Online Learning Update

by the American Council on Education

A More Uniform Way of Recognizing Online Degree Programs Across State Lines, with SARA as a Focus (PDF) 1 MB (http://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Documents/Quick-Hits-State-Authorization-Reciprocity-Agreement.pdf)

The process for regulating postsecondary online courses and programs needs to become more uniform nationally in order to safeguard students and ensure that institutions can provide quality education at a reasonable cost. Learn more about recognizing online degree programs in this “Quick Hit” paper.

http://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Pages/Quick-Hits-SARA.aspx

by Rachael Hains-Wesson, Sophie McKenzie, and Shaun Bangay; EDUCAUSE Review Online

Using live streaming with blended learning helps engage off- and on-campus students in real time and enhances the off-campus experience by incorporating synchronous activities in addition to the usual asynchronous interactions. Research into the effective use of blended learning frameworks offers opportunities to create course experiences that are personal, relevant, and engaging. Challenges include integrating appropriate technology and managing it effectively throughout the course. Results from practical experiments will likely guide future learning and teaching endeavors using technology for inclusive, interactive, and collaborative learning for on- and off-campus students.

https://www.educause.edu/ero/article/anytime-and-anywhere-case-study-blended-learning

Joshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed

There is huge excitement on our campuses about the research in how people learn, in new methods to improve learning, in the use of data to bring evidence to our teaching designs, and in new technologies to support teaching. The scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL) is taking off in a big way. Learning is hot. Educators are cool. And MOOCs deserve some of the credit. The hype around MOOCs played the same role as the dot com bubble. MOOCs helped lay the groundwork for a sustained conversation about how people learn and how we teach

https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/7-common-mistakes-about-open-online-education

By Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology

George Washington University, Southern Illinois University and Workcred, a nonprofit affiliate of the American National Standards Institute, are teaming up to build a “credential registry” that would increase the transparency and value of industry credentials and degrees. The registry “will allow users to easily compare the quality and value of workforce credentials, such as college degrees and industry certifications, using a Web-based system with information provided directly by the institutions issuing the credentials,” according to a press release. The work recently received a $2.25 million grant from the Lumina Foundation. The credential registry project aims to create a coherent credentialing marketplace with information on what the credentials mean, what stands behind them and how they relate, that all users can understand and use effectively.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/07/09/new-registry-will-demystify-badges-credentials-and-degrees.aspx

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

To help innovators at Purdue University convert their technology ideas into commercial endeavors, the university is running a mentoring program where faculty help other faculty. Deliberate Innovation for Faculty (DIFF) is a team of faculty members who have already had success in moving an invention into commercialization. The seven DIFF mentors come from all over the institution — the college of technology; the school of management; the schools of biomedical engineering, chemical engineering and mechanical engineering; the college of engineering; and the Homeland Security Institute. Help may include guiding research proposals or collaborations from the beginning of new projects, providing early stage discovery or startup direction and proposing funding sources, market research and business planning.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/07/06/purdue-faculty-help-each-other-learn-steps-of-tech-transfer.aspx

by Anant Agarwal, Fortune

While the primary mission of our colleges and universities should remain focused on education, rather than skills training, many influencers in both higher education and the private sector have acknowledged the skills gap and are experimenting with new approaches—sometimes teaming up on initiatives to augment the college experience. Business leaders and educators alike are turning to new technologies, and skills-based assessment practices, to find and train the workforce needed today. The skills gap is a real threat to productivity in the U.S. The education world and the professional world can address this issue by finding ways to work together with the help of online education, opening up more avenues to learners and employees alike based on skill and ability.

http://fortune.com/2015/07/20/how-online-education-could-narrow-the-global-skills-gap/

By Jim Anderson – Illinois Radio Network

The University of Illinois is heavily invested in offering courses online, but the president doesn’t want the on-campus environment to suffer. But President Timothy L. Killeen says the college campus should not be seen as an anachronism. “Learning in group settings, learning through access to experts who are providing tutorial information, explanatory information, looking at case studies, the discourse that takes place on a campus, just the vibrant atmosphere of a campus, including things such as athletics and clubs and events and so forth, makes for a rounded citizen,” he said. But he’s all-in on distance education, saying it’s good for real people with real lives, including members of the military. However, he says it’s important that the U. of I. maintain the same standards for quality online that it keeps on campus. Killeen insists there is not competition between on-campus and online education, at least within the University of Illinois, which has been offering online courses since 1997.

