Online Learning Update

Science Daily, KTH, Royal Institute of Technology

Eye contact is a key to establishing a connection, and teachers use it often to encourage participation. But can a robot do this too? Can it draw a response simply by making “eye” contact, even with people who are less inclined to speak up. A recent study suggests that it can. Researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology published results of experiments in which robots led a Swedish word game with individuals whose proficiency in the Nordic language was varied. They found that by redirecting its gaze to less proficient players, a robot can elicit involvement from even the most reluctant participants.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210310122608.htm

BILL STEINIKE,eCampus News

As schools, colleges and universities navigate the new school year, teachers and administrators will be serving on the front lines of public health efforts to keep kids and communities safe from COVID-19 outbreaks. To do that, educators will need to do two things that public health officials struggle to do even when working with adults: ensure that social distancing is maintained and conduct effective contact tracing as suspected/confirmed cases arise.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2020/11/18/how-wearable-trackers-help-with-contact-tracing/

Dana Brownlee, Forbes

Taught by Johns Hopkins scientist Emily Gurley, PhD, MPH, COVID-19 Contact Tracing is an introductory level course that equips learners with the training that may be required to become a contact tracer amid this pandemic. Johns Hopkins’ site explains, “The new Coursera class, COVID-19 Contact Tracing, teaches the basics of interviewing people diagnosed with the virus, identifying their close contacts who might have been exposed, and providing them guidance for self-quarantine for two weeks.” The course syllabus outlines six modules that are clearly focused on preparing learners to both understand the disease and effectively perform the contact tracing necessary to fight against it.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danabrownlee/2020/05/13/johns-hopkins-offers-free-contact-tracing-training/#4c100ddb7a48

by Wendy Achilles, et al; MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Technology (JOLT)

Student retention is a critical component to the success of any university, whether instruction is provided in a traditional or online setting. Creating an effective student retention program can positively impact student success and, ultimately, the reputation and the image of the institution. The implementation of a student retention program can be especially challenging in the online environment for both the instructors and the institution. Unlike a traditional university setting where students and instructors interact face-to-face, online programs need to rely on alternative methods to engage students. When online instructors take the time to create a consistent proactive outreach program students feel connected to the instructor and strive harder to be successful in the classroom. Online outreach programs can include tasks as simple as consistently emailing students, enlisting the help of student advisors, and taking time to phone students. Each approach has the potential to keep engaged students participating and can re-engage non-participating students by ensuring a high level of faculty and student interaction.

http://jolt.merlot.org/vol7no1/byrd_0311.htm

By Advance-Titan

Within the last 10 years the Internet has boomed with many social networking sites driving people to use the Internet for more than just connecting with people. It has given people the resources to medically diagnose themselves, change the oil in a car and now enroll in college classes. The UW System eCampus was created by merging Wisconsin’s 26 campuses (13 two-year and 13 four-year) to offer online degree and non-degree programs. Among these is UW Oshkosh. “It is a comprehensive portal, enabling [people] to search for programs, learn about those programs and easily locate advisers, an application or registration information,” the eCampus website states. The website is a place to pick a college that offers online classes to fit any type of degree, such as an associate, bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate. Other reasons for taking online classes are to earn a higher education while being able to continue working at a full-time job, take care of children or to save money by not having to drive to a campus.

http://www.advancetitan.com/editorial/staff-editorial-online-courses-save-time-limit-contact-1.1783454

Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed

There is an appropriate emphasis on relevant knowledge and skill development for degree and certificate students — that’s what gets employees retained and promoted. Professional contacts and networking are often what get them hired. It was Jerod Kintz who wrote, “It’s not who you know that matters — it’s who knows you that’s important. Personal branding builds up your reputation to the point where you have a presence even in your absence.” We may do an excellent job of educating and training our students, but if they don’t successfully make contacts, their careers may never reach their real potential. Read more for strategies to do just that.

