Online Learning Update

by the Penn State University

Penn State instructional designers are researching whether using virtual reality and 360-degree video can help students in online classes learn more effectively. Designers worked with professors in the College of Nursing to incorporate 360-degree video into Nursing 352, a class on Advanced Health Assessment. Students in the class, offered online through Penn State World Campus, were offered free VR headsets to use with their smartphones to create a more immersive experience while watching the video, which shows safety and health hazards in a patient’s home. Bill Egan, the lead designer for the Penn State World Campus RN to BSN nursing program, said students in the class were surveyed as part of a study approved by the Institutional Review Board and overwhelmingly said that they enjoyed the videos and thought they provided educational value. Eighty percent of the students said they would like to see more immersive content such as 360-degree videos in their online courses, he said.

https://news.psu.edu/story/529049/2018/07/25/research/world-campus-researches-effectiveness-vr-headsets-and-video-online

By Paul Fain, Inside Higher Ed

Employers in the manufacturing industry use credentials inconsistently, generally not relying on them as a major factor in hiring or promotion decisions, according to the results of a survey conducted by Workcred, an affiliate of the American National Standards Institute, and the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, an operating unit of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The survey’s 945 respondents from across the industry identified several primary reason for their inconsistent use of credentials, including a lack of awareness, a preference for on-the-job training and a recognition that experience is a more valuable predictor of performance.

https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2018/07/26/inconsistent-use-credentials-manufacturers

by Matt Parke, Working Nation

The vulnerability of the U.S. energy infrastructure to outside intrusion from hackers was exposed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) during a briefing on Monday. The agency’s warning about a cyberattack on electrical grids underscores a cybersecurity worker shortage and a brewing national security issue of protecting critical infrastructures. The Wall Street Journal reported that Russian hackers have come close to disrupting critical services with stolen credentials from trusted vendors. According to DHS’ Jonathan Homer, they were within reach of causing catastrophic electrical blackouts and their threat signals the potential for an attack in the future. The DHS did not say whether a cyberattack was imminent.

Cybersecurity worker shortage a national security issue amid infiltration of utility companies

By Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed

The rankings scandal at Temple University keeps getting worse.  This month, after an independent investigation, the university admitted that its Fox School of Business had for several years intentionally submitted false data to boost the rankings of its online M.B.A. program. The falsehoods were about standardized admissions tests, grades of new students, debt of graduates and more. The independent investigation hinted that the lies might have extended beyond the online M.B.A. On Wednesday, the university said that was in fact the case. A statement it released said that false data had been submitted for rankings purposes by six other programs at the business school.

https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2018/07/26/temple-admits-it-provided-false-rankings-data-six-more-programs

By Rick Seltzer, Inside Higher Ed

Private college closures have risen to a rate of about 11 per year, and the rate at which campuses are shut down is expected to increase in the future, according to a new report published by Moody’s Investors Service Tuesday. The report comes a few years after a notorious prediction the ratings agency made in September 2015 — that closure activity would as much as triple and mergers would double by 2017. As of the prediction, private nonprofit closures were averaging five per year, meaning as many as 15 institutions could have been ending operations annually by 2017. Although the headline-grabbing tripling of closures has yet to come to fruition, a significant uptick has indeed taken place. And Moody’s is still projecting a future increase in closures toward the range of 15 per year.

https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2018/07/25/moodys-private-college-closures-11-year

By Daphne Taras, Chronicle of Higher Ed

Two years ago I decided to prove that the essay-writing business is a scourge, and that professors must become more aware of the allure of bespoke cheating. I googled “essay writing services” and selected, at random, one of many websites. I logged onto it, and I was given a number of promises, including that none of the work would be plagiarized (yes, I see the irony), and that all the essays would be written exclusively for my needs. But the real discovery for me wasn’t that I could cheat. Cheating is ubiquitous. The lesson was how well the essay labs have adopted new technologies. The amount of follow-up, the creation of a dashboard, the customization to suit my needs, and the relentless pressure to purchase. College recruiting could learn a thing or two about how to land customers using similar data analytics. This is a serious industry that operates in the shadows, and it is a threat to our own industry of advanced education. Take it seriously. Buy an essay and see for yourself. It’s worth the $120 investment.

