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Online Learning News and Research
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Saturday, March 20, 2004
Cash-Cow Universities: For-profits are growing fast and making money - William C. Symonds, Business Week
As another workday draws to a close in Phoenix, some 20 adults hurry from their offices to a marketing course at a nearby university. But rather than meet on a leafy campus, they head to class in a spartan, leased office building out by the airport. Their school: the U niversity of Phoenix, the nation's largest private university, with 96,000 students scattered among 134 satellite locations across 28 states. Instead of tenured faculty, over 95% of the university's lecturers are working professionals who teach only part-time. George Francisco, for example, a 23-year veteran of Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT ) who now runs his own food-brokerage firm, is the marketing instructor. Nor are the students primarily 18- to 24-year-olds. Like tonight's class, they tend to be working adults in their 20s and 30s who are looking to get ahead by finishing a B.A. or earning an advanced degree. (0) comments
E-learning emerges as fastest growing learning tool - AME Info
According to recent research conducted by the Dubai based Madar Research Group, the market is expected to grow at a compound average growth rate (CAGR) of 32 per cent. The growth in the e-learning market will cover content providers, technology providers and service providers to e-learning initiatives of the country's public and education sectors, as well as the corporate learning programmes of large corporations.... 'The UAE academic sector represents a substantial market for e-learning, from secondary to Higher education levels. While most people equate eLearning with a way of accessing courses online, the fact is that e-learning started to make inroads into the academic world with the increasing use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) at the classroom level,' said Anselm Godinho, Managing Director, IC&E, organisers of GETX. (0) comments
New acceptance of online learning fuels explosion - Patrick Garmoe, Daily Herald
Squeezing Elgin Community College classes into her schedule wasn't easy for mother of three Aileen Wilson-Young, but she thought it was the only way she would ever get her paralegal degree. Only when a required course was offered solely through the Internet did she grudgingly enter the world of virtual college. "I was very insecure," she said. "I was very worried that without the constant teacher feedback, that I would give up." To her surprise, she did not give up. In fact, she thrived. "It started out nerve-wracking, and it's become an incredibly good situation," Wilson-Young said. (0) comments Friday, March 19, 2004
Net aid for Palestinian students - BBC
Palestinian students caught up in the political troubles of the Middle East will soon to able to study remotely. With roadblocks, curfews and checkpoints a fact of life for Palestinians, the chance to log on to e-learning could make a big difference to their education. A university web portal is being set up at the Al-Quds Open University. Around 41,000 students in the Palestinian and Arab worlds will benefit from it. (0) comments
Online courses click with SC4 students - RYAN WERBECK, Times Herald
Teaching a class is as simple as turning on a computer for Cindie Wade. The St. Clair County Community College math professor is one of several instructors who teach courses online. SC4 started online courses in 1999 and continues to see growing enrollment in the program each semester. "As a college, the increases are more than we expected," said Linda Davis, coordinator of online learning at SC4. "I think the demand will increase." During the fall 2003 semester, 15% of the Port Huron college's students were enrolled in at least one online course. That percentage rose to 17% for the winter semester. (0) comments
Illinois Online Conference Announces 2004 Innovations Award Winners
The Illinois Online Conference for Teaching and Learning (IOC2004) today presented its first Innovations Awards to four unique recipients including the Center for Technology and Professional Development at Lake Land College; Lorraine Leo of the Jackson School in Newton, MA; The League for Innovations in the Community College; and Teaching in the Community College Online Conference (TCC). The IOC Innovations Awards recognize individuals and organizations advancing meaningful innovations in the education field. The IOC also unveiled five awards for Distinguished Presenters at IOC 2004, the second annual 3-day conference held completely online. The "Conference Wrap-up and Awards Program" premiered today and may be viewed at: http://www.learningtimes.net/ioc2004awards.shtml (0) comments Thursday, March 18, 2004
Korea's solid IT infrastructure spurs rapid growth of online education market - Yang Sung-jin, Korea Herald
Education is a major industry in Korea with millions of won being poured into the sector thanks to the country's unwavering zeal for higher education. Now, Korea's tradition-bound education institutions are facing a high tech challenge from online lecturers, multimedia-packed classes and cyber diplomas. It is hardly surprising that Korea is at the forefront of online education, also known as "e-learning," since the country boasts one of the most advanced broadband infrastructures in the world. More than 11 million households are hooked up to the high-speed Internet network. (0) comments
Confessions of an Early Internet Educator - Jack R. Goetz, DETC OCCASIONAL PAPERS
