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Online Learning News and Research
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Saturday, March 26, 2005
Distance Higher Education in the Arab Region: The Need for Quality Assurance Frameworks - Amel Ahmed Hassan Mohamed, OJDLA
This paper considers endeavors to disseminate distance higher education in the Arab region. In particular, three different structures are examined: distance education programs provided by traditional universities, open or distance education universities offering only programs from a distance, and a virtual university. Shortcomings of these endeavors due largely to the lack of quality assurance procedures and accreditation policies are examined in detail. The need for developing quality assurance frameworks and accreditation policies for such modes represents a major step towards gaining accreditation by internationally recognized organizations. Key parties are also identified and discussed that have a great impact on promoting quality assurance and the accreditation of distance higher education in the Arab region. (0) comments
A smart Marine is a good Marine - Lance Cpl. Joshua C. Cox, Black Anthem
A smart Marine is a good Marine. Knowledge is a priceless gift no one can take away from someone else, and in the Marine Corps it's absolutely free. That's what the personnel of the Marine Corps College of Continuing Education were promoting during a command brief at the station theater on March 14.... The Marine Corps' distance learning program is training for the 21st century and is constantly being updated and revised. In addition, these beneficial courses are available in many different forms, catering to various lifestyles and work schedules of Marines. (0) comments
Specialty high school courses a mouse click away - WALTER DAWKINS, North Jersey
High school junior Kelly Covello wanted to take college physics her senior year, but she was out of luck. Her school didn't offer it. But under a new program beginning this fall, Park Ridge High School will offer students such as Covello the opportunity to take courses online in subject areas not included in the curriculum. "I was very interested in taking Advanced Placement physics, but they don't offer it, so this was a good opportunity to be able to take the class," said Covello, 17. "Also, it's a good experience of a new way to learn." (0) comments Friday, March 25, 2005
Course Management System Utilization and Implications for Practice - Charles F. Harrington, Scott A. Gordon, Timothy J. Schibik, OJDLA
Over time, higher education has seen a number of innovations, some revolutionary, others having minimal to no impact (Katz, 2003). Over the last decade, the development of computer software and hardware directed toward education and the teaching and learning process has had tremendous impact on course delivery (Glahn and Gen, 2002; Katz, 2003). During this period, higher education has been witness to fundamental changes from courses delivered in the traditional face-to-face method to those delivered via video cassette and television, to a proliferation of courses and course content delivered via computer technologies. In recent years, the use of Internet resources (i.e. web pages) in course and curriculum development has made a significant impact on teaching and learning. The use of the Internet has evolved from the display of static, dull, and lifeless information to a rich multimedia environment that is both engaging, dynamic, and user friendly (Powel and Gill, 2003). (0) comments
Contrasting LMS Marketing Approaches - Brian Carriere, Carl Challborn, James Moore and Theodorus Nibourg, IRRODL
The first section of this report examines the CourseCompass learning management system (LMS), made available to educators by the Pearson publishing group as a vehicle for the company’s extensive content library. The product’s features are discussed, and the implications of Pearson’s software/ textbook “bundling” policy for the integrity of course design. The second section of the report reviews Wordcircle, an open source (OS) LMS provided as a free hosted service or as source code downloadable for installation on the user’s own server. The contrasting marketing approaches of these two products are discussed in the light of the increasing move by distance educators from proprietary to open source LMS products. As in previous reports in the series, the reviews are based on the six evaluation criteria of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD): cost, complexity, control, clarity, common technical framework, and features. (0) comments
Baltimore City Community College Associate Professor Chikao Tsubaki named ‘Distance Educator of the Year for 2005’ - Baltimore Times
Baltimore City Community College associate professor of English Chikao Tsubaki, who uses distance learning to deliver many of his courses online, has again been honored for distinguished leadership and work. Tsubaki is “Distance Educator of the Year for 2005,” a joint distinction of the Maryland Distance Learning Association (MDLA) and College of the Air Distance Education Consortium (COADEC). The award is the second of its type for Tsubaki, who received the 2003 accolade, “Distance Course of the Year” for his online Composition Skills II course, combining traditional English instruction with self-paced, interactive exercises in English. The course was subsequently adopted by the Maryland Online Consortium and is available through its network to 24 member colleges and universities. (0) comments
Baltimore City Community College Associate Professor Chikao Tsubaki named ‘Distance Educator of the Year for 2005’ - Baltimore Times
