|
Online Learning News and Research
Times and Dates Coordinated Universal Time
|
Saturday, June 19, 2004
Preparing Students for Learning in an Online World - Francesca Lorenzi, Kay MacKeogh,
Abstract: This paper outlines the way in which Oscail (National Distance Education Centre - Ireland) has developed its technology strategy, from the initial research on student readiness to learn using technology to more recent studies which have identified the need for a programme specifically designed to prepare students for learning in the online world. The skills for learning are not necessarily innate, and in particular, the skills for learning with technology need to be recognised and made more explicit. However, regardless of discipline, the development of preparatory courses for students to equip them with the skills for eLearning is essential if maximum benefit is to be garnered from the potential of this exciting means of teaching and learning. The Student Passport for elearning (SPeL) programme has been designed as a learner-centred pedagogically driven module using a scaffolding approach to gradually introduce students to use of electronic media. Crucial to the success of the SPeL programme has been the level of support offered to students in pedagogical, technical and administrative terms. (2) comments
Wall Street Welcomes Blackboard - Ellen McCarthy, Washington Post
Seven years after two fraternity brothers started Blackboard Inc. in a Dupont Circle rowhouse, they watched its stock surge 43 percent in the District company's first day of trading as a public company. Stock in the online learning company was priced at $14 a share, began trading at $15.80, rose as high as $23.38 and closed at $20.01. The greeting Blackboard received from investors surprised some Wall Street watchers. The 43 percent gain is small in light of the triple-digit percentage increases that were typical during the dot-com boom years. But it compares favorably with other recent initial public offerings: Four out of six companies that went public this month slipped below their offering price on the first day of trading, said Richard J. Peterson, a market strategist for Thomson Financial in New York. (0) comments
Summer school numbers up 12% - Carla Roccapriore, RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Summer school course enrollment is up 12 percent this year in Washoe County after two previous years of decline.... Among new programs this summer is Washoe Online Learning for the Future, also known as WOLF. High school students making up lost credits or wanting to get ahead can sign up for online courses, which cost the same as traditional summer school and require guidance counselor approval. Middle-school students can make up a lost semester of eighth-grade language arts or math through WOLF. Creveling said 390 WOLF courses are being taken and that total is kept separately from traditional summer school courses. “Demand was so great I had to close WOLF June 1 because our funds that subsidize WOLF were gone,” Creveling said. Communication with WOLF instructors is available 24 hours a day and can be done by phone, e-mail or in a designated private chat room. Students must take their tests in person at the Regional Technical Institute. (0) comments Friday, June 18, 2004
Corinthian's Exclusively Online Student Population Tops 2,000
Corinthian Colleges, Inc. today announced that its exclusively online student population is 2,035, exceeding the company's goal of 2,000 exclusively online students by the fiscal 2004 year end on June 30. The company also announced that Florida Metropolitan University (FMU) has received approval from the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools to award three additional degrees that may be earned through exclusively online studies. The new degrees will be offered through FMU's online campus, FMU Online, and include bachelor of science and associate of science degrees in homeland security, and a bachelor of science degree in paralegal. FMU Online expects to begin enrolling students for these three new degree programs in July 2004. "The popularity of Corinthian's distance learning programs continues to accelerate," said David G. Moore, chairman and chief executive officer. "The growth of our online initiatives reflects the high quality of our online curricula and faculty, as well as student demand for this popular and flexible learning alternative." (0) comments
McGraw-Hill Higher Education Launches New Online Learning Division
Building on its leadership position in providing innovative electronic learning solutions, McGraw-Hill Higher Education today announced the formation of a new Online Learning division, aimed at accelerating its growth in online markets. JP Lenney, 49, who is president of McGraw-Hill/Irwin has been appointed president of the new division. McGraw-Hill Higher Education Online Learning will develop new opportunities in online courses and adaptive learning technologies, an emerging sector that includes solutions tailored to a student's capabilities. (0) comments
Education without strings - CPI
