Online Learning Update

by Darwin Green, US News

It was the first week of my online course, and we had to introduce ourselves to the class. I discovered that I was the only student who lived in Nebraska. Others lived in China, England, the Middle East and Africa. The discussion posts and interactions between the students of the class brought with them many differences, complications and insights that only an online class could bring. I had never been in a classroom where, during a group project, the teacher had to rearrange the members of the teams according to time zones. Here are four things that surprised me about working with other students in an online setting.

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-learning-lessons/2016/01/22/3-ways-your-online-classmates-might-surprise-you

By PAVITHRA MOHAN, Fast Company

Techies who have some background in machine learning may want to tune into Google’s new course on deep learning. Available through Udacity—home to a host of open online courses—the class is expected to run about three months, assuming people put in about six hours of work per week. The course will also introduce participants to TensorFlow, the open-source deep learning platform Google unveiled back in November. Deep learning, a division of machine learning through which machines detect and classify patterns in data, is the driving force behind Google Photos’ search engine and the company’s speech recognition technology.

http://www.fastcompany.com/3055814/fast-feed/google-is-offering-a-free-online-class-about-deep-learning

by Paul Rubins, CIO

Two candidates apply for a software development position: One has a degree in computer science from a prestigious school. The other is self-taught with several years’ experience under his belt. Who one gets the job? Of course, there’s no definitive answer to this question, but it’s one that CIO’s are increasingly going to have to think about. That’s because more and more software developers – and very skilled and competent ones at that – are entering the job market without any degree-level training.

http://www.cio.com/article/3025349/careers-staffing/who-needs-a-computer-science-degree-these-days.html

By John K. Waters, THE Journal

It has been called “America’s persistent problem”: not enough skilled workers to fill millions of job openings. The high-tech sector in particular has complained for years about the country’s shallow pool of tech talent. Some leading companies in that sector have partnered with online education providers in hope of deepening that pool in the relatively near term. Google, AT&T, Facebook, and Twitter, for example, have worked with Udacity to create targeted online certification programs, a few of which provide training for specific jobs currently available. Some high-tech companies are also acting with an eye toward the future with programs and events aimed at K-12 students and educators.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/01/21/inspiring-the-next-gen-of-tech-workers.aspx

By Katie Ellington, the Asbury Collegian

Many think of a typical school day as a series of in class lectures that are over by dinnertime. But a number of Asbury students are taking both general education courses and major requirements from their dorm rooms. “There are a limited number of courses offered online for traditional undergraduate students, most of which are foundational courses,” said Registrar Sheryl Voigts. While students take classes online to simplify schedules, work at their own pace or get some work done over the summer, Dean of Graduate and Professional Studies Dr. Bill Hall, who helped start the online program, says it wasn’t until two or three years ago that these courses opened up to the entire student body.

http://www.theasburycollegian.com/2016/01/students-earn-gen-eds-and-major-credits-online/

By Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

Student-centered models turn instructors into guides as students investigate for themselves. Student-centered, collaborative classroom design is exploding across higher education and virtually all faculty today understand the difference between labs of computers and classrooms that feature them. INTERESC has three collaborative classrooms in high demand and plans to design more as soon as there’s money to build them. The designs put students at the center of instruction, shifting the faculty role to one of tutor or guide. “This changes the whole way we teach,” Benavides said. At the School of Education, students benefit from more engaging class periods, as well as the modeling of how to be comfortable with technology as teachers. Their instructors serve as content guides, and they also help solve technical problems that are sure to crop up in the modern classrooms.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/collaborative-classrooms-mark-wave-of-the-future-in-higher-ed/412430/

By David Nagel, THE Journal

Turnitin, best known in education circles for its technology designed to detect plagiarism in students’ papers, has launched a new tool that aims to improve those students’ papers during the writing process. According to Turnitin, the technology, called Turnitin Revision Assistant, goes beyond simple grammar and spelling checks and instead provide “actionable comments” on demand, offering feedback on such aspects of their writing as “focus, use of evidence or organization, among many others,” according to the company.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/01/21/turnitin-launches-service-designed-to-improve-student-writing.aspx

