Online Learning Update

by Yonhap News

An online class in which South Korean idol stars talk about Korean traditional and pop culture will open for foreigners this month, a Seoul-based foundation disseminating the Korean language and culture abroad said Friday. “Korean Wave stars like girl group Laboum and Sungjae, a member of boy group BTOB, will show up in the Internet class at www.sejonghakdang.org,” the King Sejong Institute Foundation said. The Korean Wave refers to the global popularity of Korean dramas, films and pop music. The stars, who have a lot of fans abroad, will introduce traditional Korean music, pop songs, current foods and fashion in the class, and will join campaigns to disseminate Korean culture, the foundation under the Culture Ministry said.

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/culturesports/2017/01/06/0701000000AEN20170106012500315.html

by Jarrett Carter, Education Dive

Courses on wizardry allegories in Harry Potter and political strategy as illustrated in ‘Game of Thrones’ are just a few of the courses available in the University of California – Berkeley’s “Democratic Education at Cal” program. The noncredit initiative, which encourages student innovation in teaching and learning on important topics, enrolls more than 8,000 students annually in 200 courses throughout the university. Students say the courses offer a productive opportunity to relieve stress, to expand personal networks and to gather new perspectives on culture and society.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/student-designed-courses-thrive-at-cal-berkeley/433483/

BY MATTHEW LYNCH, Tech Edvocate

Technology is changing the way we teach and learn at a rapid speed. While it’s still as relevant as ever to step away from the screen and learn through hands-on experiences, there are things you can teach and learn using apps that will greatly enhance the experience. Here are 20 of the best teaching and learning apps for 2017.

http://www.thetechedvocate.org/20-of-the-best-teaching-and-learning-apps/

by Research and Markets

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the “Online Language Learning Market in the US 2017-2021” report to their offering. The report forecasts the online language learning market in the US to grow at a CAGR of 8.6% during the period 2017-2021. The education market in the US has seen the emergence of new pedagogical techniques. Advances in technology have not only increased broadband network but also introduced schemes like bring-your-own-devices (BYOD). These schemes have brought about a change in the education paradigm with the implementation of innovative learning methods such as flipped classrooms, blended learning, simulations, experiential, and inquiry-based learning.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170104005970/en/Online-Language-Learning-Market-Grow-8-2021

By Joshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed

Can we get beyond the tired old discussion about if laptops should be banned from the classroom? The discussion that we should be having is about how we can harness the digital competencies – and the digitally inspired behaviors – that our students bring to their own learning. Have you ever observed a college student watching an online video? They are not passive video consumers. They actively control the in-video watching experience by speeding up and scrubbing through the video. They keep their cursor on the video controller and skip through the “slow” parts. Not only do students compress their video consumption by speeding and scrubbing, they also simultaneously interact with other content while watching. A video will share screen real estate with social media sites. They will chat, post, upload, compose, edit, scan, and scroll while also watching the video. How might we harness these digital video viewing behaviors to improve learning?

https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/moving-beyond-tired-classroom-laptop-debate

by CNNMoney/PayScale

2017

Rank Job title Median pay 10-year job growth

1 Mobile Applications Developer $97,100 19%

2 Risk Management Director $131,000 7%

3 Landman $93,600 7%

4 Product Analyst $74,900 19%

5 Information Assurance Analyst $98,900 18%

6 Quality Assurance Coordinator (RN) $69,000 16%

7 Clinical Applications Specialist $77,000 21%

8 Hospital Administrator $120,000 17%

9 Database Analyst $70,100 11%

10 Finance & Administration Director $97,300 7%

http://money.cnn.com/pf/best-jobs/index.html

By Eleanor Lamb, MeriTalk

EdSurge’s report states that no major venture funding rounds were awarded to MOOC providers in 2016, as they were in previous years. This year’s lack of funding meant that providers had to make more money through their courses. As a result, certain features, such as certificates, graded assignments, and content, were no longer offered for free. “That means for many providers, monetization became a priority,” Shah said. “All the major providers already have or plan to launch courses that are paid only. And it seems to be working. The “Big Three” MOOC providers—Coursera, Udacity, edX—combined have potentially made around $100 million in 2016.” The variety of courses also increased in 2016. This past year, 2,600 new courses were announced among cloud providers; 1,800 new courses were released in 2015. As of now, 6,850 courses are offered across 700 universities.

