Online Learning Update

October 31, 2017

Professor: My biggest problem with online teaching

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

by JEREMY CUNNINGHAM, eCampus News

At times, I am simultaneously a learner and instructor within a course. This gives me some sensitivity to student discombobulation in the online classroom and allowed the article “5 Techniques To Help You Step Inside The Shoes Of Your Online Learners” by Nipun Sharma to ring true with me. The general theme of his work focuses on seeing students as unique individuals and tailoring your work in response. As institutions create one-size classroom models, instructors must conversely seek to personalize it to the student. Sharma recommends knowing your students on a personal level. By seeking to understand the motives, backstories, and opinions of the students in your course, instructors can intentionally break down the inherent walls of the online format. Things you would glean from meeting students face-to-face and interacting with them are important; the online instructor must make an effort to learn this information. After addressing instructors’ external actions, Sharma challenges individuals to some inward reflection. He discusses the idea that online instructors must acknowledge their assumptions and start each student with a clean slate.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/ed-tech-leadership/prof-biggest-prob-online-classroom/

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Bring-Your-Own-Device Transforms Physics Lab

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

By David Raths, Campus Technology

North Carolina State University created a free app that turns students’ smartphones into lab instruments, saving money in lab setup and maintenance and giving learners the tools to explore physics anywhere. “I thought there had to be some way to capitalize on students’ familiarity with personal technologies,” she said. “Then they could focus their attention on the concepts that mattered rather than on figuring out how to use the hardware and software.”

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/10/25/bring-your-own-device-transforms-physics-lab.aspx

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Adjuncts help colleges expand their online programs

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

By Deirdre Fernandes, Boston Globe

This is the life of a virtual adjunct professor: Teaching is done online, students and instructors are connected by e-mail, and a laptop with a camera is as essential as a textbook. “My office door is always open,” said Bloom, who is currently teaching for George Washington University and preparing to start a course for Ohio University in the coming weeks. In the past, she has also worked for Salem State University. “I’m only an e-mail away,” she said. The portion of online courses taught by adjunct faculty — part-time professors who don’t receive benefits and aren’t on the tenure track — is increasingly significant, said Andrew Magda, manager for market research at Learning House Inc., an education technology company.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/10/23/adjuncts-help-colleges-expand-their-online-programs/UyW2yEnAMIpV3S0DIaUbiN/story.html

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October 30, 2017

Faculty Buy-in Builds, Bit by Bit: Survey of Faculty Attitudes on Technology

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:11 am

by Doug Lederman and Lindsay McKenzie, Inside Higher Ed

Professors are slowly gaining confidence in the effectiveness of online learning as more of them teach online, Inside Higher Ed’s 2017 Survey of Faculty Attitudes on Technology reveals. While faculty members remain slightly more likely to disagree than to agree that online courses can achieve student outcomes that are as good as those of in-person courses, the proportion agreeing rose sharply this year, and the proportion strongly disagreeing dropped precipitously.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/survey/faculty-buy-builds-bit-bit-survey-faculty-attitudes-technology

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College students want more technology, ECAR survey says

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

by Richard W. Walker, EdScoop

College students increasingly want more online technology in their learning environments, but many faculty members are wary of incorporating blended learning into their courses, according to the Educause Center for Analysis and Research’s (ECAR) 2017 separately published companion surveys of student and faculty trends in the use of information technology. “The best things in life are free, but students want technology. And they want their instructors to use more of it in their courses,” the ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology 2017 reported. “Resistance is futile. Students’ preferences for courses that assimilate both face-to-face instructional components with technological features of the online environment continue to gain momentum across higher education.”

http://edscoop.com/college-students-want-more-technology-ecar-survey

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A Proposal to Put the ‘M’ Back in MOOCs

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

By Dhawal Shah, edSurge

If providers of these online courses want to make MOOCs massive again, they will need to go back to the characteristics that made them popular in the first place: semi-synchronous, instructor led and sufficiently hyped. Imagine that once or twice a year MOOC providers published a limited catalog of courses that are instructor-led (meaning that professors play an active role in running the courses). These courses would have a fixed schedule, and have a start date and end date with some soft-deadlines through the course. The goal would be to get everybody moving at a similar pace.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-10-24-a-proposal-to-put-the-m-back-in-moocs

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The Future of AI Is All About Education

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

By Joel Hans, RT Insights
Businesses face two major AI staffing issues: Many engineers graduated before AI became a subject of study and younger AI enthusiasts don’t yet have needed experience. Robert Munro, the vice president of machine learning (ML) at CrowdFlower, explains the situation clearly: “The potential for AI to change the way business works is limitless. But what will stall adoption is the lack of skilled engineers who understand how to put machine learning platforms to use.”

