Online Learning Update

by DEREK NEWTON, the Atlantic

Today, entrepreneurs and freelancers openly advertise services designed to help students cheat their online educations. These digital cheaters for hire will even assume students’ identities and take entire online classes in their place. I reached out to one of these companies—the aptly named No Need to Study —asking, for the sake of journalism, if it could take an online English Literature class at Columbia University for me. I got an email response from someone on its customer-relations staff who told me that, not only could the company get a ringer to take my online class, it could also guarantee I’d earn a B or better. I was told the fee for such an arrangement was $1,225.15. When I asked for more information to be absolutely sure I understood the company’s services, the reply was crystal clear: “We offer the services of a pool of experienced academic tutors to take classes and complete course work for our clients.”

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/11/cheating-through-online-courses/413770/

By Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

Apple TV is introducing online learning as an embedded element of its product for the first time, adding television to Coursera’s platform flexibility. Coursera announced the partnership on its blog, saying the TV compatibility will give people access to videos from top academics and industry experts from the comfort of their own living rooms. The company’s entire catalog of courses will be available through the new platform.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/coursera-is-apple-tvs-first-online-learning-partner/408499/

by Jeffrey R. Young, Chronicle of Higher Ed

In the past few years, many colleges have expanded the scale and scope of centers that support teaching and learning with technology, as part of an effort to build a new “innovation infrastructure” for instruction. That’s according to the results of a new survey of directors of academic-technology centers at 163 colleges and universities, released last week at the annual conference of Educause, an organization that supports technology on campuses. One key change has been the creation of new or redefined administrative jobs at colleges intended “to lead their academic-change initiatives.” And the survey found that several colleges have reconstructed their centers for teaching and learning to focus more on student success than just on faculty development, working more often across various departments such as student services and academic affairs.

http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/many-colleges-now-see-centers-for-teaching-with-technology-as-part-of-innovation-infrastructure/57593

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

Gerry Hanley has a vision. He wants to plant a big thermometer on California State University Web sites to show how much money students are saving by not having to buy traditionally published textbooks or ancillary resources. His rough estimate: As of a few years ago, learners at the 23-campus, 460,200-student university system were spending $300 million a year on course materials — about $651 per student per school year. His goal is to cut that in half, and he believes the result will be higher graduation rates and better quality of education. “If I could save 50 percent for students, that’d be great,” said Hanley, Cal State’s assistant vice chancellor for academic technology services and executive director of MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching).

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/10/28/affordable-learning-at-scale-with-oer.aspx

By Meris Stansbury, eCampus News

It’s called the Office of Analytics at University of Maryland University College (UMUC), and it began with the vision of President Javier Miyares, who wanted to not only unlock the potential of institutional data across multiple areas, but turn the data into a profit for the college. “The problem is most presidents have heard the word but don’t know how to execute,” explained Miyares during a session at last week’s EDUCAUSE 2015. “We have less than 10 percent of revenue coming from the state and had a 50 percent decline in enrollments in 2012. We had to cut 60 million from the budget and fire 300 people, and that’s when we knew we had to take what we had left and invest in the priority: analytics.” Darren Catalano, the Vice President of Analytics for UMUC, says “Our approach is to demonstrate the “art of possible” to the institution,” said Catalano; “in other words, to make complex data simple.” According to Miyares, there are 5 lessons in leveraging analytics to deliver what’s possible.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/office-of-analytics-265/

by Udacity

Fact – India has the largest population of software developers, outside of the US, at 3 million. By 2018, this number is estimated to increase to 4 million – making India a country with the largest number of software developers. Fact – And yet, with such large numbers of software developers, there are only 2% of apps developed in India that make it to the top 1000 Google apps and none to the top 100. Industry Experts in India believe the reason behind this seems to be due to the options available in the ecosystem of upgrading skills once a student finishes his basic degree and enters the job market. As a first in India, Udacity has collaborated with the tech giant Google. The company believes this service model of job training can be scaled up to teach coding to millions of people. For India, additionally, there is a definitive price advantage as well. The discounted price for India is Rs. 9,800 per month. This compares favorably with the US where it costs $200 a month.

