Online Learning Update

October 31, 2016

Amazon Web Services to connect students with a cloud career

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

by eCampus News

Students can access content modules designed to teach the skills they need for a cloud career. Amazon Web Services, Inc. announced new capabilities for AWS Educate, a global initiative to provide students and educators with the resources they need to accelerate cloud-related learning. AWS Educate now offers students a more direct way to put their cloud knowledge to use with over 25 self-paced content modules known as “Cloud Career Pathways,” which are made up of instructional videos, lab exercises, online courses, whitepapers, and podcasts. The Cloud Career Pathways align to four overarching job families, which are also represented in the new AWS Educate Job Board: Cloud Architect, Software Developer, Operations-Support Engineer, and Analytics and Big Data Specialist. AWS Educate maps students’ academic training on AWS Educate, and their achievements in the Cloud Career Pathways to relevant internships and jobs posted on the AWS Educate Job Board, which features top employers, including Amazon, Cloudnexa, Instructure, Salesforce, Splunk, Udacity, and more. To learn more about AWS Educate, visit: http://www.awseducate.com.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/it-newsletter/amazon-cloud-careers/

Share on Facebook

Review: ‘Fail U: The False Promise of Higher Education’

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

By PETER SIMON, Buffalo News

Fail U.: The False Promise of Higher Education By Charles J. Sykes; St. Martin’s Press, 278 pages ($26.99) Back in 1988, Sykes wrote a book about college education that blasted excessive spending, nonexistent student advising programs, lecture classes of “droning, mind-numbing dullness,” and the abandonment of undergraduate teaching. Sykes is back for another look – 28 years later – and his conclusions are even far more dismal. “Colleges have bloated their administrations, universities have built Taj Mahals and professors have become even more allergic to the actual teaching of undergraduates,” he says. “Grades have inflated, degrees have been watered down, professors have churned out millions of unread and unreadable articles and the liberal arts have been bludgeoned by indifference and ideology.”

http://buffalonews.com/2016/10/22/fail-u-false-promise-higher-education/

Share on Facebook

Enrolling in Online Courses: Suggestions for Students and Learners To Get Started

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

by Beth Golden, University Herald

Online courses offers convenience and flexibility to learners. A report shows that more and more people are taking advantage of online learning and enrolling some to get additional knowledge and training and some, to get their degrees. The survey from the Online Learning Consortium showed that there is an increase of 3.9% in the number of higher education students taking up at least a course online. In Ball State University (BSU) for example, online courses have become popular and around 38.9 percent of students participated in some form of distance or online learning last year.

http://www.universityherald.com/articles/45367/20161022/enrolling-online-courses-suggestions-students-learners-started.htm

Share on Facebook

October 30, 2016

New Program Delivers First Certified Flipped Educators

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

By Dian Schaffhauser, THE Journal

That didn’t take long. Less than a month after the Flipped Learning Global Initiative unveiled a new certification track, the organization has its first group of 16 credential holders. The new certification, “Flipped Learning Level 1,” is intended to help teachers and administrators gain a foundational understanding of the flipped classroom. The training to achieve the first certification requires viewing 6.5 hours of video (broken into 88 lectures), reading one article, and passing nine quizzes. Topics cover the reason to flip a classroom, how to plan, best practices, the tools to use, what to do in class, how to flip specific subjects and assess in a flipped model and how to advance the practice “to the next level.” The cost to take the course is currently $19 through online training provider Udemy. That appears to be an introductory discount off the regular price of $70.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/10/18/new-course-delivers-first-certified-flipped-educators.aspx

Share on Facebook

Courses to match urgent need for talent in China

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

By Yang Meiping, Shanghai Daily

STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — using an interdisciplinary and applied approach. Hundreds of teachers are to be trained in STEM methods of education. Courses are based on Connecticut Science Center STEM curriculum units, but will be localized and made available to Chinese educators via the Massive Online Open Courses system, said United Technologies Corporation, which launched the STEM promotion program in 2015 with China Friendship Foundation for Peace and Development. There is an estimated need for more than 8 million workers in STEM-related jobs by 2018. The current shortage of such talent is “alarmingly large,” according to a report by the website stemconnector.org.

