Online Learning Update

November 23, 2015

The Tech Talent Wars and #WomenInTech

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:07 am

by: Joanna Young, EDUCAUSE Review

To win the war for top IT talent, college and university leaders need a strategy for coming out ahead in one key battle: the paucity of women earning degrees in technology and pursuing related careers. The war for IT talent rages on in higher education, and the battlefields range from the classroom to the boardroom. To win this war and attract top IT talent, college and university leaders need a strategy for coming out ahead in one key battle: the paucity of women earning degrees in technology and pursuing related careers. This issue of women in technology cannot be looked at in isolation. It is an outcome of education access and affordability challenges and of ongoing gender gaps in all ranks and types of technology professions. If we can address those challenges and gaps, we could positively impact the number of women working in higher education information technology.

http://er.educause.edu/articles/2015/10/the-tech-talent-wars-and-womenintech

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E-LEARNING BLOG: THE ROLE OF INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN IN COURSE DEVELOPMENT

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

by USF

Sometimes faculty are hesitant to contact the E-Learning office to request assistance from an Instructional Designer when building or revising an online course. The reasons for this hesitation are as varied as the teaching and learning styles in our university. However, taking that first step to meet with a designer and discuss the design or re-design of an online course can be one of the best steps you’ll ever take for your course and your students.

http://usfsm.edu/blog/e-learning-blog-the-role-of-instructional-design-in-course-development/

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Rubrics for Assignments in Online Courses

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

by Touro College

An important aspect of an online course is grading assignments and providing feedback. This is especially true in an asynchronous course where there is no real-time interaction between the instructors and students. Once a student completes a learning activity, the instructor teaches via the grading of the assignment and provides clear and helpful feedback to the student. A rubric is one of the most popular grading and assessment tools. Here are five benefits to having rubrics as a central part of an online course

http://blogs.onlineeducation.touro.edu/rubrics/

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November 22, 2015

Survey: Not Enough Training, Instructional Support for Online Adjunct Faculty

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

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

Colleges and universities are increasingly relying on adjuncts and part-time faculty members to teach their online courses. A quarter of schools have increased the use of online adjunct instructors by five percent or more; 31 percent have increased their use by up to five percent. Yet often, these instructors don’t receive training on how to teach online; the schools lack formal policies for faculty expectations; and faculty are expected to create their own online courses with or without institutional help. Those are some of the findings in an extensive survey on the use of adjunct faculty for teaching online courses, recently reported by the Learning House, a company that runs online programs for schools, and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET), a nonprofit that helps institutions improve their e-learning programs.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/11/16/survey-not-enough-training-instructional-support-for-online-adjunct-faculty.aspx

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Will FaceTime Change Online Education?

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

by Joshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed

Have you been FaceTiming with friends and family? It’s different, right? We’ve been FaceTiming with my older daughter in South Korea (gap year), my brother (new baby), and my parents. Where we once made phone calls we now FaceTime. There is something about FaceTime that makes conversations conversational. FaceTime eliminates most of the weirdness of online video conversations. FaceTime starts with a single click. The video and audio always works. The sound is great, and matches the good video feed. How will online education change when synchronous online classes improve to the level of casual FaceTime conversations?

https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/will-facetime-change-online-education

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101 e-Learning Tips from the Experts

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

Edited by Scott Hawksworth and Sarah Bass, Best Online Universities

Educational technology, and more specifically e-Learning, offers tremendous value to both students and teachers. Both are constantly evolving, and as such, challenges are inevitable. To that end, we surveyed hundreds of e-Learning experts in search of useful tips for teaching and learning online. Our search generated 101 amazing tips, which are presented below. For the first timer to the seasoned e-Learner, you’re likely to find many valuable tips to help you succeed online.

http://bestonlineuniversities.com/101-elearning-tips-from-the-experts/

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November 21, 2015

Major Study Finds OER Students Do Just as Well — or Better

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:08 am

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

The study involved 5,000 students using OER and more than 11,000 “control” students using standard textbooks in courses at 10 different institutions around the country enrolled in 15 different undergraduate courses. It focused on five measures of student success. In the area of course completion, the researchers found “almost no significant differences” between the two groups with a couple of exceptions. In Business 110 and Biology 111 students in the OER group showed higher rates of completion than students in the control. For example, in the business class, 21 percent of commercial textbook users withdrew; in the OER group only six percent withdrew. In the area of student achievement (passing with a C- or better grade), the outcome was mixed. In nine courses researchers saw no significant differences. In five courses, the OER users were more likely to pass the course than those in the control group. In one course, Business 110, students in the control group surpassed students using OER.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/11/10/major-study-finds-oer-students-do-just-as-well-or-better.aspx

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Are online adjunct faculty doing any better than those on campus?

