Online Learning Update

November 30, 2016

The IT Issues Ahead

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

By Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology

Educause recently revealed its Top 10 IT Issues for 2017, prioritizing information security for the second year in a row and emphasizing data, infrastructure and IT leadership. What issues will most impact your institution? Each year at the Educause annual conference, I make sure to catch the preview of the coming year’s Top 10 IT Issues. It’s always a packed room (it’s a good idea to arrive early to find a seat), full of attendees with cameras ready to capture the presentation slides as they appear on the projection screen. After all, the Top 10 IT Issues are like a bellwether for the year ahead, pointing to key trends and challenges that every higher ed IT leader should be thinking about.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/11/10/the-it-issues-ahead.aspx

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Carnegie Mellon Tool Displays Visualization of Malware Attack Patterns

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:04 am

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

A security research project at Carnegie Mellon University could simplify the process of identifying how malware is being distributed through visualization. Researchers at the institution’s CyLab Security and Privacy Institute have created a tool that lets a network or security administrator display network traffic in a way that helps identify the changes and patterns The results could eventually help organizations stop the kind of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack that brought down major websites in late October.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/11/14/carnegie-mellon-tool-displays-visualization-of-malware-attack-patterns.aspx

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Mixed Reality: From the Design Lab to the Professions

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

By Mary Grush, Campus Technology

Earlier this year, we spoke with Dr. Tilanka Chandrasekera, an assistant professor in the department of Design, Housing and Merchandising at Oklahoma State University, about the “virtuality-reality continuum” and its significance for design fields. OSU opened a Mixed Reality Lab on campus in 2015, where design students can explore this continuum and experience the latest design tools in their field of interest. Today, we’ll get an update from Chandrasekera on OSU’s more recent expansion of the Mixed Reality Lab this past August and find out how the inclusion of mixed reality in the curriculum at OSU is impacting design students like Ashtyn Shugart.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/11/15/mixed-reality-from-the-design-lab-to-the-professions.aspx

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November 29, 2016

Students: 3 ways we want universities to use our data

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

BY MERIS STANSBURY, eCampus News

Younger students in colleges and universities say they’d like their personalized data to be leveraged toward a more beneficial, meaningful experience—right away. When institutions use student data, it’s usually internally and to overhaul or make adjustments to campus services year-to-year. Yet, thanks to a younger student body’s familiarity with customized communications based on personalized data, innovative institutions are trying to increase enrollment, boost retention and help place students on a career track with on-the-go data.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/campus-administration/students-personalized-data/

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University seeks approval for MBA program

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

By Phil Wenzel, the Soo Evening News

Officials with Lake Superior State University are hopeful the university is still on track to begin offering a master of business administration degree, possibly by next year. The university offered an MBA before, which Finley has said peaked in the 1990s. That was before classes could be offered online, which led to a limited supply of students in the Eastern Upper and Northern Lower Peninsulas. Plans for the new program call for classes to be presented one-at-a-time, each lasting about seven weeks. It would take just-under two years to complete the entire program. Instructors would use a blended format, meaning much of the content will be delivered online but each class would be required to meet in person at least once. In addition, members of each program cohort would have to participate in a week-long, project-based class or activity. That would most likely be held during the summer.

http://www.sooeveningnews.com/news/20161118/university-seeks-approval-for-mba-program

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Books are history as campus bookstore goes online

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

By Vanessa McCray, Toledo Blade

When students visited the remodeled store this semester, they found one notably absent college staple: Textbooks. Gone are the shelves of history and biology books that once populated the store’s second floor, space converted into a career center. The shop, about half its former 24,000 square feet, now directs students to order textbooks online rather than browsing its banished stacks. To underscore the closed chapter, the university even dropped “bookstore” from the stop’s title. The sleek, swag-stuffed showroom has been renamed Falcon Outfitters.

http://www.toledoblade.com/Education/2016/11/20/Books-are-all-history-as-campus-bookstore-goes-online.html

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November 28, 2016

Visionary Leader in Adult Higher Education John F. Ebersole dies

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:10 am
by Albany Times Union
John F. Ebersole, the former president of Excelsior College, has died, the college announced Thursday. Ebersole, 72, took a leave earlier this year because he was battling myelodysplastic syndromes, Excelsior President James N. Baldwin said in a news release. Baldwin called Ebersole “our former president and a visionary leader in adult higher education.” In taking his leave, Ebersole said Excelsior’s “staff, faculty, and leaders are passionate and committed to providing educational opportunity to those who need it most. The future is bright. Ever upward.” A native of Windsor, Mo., Ebersole served in the U.S. Coast Guard, enrolled in officer candidate school and served for 21 years, including combat service in Vietnam. He had a 30-plus-year career in higher education including the University of California Berkeley, Colorado State University, and Boston University.
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Former-Excelsior-President-John-F-Ebersole-dies-10634660.php
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Open Online Education and Liberal Arts Schools

