Online Learning Update

By Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed

We all know the tech expectations of new hires have changed rapidly this century. While many of the soft skills of communication, leadership, critical thinking and social sense remain relevant today, a whole host of technological infrastructure changes continue at a rapid rate. This raises the question of whether we are best educating our students for jobs that will be in rapid decline, or no longer exist, when they graduate. How can we predict the future career environment? We can’t, with 100 percent certainty. But we can, and must, carefully and continuously share the trends with our students so they are prepared for the emerging environment. Columbia University, along with UPCEA, has opened a call for papers on the very topic of the future of work and its implications for higher education. I encourage you to submit your thoughts, and I look forward to seeing the results from that work.

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/blogs/online-trending-now/colleges-must-refresh-their-degrees-future-looking

Kevin Werbach, Knowledge@Wharton

Blockchain is one of the biggest buzzwords in technology today. But confusion exists about what it is exactly: The blockchain is often mentioned in the same breath as bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, but it encompasses far more than that. Kevin Werbach, Wharton professor of legal studies and business ethics and a blockchain expert, has written a book that explains this technology with great depth and precision. Because really, blockchain is a fusion of law, business, technology, economics — all these different areas where I have some expertise, and where I think there are really potentially huge opportunities to create new kinds of organizations and new kinds of [businesses].

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/werbach-blockchain/

Joshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed

What is our role in pushing universal fiber internet? Fiber: The Coming Tech Revolution—and Why America Might Miss It by Susan Crawford. Published in December of 2018. Our digital learning community needs a cause. Some fight that strikes an optimal balance between self-interest and doing the right thing. Reading Susan Crawford’s deeply reported and passionately argued Fiber, I think the battle for universal fiber broadband might be the fight we need.

https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/fiber-wakeup-call-our-digital-learning-community

Rooney Columbus, American Enterprise Institute

For decades society has regarded a bachelor’s degree from a traditional higher education institution as one of the surest paths to prosperity.2 But a bachelor’s degree program at a traditional college is not always the best option for everyone, nor is it the only avenue for people to receive training and skills that will pay off in the job market.3 After years of policymakers and advocates advancing a broad “college for all” agenda, many Americans are questioning this sweeping and singular approach to human capital development.4 Even so, it remains unclear what other viable education and training alternatives exist to build necessary skills and secure employment. A broad spectrum of researchers and policy thinkers have argued for expanding alternatives to the traditional postsecondary system.

https://www.aei.org/publication/nondegree-credentials-work-based-learning-and-the-american-working-class/

by Erika Gimbel, EdTech

Leaders evaluate the best tools, applications and practices as they develop data-driven initiatives.  Anywhere from about 40 percent to 60 percent of colleges and universities have a data analytics program in place, but a survey by Ovum reports that many of those initiatives aren’t fully matured. Only 27 percent of universities consider their data analytics programs to be advanced or complete, and more than half (54 percent) are in the planning or early implementation stages.

https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2019/01/data-programs-gain-traction-campuses-complexity-remains

By Brandon Jarman, eLearning Inside

Quality assurance testing is the process of thoroughly vetting a software program (in this case, an eLearning course) to ensure that both the technical and content aspects of the software meet high-quality standards. If quality assurance testing sounds overwhelming, it’s because it definitely can be. However, with today’s competitive landscape, online educators need any competitive advantage they can get. Here are 4 easy ways you can test your eLearning course for quality assurance.

https://news.elearninginside.com/quality-assurance-elearning-course-test/

by WSYR

Law is the chosen field for nearly three dozen people in Syracuse University’s newest law school class that started their program this week. The university is offering a law degree program online– the first ever full interactive law program approved by the American Bar Association. “I live within two miles of five law schools in Chicago, all of which have part-time programs, but I really am comfortable with this type of learning,” said Ray Scannell, an online law student through SU. Educators say the program is just as rigorous as if the students came to Dineen Hall everyday.

https://www.localsyr.com/news/local-news/first-ever-online-law-program-starts-at-syracuse-university/1696438243

by Valley Star

Many students juggle work and family, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, which found that 62 percent of students work full- or part-time, and 29 percent have at least one dependent. Today’s college students are just as likely to be moms and dads themselves, full-time and part-time employees or members of the U.S. armed forces. Needing flexibility and variety in course offerings, more students are turning to online learning to design a path that fits their lifestyle. As a result, online learning is seeing significant growth. A recent study found more than 6 million students take online courses across the U.S., and that number continues to rise. For example, at ASU Online, programs have grown significantly, with a 60 percent increase in freshman enrollment since fall 2016 to more than 35,000 students in over 175 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