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/metro/society/Courses-to-match-urgent-need-for-talent/shdaily.shtml

Share on Facebook

New course to help faculty teach online classes

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

by Shruti Ratnaparkhi, GW Hatchet

Online learning leaders want faculty to get better at teaching online courses. The University Teaching and Learning Center and GW’s in-house online course shop will offer a new online course to faculty next semester to help them learn the best ways to teach classes online. Officials and experts say as more classes are taught remotely, the course should help faculty make the transition to teaching online. Geneva Henry, the dean of libraries and academic innovation, said the course will combine both core teaching methods and the technological elements of course-building to better prepare faculty to become better instructors – online or in-person. “You can teach somebody how to do an online course but it doesn’t necessarily make it a strong pedagogically grounded online course,” Henry said.

http://www.gwhatchet.com/2016/10/21/new-course-to-help-faculty-teach-online-courses/

Share on Facebook

October 29, 2016

College Students: ‘Please Personalize My Learning’

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

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

Digital technology in post-secondary learning is here to stay, according to a new report. Eight in 10 college students surveyed said that the use of tech improves their grades (81 percent), lets them spend more time studying by increasing the accessibility they have to their materials (82 percent) and improves their efficiency (81 percent). A comparable number (80 percent) said they find that their instructors are “effectively” integrating digital learning tech into their courses. Where technology isn’t as useful as an academic tool, according to students, is helping them improve their “soft skills,” such as interacting with others or working in groups; only 46 percent agreed with that statement. Those results come from “Digital Study Trends: Student Habits,” a survey done on behalf of McGraw-Hill Education by Hanover Research among 3,311 current college students, most of whom have used digital technology from McGraw-Hill.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/10/18/college-students-please-personalize-my-learning.aspx

Share on Facebook

Of course online learning is more effective with a spot of socialising

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

by Pete Cannell, the Scotsman

Ask a friend what they think about learning online and they’ll often mention isolation and lack of social support. Based on our experience of working with partners like Parkinson’s UK, it’s time to change the way we look at online resources. Nowadays, the technology allows online material to be readable and accessible on a phone, tablet or computer. But technology is a means to an end, not the end itself. We learn through encountering new ideas and information, then trying them out in conversation, discussion and practice. In essence, we learn together. The future may be digital but if we want to make the best use of digital resources, the future of learning is social.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/of-course-online-learning-is-more-effective-with-a-spot-of-socialising-1-4261445

Share on Facebook

Students learn better using online sources

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

by Hannah Zimmer, Flor-Ala Life

The Association of American Publishers conducted a study that shows students learn better and get higher grades when they use digital resources. Organizations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Michael and Susan Dell Foundation have discovered through research that education technology crafts personal learning for each student, which in turn contributes to success. Students are more successful when they utilize digital resources, said Director of the First-Year Experience Program Matthew Little.

http://www.florala.net/life/students-learn-better-using-online-sources/article_acdc1704-963c-11e6-bd70-2384d695fe9e.html

Share on Facebook

October 28, 2016

These are the top 50 MOOCs

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

by LAURA DEVANEY, eCampus News

Of the top 50 MOOCs, the No. 1 spot belongs to a computer science course–an introduction to interactive programming in Python, to be exact. The list from Class Central ranks MOOCs based on thousands of reviews written by Class Central users, Dhawal Shah noted in a blog post. The rankings will be updated as reviews increase and change.

A few notes about the list:

1. Coursera is the top provider with 26 courses in the Top 50, and edX is second with 10 courses

2, Stanford tops the list of universities present in the Top 50 with five of their courses making it in, and MIT comes in second with three courses

3. the list includes courses from 34 universities, of which 21 universities are in the US

