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Online Learning News and Research
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Saturday, December 04, 2004
A Balancing Act: Improving Student Online Discussion Participation - Bhupinder Virk, Instructional Technology and Distance Learning
Increase in student participation in an online course results in increased learning (Roblyer & Ekhaml, 2000). Many online instructors, in the hope of improving student participation, include discussion forums in their online courses. However, inclusion of discussion boards does not automatically ensure increased learning and student satisfaction. Understanding how students participate in an online course is the first step to determine how to best engage students. (0) comments
Navy leader praises training `revolution' at Pensacola ceremony - BILL KACZOR, Associated Press
The Navy's top officer said a "revolution in training" using the Internet and other technology is making sweeping changes in his service as he welcomed a new leader to the reform effort Friday. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vernon Clark said that Vice Adm. J. Kevin Moran, whose previous job was to implement training policies, was the ideal person to now set those policies as the Navy's new "chief learning officer." Using the Internet, CD-ROMs and other distance learning technology, some training has shifted from classrooms to the field. It also more narrowly focuses curriculum so sailors don't get bogged down with information they'll never use and tailors studies to individual needs. (0) comments
Learning Circuits E-Learning Trends 2004 - Ryann Ellis, LearningCircuits
In August and September of 2004, Learning Circuits ran two separate online surveys. The first survey, “Learning Circuits Annual Trends Survey,” asked LC readers about their general use of e-learning. It focused on respondents’ current level of involvement in e-learning and budget dollars dedicated to e-learning. The second questionnaire, “Learning Circuits E-Learning Readiness Survey” asked respondents about specific tools they were using and to indicate management and employee support levels for e-learning. Combined, the results from these two surveys shed light on developing trends among organizations using e-learning. (0) comments Friday, December 03, 2004
Encouraging Interaction in Online Classes - Brent Muirhead, Instructional Technology
Promoting and maintaining interactivity within online classes continues to be a vital concern among distance educators. The current discussion will explore instructional strategies to foster online interaction. Research literature continues to affirm the central role that online instructors play in creating a dynamic and academically effective learning environment. Palloff and Pratt (2001) state “the key to success in our online classes rests not with the content that is being presented but with the method by which the course is being delivered” (p. 152). (0) comments
Alarm over loss of vital UK college courses - John Clare, Telegraph
University degree courses of national strategic importance should be protected from closure, Charles Clarke, the Education Secretary, said yesterday. At the same time, MPs accused ministers of failing to prevent the closure of more than 100 science departments in the past 10 years.... To reduce the costs of keeping courses going, he suggested that the council might look into ways of compressing three-year degrees into two, encouraging more distance learning and e-learning and promoting research collaboration between universities. (0) comments
Cyber learning in full swing at Blackfeet Community College - John McGill, Glacier Reporter
"I'm here to support the WebCT," said John Usher, technical coordinator for the Burns Center at Montana State University-Bozeman, Monday at Blackfeet Community College. He and BCC Distance Learning Coordinator Cheri Valdovino have set up computers at BCC with the MSU-developed WebCT program designed to offer local students access to courses online, with credits transferable to the MSU system. "We have instructors here developing courses to offer online," said Valdovino, "so there are teachers here for advice. There are real people available." (0) comments Thursday, December 02, 2004
Escaping the Comparison Trap: Evaluating Online Learning on Its Own Terms - John Sener, Innovate
Online learning has entered the mainstream of American higher education. Millions of students are taking online courses, and enrollments are projected to triple over the next several years (Symonds 2001). The majority of American college students are now using the Internet for their course work (Jones 2002), and more than one-third of all college courses use online course management tools (Green 2003). Although its rapid growth and increasing acceptance has somewhat muted the once-loud voices of its critics, online learning still struggles with lingering perceptions that it is somehow inferior, unproven, and limited in application relative to traditional classroom instruction. For this reason, online learning programs and courses receive closer scrutiny than their traditional counterparts. (0) comments
THE DOs AND DON'Ts OF ONLINE LEARNING - Judy Donovan, Tomorrow's Professor
I wanted to get many instructors' points of view to include in this chapter, so I posted questions in an informal survey to listservs and online college faculty bulletin boards. I also emailed the entire faculty at one online college. Over fifty online instructors responded, and what struck me was how similar their answers were. There does seem to be general agreement in what instructors appreciate and don't appreciate in their students. (0) comments