Introduction: Six years ago, Concord Law School (a division of Kaplan, Inc.) launched the nation’s first totally online law school. The genesis of Concord was a business plan I had written and submitted in the fall of 1997. Perhaps the ultimate in “creating a position for yourself,” I became the founding Dean of Concord because I had a vision of what an online law school should be in an established educational organization that had never previously developed degree granting programs. The last six years have been both humbling and exhilarating, much of which would make a great case study in learning as much from your students as they have learned from you. In this essay, I will attempt to reflect upon the lessons we have learned in a synopsis of what “works.” Ultimately, the growth of online learning during the past few years indicates that much of what we either created or stumbled upon can be replicated in other environments. (0) comments
No Third Degree for Diploma Mills - Ryan Singel, Wired
For a while, Sen. Susan Collins appeared to be the smartest woman in Washington, D.C. While serving in Congress at the helm of the Governmental Affairs Committee, the Maine Republican earned a bachelor's degree in biology and a master's in medical technology from Lexington University.... Collins, joined by Rep. Tom Davis (R-Virginia), asked the GAO to investigate the matter after reports surfaced last summer that a high-level employee in the Homeland Security Department claimed to have three degrees from a suspected diploma mill. In addition, Collins suspects that some employees even used federal tuition-reimbursement money to pay for the fraudulent diplomas on their office walls. The GAO's report is expected by the end of the month, and Collins plans to hold hearings on the matter in April. (0) comments Wednesday, March 17, 2004
DEVELOPING AN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ONLINE LEARNING - Alan Davis, Theory and Practice of Online Learning
Introduction: In 1995, distance learners at Athabasca University (AU) were surveyed about their access to and use of computers in their learning. About 25% of those surveyed responded to the effect that they had access to a computer and to the Internet. Interested staff members considered this proportion high enough to push ahead with all sorts of computer-based learning initiatives. By 2002, the number of students with access to the World Wide Web had grown to 93%, and the pioneers were smugly standing by watching their colleagues reinvent “the online learning wheel” (Athabasca University, 2002a). It was planned that, by 2003, as a result of the implementation of an e-learning plan, AU would officially be an “online” institution (Athabasca University, 2002b). As is the case with many other institutions and organizations, much has changed in a very short time. (0) comments
Your MIT Diploma: Coming to Singapore - Tatyana Lugovskaya
MIT will soon begin granting Master of Engineering degrees to students from the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University as part of the second phase of the Singapore-MIT Alliance. Starting next year, the students at the two Singapore universities will be able to attend MIT classes online via teleconferencing equipment, partly in the new Stata Center classrooms, and will also spend one semester on campus.... In addition, many schools have similar but lesser programs, such as Harvard’s Extension School that grants a degree of continuing education, he said. (0) comments
Profs join students in blogging - Lindsey Paterson, Michigan Daily
History Prof. Juan Cole’s weblog receives 200,000 page views per month — reaching people in The United States and Iraq with information about developments in the Middle East. He is one of the many individuals who have come to count on this Internet information medium to communicate with the public. A weblog — or blog, for short — is generally defined as a frequently updated website similar to an online journal or diary. Blogs contain personal observations and excerpts from other sources, and are an increasingly popular way to connect with the community. (0) comments Tuesday, March 16, 2004
University to use distance education in health department
Distance education will be an important element in enabling Africa University's new department of health sciences to link health care providers in Zimbabwe with experts at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Africa University's Faculty of Health Sciences seeks to train a leadership cadre of community and public health practitioners who will be able to function adequately in sub-Sahara African countries as managers of community health projects, district health managers, coordinators of district-level prevention and control programs targeting HIV/AIDS and other diseases. (0) comments
Get flexible with your learning
North Hertfordshire College has just launched a new Flexible Learning Centre, which offers residents in North Hertfordshire the chance to learn when and where they want. As an introductory offer, many of the courses are available FREE until the end of July. The new Flexible Learning Centre is ideal for people who are unable to come into college during normal opening hours, yet still want to gain a qualification. Courses are taught via distance or online learning, so you could study for a business course in the early hours of the morning or achieve an IT certificate without having to leave your house. (0) comments
RAND Report Implies Changes for Workplace Learning Professionals - Learning Circuits
