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Online Learning News and Research
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Saturday, January 31, 2004
California State University System Expands Course Management Technology - Wayne Hanson, Converge
Earlier this year the California State University system (CSU) entered into an agreement with WebCT to make its course management system technology available to all 23 campuses. Since then, nine CSU campuses have upgraded to the WebCT Campus Edition 4.0 course management system, enhancing capabilities for quick course development, inter-campus collaboration and integration with enterprise applications on campus. New features include design wizards that automate common set up of home pages, syllabi, organizer pages, content modules, discussions, mail, calendars and chats. In addition, it contains an integrated Web authoring tool with spellcheck, providing course designers with what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) content creation; and an import feature that allows designers to easily incorporate IMS- and LRN-compliant learning objects in their courses. Designers can also create learning objects offline using applications such as Microsoft FrontPage and Microsoft PowerPoint and import them into WebCT Campus Edition with their structure and linking intact. (0) comments
The way to e-learning excellence - National Learning Network, UK
The new reference document Paving the way to excellence in e-learning has been produced by the NLN Materials Team at Becta, to share the procedures that are followed to ensure the e-learning materials commissioned for the NLN are of the highest quality possible. The guidelines cover pedagogy, accessibility (both design and technical requirements), technical standards and quality assurance. It also contains information about the implementation and dissemination activities carried out by the team to integrate the NLN materials into the post-16 sectors. http://www.nln.ac.uk/materials/downloads/pdf/paving_the_way.pdf (0) comments
More College Students Giving Textbooks A Pass - Susan C. Thomson, KRT
....Nobody is predicting that textbooks will go the way of slates and quill pens, but this is the digital age. Today’s college students learn not just from the printed word but from television and the Internet. Savvy professors have learned to supplement books with new media. “I have a sense that we are losing the attention of these younger people by being too book-oriented,” said Van Reidhead, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Missouri at St. Louis. “I think we have to learn how to re-engage this shorter-attention-span group of people.” Reidhead, like many professors now, requires less book and more online learning than he used to. He says he likes the Web for the flexibility it gives him to create links to topics of special interest that come up in class. (0) comments Friday, January 30, 2004
Cohort Learning Online in Graduate Higher Education: Constructing Knowledge in Cyber Community - Educational Technology & Society
Abstract This paper discusses a qualitative participatory action research study, which examined the nature of the cohort learning experience in an online master’s program, from both faculty and student perspectives. After describing this online master’s program in adult education designed from a social constructivist theoretical frame, this paper discusses two primary areas of findings related to cohort learning. First, were those related to the ongoing negotiation of the learning process: the importance of an opening residential; a consistent but flexible cohort structure; and building ongoing relationships. Second, were those related to the ongoing construction of knowledge: the role of team-teaching and the cohort model in transformative learning; the application of theory to real life practice, and the value of group support and collaboration in conducting research and constructing knowledge. Implications for practice are discussed. (0) comments
Predictions for 2004: E-learning visionaries look to the future - Lisa Neal, eLearn Magazine
What directions will e-learning take in 2004? Will we still call it e-learning? Will there be more or fewer vendors, products, or—most importantly—jobs? Will subject matter experts develop courses instead of instructional designers? Will we all play games and discover along the way that we learned more than ever before—and had fun in the process? Read on for predictions from some of the most thoughtful and opinionated people in e-learning. “In 2004 colleges and universities will finally stop thinking about using information technology (IT) and start thinking seriously about how IT can be used to improve student learning, increase student retention and serve students more cost effectively. IT will be viewed as a vital institutional investment rather than an operating expense.” —Carol A. Twigg, Executive Director, Center for Academic Transformation (0) comments
UNC-Greensboro Spin-off eLearning Dynamics To Launch PDA Product - Local Tech Wire
eLearning Dynamics has developed a new software program that it says will help universities and companies teach via personal digital assistant devices. The new product, LearnTracfx, will be released March 8 at wireless computer industry events nationally. (0) comments Thursday, January 29, 2004
Technology, a Strong Enabler for Nigerian Education, All Africa
With the increasing penetration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the country, Nigerian students from primary school through to University and beyond could find their learning environments improving dramatically, thanks to ICT. That's according to Kayode Jegede, the Territory Manager for Cisco Systems in Nigeria, who believes that technology is coming into its own and is having a positive impact on the education of Nigeria's next vocational generation. "In the past, the quality and breadth of someone's education was determined by their geographic location and daily schedule. Today, thanks to the Internet, CD-ROMs, and other electronic media, those limitations are falling away. PCs are becoming as common in classrooms and people are seeing their education opportunities expand," he points out. (0) comments