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/blogs/online-trending-now/networking-gets-graduates-and-certificate-completers

Joel Schipper, WDRB

“The distance education fee is not a new fee, but one that has long existed for any asynchronous online course. A student taking any synchronous online course—with class sessions meeting live in online sessions—are not charged the fee. During this time of the pandemic, our costs for online instruction include paying for increased training and equipment while we continue to pay for the faculty and staff to deliver services both on and off campus. Nevertheless, if a student has signed up for an in-person course that has moved online due to the pandemic, they are not charged a distance education fee. We urge students with financial hardships to contact the financial aid office through Student Central to explore additional options that may be available.”

https://www.wdrb.com/news/some-iu-students-upset-over-distance-education-fees-during-pandemic/article_dddaaf70-546d-11eb-b7c3-5fe9e216b5aa.html

Class Central

Online learning is booming as a productive use of otherwise idle time during COVID-19 lockdowns. According to a new report from Class Central, the world’s most popular catalog of free online courses, major providers of massive open online courses (MOOCs) have recorded 180 million learners, making 2020 the most consequential year for MOOCs since their inception in 2011. One-fifth of the 100 most popular free online courses launched in 2020 are directly related to COVID-19. The top course, with over 1 million enrollments, is Johns Hopkins’ “COVID-19 Contact Tracing,” followed by Harvard’s “Mechanical Ventilation for COVID-19,” with 300,000 enrollments.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-other-surge-online-learning-leaps-in-lockdowns-301197072.html

Business Insider

In 2020, a record number of people turned to online learning as a source of hope, growth, and resilience amid economic uncertainty, and campus and workplace disruptions. The list of the ten most popular courses in healthcare domain in India was topped by Introduction to Psychology (Yale University), Social Psychology (Wesleyan University), COVID-19 Contact Tracing (Johns Hopkins University), Mind Control: Managing Your Mental Health During COVID-19 (University of Toronto) and A Life of Happiness and Fulfilment (Indian School of Business).

https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/online-courses-on-mental-and-physical-health-were-the-most-popular-in-2020/articleshow/79794139.cms

JESSICA STILLMAN, INC

Class Central just released a roundup of the most popular courses of the year. As you’d expect, the complete list of 100 includes lots of Covid-19 related courses on topics like contact tracing and moving lessons online (as well as perennial favorites like test prep and English as a second language). But it also contained some gems well suited to entrepreneurs and other professionals looking to expand their skills and improve their lives in 2021.

https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/class-central-best-online-courses-2020.html

LAURA ASCIONE, eCampus News
Contact tracing and location tech are just two examples of how universities are leveraging innovative tools to keep campuses safe during COVID. Across the nation, higher-ed leaders are grappling with the question of how they will ensure a continued safe on-campus environment for students, faculty, and staff in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Contact tracing and location technologies play a large part in universities’ ability to monitor adherence to safety protocols such as social distancing and track potential COVID cases.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2020/11/30/how-universities-are-using-technology-in-their-covid-precautions/

Joe Brandt, NBC10

Some college classes may not offer as many courses this fall if conditions change with the coronavirus pandemic. It’ll depend on whether that course can be brought online, or must be taught in person. But other fields of study require in-person contact for accreditation, or from sheer practice. Art schools are still planning to give students face-to-face time with an instructor in studio courses. Many technical programs with hands-on work also plan to do that in person. In either case, that will necessitate in-person contact during a pandemic that has infected more than 4.3 million Americans.

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/08/most-fall-classes-will-be-online-what-about-courses-that-cant-be.html

BY DAN ROBITZSKI, Futurism
Doctors in the U.K. have started using mixed reality headsets to communicate with their peers, drastically cutting down how many medical workers need to come into contact with COVID-19 patients. The Microsoft goggles let the wearer communicate with colleagues or request information like x-ray results from technicians waiting safely in a different room, BBC News reports. And while the idea seems alien at first, doctors told BBC News they think the technology will definitely help limit future spread of the coronavirus.

https://futurism.com/neoscope/doctors-mixed-reality-treat-covid19-patients

Karen Hao, MIT Technology Review

Covid-19 is accelerating job losses in an industry that was already automating work at a rapid pace. As the coronavirus crisis has dragged on, understaffed government agencies, grocery stores, and financial services have all scrambled to set up similar systems for handling a new influx of calls. IBM saw a 40% increase in traffic to Watson Assistant from February to April of this year. In April, Google also launched the Rapid Response Virtual Agent, a special version of its Contact Center AI, and lowered the price of its service in response to client demand.
https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/05/14/1001716/ai-chatbots-take-call-center-jobs-during-coronavirus-pandemic/

Erin Jones, Ray Schroeder, Ceceilia Parnther; Unicheck

Recently, the coronavirus pandemic caused all educational institutions across the globe to shift toward digital learning. This situation made the Unicheck team think about how we can help educators handle these tough times. So, we’ve contacted a few of the education industry’s thought leaders to discuss the challenges and ways to make this time effective and rewarding.

