Online Learning Update

February 8, 2017

Online courses: your passport to a new career

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

by Helen Lock, the Guardian

Online study is booming and technical innovation in the field has allowed universities to offer more unusual and specialist courses than ever before. So, if you fancy delving into the mysterious world of art crime, becoming a skilled food technologist, or even becoming a space scientist, you can – without even leaving the house. Donna Yates, who teaches the University of Glasgow’s online postgraduate certificate in antiquities trafficking and art crime, which launched in 2016, has been pleased with the format so far. “Online courses attract some amazing, high-quality and diverse students – students who can’t travel all the way to Glasgow but are totally engaged with the topic,” she says.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/jan/20/online-courses-your-passport-to-a-new-career

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In era of fiscal concern, colleges look to new degree programs to boost bottom lines

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

by Jarrett Carter, Education Dive

Georgia Tech is among hundreds of schools looking to attract more students and invite more private support through the establishment of new academic offerings. This week, the university announced plans for a fall launch of a new online master’s degree program in analytics, its second computer science-based distance learning program that will be offered for less than $10,000 developed in the last two years. Officials called the program a strategic effort to boost opportunities for working professionals and to meet the nation’s objectives in STEM advancement. “It is a national imperative for universities to offer high-quality degree programs at an affordable price and Georgia Tech has developed a model that delivers the rigor of the campus curriculum to online students worldwide,” said Gary S. May, dean of the College of Engineering and Southern Company Chair, said in a release.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/in-era-of-fiscal-concern-colleges-look-to-new-degree-programs-to-boost-bot/433948/

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Tech is changing manufacturing. These classes could help people and businesses adapt.

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

by Amina Alahi, Chicago Tribune

Experts agree that automation is coming to American manufacturing, but many employers and workers still have to learn how to adapt. An upcoming online course on digital manufacturing and design aims to address questions about the future of manufacturing, and will be the first massive online open course (MOOC) from Goose Island-based UI Labs. “Digital Manufacturing and Design Technology” will offer about 40 hours of instruction in 10 installments delivered by Coursera, a leading platform for online courses. The first three will be online Jan. 30, with the rest going live later in the year. Topics include digital design and manufacturing basics, intelligent machines and cybersecurity.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/originals/ct-ui-labs-digital-manufacturing-coursera-bsi-20170119-story.html

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February 7, 2017

Finish a Bachelor’s Degree Online After Community College

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:09 am

by Jordan Friedman, US News

Four-year institutions typically partner with community colleges – either on-campus or online – to align their curriculums and closely advise students who plan to transfer. The goal, experts say, is for students to move on to their bachelor’s without having to retake certain courses or worrying about credits being accepted, often at a lower total cost than in full bachelor’s programs. Whether students need to separately apply to the four-year institution varies depending on the program, experts say, and students might take longer than four years total to finish. “2+2 and bachelor’s completion programs have existed for many years. The online versions of this have grown a little more recently,” says Greg Fant, associate vice president and deputy provost for New Mexico State University, which has several 2+2 online programs.

http://www.usnews.com/higher-education/online-education/articles/2017-01-19/complete-a-bachelors-degree-online-after-community-college

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Deep-learning based online cognitive tutor under development at Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, NTU

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

By Priyankar Bhunia, Open Gov Asia

Mr. Gagnon began by explaining how the LKCMedicine E-Learning Ecosystem works and went on to speak about the potential of a deep-learning based cognitive tutor. According toMr Gagnon this could be a game changer for education, in general, providing a highly personalised experience ….adapting to students’ requirements and guiding them through their learning journey, as a learning companion…possibly continuing into the workplace as well.

http://www.opengovasia.com/articles/7309-exclusive—deep-learning-based-online-cognitive-tutor-under-development-at-lee-kong-chian-school-of-medicine-ntu

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UTA works with Boeing, NASA, MIT to improve online students’ completion rates

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

by University of Texas Arlington

Researchers at The University of Texas at Arlington are working with Boeing, NASA and Massachusetts Institute of Technology to better understand the role that social networks play in the completion rates and academic performance of students taking online courses. “Learning online is exploding in popularity, as is the research evaluating how to best learn with technology,” said George Siemens, executive director of UTA’s Learning Innovation and Networked Knowledge Research Lab and principal investigator of the study. “This project with LINK Research Lab will examine how social networks contribute to student success.”