https://www.meritalk.com/articles/online-course-providers-put-their-money-where-their-mooc-is/

by David Raths, Campus Technology

Last year, eight universities across the country embarked on a bold experiment to see if they can scale up the use of adaptive courseware to increase retention and graduation rates. With support from the Association of Public Land-grant Universities (APLU), these schools have set a target of using adaptive courseware for 15 to 20 percent of general education course enrollments between spring 2017 and fall 2019. APLU’s Personalized Learning Consortium is overseeing the grant program, which is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Tailoring a course to adaptive learning can be difficult, as we learned when Campus Technology interviewed faculty members involved in pilot implementations of the technology. Despite being encouraged by the results, those pioneers reported being exhausted by how much work is involved in retrofitting their courses to the adaptive platforms. We spoke with two executives participating in the grant program about their goals and the early challenges they see.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/01/04/scaling-up-with-adaptive-learning.aspx

BY LAURA DEVANEY, eCampus News

Education has a much higher rate of ransomware attacks than other industries, according to a recent report that analyzes how different sectors are managing the security challenges these attacks pose. The rate of new ransomware attacks has jumped in recent years, as numerous industries, including higher education, fall victim to the attacks and struggle to fight them off, according to the report. Thirteen percent of the higher education sector has been infected with ransomware, according to The Rising Face of Cyber Crime: Ransomware, a BitSight Insight Report. In fact, advanced strains of ransomware encrypt data on an organization’s network or lock users out of their devices. Hackers then demand a ransom, usually in the form of Bitcoin, before they’ll restore data to normal. Some hackers use “ransomware-as-a-service,” which offers malware-construction kits designed to be easily deployed even with little hacking experience.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/it-newsletter/combat-ransomware/

by MIT Office of Digital Learning

The new option for online learners tests subject mastery and provides meaningful certificates for one of the most popular MITx courses. One of the most popular MITx on edX courses now challenges online learners to put their knowledge to the test. MITx 7.00x (Introduction to Biology – The Secret of Life), which has been an exciting educational option for learners to engage with biology since 2013, now offers a rigorous competency exam certificate. The next competency exam opens on Feb. 21 and is available to learners enrolled in the verified-certificate track. The competency exam is designed to test a learner’s mastery of the course learning objectives, tying together techniques and materials from different topics to provide a more thorough and robust means of evaluating online learners — and a more meaningful certificate for those who excel.

http://news.mit.edu/2016/competency-exam-available-for-mitx-introduction-to-biology-0103

BY SHAINA CAVAZOS, Chalkbeat

Online schools offer opportunities that can be life-changing for children who need flexible learning, even though the schools have broadly demonstrated a poor track record in Indiana so far. Indiana Connections Academy, along with every online school in the state that tested students in 2016, received an F grade from the state last month. But the Neiers and Taylors, who have been with Indiana Connections Academy since it opened in 2010, are happy with their choice. They said the self-paced nature of virtual learning, the lack of social distractions and the ability to learn anytime, anywhere, have given their kids the environment they need to be successful. The families — who are from Franklin and related — learned about virtual schooling when Stephanie Neier, a mother of five, enrolled her kids after hearing rave reviews of Connections Academy from a friend. Her oldest son has autism, and traditional high school wasn’t working for him, she said.

http://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/in/2017/01/03/why-online-learning-works-for-these-indiana-kids/

by RTE Ireland

A new survey has found that children are starting to use the internet from a younger age. Pupils in first class started to go online from under the age of five, compared to their sixth-class peers who on average first used the internet at the age of 7.7, the study found. The School Digital Trend Report from online safety firm, Zeeko, found 86% have access to a smart phone, tablet or iPod. Two thirds of sixth-class children use smart phones to access the internet, play online games, use apps, etc. However, younger children depend mostly on tablets for their online access, with laptops, games consoles, iPods, e-books and smart TVs also widely used by pre-teens to access internet-based content.

https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0103/842414-online/

by Jarrett Carter, Education Dive

GettingSmart.com profiles several areas of tech engagement that will help to attract and retain students in a climate where enrollment may shrink due to high costs and waning confidence in higher education. Officials say education should become more personalized through distance learning and tutoring systems, virtual learning environments which can help with professional development, and gamification to induce increased participation from diverse student populations. Microlearning, or reducing traditional lectures into smaller video tutorials, may also prove to be a change agent in keeping students’ attention and improving learning outcomes.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/how-technology-will-shape-new-trends-in-college-learning/433161/

