Online Learning Update

By Laura Devaney, eCampusNews

A partnership between two universities seeks to predict where students will struggle academically to help better inform instructor strategies. A method of analyzing what students post in academic forums, and using those posts to help instructors identify where students are struggling most with reading materials, could help improve learning and instruction. Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and MIT are using a new method to analyze students’ online academic forum posts to predict questions so teachers can intervene.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/students-online-posts-682/

by Seb Murray, Business Because

Business Because speaks to executives of edX, Coursera, Udacity, FutureLearn and ALISON to get their predictions for how online learning will be shaped in 2016. Anant Agarwal, CEO of edX, says that employers and universities will increasingly accept certificates for Mooc courses. Udacity is so confident it can find users jobs that it is guaranteeing them placement, or will refund their tuition. Vish Makhijani, COO of Udacity, says “For us, helping people learn so they can advance their careers is the cornerstone of online education.” Julia Stiglitz, director of business development and international at Coursera, which has 17 million users, anticipates rapid growth in mobile and tablet learning.

http://www.businessbecause.com/news/mba-distance-learning/3751/five-edtech-trends-for-2016

by ANYA KAMENETZ, NPR

Anne Boring, an economist and the lead author of the paper, was hired by her university in Paris, Sciences Po, to conduct quantitative analysis of gender bias. Through her conversations with instructors and students, she became suspicious of what she calls “double standards” applying to male and female instructors. Philip Stark, associate dean of the Division of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, is a co-author of the paper along with Kellie Ottoboni. “Trying to adjust for the bias to make SET ‘fair’ is hopeless,” says Stark, “(even if they measured effectiveness, and there’s lots of evidence that they don’t).” Boring acknowledges that “SETs can contain some information that can be valuable.” But, she adds, they are too biased to be used in a high-stakes way as a measure of teacher effectiveness.

http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/01/25/463846130/why-women-professors-get-lower-ratings

by Jon Brodkin – Ars Technica

Millimeter wave tech will achieve high speeds, launching first in Boston. A startup led by the founder of Aereo says it plans to sell wireless Internet service with speeds of 1Gbps in Boston and then other cities. Project Decibel’s “Starry” Internet service “will launch its first beta in the Greater Boston area in the summer of 2016,” with additional cities being announced later in the year, the company said. Project Decibel is based both in Boston and New York City.

http://arstechnica.com/business/2016/01/aereo-founders-next-business-wireless-gigabit-home-internet/

By Dennis Pierce, Campus Technology

Alternate Reality Learning Experience (ARLE) is a new type of alternate reality game in which participants weave in and out of a fictional story and reality as they learn. “In gaming, you fail 80 percent of the time, and you enjoy the experience and come back for more,” Jeff Borden St. Leo University’s chief innovation officer, said. “This lets you put students in situations where they fail, and learn from their failure, safely. At the same time, the authenticity of the learning experience is off the charts.”

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/01/27/alternate-reality-gaming-spices-up-professional-development.aspx

By Dian Schaffhauser, eCampus News

Ballhaus likes what he sees at the company he now leads, especially the breadth of its offerings and its capabilities. Analytics is an exciting new space for us and for our clients. When we think about what our clients are really trying to accomplish, it’s outcomes — and the ability to use analytics to help them improve those outcomes. For instance, I just met with one of our customers, which is one of the largest universities in the world in terms of student count. A big challenge is that they have hundreds of thousands of passive students. So getting through the heart of understanding why they’re passive, what has happened, some of the trends that led them from being active to being passive and things they can do to bring those passive learners back into the active educational community to improve outcomes, is a great example of the role that analytics can play in improving our client’s ability to achieve better outcomes .It’s an area that we’ll continue to invest in and continue to develop.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/01/27/new-blackboard-ceo-bill-ballhaus-reflects-on-his-first-weeks-at-the-helm.aspx

By Andrew Barbour, eCampus News

The Harvard Division of Continuing Education (HDCE) opted to build a customized, cloud-based version of Opencast, an open source video-capture and distribution product previously known as Matterhorn. “Other Harvard units use lecture capture as a review tool for students who don’t come to class, are sick, or need a study tool, but our distance-education group actually sells access to these lectures,” said Gabriel Russell, a video, software, and systems engineer at Harvard. “Lecture capture is a primary learning tool for our students, so we need to make sure the product meets their needs.”

http://www.ecampusnews.com/technologies/harvard-lecture-capture-928/

by the Foundation for Blended and Online Learning

The Foundation for Blended and Online Learning today released details on its scholarship, grant, and research programs designed to advance the availability and quality of digital learning in the U.S. The Foundation for Blended and Online Learning will strive to achieve three main goals:

Provide post-secondary scholarships to students;

Launch a grant program for educators and organizations making significant progress in teaching and instruction;

Advance the field of digital learning through research and intentional collaboration with key stakeholders.

http://www.blendedandonlinelearning.org/

By Marie Solis, identities.mic

After a semester of pop quizzes, all-nighters and 12-page research papers, college students have only one card to play against their professors: the course evaluation. While students may think they’re dealing evenly, a new study shows most are harder on their female instructors. French economist Anne Boring led the study which resulted in two sets of results: one for French students and another for American students. According to NPR, male French students gave their male professors higher ratings overall after being randomly assigned male and female instructors across a range of different courses. In the study with American students, Boring and her colleagues built in an extra control: Students would never meet their professor. Instead, they took an online course in which they were only told their instructor’s name. Half of the male professors who participated in the study were given female names.

http://mic.com/articles/133460/student-course-evaluations-are-biased-against-female-professors-study-says#.AIiRWdLMY

by CATHERINE KNOWLES, Educators

According to MoocLab ranking, EdX comes top of the list of overall MOOC platforms. Khan Academy is ranked as number one of the free and low-cost online course providers, and the Open University’s OpenLearn, comes first of the open courseware provider list. For those interested in learning to code, TheCodePlayer website tops the free online coding course providers, and Treehouse is ranked the best provider of low-cost online coding courses. Flatiron School’s Learn-Verified Web Developer programme comes in first place among the online coding bootcamp providers. MoocLab says it ranks online course providers according to a number of factors relating to the type of offering, such as the number of courses on offer, the quality of the instruction and content, the standing of partner institutions, assessment, accreditation, practicality, social tools and interface usability.

https://educators.co.nz/story/best-online-course-provider-revealed/

by Beth Baker, Next Avenue

Each week, the Virtual Senior Center offers some 30 online classes to homebound clients, from tai chi and exercise to contemporary history discussions and gallery talks with museum curators, as well as music appreciation and singing — even Mandarin. Participants use a simple touch-screen computer to join in, as well as to Skype, play games or use the Internet. Selfhelp partnered with Microsoft and the City of New York to develop the center. “The whole point is to marry technology with homebound seniors, to alleviate loneliness and depression,” explains Carmella Chessen, Selfhelp’s outreach/volunteer coordinator. “We want them to join four classes a week as a minimum. They have to want to be social and to learn the computer.” They also cannot have cognitive issues, she adds.

http://www.nextavenue.org/the-online-classes-that-help-the-homebound-connect/

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

Students are more distracted than ever. They tend to check their digital devices, particularly, their smartphones, an average of 11.43 times during class for non-classroom activities. A solid 12 percent do texting, emailing, checking the time or other activities in class more than 30 times a day. A study published in the Journal of Media Education this week reported that students spend a fifth of their time in class doing things on their devices that have nothing to do with their school work. The research was undertaken by Associate Professor Barney McCoy, who teaches multimedia and news courses at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Two years ago McCoy ran a similar study that found similar results, but now the level of distraction has worsened.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/01/20/research-college-students-more-distracted-than-ever.aspx

https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/01/25/coursera-removes-free-track-some-moocs

by Lexi Kallis, Winter is Coming

In recent years, we’ve seen more and more Game of Thrones-themed college courses pop up. They’ve focused on everything from religion to historical figures to war to the more granular R+L=J theory. Virginia Tech University is the latest to join the pack with a Game of Thrones-themed class centered on medieval history. Virginia TV station WSLS-10 recently took a look at the online class and at professor Matthew Gabriele, who combined his passion for medieval studies with his love for the show. The course concentrates on three major themes: power and politics, the role of women, and the fantasy element of dragons.

https://winteriscoming.net/2016/01/24/college-class-blends-game-of-thrones-and-medieval-history/

by Debbie Blank, Herald-Tribune

Malia Fledderman decided to go back to school to get an MBA “to just get a job in general. I had a very hard time after graduation just finding a full-time job because I was a ‘damn millennial’ and didn’t have any experience.” Aiming to earn a Master of Business Administration in management and strategy, “Mine was typically three courses, but a couple of terms I had four. Each major has a different setup.” In my major, all of the work required writing papers and working through simulations …. You can go at your own pace, because the papers or projects are not due at particular times. They just all have to be completed and you have to have a passing grade on each paper or project by the end of the term for all of the courses. If you submitted a paper and it didn’t pass, you had to redo the paper and resubmit. Before you resubmit, you have the option to speak with the professor of the course, (who) will read through your paper and help you figure out what parts you may be missing.”