A new report from RAND Corporation finds that slower workforce growth, technological changes, and economic globalization will have powerful effects on the U.S. workplace in this century. The report, "The 21st Century at Work: Forces Shaping the Future Workforce and Workplace in the United States" was prepared at the request of the U.S. Department of Labor to provide policymakers with a look at trends that might have an impact on the nation’s workers and employers over the next several decades. A large portion of the report is dedicated to e-learning, which it refers to as technology-mediated learning. RAND describes how technology is changing the delivery of workplace education and training, “Technology has great potential to support the education and training of the workforce prior to labor market entry and as a part of lifelong learning.” The report offers a quick review of current e-learning modalities, including simulations, collaboration tools, and so forth. (0) comments Monday, March 15, 2004
Hacker 'cancels' government exam via Blackboard - Lilly Rockwell, Daily Texan
Students in Peter Trubowitz's Government 360N class received an e-mail Feb. 29 that every student hopes to get the night before an exam. It said, with no explanation, the test was postponed until a later date, according to Katherine Sayre, a journalism senior and student in the class. Unfortunately for the students, Trubowitz said the e-mail was sent from a student in the class pretending to be him. The student even went so far as to create an e-mail account using Trubowitz's name, the government associate professor said. "Whoever did this spent a lot of time compiling e-mails that might have been better spent studying for the exam," Trubowitz said. (0) comments
Learning mix adds human touch to the Internet - South Africa Cape Times
Electronic learning, or e-learning is the use of computers and the internet as a learning method. Although e-learning is cheaper and faster than sending employees off for classroom-based, instructor-led training, it lacks the human interaction element, says Gary Galanti of Bridge People and Technology. He advocates a training method that combines classroom and mentoring programmes with e-learning, calling it "blended learning". (0) comments
Middle East goes global with e-Learning - AME Info
.... Universitas 21 Global was introduced to the Middle East last year, and is the first Business School offering an online MBA programme. This unique and innovative approach has been well received in the Arab world and since our launch in August 2003, we have had over 800 applications for the programme and these students come from all around the world including Asia, Europe, the USA, Latin America and even Africa. A joint venture between Universitas 21 and Thomson Learning, a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers, Universitas 21 Global is a consortium of 16 world-renowned universities. (0) comments Sunday, March 14, 2004
VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS: A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO ONLINE LEARNING, Fathi Elloumi, Theory and Practice of Online Learning
Introduction: Distance education uses mediated information and instruction,encompassing all available technologies and a variety of other forms of instruction at a distance, to deliver knowledge and skills to the learner. Online education is an extension of the traditional form of distance education. Typically it involves the use of the Internet to access learning materials; to interact with the content, instructor, and other learners; and to obtain support during the learning process, in order to acquire knowledge, to construct personal meaning, and to grow from the learning experience. (Ally, 2004, p. 5) Online education includes mechanisms to facilitate the development of and access to a variety of learning services; an underpinning technological platform; means to help potential learners select and enrol in learning experiences; and supporting administrative processes. Strategic planning questions about the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in education must work in a context of constant and accelerating change that demands flexibility in the design of the online learning institution’s structure and course and program offerings. The use of technology must be embedded within a wider strategy for teaching, learning, and service that is responsive to the challenges of technological change (Bates, 1999). (0) comments
Caution advisable in gauging online classes - BRIAN BANDELL, Miami Herald
.... Many online programs have reported tremendous growth. The student body at University of Phoenix, the nation's largest private university and the largest online university, leaped from 14,000 students in 2000 to 90,974 in fall 2003.... Kaplan College, owned by the standardized test tutorial company, has increased the number of online students from 42 in 2000 to more than 14,000 now, said Kaplan President and Chief Operating Officer Andy Rosen.... And Nova Southeastern University has recently expanded its campus in Davie, but it continues to be a leader in distance learning. (0) comments
Online learning expands opportunities - Cheryl Weiss -- The Lompoc Record
Going to class isn't what it used to be. The fastest growing group of classes at Allan Hancock College are online and an increasing number of students are attending Allan Hancock College when (and where) it fits their schedule. With advances in technology, students are earning college credits in a wide range of topics from their home or office computer. (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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