Online Learning Update

Holly Heller-Ross, EDUCAUSE Review

I have found that library and IT leaders (my areas) often structure their communication efforts to go up the reporting chain and prepare executive updates, knowing that keeping other academic leaders informed will make gauging or obtaining their support easier. Communicating 360 degrees means communicating out and around to all parts and people in your campus ecosystem. Effective leaders also communicate broadly with their direct reports, their leadership teams, their customers, and their business consultants or vendors—staying on top of industry news, trends, technology, and products.

https://er.educause.edu/blogs/2020/11/communicating-360-degrees

Judy Brewer, Carly Gerard, and Mark Hakkinen; EDUCAUSE Review

Students with disabilities are a vulnerable population in higher education. And the emergency move to remote instruction in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown the vulnerability of this population into stark relief. One of the technologies that is being explored to help improve and create tools for a more accessible learning environment is artificial intelligence.

https://er.educause.edu/podcasts/educause-exchange/the-impact-of-ai-on-accessibility

Sherry Negrea, Unbound

The rise in popularity of MOOCs comes as the model in this online space has shifted to credit-bearing courses and degrees, with at least 50 MOOC-based degrees now offered by universities globally. As more students and adult learners turn to MOOCs, the online courses and degrees are accelerating the adoption of online learning in higher education. “The pandemic has been transformative for many institutions,” said Ray Schroeder, associate vice chancellor for online learning at the University of Illinois Springfield, who organized a MOOC in 2011. “They have awakened to online learning. It could take years to tame a mutating virus, all the while universities will have to cope with periodic campus outbreaks. Online learning will become a mainstay of learning delivery among the institutions that survive.”

https://unbound.upcea.edu/online-2/online-education/massive-open-online-courses/creating-a-new-model-for-moocs/

Stephanie Fairchild, the Buchtelite

Associate Professor of Practice Julie Cajigas has some tips on how students can boost their success in an online learning environment.  “Students should first carefully consider the options available to them,” Cajigas said. “Synchronous options are great for students who feel that having a fixed time with live instruction will help them succeed. Some students thrive with asynchronous online courses, which allow them to work at their own pace.” One issue students are facing is maintaining a work and school balance. In a typical semester, the time students can work is limited due to physically being in class. A 15-credit schedule means about 15 hours of in-class time, plus time for studying and homework.

https://buchtelite.com/40316/news/tips-tricks-for-success-in-online-learning/

Jim Fong, Unbound

With the evolution to the 4IR accelerated due to the pandemic, many new jobs are expected to be created, while others will be eliminated. In addition, it is estimated that 75 million[3] workers in the United States will need to be reskilled while worldwide, upwards of one billion will need new skills by 2030.[4] As a result, higher education can no longer rely solely on a credit-based model, often taking four or more years and 120 credits to complete an undergraduate degree and another two years and 30 credits for a graduate degree.

https://unbound.upcea.edu/research-and-policy/demographics/new-economy-and-changing-demographics-that-will-impact-professional-continuing-and-online-education/

APLU, USU, Workcred, UPCEA

Improved career outcomes for students―including higher salaries, improved rates of hire, and faster promotion tracks―are the ultimate goal of this initiative. Along with its partners APLU, USU, and Workcred, UPCEA brought together universities and certification bodies from across the nation to identify opportunities to embed certifications into undergraduate degree programs in the growing fields of healthcare, cybersecurity, manufacturing, and the liberal arts.

https://upcea.edu/aligning-and-embedding-industry-certifications-with-bachelors-degrees/

Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology
Even though first-year college students are more likely than students in later years to say they intended to return to school in the spring (73 percent versus 68 percent), they’re less confident they’ll see the value of the investment in higher education (45 percent compared to 51 percent), according to a recent survey done by education technology company Top Hat. The students in higher grades reported that they’re having a tougher time adjusting to online learning.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2020/11/16/survey-interactive-in-class-engagement-makes-a-difference-to-students.aspx

RICHARD WANG, eCampus News

Since the coronavirus hit full force in the early months of 2020, remote-work models are fully in place for the foreseeable future. To remain competitive, companies now need to support these new paradigms by giving their employees the tools to make them happen A new generation of young tech workers is entering the workforce right now, already armed with tech experience. They’ve grown up with the internet, social media, and coding as core parts of their culture. They recognize and value flexibility beyond the old confines of office attendance and 9-to-5 routines.  Students poised to enter the workforce should strive to hone skills that will make them competitive and successful in remote environments.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2020/11/16/e-learning-future-of-work/

Sharon Hurley Hall, WebSite Planet

If you’re a Caucasian male, you’ve won the lottery when it comes to getting hired in tech, or so it seems. According to tech diversity reports, in the biggest tech companies, men represent between 77% and 88% of the workforce, and Caucasians between 40% and 51%. Those figures seem to reveal a stark truth: if you’re a woman or a person of color, it’s much harder to get a tech job. In the past, recruiters have subtly discouraged women from applying to tech jobs. Plus, a LinkedIn study shows that even when women apply, recruiters are less likely to pick up their resumes or interview them. It’s a similar situation for people of color. But does that still apply if you’re going for a mid-level position at a tech firm? Here at Website Planet, we wanted to test this for ourselves. [see the link below for intriguing results]

https://www.websiteplanet.com/blog/gender-racial-bias-hiring-in-tech/

Chelsea Toczauer with Ray Schroeder, Online Education

Professor Schroeder: First, let’s begin with artificial intelligence. And when we talk about AI we look at several versions of artificial intelligence. We can see that AI uses advanced networking as well as computing with high performance computers, and with that we can perform machine learning and deep learning. We use algorithms and realistic, supervised, and unsupervised learning. So those topics are ones that generally I think the public ought to be aware of. “The holy grail is personalized learning. Each student will be provided learning opportunities and examples that will allow them to learn at their speed and preference.”