http://www.riverbender.com/news/details/online-classes-on-the-rise-182755.cfm

by Barbara Kurshan, Forbes

By 2003, 81% of colleges had at least one online class, and from 2002 to 2008 there was a 187% increase of students taking online classes. In 2010, 83% of CEOs and small business owners considered an online degree to be as credible as one earned traditionally, and today, 96% of traditional universities offer online courses. In 2013, President Obama pledged over $500 million for the creation of online course materials as part of his commitment through ConnectED. We contend that the real issue — and the one that largely goes unaddressed — is that the majority of people who teach online are given virtually no assistance in learning how to teach online. Professional development for these instructors is limited to lunch ‘n’ learns, basic learning platform support, and other technology-related resources, but generally fails to expose instructors to the best techniques for online instruction.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/barbarakurshan/2015/07/20/carts-before-horses-growth-in-online-learning-for-students-but-who-will-teach-their-instructors/

by Tim Chen, South China Morning Post

Amid increasing cyber attacks on both political and commercial targets by groups linked to China, the barriers to entering this potentially lucrative black market industry are close to non-existent as hackers share tips and best practices online. On the Chinese internet, websites and forums dedicated to teaching hacking proliferate. Techniques on offer can be used by both criminal “black hat” hackers and “white hat” cybersecurity researchers. On HDHacker, a forum which claims more than 465,000 members, one training programme for “black hat” hackers promises tutors with six years of experience who will guide students through a curriculum that includes “dozens of security and remote control methods” and “site penetration and analysis of source code” for a one off fee of 650 yuan (US$105).

http://www.scmp.com/tech/innovation/article/1840925/chinese-forums-offer-hacking-courses-around-us100-cyber-attacks

by Cassie Lipp, News Record

In response to the University of Cincinnati’s emphasis on online and technology-based learning, the university will open its Center for Engagement in eLearning in the beginning of fall semester. The center’s design, technology and creative teams will allow faculty members to innovate learning. “We’ve got people who are professionals in graphic and video design and professionals in supporting faculty with technology,” said Pat Reid, director of the center’s design team. “So we can provide a lot more services and help the faculty with a more professional look to their courses.” Reid said the center’s main goal, however, is to help professors find more effective methods to engage students. “The pedagogy side of technology is more important than the technology they actually use,” Reid said.

http://www.newsrecord.org/news/new-center-to-stress-active-learning-technology-in-course-design/article_a5259944-2d66-11e5-a2c7-eb0238a0d4bb.html

By Leila Meyer, Campus Technology

Google has selected Carnegie Mellon University to lead a multi-university project to create new technology for the Internet of Things (IoT). The Internet of Things involves adding sensors and network connectivity to everyday objects so people and other devices can interact with them. Google funded the Open Web of Things expedition “to encourage universities to explore various aspects of system design that could help enable the Internet of Things,” said Maggie Johnson, director of university relations for Google, in a prepared statement. Google will provide Carnegie Mellon with $500,000 to launch the expedition. As part of the project, researchers from Carnegie Mellon will collaborate with colleagues at Cornell, Stanford, University of Illinois, and Google to create GIoTTO, a new platform to support IoT applications.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/07/13/carnegie-mellon-to-lead-internet-of-things-expedition.aspx

by Victor Wang, South China Morning Post

E-learning has taken off since HKU launched its first online course last year, with benefits for on-campus education too. A year after launching its first online course, the University of Hong Kong is not only rapidly expanding its virtual programmes, but also reaping unexpected results for its on-campus teaching in the process. HKUx, a subdivision of the international non-profit MOOC (massive open online course) provider Edx, opened registration for its first course in April 2014, following an invitation from Edx co-founders Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University in 2013. HKUx has launched three more MOOCs in the past three months. During the time between the first MOOC, an introductory public health course titled Epidemics, and the latter three, there has been a dramatic shift in the university’s approach to the online platform. Professors have realised the applicability of online teaching for their on-campus classes.

http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/1840903/how-moocs-helped-university-hong-kong-apply-e-learning-tools

by Mitch LeClair, St. Cloud Times

Entering a computer science profession is a more accessible goal than ever. A university-level education is available with a few clicks, at times from a distinguished school such as Harvard University. And it’s often open to all at no cost. One portal teaching students of all ages is Free Code Camp.