https://www.chronicle.com/article/How-Essay-Writing-Factories/243878

by Adam Hickman and Shane McFeely, Gallup

Companies increasingly see the need to have workers who are continuously learning — which is to say, they see the need to be a culture of learning and development. In a competitive, market-driven business environment, success can depend on workers who can develop and apply knowledge, who can take advantage of opportunities and who can create more. But to be a learning organization requires a culture of development and that takes a real investment in employee education. That investment, the research shows, will get the best return when it’s geared toward individual learning preferences — which is the great advantage of a blended learning approach. Blended learning strategies are most effective to help managers and their teams learn and grow.

https://www.gallup.com/workplace/237743/best-learning-blends-online-instructor-led-courses.aspx

by Riia O’Donnell and Jean Dimeo, Education Dive
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has announced a program that will provide $7 million in federal funds to help community college students in the state who face unforeseen financial emergencies, according to a statement. The Finish Line Grants program can assist with course materials, medical or dependent care needs, housing, or other financial issues. “We must maintain a strong workforce to continue attracting companies and helping business thrive in North Carolina,” said N.C. Secretary of Commerce Anthony M. Copeland in a statement. “The Finish Line Grants program will further expand our pool of skilled workers by eliminating barriers that prevent talented students from completing their training and getting rewarding jobs that support them and their families.” Funding for the program will be made available via the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Beginning in school year 2018-2019, students will have access to up to $1,000 per semester and will be able to apply either through their school’s financial aid office or through the NCWorks Career Center. The governor’s office directed participating local colleges and workforce development boards to establish a joint review process for funding requests made by students who have completed 75% of their degree or credential.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/to-expand-pool-of-skilled-workers-north-carolina-to-help-students-finish-c/527977/

By Paul Fain, Inside Higher Ed
Coursera expands its online degree push for working adults, this time going Ivy League, with a new master’s in computer and information technology from the University of Pennsylvania.  The new master’s degree in computer and information technology from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Science will be the engineering school’s first fully online degree. The program is aimed at working adults who are unable or unwilling to enroll in Penn’s established, on-campus version of the master’s, and who want to work in software development or high-demand fields like bioinformatics, medicine, finance and telecommunications. “This is a meaningful expansion of what we can do,” said Wendell Pritchett, the university’s provost. He said the new online degree is designed to appeal to nontraditional students “who are talented but can’t get to us on campus.”

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2018/07/25/penn-announces-online-masters-degree-coursera-platform

by James Willey, Educause
When institutions begin to look at their data as an institutional asset, not departmental property, they unlock the true potential of advanced analytics systems. Even more important, they elevate students over siloes and begin to change a culture that made sense in an analog world but now stands in the way of digital transformation. In an April 2018 Ellucian survey of higher education leaders’ attitudes and actions regarding advanced analytics, we see more and more recognition of the value they bring to institutional governance. Of respondents, 61 percent reported that they have implemented an analytics program at their institution to date. Only 1 percent reported that they do not have and are not considering an analytics program. Given the recent push for more data-informed decision-making on campus, it’s no surprise that higher education analytics continue to gain traction. What is surprising is the type of analytics solution that some institutions are choosing to implement. According to the survey, just under half of the institutions actively engaged in an analytics program opted for departmental systems that are walled off from one another, rather than enterprise systems that leverage data from across the campus.

https://er.educause.edu/blogs/sponsored/2018/7/enterprise-analytics-a-driver-of-student-first-culture

