Online Learning Update

By David Raths, Campus Technology

To improve retention and outcomes for Pell grant students, Ball State University developed a mobile app that uses gamification to incentivize positive activity outside the classroom. The result, Ball State Achievements, is a mobile app designed to improve retention and outcomes for Pell grant students by gamifying positive activity outside the classroom — providing a gentle nudge for students to take advantage of the opportunities already provided on campus.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/08/19/achieving-student-success-through-non-academic-means.aspx

By Carl Straumsheim, Inside Higher Ed

Bay Path University is having to adjust downward the number of students it believes will want to study online through its American Women’s College, but university leaders say they see fully online education as one of many endeavors that will help them remain a financially sound women’s college in the future. Bay Path, a private university in Longmeadow, Mass., had hoped to enroll as many as 5,000 adult women in the first five years of the fully online college, which launched in 2013. With roughly 450 students on track to begin studying this fall and a total online enrollment of about 800, the university is less than one-fifth of the way there. “We overestimated the enrollment,” said Carol A. Leary, the university’s president. “But it will get to 4-5,000,” she added. “I can guarantee it, because you’ll have more and more digital natives wanting this kind of education in the future.”

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/08/21/bay-path-u-seeks-build-data-driven-online-college-women

by eCampus News

DeakinDigital, a wholly owned subsidiary of Deakin University, is partnering with Credly in the delivery of its new credentialing program, which it touts as an alternative to traditional education models. The move could drastically reduce the time it takes to attain certain degrees, university representatives said. Credly, which offers platforms for managing lifelong credentials, will enable DeakinDigital users to manage and share the digital badges they earn in places where they want to be recognized for the full spectrum of their skills and knowledge.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/partnership-digital-credentials-892/

by Jessamy Samuels, Arkansas Traveler

The UofA recently added online degrees to include a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies and a Master of Arts in Secondary Mathematics, said the vice provost for Distance Education. Some students take only one or two online classes while other degree programs require both online and classroom components. There are degrees, however, that can be earned exclusively online. Online classes at the UofA are offered through the Global Campus, said Robert Brady, director of interdisciplinary studies. “We have a reputation as a research university,” said Javier Reyes, vice provost for Distance Education. “To maintain that, we need to make sure that the students who are coming are high-caliber students. We must nurture the environment that gives that reputation for both on-campus and online courses.” The UofA offers more than 350 online degree programs and there is a 50 percent chance that any student at the UofA will take a course online, Reyes said.

http://www.uatrav.com/news/article_f2563e0e-45f7-11e5-b815-0f452f14d1d4.html

by Rudy Kemppainen, J-P

With the growing popularity of online education in the adult world, it should come as no surprise that public education has adopted the same methodology to educate students. This trend has become particularly noticeable in the Southeastern School District, especially as efforts to contain education costs have become more crucial. “All of our foreign language courses are now taught online,” said Tim Kerr, principal and director of the school’s online education program. “This allows us to offer a greater variety of courses to our students. “For example, if we had to hire a certified German teacher and only had one or two students taking the class, that wouldn’t be cost effective.” Thanks to online programming, this is no longer an issue for Southeastern students.

http://www.journalpilot.com/news/article_bb2376fe-45f2-11e5-92f5-efe253291acb.html

by IBN Live

Bengaluru: With more study material being available online and growing use of mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, the learning process is shifting online in India, a study by talent management firm Skillsoft said on Wednesday. “For many in India, mobile has become their platform of choice, where employees are empowered to access learning on demand,” Skillsoft manager Asia Aruna Telang said in research report, “The state of mobile learning in India”. The report elicited information from 545 decision makers managing human resources or learning and development budgets in organisations and learners across 16 nations in Asia Pacific. A telling insight from the report revealed that nearly 80 percent of the respondents in India agreed that mobile learning would increase learning engagement, while 27 percent felt that mobile learning adoption rate is low in organisations.

