Online Learning Update

By Lindsay McKenzie, Inside Higher Ed
Canvas has unseated Blackboard Learn as the leading LMS at U.S. colleges and universities, according to new data from MindWires Consulting. In a blog post on Monday, Michael Feldstein, partner at MindWires Consulting and co-publisher of the e-Literate blog, wrote that Canvas now has 1,218 installations at U.S. institutions, compared with Blackboard’s 1,216. Although the two-figure difference may seem insignificant — and Blackboard and some of its allies say the data don’t accurately reflect the two companies’ relative reach — most analysts agree that Canvas’s ascent, largely at Blackboard’s expense, is noteworthy.

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2018/07/10/canvas-catches-and-maybe-passes-blackboard-top-learning

by Aleksandar (Sasha) Tomic, Evolllution

While successes online are fairly well documented, failures are not as public The online space is getting more and more crowded, so you must define what it is that differentiates you. Is it price point? Student engagement? Student outcomes? Placement rate? In other words, why would a student choose your online MBA as opposed to the other 281 programs currently ranked by US News and World Report Online MBA rankings? The same care that goes into differentiating your on-ground programs should go into differentiating the online ones as well. Possibly more, since location might be a differentiator for your on-ground programs but is rendered meaningless in the online space.

Are You Ready To Go Online? Key Considerations for New Online Education Initiatives

by EdTechTimes

Today, higher education is in the midst of a major disruption. Every element of higher ed is changing: the traditional student, classroom models—even expectations for support after graduation. And of course, technology is at the center of many of these changes. New technologies are allowing campuses to have a broader reach, more efficient business practices, and new methods of instruction. But technological innovation brings an entirely new set of challenges to higher ed.

Leading in the Midst of Higher Ed Disruption: Experts Discuss Paths to Innovation

By Dennis Pierce, THE Journal
Technology is changing how students’ brains are wired, setting expectations for faster, more interactive learning, said neuroscientist and best-selling author David Eagleman. And the most important thing that schools should be teaching students is “cognitive flexibility,” or the ability to be creative and put ideas together in new and innovative ways. Eagleman spoke to a packed audience of educators and school administrators during the opening general session of the 2018 ISTE conference in Chicago. As a neuroscientist, he has studied how the human brain is constantly rewiring itself, a concept known as brain plasticity. He said the brains of today’s students are changing because they are growing up in a digital world. Rather than resisting this change, educators need to embrace it and teach students as they are accustomed to learning outside of school.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2018/06/25/what-neuroscience-teaches-us-about-fostering-creativity.aspx

By Keith R. Krueger, THE Journal
In the last few months, there has been no shortage of new data surrounding education. Like the Twitter and news cycle, it’s hard to keep up and make sense of what statistics matter most to help address the needs of districts today. When it comes to advancing 21st-century learning settings, I’m going to catch you up and give you the statistics that you need to know. Earlier this spring, CoSN unveiled the new findings from our 2018 National K-12 IT Leadership Survey Report. Conducted in partnership with Dude Solutions and MDR, the annual survey provides the education community with insights from school system technology leaders on their challenges and priorities.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2018/06/28/key-facts-to-advance-ed-tech-in-america.aspx

by Jonathan E. Thomas, Charles Graham, and Anthony A. Piña, OJDLA

As enrollment of students in online courses has steadily increased over the last few decades, very little attention has been given to online instructor evaluation. This is an area of online education that needs additional research to better ascertain the current state of online instructor evaluation as well as discover ways to improve its effectiveness. The purpose of this study is to identify how institutions evaluate online instructors and why. Findings indicated that the post-secondary institutions studied utilized many types of evaluation including student evaluations, administrative evaluations, peer evaluations, self-evaluations, and also employed metrics in their evaluations. Recommendations for the use of triangulation, course observation rubrics, formative evaluations, and metrics as part of an online instructor evaluation system are provided.

https://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/summer212/thomas_graham_pina212.html

by Victoria S. Brown, David Lewis, Mario Toussaint, OLJ

Four course development models were used within a three-year time frame, allowing for an evaluation of the different models based upon students’ perceptions of the integration of the Quality Matters (QM) Standards, course structure, and quality. The study compared (a) faculty training, (b) instructional designer supported, (c) additional QM training course, and (d) no training or support used. Students were randomly selected from online courses from each of the categories to receive a survey to measure their perceptions about the courses. The students were asked about the design of the courses given the integration of the QM Standards, course structure, and quality. Significant results were found across all eight standards, course structure, and quality for the instructional-designer supported course model as compared with the other course design models.

