Online Learning Update

by David Z. Morris, Fortune

And commits nowhere near enough money to make it happen. On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking at a World Bank event, urged world governments to build better Internet connectivity. He was specifically promoting a U.S. plan to bring 1.5 billion people who currently lack Internet access online by 2020. Kerry said 3 out of 5 people worldwide are now without access, which he called “unacceptable.” It’s an urgent problem, because Internet access can have profound transformative effects even at the far margins of the global economy. Subsistence farmers can find better prices for crops, banking becomes more accessible, and of course educational opportunity multiplies. The World Bank has said that for every 10% rise in high-speed Internet access, a country’s GDP grows by up to 2%.

http://fortune.com/2016/04/16/u-s-promotes-plan-to-get-1-5-billion-more-people-online/

by eCampus News

A new report suggests that the Learning Differences Massive Open Online Course for Educators (MOOC-Ed), provided by the Friday Institute for Education Innovation at NC State University, may help teachers around the world advance their knowledge of learning differences and better meet the learning needs of their students. Written by researchers on the Friday Institute’s evaluation team, What’s the Value of a Learning Differences MOOC-Ed? analyzes how participants found value in the course using a “value creation framework” developed by Etienne Wenger, Beverly Trayner, and Maarten De Laat (2011). They suggest that, in order to appreciate the richness of the value created by learning communities or networks such as MOOC-Eds, it is helpful to think about value creation in terms of cycles.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/online-learning/moocs/learning-differences-mooc/

Today the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) released an # infographic depicting the state of online learning in higher education. Drawing from over 15 public, private, and self-sponsored sources, the graphic presents the increase in online enrollment and the implications on access and affordability for low-income and non-traditional students.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-04-13-olc-maps-the-online-learning-landscape

by Doris Cheung, EDUCAUSE Review

Online formative feedback using Google Forms and Sheets combined with FormMule facilitated instant data collection and structured feedback for a course at the University of Colorado Law School to optimize learning outcomes. By giving and receiving ongoing, timely feedback, students can practice and modify their behavior during the learning experience, which stimulates motivation and deeper learning. Adopting a low- or no-cost approach can make formative feedback easy to implement. Investing time and effort to give and receive feedback benefits both instructors and students by providing valuable information to adjust teaching and learning and helps ensure shared goals.

http://er.educause.edu/articles/2016/4/optimizing-student-learning-with-online-formative-feedback

by Jason A. Kaufman and David McNay, EDUCAUSE Review

Telepresence courses help colleges and universities serve geographically distributed students and thus achieve their goals of helping all students succeed. An annual survey at Minnesota State University, Mankato of telepresence students has shed light on their experiences with telepresence learning compared with learning in traditional classrooms. Findings from these surveys suggest that focusing on building community and connecting with students on both sides of the classroom can help mitigate the technological limitations of telepresence courses today.

http://er.educause.edu/articles/2016/4/community-in-the-telepresence-classroom

BY ELIANA OSBORN, Good Call

Taking courses online is a great way to meet the demands of work and family while still pursuing higher education. The problem is that too many students don’t have a great experience with online classes, leading to low pass rates and academic consequences. New research published in the journal Computers and Education reveals some design features that lead to greater student success. Shanna Smith Jaggars with the Community College Research Center at Columbia University and Di Xu of the University of California-Irvine looked at different elements of online courses to see which ones were related to higher grades. The biggest factor leading to student success? Quality interpersonal interaction.

https://www.goodcall.com/news/research-reveals-student-instructor-relationships-shape-online-learning-success-06004

By David Raths, Campus Technology

Retention and graduation rates may be good indicators of a college or university’s success, but they have little to do with students’ personal development as connected learners and contributors to the digital commons. What does student success mean in a digital ecosystem? The most prevalent measures involve retention and graduation rates — students pass their classes, move through the curriculum and ideally graduate in four years — but those “institutional outputs” are the lowest-common-denominator definition, according to Gardner Campbell, vice provost for learning innovation and student success, dean of University College and associate professor of English at Virginia Commonwealth University. Campbell took part in a recent Future Trends Forum video chat to share his thoughts about how higher education might rethink ideas of student success in a digital age.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/04/11/redefining-student-success-in-a-digital-ecosystem.aspx

by Alan J. Reid, Denise Paster, Campus Technology

The CCC initiative has positively impacted Coastal Carolina’s first-year composition program by providing a programmatic framework for teaching and assessing academic literacy skills central to students’ development and success. This is not to say that the initiative was implemented flawlessly; as the program evolved both technically and conceptually, faculty and student populations had to adjust to a new format for teaching and learning in first-year composition courses. As we reflect on this initiative two years later, we would like to share our insights on designing and building an entirely organic digital badge program in the hopes that others might embrace a similar model that recognizes and rewards student achievement.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/04/06/a-digital-badge-initiative-two-years-later.aspx

By Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

A new study by researchers at the University of Washington has found significant differences in the types of people who take massive open online courses in developing countries, as compared to users in the United States — and they have different outcomes. In the U.S., MOOC users are disproportionately wealthy and already well-educated, and they more often take MOOCs for personal, rather than professional, reasons. But in developing countries, less than half of survey respondents had completed college, and they reported taking the courses to advance their education or career. Perhaps because of the motivations behind taking MOOCs, completion and certification rates are higher, and 49% of respondents said they had received certification for a course while 79% said they completed a course.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/people-in-developing-countries-use-moocs-differently-1/417358/

by Women’s Agenda

So, say for example I’m a 45-year-old woman considering a new career and want to develop my skills through online learning. What advice would you give me or what questions should I ask myself before starting? Start with believing in yourself. Ask yourself, what do I really want? Focus on the area of study that you are interested in. If you’re afraid, embrace it and break the fear. Go with it anyway. Online education does scare some people because of the technology – it certainly did for me. But it’s not that hard. It’s so user-friendly and is not something to be afraid of. All the support systems at CSU are there to help you. Even with the time difference, I have a live librarian and professors I can ask questions. You need to also ask yourself whether you can you block off some time from your family, your friends and your work for yourself to benefit your career. Don’t dwell on the long-term. The time is going to pass regardless.

http://www.womensagenda.com.au/partner-content/item/6929-learning-online-you-re-not-alone-returning-to-university-and-switching-career-at-48

by Carl Straumsheim, Inside Higher Ed

Improving economy leads to lower enrollments at community colleges, report shows. Can online programs help stanch the flow? Online courses have for years driven enrollment growth at community colleges, but as more students take their chances in the job market, institutions face new challenges to retain them, a new study found. During the height of the recent recession, community colleges saw double-digit percentage growth in their online courses, according to the Instructional Technology Council, which is affiliated with the American Association of Community Colleges. But the ITC’s most recent survey of trends in online education at two-year colleges shows growth last academic year sat at 4.7 percent — the lowest in about a decade.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/04/13/study-explores-online-learning-trends-community-colleges

by Megan Geuss, Ars Technica

NCAA’s report said that “after the enforcement staff confronted [the graduate assistant] with computer metadata, he admitted doing ‘some assignments’ and knowing that his actions constituted NCAA rules violations. An IP address “associated with graduate assistant B’s Pennsylvania hometown” was found to have submitted online coursework for a student in the town where one student-athlete was living, during a period in which graduate assistant B was traveling to that town. The metadata also apparently showed that graduate assistant B’s mother had completed some of the online math coursework, and then graduate assistant B modified it. And his mom wasn’t the only person in on the gig—the metadata for the online coursework also showed that a friend of the two graduate assistants had been completing and modifying psychology and English coursework as well.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/04/online-courses-metadata-helps-ncaa-catch-cheating-coaches-red-handed/

by Stephen Corrigan, Connacht Tribune

ALISON began ten years ago when Mike Feerick spotted the opportunity of providing free education in the form of a sustainable, for-profit social enterprise, made easier with the decline in broadband and server costs and the growth of online advertising. “I guess that said two things to me; firstly, what an interesting financial business, but also what an exceptional social impact you could have by making education free,” he said. ALISON diplomas and certificates are not accredited in the traditional sense, but that is something that Mike sees as a positive. “We want to get away from traditional accrediting because it is too expensive. We want learning to be free and if we were to be traditionally accredited, we would have to be paying some other organisation, whether it’s Harvard, Cambridge or NUI, to use their brand – but we don’t need their brand, we are smart people and we stand by the quality of our courses,” said Mike.

http://connachttribune.ie/philanthropists-global-vision-for-free-degrees-via-the-internet-201/

By Carl Straumsheim, Inside Higher Ed

At hybrid learning conference sponsored by the Teagle Foundation, participants discuss how to get students who signed up for a traditional liberal arts experience excited about online education. Rui Cao, instructor of Chinese at Schreiner University, was one of several participants who said faculty members need to be aware that blended learning may clash with student expectations. Instead of in a hierarchical model where faculty members lecture and students listen, the blended learning model challenges students to assume a more active role, she said, adding that there should be ample training opportunities both for faculty members and students. “The reason that we see sometimes resistance both from our students and from faculty to this kind of learning is neither of us are fully prepared for this new era,” Cao said. “If both students and teachers are realizing this changing dynamic in our classrooms, that’s going to prepare us better.”