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/tech/online-learning-gains-pace-in-india-with-on-demand-access-on-mobile-1048800.html

BY CHRIS HAVERGAL, Times Higher Education

Lecturers who find themselves competing with Candy Crush for their students’ attention may not be fans of the mobile game. But a new paper argues that, far from complaining about the tile-matching puzzle, academics should harness its addictive appeal in order to tackle the problem of poor retention on online courses. Writing in the International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, mother-and-daughter researchers Evangeline and Maria Varonis say that many of the structural features of Candy Crush could be emulated in programme design. These include the way that the game groups content into identifiable, compact modules, allows access to these levels only when previous units have been completed, and provides clear, measurable objectives for the behaviour expected of learners.

https://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/candy-crush-it-model-online-courses

By Linda Haviv, Fox News

With technology skills becoming as important as readin’, ritin’ and ’rithmetic in today’s digital world, many parents want to ensure that their children develop the right skills for the future. But many don’t know where to begin and how to make learning tech skills fun for their kids. A new online course, “Server design 1,” is using one of the most popular video games ever – Minecraft, which has more than 100 million registered users and has been a hit among younger players – to teach code to children between 8 and 14. The course teaches kids how to create a Minecraft world that they develop and design themselves using Java code. This is the latest online course designed by Youth Digital, a technology education organization whose mission is to “create creators” by teaching children how to code, develop apps and design 3D modeling in a fun but challenging manner.

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2015/08/18/online-course-teaches-kids-to-program-while-having-fun/

by CHRISTIAN CAMEROTA, Harvard Business School

A good way to build a large user base is to offer something valuable for free. That’s been the strategy so far behind Codecademy. In just a few short years since its inception in 2011, the company has grown into one of the world’s largest online learning platforms, with more than 24 million users. Not only does it teach a skill set (coding) that is increasingly in demand in the job market, but its users are so loyal and engaged that they have provided the bulk of the learning content themselves at no cost. Codecademy’s community, a collection of technological altruists, is its most valuable asset. However, the company is now at a crossroads. It has grown so big and so popular that it must consider monetizing certain aspects of its business to ensure sustained quality and to continue to bolster its content offerings.

http://www.hbs.edu/news/articles/Pages/bussgang-codecademy.aspx

by Andrew Trounson, the Australian

Reskilling and upskilling will become­ lifelong pursuits in a ­technology-driven future, forcing qualifications to become “bite-sized” with “just-in-time” delivery, according to one of the world’s pioneers in the global phenomena that is free online learning, or Massive Open Online­ Courses. “The role of learning will be pervasive in everyday life,” said Daphne Koller, a Stanford mathematics professor who completed her masters degree at 18, but who switched direction in 2012 to co-found one of the world’s biggest MOOCs, Coursera, in 2012.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/bite-sized-qualifications-future/story-e6frgcjx-1227486079111

By PARESH DAVE, LA Times

Help is wanted in the cybersecurity field — and not just on the board of directors. As computer hacking grows more pervasive, so does the demand at all levels for workers skilled in the field. And where there’s a demand, there’s a start-up looking to meet it. Cybrary is an online cybersecurity training website that launched in January, and already, the company said, 150,000 people have participated. Like many start-ups, Cybrary aims to fill a market gap with a better, quicker and cheaper service. For now, its courses are free to individuals. Businesses pay a few thousand dollars a month for access to specialized courses. About two dozen businesses and schools have subscribed.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cybrary-agenda-sidebar-20150817-story.html

By Jordan Friedman, US News

For those who wish to gain knowledge of U.S. law, earning an online Master of Laws could be the right step. Experts say online learning offers students – especially attorneys already practicing overseas – a chance to stay at home and save money that would otherwise be spent on moving and relocating to the U.S. “With our program, what we have found is that the students we have enrolled are typically working,” says Deborah Call, associate dean of graduate and international programs at the University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law. “They find that their ability to take the classes online and generally on a part-time basis really serves their purposes.”