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-01/uota-uww011917.php

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February 6, 2017

Brief interventions help online learners persist with coursework, Stanford research finds

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

BY ALEX SHASHKEVICH, Stanford University News

A study, published in the Jan. 20 issue of Science, found that people in less-developed countries are completing MOOCs at a lower rate than those in the more developed parts of the world. But, the researchers found, brief psychological interventions that affirm class takers’ sense that they belong can help close the global achievement gap. “MOOCs have expanded access to education but this doesn’t guarantee equal opportunities for people around the world,” said René Kizilcec, the lead author of the study and a doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication. “Providing access to the Internet and courseware is not enough. People need to feel welcome in online-learning environments to reach their potential.”

http://news.stanford.edu/2017/01/19/brief-interventions-help-online-learners-persist-coursework-stanford-research-finds/

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4 Technologies Making News in 2017

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

By Joshua Bolkan, Campus Technology

Another new year means another endless volley of prediction articles for the days ahead. While sidestepping proclamations that Crocs will find their home in high fashion, chocolate will become a breakfast staple and the University of Alabama will win the 2017 college playoffs — forecasts that are horrifying, delicious and already proven wrong, respectively — we’ve gathered four trends for technology leaders to keep their eyes on as the year progresses.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/01/19/4-technologies-making-news-in-2017.aspx

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4 characteristics of a good ed tech investment

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

BY MERIS STANSBURY, eCampus News

Thanks to savvy advice from technology investors, here’s why some innovations succeed, why some fail, and what the higher-ed market should expect in the near future. Forget MOOCS, say technology investors. What higher education institutions should invest in are personalized learning platforms that provide simple data on outcomes.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/featured/featured-on-ecampus-news/good-ed-tech-investment/

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February 5, 2017

Colleges are pushed to stand behind what they sell with money-back guarantees

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

by John Marcus, Hechinger Report

As prices rise, pressure to make schools share risk is winning broad bipartisan support. There is increasing pressure, likely to heighten further this year, to make universities and colleges stand behind what they’re selling.

Converging proposals would variously require or encourage institutions to assume part of the losses from loans on which their students default, warrant that their students will graduate within a given period of time, and pledge that their graduates will land jobs with salaries worth what they pay for their educations. A bipartisan bill in Congress called for colleges to lose eligibility for their students to get federal loans altogether and cover some of the debt their students fail to repay if the proportion who default exceeds a certain level.

http://hechingerreport.org/colleges-pushed-stand-behind-sell-money-back-guarantees/

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Udacity Launches Its First Deep Learning Nanodegree Foundation Program!

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

by BW Online

Students signing up for this course will be required to spend just 3-4 hours a week for only 17 weeks under the supervision of Siraj Raval, who is known for his time competent skills. Focusing on the inception of foundation programs for students, Udacity, a pioneer in disruptive learning technologies has launched a Deep Learning Nanodegree Foundation Program. The online education startup has partnered with YouTube star Siraj Raval for the new deep learning nanodegree foundation program that will be co-taught with Udacity’s Mat Leonard. This is a new focus for us at Udacity, so you can expect us to launch more Nanodegree Foundation programs this year!”, said Shernaz Daver, chief marketing officer for Udacity.

http://bwdisrupt.businessworld.in/article/Udacity-Launches-Its-First-Deep-Learning-Nanodegree-Foundation-Program-/18-01-2017-111676/

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How much do for-profit colleges rely on federal funds?

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

by Robert Kelchen, Brookings

The outgoing Obama administration emphasized gainful employment regulations that require graduates of vocationally-oriented programs to meet debt-to-earnings requirements and borrower defense to repayment rules (which will likely be quickly abandoned by the Trump administration) designed to help students who feel they were defrauded by their college. For-profit colleges that exceed 90 percent of their revenue from federal financial aid in two consecutive years can lose access to federal aid for the following two years.  Very few colleges have crossed over the 90 percent threshold.  But, roughly 200 for-profit colleges are almost entirely funded by the federal government, although some of this funding is returned to the government when students repay their loans. Yet this fact is obscured when military and veterans’ benefits are excluded from the calculations.

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2017/01/11/how-much-do-for-profit-colleges-rely-on-federal-funds/

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February 4, 2017

ALA, Google to Train Future Librarians to Code

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

By Sri Ravipati, Campus Technology

Libraries often act as tech-enabled hubs that play a central role in making sure students have access to tools and resources that support learning. And soon, librarians will be assisting schools in implementing programs that teach computer science (CS) and computational thinking (CT). The American Library Association (ALA), the largest association of libraries in the world, and Google K–12 Education Outreach have launched the next phase of a program that trains university faculty members to teach future librarians on how to implement high-quality CS programs at public and school libraries. The Ready to Code 2 (RtC2) program will select seven individuals from Library and Information Services (LIS) faculty that will redesign their technology and media courses based on RtC2 concepts and priority areas.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/01/17/ala-google-to-train-future-librarians-to-code.aspx

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Educause Announces Top IT Issues, Trends and Tech Report for 2017

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

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

Expanding on the preview of its annual ranking of IT issues for higher education released last fall, Educause announced its full report on the key issues, trends and technologies poised to impact higher ed in 2017.

The top 10 IT issues for 2017, reiterated in today’s report:

Information security;

Student success and completion;

Data-informed decision-making;

Strategic leadership;

Sustainable funding;

Data management and governance;

Higher education affordability;

Sustainable staffing;

Next-generation enterprise IT; and

Digital transformation of learning.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/01/18/educause-announces-top-it-issues-trends-and-tech-report-for-2017.aspx

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Hey, Siri, Do My Homework!