http://yourstory.com/2015/11/udacity/

By Amanda Porterfield, Illinois Home Page

The University of Illinois is making cuts as the state continues to operate without a budget. They’re also making additions that will help bring in more money. It’s typical for U of I students to cram as many credits into two semesters as they can. University officials say it was such a success this year they’re offering 17 credits, predicting the online semester will bring in about a million dollars.

http://www.illinoishomepage.net/news/local-news/online-classes-bringing-u-of-i-money-during-budget-crisis

By Bradley Fuster, US News

While there are benefits to live online learning, such environments are not ideal for all students. Here are five things to watch out for when considering live online classes. Online students should carefully consider prior to enrollment if they are the type of learner who is set up for success in a live online class​. While the opportunities for lively interaction are plentiful, the obstacles might be overlooked.

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-learning-lessons/2015/10/30/overcome-5-obstacles-of-live-online-classes

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

The delivery of online classes is viewed by most people as a way that colleges and universities are keeping expenses down for their students. In a recent survey, 65 percent of respondents identified those more than anything else a school can do to reduce student costs. The idea of backing public funding for education to lower tuition and loan costs was specified by only half as many (34 percent).

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/10/29/survey-online-courses-use-of-tech-better-route-than-public-funding-to-cut-college-costs.aspx

By University Times

College is an exciting and nerve racking time for students when it comes to learning. With a wide variety of subjects, students have a lot to ponder. However, when it comes to online classes, students have no idea where to look and are starting to ask questions. “I came from a Community College and the school had a lot of online classes to choose from. I work full time and coming to class at certain times doesn’t work for me,” said Cal State LA student Andre Flemming. While Cal State LA does offer a wide range of classes to attend, the online system just isn’t quite there. The CSU system only offers a few programs ranging from business to health professions at CalStateOnline.net.

http://www.csulauniversitytimes.com/news/view.php/1013570/Lack-of-Online-Classes-Leads-Students-to

by Turner Cowles, Time

Want to get ahead in your career? Join the crowd. Fifty-two percent of Coursera students are taking online courses to improve their career, according to president and co-founder Daphne Koller. Of those students, 87% get benefits from online education, she says. “That benefit comes in many different flavors, some of them just find themselves doing better at their current jobs,” Koller says. At least 34% get what she calls a tangible benefit, like a raise, a higher paying job, or starting a new business. Employers are looking for more than people with more than just a specific skill-set; they’re also looking for people who are motivated self-starters.

http://time.com/money/4086509/online-classes-help-career-coursera/

By C. RAMSEY FAHS, CRIMSON

Launched with its first cohort in June, the blended degree program combines on-campus and online courses: two three-week residencies in Boston in June 2015 and June 2016, online classes otherwise, and a final two-week residency in May 2017 to present a capstone project before program completion. The School of Public Health’s program joins several online MPH programs already offered by peer institutions. Johns Hopkins University first began its online MPH in 1999. Currently in its first year of a three-year “test” period approved by Provost Alan M. Garber ’76, the program will undergo regular evaluations.

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2015/10/28/public-health-blended-degree/

By Roger Riddell, Education Dive

The coding bootcamp’s 99% job placement rate is verified by an independent audit. Coding bootcamps and other alternative credentialing programs have boomed in popularity since arriving in the higher ed space, largely on the promise of a more cost-effective and efficient path to a career. With that rapid ascent, particularly as various fields have taken their graduates’ credentials increasingly seriously, has come questions of oversight and accreditation. At the end of the day, who guarantees quality and outcomes? And should these programs be eligible for federal aid? The U.S. Department of Education recently took the first step in answering those questions with the announcement of its Educational Quality Through Innovation Partnerships (EQUIP) program, a pilot that will provide Title IV funding to partnerships between higher ed institutions and nontraditional programs.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/flatirons-enbar-talks-bootcamp-accreditation-jobs-for-profit-concerns/407994/

by Seb Murray, Business Because

Google has become the latest big tech company to edge into business schools’ territory with the recent launch of a mini online degree for tech entrepreneurs. The search giant’s push into the nascent educational technology market follows the recent $1.5 billion purchase of online learning company Lynda.com by LinkedIn, which could see management courses hosted on the social network. It also comes as business schools strive to offer a market to entrepreneurs. Google’s partnership with Udacity, one of the top Mooc or massive open online course providers, will bear a four-to-seven-month long digital course on how to design, validate, prototype, monetize, and market a tech start-up. It is priced at up to $1,400.