http://www.sctimes.com/story/news/local/2015/07/19/free-coding-sites-drop-costs-teaching-web-languages/30395341/

By Toni Fuhrman, Campus Technology

At the University of Central Florida, instructional designers offer faculty ongoing mobile technology training courses. “It’s all about planning, and thinking creatively,” said Luke Bennett, instructional designer at the University of Central Florida’s Center for Distributed Learning. Bennett and his team support about 2,000 faculty members by conducting research and developing online and training courses. Their current training course is called “Mobile Essentials.” Mobile devices can expand learning beyond the classroom walls, Bennett explained. “This can happen both outside the classroom and in a traditional classroom space. The mobile device is the medium connecting the classroom experience to the real world of the student. The content learned in the classroom is connected to the outside world.”

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/07/14/training-faculty-for-mobile-learning.aspx

by eCampus News

UMBC Training Centers, a mid-Atlantic provider of technical, engineering and professional skills training, has announced a merger with /training/etc Inc., a leader in the design, development and delivery of content-rich Open Source technology training. “This merger with /training/etc combines two regional leaders in technical training and comes at a time of exciting growth for UMBC Training Centers,” said Kent Malwitz, president of UMBC Training Centers. “Our customers will benefit from a greater range of offerings, such as additional leading-edge software development courses, and strategic offerings from technology leaders such as Red Hat, Hortonworks, VMWare and Cisco.”

http://www.ecampusnews.com/business-news/open-source-training-817/

By Leila Meyer, Campus Technology

Purdue University is reducing textbook costs with a digital publishing platform that can deliver interactive content to any device. Kyle Bowen, director of education technology at Penn State University and chief technology officer of Skyepack, led the team that developed the platform in his previous role as director of informatics at Purdue. According to Bowen, one of the main drivers of the project was the desire to reduce textbook costs for students. But the team was also driven by the idea that e-textbooks could be more than just a digital manifestation of a traditional textbook, and that technology could deliver instructional material that was non-linear and incorporated media beyond just static text and images — video, embedded course discussions, student feedback, question-and-answer functions and other interactive features.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/07/15/developing-a-10-digital-textbook.aspx

by eCampus News

Starting in February, Canon provided a mixed reality expert to mentor and work with the students bi-weekly throughout the competition, demonstrating the use of mixed reality solutions to advance and develop the future of education. With the help of the MREAL Solution, the winning team demonstrated the proper emergency response procedures, applying simulated medical emergency response techniques to a physical mannequin with virtual wounds. Combining the use of physical objects – mannequin and medical tools, with the virtual wounds and patient conditions, the winning team proved how the solution could be used to bring the dynamic, chaotic conditions of a medical emergency for effectively training paramedics and emergency personnel. The demonstration also provided the mixed reality view of a patient’s writhing face on the mannequin. When the correct treatment was applied to the mannequin, the face calmed with life-like reaction.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/technologies/ucf-mixed-reality-299/

by Tauriq Moosa, the Daily Beast

The digital landscape has transformed how we perceive and do harm. Ellen Pao, the now ex CEO of Reddit, writes: “We were naive in our initial expectations for the Internet, an early Internet pioneer told me recently. We focused on the huge opportunity for positive interaction and information sharing. We did not understand how people could use it to harm others.” As Pao knows firsthand of being both in charge of and targeted by spaces where such harassers congregate, the protection of what so many consider “free speech” is a caricature. It’s not free speech that so many want defended, but license to say and distribute whatever they want without consequence.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/07/19/this-ruling-could-change-online-free-speech-forever.html

By Toronto Star

Foreign graduates from Niagara College who have taken many of their courses online are faced with having to leave Canada early because they’ve been deemed ineligible for post-graduate work permits. With online courses becoming an increasingly mainstream part of higher education, their exclusion from the three-year work permit program for new graduates — meant to retain the talents of the best students coming to Canada — raises questions about how well immigration policy is adapting to evolving technologies. The students in the school’s general arts and sciences program had high hopes of earning Canadian work experience after their study visas expired, given that the school is listed on Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s “designated learning institutions list” for the work permit program. “Immigration is not keeping pace with the changes of education,” said Toronto immigration lawyer Ravi Jain, who is representing more than 50 of the affected students.

http://metronews.ca/news/toronto/1429501/foreign-students-denied-work-permits-because-they-took-online-classes/