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

By Joshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed

As the open online learning movement comes to it fourth year of life, it is natural for attention to focus on matters of economic sustainability. The path to cover the costs of open education will surely go through online courses that focus on career building and job skills. The fees that students pay for alternative credentials in these programs represent the surest path to cost recovery for both the schools creating these courses and programs. As those of us in the open online learning world turn our attention to professional education, we would be wise to not lose our connection with the founding liberal arts institutions of the open online education movement.

https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/open-online-education-and-liberal-arts-schools

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Six new tech rules that will govern our future

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

By Vivek Wadhwa, The Washington Post

Technology is advancing so rapidly that we will experience radical changes in society not only in our lifetimes but in the coming years. We have already begun to see ways in which computing, sensors, artificial intelligence and genomics are reshaping entire industries and our daily lives. As we undergo this rapid change, many of the old assumptions that we have relied will no longer apply. Technology is creating a new set of rules that will change our very existence.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2016/11/15/these-six-new-technology-rules-will-govern-our-future/

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November 27, 2016

Education, Not Income, Predicted Who Would Vote For Trump

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

By Nate Silver, 538

Sometimes statistical analysis is tricky, and sometimes a finding just jumps off the page. Here’s one example of the latter. I took a list of all 981 U.S. counties with 50,000 or more people and sorted it by the share of the population that had completed at least a four-year college degree. Hillary Clinton improved on President Obama’s 2012 performance in 48 of the country’s 50 most-well-educated counties. And on average, she improved on Obama’s margin of victory in these countries by almost 9 percentage points, even though Obama had done pretty well in them to begin with.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/education-not-income-predicted-who-would-vote-for-trump/

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University Of Arizona To Offer Science Lab Classes Online

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

By Kerry Fehr-Snyder, KJZZ

Students will be able to take science lab classes virtually. University of Arizona is giving students the chance to take science lab classes without ever setting foot in a lab. Classes being offered at UA Online Science Academy will include biology, chemistry, physiology, space, atmospheric and environmental sciences. The academy has been in the works for the past two and a half years, said Vincent Del Casino, UA’s vice provost for digital learning and student engagement. Advances in virtual reality, simulations and kits make science lab work possible, Del Casino said.

http://science.kjzz.org/content/397333/university-arizona-offer-science-lab-classes-online

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Build a Campus Network as an Online Student

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

by Joe Chapman, US News

For some, thriving in an online learning community may include joining a club; for others, it may be joining a social media group or meeting up in person for a class or with other students nearby. For many, this can be new territory. Here are a few ways to create community that prospective students should look for and current students should take advantage of.

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-learning-lessons/articles/2016-11-18/build-a-campus-network-as-an-online-student

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November 26, 2016

More Private Colleges Welcome Online Education

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

By Audri Taylors, UniversityHerald

A survey conducted by the CIC and the Learning House revealed that more colleges have grown to accept online education in their institutions. According to a survey of chief academic officers conducted by the Council of Independent Colleges and the Learning House, more and more private colleges are now open and accepting of online education. The number of private colleges that offer online education has now increased from 15 percent to 25 percent, and this climb was based on a survey conducted 2013. While there are still colleges who remain doubtful about online education, many colleges have already adapted to this. Learn what the private institutions will have to say about the implication of online education in their schools. Here are the findings revealed by the survey.

http://www.universityherald.com/articles/49671/20161116/more-private-colleges-welcome-online-education.htm

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Education Insider: Ohio State faculty urged to put mental-health help info on course syllabus

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

by Bill Bush and Mary Mogan Edwards, Education Insider

Ohio State University professors who want to make sure that students know how to get help for mental-health problems now have an easy way to do that. On Thursday, the University Senate approved a resolution encouraging all instructors to include a statement about mental-health services on their course syllabus. It’s up to each instructor or the department or college whether to incorporate the statement, which would describe the risks of poor mental health and give addresses and phone numbers for help. The university doesn’t require any specific content on a syllabus, said Wayne Carlson, dean of undergraduate education.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/11/16/education-insider-ohio-state-senate-backs-putting-mental-health-advisory-on-syllabus.html

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Online learning is a smart option for HR professionals

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

By AVADO, Personnel Today

Training your HR and L&D team doesn’t just improve their knowledge and skills; it also makes them feel more motivated and valued in their role. But many organisations are currently facing the challenge of training budget cuts and difficulty in releasing busy staff for face-to-face courses. Online training offers the perfect solution to this problem, providing a more time-efficient and cost-effective way to get employees to reach their full potential. However, not all online courses meet employer expectations; some simply offer dense passages of text on a page and leave students without structure or support. Completion rates are often low as learners struggle to stay motivated.