https://www.valleymorningstar.com/online_features/money_and_finance/how-to-make-online-learning-work-for-you/article_9710c03a-7d8e-597e-aa0d-e855ca16a96c.html

by JONATHAN SHAW, Harvard Magazine

Anant Agarwal agrees that it is much too soon to write off online education on the basis of an evaluation of MOOCs alone. “Edx remains committed to developing a sustainable business model, and making sure that we are able to reimagine education both in quality and scale for everybody, but it is going to take time,” he says. “Seven years in the grand scheme of things is a very short period of time to assess whether the technology has had a big impact” (although 40 million learners reached in every country in the world is a good start). “Once we get sustainable, and the non-profit begins generating a surplus, we can invest in quality and in reaching people we would not otherwise have reached.” Right now, he says, “I think we are just barely scratching the surface.”

https://harvardmagazine.com/2019/01/mooc

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

Predictions abound at the beginning of a new year, and Encoura’s Eduventures chief research officer, Richard Garrett, has weighed in with three of his own for 2019. First, Garrett said he expects “at least five more R1 universities” to introduce low-priced online master’s degrees, akin to Georgia Tech’s master’s in analytics ($9,900) or the University of Texas at Austin’s master’s in computer science ($10,000). While these programs traditionally have emphasized the MBA, data science and cybersecurity, the new breed of graduate study will focus on fields such as healthcare management and accounting, he said. These programs will be characterized by the “same admission standards, same rigor, same faculty,” but the schools will emphasize “mass enrollment at a low price.”

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2019/01/10/3-higher-ed-predictions-for-2019.aspx

Ryan Stark, Daily Helmsman
The price of online courses through the University of Memphis have been reduced to become the same price as on-campus courses. Previously, online courses at the UofM required an additional tuition premium that made them more expensive than on-campus courses. The Board of Trustees has approved a proposal to reduce the price of online classes equal to on-campus classes. “What this means for UofM students is that regardless of what modality they elect to take their classes in, be it traditional, on-the-ground courses or online courses, the tuition rate will be the same,” said Raajkumar Kurapati, the Chief Financial Officer at the UofM. “Students can mix and match classes (online or on-ground) to fit their needs and not have to pay an additional tuition premium.”

http://www.dailyhelmsman.com/news/online-classes-cost-reduced-to-same-as-on-campus-classes/article_bece8c08-1461-11e9-85d7-8fa01ad4df95.html

By Cait Etherington, eLearning Inside
Betsy DeVos, the Secretary of Education, has made one thing clear from the beginning of her tenure: She’s a huge supporter of college online learning. This week she continued to follow through on her promise to support the cause. In an announcement on January 7, DeVos said she would change the rules for what counts as a course at the postsecondary level and as a result, extend federal funds to a wider range of postsecondary providers. The announcement is good news for certain institutions that have clashed with federal regulators in the past over what counts as a course, but not everyone is happy about DeVos’s latest announcements.

https://news.elearninginside.com/devos-announces-more-support-for-college-online-learning/

By Christopher Carbone, Fox News

Forty percent of the world’s jobs could be done by machines in as soon as 15 years, according to a top expert on artificial intelligence (AI). Kai Fu Lee, a pioneer in AI who also works in venture capital in China, told “60 Minutes” that a wide range of blue-collar and white-collar jobs will be overtaken by machines in the next two decades. “AI will increasingly replace repetitive jobs, not just for blue-collar work, but a lot of white-collar work,” Lee, who has worked for Apple and Google, told CBS. “Chauffeurs, truck drivers, anyone who does driving for a living — their jobs will be disrupted more in the 15 to 25-year time frame.” The venture capitalist, who wrote a book about AI last year, said in the show that “many jobs that seem a little bit complex – chef, waiter, a lot of things – will become automated.”

https://www.foxnews.com/tech/ai-will-displace-40-percent-of-worlds-workers-as-soon-as-2035-leading-expert-warns

by Karen Hao, MIT Technology Review

Americans have mixed support for the continued development of AI and overwhelmingly agree that it should be regulated, according to a new study from the Center for the Governance of AI and Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute. These are important lessons for policymakers and technologists to consider in the discussion on how best to advance and regulate AI, says Allan Dafoe, director of the center and coauthor of the report. “There isn’t currently a consensus in favor of developing advanced AI, or that it’s going to be good for humanity,” he says. “That kind of perception could lead to the development of AI being perceived as illegitimate or cause political backlashes against the development of AI.”

