice provost for advances in learning and Charles H. Carswell Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations.

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/01/a-breadth-of-learning/

By Leila Meyer, THE Journal

The school implemented computer-assisted learning for the Learning Lab several years ago, and last year the school’s graduation rate increased 11 percentage points. “The reason for the increase is because this class from last year was the first year that we had the Learning Lab all four years,” said Sills. But despite the success of the Learning Lab, Sills and Lavallee were no longer satisfied with the software they were using for computer-assisted learning. “At the time they were good, four or five years ago, but as anything evolves, they did not evolve in the way that we needed it to,” said Lavallee. In particular, the school’s curriculum supervisors said they weren’t satisfied with the academic rigor of the program.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2015/01/07/using-online-learning-to-support-at-risk-students.aspx

By Leila Meyer, Campus Technology

Stanford University has wrapped its inaugural session of Literature and Social Online Learning, a new, interdisciplinary class that brings together students from computer science and the humanities to collaborate on literature technology projects. Students in the course work individually and in interdisciplinary teams to “study, develop and test new digital methods, games, apps, interactive social media uses to innovate how the humanities can engage and educate students and the public today,” according to the course description on Stanford’s site. The course aims to help students learn to communicate across disciplines, rethink literature education and develop new ideas for using technology in the classroom. The course also introduces project-based learning — where students work to solve a problem or build a product — to the humanities. While project-based learning is common in computer science classes, it’s unusual in the humanities, but “students found the model motivating and exciting,” according to a news release from Stanford.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/01/07/stanford-launches-literature-and-social-online-learning-class.aspx

BY IAN P. BEACOCK, Stanford

Students from computer science and the humanities join forces to create literary websites and mobile apps, combining their strengths to launch literature into the 21st century. Although inspired by Stanford’s new CS+X initiative – which allows students to study computer science in parallel with the humanities for a joint major degree – this course goes one step further, asking students from the two disciplines to collaborate on projects that unite technology and literature. The class looks and feels a lot like a start-up incubator in overdrive. In the space of only 10 weeks, students have gone from brainstorming to beta testing and publicly releasing their creations.

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2015/january/humanities-cs-class-010515.html

By Paul Fain, Inside Higher Ed

Like most colleges, online institutions are under pressure to improve their graduation rates. Some are getting more selective about which students they admit, turning away those who appear less likely to complete. But rather than just shutting its virtual doors to applicants, Western Governors University has begun referring underprepared students to StraighterLine, an unaccredited online course provider that does not offer degrees. “We can hand those students off,” said Daren Upham, vice president for enrollment at Western Governors, “to help them gain those skills at a much lower cost than we can provide.”

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/01/06/western-governors-deepening-partnership-straighterline-creates-new-path-completion