Intel today announced that the Abu Dhabi Men’s College will utilize the unique features of notebook computers based on the Intel Centrino mobile technology as it continues its PC refresh program to complete the deployment of laptop classrooms that will replace computer labs throughout the campus. The College, which has been a full wireless campus for 4 years, is planning to deploy hundreds of additional notebook computers this year for use by business, technology and engineering students to enable them to work effectively outside the classroom and utilize the college’s evolving online education programs. Some 700 notebook computers have already been handed over to new students and an additional number of laptops based on the Intel Centrino mobile technology will be purchased this year to make the most of wireless connection capabilities, performance and battery life for students, while using smaller form factors to make it ever easier for them to move around with their computers. (0) comments Thursday, June 17, 2004
President of Kaplan College Highlights Issues Critical to Expanding Access to Postsecondary Education
Andrew S. Rosen, President and Chief Operating Officer, Kaplan, Inc. and President, Kaplan College, testified this morning before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, calling for changes in the Higher Education Act that would provide more equitable treatment for non-traditional students. The hearing, "H.R. 4283, the College Access and Opportunity Act: Are Students at Proprietary Institutions Treated Equitably Under Current Law," addressed issues facing proprietary institutions of higher learning as they serve an increasing number of students seeking the skills and credentials to advance their careers. Accompanied by Kaplan College online alumna Christine Forestire, Rosen addressed committee members on the following issues: -- The 50 percent rules hinder the power of online learning and don't serve the needs of 21st century learners -- The reauthorization of the Higher Education Act presents an unprecedented opportunity to ensure that quality education and training options are available to all motivated students -- How the 90/10 provision has become a disincentive for companies to serve the neediest students who would receive the most federal aid. (0) comments
Students able to participate in virtual budget Web site - Thomas Bender, IDS
In the Federal Budget Allocation Activity, the general public, high school or college students can engage in the allocation of money to different agencies and learn the implications of their decisions for the entire budget. "This gives people a sense that when you are trying to increase expenditures in one area, you have to decrease them in another area," said Edward Carmines, IU professor of political science and Director of Research at the Center on Congress. "Otherwise you have to deal with a budget deficit and its negative implications for the economy." After creating a budget, people can compare their results with how Congress actually does allocate money. (0) comments
Rappahannock Community College hosts "Career Switcher" program - The Journal
The new statewide VCCS "Career Switcher" program-part of a wider state initiative-of nine programs-to develop and implement strategies to train and retain a new generation of highly qualified teachers-offers individuals with professional experience a unique opportunity to use a bachelor's degree as a springboard to a teaching license. While much of the work can be completed online, six regional sites where the program will be "centered" have been selected. Rappahannock Community College in Warsaw/Glenns is one of those sites, and RCC's Dr. Karen Newtzie is the director of the VCCS program comprising community colleges throughout the state. (0) comments Wednesday, June 16, 2004
Call for Nominations Now Open for 2004 Live Online Awards
The "Live Online Awards" guidelines were announced today, and nominations are now being accepted for The Lolas, which recognize outstanding achievement in the design, delivery and production of live online learning events. Complete submission instructions may be found on The Lolas website at www.TheLolas.com. The deadline for submission is September 15, 2004. Winners will be announced during a live interactive webcast on October 12th, from the Training Fall Conference & Expo in San Francisco, CA. The Lolas are sponsored by LearningTimes and InSync Center. "We're very pleased to sponsor The Lolas this year," said Jonathan Finkelstein, Executive Producer of LearningTimes. "We received wonderful suggestions from this year's judging panel and industry experts, and the 2004 categories reflect the diverse range of approaches to using real-time tools for effective teaching, collaboration and community-building online." (0) comments
Real Estate Educators Unhappy with Distance Learning Regulations