FURTHER IDEAS ABOUT "DOs AND DON'Ts OF ONLINE LEARNING" - Amram Eshel, Tomorrow's Professor
A recent posting in TOMORROW'S PROFESSOR(SM) MAILING LIST entitled "THE DOs AND DON'Ts OF ONLINE LEARNING" presented a rather grim view of the experience of instructors who are involved in this mode of teaching. This is a discouraging situation when we think that we make a great progress investing large amounts of money and human resources in making the on-line platforms available and end up with disappointed and frustrated instructors. These feelings are probably reciprocated by similar ones at the students' side. Reading the entries in this posting made me realize that many of the complaints raised with respect to the way the students behave in on-line environment are not unique to this mode of learning, but are relevant to learning situations in general. (0) comments Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Apologies for Late Postings
Blogger has been experiencing difficulties with some of their database servers. Previously, this has affected the Techno-News Blog. This morning, however, the Online Learning Update Blog and the Educational Technology Blogs were unable to record postings. From Blogger.com: We've had to restart the databases multiple times today because of server freezes. During the freezes, users would have encountered error pages when trying to access their blogs.We're planning on a number of improvements this week to address this very serious situation. First, we will be pushing new code to both gather information on these freezes as well as revise some features to put less strain on the database. Second, we will be effectively doubling the number of machines used to handle the db workload. (0) comments
Developing On-Line Courses for Visual / Kinesthetic Learners: A Case Study - Stephanie A. Clemons, ITDL
According to brain-based theory, learning is an active process in which students are challenged, offered ambiguities, and presented situations (Lucas, 2004). Learners need to be provided with many opportunities to make associations with knowledge and skills that they possess, yet form new thinking patterns and make new connections with presented content (Lucas, 2004). Most students have a preferred and secondary modality for learning that applies to traditional as well as online learning environments. Educators are quite aware of the learning styles that involve receiving information through 1) auditory (hearing), 2) visual (seeing), or 3) kinesthetic (physically experiencing or emotionally sensing) means (Lucas, 2004). This paper offers a case study concerning how two online courses were developed for design students using their preferred learning modalities: visual and kinesthetic. Implications for online educators are discussed. (0) comments
MUK Library Goes Digital - Dennis D. Muhumuza, The Kamapla Monitor
Makerere University Library is undergoing a digital revolution with the new Digital Library Project. According to Elly Amani Gamukama-the Systems Administrator of the main Library, the University has created a local digital content. "In order to enhance e-learning, the library has started digitalising selected collection for online access through the library Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) also known as MakLIBIS (Makerere University Library Information System)," he says. Gamukama who is also the Project Manager MakLIBIS hints that an electronic card-based catalogue will replace the print-based periodical indexes. (0) comments
Online courses for new engineers - Birmingham Post
BAE Systems and Cranfield University are to roll out a range of new groundbreaking online learning courses which they claim will raise the overall capability of the company's engineers. The two partners says that the mechanics and structures engineering courses are groundbreaking in terms of the scale of the tutor-led training they offer - and the fact that they can be directly delivered through BAE Systems' corporate intranet or via Cranfield's own website. This allows delegates to learn from home or while on placement abroad as well as in-company. The courses are also delivered at a fraction of the cost of teaching by traditional methods. (0) comments Tuesday, November 30, 2004
The true potential and promise of online learning - Jack Wilson and David Gray, Mass High Tech
It has been said that it is easier to move a graveyard than to change the culture in higher education. Today, however, even the most steadfast late adopter of technology in academia will probably admit that e-learning and the Internet have become inextricably rooted in higher education. Perhaps online education’s journey from the edges to the center of higher education has been more of a revelation than a revolution. Stronger online programs and better student services have emerged from healthy academic debates around university conference tables about ensuring quality. Unrealistic revenue expectations have been replaced by the sober realization that it takes hard work, academic discipline and market understanding as well as true innovation to deliver successful, academically sound programs online. (0) comments
e-learning becoming embedded - Paul Justice, eLearning Scotland