https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/1213

by Autumn A. Arnett, Education Dive
Brandman University President Gary Brahm says the needs of nontraditional students are very different than those of traditional students. And though there is some consensus that nontraditional is the new traditional, many institution leaders are still struggling with how to adjust their business models to accommodate this wave of students on traditional campuses. A lot of institutions have leveraged their existing brand in order to deliver a traditional education as well as accommodate nontraditional students.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/leaders-zero-in-on-helping-nontraditional-students-succeed/526910/

BY FURQAN NAZEERI, eCampus News
Why a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work.  Every day, we speak to university faculty and administrators who are looking to create an online course or degree program to increase enrollment, expand their revenue base, or reposition their brand. Those conversations usually begin with the same question: “How do we put this course/program online?”  At this point, I look for a diplomatic way to explain that’s not the right question to be asking. The real question is based on a shift in thinking about online learning. You are not simply putting a course online; you are creating an online product. It’s an important distinction. Your product—the program, course, certificate, or degree—has to be unique and very specific to what your market of current and prospective students want. The question that should be asked is: “How do we create a world-class learning experience that’s tailored to our students?”

https://www.ecampusnews.com/eschool-media/the-single-biggest-mistake-universities-make-when-going-online/ 

by LAURA ASCIONE, eCampus News

“The implications for the industry are huge: Using blockchain means we can now offer credentials that are unhackable and unfakeable,” contends Alan Heppenstall, co-founder and CTO of the digital credentialing platform Accredible. And “instead of providing paper certificates that are hard to verify, blockchain could help students to compile a complete digital record of all the training courses they’ve completed and certificates they’ve obtained that would exist in the public domain and be accessible on demand,” says Jami Morshed, vice president of global higher education at Unit4.

Where is blockchain technology going in the future?

by Marianne Stenger, eLearning Industry
How can students be better supported and engaged in online learning programs? Based on the research available, here are 5 ways to make online learning more effective. Some students choose to study online to earn a degree or qualification, while others are primarily looking to further their professional development. Whatever their motivations may be, however, it’s clear that enrolment in online courses is not slowing down. According to the 2017 Distance Education Enrollment report released by the Babson Survey Research Group, enrollment in online courses has increased for the fourteenth straight year. The report shows that 6.3 million students in the U.S. took at least one online course, which is a 5.6% increase from the previous year. Even so, dropout rates in online courses still tend to be higher than in traditional courses. Some of the biggest reasons online students drop out include unrealistic expectations, poor planning, and a lack of engagement and motivation. So how can students be better supported and engaged in online learning programs? Based on the research available, here are five ways to make online learning more effective.

Top 5 Research-Based Online Learning Tips

by Marvin Krislov, Forbes

But perhaps the most inspiring commencement ceremony was for students graduating from our online education programs. These students tend to have families and careers, responsibilities well beyond coursework and exams. But they’re motivated to complete their degrees, and their stories are moving. Several dozen made it to our lower Manhattan campus for their graduation. They came from all over the country, some with children, a few stepping onto a college campus for their first time ever as a student. Their stories remind us of the important role high-quality online education, following a rigorous curriculum and tied to an educational institution, plays in educating underserved communities. And they highlight the importance of finding ways to make education accessible to all students—of all ages, in all locations, on all schedules, to help those who are seeking new skills, transitioning to new careers, or otherwise working hard to make themselves better-prepared employees.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marvinkrislov/2018/06/28/can-online-education-inspire-i-think-so/

by Derek Newton, Forbes

In May, The Learning House, an academic program manager offering solutions and services for colleges and universities, released their Online College Students 2018 report in collaboration with Aslanian Market Research. It shows that most undergraduate students studying online or considering doing so, study quite close to home. According to the report, fully two-thirds of online undergrads were taking online classes less than 50 miles from a campus of the school where they enrolled. Nearly half (45% overall) studied online within 25 miles of campus. More than three in four (78%) online students enrolled at a school with a campus within 100 miles.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereknewton/2018/06/29/what-geography-says-about-online-college-students-the-future-of-studying-online/#3d4c35f41e9c

by Christian Guijosa, Observatory of Educational Innovation

According to Udacity, the global demand for blockchain specialists will grow 60% annually. Hence, the importance of starting to prepare the next developers of this technology. In general, the meaning of blockchain is linked to cryptocurrencies and specifically to Bitcoin. However, this technology has the potential to become the new foundation for any type of transaction; through it, contracts could be validated without the need for legal instances, cloud storage would be safer, and people’s ID’s could be more reliably consulted, among an infinite number of applications. Blockchain Developer Nanodegree:
This new Udacity alternative credential promises to instruct the skills, tools, and computer security practices that a blockchain developer needs.

