Online Learning Update

by Autumn A. Arnett, Education dive

West Virginia University President Gordon Gee says when he “first started as a university president nearly 40 years ago, you’d send your kid off to school, maybe they’d join a fraternity or sorority, then they’d come back home and get a real job.” “Now, our universities and colleges and higher ed in general is the economic driver” of the country, he said, addressing a crowd gathered in Washington, D.C. Wednesday for the Committee on Economic Development’s policy conference. Gee said the purpose of higher ed shouldn’t be an either-or proposition; it should prepare students to get good jobs and it should provide an environment in which they can find themselves socially. Matthew Sigelman, CEO of Burning Glass Technologies, added that higher ed needs to “be able to map the language of academia to the language of the job market.”

https://www.educationdive.com/news/gordon-gee-for-higher-ed-to-survive-weve-got-to-blow-up-the-box/511068/

by Lawrence Wakefield, the Guardian

With no open days or face-to-face meetings, how do you pick a distance learning course? For most students, choosing a university is as simple as counting up Ucas points, checking a league table or two, and signing up to a few open days to whittle the list down. But things are more complicated for distance learners, for whom studying off-campus brings a whole new set of considerations.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/nov/13/heres-what-to-consider-before-choosing-an-online-degree

By Joshua Bolkan, Campus Technology
Nearly three-quarters, 73 percent, of higher education institutions have changed their organizational structure to support student success initiatives in the last two years, according to a new report from ed tech provider Unit4. The report is based on a survey of 150 IT decision makers in higher education, most of whom were CIOs, CTOs and VPs or directors of IT or technology, according to information released by the company. Retention initiatives were the most commonly cited student support measures that lead to organizational change, according to respondents, with course completion rates and time-to-graduation following, student experiences and services coming in next and job placement and employability coming in fourth.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/11/03/report-most-colleges-and-universities-have-changed-org-structure-to-support-student-success.aspx

by Shalina Chatlani, Education Dive

When it comes to the future of work, the focus is no longer on humans, but rather nonhumans: automatic machinery, robots and artificial intelligence. Proponents argue these technologies can transform the world of industry, allowing companies to reduce inefficiencies and maximize their profits. But this reality has also come with its share of consequences, as automation has completely shifted the way other sectors, key to filling the workforce, must approach their business models.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/how-your-institution-can-stay-relevant-as-automation-disrupts-the-industry/510988/

By David Raths, Campus Technology

George Washington University created a visual, interactive collection of high-level metrics designed for a group of pivotal campus decision-makers: university deans.   Business intelligence (BI) projects are only worthwhile if users derive tangible value from them. And campus decision-makers don’t have the time to wade through complex reports, no matter how relevant the data. With that in mind, the BI team at George Washington University (DC) tapped into data visualization tools to create a dashboard tailored to the needs of busy college deans. The Dean’s Dashboard is a collection of several high-level metrics from different business areas across the university. It is one result of a five-year process of creating an enterprise data warehouse and a culture of data stewardship across the university, as well as the deployment of an agile project management process that fosters incremental improvement.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/11/09/streamlining-access-to-complex-data.aspx

by Nikos Andriotis, Talent LMS

The job of an online course creator is not an easy one. It involves balancing learning concepts backed by decades of research with the latest technology. The job also comes with adhering to a rigid process of instructional design. No matter how stringent the course development process may be, there are still ways for course development process optimization – which can make life a tad easier for course creators.

https://www.talentlms.com/blog/tips-online-course-development-process-optimization/

By Jordan Friedman, US News

To transition her career into business and human resources, Melanie Hoobler believed earning a master’s degree was important. The Colorado resident and current student turned to online education in part because she may relocate to another state. She chose a human resource management master’s degree program at Colorado State University—Global Campus, an online-only institution.  The 25-year-old, a director of operations for a local painting company, says that after working with many HR professionals, she realizes that online degrees don’t really raise concerns among employers anymore. There are many different types of online programs, and universities that are primarily or fully online – with little to no access to a campus – are one option. Here are seven things prospective students should know about these online-only institutions.

https://www.usnews.com/higher-education/online-education/articles/2017-11-09/7-things-to-know-about-online-only-universities

By Bradley Fuster, US News

Some programs require students to visit campus for face-to-face networking opportunities, discussions and activities.  Many include an in-person requirement, or residency, where students meet either on the school’s main campus or at a regional satellite campus. Residencies are more common in online graduate degree programs, such as MBAs, as well as clinical fields, like counseling, nursing and dietetics, though they do exist in certain certificate and online undergraduate degree programs. Residency lengths vary among online programs, from none at all to one day a week, 10 days a year, two weekends a month or a longer immersion. Residencies aim to supplement reading- and writing-intensive coursework. Students considering an online degree program should determine whether an on-ground residency is right for them and their career goals and if the time, travel and financial demands of a residency are within reach. Here are four aspects to expect during an online program residency experience.