There is growing controversy in the real estate industry regarding the regulations and costs to create distance learning, according to RealtyU. During the last couple of years the frustration has been escalating and it appears to have reached a boiling point whereby private enterprise has decided to fight back and challenge the rules, regulations and fees. According to RealtyU CEO and co-author of a new white paper on the topic, Stefan Swanepoel, the advancement of distance learning within the real estate industry is being severely hindered by the current regulations. “The time has come for real estate industry to regain control over the future education of its participants,” he said. According to Swanepoel, courses should be presented in a manner that will stimulate learning, meet key objectives and focus on the user and his or her needs at any level. RealtyU says that distance learning, as regulated in the current climate, is focused not on the end user but instead on the mechanics of delivery and the needs of individual real estate regulators. (0) comments
A.D.A.M., Inc. Launches Interactive Anatomy Version 4
A.D.A.M., Inc., a leading developer of interactive health information and technology, announced today the launch of A.D.A.M. Interactive Anatomy Version 4 (AIA 4), the long anticipated upgrade to the company's flagship anatomy product for the undergraduate, medical school and allied health education markets. Presenting at the 18th annual meeting of the Human Anatomy and Physiologist Society meeting being held in Calgary, hundreds of leading educators from across North America will get a first-hand look at the innovative new features of AIA 4. The product is a DVD-based application that allows educators and students to digitally dissect human anatomy - skin to bone - with point-and-click capabilities for identifying over 22,000 anatomical structures. With AIA 4's robust annotation tools and built-in libraries of additional content, including 3D models and clinical illustrations, educators will be able to produce and publish curricula for a wide variety of teaching applications. (0) comments Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Italian students to get Drexel MBA expertise - Philadelphia Business Journal
Drexel University's LeBow College of Business will offer an online executive MBA program to students in Rome beginning June 23. The program is a collaboration between Drexel, the Marketing University ICT in Rome and Telecom Italia. The first group of students will consist of senior managers from Telecom Italia. Faculty from LeBow will travel to Italy to teach two courses in Italian classrooms. (0) comments
A fast track - Diana Thorp, Australian IT
Training job seekers nationwide in skills to improve their employment prospects is a "logistical nightmare" requiring courses in many centres, but Jobfind Centres Australia has recently gone down the e-learning route and deployed Click2learn's Aspen Enterprise Productivity Suite to offer 250 courses. "If we can measure e-learning by its take-up and by the enthusiasm for it, it has been a great success already," Jobfind Centres learning services national manager Joe Harrold, says. (0) comments
Permissions on Digital Media Drive Scholars to Lawbooks - TOM ZELLER Jr., New York Times
When some 20,000 first-year American medical students reported to their schools last summer, they received a free 20-minute multimedia collage of music, text and short video clips from television doctor dramas, past and present, burned onto a CD-ROM. "The patients you meet in the coming years may have doubts about you because of the doctors they see on prime-time television," the introduction reads. "The aim of this presentation is to explore why that is, and suggest what you can do about it." But the CD was perhaps more of an education for its developer, Joseph Turow, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication. "It's crazy," Professor Turow said of the labyrinth of permissions, waivers and fees he navigated to get the roughly three minutes of video clips included on the CD, which was paid for by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The process took months, Professor Turow said, and cost about $17,000 in fees and royalties paid to the various studios and guilds for the use of clips. The film used ranged from, for example, a 1961 episode of "Ben Casey" to a more-recent scene from "ER." (0) comments Monday, June 14, 2004
The educated blogger: Using weblogs to promote literacy in the classroom - David Huffaker, First Monday
This paper explores the role of weblogs or "blogs" in classroom settings. Blogs, which resemble personal journals or diaries and provide an online venue where self–expression and creativity is encouraged and online communities are built, provide an excellent opportunity for educators to advance literacy through storytelling and dialogue. This paper explores the importance of literacy and storytelling in learning, and then juxtaposes these concepts with the features of blogs. The paper also reviews examples of blogs in practice. (0) comments
How Bernadette reached her exam goal - Deborah Haile, Manchester News