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

by Rimma Kats, eMarketer Daily

Digital assistants are becoming a part of everyday life, and many people—primarily teens and millennials—use them regularly. Accenture polled 25,996 internet users worldwide ages 14 and older and asked about usage voice-enabled digital assistants. For the most part, younger respondents use voice-enabled digital assistants more frequently than their older counterparts. For example, nearly a third of respondents ages 14 to 17 said they use them regularly. Respondents ages 18 to 34 are more interested in AI than older respondents, but just 23% of these older millennials use the technology regularly.

https://www.emarketer.com/Article/Hey-Siri-Do-Homework/1015057

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February 3, 2017

United States of Knowledge

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

by Coursera

Coursera has released a map of learning regions across the US based on relative popularity of online course topics on Coursera. Coursera analyzed data on online course enrollments among 5 million online learners in the United States to track the share of learners in each state interested in a variety of topics. While business and computer science are the most popular topics overall in most states, trends in relative interest between states tell a different story – one of a vibrant, diverse nation in which 12 distinct learning regions emerge. Check out the learning regions above, and be sure to scroll over your state to see the five most popular categories of online courses as well as what specific topics of interest make that state unique.

https://about.coursera.org/united-states-of-knowledge

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Is Blockchain the Next Great Hope — or Hype?

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

by Knowledge@Wharton

Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin may have captured the public’s fancy – and also engendered a healthy dose of skepticism — but it is their underlying technology that is proving to be of practical benefit to organizations: the blockchain. These uses are merely the tip of the proverbial iceberg for a nascent technology whose development stage has been compared to the early years of the internet. “We’re very early in the game,” said Brad Bailey, research director of capital markets at Celent, at a recent Blockchain Opportunity Summit in New York. He likened the blockchain’s current status to the web of the early 1990s, heralding a coming wave of new ideas and uses. “This will impact the world.”

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/blockchain-next-great-hope-hype/

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Web Strategies for the Curation and Discovery of Open Educational Resources

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

by Vivien Rolfe, Open Praxis

For those receiving funding from the UK HEFCE-funded Open Educational Resource Programme (2009–2012), the sustainability of project outputs was one of a number of essential goals. Our approach for the hosting and distribution of health and life science open educational resources (OER) was based on the utilisation of the WordPress.org blogging platform and search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques to curate content and widen discovery. This paper outlines the approaches taken and tools used at the time, and reflects upon the effectiveness of web strategies several years post-funding. The paper concludes that using WordPress.org as a platform for sharing and curating OER, and the adoption of a pragmatic approach to SEO, offers cheap and simple ways for small-scale open education projects to be effective and sustainable.

http://www.openpraxis.org/index.php/OpenPraxis/article/view/305

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February 2, 2017

EdX Courses Take Less Time Than On-Campus Ones, Report Says

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

By JULIA E. DEBENEDICTIS, CRIMSON

According to the report, described as “one of the largest surveys of MOOCs to date,” 2.4 million “unique users” around the world have participated in an edX class. Of those users, 159,000 have earned at least one certificate. The report details disparities between on-campus courses, or “residential courses,” and online ones—namely that students spend considerably more time on standard classroom-based courses. Most online certificate earners spend less than 50 hours completing a course, and one percent of certificate earners get certificates with “less than 23 minutes online,” according to the report. Researchers estimated that the average semester-long residential course takes approximately 168 hours, or 12 hours per week. “There still is a way in which this report reminds you how heterogenous [edX] still is,” Ho said. “The punchline is there’s no physical classroom like this in the world.”

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/1/17/edX-report-shows-growth/

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As cost of higher education soars, online learning emerges as most viable solution

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

By: Aditya Malik, Financial Express

Technology has virtually touched almost every aspect of our lives today, and education is no exception. Disruptive innovation in the form of online learning is a catalyst to bring about a more equitable approach to high-quality education. Today’s generation is on a constant lookout to acquire new skills. Students are undertaking courses that enhance their learning and development according to their immediate needs, while leaving a window open to change their calling with online courses. Conservation of hours and money enables them to learn with a purpose and instils a sense of self-belief in them, creating a tangible impact in their professional life. Working executives are keen on embracing change, by increasingly choosing online certificate courses and programmes that enable them to acquire new skills and competencies to enhance their vocation.

http://www.financialexpress.com/jobs/as-cost-of-higher-education-soars-online-learning-emerges-as-most-viable-solution/509326/

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Trump should make adult education a priority

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

By Don Block, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Thousands of people are on waiting lists in Pennsylvania alone to get the training they need to make a decent living. Donald Trump was elected president with the votes of millions of disenfranchised and unemployed workers who feel that they are not sharing in the country’s economic prosperity. One method of bringing this group back into the mainstream of working America is as old as the American dream itself, and that is education. While the value of higher education is widely understood, our nation has overlooked another part of the educational pipeline for far too long. I’m referring to adult basic education. Higher education is out of reach for the 12 percent of adult Americans who do not have a high school diploma.

http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2017/01/15/Trump-should-make-adult-education-a-priority/stories/201701150009

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