While student data systems are nothing new and most educators have been dealing with student data for many years, learning analytics has emerged as a new concept to capture educational big data. Learning analytics is about better understanding of the learning and teaching process and interpreting student data to improve their success and learning experiences. This paper provides an overview to learning analytics in higher education and more specifically, in e-learning. It also explores some of the issues around learning analytics.

http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/summer182/czerkawski182.html

By Ian Quillen, US News

Through summer online courses, high schoolers can tackle advanced subjects, prepare for college entrance exams and retake classes. Kim Davie remembers her reaction when her mom suggested she and twin sister Shayla enroll in a summer online course after their freshman year. “I wasn’t all for it,” she says sheepishly. A year later, though, both Houston-area high schoolers are willingly returning for another summer with the International Connections Academy to get a head start on next fall’s course material. Shayla will take statistics after enrolling in Algebra 2 a year ago. Kimberly will study physics after last year’s geometry course. Both expect a similar summer as​ last year, when they still had time for cheerleading camp, fitness camp and a vacation to Mexico. “You could still work the class into your schedule,” Kim says. “Any free time you had, you could use it.”

By Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology

Faculty and staff in the California Community Colleges (CCC) will soon have access to online training on digital skills and tech tools. This summer, the CCC system is partnering with online learning platform Grovo to power the new CCC Learn Academy, an effort to “close the digital skills gaps that affect faculty and students across campuses.” With Grovo, the Academy will provide 87,000 faculty, staff and administrators with an extensive library of 60-second microlearning video lessons covering digital skills and professional topics. The system is cloud-based, so faculty can participate anywhere, any time. Trainings range from e-mail etiquette to Google Apps and Microsoft Office.

http://campustechnology.com/Articles/2015/06/18/California-Community-Colleges-to-Roll-Out-On-Demand-Faculty-Training.aspx

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

When the School of Business at Portland State University launched a brand new online business degree program focused on leadership and management for working professionals, the intent was to experiment with new kinds of learning to enhance students’ professional, academic and career development. Looking for a way to link students’ academic achievements to career success, the school turned to e-portfolios as a key component in the program. And students will carry those portfolios beyond graduation: In their third year of the three-year program, they will port a version of their e-portfolio content into a career-oriented social sharing site. Here’s how Portland State wove e-portfolios into the curriculum from the ground up.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/06/17/eportfolios-link-academic-achievements-to-career-success.aspx

By Laura Devaney, eCampus News

New study examines the impact of course-related texts and tweets on student recall.  Students who tweet or message about anything associated with an academic lesson could demonstrate greater recall and learn more from lectures. The finding is part of a new study, Texting and Tweeting in the Classroom: How Do They Impact Student Learning?, appears in the National Communication Association’s journal, and analyzes how different social media messaging, including tweets, impacts how much students retain what they learn during lectures.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/texting-tweeting-students-098/

By Robert Hill, Evolllution

The DOE approved three institutions’ “direct assessment” degree programs (first SNHU, then for-profit Capella University, and the University of Wisconsin Extension) that other colleges (including Northern Arizona University and Bellevue College, among others) would also soon seek and obtain approval for this flexible degree option. Likewise, the for-profit online behemoth Kaplan University and its Mount Washington College, along with another giant for-profit institution, Walden University (owned by that Laureate Education), also earned approval from the DOE and its regional accrediting agencies for similar direct assessment programs. Is this a harbinger of things to come? Will other colleges or universities routinely accept these credits and degrees into graduate programs? Will employers have confidence in this new self-paced learning and anytime, anywhere approach? Will they understand and agree to recognize the new competency-based transcripts? This will be something to watch in the coming months.

http://www.evolllution.com/opinions/breed-competency-based-education-degree-programs-trend-fad-part-1/

by Witt Salley and Melanie Shaw, OJDLA

A continued need exists for community college administrators to develop and implement strategies to ensure sufficient staffing to meet demand for online courses and promote student success. The problem this study addressed was threefold. First, online instructors in the local setting are overextended and are consequently unable to implement best practices. Another problem was that the current institutional system encourages overload teaching assignments. Finally, increased teaching loads can have negative ramifications on online instructor attentiveness, student performance, and academic rigor.