E-learning is now accepted as an essential feature of training delivery, but more practical work needs to be done on the implementation side if it is to be successful, according to a new survey carried out by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the professional body for all those involved in people management and development. The survey was carried out to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the term e-learning being adopted. Ninety per cent of respondents believe e-learning demands a new attitude to learning on the part of the learners. Martyn Sloman, CIPD Learning, training and development adviser, continues, E-learning is an important tool in the training world and our survey suggests that its usage is going to double over the next three years. However, trainers must work closely with learners to ensure that e-learning tool is effective and meets the learners needs. (0) comments
Computers as Authors? Literary Luddites Unite! - DANIEL AKST, New York Times
This is not science fiction. With little fanfare and (so far) no appearances at Barnes & Noble, computers have started writing without us scribes. They are perfectly capable of nonfiction prose, and while the reputation of Henry James is not yet threatened, computers can even generate brief outbursts of fiction that are probably superior to what many humans could turn out - even those not in master of fine arts programs. (0) comments Monday, November 29, 2004
Designing Distance Delivery Courses - Arlyn R. Rubash, THE Journal
As we create distance delivery courses for the Internet, we must learn new functional capabilities and incorporate them into this emerging methodology. Consequently, courses employing distance delivery at various quality levels abound. As educators and course developers adopt distance delivery, new mind-sets must appear. When technology dramatically changes, well-understood and long-employed methodologies become obsolete. History shows that people persistently apply outdated methodologies after circumstances change; these anachronisms eventually disappear. (0) comments
Reviews mixed for Florida Gulf Coast University's online classes - Naples Daily News
The classes are tagged with names as thought-provoking as "Scholarly Inquiry" and as dense as "Shaping Healthcare in the 21st Century." They are senior seminars, traditionally where students have in-depth discussions, and math classes, where professors once demonstrated proofs and algebraic equations from chalkboards and overhead projectors. But today, many college classes, including those at Florida Gulf Coast University in Estero, are being taken to the Internet, sometimes completely eliminating the old requirement to visit the classroom. (0) comments
E-learning can open doors for people with disabilities - Online Recruitment
Unless developers, suppliers and buyers of e-learning take greater action to ensure their products are accessible to learners with disabilities, a great deal of money will be wasted on e-learning that doesn’t meet the needs of the vast majority of users, and employers could also potentially find themselves on the wrong side of the law, according to a new report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the leading professional body for those involved in the management and development of people. (0) comments Sunday, November 28, 2004
The Buntine Oration: Learning Networks - Stephen Downes, Instructional Technology and Distance Learning
You may not have seen some of the things I’ve talked about in this paper, things like learning objects, learning management systems, content packaging, federated search and learning design, but if you haven’t, you will. Soon. And you’ll probably hear about them from a sales representative or network administrator or supervisor (if you hear from your students, it will be about blogs and RSS, iPods and online games, or if they’re honest, file sharing networks). (0) comments
Online Professional Development in Support of Online Teaching: Some Issues for Practice - Karah Hogarth, Ingrid Day and Drew Dawson, ITDL
This paper reports on a pilot study at the University of South Australia. The study explored the experiences of academics undertaking a professional development (PD) program delivered partly online. University teaching staff are in a unique position to experience and understand the consequences of learning online as part of their PD requirements and this study generated insights into how this experience is fed back into professional practice. In addition, this study reports on the motivations of academic staff interested in elearning as a delivery method and their beliefs about its place in the higher education system. Through examining the stories of staff experiences of online PD, a number of issues are highlighted that could inform development of future online PD courses, particularly those aimed at supporting development of staff competency in online teaching. In particular, issues of access, support for interactivity, and sharing of best practice are raised. (0) comments
Getting smart about e-learning: Feds now use the technology as communications, management tool - Judy Welles, Federal Computer Week
E-learning is moving beyond training to become a tool for performance, collaboration and management, according to federal managers and contractors. In the process, some agency officials are finding that e-learning, already known for cost savings, has value for workforce productivity. At the Internal Revenue Service, for example, an evolving e-learning strategy is focusing on performance support, said Gordon Rice, e-learning technology adviser at the IRS Center for Advanced Learning Technologies. Rice spoke at a recent FCW Events E-Learning Conference. (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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