Online Learning Update

January 11, 2015

The Hype is Dead, but MOOCs Are Marching On

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:03 am

by Knowledge@Wharton

Just two years ago, massive open online courses (MOOCs) were all the rage. They were garnering lots of media attention and The New York Times called 2012 “the year of the MOOC.” Today, though the hype has died down, the world’s largest provider of MOOCs – Coursera – keeps on innovating and developing its online platform to serve millions of learners. Coursera co-founder Daphne Koller, whom Knowledge@Wharton interviewed in November 2012, returned to campus recently to speak about her progress since launching her company 2.5 years ago, and she gives her predictions for what the MOOC landscape will look like in the future. In her interview, Koller also provides an update on how Coursera is staying afloat even though the vast majority of students don’t pay a penny for their education.

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/moocs-making-progress-hype-died/

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January 10, 2015

Online Instruction, E-Learning, and Student Satisfaction: A Three Year Study

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

by Michele T. Cole, Daniel J. Shelley, and Louis B. Swartz; IRRODL

This article presents the results of a three-year study of graduate and undergraduate students’ level of satisfaction with online instruction at one university. The study expands on earlier research into student satisfaction with e-learning. Researchers conducted a series of surveys over eight academic terms. Five hundred and fifty-three students participated in the study. Responses were consistent throughout, although there were some differences noted in the level of student satisfaction with their experience. There were no statistically significant differences in the level of satisfaction based on gender, age, or level of study. Overall, students rated their online instruction as moderately satisfactory, with hybrid or partially online courses rated as somewhat more satisfactory than fully online courses. “Convenience” was the most cited reason for satisfaction. “Lack of interaction” was the most cited reason for dissatisfaction. Preferences for hybrid courses surfaced in the responses to an open-ended question asking what made the experience with online or partially online courses satisfactory or unsatisfactory. This study’s findings support the literature to date and reinforce the significance of student satisfaction to student retention.

http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1748/3123

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What do higher ed CIOs predict for campus tech in 2015?

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

By Roger Riddell, Education Dive

Those working in higher ed are familiar with the impact new tech developments have on an institution. For those who have attended multiple Educause conferences, the way tech can shape the space at large is even more evident. So what will 2015 hold for higher ed when it comes to tech? With 2015 now a week under way and higher ed set to begin its winter/spring semesters, we reached out to four CIOs to get their opinions on data security and the cloud, new classroom tech, and the trends and promising tech that could shake up campuses this year.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/what-do-higher-ed-cios-predict-for-campus-tech-in-2015/348364/

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Lawrence Public Library offers first-ever online college course

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

By Conrad Swanson, Lawrence Journal World

Recent KU graduate Michael Hilleary is always on the lookout for new opportunities to find himself back in a classroom. And he’s found that opportunity in Health and Wellness 101, the first-ever online class facilitated through the Lawrence Public Library. The massive open online course (MOOC) is offered free of charge through Kansas State University, but the library is volunteering its facilities and additional information to help increase the class completion rate, said Ransom Jabara, the library’s information services coordinator.

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2015/jan/04/lawrence-public-library-offers-first-ever-online-c/

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January 9, 2015

15 higher-ed technology predictions for 2015

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:09 am

By Meris Stansbury, eCampus News

Education and technology analysts say these tech-enabled trends will take off this year. Think it’s just about online learning? Think again; more like wearable tech and spending on campus IT security. These are just two major trends technology analysts from IEEE Computer Society, and education analysts from Eduventures, say will shape higher education in 2015. Looking at technology from a general consumer angle, IEEE’s Computer Society developed specific predictions on the underlying technology issues all IT professionals will need to tackle as a direct result of those consumer-driven trends.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/technologies/tech-trends-2015/

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Ivy Tech introduces new student huddles

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:03 am

by Kokomo Perspective

Ivy Tech Community College has scheduled six “New Student Huddles” in early January to welcome students entering the college for the spring 2015 semester. “Our goal is to make sure our incoming students feel well-prepared for the first day of class,” said Marcia Worland, executive director of Marketing & Communications. “To accomplish this, we’ve planned these 90-minute ‘huddles’ to familiarize students with the campus and its services. And those attending will have chances to collect some great Ivy Tech swag along the way!”

http://kokomoperspective.com/kp/ivy-tech-introduces-new-student-huddles/article_dc9c5fcc-9034-11e4-9f8e-df3de8cea4a5.html

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‘The greatest challenge for online education in India is poor internet connectivity in rural areas’

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

By: Vikram Chaudhary, Financial Express

The greatest challenge for online education in India is internet connectivity in rural areas. As infrastructure increases, so will the popularity of online education as a means of gaining new skills. Payment is another issue. While most Indian learners come to our site to take courses for free, many who would like to pay to earn a verified certificate are unable to do so. To alleviate that problem, we have started to introduce more accessible prices for our learners in India.

http://www.financialexpress.com/article/industry/jobs/the-greatest-challenge-for-online-education-in-india-is-poor-internet-connectivity-in-rural-areas/26035/