Baltimore City Community College associate professor of English Chikao Tsubaki, who uses distance learning to deliver many of his courses online, has again been honored for distinguished leadership and work. Tsubaki is “Distance Educator of the Year for 2005,” a joint distinction of the Maryland Distance Learning Association (MDLA) and College of the Air Distance Education Consortium (COADEC). The award is the second of its type for Tsubaki, who received the 2003 accolade, “Distance Course of the Year” for his online Composition Skills II course, combining traditional English instruction with self-paced, interactive exercises in English. The course was subsequently adopted by the Maryland Online Consortium and is available through its network to 24 member colleges and universities. (0) comments Thursday, March 24, 2005
Beyond functionality and technocracy: creating human involvement with educational technology - Wim Westera, Journal of Ed. Tech & Society
Innovation of education is highly topical. It is obviously boosted by a range of new technologies, which enable new modes of learning that, are independent of time and place through Web-based delivery and computer-mediated communication. However, innovators in education often encounter intrinsic conservatism or even deliberate obstructions. For innovators it is important to be aware of and to understand the basic premises underlying the idea of innovation. This paper explains the origins of technological optimism and the associated faith in progress. Also, techno-pessimism as rooted in the negative side effects of the industrial revolution is reviewed. To solve the conflict between techno-optimism and techno-pessimism we elaborate Borgmann’s “devices paradigm“: in order to avoid apathetic and indifferent consumption of technology-based commodities, users of technological devices should be given the opportunity to develop substantial involvement with the technological devices. While extending this idea to educational technologies, we present an explanatory model for the mediating role of technological artefacts. In conclusion, we explain how to approach technology-based innovations in education by arguing for transparent and interactive devices, for products as carriers of meaning, for values that harmonise with the characteristics of man and for a mixed mode of developing new ideas and preserving former achievements. (0) comments
Literature Review – Faculty Participation in Online Distance Education: Barriers and Motivators - Loréal L. Maguire, OJDLA
Distance education is a medium of teaching and learning that has grown significantly in the past 10 years as indicated by the number of higher education institutions that offer courses and/or full degree programs via distance learning. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) (1999), the number of degree-granting higher education institutions offering distance education courses increased from 33 percent in 1995 to 44 percent in 1997-98. More specifically, the use of computer-based technologies has increased from 22 percent in 1995 to 60 percent in 1997-98. (0) comments
Interest in the Boston University Online Program for Financial Planners is up 300% over the same time last year
After surveying nearly 700 potential candidates of the Boston University Online Program for Financial Planners, Boston University (BU) and the Boston Institute of Finance (BIF) today announced a unique profile of potential online financial planning students. According to the responses, potential students tend to be strong self- motivators who, due to work or family reasons, prefer online education over classroom study. Due to schedule or travel difficulties, 75 percent of respondents believe taking a course on campus would be "inconvenient" or "impossible." While only 40 percent of the respondents had taken an online course previously, 66 percent had taken a self study program, perhaps explaining the significant increase in students who are interest in learning via the Internet. (0) comments
Interest in the Boston University Online Program for Financial Planners is up 300% over the same time last year
After surveying nearly 700 potential candidates of the Boston University Online Program for Financial Planners, Boston University (BU) and the Boston Institute of Finance (BIF) today announced a unique profile of potential online financial planning students. According to the responses, potential students tend to be strong self- motivators who, due to work or family reasons, prefer online education over classroom study. Due to schedule or travel difficulties, 75 percent of respondents believe taking a course on campus would be "inconvenient" or "impossible." While only 40 percent of the respondents had taken an online course previously, 66 percent had taken a self study program, perhaps explaining the significant increase in students who are interest in learning via the Internet. (0) comments Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Electronic Portfolios and Dimensions of Learning - Frederick Conway, THE Journal
The infusion of technology in all academic areas makes it evident that schools of this new millennium will look quite different from the schools of the past. I feel electronic portfolios will be how students create and store information. This technology will bring new ways for students to document their progress through the course of a year, and even throughout their entire educational journey. So one might ask, why electronic portfolios? The answer is simple: Electronic portfolios will allow students to not only sharpen computer skills, but also give them a wider media to express their knowledge. Students are able to document knowledge through the traditional written text more powerfully by incorporating video clips, audio and animation. These new enhancements will challenge students to think more creatively and critically as they develop their portfolios. The following will show a direct link between electronic portfolios and the dimensions of learning. (0) comments
Online courses relieve schedule woes - Sarah Brock, Auburn Plainsman