By Marguerite McNeal, edSurge

Can game-based learning help nontraditional students improve outcomes? That’s the central question behind a report released today by Muzzy Lane Software, a Newbury, Mass.-based game development platform. Game-based experiences like role-playing scenarios and puzzles can let students test competencies in a safe environment. The new report shows the potential for these learners to benefit from modular, game-based approaches that fit within their lives and their instructors’ workflows. “We hope that this [research] leads to educators and curriculum designers and game-makers thinking about approaches to games that can overcome hurdles of cost and fit that have been holding things back,” says Bert Snow, principal investigator and vice president of design at Muzzy Lane.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-01-20-game-based-learning-has-practical-applications-for-nontraditional-learners

By Patrick Peterson, THE Journal

The code that makes computers run consists of long strings of seemingly random numbers and letters that tell the computer how to react to certain requests and even let the computer perform tasks that seem almost human. The geeky wizards who control this digital magic are mostly young men. But girls, led by lawyer-turned-tech-advocate Reshma Saujani, have begun to mine this source of power. “They are interested and they are good at it,” Saujani said during a keynote address to FETC 2016 last week in Orlando. Through the organization Saujani founded in 2012, Girls Who Code, more than 10,000 young women have been learning to create computer software which runs everything from smartphones to the nation’s power grid. The girls have discovered that there is no reason for them to avoid high-tech fields, which are normally chosen by boys.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/01/20/reshma-saujani-makes-the-case-for-girls-who-code.aspx

by Say Campus Life

Before you choose online as the route that is best for you, it’s important to understand that this format can be a challenge. Here are 3 things to do before starting online course work. Hopefully they help you decide.

http://www.saycampuslife.com/2016/01/20/3-things-to-consider-before-taking-online-courses-in-college/

By Jordan Friedman, US News

Entrepreneurship is a growing discipline ​in online education for a number of reasons, including that​ skills in the field are becoming more appealing to employers, experts say. “People are excited when they see companies startup​​ and become successful, and also I think that there’s a way to apply entrepreneurial thinking within an organization,” says Cheryl Bann, chair​ of the MBA program at Capella University, an online, for-profit school that offers a graduate certificate and an MBA degree in entrepreneurship. Career goals, cost and faculty interaction are factors to consider, experts say.

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2016-01-20/choose-the-right-online-program-in-entrepreneurship

by John Covach, the Conversation

Roughly two-thirds of my students have been over the age of 25. When we think about college courses, we assume the students are age 18-24, since that’s the usual age at which one gets an undergraduate degree. There are a significant number of people out there, however, who are interested in continuing to learn later in life. Students who take MOOC courses tend to be older and are mostly international. Continuing education courses at colleges and universities have served that public to a certain degree, but it is clear that there is more demand among older students than many might have suspected. Given the chance to learn according to their own schedule and location, many find this option very attractive. MOOC students are mostly international and already college-educated

http://theconversation.com/confessions-of-a-mooc-professor-three-things-i-learned-and-two-things-i-worry-about-53330

by Alan Wiig, Vantage

The relationship between data to space extends beyond the network equipment, services, and mobile devices that transmit and present information to a user. Pervasive wireless connectivity and ubiquitous computing, as ‘the cloud’ are central, common elements of contemporary urban life. Data centers translate, as it were, between individuals and their experience of the city by mediating experiences through digital augmentation. An example of this is Google Maps’ locative ability to place the user on the map and then orient said user to wherever they need to go. While data is largely immaterial except in the action it enables, like getting you to your meeting with that map, the storage, maintenance, and transmission of data require many layers of interfacing telecommunication infrastructure that function nearly everywhere but are always, inherently embedded in particular places.

https://medium.com/vantage/the-urban-infrastructural-geography-of-the-cloud-1b076cf9b06e#.20nb1elgr

By Braulio Tellez, The Shorthorn

Nursing senior Natasha Gatti takes online classes at UTA from halfway across the nation. She wouldn’t be as successful as an online-only student without being able to properly budget her time. Gatti began taking online classes in the fall. She is a full-time student working toward a bachelor’s in nursing and takes 18 hours of online classes. She also works part-time as a night shift nurse at a CareOne long-term acute facility in New Jersey. Online classes really do not differ from on campus courses, she said. The interactions in class are replaced by class discussions through BlackBoard. Face time with professors is compensated by working with academic coaches, assistants assigned to online nursing students. They have the same degree of knowledge as professors and help students in their courses.