Technology is costing colleges: UWF students soon could share burden of paying for upgrades - Gina Pace, Pensacola News Journal
University of West Florida President John Cavanaugh envisions a campus where students have wireless, high-speed Internet access, classrooms are full of the latest computers and gadgets, and technology help is available around the clock. To do that, Cavanaugh and other public university presidents across the state want the authority to charge students a technology fee. The fee, which would be tacked on to tuition, would be a suggested $10 per credit hour - $120 to $150 for a student taking a full course load. Cavanaugh said technology fees are common at universities across the country, and UWF's information technology plan is key to keeping the university competitive. (0) comments
NICSA Partners with NECF In Support of First-of-its-Kind Online Program through UC Berkeley
The National Investment Company Service Association (NICSA) announced today that it is partnering with New England College of Finance (NECF) to promote a new online program with UC Berkeley Extension. This innovative and timely program, entitled "Accelerated Program in Financial Services", was created under the direction of an Advisory Board of senior management from prominent companies in the banking and investment management/mutual fund sectors. The program targets college graduates who seek industry knowledge as well as graduate-level education. The program has received funding support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and is recommended for seven to nine graduate credits in transfer into master's degree programs. (0) comments Wednesday, January 28, 2004
Designing Online Information Systems for Portfolio-Based Assessment: Design Criteria and Heuristics - Terence Love and Trudi Cooper, JITE
Executive Summary: This paper outlines the main findings of research about online portfolio information systems.... The research focused on the ways stakeholder value is created through different approaches to design composition. From this perspective, the paper explores issues relating to: the automation of administrative functions; matching context, discipline and technology; information storage; interface issues; quality assurance; equity issues; security, fraud and plagiarism detection; and the ability to realise curriculum innovations, such as providing and assessing evidence of professional skills and graduate attributes. The authors propose these are the central functional issues in designing of online portfolio assessment system and as such takes precedence over decision making about the technical means by which online portfolio systems are instantiated and implemented. (0) comments
English Football Association celebrates online first - UEFA.com
The English Football Association (FA) has launched its first online qualification - Psychology for Soccer Level 1 - as part of its FA Learning educational programme. This pioneering project is the first of its kind to be launched by any football authority, and is available to anyone with access to the internet. The course is aimed at coaches, parents and teachers of 7-12 year olds who wish to gain an introduction to psychology and understand the needs of players. (0) comments
CourseWork is overly expensive - Editorial, Daily Stanford
The original grant has expired from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation used to fund Stanford’s version of CourseWork, an Internet computer program that posts class assignments online. Maintaining the program in future years could cost as much as $730,000 per year, a high price that has left many questioning the importance of this technology on campus. A number of classes at Stanford depend on the CourseWork system, which many faculty use to post class announcements and links to documents such as syllabi, to organize section assignments and to enter in assignment grades. Since many professors have come to rely on CourseWork, it would be a shame to remove this important tool that professors can use to distribute materials and information regarding their courses. (0) comments Tuesday, January 27, 2004
Outlook: Opting for e-learning - Chandra Devi, Malay Mail, Malaysia
If you are a school leaver, you would probably be thinking about your options for the future, either to continue with your studies, get a job, or to work and study part-time. For those who want to continue with their studies, full-time or part-time, the opportunities are aplenty, what more with the availability of e-learning. School leavers who are so used to classroom learning should consider going online to acquire their qualifications instead of just narrowing their options to traditional brick-and-mortar institutions. They should not think of e-learning as a second choice to the traditional approach, but as a better alternative, says Professor Dr Khairuddin Hashim, chief technology officer and dean of Information Technology Faculty at Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (Unitar). (0) comments
Online training on the rise in Australia - Eric Wilson, SMH
A joint Federal and State Government vocational training initiative is spurring online curriculum development and use with generous grants, making cheap training available to industry. But are today's course management systems (CMS) flexible enough to fully exploit this growing range of publicly available online curriculums?The Australian Flexible Learning Framework, an Australian Training Authority initiative available through state education departments, has created 70 e-learning "toolboxes", and made them publicly available at nominal cost. Each toolbox contains about 400 hours of learning, representing about 15 "units of competency", based on nationally recognised accreditations. Anyone can grab these online resources, activities and user guides, and cobble together their own problem-solving training programs. (0) comments
Welcome to the eLearners Advisor