https://www.rtinsights.com/the-future-of-ai-is-all-about-education/

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October 29, 2017

UMD launches immersive media innovation ecosystem

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

BY LAURA ASCIONE, eCampus News
University to develop MAVRIC, a regional hub for immersive media technology. From catching Pokémon in the real world to donning a virtual reality headset to see and feel what it was like to scale the Berlin Wall before its fall, advancements in immersive media have set the stage for the next digital revolution. The University of Maryland will take part in this revolution with the launch of the Mixed/Augmented/Virtual Reality Innovation Center, called MAVRIC, which has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA). “The project promises to make our entire region a national hot spot for immersive media development,” said University of Maryland President Wallace D. Loh. “It will become an economic and technological boon to Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.”

https://www.ecampusnews.com/disruptions-and-innovations/umd-media-ecosystem/

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Institutions embracing social media’s potential

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

by Autumn A. Arnett, Education Dive

Communications and outreach offices are beginning to see the value of “paying to play” in the digital landscape, a recent analysis by University Business says. Many offices have been embracing paid search optimization for awhile, but now officials are realizing there’s value in paying for social media ads as well; a recent survey found 47% of high school seniors, 55% of juniors and 61% of sophomores and 33% of parents of high schoolers clicked on a search, display or social media ad for a college. The best investment, the article says, is to re-target those who have already self-identified as prospective students, since they are most likely to click the ads.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/institutions-embracing-social-medias-potential/508007/

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Digital Learning: Education and Skills in the Digital Age

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

by the Rand Corporation

The report gives an overview of an expert consultation on the role and future of education and skills in the digital world. It looks at which skills are important and necessary to undertake the different types of jobs available, and what skills we need to be thinking of developing now and in the future. It explores how we ensure that people are not left out of the digital age and have access to education on digital skills. It looks at how we think about formal education and how our thinking needs to evolve with the increasing adoption of digital tools and technologies, particularly among the younger generation. The report proposes a preliminary framework to ensure an inclusive education in an increasingly digital world and suggests roles for different stakeholders to ensure that this becomes a reality.

https://www.rand.org/pubs/conf_proceedings/CF369.html

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October 28, 2017

Is blockchain the answer to higher ed’s cybersecurity problems?

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

BY ALAN HEPPENSTALL, eCampus News

The implications for the industry are huge: using blockchain means we can now offer credentials that are unhackable and unfakeable. It also means that we can help remove the stigma for employers when interviewing candidates with certifications from lesser-known or non-traditional institutions. Not everyone can graduate from an Ivy-League school (or a traditional college or university, for that matter), and rarely does anyone take the same road to educational and professional achievement. With blockchain verification, we can help the world place their trust in a sound technology, rather than relying on preconceived notions on how or when something should be learned. Businesses constantly weigh risk: financial, reputational, economic or competitor-related. In an age where reputation and trust mean everything, verifying an individual’s educational attainment is both consequential for the legitimacy of online learning, and the future of the workforce.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/ed-tech-leadership/blockchain-cybersecurity-problems/

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What the future holds for AR and VR

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:07 am

by Mike O’Brien, ClickZ

There are still have some obstacles facing VR and AR before they achieve critical mass, such as the bulkiness of the hardware and the expense, both for the people creating content and consuming it. There are also some misconceptions about the technology that marketers need to keep in mind. “Some people thought it would become a daily habit of all users to put on a headset every day. But they overlooked what you’re actually asking somebody to do: Tune out the entire rest of the world and give their undivided attention to the VR experience,” says Alex Krawitz, SVP of Content Development at Firstborn, a digital agency which has created immersive VR experiences for brands like Mountain Dew and Patrón. “Compare that to mobile or any other screen, where it’s pretty easy to multitask.”  “My sense is that next year, we’re going to start seeing a really slow ramp-up and then it’s going to be a hockey stick,” she says. “Mark Zuckerberg wants to get a billion people in VR. That Facebook is so committed to make this happen gives me a lot of hope.”

https://www.clickz.com/what-the-future-holds-for-ar-and-vr/113716/

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Online textbook service saving college students hundreds of dollars

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

by Matt Stewart, Fox4KC

The price of going to college continues to rise, but there is a movement nationwide to reduce some of the costs. It’s called the Open Textbook Library, and it’s saving students hundreds of dollars every year. Instead of having students spend $300 on one hardcover textbook for one class, they can now get many of their class materials online for free. Students going to UMKC, Mizzou, KU and many other local colleges have access to the Open Textbook Library. All a student needs to do is search for their textbook on the website and download it to their computer.

http://fox4kc.com/2017/10/23/online-textbook-service-saving-college-students-hundreds-of-dollars/

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October 27, 2017

Cost & availability of quality content to hamper VR growth

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:11 am

by Aritra Sarkhel | ETtech
The technology has not been adopted beyond few gaming and entertainment platforms and remains a case of hype in many industries apart from few odd use cases in medical and education space. Cost & availability of quality content to hamper VR growthAlthough the global virtual reality (VR) market is expected to reach USD 48.5 billion by 2025, according to a report by Grand View Research and will grow at a CAGR of 48.89% during the period 2017-2021, the technology has not been adopted beyond few gaming and entertainment platforms and remains a case of hype in many industries apart from few odd use cases in medical and education space.

https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/technology/cost-availability-of-quality-content-might-hamper-vr-growth/61153568

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Unizin Announces Strategic Alliance with edX to Advance Education