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2015/08/17/4-questions-to-ask-before-pursuing-an-online-master-of-laws-degree

By Meris Stansbury, eCampus News

The Network of states’ practices are unique in that they offer a standard model of how to create this increasingly needed pipeline. The Pathways to Prosperity Network, an initiative of Jobs for the Future (JFF) and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, began three years ago in an effort to help more students enter not only postsecondary education, but full-time jobs that directly help companies fill critical positions. According to the report, only one in three “young people” obtains a four-year degree by age 25—and roughly 30 percent of the job openings projected over the next decade require some education beyond high school, but not necessarily a four-year degree. And according to recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the nation’s youth employment rates have plummeted over the last 15 years, declining to their lowest levels since the 1930s.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/state-models-careers-812/

By CYRUS MOULTON, Union Leader

Southern New Hampshire University is taking another step to help serve military personnel in the classroom, announcing a new partnership with Warrior Transition Technology Training to provide education, professional certification and job placement for military personnel through a new undergraduate information technology (IT) program. “For many veterans, getting a college degree represents a very great change for them and opens up new possibilities,” Paul LeBlanc, president of Southern New Hampshire University, said Monday. “We’re leveraging the discipline, skills, and work ethic (military personnel) have, and then giving them the skills and expertise in Oracle database administration so they can have a new career.”

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20150816/NEWS02/150819486/1003/sports04

By Miranda Holloway, Daily Illini

As a rising junior and certified old lady, I have taken my fair number of online classes with mixed results. I’ve loved them because of their convenience and hated them because of their busy work. The struggles I’ve experienced with online classes have been almost exclusively my fault. In the wisdom gained through my old age, I’ve compiled 10 tips to help others prepare for and succeed in an online class.

http://www.dailyillini.com/article/2015/08/top-10-tips-for-taking-an-online-class

By Paul Fain, Inside Higher Ed

Traditional colleges have been mostly on the sidelines for the early development of online microcredentials or badges — the kind that aren’t linked to conventional courses and the credit hour. Educational technology companies and other alternative providers have taken the lead in working with employers on these skills-based credentials. A new prototype from a group of seven brand-name universities could change that. Tentatively dubbed the University Learning Store, the project is a joint effort involving the Georgia Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, the University of Washington, the University of California’s Davis, Irvine and Los Angeles campuses, and the University of Wisconsin Extension. The idea is to create an “alternative credentialing process that would provide students with credentials that are much shorter and cheaper than conventional degrees,” said David Schejbal, dean of continuing education, outreach and e-learning at Wisconsin Extension.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/08/14/group-seven-major-universities-seeks-offer-online-microcredentials

by Tim Dodd, AFR

The University of Tasmania’s very popular massive open online course (MOOC) explaining dementia this week begins its run for the fourth time. So far the course, Understanding Dementia, has enrolled 50,000 students and has an extraordinarily high completion rate of 36 per cent since it was first offered in 2013. A 10 per cent completion rate would normally be considered extremely good for a MOOC. Because most MOOCs are free, and attract a high proportion of window shoppers, the vast majority of learners usually do not complete. The free course runs for nine weeks, contains the latest research on dementia and was developed at the university’s Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre.

http://www.afr.com/technology/apps/education/course-explaining-dementia-attracts-50000-learners-20150811-giwill

By Queenie Wong, Mercury News

In a move aimed at narrowing a skills gap faced by many workers, the business-oriented social network LinkedIn purchased Lynda for $1.5 billion earlier this year. By using LinkedIn’s information about working professionals and businesses to link employees to the right online courses, the companies are bidding to help solve problems that have made it tough for employers to fill jobs — in a way that e-learning and employment experts say hasn’t been done before. “LinkedIn is kind of a uniquely positioned company because their whole focus is on professional skills and for professionals finding jobs,” said David Guralnick, president of the International E-Learning Association and Kaleidoscope Learning. About 38 percent of employers had trouble filling jobs in 2015, with lack of skills and experience listed as among the top reasons why, according to a survey this year by the ManpowerGroup, a human resource consulting firm.

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/business/20150809/linkedin-and-lynda-aim-to-close-a-skills-gap

by DEIDRE MUSSEN, NZ Stuff

No bars to education is the Corrections Department’s mantra with its new programme to allow internet into prisons. Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-liga launched the secure online learning project at Rimutaka Prison on Thursday morning, which will run in prisons around New Zealand. Two-thirds of the country’s prisoners were “basically illiterate”, he said. Lifting inmates’ literacy and numeracy with modern technology would reduce reoffending because their new digital skills would help them to gain jobs once they left jail. The scheme was trialled in 2013 for six months at the youth unit in Christchurch Men’s Prison, and proved a big success, so it continued there for the past two years.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/71102246/Internet-penetrates-prison-bars-to-boost-inmates-education