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

By Meris Stansbury, eCampus News

“The Coalition on the Academic Workforce (2012) reported that 75.5 percent of faculty members at two- and four-year institutions were in ‘contingent positions’ off of the tenure track,” write the report’s authors. “Of this large group, 70 percent were part-time or adjunct faculty members, making roughly half of all instructors in higher education in 2011 an adjunct or part-time faculty member.” The authors cite research that predicts this population will only continue to grow in size and proportion. The survey similarly found that more than half of institutions reported that their adjunct population that teaches online has grown over the last year. It’s a one-size-fits all: Policies that were designed for on-campus adjuncts were frequently applied to those who are teaching online, notes the report.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/online-adjunct-faculty-441/

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6 Things to Consider Before Taking Online Classes at Another Institution

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

by Bradley Fuster, US News

Make sure taking online courses at another institution doesn’t become an administrative mess. Start by getting permission from your academic department and checking enrollment policies. ​Students who fall behind or want to accelerate in school may opt to enroll in online classes at another institution during the academic year, or over the winter and summer breaks. As a department chair and adviser, I have unfortunately seen students become tangled in an administrative mess by doing this. Consider these following six tips before enrolling in an online class at another institution.

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-learning-lessons/2015/11/13/6-things-to-consider-before-taking-online-classes-at-another-institution

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November 20, 2015

Coursera co-founder talks impact of online courses

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:07 am

by Becca Solberg, Michigan Daily

Daphne Koller, president and co-founder of Coursera, gives a talk as a part of the Academic Innovation at Michigan series at the Michigan League on Thursday. Koller’s presentation, hosted by the Office of Digital Education and Innovation, discussed the impacts of Coursera, a platform for hosting the massive open online courses, or MOOCs, offered by a variety of universities. Koller, who is also a professor of computer science at Stanford University, began by describing the impacts of Coursera both on the universities that offer courses and the professors who teach them. In particular, she emphasized how online courses encourage professors to alter and improve their teaching techniques to best serve their students, who have the option of walking away from an online site at any moment compared to the more captive audience of a classroom.

https://www.michigandaily.com/section/news/co-founder-coursera-speaks-league

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Coursera enrolment in Singapore soars

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

by Amelia Teng, Straits Times

The number of Singaporeans enrolling in Coursera courses has almost tripled in the last three years – from 52,000 in 2013 to 140,000 so far this year. They are among the 10 million people worldwide plugged into the online learning channel, which took off about three years ago. Coursera offers 1,400 courses with 134 university partners including Brown and Princeton. These mostly free courses consist of video lectures, interactive quizzes and peer-graded assignments. Coursera has also started about 80 specialisation programmes, which are a series of bundled modules. Users may pay up to US$500 (S$710) to earn certification for these programmes.

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/coursera-enrolment-in-singapore-soars

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Online Education Company Udacity Is Tech’s Latest Unicorn

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

by Leena Rao, Fortune

Online education startup Udacity has raised a huge new round of funding that, according to a source close to the company, values the business at around $1 billion.With nanodegrees that come with feedback and mentoring, the completion rate is 90%, Thrun has said. Under the latest strategy, Thrun said that Udacity’s revenue is growing nearly 30% month over month and is profitable. He declined to disclose any more detailed financial information but one source pegged the company’s revenue annual revenue run rate at around $24 million.

http://fortune.com/2015/11/11/udacity-funding/

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November 19, 2015

5 major trends in higher education’s use of social media

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

By Meris Stansbury, eCampus News

New report studies close to a thousand different institutions to provide a detailed snapshot of 2015’s dynamic college and university social media use. If you want to know how other colleges and universities are using social media today, know this: they’re using it like any other media-savvy millennial. From a spike in “giving days” and crowdfunding campaigns to a heavy focus on multimedia, higher education has become a social media heavy-hitter. But measuring success is another issue. The findings are part of a yearly report (currently in its sixth year) conducted by CASE, Huron Education, and mStoner, Inc.—written by Jennifer Mack, senior researcher at Huron Education and Michael Stoner, co-founder and president of mStoner—on higher education’s refinement, prioritization and expansion of their social media habits.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/trends-social-media-620/

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Online pioneer Udacity lands $105 million round and a $1 billion valuation

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

by Marco della Cava, USA TODAY

Udacity has 11,000 students. It has some 1,000 graduates bearing its so-called “nanodegrees” who paid $200 a month per course. Most courses require a minimum of 10 hours of work a week, and last between three to six months. Makhijani says the company is profitable with its existing model, even when taking into account the fact that it refunds 50% of tuition to anyone successfully passing a course. “We found we could offer that enticement financially, and we wanted to do because the work isn’t easy,” he says, adding that some 90% of Udacity students have full-time jobs.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/11/11/online-pioneer-udacity-lands-105-million-round-and-1-billion-valuation/75544526/

