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Online Learning News and Research
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Saturday, January 19, 2002
http://www.uwiretoday.com/computing011802006.html Web engine could help honor code By Shannon Richardson, Daily Texan (U. Texas-Austin) (U-WIRE) AUSTIN, Texas -- A specialized search engine now available to educators at no cost may help the Cabinet of College Councils in its mission to develop an honor code that discourages students from engaging in scholastic dishonesty. Questia Media, the world's largest online electronic library, announced this week the availability of its search engine, free of charge for qualified educators. The search engine can be used by students for research purposes as well as faculty to confirm genuine student work to deter plagiarism.... (0) comments http://www.uwiretoday.com/computing011802001.html Online essay editing services cause concern at Stanford By Kristen Bell, The Stanford Daily (Stanford U.) (U-WIRE) STANFORD, Calif. -- The increasingly competitive college admissions process is driving high school students to new lengths, such as high-priced personal counselors and schedules packed with extracurriculars. But one trend, in particular, is sparking worries among admissions officials at Stanford University and nationwide -- the use of online essay editing services.... (0) comments http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,49343,00.html Kevin Bacon: You've Got Mail By Kendra Mayfield Can anyone in the world reach anyone else through a chain of just six friends? In 1967, sociologist Stanley Milgram created what is known as the "small world phenomenon," the idea that every person in the United States is connected by a chain of six people at most. Milgram's "six degrees of separation" theory has trickled down through popular culture, inspiring renditions such as the Kevin Bacon game. But Milgram's theory has gone largely unproven for more than 30 years and hasn't yet been repeated with any success. Now, two separate research projects are using electronic communication to test the small world phenomenon. Sociologists at Columbia University are testing Milgram's theory on a global scale by tracing e-mails one chain at a time. Columbia's Small World Research Project is enlisting people from all around the world to send thousands of e-mail messages to reach target individuals using only personal contacts.... (0) comments http://www.apc.src.ncu.edu.tw/apc/allanmedia.htm The Role of Different Media in Designing Learning Environments Allan Collins, Northwestern University, Boston College Peter Neville, Northwestern University Katerine Bielaczyc, Boston College Abstract As a broader array of communication tools is developed, designers of learning environments need a better understanding of what kinds of communication each medium is best suited for. Each of the new media have different affordances and constraints. One of our principles for the design of learning environments is "sender unto each medium what it does best. This paper is an attempt to state some of what we know about what different media are good for.... (0) comments Friday, January 18, 2002
http://www.uwiretoday.com/computing011702003.html Blackboard allows students, teachers to interact via Internet By Genevieve Klein, The Daily University Star (Southwest Texas State U.) (U-WIRE) SAN MARCOS, Texas -- The lines of communication between teachers and students are opening thanks to developing classrooms and Internet technologies. Even this semester has shown an increase in the number of professors using Blackboard as a way to communicate with students outside of class.... (0) comments http://www.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/A3846.cfm LSU Expands Distance Learning Program Through Online Learning Solution Thomas Lynch, Professor of Public Administration Louisiana State University (LSU) and its Ourso College of Business, like many leading universities, had the challenge of providing the highest quality of education to as many students as possible with limited physical space and resources. The implementation of an online learning program is alleviating the need for more classrooms by providing instructors, like myself, with the means to publish lecture material online, as well as giving students an alternative for accessing the information from a lab or residence instead of physically coming to a lecture hall. Students had been accessing online resources through two campuswide learning management systems - CourseInfo by Blackboard and SemesterBook, developed by LSU's division of computing services - which provided a navigational framework for content and communication with instructors.... (0) comments http://www.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/A3839.cfm Big Ten School in Cyberspace - A Brief History of Penn State's World Campus By Christopher Hons In his 1996 State of the University Address, Penn State's President Graham Spanier first outlined his ambitious goals for a new, "virtual" Penn State campus - the World Campus. "I believe the World Campus will change the shape of the land-grant university in the 21st century," said Spanier. "We are creating a university without walls that can provide anytime, anywhere access to learning. This will have a powerful impact on the education and training needs of the people of Pennsylvania and learners worldwide."... (0) comments http://chronicle.com/free/2002/01/2002011801u.htm New Book by Critic of Distance Education Describes Privacy Threats By JEFFREY R. YOUNG Distance education threatens the privacy of students and professors because online class discussions can be monitored in ways that are impossible in traditional classrooms, argues David Noble, a history professor at York University, in Toronto, and a well known critic of technology.... (0) comments Thursday, January 17, 2002
