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Online Learning News and Research
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Saturday, July 03, 2004
Turnitin to Integrate With Blackboard Solutions
iParadigms, the creator of Turnitin and iThenticate(TM), and Blackboard Inc. announced today that iParadigms has joined the Blackboard Developer Network(SM). This summer, iParadigms will use the Blackboard Building Blocks(TM) application program interfaces to integrate Turnitin's plagiarism prevention service with Blackboard's Learning System(TM) and Blackboard Portal System(TM). Clients who use Blackboard(R) software will be able to use Turnitin to perform plagiarism checks without ever leaving the Blackboard academic environment. (0) comments
College sets up fast-track testing - Wrexham Mail, Daily Post
YALE College is the first in Wales to use a rapid response mobile unit to provide on-line testing in Adult Literacy and Numeracy. Run by learndirect, the UK's largest on-line learning network, the testing unit was used at the College's Second Chance facility to test tutors who help deliver courses in Adult Literacy and Numeracy. Tutors must prove their own literacy and numeracy skills at Level 2, before being allowed to assist in a classroom. The learndirect Rapid Response Unit is available to learndirect centres in England and Wales - including public facilities such as community centres, factories, offices and other workplaces. (0) comments
Faculty Self-Study Research Project: Examining the Online Workload - Melody M. Thompson, JALN
ABSTRACT: Concerns about faculty workload in the online environment are a reported deterrent to participation in online teaching. To date, such concerns have been based primarily on anecdotal evidence rather than empirical research. This paper describes a project in which six faculty members teaching courses through the Penn State World Campus conducted studies of the comparative workload in the online environment. Results of the studies indicated that faculty workload for teaching these online courses, as measured by time on task, was comparable to or somewhat less than that for face-to-face courses. However, a differential "chunking" of productive time contributed in some cases to a perception of increased workload. The success of the project suggests it is a replicable model for investigating various elements of the faculty experience in the online environment. (0) comments Friday, July 02, 2004
Online Course Caps: A Survey - Boris Vilic, Syllabus
As online courses continue to permeate the curricula of many higher education institutions, administrators often raise the issue of a maximum number of students in a course—the “course cap”—as a factor that directly contributes to profitability and sustainability of online programs. Increasing traditionally low online course caps, one could argue, can help offset the costs associated with providing technical infrastructure and faculty and student support. But faculty fear that high course caps could have an adverse effect on their workloads and consequently on student learning outcomes.... The survey found that the average course cap is 30 students at the undergraduate level and 28 at the graduate level (with the range between 10 and 150 students at both levels). (0) comments
E-learning in Belarus: problems and prospects - Mikhail Doroshevich, Digital Media Europe
The fourth round table discussion within the framework of joint United Nations Development Programme-Belarusian government programme "ICT Support to Parliament", which took place in Minsk on 28 June, was devoted to the issues of using ICT in education. Belarusian and foreign experts, members of Belarusian parliament, representatives of educational institutions and businesses and other stakeholders participated in the discussion. Participants of the discussion agreed that education is one of the main keys to economic development and improvements in human welfare. As global economic competition grows sharper, education becomes an important source of competitive advantage, closely linked to economic growth, and a way for countries to attract jobs and investment. All these factors have encouraged an interest in the use of information and communications technologies (ICT) to deliver education and training. (0) comments
Albertsons Brings Deployed Americans Closer to Home on the 4th of July - PNN Online
Albertson's, Inc. announced that it is shipping 185 computers to Camp Anaconda in Central Iraq to connect family and friends with deployed loved ones in a contribution linked to celebration of 4th of July weekend. The donation comes in response to the US Army's concern that too few computers were available at Camp Anaconda, the main Army base camp in Iraq. This situation has resulting in limited Internet access and hundreds of troops in line, at any given time, waiting to communicate home. "I cannot even begin to express how much this project will mean to the soldiers of Camp Anaconda. In addition to bringing our troops closer to their families, this will also help other soldiers continue their education via distance learning," said First Sergeant Craig Haskell, 116th Engineer Co. CSE, UTARNG, Spanish Fork, Utah. (0) comments Thursday, July 01, 2004
The Case for Online Coursepacks and E-Books - Barry W. Birnbaum, Syllabus
While most universities offer online courses, the need for creating support materials that go with these courses remains an area for further exploration. Most instructors use chat rooms, PowerPoint, etc., to deliver instruction. One of the areas that is sometimes overlooked is the development of online textbooks or electronic course packs that go along with the online courses. In order for an online course to be truly digital, all aspects of it must be converted so that the student has similar experiences within this delivery system. Although some individuals feel that a traditional textbook is more appropriate, the difference in look, feel, and quality is almost the same when electronic books are adopted. Students have an option of downloading and printing the electronic materials or of just reading the material while connected to the Internet. (0) comments
UCF’S Exempary Faculty Support: an Institutionalized Ecosystem - Barbara E. Truman, JALN
ABSTRACT: The University of Central Florida was honored to receive the 2003 Sloan-C Excellence in Online Teaching and Learning Award for Faculty Development. The environment at UCF has doubled in the last ten years with the number of students, faculty, and developing campus locations. Rapid growth in brick and mortar on campus has not deterred the creation of a robust virtual campus where students and faculty interact essentially, but in different ways. Producing the faculty support architecture to achieve UCF’s instructional potential as a metropolitan research university is a constant struggle for staff. This article describes the dynamic interplay of UCF’s emerging ecosystem of institutionalized faculty support. (0) comments