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Better Residential Learning Is The True Innovation of MOOCs

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

By Joshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed

This week the edX community is being graciously hosted by Georgetown University to discuss our initiatives in open online learning. EdX is, at its heart, a non-profit consortium of educational providers. This is not what I think folks normally think of when they think of edX. Say “edX” and most people will talk about MOOCs and the technological platform, (in the case of edX an open source platform), that enables teaching and learning at scale. The evolution of open online education, and the technologies and methodologies that we use to teach open online courses at scale, are certainly part of the edX and MOOC story. I’d argue, however, that the true innovations of MOOCs are not those found inside the open online courses.

https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/better-residential-learning-true-innovation-moocs

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November 18, 2015

Top Mobile Trends to Watch in 2016

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

By Toni Fuhrman, Campus Technology

Two visionary IT experts discuss the biggest trends in mobile for the coming year, from 3D touch and virtual reality to wearables and the Internet of Things. For years, mobile technologies have had an enormous influence on higher education, changing the way students communicate, access information and learn. And there’s no sign of mobile losing steam anytime soon. According to the 2015 NMC Horizon Report, which forecasted the most important ed tech developments in higher education, mobile-related trends will rule for at least the next five years: In the short term, with a time-to-adoption horizon of one year of less, the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) phenomenon will proliferate; in the mid-term (two to three years) wearable technologies will see significant growth; and in the long-term (four to five years), the Internet of Things (IoT) will have wide-reaching impact.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/11/10/top-mobile-trends-to-watch-in-2016.aspx

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5 Ways Younger Students Can Be Successful in Online Programs

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

By Ian Quillen, US News

Traditional-age college students in online programs can benefit from campus access and success courses. Because online higher education has generally been aimed at older students, so has most advice for online students. But with an increasing number of 18- to 24-year-olds turning online for at least some of their undergraduate study, perhaps it’s time to update that advice. Here are five suggestions for traditional college-age students considering a new-age virtual approach to a degree.

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2015/11/09/5-ways-younger-students-can-be-successful-in-online-programs

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More Arab Region Universities Offer Blended Learning

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

By Anayat Durrani, US News

These courses combine online and on-ground learning, even as online degree programs are rare in the Arab region.  Online courses can give students the flexibility to learn on their own schedules. The use of blended learning is becoming more common at Arab region universities, and can prove an added benefit to traditional learning for Arab international students studying in the region. Somali national Zakaria Mohamed Hagi Hassan is currently taking a mix of in-class and online learning for his course on advanced crop physiology in the College of Food and Agricultural Sciences at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. “Online classes play an important role in a student’s full understanding of the course, and sometimes it’s a supplement for what you have learned in the class,” says Hassan, who is pursuing a Master of Science in crop science.

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-arab-region-universities/articles/2015/11/10/more-arab-region-universities-offer-blended-learning

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November 17, 2015

Three ways to make the virtual classroom personal

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:06 am

by Jeff Campbell, University Business

Going digital doesn’t have to mean creating an impersonal academic experience. Far from it. The challenge in creating a virtual classroom setting is how to do so while making it as focused on the student’s experience. This is important for advanced degrees that cater to individuals who are active in their careers. These students desire to learn as much from their peers as they do their professors. I believe there’s no better platform to engage a global student body so long as the environment is set up correctly. Following are three ways to accomplish this.

http://www.universitybusiness.com/article/three-ways-make-virtual-classroom-personal

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When the Technology Changes on You

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

by Maha Bali, Chronicle of Higher Ed

When we use technology extensively in our teaching (or work in general, really), how do we handle unexpected changes to that technology? Such changes could be a website going down, a tool changes or disappears, or even worse! Here are some thoughts and workarounds.

http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/when-the-technology-changes-on-you/61291

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Coursera Transforming Lives Worldwide Through Education

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

by Debra Hughes, eMPR

In a little less than 4 years after massive online course company Coursera’s existence, what began in a Stanford University classroom of 400 students has become a global classroom of 100,000, with 16 billion total course enrollments. “We envision a world where anyone, anywhere can transform their life by accessing the world’s best learning experience,” said Daphne Koller, PhD, said, in delivering the 2015 ACR/AHRP Annual Meeting Opening Lecture. “The impact in the real world can be quite significant and inspiring.” The implications for education—more specifically, the process of learning—are enormous. This is relevant when one considers that 91% of millennials change jobs in less than 3 years, and new jobs often require new skills. Consider, too, that 65% of tomorrow’s job don’t exist, Dr. Koller said, and that “58% of employers worldwide believe that new college grads are inadequately prepared for work.”

http://www.empr.com/acrarhp-annual-meeting-2015/coursera-transforming-lives-worldwide-through-education/article/452552/

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