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

by Cision

Unizin, a nonprofit consortium of 25 universities, today announced a partnership with edX.org, the leading nonprofit online learning platform founded by Harvard and MIT. Unizin will operate and invest in the Open edX platform, the learning experience platform that powers edX.org. The software will serve as a hosted platform for Unizin’s member universities, and key enhancements to the software will be coordinated and shared with the Open edX community. Ohio State University, Indiana University, and University of Michigan have committed to the hosted Open edX software from Unizin. Unizin and edX will collaborate to advance education technology standards and to open access to data for users of the Open edX learning experience. This partnership will shape the future of education both on-campus and online and will increase the scale and speed as well as enhance the mission of both communities.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/10/prweb14827464.htm

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MIT Pilots Digital Diplomas Based on Bitcoin’s Blockchain

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

By Joshua Bolkan, Campus Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has begun offering some students the option to receive digital diplomas through an app, in addition to a traditional paper degree. Based on Bitcoin’s blockchain technology and integrated with the school’s identity provider, the new diplomas are the result of a partnership between MIT and Learning Machine, a local software company. The electronic credentials were rolled out over the summer and offered to 111 students as part of a pilot program. Dubbed Blockcerts Wallet, the app allows students to share a tamper-proof diploma with employers, schools, friends or family.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/10/19/mit-pilots-digital-diplomas-based-on-bitcoins-blockchain.aspx

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October 26, 2017

Duke’s digital education administrator talks co-curricular learning, online classes

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

By Sarah Kerman, Duke Chronicle

I think the culture is really innovative here. I think there’s a reputation that we got where we are now by being more willing to change and more forward looking in our outlook relative to our peer institutions. There’s a certain nimbleness and creativity and willingness to experiment in the culture here that is distinctive. In the digital sphere, you saw this in the iPad in the classroom project. You also saw it in the digital humanities, which Duke is a leader in, and obviously in our online success—we’re one of the top institutions in online learning today. We have 4.7 million learners and that is a huge credit to Duke and its leadership.

http://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2017/10/dukes-digital-education-administrator-talks-co-curricular-learning-online-classes

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How to fail your online classes: The truths and fears behind virtual learning

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

by Briana Hammontree, Ferris State Torch
While many students opt for the traditional form of learning there is always an option for students to take any of the 29 online courses offered at Ferris. “There are a variety of reasons students might find online courses challenging. For one, students may believe some common myths about online courses—for example, that they are easier or less time-consuming than face-to-face classes. Online courses can be just as demanding as face-to-face courses, so students who go into an online course expecting an ‘easy A’ might be caught off-guard and quickly fall behind,” Rowan said.

http://fsutorch.com/2017/10/17/how-to-fail-your-online-classes/

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Deep learning is a new chapter for every sector: Andrew Ng, Coursera

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

By J Vignesh, Economic Times

The very first Coursera course was on machine-learning (ML)… it was six years ago. I helped a lot of people get into ML, more than 1.8 million enrolments over the last six years. I hope we can now bring an equally large number of people into deep-learning. Deep-learning will transform every single industry. Healthcare and transportation will be transformed by deep-learning. I want to live in an AI-powered society.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/security-tech/technology/deep-learning-is-a-new-chapter-for-every-sector-andrew-ng-coursera/articleshow/61148845.cms

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October 25, 2017

Online Learning Consortium Announces 2017 OLC Fellows

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

The Online Learning Consortium (OLC) today announced the 2017 class of OLC Fellows as well as recipients of the 2017 OLC Awards and the 2017 Effective Practice Awards. Fellows and awardees will be recognized at the upcoming OLC Accelerate conference, in Orlando, Florida, Nov. 15-17.  Recognition as an OLC Fellow is conferred by the OLC Board of Directors on those who have contributed to advancing quality, effectiveness and breadth in online and blended education in areas represented by the OLC Pillars: learning effectiveness, access, faculty and student satisfaction and scale. Named to the 2017 class of OLC Fellows are:

Vickie Cook, Ph.D., Executive Director for Online Learning, Research and Service, University of Illinois Springfield
Laurie Dringus, Ph.D., Professor, Nova Southeastern University
Jill Buban, Ph.D., Senior Director of Research & Innovation, Online Learning Consortium

http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/Online-Learning-Consortium-Announces-2017-OLC-Fellows-and-Recipients-of-2017-OLC-Awards-and-Effective-Practice-Awards-1001783815

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Where will UK online education be in five years?

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

by Geoff Webster, Times Higher Education

Given the uncertainties around Brexit, and idiosyncratic US leadership, it is brave to envisage what the sector will look like in five years’ time. However, of the 120 mainstream universities in the UK, we expect more than half to have committed strategically to online learning. Institutions will deliver a wide range of purely online and blended degrees, short courses, and other accredited activities to a broad range of domestic and global students. Some will be expansive, offering the broadest range of subjects and competing in multiple markets; others will seek to differentiate by specialising in their traditional niches. Online pedagogy and technology will, in turn, improve the on-campus experience of traditional students.

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/where-will-online-education-be-five-years

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