Online Learning Update

by Terry Anderson, Lorne Upton, Jon Dron & Judi Malone, Praxis

In this paper we present a case study of a self-paced university course that was originally designed to support independent, self-paced study at distance. We developed a social media intervention, in design-based research terms, that allows these independent students to contribute archived content to enhance the course, to engage in discussions with other students and to share as little or as much personal information with each other as they wished. We describe the learning design for the intervention and present survey data of student and tutor perception of value and content analysis of the archived contributions. The results indicate that the intervention was positively received by tutors and by the majority (but not all) students and that the archive created by the students’ contributions was adding value to the course. We conclude that the intervention was a modest, yet manageable example of a learning enhancement to a traditional cognitive-behavioral, course that has positive impact and potential with little negative impact on workload.

http://www.openpraxis.org/index.php/OpenPraxis/article/view/164/139

by Seb Murray, Business Because

As they scramble to understand emerging digital threats, business schools are adopting learning technology at a rapid pace. Innovation in education is often a slow and painstaking process but the speed with which business schools are adopting learning technology has become rapid. As they scramble to understand emerging digital threats, big-brand schools Wharton, INSEAD, MIT Sloan and Harvard Business School are all investing in online education. International companies, including Accenture and Google, have also joined the fray. To advocates of learning technology, the future of education is in digital delivery. “Given the increasing importance of online for management education, being a leader is important,” says Peter Zemsky, dean of innovation and strategic initiatives at INSEAD, “especially as business schools are teaching how to adapt to changing technologies and business models.”

http://www.businessbecause.com/news/mba-distance-learning/3117/bschools-bet-on-tech-for-digital-edge

by Rebecca Holland, Marshall News

Wiley College, in 2013, created its Center for Excellence in Distance Learning, with four goals in mind. The college wanted its center to be a forum for dialogue on virtual teaching and learning at historically black colleges and universities; to be a network of distance learning decision-makers, practitioners and researchers; to form a partnership between historically black colleges and universities and others with like purposes; and to be a place for research, collaboration, dissemination and innovation in distance learning, faculty development, continuing education and global initiatives.

http://www.marshallnewsmessenger.com/news/wiley-college-embraces-distance-learning/article_bfa5d617-9448-5db2-8e2b-f7e0cc3a3f81.html

by WMUR

The University of New Hampshire is planning to hold a six-week online course devoted to the state’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary. Political science professors Dante Scala and Andrew Smith will teach the class that looks at the primary as it unfolds, and explore the unique qualities of New Hampshire’s status and the process of campaigning. It will combine video lectures, online discussions and interactive activities.

http://www.wmur.com/news/unh-offering-online-course-on-presidential-primary/31404452

by Shelly Palmer Cyber Security

Data Doomsday Preppers should assume that every computer exposed to the public Internet is vulnerable to attack, even if it predominantly attaches to the outside world through a VPN (virtual private network). Remember, Joseph Heller’s famous phrase: “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.” Importantly, Data Doomsday Prepping is not a replacement for vigilant cyber security measures. You should encrypt your data, and use every practical security tool to help keep the amateur bad guys at bay. Data Doomsday Preppers fear weapons-grade super cyber attacks and professional bad guys. After all, you can’t have a serious breakdown of social services and live in a post-apocalyptic world unless something really bad happens. Which begs for the question, “Is Data Doomsday even possible?” Not only do I think it’s possible… I think it’s likely.

http://www.shellypalmer.com/spb/2015/2/20/data-doomsday-preppers

by Arizona State University

Arizona State University’s Cronkite School and the Poynter Institute are offering an online training seminar for adjunct faculty and others who teach journalism. The Poynter Institute and Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication are accepting registrations for an innovative online certificate program for adjunct faculty and others who teach journalism and mass communication classes at universities and colleges across the country. The course, offered through Poynter’s highly successful e-learning platform, News University (NewsU), provides adjuncts with the skills necessary to be effective teachers. Registration is available at newsu.org/courses/adjunct-certificate.

https://asunews.asu.edu/20150220-online-journalism-teaching-certificate

by Webster University

How do you have a dance class online? Webster University students from across the globe are actively addressing that question in the Department of Dance’s flagship online course: Introduction to Global Dance. Adjunct faculty member Betsy Brandt, an interdisciplinary scholar and dancer, choreographer, teacher, dramaturge, and writer, created the eight-week course as the first online and Global Citizenship Program course available from the Department of Dance in Webster’s Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts. “Betsy Brandt’s tremendous work on this course has been an exciting addition to the Department of Dance course offerings,” said James Robey, Department of Dance chair.

http://blogs.webster.edu/webstertoday/2015/02/20/global-dance-online-course-gcp/

By Michael Hart, THE Journal

The National Education Foundation aims to improve the digital skills of students and workers in financially disadvantaged area of the United States.The National Education Foundation (NEF) has launched two new programs designed to enhance the digital literacy skills of American students and the job skills of the United States workforce. NEF, a nonprofit that focuses on enhancing academic and job skills for disadvantaged students and adults, has introduced the National Digital Literacy initiative and the Adopt-a-School national initiative, both in partnership with the State University of New York (SUNY).

http://thejournal.com/articles/2015/02/19/nef-initiates-2-programs-to-improve-digital-skills-of-u.s.-students-and-workers.aspx