By Henry Kronk, eLearning Inside

As Claire Cain Miller of the New York Times writes, “We don’t know how quickly machines will displace people’s jobs, or how many they’ll take, but we know it’s happening.” And happening it is. A 2017 study by a team of economists found that, “one more robot per thousand workers reduces the employment to population ratio by about 0.18-0.34 percentage points and wages by 0.25-0.5 percent.” But in the expertise of accomplished tech workers, it might not be that simple. A 2017 Pew poll, in partnership with Elon University, surveyed tech workers to see if automation and the fourth industrial revolution would cut or create jobs, the opinions were almost evenly split. “48% of the respondents envisioned a future where more jobs are lost than created, while 52% said more jobs would be created than lost.”

Future-Proof Your Career?

by James Paterson, Education Dive
Antioch University will significantly trim face-to-face classes at its Midwest campus in Yellow Springs, Ohio, while building its online program and adding blended classes that offer a combination of traditional instruction and online course work, a local newspaper in the western Ohio region reported. A college official said Antioch plans a “massive online division” at the Midwest location. Two programs at the campus, a degree completion program – innovative and much-discussed when it was introduced 30 years ago – and a place-based master’s program, will be phased out because of falling enrollment at the campus, now at about 120 from a high of 700 about 10 years ago, according to the Yellow Springs News. Antioch University, with five campuses in four states, reported that while its total enrollment of 4,000 was strong, the system is facing a $1 million deficit this year.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/antioch-u-trims-traditional-courses-adds-massive-online-division/528326/

by Rebecca L. Watts, Columbus Dispatch

While Ohio’s widely respected colleges and universities are meeting the higher-education needs of millions of Ohioans, this goal cannot be reached by focusing on traditional-age high-school graduates alone. We must expand our thinking to view education as a continuum over time, which requires a broad array of opportunities for a diverse citizenry with diverse educational needs. Both our current and future needs point to the importance of higher education that can prepare Ohioans for entry into the workforce as well as continued advancement in their careers.  Yet, for many adults who may have some college or an associate’s degree, completing a bachelor’s or master’s is nearly impossible. These individuals often hold one or more jobs and are raising families. They have passed traditional college age and, while they may have started careers, they can’t advance or make a change without more education.

http://www.dispatch.com/opinion/20180709/rebecca-l-watts-working-adults-need-more-higher-education-options

BY LAURA ASCIONE, eCampus News
Digital learning resources could prove invaluable when it comes to course achievement.  A new study indicates that students who engage with digital learning tools are dramatically more likely to pass their courses. The research comes from Blackboard, VitalSource, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), and is based on UMBC student engagement data across a diverse range of courses, including a variety of course subjects and class sizes. It assessed students’ use of Blackboard Learn and Bookshelf by VitalSource.

Here’s what makes students 200 percent more likely to pass

BY LAURA ASCIONE, eCampus News
Online students say tuition and fees are among their top three deciding factors when it comes to choosing an institution, according to a Learning House survey of 1,500 students who are considering, enrolled in, or have graduated from an online learning program. The report reveals a number of key trends as online learning evolves and becomes widely-used for career outcomes. Seventy-four percent of surveyed students enrolled in their online learning program due to career reasons.

9 things your online learning program should know about students

by Christopher Pappas, Growth Engineering

Serious games are one of the latest trends in eLearning. Especially in the corporate sector, organizations are using them to motivate distracted and stressed staff members. However, there are still some who steer clear of gameplay, due to the myths that have surfaced in recent years. It’s time to set the record straight. Here are 8 common misconceptions that surround serious games in eLearning and the truth behind them. Serious games are one of the latest trends in eLearning. Especially in the corporate sector, organizations are using them to motivate distracted and stressed staff members. However, there are still some who steer clear of gameplay, due to the myths that have surfaced in recent years. It’s time to set the record straight. Here are 8 common misconceptions that surround serious games in eLearning and the truth behind them.