http://www.uwiretoday.com/computing011602002.html Internet increases cases of plagiarism By Malia Spencer, Mustang Daily (California Poly State U.) (U-WIRE) SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- It's 11:30 on Sunday night and your six-page paper on the East Asian economic crisis is due tomorrow at 8 a.m. To save time and energy, you log onto a Web site your friend told you about and up pops a paper that fits your criteria; and for the price of $48 it can be yours to download and turn in. Or you slave away on a paper for weeks only to be told by your professor that your citation was insufficient and to avoid a plagiarism charge you must redo it.... (0) comments Wednesday, January 16, 2002
http://www.uwiretoday.com/computing011502006.html PDAs push independent study courses into 21st century By Emily Andersen, The Daily Universe (Brigham Young U.) (U-WIRE) PROVO, Utah -- The Department of Continuing Education at Brigham Young University is advancing their independent study courses with the aid of personal digital assistants, or PDAs. "People can access the course, submit assignments and receive feedback, all while riding on the bus," said Justin Johansen, an administrator with Independent Study and one of the developers of this program.... (0) comments http://www.distance-educator.com/dn/dnews.php4?action=detail&id=6050 UMass Lowell Offers Fiber-Optics and Photonics Certificate Programs Online Source: UMass Lowell Online Learning Whether looking to shift careers or just understand the ins and outs of fiber-optics, UMass Lowell's new online graduate certificate in Photonics and Optoelectronics offers a convenient solution. UMass Lowell Online Learning, the largest online course provider in New England, allows students to earn a degree or certificate from their home or office computers at their convenience using the web, email, online chat, and other Internet-based resources.... (0) comments http://www.distance-educator.com/dn/dnews.php4?action=detail&id=6052 State University of New York and WebCT Announce System-wide Licensing Agreement Source: WebCT via Distance-Educator.com ALBANY, NY and LYNNFIELD, MA – January 15, 2002 –The State University of New York (SUNY), and WebCT ... have signed a three-year agreement which allows all of SUNY’s 64 campuses and programs to license WebCT, higher education’s top course management system. The State University of New York, a unified statewide system of 64 campuses, enrolls 382,000 students and employs more than 75,000 faculty, administration and staff.... (0) comments http://www.syllabus.com/syllabusmagazine/article.asp?id=5914 A New Methodology for Evaluation: The Pedagogical Rating of Online Courses Nishikant Sonwalkar In articles appearing in our November and December issues, Nishikant Sonwalkar examined the elements of online learning within the structure of a “learning cube.” Here, he proposes an instrument for evaluating online courses based on those elements.... [Ed Note: While the cube addresses many important aspects of online androgogy, I feel that ths approach runs the risk of over-quantifying the art of teaching and learning and losing sight of the outcomes of the experience. -Ray] (0) comments http://chronicle.com/free/2002/01/2002011601u.htm U. of Maryland's Online Program Reaches Out to Students of Naval War College By MICHAEL ARNONE Military officers seeking to improve their chances for promotion both within the armed services and in the civilian world can now transfer credits from a program at the United States Naval War College to a new online master's-degree program offered by the University of Maryland University College.... (0) comments Tuesday, January 15, 2002
http://www.horizonlive.com/lecture/index.html Teaching Online Online Education -- Jan 22, 4:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern time - Audio of a lecture by Susan Boyd, an information-technology professional and author of Accelerate Computer Learning with Analogies, about teaching online courses. from http://www.chronicle.com/events/ (0) comments http://www.cetis.ac.uk/content/20011205145403/viewArticle New BSI guidelines 'herald coming of age' of computer-assisted assessment Scott Wilson, CETIS staff The increased use of computers in assessment has brought with it new concerns over issues such as fairness and security. Responding to these and other concerns, the British Standards Institute (BSI) has issued a new draft set of guidelines that provide a minimum set of requirements for organisations making assessments using computers. The new draft standard, "Code of Practice for the use of IT for the delivery of assessments", also known as BS 7988, provides guidelines for fairness, security, authenticity, and validity of assessments.... (0) comments http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=935 MEPP: A Case Study in Online Education by Greg Kearsley In May 2001, the first cohort of 22 students graduated from the Masters of Engineering in Professional Practice (MEPP) program at the University of Wisconsin (UW) at Madison. These students had just completed two years of study (a total of 10 courses) primarily in a Web-based online environment, except for two on-campus sessions, each of which lasted less than a week. According to the graduates, this learning experience was rewarding and contributed to significant professional development. Not only does the program allow students to complete a graduate degree in a more convenient manner than traditional on-campus classes, but it also provides a high quality outcome. This case study examines how the MEPP program has been successful in a variety of ways.... (0) comments Monday, January 14, 2002