http://www.batesvilleheraldtribune.com/news/local_news/earning-online-degrees-takes-motivation/article_31ba330b-78f9-516d-8851-c88d5f9310a3.html

By Taylor Watson, Daily Orange

SUNY-ESF recently received a SUNY Investment Fund award in support of its development of online programs, furthering the university’s dedication to distance learning. State University of New York Chancellor Nancy Zimpher announced on Jan. 11 during her annual State of the University Address that the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry would receive $190,000 to fund the ESF Open Academy. SUNY-ESF has a history of engaging in a variety of distance learning methods, including video conferences and the use of satellite technology, said Chuck Spuches, associate provost for outreach at SUNY-ESF.

http://dailyorange.com/2016/01/suny-esf-receives-190000-grant-to-fund-online-learning-program/

by Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica

A year after the Federal Communications Commission changed the definition of broadband Internet to include only faster speeds, Republicans in Congress are still mad about the decision. Using the new broadband minimum speed of 25Mbps download and 3Mbps upload, the FCC’s annual review of deployment this month said that broadband isn’t being offered to about 34 million Americans. ISPs immediately criticized that assessment; yesterday their friends in Congress piled on.

http://arstechnica.com/business/2016/01/gop-senators-want-lower-internet-speeds-to-qualify-as-broadband/

by Mark Walton, Ars Technica

While nearly every big tech company has some sort of plan in place to deal with the upcoming onslaught of virtual reality and augmented reality technology, there’s been one rather large holdout: Apple. According to a report from the Financial Times, however, Apple now has its own VR/AR expert. Doug Bowman is joining Apple following a sabbatical from his position as a professor of computer science and the director of the Center for Human-Computer Interaction at Virginia Tech. Bowman, who was the lead author of 3D User Interfaces: Theory and Practice, has an impressive background in virtual reality tech. His research focused on “three-dimensional user interface design and the benefits of immersion in virtual environments,” according to his academic profile.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2016/01/apple-hires-top-virtual-and-augmented-reality-expert-ft-reports/

by Mark Milliron, EDUCAUSE Review

In the world of higher education, the needs are great, possibilities powerful, and partners diverse. Students are facing a future that increasingly requires deeper learning and labor-market-valued credentials, along with relevant work experience and civic engagement opportunities to help them take meaningful steps on the path toward living well and actively participating in today’s rowdy digital democracy. In the United States, state and federal governments, foundations, and associations are constantly calling for more—and more diverse—students to successfully complete higher education journeys to fuel the economy and brace us for a road ahead that promises innovation and uncertainty.

http://er.educause.edu/articles/2016/1/engaging-on-purpose-in-higher-education

By Richard Garrett, Eduventures

Sticker price may be soaring but net price, what students actually pay, is more modest and stable. The wage premium that comes with a degree has never been higher, calming fears about student debt. Still, it’s hard to feel good about these three data points: Graduation Rates. According to the National Student Clearinghouse, the six-year undergraduate completion rate is a mere 55%—and it’s declining. Employability. In 2012, the OECD ran its first international survey of adult skills. Only 8-16% of U.S. adults achieved literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving proficiency at a level judged to be equivalent to a bachelor’s degree, yet 34% had such a degree. Premium. Yes, the degree wage premium is higher than ever, 95% for those with a bachelor’s degree and 136% for those with a master’s degree when compared to high school graduates.

http://www.eduventures.com/2015/12/alternative-credentials-fresh-perspectives/#img

by Jordan Friedman, US News

A degree or certificate may tell an employer about your education, but it won’t necessarily highlight your specific skills. Online education, however, has facilitated the rise of “microcredentials,” namely digital badges, and nanodegrees, that aim to do just ​that. “I would say over the past three years or so, we’ve seen a rise in this arena in a way that we really haven’t seen in the past,” says Lauren Griffin, senior vice president of the recruitment ​agency Adecco Staffing USA. In some online classes, whether it’s MOOCs or for-credit courses offered through universities, instructors have begun incorporating digital badges into their curricula. Students earn these badges once they achieve a certain milestone or develop a particular skill and can then post them on social media or an online portfolio. When somebody – such as a potential employer – clicks on the badge, it will link to information on how and when the badge was earned.​

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2016-01-22/what-employers-think-of-badges-nanodegrees-from-online-programs