http://www.theshorthorn.com/life_and_entertainment/students-balance-online-classes-with-work-family/article_38c58dc8-be10-11e5-95af-177b9e9767f4.html

by Seb Murray, Business Because

Education tech companies including Coursera, edX, Udacity and their b-school and university partners are delving deeper into big data analytics to improve teaching and student learning. Simon Nelson, CEO of online learning company FutureLearn, says: “The potential is incredible — and we are just scratching the surface.” A report to be published in January by the UK’s Higher Education Commission (HEC) envisages that big data will help identify risk of failure; give students instant feedback; and benchmark their performance against peers.

http://www.businessbecause.com/news/mba-distance-learning/3726/edtech-explores-big-data-to-boost-online-learning

by eCampus News

At the University of Texas at Arlington, a four-year state university, serving approximately 35,000 students, data show strong positive correlations between average MyFinanceLab homework scores and both average Learning Catalytics and average Dynamic Study Module grades. Also, students who earned higher average Learning Catalytics and Dynamic Study Module grades earned higher average exam scores. Specifically, students who completed the most assignments scored eight percent higher on exams than students who skipped more than the average number of assignments. Learning Catalytics is an interactive, classroom-based feature of MyLab and Mastering that uses students’ smartphones, tablets, or laptops to engage them in more sophisticated tasks and thinking.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/adaptive-learning-outcomes-651/

By Matt Lawson, eCampus News

While that hype has not panned out, MOOCs did find a good foothold in our nation’s community colleges, where online classes provide scheduling flexibility for nontraditional students dealing with life demands; lower-cost options for students who need more cost-effective alternatives; or a stop-gap remedial solution for students needing help to fill in holes in their educational backgrounds. That last use case has proven to be a top priority for community colleges across the nation. When I was the Director of Enterprise Services for Virginia’s Community Colleges, improving student success was a cornerstone strategic goal for the community colleges. Community colleges face unique challenges with student success: in the U.S., at least 50 percent of entrants need at least one year of developmental education in order to be prepared for entry-level college courses. MOOCs offer the possibility of allowing students to improve their basic skills and test into college‐level courses without having to pay for remedial classes.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/moocs-community-colleges-109/

By Rica Bhattacharyya, Economic Times

MOOCs was earlier about creating individual courses in many areas and people could take them for free. Today, we have broken through in many major dimensions. One big example is today we offer complete programmes, not just individual courses, and we have also made a breakthrough with offering programme credit and certificates. For example, we launched a major data science programme with Columbia University. So, imagine, if you are student or working with a company you can complete a whole program.  You can learn anything on MOOC for free, but if you want a micro masters credential, you have to pay a fee of $200-300 for the entire programme.

By: Cassie Lipp, University of Cincinnati

Todd Foley had never taught a class of more than 25 students before he began teaching Introduction to Co-op and Mid-Curricular Co-op for Engineering courses at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Engineering and Applied Science. To get started, he turned to tools from the eLearning backpack project. Meeting the goals of the co-op courses can be challenging, especially with only one hour of class each week and students with varying levels of experience all in one large lecture room. Foley looked for a way to make the course as personalized as possible for the students. “How do you create a learning environment that is conducive to all types of learning?” Foley asked. “I use technology to level the playing field.”

http://www.uc.edu/profiles/profile.asp?id=22707

by Laurie Alexander,et al; EDUCAUSE Review

Libraries increasingly offer the technological capacity and staff expertise to support student publishing, but this activity tends to happen in isolation from other library activities. Harnessing publishing as a pedagogical tool improves student learning outcomes through high-impact learning practices: extensive writing, teamwork, service learning, undergraduate research, and experiential learning. Partnering with students to achieve their publishing ambitions clarifies the requirements that the next generation of digital scholars may have for library technology infrastructure designed for preservation and access. The University of Michigan Library connects scholarly communication and instruction by focusing on publishing as pedagogy, as illustrated in three case studies.

http://er.educause.edu/articles/2016/1/publishing-as-pedagogy-connecting-library-services-and-technology

by PR Newswire

Canvas, the team behind the Virtual Learning Environment from the software-as-a-service company Instructure Inc, released new research today that shows how personal tech devices are being banned in classrooms due to teachers’ fears that they will cause distraction, although many recognise they may have future uses in the classroom.  The study reveals that more than one-third of teachers (34 percent) in the UK have banned personal devices like mobile phones and tablets from the classroom – significantly more than in U.S. schools (23 percent). Many teachers (62 percent) believe such technology distracts students from learning, although the profession remains broadly open to the potential future benefits, with three quarters (74 percent) agreeing that when integrated effectively and used as an education tool rather than a leisure device, such technology can make their job easier.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/enUK201601151566.htm