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January 8, 2015

7 Places to Learn to Code – for Free!

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

by Larry Kim, Wordstream Blog

Over my 10-year internet marketing career, my biggest personal competitive advantage was having an electrical engineering degree and being comfortable doing coding. Nowadays, you don’t have to go back to college (and take on the huge loan or remortgage your house) to get up to speed. The ability to code (and to participate in conversations around programming) is indispensable; it’s not a skill reserved for the uber-geeky. It allows business professionals to identify and quickly resolve issues like a string of wonky HTML in a content management system, to more effectively optimize landing pages, or leverage powerful new AdWords Scripts. It also gives you a unique new perspective in content development, when you understand the inner workings of your systems and can play around in it and get creative.

http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2015/01/02/learn-to-code-free

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Six Transformational Ideas for the New Year

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

by Steven Mintz, Higher Ed Beta

Academic innovation is in the air. But many of the proposed innovations are fairly tame. Placing lectures online; breaking large classes into small groups; incorporating more in-class activities into instruction are all signs of progress – and yet, these incremental innovations do not fundamentally transform the learning experience.  In celebration of the New Year, let’s look at six slightly more radical ideas designed to transform the student experience.

https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-beta/six-transformational-ideas-new-year

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Palo Alto school district, Palantir partner to teach coding

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

by Elena Kadvany, Palo Alto Weekly

A rainy evening during finals week, after school got out for the day, eight Palo Alto high school students sat enraptured in a downtown office building, listening to software engineer Brandon Burr of Palantir talk about using his company’s software as a means to combat homelessness. The mini high-tech lecture ended, and the room fell silent as the students bent over laptops sitting on desks in front of them, returning to websites they’ve been building for several weeks with the guidance of Palantir employees.

http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2015/01/02/learning-how-to-code-school-tech-company-partner-to-guide-low-income-students-into-tech-world

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January 7, 2015

US News Releases the 2015 Best Online College Rankings

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 10:00 am

by US News

Altogether, more than 1,200 distance education degree programs are cataloged in the usnews.com searchable directory, up from 996 the previous year. All programs more than a year old with at least 10 students enrolled are ranked. The primary audience for these online program rankings and the detailed program profiles is working adults – often in their 30s or 40s – who may not have the flexibility to leave the workforce to take classes during the day but still wish to obtain commensurate education, skills and credentials to boost their careers. Prospective students can use the rankings to gauge program quality, and use the searchable directory to explore additional information on such factors as tuition, program offerings and online services offered to enrolled students.  Follow the link below to the newly-released online rankings!

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education

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Sense of community in a blended technology integration course: A design-based research study

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

by J. Buckley Harrison, Richard E. West; IRRODL

This design-based research study explored whether sense of community was maintained while flexibility in the course was increased through an adoption of a unique blended learning model. Data collected in this study show a significant drop in the sense of connectedness score from a mean of 50.8 out of 66 to a mean of 39.68 in the first iteration. The score then began to gradually increase, reaching 50.65 in the third iteration. Results indicate that transitioning to a blended learning environment may be a suitable option to increase flexibility while maintaining a sense of community in a project-based course. Future research into specific aspects of course design such as maturity of design, age-level of participants, and context would further develop understanding in this area.

http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1907

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How online technology is changing the way the world learns

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

by C.P. Gopinathan and K. Ramachandran, Firstpost

Indian higher education is at an inflexion point. Several forces from within and outside are hitting the entire sector. These forces including cost, technology and new sets of demanding learners, are forcing education providers to re-look at existing models of education delivery. The questions is will the existing brick and mortar, infrastructure-led higher education system be able to meet the rising new demands or cope with the large scale changes. With each passing moment, it is clear they cannot. More than any other force, technology today is a large force multiplier, that possesses the ability to answer the most critical questions around the same issues of access, equity, excellence and affordability today, unlike, even the recent past.

http://www.firstpost.com/living/online-technology-changing-way-world-learns-2027677.html

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January 6, 2015

Universities offering MOOCs doubled in 2014

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

By Keith Button, Education Dive

In 2014, the number of massive open online courses offered rose to 2,400 and universities offering MOOCs rose to more than 400, or double that of 2013, EdSurge reported.  Coursera offers the most MOOCs, twice as many as the No. 2 provider, edX, which has nearly 400 courses. But Coursera’s market share shrunk to one-third in 2014 from nearly half in 2013. The top three MOOC subjects were the same in 2014 as in 2013: humanities, computer science and programming, and business and management.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/universities-offering-moocs-doubled-in-2014/347803/

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2014 Recap: U.S. Universities Continue Their March Toward Irrelevance

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:02 am
by  – Tom Lindsay, Forbes
The year 2014 was a discouraging one for American higher education. Over the last twelve months, too many universities have been squandering what has been up until now their greatest source of support—the public’s respect and loyalty. A 2012 national Pew survey finds that 57 percent of prospective college students no longer believe a college degree is worth the cost. As traditional higher education recedes into irrelevance—financially, academically, and morally—alternative methods of higher education are beginning to rise. Some community colleges are beginning to offer four-year degrees, and at a much lower price than traditional four-year schools charge. Also, according to the Babson Survey Research Group, which has tracked online learning over the past decade, “the rate of growth in online enrollments is ten times that of the rate in all higher education.”
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The 3 Best New Breaks for College Students in 2014