http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/summer182/salley_shaw182.html

by Shouhong Wang, OJDLA

Pricing online courses is an important issue for managing online education. This research note reports a statistical analysis of price differences between online courses and on-campus courses at 103 US educational institutions based on the data available on the Internet. The finding indicates that educational institutions set significantly lower prices of their online courses than that of on-campus courses, private educational institutions set significantly lower prices of their online courses than public institutions, and small institutions or large institutions set significantly lower prices for their online courses than medium-sized institutions.

http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/summer182/wang182.html

by Amanda Corbett and Abbie Brown, OJDLA

This article explores the literature that focuses on the various roles librarians and libraries play in distance education settings. Learners visit libraries either in person or via networked computing technology to ask for help with their online courses. Questions range from how to upload a document with a learning management system, to how to use software and hardware, to more complex questions about how to locate and research articles for term papers. The literature reviewed provides a glimpse into the historical roles, current roles, as well as possible new roles that libraries and librarians may play in the future. This article identifies various library services that are essential to distant learners and distance education settings, and will explain how librarians and libraries are providing these services online.

http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/summer182/corbett_brown182.html

by Ilan Mester, Engineering

Online learning can sometimes be impersonal and unstimulating. A group of engineering students is hoping to change that by integrating virtual reality tools into distance education. “Online learning gives us huge opportunities in higher education. You can connect with more diverse people across greater distances, for example,” said Conrad Tucker, an assistant professor of design and industrial engineering at the Pennsylvania State University. “But online courses also limit you in some ways — there’s little immersive or tactile interaction, and sometimes it’s hard for students to engage with the material. IVR [Immersive Virtual Reality] systems are a potential solution to that problem.”

http://www.engineering.com/DesignerEdge/DesignerEdgeArticles/ArticleID/10287/How-Virtual-Reality-can-Improve-Online-Learning.aspx

by Patrick An, Diamondback

It’s efficiency and accessibility that truly elevates MOOCs beyond the traditional education model. The relatively low stakes of taking an online course reinforces the notion that knowledge is its own reward and should not necessarily only be applied to finding a lucrative profession. By removing price from the equation, MOOCs additionally ensure all knowledge is equally important and equally priceless. Centuries ago, Benjamin Franklin famously said “the only thing more expensive than education is ignorance,” but today, MOOCs provide an educational system to students so they don’t have to choose between the two.

http://www.diamondbackonline.com/opinion/article_428cbf58-1540-11e5-a462-1b84d2826b10.html

by Seb Murray, Business Because

The blended learning revolution at business schools is gathering pace, with a clutch of top schools having announced plans to roll out digital MBA degrees. The blended form of learning has already been embraced by the likes of Harvard and Stanford. But as competition with disruptive online education providers – so called edtech companies – intensifies, others are rolling out the programs to keep pace with digital innovation. “The launch of our Online MBA program represents our commitment to developing innovative programs that enable busy professionals to earn a business degree,” says Gene Anderson, Miami School of Business dean. Miami’s new online degree will launch in September 2015. It is billed as fully-online but offers a one-week residency on Miami’s campus in Florida.

http://www.businessbecause.com/news/mba-distance-learning/3323/blended-learning-growth-gathers-pace

by Rohan Malhotra, Techinasia

Coursera announced that China, with one million registered users, is the largest market for its online courses outside of the United States.Coursera initially operated in China through online translation partnerships with local companies before officially launching in late 2013. At last count, it had 13 million users worldwide. During an interview with 36kr, Coursera CEO Rick Levin credited their impressive growth trajectory to an understanding that high quality education has the ability to cross cultural and geographical boundaries. Levin went ahead to elaborate on Coursera’s iMBA, suggesting that an increasing number of prestigious universities offer such programs and Coursera’s entry into this space will add greater flexibility for students. He added that the program offered in partnership with the University of Illinois, would be considered a potential marker of student drive and self-discipline, two qualities that would certainly not go unnoticed with employers.

https://www.techinasia.com/china-courseras-biggest-market/

By Lea Giotto, USA Today

Brian Hare, an evolutionary anthropology professor at Duke University, is teaching a free online course called “Dog Emotion and Cognition” through Coursera, a site that teams up with colleges and universities all over the world to offer free online courses.“I just wanted to make sure that anyone can have access to all of the exciting stuff that’s going on, and that’s what [Coursera is] all about,” Hare says. According to the class’ website, “Dog Emotion and Cognition is a course designed to introduce the exciting new science of dog psychology to any level of dog enthusiast.” The class can serve as an introduction into the general study of animal psychology, or even as an educational platform for dog trainers.