Online university offers busy pastors many options - Linda Leicht, Springfield, MO News-Leader
Wayne Ogle is full-time pastor at a growing church outside Arlington, Texas, so going to seminary to get his degree seemed out of the question — until he discovered Rockbridge University in Springfield. Rockbridge has no campus. The new online school, housed in an office at Second Baptist Church, allows people like Ogle to take classes and continue working. Since January, he has been taking classes that will not only earn him a master's degree in the next few years, but provide him with practical, usable information for his work. "My church is already employing several things I've learned in my classes," said Ogle. "It's pretty immediate...." Rockbridge classes are held in a "virtual 24/7 classroom," said Daryl Eldridge, president and founder of the online university. All students have to do is log on to get lessons, participate in class discussions, ask questions and submit their work. (0) comments Wednesday, June 30, 2004
The Value in Online Learning: Perspectives from the University of Illinois at Springfield - Burks Oakley II, JALN
ABSTRACT: The value of online learning is analyzed from the perspective of the University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS). The first type of value (merit, worth) of online learning is discussed, with the conclusion that online learning is of significant value to various constituencies, including students, faculty, the institution, and society. A second type of value (cost-benefit) of online learning is analyzed and seen to be outstanding at UIS, compared to other online alternatives. Finally, the two types of value of online learning are related to the Sloan-C quality pillars. (0) comments
Online learning frees precious time - MIKE GORMLEY, Charlotte Observer
Sandra Laney-Haitt is busy. Real busy. Busy in the way that only working mothers can be. And since Laney-Haitt lives and works near Matthews, getting to class at Johnson C. Smith University, in west Charlotte, is difficult. So imagine Laney-Haitt's excitement upon learning that she can now attend class without actually being in class. "I think it's wonderful," Laney-Haitt said. Laney-Haitt is in a new online-only class at Johnson C. Smith University. Psychology of the Exceptional is an introductory course in special education. All students must pass the course to become teachers in North Carolina. Johnson C. Smith is offering the course online to reach nontraditional students who cannot attend class. (0) comments
Sloan Consortium Achieves Another Membership Milestone
The Sloan Consortium, an association of academic institutions and organizations that share information about effective online learning, has reached over 750 organizational members. This milestone comes only five short months after the announcement for 500 organizational members – an indication of the rapid growth of Sloan-C. The high level of expansion can be attributed to the increase in the awareness surrounding online learning and the collection of comprehensive information and resources about online learning that Sloan-C continues to circulate to its members. While Sloan-C activities began in 1993, institution membership didn’t begin until 2001, when 60 organizations came together as the Sloan Consortium. In the four short years since Sloan-C established organizational membership, the online learning arena has expanded significantly – creating an increase in demand for new research and information about online learning. Sloan-C has met and continues to meet this demand for reliable research and information with a high level of success through its publications, workshops, and conferences. (0) comments Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Tutoring Large Numbers: An Unmet Challenge - Helen Lentell and Jennifer O’Rourke, IRRODL
.... As Lentell has noted, tutoring has never been at the forefront of mainstream writing on distance education, at least not until fairly recently (Lentell, 2003). However, whilst tutoring might not be central to the writing about ODL in the north, the practice is somewhat different. Tutoring tends to be the less visible element of ODL, but it is no less essential than good materials and effective administration. Distance education cannot exist without tutors who provide feedback and guidance to students. This point is well demonstrated by, for example, the array of institutional handbooks on tutoring produced by distance education universities. In practice, established distance education providers typically invest considerably in tutoring and other forms of learner support (Rumble, 1997). Moreover, and certainly among learner support professionals, there is an implicit “preferred” model. This model assumes a relatively low student-to-tutor ratio, with the tutor offering proactive individual guidance and feedback. Such a model, however, is not easily transferable to a situation where the reasons for adopting distance education are limited numbers of teachers and limited access to educational provision. (0) comments
E-learning - the 21st century path to success - Online Recruitment
E-learning – it’s a term you may have heard, but did you know that over one million people in the UK have already used it to transform their lives? Britain has seen a massive growth in the popularity of internet-based adult education over the last decade, to the extent that it is currently revolutionising the way the country’s population learns. At the helm of the revolution is learndirect, the Government-sponsored initiative run by the University for Industry, which has helped 1.2 million people since 2000 to improve their workplace skills, boost their employability, or simply try something new. (0) comments
ECC Foreign Language Institute Japan Online - RTE Ireland
The ECC Foreign Language Institute Japan is establishing its first web learning centre outside of Japan at Harcourt Street in Dublin, with the support of IDA Ireland. ECC will provide live online interactive English language learning services to customers in Japan via the web. The centre will provide 30 new high quality jobs over the next five years for native English speaking graduates. The centre went live on June 1 with a number of tutors already employed. Recruitment is continuing. ECC provides English language teaching services to the Japanese market and is different from its competitors in that it uses broadband technology to provide its service. Students attend tutorials from their home using web conferencing technology. (0) comments Monday, June 28, 2004