4. UIUC’s Aric Rindfleisch has two courses in the top 50

http://www.ecampusnews.com/news/top-50-moocs/

Share on Facebook

6 steps to successfully break the print textbook model

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

BY KERRY PIGMAN, eCampusNews

Why we can’t answer 21st century demands to adopt new, affordable types of course content with an outdated 20th century model for buying print textbooks. The higher education course content market is in chaos. Print textbook prices continue to soar, up 73 percent in the past 10 years, more than 4 times the rate of inflation, according to US PIRG report. Students are delaying or worse, not buying course materials because they aren’t affordable, according to a recent survey. And while faculty are slowly starting to embrace low-cost or free textbook alternatives, namely Open Educational Resources [OER], their awareness levels remain in the basement, according to a new Babson Research survey. Meantime, two- and four-year public institutions’ online and physical bookstores continue to issue RFPs with recurring themes and required elements.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/curriculum/break-print-textbook/

Share on Facebook

This MBA costs less than $22,000

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

by Katie Lobosco, CNN Money

Schools with top MBA programs are flocking to offer more affordable, online versions — and the University of Illinois recently launched one of the least expensive yet.  It costs students less than $22,000 total. That’s about one-third of the price for the university’s traditional, on-campus program. Temple University’s top-rated online MBA program charges nearly $60,000 for the degree, according to U.S. News and World Report. Getting an MBA online isn’t for everyone. But people who want to get one — without quitting their jobs and taking on a lot of debt — are signing up. The University of Illinois launched the program, which it’s calling an “iMBA,” in January. About 265 people have enrolled and are, on average, 37 years old with 12 years of work experience. Most live in the U.S., but nearly 18% are abroad.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/10/20/pf/college/online-mba/

Share on Facebook

October 27, 2016

Oregon State and Eastern Oregon see growth in home-grown online programs

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

by Andrew Theen, the Oregonian

In 2002, Oregon State University’s distance education program looked sort of like a Blockbuster video store. The school had a storage room in Corvallis with lectures on VHS tapes, which staff would mail to students enrolled at OSU who rarely set foot on the main campus. Today, OSU’s so-called “Ecampus” is a juggernaut, routinely recognized on national lists as one of the best online curriculums in the country. If the program itself were a university, it would be the fourth-largest in Oregon. More than 5,000 full-time OSU students take classes exclusively online, compared with 24,500 students on campus. Enrollment at Eastern Oregon University is smaller, with about 1,200 students on campus, but another 800 study exclusively over the internet.

http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2016/10/oregon_state_and_eastern_orego.html

Share on Facebook

Current, former presidents talk higher ed disruption

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

by Jarrett Carter, Education Dive

A convening of current and former college presidents at the University of Virginia put on public display executive thoughts about the future of higher education, which all agree will be “disrupted” by technology, affordability and public appropriations in the near future. University of Virginia President John T. Casteen III told the audience that disruption was not new in higher education; in the 1990s, states cut funding and forced schools nationwide to be more aggressive about fundraising, giving them more autonomy over institutional budgets. The panelists agreed diversity and globalization would require institutions to view higher education as an asset, rather than an obstacle, to domestic progress. “Globalism and competition have really created the circumstances to put higher education in a position to take the lead,” Judson University President Gene Crume said.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/current-former-presidents-talk-higher-ed-disruption/428788/

Share on Facebook

Blended, Online Nursing Grad Programs Offer Varied Options

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

By Jordan Friedman, US News

Between odd work hours and clinical requirements, experts say, prospective online nursing students need to assess their flexibility when choosing a program format. In search of an online nursing graduate degree program with hands-on experience, Adam Switzer, a registered nurse at a medical center in Texas, found the University of Texas—Tyler’s hybrid family nurse practitioner program, offered primarily online with a component on campus. Alongside professors, he says, he learns skills such as suturing, a method used to close wounds. “There are certain techniques that you can see on video,” the 34-year-old student says. But, he says, having a professor critiquing up close is an added advantage. Students considering an online grad degree in nursing might need to make a choice: whether to attend a program that’s fully online or one that’s blended, which usually refers to a combination of online and traditional education.