http://www.businessbecause.com/news/mba-distance-learning/3563/google-edges-into-business-education

by GREGORY FERENSTEIN, Read, Write, Web

The search giant recently announced a partnership with online course provider Udacity for a 4-month curriculum in how to build, monetize, and manage their very own business. All of the courses are free, with project feedback and coaching for a monthly fee of $200. Why would Google get into the business of business school? Google is vying for the same “app economy” as Apple. It needs countless developers to build amazing applications for their smartphone software, Android, web browser, Chrome, and various other products. The more developers who build for Google (as opposed to Apple or Facebook), the more attractive the tech giant’s products are to users.

http://readwrite.com/2015/10/26/google-udacity-nanodegree-mba

By India Express News Service

For the first time in India, engineering education content is available in 3D on the internet. The web portal is aptly named LearnEngg.com. It delivers visual-based engineering content for the entire degree course. A total of 214 subjects across different branches of engineering are available now. Further, the product is customised for the syllabus of Anna University to offer direct benefit to the students. According to S Srikanth, MD, Infoplus Technologies, “LearnEngg.com will revolutionise engineering learning in classrooms as well as home. It is a pathbreaking initiative in delivering visual engineering content directly to the students.” The course level contents are named as 3DM Classroom because of its 3D visuals across the subject.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/3D-Online-Course-on-Engineering/2015/10/26/article3096947.ece

by Don Ames, WWL

Online degree programs are gaining credibility as more and more students embrace online learning. New Orleans area universities began to embrace the trend after Hurricane Katrina displaced the area’s population. “People, obviously, could take them at a distance,” says Mark Rosa, Professor of Business at Tulane University. “You don’t have to be in the area, physically. You can partake in the classes from afar.” Rosa says he wasn’t always a fan, preferring a more traditional ‘brick and mortar’ education.

http://www.wwl.com/Online-learning-growing-in-acceptability/22108693

by Claudio Sanchez, NPR

Federal law does not prohibit undocumented students from enrolling in college, but it does something nearly as effective, banning them from receiving government aid. In recent years, though, some undocumented students have stumbled upon a little-known, nonprofit online university that doesn’t charge tuition and doesn’t care about students’ legal status. University of the People certainly got the attention of Miguel Angel Cruz. The 27-year-old entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico a decade ago. He settled near Tampa, Fla., where he now shares a small trailer with his father. Cruz learned English and earned his GED. But his dream of going to college was just that — a dream — because of the high cost. Then, he started searching online. “I was Googling, not for free but for cheaper universities, and I found the University of the People,” Cruz says.

http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/10/26/449279730/the-online-college-thats-helping-undocumented-students

by Distance-Educator

Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) is a continuous improvement process that can be used to inform practice in online education. This article describes how the PDSA cycle was used to enhance a new online health policy course in an accelerated online Registered Nurse- to-Bachelor of Science (RN-BS) program at one Southeastern University. A General Questions Forum (GQF) was used as the central repository for student questions. Questions (n=61) in the form of textual data were analyzed for similarities and differences and five themes were identified: (a) clarifying information, (b) figuring it out, (c) using technology and tools, (d) seeking confirmation, and (e) needing more information. Actions to improve the course included clarifying directions, facilitating transfer of knowledge, strengthening the link to technology support, providing opportunities for feedback, and improving course navigation.

http://distance-educator.com/continuously-improving-online-course-design-using-the-plan-do-study-act-cycle/

by eLearning Editorial Team

Learn the best and easy ways to create an engaging online learning course through this wonderful infographic. Make the content relevant to students: The purpose of a course should be to provide students with relevant content that is packed with useful information, it’s easy to understand, and helps students reach their learning goals.

Make the content visually appealing: An e-learning course should include a variety of elements that make it more appealing and keeps the students engaged. Make sure that the content is clean, easy to follow, and includes resources such as pictures, videos, and other multimedia files.

Use gamification: Students enjoy gamified elements such as leaderboards, earning points, and badges because they make the learning experience more enjoyable and drive participation.

Allow students to collaborate….

http://edtechreview.in/e-learning/2167-how-to-create-an-online-course