https://unicheck.com/blog/how-to-navigate-elearning-in-uncertain-times

Gideon Lichfield, MIT Technology Review

Social distancing is here to stay for much more than a few weeks. It will upend our way of life, in some ways forever. We all want things to go back to normal quickly. But what most of us have probably not yet realized—yet will soon—is that things won’t go back to normal after a few weeks, or even a few months. Some things never will. What counts as “social distancing”? The researchers define it as “All households reduce contact outside household, school or workplace by 75%.” That doesn’t mean you get to go out with your friends once a week instead of four times. It means everyone does everything they can to minimize social contact, and overall, the number of contacts falls by 75%.

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/615370/coronavirus-pandemic-social-distancing-18-months/

Nick Bilton, Vanity Fair

And yet a decade from now, on the eve of 2030, we’ll look back at today in astonishment at how primitive life was in 2019. By then, it’s likely that cars will drive themselves. They won’t even look like cars, more like traveling gyms or gaming cars or mobile beds to nap on during your commute. Some will fly. (Maybe most of them will.) The TV on your wall will be replaced by wallpaper that screens images. Your phone could be replaced with a contact lens, or some glasses that (finally) look like glasses. Siri or Alexa will feel like another human living in your house—a creepy, invasive, all-knowing human—that will not only be able to understand sarcasm and intonation but will be able to identify which family member is talking to it, and respond with sarcasm and intonation in kind. You won’t shop on Amazon; Amazon will know exactly what you need, and when you need it, and boxes of groceries or diapers or dog poop bags will just show up at your house in what some people are calling “zero click shopping.”

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/12/new-technology-2020-will-change-life-as-we-know-it

Matthew Lynch, Tech Edvocate

Classroom in a pocket? That’s right. It also means that students have in their hands, all the textbooks they might need, all the information related to their courses and even a means to interpersonal contact with their lecturers and other students. Mobile learning is growing in popularity. Did you know that 89% of smartphone users download apps, 50% of which are used for learning, and 46% of learners use mobile learning before they go to sleep at night? There are several mobile learning apps on the market, many of them free, but if you want to create your eLearning app, you need to keep the following factors in mind.

https://www.thetechedvocate.org/classroom-in-a-pocket-creating-a-mobile-elearning-environment/

By Grace D’Monte, ATD

Many working adults sign up for online courses to build their skills in their current profession or develop skills for a new profession they wish to pursue. These learners might already be working full-time jobs, so online courses for professional development are usually designed with flexible timing; however, learners face challenges beyond time restraints. The two main challenges that this group faces are feeling isolated due to limited contact with other learners and instructors and feeling detached from the lesson. These challenges often cause learners to feel frustrated and demotivated and may lead them to drop out of a course. So, how can designers of online courses address these issues?

https://www.td.org/insights/keeping-learners-motivated-in-online-courses

Jessica Hallman, Penn State

In a recent study, a team of researchers from Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology found that creating computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments could help students identify common characteristics and life experiences they share with peers, which can build community and increase the likelihood that students remain in the program. “The online world is missing social opportunities,” said Na Sun, doctoral student in the College of IST and lead researcher on the project. “Unlike face-to-face contact, it’s hard to reach out to others when you can’t see them. That kind of presence and sense of community is very important.”

https://news.psu.edu/story/581285/2019/07/19/research/how-do-distance-learners-connect

By Cait Etherington, eLearning Inside

In 2017, Western Governors University (WGU) was slapped with a huge bill from the federal government. Two years later, WGU has been informed that it doesn’t owe $730 million after all. If WGU is now off the hook, it is likely largely due to Secretary Betsy DeVos. But the WGU ruling also has broader implications for online learning nationwide. While it is unclear if the WGU audit was a direct factor, in early 2019, DeVos announced that she was changing the rules for what counts as a course at the postsecondary level. Her announcement has important implications for WGU and for many other online programs schools, since the change effectively means that federal funds can now be applied to a wider range of postsecondary courses. DeVos is proposing to give accrediting agencies more flexibility in approving programs that don’t fit traditional educational models. This includes courses that may not meet minimum benchmarks for instructor-student contact hours.

https://news.elearninginside.com/wgu-doesnt-owe-730-million-after-all-what-the-ruling-means-for-wgu-and-online-learning/