http://www.elearningmag.com/elearning/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=6709&pageID=1 Discovery Learning: Repurposing An Old Paradigm - How to make learning active and student-centered Michael Allen, Ph.D., e-learning Magazine The future of corporate e-learning is a back-to-the-future story. How do people really learn-and what do they need to know? These are perennial questions for educators-from Socrates in ancient Greece to Seymour Papert in the MIT artificial intelligence lab. Unfortunately, corporate trainers and instructional designers have tended to overlook these questions in the frantic race to computerize learning activities.... (0) comments http://www.dailynews.com/news/articles/0102/13/new07.asp Higher learning on the Internet By Mariel Garza With two young children, a full-time secretarial job, and a husband who works 60 hours a week, Lisa Frakes feared she would never complete her bachelor's degree at California State University, Northridge. Then she discovered she could take Internet classes from home, allowing her to pursue her degree without sacrificing her job, family or sanity. "Since I'm an older student in my 30s and returning, it was easy because I am so focused," Frakes said. "It worked out really well." Frakes is among scores of college students in the San Fernando Valley who are taking advantage of the convenience of online courses. Students said online courses allow them to access course material from anywhere, discuss problems with instructors via e-mail, check their grades and even take quizzes.... (0) comments http://www.uwiretoday.com/computing011102005.html Georgetown implements anti-cheating software By Meredith McCloskey, The Hoya (Georgetown U.) (U-WIRE) WASHINGTON -- Georgetown University has taken steps to halt plagiarism throughout the academic year with the implementation of new anti-cheating software from turnitin.com. The software was created in 1996 and is used globally, including all California State universities and many other institutions nationwide. The plagiarism prevention system identifies content taken from Internet sources, which enables a professor to distinguish quotes that may be cited incorrectly or not at all. ... (0) comments http://www.redandblack.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2002/01/10/3c3da67d763b8 Proposal could get syllabi online at University of Georgia By ERIN SELLERS The Student Government Association is preparing to vote on a proposal that could save students a lot of time, money and frustration when registering for classes. The Academic Service Proposal, which would require professors to post syllabi on the Internet before students register, was made last semester by Obiajulu Okuh, Andrea Whitaker and Josh Gill in a technical writing class... (0) comments http://chronicle.com/free/v48/i19/19a03301.htm Colleges, Fighting U.S. Trade Proposal, Say It Favors For-Profit Distance Education By ANDREA FOSTER The outcome could affect many institutions' plans to go after lucrative foreign markets... A little-known proposal by U.S. officials to remove international trade barriers to higher education has infuriated many college leaders, who say federal policy is being unfairly set by for-profit-education providers, including distance-education institutions. The college officials say the proposal could end up undermining many institutions' independence.... (0) comments Sunday, January 13, 2002
http://www.uwiretoday.com/computing011102002.html Duke council narrowly approves online data By Kenneth Reinker, The Chronicle (Duke U.) (U-WIRE) DURHAM, N.C. -- Data from course evaluations will continue to be available online -- at least for now -- after the Duke University Arts and Science Council narrowly approved a motion to release the data through ACES during spring registration. After a contentious meeting Thursday, the council voted 18-16 to make available data gathered from fall 2001 course evaluations; the decision does not guarantee the online availability of course evaluation data in the future.... (0) comments http://www.elearningmag.com/elearning/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=6703 A look at the future of e-learning By: Michael Welber, e-learning Magazine Crystal balls have never been reliable but this year's may be cloudier than most. Anyone from stock analysts to industry consultants to media reporters who might stake their reputations upon predicting the future of any industry should look to this past year as a lesson in humility.... No matter what happens, however, just about everyone agrees that e-learning is here to stay. As bandwidth difficulties are resolved and the training companies better understand how to use the new medium, the industry can only grow. Just about everything else, however, is still up for grabs.... (0) comments http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/217778p-2090212c.html ERIN TEXEIRA: A new twist on yoga classes Special to the Los Angeles Times (January 12, 2002 7:28 p.m. EST) - By all appearances, I had begun to worship my computer. Sitting cross-legged on the floor of my darkened study, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and chanted at the monitor. "Ooooommmm." Halfway across New York, a dozen people added their voices to mine, filling the room. Quite possibly, others joined us from Oregon, Japan and Oklahoma.... (0) comments Online Learning News Blog Archives OTEL - Ray's Home Page - Notebook - UIS Online - U of I Online - UIS Home Fair Use |
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