sm.mx/edu-news/new-udacity-nanodegree-to-develop-blockchain-applications

By Kelly Guess, Spartan News

Summer at Michigan State University doesn’t always mean it’s time for summer vacation. As degree requirements become more demanding, many students enroll in the university’s summer sessions as a way to get ahead or stay on track to graduate. Skylar Austell, a senior at MSU, is taking online courses this summer so that she can graduate in August. “Without the opportunity to take the classes, I would have had to do a whole other semester just for two classes,” she said. Both of her classes are online classes, giving her the opportunity to go home or travel for job interviews without missing school. “The flexibility of having classes online allows me to breath a bit and focus as I prepare to transition into postgraduate life,” Austell said. “I have friends who are from out of state and took online classes over the summer.”

Online classes allow for flexible schedules

by FlatWorld

FlatWorld received responses from 139 professors across more than a dozen academic fields. Approximately 70% of the respondents were from four-year colleges, and 30% from two-year colleges.  The results shed light on a variety of criteria that professors use to evaluate textbooks, concerns about open education resources, and a continued demand for print in an increasingly digital world.  “Professors are keenly aware that the prices of many textbooks on the market today are simply absurd,” said Alastair Adam, co-CEO of FlatWorld. “They want to use high quality textbooks, but also realize that assigning a textbook with an exorbitant price tag will result in much of their class searching for outdated editions, or simply not buying the textbook.

http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/Digest/FlatWorld-Survey-Shows-How-Professors-Evaluate-Textbooks-125959.asp

by Derek Newton, Forbes

Most online college programs cost the same as on-campus alternatives. Some even cost more. There’s evidence that pricey online tuitions may be driven by hidden, expensive costs in designing, delivering and marketing those programs. Still, online programs at some schools are generating profit. A plurality (45%) of schools surveyed in The Changing Landscape of Online Education (CHLOE2) by Quality Matters and Eduventures/Encoura – a survey of 182 academic and institutional officers in charge of digital learning at their schools – said their online programs were a “revenue generator.” Just 18% said they cost more than they generated.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereknewton/2018/06/26/whats-really-driving-high-tuition-in-online-college-programs/#495555cf3b08

By Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology
Five organizations with expertise in online education have collaborated on a new resource for students looking for online programs. Together, Berkeley College, the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA), the Online Learning Consortium, Quality Matters and the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET) formulated a list of questions students should ask themselves in order to find an online program that best fits their needs.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2018/06/28/new-resource-helps-students-ask-the-right-questions-about-online-learning.aspx

By James Paterson, Education Dive
The rapid growth of online learning in higher education will likely ebb and even off by 2020, according to a new report. The study, produced by Learning House and Aslanian Market Research, predicts the market will peak at 4 million students in about two years amid strong competition among colleges, according to Study International. The online course market grew by 3% in 2017. The report provides four key findings: Courses should be mobile friendly, online students need access to career services, online programs are becoming increasingly diverse and are believed by participants to be a good value. About 86% of online students surveyed said they feel “the value of their degree equals or exceeds the cost they paid for it,” which is a higher percentage than for those who just took traditional face-to-face courses.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/study-online-learning-growth-will-level-off-by-end-of-decade/

The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, today announced enrollment is now open for a new LFS170x – Blockchain: Understanding Its Uses and Implications training course, as well as for a Blockchain for Business professional certificate program. Offered through the edX training platform, the new course and program provide a way to learn about the impact of blockchain technologies and a means to demonstrate that knowledge. LFS170x is a free course offering an introduction to blockchain distributed ledger technology and how it is changing the way business is executed. The Blockchain for Business professional certificate requires students to obtain a verified certificate for the new LFS170x as well as the existing LFS171x – Blockchain for Business: An Introduction to Hyperledger Technologies course.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/as-demand-skyrockets-for-blockchain-expertise-the-linux-foundation-and-edx-offer-new-introductory-blockchain-course-and-blockchain-for-business-professional-certificate-program-300673633.html

By Jean Dimeo, Education Dive
This summer, Education Dive is providing readers with compilations of stories on a variety of topics that we’ve published during the past year that provide solutions to challenges facing colleges and universities nationwide. Next up — online learning.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/summer-reading-strategies-to-boost-online-learning-programs/525411/