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612734/americans-want-to-regulate-ai-but-dont-trust-anyone-to-do-it/

By Hallie Busta , Education Dive
By the time the ink was dry on Purdue University’s acquisition of for-profit Kaplan University, the higher ed sector was entrenched in two distinct camps: those who thought the deal unfairly let a for-profit college operate under the guise of a nonprofit, and those who argued the move was critical for the public land-grant university to compete in the growing online education realm. For $1, Purdue got Kaplan’s some 30,000 students and 2,500 instructors, forming the basis of its online college, Purdue University Global. The deal’s low price also obligates the university to share revenue from the new entity with Kaplan Higher Education, which handles several of its administrative functions, including admissions support, financial aid, marketing and advertising.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/how-purdue-global-is-expanding-purdue-us-access-to-adult-learners/545554/

By Natalie Schwartz, Education Dive
The U.S. Education Department has released the list of industry representatives who are set to participate in the negotiated rulemaking session on college accreditation scheduled to begin later this month. The diverse group of stakeholders represents students, accreditors and various types of higher education institutions, including the University of Alaska, the parent company of for-profits Strayer University and Capella University, Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) and Brigham Young University.  The agency has indicated the sessions will tackle a range of issues, including the definition of the credit hour, accreditor oversight and requirements for teacher-student interaction in online programs. The stakeholders will have until the end of March to come to an agreement about the proposed regulatory overhaul.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/negotiators-for-accreditation-rulemaking-have-strong-stakes-in-online-alte/545545/

Study International

What drives international students to choose the digital screen over the global campus? Many may assume it’s the financial benefit of staying put. Remaining in your home country saves you money on flights, as well as the hefty costs attached to securing accommodation. Others disagree, claiming that technology is the future and that soon, the majority higher education courses will be delivered in a virtual format without the need for physical classroom presence. To address this shift in learning styles, Harvard Business School (HBS) in the US decided to alter the title of their online platform to raise awareness of the trend.

https://www.studyinternational.com/news/from-campus-to-computer-how-one-school-is-transforming-online-education/

By Bonni Stachowiak, EdSurge

It can be a delicate balance to try to not overwhelm students by the quantity of educational technology we use in a class, while still keeping things interesting through the element of surprise. The easier a tool is to use, the more likely students will feel comfortable engaging with each other. As an example of the kind of tool that is easy to use, I was recently introduced to a brainstorming tool called Tricider (thank you Michelle Pacansky-Brock, faculty mentor for digital innovation at California Community Colleges). Tricider has us identify what crowdsourced decision we want to make, or what type of brainstorming we’d like to spark, and we are up and running. Students can add ideas, pros and cons, and vote on items. The instructor can decide if you want to let anyone who has the link be able to collaborate, protect your ideas with a password, or require people to set up accounts before they can engage.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-01-09-how-can-online-instructors-get-students-to-talk-to-each-other

by Mark Lieberman, Inside Higher Ed

Purdue last month established a central administrative office, Purdue Online, to act as an online program manager of sorts for the institution’s three on-ground campuses as well as Purdue Global, which now exists as a public benefit corporation and does not receive state funding.  Representatives of the original Purdue campuses have been meeting regularly with instructors and deans at Purdue Global, sharing ideas and identifying areas of potential academic collaboration while drawing lines between the two entities’ focus areas and target audiences. Purdue administrators have also been paying close attention to high-profile competitors on the online landscape, including Arizona State University, which administrators cite as a model for their ambitions.

http://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2019/01/09/purdue-prepares-online-expansion-support-newly-acquired-profit

By Doug Lederman, Inside Higher Ed
Bold pronouncements about trends in the fast-moving, and somewhat data-poor, landscape of online learning should be approached with great skepticism — which is why this isn’t one. What it is is a high-level view of some data in an analysis published last month by Public Insight, which collects and makes available public data in accessible formats. The blog post by the company’s CEO, Dan Quigg, carried the provocative title of “Has Distance Education Hit Its Peak?” — a question inspired by federal data showing that the proportion of all academic programs that were offered via distance education declined to 10.5 percent in 2016 from 10.8 percent in 2017. It was the first such decline since the federal government’s main higher education database, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, began collecting data on online education in 2013.

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2019/01/09/are-we-seeing-early-signs-saturation-online-academic-programs

by Cision
Awareness of open educational resources (OER) among U.S. higher education teaching faculty has increased by 12 percentage points over the past three years, but remains less than a majority, according to the new report.The study by the Babson Survey Research Group, Freeing the Textbook: Educational Resources in U.S. Higher Education, 2018, was supported by a grant from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and is based on responses from over 4,000 faculty and department chairpersons. The study shows improvements in OER awareness, and growing concern among faculty regarding the cost of course materials.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/faculty-survey-finds-awareness-of-open-educational-resources-oer-up-amid-growing-concern-with-textbook-costs-300775651.html