https://www.usnews.com/education/online-learning-lessons/articles/2017-11-10/what-to-expect-in-an-online-degree-program-residency

By Jeffrey R. Young, EdSurge

The move is part of a trend—led by for-profit providers but done by some traditional colleges as well—to glitz up course materials, in some cases bringing in celebrity guests. This new approach juxtaposes video models created by most professors today, adding a production crew, producers, lights and angles to video instruction.  Some nonprofit colleges that produce MOOCs, or Massive Open Online Courses, have experimented with different production methods. Researchers at MIT, for instance, did an analysis of various online courses in 2013, and one finding suggested “videos that intersperse an instructor’s talking head with PowerPoint slides are more engaging than showing only slides.” In other words, it might help to show someone’s face during online videos, whether they’re a celebrity or not. Some of the most popular teaching videos online are the most low-fi. A few videos on Khan Academy, for instance, have attracted millions of views, even though they are essentially voiceovers of Sal Khan explaining concepts while he draws on a screen or annotates images.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-11-08-how-much-hollywood-glitz-should-colleges-use-in-their-online-courses

By Francesco Albanese, Boston Inno

The reasoning behind the appointment of Medros as President and COO came from the want of strengthening the company’s management team, according to Anant Agarwal, CEO and founder of edX. The company saw the opportunity to use Medros’ strengths in the digital transformation space as “TripAdvisor transformed the hospitality industry,” Agarwal said in an interview. “We believe he will be a fantastic addition to our team.” As for what Medros and Agarwal have in mind for the city of Boston, edX has been working with undisclosed companies around the Boston area that will be announcing new happenings with edX over the next couple of weeks, according to Agarwal. Many of these same companies are also utilizing edX’s learning platform for their employees and “many of these companies are also hiring these learners that come out of edX,” says Agarwal. “Education is arguably one of the top businesses in the Boston area,” Agarwal said, “and we are excited to be a leader in the space.”

https://www.americaninno.com/boston/50-on-fire/why-edx-appointed-a-former-tripadvisor-executive-as-president-coo/

By Lindsay McKenzie, Inside Higher Ed
Oregon State University Ecampus has created a database compiling research on the efficacy of online learning. The Online Learning Efficacy Research Database, which launched this week, is a searchable resource of academic studies that was created in response to skepticism about online education. In a press release, Katie Linder, director of the Oregon State University Ecampus Research Unit, said that faculty want to see research on online learning before they invest their time in designing or teaching an online class. “We’re not here to convince faculty that online teaching and learning is always effective,” said Linder. “This database is meant to give them an opportunity to dig in and read the studies themselves and make their own assessments of the outcomes of those studies.”

https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2017/11/10/online-learning-research-database-launched

by David Raths, Campus Technology

Business intelligence (BI) projects are only worthwhile if users derive tangible value from them. And campus decision-makers don’t have the time to wade through complex reports, no matter how relevant the data. With that in mind, the BI team at George Washington University (DC) tapped into data visualization tools to create a dashboard tailored to the needs of busy college deans. The Dean’s Dashboard is a collection of several high-level metrics from different business areas across the university. It is one result of a five-year process of creating an enterprise data warehouse and a culture of data stewardship across the university, as well as the deployment of an agile project management process that fosters incremental improvement.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/11/09/streamlining-access-to-complex-data.aspx

BY LAURA ASCIONE, eCampus News

Eighty-two percent of institutions say open educational resources (OER) will be an important source of course content in 5 years, according to a survey of CIOs detailed in an annual report that takes a look at campus IT. [Read last year’s Campus Computing results here “CIOS: 5 campus IT priorities for 2016 and beyond.“] The results of the report were released during the recent EDUCAUSE 2017 conference held in Philadelphia, Pa. This year saw small gains in formal institutions support for using OER in course materials, but faculty concerns remain about the quality of OER and updates surrounding the materials, according to the annual Campus Computing Project.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/it-newsletter/report-oer-video-take-lead-campus/

by Jeremy Epstein, ClickZ

In the mid ‘90s, marketers heard about email and the web. Ten years later, it happened again, with Facebook and Twitter. Finally, they began to understand and adapt to the implications that customers are connected and empowered in a way previously unimaginable. Marketers who recognize that blockchains represent another seismic shift have a large opportunity in front of them. History may be repeating itself.

https://www.clickz.com/blockchain-marketing-how-the-technology-behind-bitcoin-could-change-marketing-forever/114114/

By Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology

A video game about 15th and 16th century art is the center of a new course this fall at Texas A&M University. Offered in the College of Architecture’s Department of Visualization, ARTS 489: World of Medici combines faculty-led lectures with ARTé: Mecenas, an art history game developed by Triseum in collaboration with the department’s LIVE Lab to immerse students in the course subject matter. Students are given many attempts to complete the game, which requires them to learn and retain the course material as they build and maintain a financial empire in Medici-era Florence. Those who achieve 100 percent mastery in the game earn one credit hour.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/11/08/texas-a-m-offers-art-history-video-game-as-credit-bearing-course.aspx

By CSU Fullerton

Beginning in January, students at Cal State Fullerton have another choice when they select their college courses: to pick classes that offer free digital materials or low-cost print versions. With the passage of state Senate Bill 1359, all college campuses are required to highlight on their online course schedules those classes that exclusively use free digital materials or low-cost print versions. The effort is but one way the University is developing ways to help students get the courses and the materials they need to succeed in their educational goal of a college degree. Cal State Fullerton is one of 11 universities and schools across the nation taking part in the OpenStax Institutional Partnership Program to encourage the use of free, peer-reviewed textbooks and other Open Educational Resources — free digital teaching, learning and research materials — on campus.

http://news.fullerton.edu/2017fa/Affordable-Course-Materials.aspx

by MEENA KRISHNAMSETTY, Insider Monkey

If you can overlook the lack of clout of an MOOC, then you’d actually be a prime learner. Gaining new skills for a lower price and shorter time than by going to University, look here: 10 best websites like Coursera, Udacity and other MOOCs. In addition to the self-satisfaction that accompanies newly acquired skills, you’re also more likely to land a job with a bigger salary and opportunities for further development. With the increase of technology and internet development, you can access that spectrum of information and knowledge anyplace and anytime.

https://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/10-best-websites-like-coursera-udacity-and-other-moocs-521897/

By Danny Bradbury, Distributed

Hyperledger , the blockchain reference framework launched by the Linux Foundation , is nearly two years old. It is starting to gain commercial traction, underpinning projects such as Everledger , the blockchain to track the provenance of high-value items like diamonds.  Now, participants can enroll in ” Blockchain for Business – An Introduction to Hyperledger Technologies .” It is an introduction to the Hyperledger ecosystem, which consists of various frameworks. They should expect to walk away with an understanding of common Hyperledger use cases, how to install its various frameworks and how to build simple applications on them. One useful takeaway will be information on how to contribute to the open-source project.  Why was Hyperledger launched anyway and why should you care? The problem with the blockchain is that there are no standards for it. There may be heavily adopted and supported projects, such as the Bitcoin blockchain and Ethereum, but the Linux Foundation, which specializes in reference implementations, wanted code that would effectively be the Linux of the blockchain world.

http://www.nasdaq.com/article/hyperledger-goes-to-school-cm872546

By Mark Lieberman, Inside Higher Ed Digital

Administrators knew faculty members felt frustrated and isolated by the online development process, though Bond said they all agreed that instructional designers were valuable. Bond and his team landed on a faculty cohort model in which six to eight instructors joined together and met every other week in a 12-week time frame. During that time period, each professor developed one online course with the help of the group. The instructional design team provided substantive assistance and design input during the process. Unlike at other institutions with faculty cohort models, where instructors gathered to create a single course, each instructor in the cohorts at Central Michigan was manager for their own online course. Another new element under this approach was the designation of one of the instructional design team members as a course production services coordinator, or CoursePro.

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2017/11/08/trial-and-error-faculty-cohort-model-speeds-online-course

By Sean Gallagher, Ed Surge

Corporate learning and development, often referred to as L&D, is radically different than just a few years ago. Meanwhile, the education dialogue has shifted to a focus on employment-related themes such as competencies and skills. “Businesses today have to be more agile and have to be able to pivot—access to content needs to be very rapid,” says Lori Bradley, executive vice president for global talent management at PVH Corp, a publicly- traded fashion and apparel company with 35,000 employees. “Priorities and jobs are changing more quickly, so we need an agile learning environment that anticipates what learning needs will be, and where we can quickly access them.” The typical employee has one percent of their time available for learning, according to research by Bersin by Deloitte.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-11-06-as-corporate-world-moves-toward-curated-microlearning-higher-ed-must-adapt

by Merris Stansbury, eCampus News

Soft skills, ease with technologies are some of the most important skills undergrad students should be learning today for the future of tomorrow. “The jobs of the future will be those that focus on intellectual capitalism, not commodity capitalism,” said Futurist, Physicist and Bestselling Author Michio Kaku during the recent 2017 EDUCAUSE conference keynote, held in Philadelphia, Pa. This was the big reveal to the thousands of EDUCAUSE attendees ranging from college and university faculty to CIOs, and from some of the world’s leading tech companies to some of the country’s most prominent higher ed provosts and presidents—all anxiously awaiting what the crystal ball of the postsecondary future had to say through Kaku’s educated guess.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/campus-administration/michio-kaku-higher-ed-skills/