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/04/11/teagle-foundation-grant-recipients-discuss-how-get-liberal-arts-students-excited

by Stanford

Staying ahead in the cyber security game is critical to defending against new threats. To protect against cybercrime, corporations, business and government must continuously update their security measures and keep employees properly trained. Since 2005, Stanford has provided professionals around the world with the opportunity to learn the latest real-world applications of computer security through the Stanford Advanced Computer Security Certificate Program. The six-course online program provides participants with the advanced skills needed to learn how to protect networks, secure electronic assets, prevent attacks, and build secure infrastructures.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/stanford-launches-new-online-courses-in-computer-security-300248957.html

By Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

The Institute for Advanced Computer Studies at the University of Maryland College Park is at the forefront of visual communication and learning, and virtual reality is expected to become an important element for students and faculty.EdTech reports the latest generation of virtual reality technology, including the recently released Oculus Rift headset, could achieve mainstream adoption in five to 10 years, giving students a way to experience their lessons firsthand, without leaving the classroom. The University of Maryland is launching a major in immersive multimedia design, training the students who will go on to create virtual reality content to meet the demand in the classrooms of the future.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/is-virtual-reality-poised-to-transform-higher-ed/416741/

by Jordan Friedman, US News

Given that MOOCs can be expensive to produce, it makes sense that providers would find ways to make a profit, says Ray Schroeder, associate vice chancellor for online learning at the University of Illinois—Springfield. Even when charging a fee, MOOCs are and will continue to be less expensive than paying for credit-bearing courses offered. “In the beginning, the return to universities came in generally marketing and publicity and giving examples of quality lectures, and showcasing certain faculty members who work for certain departments to prospective students,” Schroeder says. “And yet still, that was a rather high price to pay for just that kind of indirect benefit.” Nanodegrees enable students to earn a credential as they develop job-specific skills through project-based learning, and those who pay get additional benefits on top of the nanodegree, including access to live coaches. Meanwhile, students who enroll in edX and Coursera MOOCs might now gain access to the following features, the availability of which vary depending on the class and discipline.

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2016-04-08/4-features-you-can-now-get-by-paying-for-moocs

by Business World

Anant Agarwal, chief executive officer of edX, an online learning venture of Harvard and MIT, has tied up with Indian educational institutions. During his visit, Anant also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who according to him wanted to take a course himself on urban planning and design. He talked to BW Businessworld about his work. We have a mobile app that is growing rapidly, India is the largest smartphone market. However, having said there are many courses that need a larger screen space. But nevertheless, the opportunity for online learning in India is huge. The government has set a clear direction with Digital India.

http://businessworld.in/article/-Huge-Opportunity-For-Online-Learning-In-India-/08-04-2016-95516/

By Autumn A. Arnett, Education Dive

95% of American CEOs believe their companies suffer from a skills shortage. If there is to be significant progress made in closing the nation’s skills and innovation gap, input from all sectors involved — industry as well as schools at both the K-12 and postsecondary level, including traditional baccalaureate institutions, community colleges and technical and vocational schools — will need to collaborate to arm future workers with the skills they need to be successful.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/career-and-technical-education-a-key-part-of-revitalized-ed-outlook/417048

by Beckie Smith, PIE News

Rick Levin was the longest-serving president of Yale University, before moving into the edtech space in 2014 to become CEO of online learning giant Coursera. The PIE: Why did you choose to move to Coursera? Principally because the mission truly appealed to me and it resonated with what I had tried to do in my time at Yale, which was to open up the university’s teaching resources to the wider world. Coursera’s mission is to reach anyone anywhere to enable them to transform their lives by access to the world’s best learning experience. I think that’s what we’re providing: great universal access for people who’re stuck mid-career, who see a course as an opportunity for real change, or a person who’s never had an opportunity to go to a top university who builds self confidence simply by learning they can master courses offered by these universities. I found it very inspirational.

http://thepienews.com/pie-chat/rick-levin-coursera-ceo-usa/

by Udemy

Udemy has announced that they have released a new course that encourages people to make money teaching through online universities as distance learning adjunct instructors. The course is suitable for graduate degree holders and helps them generate a lucrative household income. The course can be accessed through https://www.udemy.com/making-money-teaching-online-get-your-first-academic-job/ Daniel Hall, J.D. from Udemy says: “We’re very happy to see that the Udemy course that we are promoting is proving to be very popular, and that it is helping people find work. Perhaps most important to us, however, is the fact that those who are finding work thanks to our course are providing an invaluable service to others, which is teaching the next generation of academics.”

http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/2894157