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2016-10-20/blended-online-nursing-grad-programs-offer-varied-options

Share on Facebook

October 26, 2016

The costs of competency-based education

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

by Jarrett Carter, Education Dive

A recent analysis of competency-based education reveals four new models of development and approach, which are finding more support from colleges and universities nationwide. According to the analysis, institutions implementing CBE programs can expect an initial investment of just over $382,000 to develop one two-year degree program, and between $4.2 and $11 million over a number of years to create a number of programs which can save students and institutions money in faculty and technical resources, and in tuition savings. About 75% of institutions surveyed on CBE implementation expect these programs to break even on costs in six years.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/the-costs-of-competency-based-education/428699/

Share on Facebook

Innovative Cooperation, at Scale: An Interview with Michael M. Crow

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

by John O’Brien, EDUCAUSE Review

The Arizona State University president talks about student success, technology changes in recent years, institutional transformation at scale, cooperation within higher education, personalized learning, and analytics. Under his direction, the university pursues teaching, research, and creative excellence focused on the major challenges of our time, as well as those central to the quality of life, sustainable development, and economic competitiveness of Arizona and the nation. He has committed the university to sustainability, social embeddedness, and global engagement and has championed initiatives leading to record levels of diversity in the student body. He is co-author of the book Designing the New American University (2015). EDUCAUSE President John O’Brien sat down with Crow for a wide-ranging conversation covering numerous topics including student success, technology changes in recent years, institutional transformation at scale, cooperation within higher education, personalized learning, and analytics.

http://er.educause.edu/articles/2016/10/innovative-cooperation-at-scale-an-interview-with-michael-m-crow

Share on Facebook

Online digital access codes are ‘the new, dangerous face of the textbook monopoly,’ study says

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

By Ally Johnson, Daily Pennsylvanian

Single-use online access codes for textbooks are making it difficult for students to save money on necessary materials for classes. In Sept. 2016, the Student Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) — independent statewide student organizations that work on issues like environmental protection, consumer protection and homelessness — published a report called “Access Denied” that called these access codes the “new, dangerous face of the textbook monopoly.” The report found that 20 percent of classes at private, four-year colleges require these codes and only 28 percent of access codes are offered at bookstores in an unbundled form. If codes are only offered in bundles, students must buy the code with other materials. The Student PIRGs found that the average cost of an unbundled access code was $100.24 when purchased at institutional bookstores.

http://www.thedp.com/article/2016/10/digital-access-codes-proliferation

Share on Facebook

October 25, 2016

New report ranks the 50 top-paying college majors

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

by Jarrett Carter, Education Dive

Glasdoor.com reveals a list of the top 50 highest-earning majors, with STEM majors comprising each of the top ten degree programs. Science, engineering and technical programs encompass nearly the entire top 20, with liberal arts programs in fashion design and business ranking as 19th and 20th, respectively. The top programs were ranked by a survey reviewing more than 500,000 resumes and and compared to media salary metrics for the top industries.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/new-report-ranks-the-50-top-paying-college-majors/428513/

Share on Facebook

Is CBE the future of higher education? Study says too early to tell

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

by Jarrett Carter, Education Dive

A new study from the American Institutes for Research outlines the profile of students in competency-based education programs and how they are engaged to participate in the curriculum. But researchers say it is too early to determine the efficacy of such programs on postgraduate success. The study reveals that 68% of CBE programs are comprised of adult learners, with more than 70% of participants having previous college experience. Retention rates in the programs range from 63-80%, while completion rates range between 15-80%, depending on the type of program. With challenges in schedule flexibility and technology to track student performance, CBE still presents as a valuable learning environment, but there is not enough data to suggest that graduates fare better in professional placement or earnings as a result.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/is-cbe-the-future-of-higher-education-study-says-too-early-to-tell/428493/

Share on Facebook

Florida University system looks to boost online classes

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:01 am

By Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida

The Florida university system has set an ambitious goal of having 40 percent of the undergraduate student credit hours in online classes by 2025. That would more than double the usage of online classes from the 2013-14 academic year, under a goal set by the system’s Board of Governors. More college students taking online classes… Florida looks to create online university…  A key factor in that transition will be cost, with the idea that students may have an incentive to shift to online classes if they receive breaks on tuition or fees. A new report discussed by the Board of Governors’ Innovation and Online Committee, which met Monday in Tampa, showed that students have actually paid more for taking online classes at six state universities when compared to the cost of taking regular classes on campus.

http://www.news4jax.com/education/university-system-looks-to-boost-online-classes

Share on Facebook
Older Posts »

Powered by WordPress