https://www.onlineeducation.com/features/artificial-intelligence-and-the-future-of-education

Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed
Common Application reports declines of 8 percent. Applications for first-generation students and those eligible for fee waivers are down 16 percent. The Common Application received 8 percent fewer applications through Nov. 2 compared to last year, and 60 percent of its 921 members were reporting application declines. Applications from first-generation students and those eligible for application fee waivers were down 16 percent.

https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2020/11/16/college-applications-are-decreasing

Megan McCallister, Daily Bruin

International students’ abnormal sleep schedules may have short and long-term health consequences, a UCLA neurologist said. Students living far from Pacific Standard Time have had to stay up at odd hours of the day to take classes remotely. Alon Avidan, the director of the UCLA Sleep Disorders Center and a neurology professor, said people put themselves at risk for a number of health issues if they are not awake during the day. They may face complications with hormone control, blood sugar control and immune system impairment, Avidan added.

https://dailybruin.com/2020/11/14/for-many-international-students-time-zone-differences-lead-to-unhealthy-sleep-habits

Maeghen MacDonald Kuhn & Brittani Wyskocil Garcia, OJDLA

This breakout study reviews the findings of a 2017 study of Penn State University’s World Campus undergraduate online students. The study surveyed students to report demographic, academic, preferences, and satisfaction information and sought to develop relationships between these variables by their levels of academic success. This breakout study focuses on the findings related to three of the study’s variables: academic advising frequency, interaction preference, and satisfaction of undergraduate online students.

https://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/fall233/kuhn_garcia233.html

Michael Kan, PC Mag

About two weeks ago, SpaceX began sending the first invites for Starlink’s public beta, which costs $99 a month plus a $499 one-time fee for the equipment. Now that the system is finally serving actual consumers, we’ve been wondering, does it actually meet the hype? To find out, we interviewed four beta testers, and all described Starlink as a game changer, particularly for rural internet users who have limited access to fast fiber-optic networks common in urban areas. Imagine getting a package in the mail that can suddenly elevate your home internet to 100Mbps and higher.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/from-painfully-slow-to-lightning-fast-spacexs-starlink-makes-rural-internet

Graeme Atherton, University World News
Much of the focus regarding the impact of COVID-19 on higher education globally has been on the future viability of the present model of the university. The nature of teaching, learning, research and the student experience is open to question. This should also, however, be a moment for equity. In partnership with the Sutton Trust in the United Kingdom, we have undertaken a survey of education experts and government representatives from 45 countries, covering every continent, which aims to assess in more detail the impact of COVID-19 on access and success in higher education for those from low-income and other marginalised groups and the responses by universities and policy-makers.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20201113085637660

Maina Waruru, University World News
The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) wants access to digital education to be included in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to achieve equity in access to education, including tertiary learning. The ACU study revealed a huge digital divide between the Global North and the Global South, informed by a lack of digital infrastructure, devices and data. It revealed that 83% of respondents from high-income countries had access to broadband, while 63% of those from upper middle-income countries, and 38% drawn from lower middle-income countries could access the same. It got worse in low-income countries, many from Africa, where only 19% of the interviewees said they had access to broadband.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20201111023337237

Todd Zipper, University Business

It is clear the experiences surrounding the emergency remote learning that took place in the spring have left many people mistaking what true, purposeful online learning looks like. Unfortunately, so much about online learning has been shrouded in controversy, mired in politics and driven by generations of thinking around what education should look like based on the traditional in-classroom model. This, compounded with what thousands of students experienced in the spring, has left many learning institutions, parents and students alike frustrated, viewing “online learning” (in a broad, often misinterpreted sense) as something of a last resort, even amid the pandemic. While we can clear up misconceptions about what true online learning entails, and showcase its effectiveness, the in-person versus online learning debate is still missing the point.

https://universitybusiness.com/the-online-vs-in-person-learning-debate-is-missing-the-point/

JUDITH ALTSCHULER CAHN, eCampus News

Education has become virtual, and educators should accept that online learning is a permanent part of learning in today’s economy. Online learning as a modality of teaching and learning has been thrust upon education and can no longer be considered an emerging reality. It is here. The COVID-19 virus disruption has completely changed the way education operates. Until now, in many organizations across the country and globe, online courses and programs have been managed as a separate entity. The current reality has shifted education and distance learning into an integral part of the education system.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2020/11/13/heres-why-online-learning-is-sticking-around/

Jordan DiMaggio, UPCEA Policy Matters

Joe Biden is President Elect – What Does that Mean for Higher Education Policy? President-Elect Joe Biden will become the next President of the United States of America in January, so what does that mean for our field? For one, Jill Biden (who some of you will remember was a Keynote Speaker at the 2015 UPCEA Annual Conference) will be the most accomplished educator the Office of the First Lady has ever seen. Dr. Biden has said she plans to continue to teach, which would mark the only time a First Lady has continued full time work while serving in that role. Dr. Biden currently teaches at Northern Virginia Community College and wrote her dissertation on student retention at a community college.

https://upcea.edu/policy-matters-joe-biden-is-president-elect-what-does-that-mean-for-higher-education-policy-november-2020/