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

by Kim Clark, Time

If you know the material in, say, Econ 101, should it matter whether you learned it sitting in a lecture, by taking a free online course, or by reading the books? More well-regarded schools are saying it shouldn’t—and that could help bring down the cost of getting a degree. The University of Wisconsin system now makes it possible to earn a bachelor’s by taking tests or submitting portfolios of your work. The University of Michigan, the University of Texas system, and Purdue are also launching “competency-based” degrees. In the first year of UW’s program, one ambitious student aced enough tests to earn 33 credits in three months, at a cost of only $2,250.

http://time.com/money/3603798/best-new-college-ideas-2014/

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January 5, 2015

Student Perceptions of Online Interactive Versus Traditional Lectures

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:09 am

by John O’Rourke, JOLT

Universities are increasingly experimenting with the online domain to connect with busy and digital-savvy students and counter the decline in face-to-face lecture attendance More often than not universities are offering videoed lectures or PowerPoints with lecturer voice-overs as a way of delivering content. Evidence suggests that while these techniques may provide the flexibility required, some content needs more personalised delivery. In this article the authors explore the development and delivery of an online lecture format. Using a combination of video, text and interactive cell technology, this online offering was trialed in a unit focused on the education of students with disability in inclusive classrooms. Using the Attitude toward Computer Aided Instruction Scale (ACAIS) (Allen, 1986) the author’s surveyed 159, 3rd year pre-service teachers and asked them to compare the online presentation format with a traditional face-to-face lecture. The students were enthusiastic about using the online format, with data analysis revealing eleven of the twelve ACAIS criteria were highly significant in favour of this approach. The results of the survey are presented and discussed critically in the context of the challenges and opportunities online delivery of course content presents to universities.

http://jolt.merlot.org/vol10no3/ORourke_0914.pdf

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The Importance of Student-Instructor Connections in Graduate Level Online Courses

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

by Sheila A. Joyner, et al; JOLT

In an effort to determine how best to connect to their online graduate students, the authors analyzed student perspectives of connections with their instructors using a mixed-methods instrument. Participants for this study included 86 graduate students enrolled in an online master’s program in the United States who provided perspectives on student-instructor connections via qualitative questions. Since student-instructor connections are key to retention in both physical and online classrooms, the ultimate goal of the researchers was to determine how students made connections with their instructors through the provided technology. Existing literature regarding studentinstructor connections consistently notes the importance of ‘‘instructor presence’’ in an online environment. The results of this study confirm that instructor presence can exist in the online classroom. Participants offered the perspective that course homepages, discussion boards, and other aspects represented the extent to which the instructor was “present” in class. Ideas for improving instructor resence are offered. The authors suggest particular instructional methods to establish student-instructor connections that may be more effective than other methods

http://jolt.merlot.org/vol10no3/Joyner_0914.pdf

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Where your tech focus should be in 2015

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

by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, ZD New

Here are the 10 areas that the IEEE Computer Society believe are going to be big in 2015. Some will bring profits through savings and opening up new markets, while others will bring challenges that need to be faced. All of them should be on the radar of the Online Learning Tech Team at all universities.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/where-your-tech-focus-should-be-in-2015/?tag=nl.e539&s_cid=e539&ttag=e539&ftag=TRE17cfd61

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January 4, 2015

In education-crazy South Korea, top online teachers become multimillionaires

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

by Anna Fifield, Washington Post

In this education-obsessed country, Cha is a top-ranked math teacher. But he doesn’t teach in a school. He runs an online “hagwon” — or cram school — called SevenEdu that focuses entirely on preparing students to take the college entrance exam in mathematics. Here, teaching pays: Cha said he earned a cool $8 million last year. “I’m madly in love with math,” said Cha, looking the height of trendiness in his crimson shirt and pants and tweed jacket, in his office in Gangnam — a wealthy part of Seoul famous for its conspicuous consumption and featured in the song “Gangnam Style.” It’s hard to exaggerate the premium South Korea places on education.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/in-education-crazy-south-korea-top-teachers-become-multimillionaires/2014/12/29/1bf7e7ae-849b-11e4-abcf-5a3d7b3b20b8_story.html

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instaGrok: An Education Search Engine for Students

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

By Ann Elliott, Edudemic

After weeks of poring over reviews and testing the app in my classroom, I can say with confidence that instaGrok offers the best research engine experience for education of any app for tablets running iOS or Android. The instaGrok app is more classroom-friendly than its competitors, and its visual presentation of results is unparalleled. With instaGrok, teachers can encourage self-directed learning, empowering students to hone research, critical thinking, and writing skills. The search results engage students and encourage them to dig deeper in research projects. Read on to learn why instaGrok is the ideal classroom research app.

http://www.edudemic.com/instagrok-an-education-search-engine-for-students/

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