http://college.usatoday.com/2015/06/15/duke-professor-offering-free-online-course-on-dog-psychology/

By Carl Straumsheim, Inside Higher Ed

Online learning platforms are out of tune with creative arts education, according to the ed-tech start-up Kadenze. Its platform, which launches today, aims to become a hub for online courses in art, design, music and other disciplines underrepresented online. Those courses have proven challenging to teach to an audience in dozens, let alone the hundreds or thousands, as faculty members struggle to translate face-to-face instruction to an online setting or evaluate students based on highly personal work. As a result, massive open online course platforms often feature lineups heavy on courses in which student performance can be determined with quizzes and peer-graded writing assignments.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/06/16/kadenze-launches-online-education-platform-creative-arts-courses

By Jordan Friedman, US News

It’s important for students to manage their time in an online course. But if they find themselves struggling to stay on track, there are ways to come from behind. A student’s reasons for dropping back in the first place may vary, experts say. Adjusting to a learning management system and other technology used in online learning can be a challenge for students before they even start to tackle their course work, says Lisa Knowles, a senior student services coordinator in Boston University’s distance education office. And when they do fall behind, a sense of isolation can prevent them from reaching out for help. Here are some steps students can take if they find themselves trying to catch up in their online class.

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2015/06/15/ways-to-bounce-back-after-falling-behind-in-an-online-course

By Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

A new system designed by Penn State engineering students gives distance learners an immersive classroom experience using virtual reality. Campus Technology reports that the system uses the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, as well as a haptic glove and interactive three-dimensional simulations that students developed themselves. The project supervisor expects the system to give distance learners tactile experience, thus improving online courses, and also enhance traditional classrooms, according to the article.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/penn-state-prototype-brings-virtual-reality-to-distance-education/400719/

By Chris LaBelle, Evolllution

The growth of more sophisticated online learning experiences will continue to shift the responsibility of procuring and curating learning resources to students, even outside of competency-based learning programs…. This vision of educational technology involves a shift of influence among different power brokers and a strategy that recognizes the growing influence of new private entrepreneurial businesses in this space. While it will be difficult at times to identify clear winners and losers in this tumultuous environment, it is almost certain that roles and functions within higher education will continue to be reformulated as more of our work is virtualized, scaled and our roles and expectations as employees within this system are subjected to more competitive external market forces that are both unkind and self-correcting.

http://www.evolllution.com/featured/high-tech-higher-ed-educational-technology-transforming-industry/

By Michael Hart, Campus Technology

The information technology services department at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse transformed its culture via a simple, step-by-step process. “We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy, quick fix,” Jorstad said, now five years into the transformation. “You have to strategize to do it.” That’s why Jorstad and his team came up with a process they believe has successfully turned their organization’s 40-plus-member staff around. Today, he said, the rapport between the university and the ITS team has never been better.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/06/11/10-ways-to-change-a-higher-ed-it-culture.aspx

by iSchoolGuide

Google and Udacity have teamed up to offer the first Android development nanodegree, which would take 9 to 12 months to complete. Students who were able to complete the course and pass the examination would have the chance to become part of Google’s team as certified Android developers. The Android Nanodegree will take 9 to 12 months to complete, and consists of six courses. Fortune.com reported that Google and Udacity will soon introduce Nanodegrees on Cloud Computing, Web Development, and Entrepreneurship.

http://www.ischoolguide.com/articles/14448/20150612/google-udacity-offering-android-development-nanodegree-promising-career-path.htm

by Kunal Chawla, EdSurge

Most edtech conversations often focus on “tech”— the new apps, data systems, assessments and other technologies. But the “ed” discussions — particularly the art of teaching with these tools—are often remiss. Over the last two years, I taught online courses on Python programming and iPhone App Development at Udacity; over 100,000 students registered for them. In the first of my four-part series, 20 Tips for Teaching Online, I’ll focus on several aspects of online course creation, including planning, techniques for teaching, community building and assessments. My hope with this piece is to contribute to a conversation on how to teach more effectively in an online space and what we can learn from research and expert teachers in physical classrooms. Let’s begin!

https://www.edsurge.com/n/2015-06-11-6-essential-tips-for-planning-an-effective-online-course