BY THOMAS GOLDRICK, eCampus News

Most Higher Ed IT departments face similar challenges with budget restraints, hiring and retaining talented staff, and balancing the maintenance of existing systems with the need to implement emerging technologies. As if that weren’t enough, IT departments at state universities also run into a variety of specific problems that can further complicate how they operate. From a decline in state funding, to the needs of an evolving student base, there’s a lot that state university IT departments need to keep in mind, but there are ways to make edtech challenges easier. Let us walk you through some of those challenges so that your state university IT department can compete against Higher Ed’s most pressing issues on more equal footing.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/it-newsletter/edtech-challenges-state-universities/

by Roger Riddell, Education Dive

A range of issues and concerns, new developments and ongoing trends promise an interesting 2017 for higher ed tech. With the spring semester on the horizon and new funding and regulatory realities on the way with the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, we reached out to four CIOs to get their opinions on what college and university tech chiefs should expect.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/higher-ed-tech-predictions-cio-melissa-woo-david-hinson-raechelle-clemmons-michael-berman-2017/432001/

BY MERIS STANSBURY, eCampus News

Educators and tech leaders look back on 2016; predict where higher ed trends in teaching and learning will head this new year. With every new year comes new ideas. To get a glimpse into what the next 12 months will hold for everything from micro-credentialing to energy savings, and the rise of nontraditional students to focusing more on outcomes, 14 higher ed luminaries looked back on 2016 higher ed trends to help predict what’s in store for 2017. Here’s what they said:

http://www.ecampusnews.com/disruptions-and-innovations/hot-higher-ed-trends-2017/

by Sivaramakrishnan V, Financial Express

Colleges and universities are working harder to accommodate working students to take classes that fit their busy work, life and family schedules. In addition, there is an increased need to provide courses that will provide immediate results for students, such as traditional credit offerings in the form of courses that are directed toward degree completion. Colleges also are enhancing noncredit offerings with an emphasis on skill development and immediate application of these skills. Classes such as advanced manufacturing technologies, commercial driver’s license and skilled trades are for students to take at the college level, and can begin to immediately apply toward getting a promotion or a better-skilled job. The year 2016 saw a massive focus on measurement of student outcomes and performance, in both online and offline mediums. Integrated and more developed assessment solutions that provide detailed analytics on student performance should get further traction in 2017.

http://www.financialexpress.com/jobs/education-top-5-themes-that-will-dominate-the-landscape/493418/

by Times of Malta

Around one in six adults in Britain have done, or are intending to take, an online course as the programmes become more popular with the public and employers. Many are signing up for ‘moocs’ – massive open online courses – in a bid to further their careers, while for others it is a way of pursuing a personal interest, according to research. The study, by Futurelearn, the Open University and Parthenon-EY, also reveals that employers are increasingly using the courses to differentiate between job applicants. And it shows that graduates would like to have studied for at least part of their degree through online modules. Overall, 15 per cent of those surveyed for the research said they have either taken a short online course, or intend to do so.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20170101/business-news/15-of-adults-in-Britain-have-taken-or-are-planning-online-course.635384

by Cedar Republican

Nearly every non-profit organization operates with a board of directors. Often the bulk of the organization’s resources go to meet the needs of the clients, making it difficult to provide training to board members. “Yet, the effectiveness of a board can make or break most organizations,” Dr. Amy Patillo, community development specialist with University of Missouri Extension, said. Build your board is an online course, providing training to board members who serve non-profit organizations. The training was developed by University of Missouri Extension faculty to provide non-profit board members with essential training.

http://cedarrepublican.com/news/build-your-board-with-mu-extension-online-training/article_cd7e1df8-cc75-11e6-82b8-4f6b8d4c0655.html

by JACOB MULLINS, Venture Beat

2016 was “Year Zero” for the current wave of consumerization of virtual reality and augmented reality, devices are finally shipping, consumers are buying, and applications are earning. Consider what “Year Zero” was for the PC or the mobile waves of technology adoption, and look at where we are today. 2017 is shaping up to be an early and fantastically productive year for the virtual reality & augmented reality industries. Having spent the better part of 2016 diving into the VR & AR industry, here is list of six predictions and four “wishes” for 2017.

http://venturebeat.com/2016/12/31/10-predictions-and-opportunities-for-virtual-and-augmented-reality-in-2017/