http://www.personneltoday.com/hr/online-learning-smart-option-hr-professionals/

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November 25, 2016

How to Create and Sell Courses Online

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

By Kirsten Drickey, Inside Higher Ed

Problem: you are a highly trained, skilled professional, but the academic job market is less than rosy. Solution: the market for online, nonacademic courses is large and growing. According to some estimates, by 2020 the worldwide market for self-paced online learning will be between $27.1 billion and $47.9 billion. Simply put, keeping their skills current has become another part of the job for most working professionals. More and more people are turning to platforms such as Lynda.com, Skillshare, Udemy and others. Unlike degree or certificate programs, most of these courses don’t lead to formal certification. Instead, participants aim to close an immediate gap in their skill sets or to further a personal interest.

https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2016/11/15/advice-academics-creating-and-selling-online-courses-essay

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Free and inexpensive OER expand access, reduce stress for college students

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

by Matt Zalaznick, University Business

The University of Maryland’s open source textbook initiative, known as “MOST,” has guided faculty through more than 50 OER adoptions. The program helps instructors assemble resources to significantly keep down the cost of course materials. Open educational resources have grown over the last few years from one-off oddities in single courses to the basis of entire degree programs. Cutting out textbook costs for students tops the list of reasons administrators encourage faculty to develop and adopt these free—or very inexpensive—resources, also known as OER. Other enticements include immediate access for students who sometimes wait or refuse to buy course materials, and instructors’ ability to customize and update OER, which range from digital textbooks to interactive tutorials to quizzes to YouTube videos.

https://www.universitybusiness.com/article/oer-revolution-higher-ed

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EdTech From Artificial Intelligence To Big Data, Is Shaping The Future Of Online Learning

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

by Seb Murray, Business Because

Edtech, from artificial intelligence to cloud computing and augmented reality, is sweeping through the higher education sector. And as online learning providers continue to challenge the oldest and best-known institutions, the world’s top business schools are racing to adopt cutting-edge learning technologies. “Innovations by vendors have led to the use of more advanced technologies such as simulations, cloud-based solutions, and AR,” says Jhansi Mary, lead analyst at Technavio, the consultancy.

http://www.businessbecause.com/news/mba-distance-learning/4297/edtech-trends-disrupt-business-education

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November 24, 2016

What Does Betsy DeVos Have in Mind for Higher Ed?

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 3:08 am

By Dan Berrett, Sarah Brown, Eric Kelderman, Brock Read, and Fernanda Zamudio-Suaréz; Chronicle of Higher Ed

By selecting Betsy DeVos to become the next secretary of education, President-elect Donald J. Trump has signaled his commitment to an ambitious plan to reform elementary and secondary education. Ms. DeVos, 58, is a leading player in the national school-choice movement. As chairwoman of the American Federation for Children, she has advocated aggressively for the expansion of charter schools and voucher programs for low-income students. Ms. DeVos’s lack of a track record in higher education is by no means unusual. Ms. DeVos’s nomination also met with some sharp criticism from both the left, where some see her as an opponent of public schools, and the right, where her stance on Common Core standards has come under scrutiny. Donald E. Heller, provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of San Francisco, wrote on Twitter that Mr. Trump’s pick “could have been worse. But not much.”

http://www.chronicle.com/article/What-Does-Betsy-DeVos-Have-in/238514

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Trump Picks Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 1:07 am

By Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed

President-elect Donald J. Trump has selected Betsy DeVos, a conservative philanthropist and Republican Party official known for her advocacy for private school vouchers, as education secretary, the transition office announced Wednesday. Little is known about her views on federal higher education policy. DeVos was chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party in the late 1990s. She and her husband, Dick, who ran for governor of Michigan in 2006 and is a member of the family that owns Amway, have a foundation in their names that contributes heavily to education organizations and arts groups, especially in Michigan.

https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/11/23/trump-picks-betsy-devos-education-secretary

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Oxford University to launch their first online ‘Mooc’ course

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

By Sean Coughlan, BBC

Oxford University has announced its first “massive open online course” – or so-called Mooc – in a partnership with a US online university network. These free online courses have grown in popularity with hundreds of universities and millions of students. But until now Oxford has not offered such Mooc courses. It is going to run an economics course partnered with online platform edX, set up by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The emergence of Mooc courses in recent years has been a major phenomenon in higher education, particularly in the United States. Their supporters argued that putting courses online would make them more accessible and affordable – while sceptics doubted that teaching and the exchange of ideas in seminars could be replicated on the internet.

http://www.bbc.com/news/education-37975359

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