A free tool to help you determine if online education is right for you. What Is It? The eLearners Advisor is a quick survey that asks you questions related to earning an online degree. Your answers are instantly reviewed to evaluate your readiness for online education. What Do I Get? You will receive comprehensive results including feedback and suggestions about how you can be more sucessful as an online student, access to resources to help you, and assistance in finding an online degree that meets your needs. (0) comments Monday, January 26, 2004
Interactivity in computer-mediated college and university education: recent review of literature - Brent Muirhead, Charles Juwah; Ed Tech & Society
Introduction: Interactivity and interactions are critical in underpinning the learning process in face-to-face, campus based and distance and online education. Interactions serve a diverse range of functions in the educational process which include, for example: ; promoting active and participative learning on a one to one basis or within a group or learning community through social dialogue; ; enabling effective facilitation of learning to suit individual learner's needs and learning styles; allowing learner input to the learning process as well as enabling learners to take ownership and control of their learning; enabling the development of higher order knowledge and abilities, for example critical thinking, problem solving, judgement -/decision-making skills, reflection, etc.; providing effective feedback to inform on the teaching and learning process as well as enhance the quality and standards of the learning experience ( Fahy, 2003; Juwah, 2003 The rapid evolution of the information and communications technologies (ICT) and the Internet has contributed significantly to the phenomenal growth of distance and online education. (0) comments
Open Source Software: Two Learning Management Systems - Jim Depow, IRRODL
Abstract: This report is the second in a two-part series about open source (OSS) and free software (FS) systems in online education. These are rapidly emerging as alternatives to costly proprietary learning management systems (LMS) and content management systems (CMS). This report reviews two LMS systems and one CMS system, all developed on the OSS/ FS principle and available to users free of charge. (0) comments
Best Practice in Online Polling - Jim Klaas, IRRODL
Abstract: This report summarizes major polling design principles and practices, with particular emphasis on those affecting the integrity of online polls in distance education (DE). Specific consideration is given to the statement of polling objectives, the design of good questions and response options, online poll format, motivation of the respondents, and poll pre-testing.... The previous report in this series recommended the use of the term “online polling” in referring generally to “questionnaires, quizzing, survey and assessment products,” and further defined the online polling as an asynchronous or real-time process of information gathering, obtained via responses to question(s) mediated by Web-based formats. (0) comments Sunday, January 25, 2004
Embracing Disruptive Innovation with the Next Generation of E-Learners - Tana Bishop, Sloan-C View
Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen is well-known for his theory of “disruptive innovation.” In simplest terms, this is a strategy that organizations use to leverage changes (whether environmental or man-made) to their competitive advantage. For example, an enterprise may intentionally undercut its high-end product with a more moderately-priced version to gain some of the down-market share. Or, a business may view technology drivers as critical to their sustainability and adjust product, process, and pricing accordingly. (0) comments
Emerging Online Learning Environments and Student Learning - Carrie B. Myers, Dennis Bennett, Gary Brown, Tom Henderson, Educational Tech & Society
Abstract: New educational technologies and online learning environments (OLEs) are infiltrating today’s college classes and campuses. While research has examined many aspects of this permeation, one research gap exists. How do faculty perceive the learning experience in courses that use OLEs compared to courses that do not? One important factor that may influence faculty perceptions are their reasons for teaching with OLEs. This paper seeks to understand how faculty perceive OLEs as a function of their reasons for teaching with this educational technology. This paper also investigates whether faculty evaluations of OLEs differ based on gender and by years teaching. The results of the analysis reveal several noteworthy patterns. First, it appears that favorable opinions about the learning experiences in online learning environments are not because faculty are motivated to learn about new technologies per se, but because they want to update their vitas and teaching skills. Second, the results suggest that it may be harder to convince older and more experienced faculty to use new technologies compared to younger and less experienced faculty. These results apply to both male and female faculty and provide practical implications for universities and support services on how to recruit and then support faculty who implement educational technologies. (0) comments
Mississippi is one of four states still lacking accreditation laws - KAREN NELSON, THE SUN HERALD
Allen Ezell is an FBI agent who served on a diploma scam task force from 1980 to 1991. Although he's now retired and working in bank fraud security in Tampa, Fla., he offers some figures from his 11-year tenure with the FBI. He said federal agents dismantled 40 schools. In the process, they bought 40 bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees and two medical degrees; served 16 federal search warrants; got 19 federal grand jury indictments and 21 convictions. The charges were wire fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy, aiding and abetting, money laundering and counterfeiting. He describes levels of universities that issue unrecognized degrees: (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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