Search Engine Technology and Digital Libraries: Libraries Need to Discover the Academic Internet - Norbert Lossau, D-Lib Magazine
With the development of the World Wide Web, the "information search" has grown to be a significant business sector of a global, competitive and commercial market. Powerful players have entered this market, such as commercial internet search engines, information portals, multinational publishers and online content integrators. Will Google, Yahoo or Microsoft be the only portals to global knowledge in 2010? If libraries do not want to become marginalized in a key area of their traditional services, they need to acknowledge the challenges that come with the globalisation of scholarly information, the existence and further growth of the academic internet [1]. (0) comments
Copyright excesses worry teachers, scholars - Corey Murray, eSchool News
When digital video first streamed into schools, many predicted it would one day revolutionize teaching and learning. But the threat of lawsuits and new copy-protection technologies are keeping educators from exercising their legal right to use portions of video and other digital media in the classroom, warned scholars and legal experts at a June 18 summit. "Knowledge Held Hostage? Scholarly Versus Corporate Rights in the Digital World," sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication, sought to find a place for digital media under the provision of "fair use"--a hotly debated exemption in U.S. copyright law that permits researchers and scholars to reproduce selected materials for educational purposes without the permission of the copyright holder. "Teachers and scholars are losing ground" in the fight to use digital media for educational or research purposes, American Library Association (ALA) copyright specialist Carrie Russell told eSchool News. (0) comments
Purdue, IU to offer dual degree in agribusiness - Jon Mills, Purdue Exponent
Purdue’s School of Agriculture and Indiana’s Kelly School of Business are teaming up to offer a dual degree program to prepare food and agribusiness professionals for leadership positions. The program will be a distance learning 27-month course in which students will earn two degrees. One degree will be an MBA from IU and the other a master of science in agribusiness from Purdue.... There will be five one-week residency sessions over the 27-month period; two will be at Purdue’s West Lafayette campus, one at IUPUI in Indianapolis and two at Indiana’s Bloomington campus. (0) comments Sunday, June 27, 2004
ADULT LEARNERS AND HYPERMEDIA ENVIRONMENTS - Rick Reis, Tomorrow's Professor
The posting is an extensive discussion on how to promote effective online, e-learning . It is from Chapter 5, From Text to e-Text - Message Design, in E-ffective Writing for e-Learning Environments, by Katy Campbell. "....The instructional paradigm is shifting from a teaching environment to a learning environment, with a focus on "practice-centered learning." This orientation aligns with adult learning theory (andragogy), in which the notion of self-directed learning is fundamental to the design of learning contexts. Hypermedia environments support self-directed, life-long learning if structured to stimulate and motivate learners to be able to independently locate the resources necessary to continue learning (Diaz, 1998). Technologies that facilitate self-directed, practice-centered learning and meet the andragogical challenge include hypermedia, real-time chats, threaded discussion, and tools such as VRML, Shockwave, and Java applets that make the Web interactive while delivering rich content. These technologies have been related to both learning and cost effectiveness, as they tend to influence the ways in which a learner represents and processes information (Kozma, 1991) as an active strategy in which he/she is required to structure the learning process as a co-designer of his/her own experience." (0) comments
A comparison of Female and Male Students’ progress through an asynchronously delivered web-based course - Hynes, Price, Lindner, Dooley, DEC 2003
The purpose of this study was to compare female and male students’ progress through an asynchronously delivered Web-based course. Content analysis techniques were used to describe student behavior in a graduate course delivered asynchronously over the Web. Students had 114 days to complete and submit all materials. No time constraints were placed on students as to when assignments should be submitted. Findings showed that female students engaged earlier, male students remained engaged longer, and female students completed the course sooner than male students. Male and female students’ overall performance in the course as measured by accumulation of points on assignments was similar. (0) comments
Distance Learning for Teacher Training in Brazil - Alvana Maria Bof, IRRODL
Abstract: Proformação is a distance teacher certification course aimed at providing training to 27,000 uncertified teachers in 15 Brazilian states. This innovative program organizes human and technical resources for delivering distance education in a cost-effective manner. Different from other institutional systems – which typically employ their own dedicated content, design, and instructional resource personnel, and accompanied by a large pool of administrative staff – Proformação leverages pre-existing learning resources such as content experts, technology specialists, instruction, and student support systems from several institutions. Proformação goal is to create a viable teacher certification course to upgrade thousands of non-certified teachers working in the field. Proformação is coordinated by an administrative unit of the Brazilian Ministry of Education. To support the program, an information system was implemented to continuously and consistently monitor the program’s activities and results. Results of an external evaluation have been positive; Proformação is regarded by some as an innovative model for delivering decentralized training opportunities to large student numbers. Therefore, the findings in this article may prove interesting to those charged with implementing distance learning initiatives in developing countries, in that the lessons learned in Brazil may help others interested in implementing similar distance training programs. (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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