8 Common Misconceptions About Serious Games In eLearning

by Shalina Chatlani, Education Dive
Greater numbers of institutions are investing in research programs on blockchain, the infrastructure needed to manage cryptocurrency, including MIT, Stanford and University College London, among others, reports Bitcoin Magazine. Columbia University is the latest to hop on the trend, announcing yesterday in a press release a joint development with technology company IBM a research center to cultivate “scientific breakthroughs” in data transparency, blockchain and technology capabilities that apply blockchain in new ways. Central New Mexico Community College has already used blockchain infrastructure to issue around 300 digital bitcoin diplomas. in place,” said Chief Technology Officer Halverson, who noted the college is also working on a simple transcript. Like Columbia, CNM is also implementing blockchain research programs in an effort to sustainably build out and manage its infrastructure and so that students can help evolve the technology’s development, said Halverson.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/blockchain-in-higher-ed-moving-from-idea-to-reality/527879/

by  Núria Molas-Castells & Marc Fuertes-Alpiste, eLearn Center Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.

What do the articles on e-learning published in academic journals during 2017 talk about? To answer this question we analysed all the impact publications made during this period, with the aim of drawing a map that is useful for seeing where research efforts have been focused in recent years and what topics feature in indexed scientific publications. The report has analyzed 855 articles obtained from the two main databases for scientific articles, Scopus and Web of Science.

http://openaccess.uoc.edu/webapps/o2/bitstream/10609/75705/6/ELR_Report_2017.pdf

By Tina Nazerian, EdSurge

Case Western Reserve University plans to replace the usual anatomy labs with a new series of hands-on experiences, including a virtual-reality simulation. The reason, says Mark Griswold, a professor at the medical school, is that running a cadaver lab is costly and difficult. “What everybody pretty quickly realized was that digital technology combined with medical imaging and our ability to make 3D models as biomedical illustrators, those three factors all combine to really make it possible to teach anatomy in this way,” Griswold says. “That was not possible 10 years ago.” The school is just one of many experimenting with replacing traditional laboratory classes with VR labs. And a range of companies have recently started offering products to outfit such digital alternatives.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-07-19-schools-and-colleges-try-virtual-reality-science-labs-but-can-vr-replace-a-cadaver

by Khe Foon Hew, Chen Qiao, Ying Tang, IRRODL

Although massive open online courses (MOOCs) have attracted much worldwide attention, scholars still understand little about the specific elements that students find engaging in these large open courses. This study offers a new original contribution by using a machine learning classifier to analyze 24,612 reflective sentences posted by 5,884 students, who participated in one or more of 18 highly rated MOOCs. Highly rated MOOCs were sampled because they exemplify good practices or teaching strategies. We selected highly rated MOOCs from Coursetalk, an open user-driven aggregator and discovery website that allows students to search and review various MOOCs. We defined a highly rated MOOC as a free online course that received an overall five-star course quality rating, and received at least 50 reviews from different learners within a specific subject area. We described six specific themes found across the entire data corpus: (a) structure and pace, (b) video, (c) instructor, (d) content and resources, (e) interaction and support, and (f) assignment and assessment. The findings of this study provide valuable insight into factors that students find engaging in large-scale open online courses.

http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/3596/4656

by CHEA

In June, 2018, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) announced it is proposing to “amend, through negotiated rulemaking, the regulations related to the Secretary’s recognition of accrediting agencies and accreditation procedures as a component of institutional eligibility for participation on Federal student financial aid under title IV of the Higher Education Act.” As part of that process, USDE will announce a schedule for public hearings in the Federal Register later this summer. In a June Roundtable with Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) members and recognized accrediting organizations, Diane Auer Jones, USDE Senior Adviser to the Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education (see item below), said that USDE is studying accreditation and USDE regulations concerning recognizing accreditors. The public hearings will explore the accreditation-federal government relationship and how this might change.

https://www.chea.org/negotiated-rulemaking-accreditation-forthcoming