When Bernadette Croston decided to study for a degree, she knew she was in with a sporting chance. The moment that her husband Bill turned on the TV at the start of a football match, Bernadette disappeared to the dining room to get on with her work until the final whistle. And all her hard work paid off when she picked up her BSc in health and social care from the Open University, at a ceremony at the Bridgewater Hall. It has taken the former nurse seven years to complete the gruelling course, but she's enjoyed it so much that she's already started a further BA course in social policy. She hopes to have completed it by 2007. (0) comments
SIUC Offering Aquaculture Certification - the Southern Illinoisan
Way down in Little Egypt, they're hatching a different kind of fish school. "We thought if we could do some type of certification course where people could learn aquaculture on their own time, this would be a great service," said Susan T. Kohler, associate director of Southern Illinois University Carbondale's Office of Economic and Regional Development. "We've been involved with writing business plans for fish farmers for several years now but have found that bankers are sometimes reluctant to write loans for them. They want to know that these farmers know what they're doing. Certification would give the bankers and other funding agencies a little more confidence." To offer the course, Kohler and her staff will rely on distance learning, which uses everything from satellites, cable TV, e-mail and the Internet to help instructors in one place teach students in a host of others. "The technology has been out there for a while," said Daniel A. Selock, who put together the first eight classes in what will eventually be a 16-class course. (0) comments Sunday, June 13, 2004
Employees keen to learn on-line, board finds - VIRGINIA GALT, Globe and Mail
Employers are finding an enthusiastic audience when they offer e-learning opportunities to their employees, says the Conference Board of Canada. "They value the flexibility, the increased control and the opportunity to develop themselves and increase their value to the organization that e-learning can provide," the Conference Board said in a report on e-learning in the work force. Currently, 77 per cent of Canadian employers provide e-learning to some degree. For employers, the main challenges to implementing e-learning -- the delivery of course content through electronic information and communications technologies -- are the costs of developing or purchasing the programs, the time required to develop them and "the need to be convinced of e-learning's effectiveness as compared to other training modes." However, the Conference Board found that employees do not need to be sold on the concept; they're ready to log on. (0) comments
Taxpayers pay for overseas tertiary students - TARA ROSS, New Zealand STUFF
Kiwi taxpayers are footing the bill for more than 1000 tertiary students who do not even live in the country. Investigations by the Sunday Star-Times reveal Kiwis living overseas and enrolled in extramural courses at New Zealand institutions attract all the funding privileges of students based here. At least 1000 ex-patriate Kiwis currently attract government subsidies, worth an average $1276 a student last year and up to $23,775 a student, and pay only domestic fees for their long-distance study. Ministry of Social Development figures reveal 103 of them are also receiving a student allowance - worth between $136 a week for a single student under 25 and $290 a week for a student with a dependent partner and children - despite the fact many of them are overseas residents and do not pay New Zealand taxes. At Massey University, 860 Kiwis are studying from overseas this year, in locations such as Afghanistan, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and the US. (0) comments
Cash windfall from foreign student flood - YAKUB QURESHI, Scotland Sunday
Scottish universities are preparing for a cash bonanza as the number of overseas students is predicted to double in the next 15 years. Students from outside the EU are currently charged fees of up to £22,000 a year to study at Scottish universities. Universities earn £159m from overseas sources in research contracts and tuition fees. It also brings over £142m into the Scottish economy from abroad in the form of spending by students and visitors. Education UK, a British Council body which promotes Scottish universities abroad, predicts that numbers of non-EU students will rise from 20,000 to 40,000 by 2020. Mark Simmonds, manager at Education UK Scotland, said remote teaching had allowed Scotland to get a firm toehold on the lucrative market. "It is now very difficult for a lot of students to study in the US. Following the impact of September 11, many are now being refused visas," he said. "Heriot-Watt University has the biggest distance learning MBA course in the world. Scottish education may increasingly be delivering to the rest of the world along those lines, which opens up the opportunity to vastly increase numbers." (0) comments Online Learning News Blog Archives OTEL - Ray's Home Page - Notebook - UIS Online - U of I Online - UIS Home Fair Use
|
Online Learning Update 