Students who struggle to schedule class around jobs or other responsibilities can take advantage of distance education. Distance Learning and Outreach Technology offers degree programs and undergraduate courses through the independent learning program. “The central thrust (of the program) is to provide access to Auburn students off campus,” said Richard Alekna, director of Distance Learning and Outreach Technology. “Distance education tries to accommodate our daily lives getting busier and busier.” The University offers degree programs in business, education, engineering and human sciences. The programs allow students to earn their degrees while only visiting campus a few times throughout the program. (0) comments
NSDL Materials Digital Library - Laura M. Bartolo, et al; DLib
A primary goal of the NSDL Materials Digital Library (MatDL) is to bring materials science research and education closer together. MatDL is exploring the various roles digital libraries can serve in the materials science community including: 1) supporting a virtual lab, 2) developing markup language applications, and 3) building tools for metadata capture. MatDL is being integrated into an MIT virtual laboratory experience. Early student self-assessment survey results expressed positive opinions of the potential value of MatDL in supporting a virtual lab and in accomplishing additional educational objectives. (0) comments
DfES e-Learning strategy: Ruth Kelly comments - Public Technology UK
The DfES e-Learning strategy launched yesterday is one of the first large scale IT-driven proposals to be unveiled by Secretary of State Ruth Kelly since she took office. In her forward to the report, Harnessing Technology: Transforming Learning and Children's Services, this is what she says: "Our plans for boosting performance and standards across education are far reaching and radical. We aim to put learners, young people - and their parents - in the driving seat, shaping the opportunities open to all learners to fit around their particular needs and preferences." "In achieving these goals the effective use of interactive technologies is absolutely crucial and I am determined that we grasp them. They offer huge opportunities that we must exploit. That means working with all the stakeholders, schools, colleges, adult and community learning organisations, universities, independent training providers, and the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) industry, to ensure that we deliver quality and cost effective services to all. We want to extend the variety of places where people can learn. " (0) comments Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Gender Awareness E-Learning Program Sets Stage for Improved Productivity, Retention
Bridging the gender gap is critical as businesses risk losing or underutilizing women. The Scottsdale National Gender Institute's new elearning gender awareness course reveals the gender-related misunderstandings that create the gap. Scottsdale, AZ. Scottsdale National Gender Institute TM today released its new e-learning program “Bridging Gender Differences©.” Designed for employees and managers, the course reveals the gender-related misunderstandings that create obstacles to communication, teamwork, productivity and employee retention. “Bridging the gender gap is critical as businesses risk losing or underutilizing women, who now comprise 50 percent of the professional and managerial ranks,” says Leslie Jenness, executive director of Scottsdale National Gender Institute TM. (0) comments
Web site allows teachers to earn credits - Kalamazoo Gazette
Teachers who need to earn credits for recertification or professional development can now do so at home. And they can do it for free. This month, teachers in the Mattawan Consolidated School District were the first in Michigan to get a demonstration of the U.S. Department of Education's professional development Web sites. But the online professional development workshops designed to help teachers meet No Child Left Behind requirements and earn continuing education credits are available right now to all educators who have Internet access fast enough to allow video streaming, said Kristine Cohn, a regional representative for the Department of Education. (0) comments
Spelling bee winner creates buzz about virtual schools - RAY PARKER, Naples News
Sam Lawson can go to school in his pajamas. His daily commute to classes is measured in steps rather than miles. For this eighth-grader, the schoolhouse includes some self-discipline along with a computer, under the watchful eye of his mother. It works for him. The Florida Virtual Academy is one of two public cyberschools that offer online learning for students his age. The Lawsons enjoy the flexibility of the program and say it gives them more control over their children's education. The virtual schools, just into their second year, are a radical departure from the traditional model of public education and have attracted some critics, such as teachers' unions. However, it works for Sam. He recently won the Scripps Howard Spelling Bee contest in Collier County, competing against public and private schoolchildren, and now will face the nation's top spellers in Washington, D.C., on May 31-June 2. (0) comments Monday, March 21, 2005
Transitioning from Brick and Mortar to Online: A Faculty Perspective - Amanda Carroll-Barefield, et al; Online Journal of Distance Learning Administra
hAs an institution of higher learning in healthcare, the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) has turned to distance education as an opportunity to increase enrollment and deliver high-tech education to its students. This viable solution was used by MCG to address the need to stay abreast of the many technological changes in healthcare delivery and the increasing demand for more healthcare practitioners (Carroll-Barefield, 2004). As a dual-mode institution, MCG offers primarily traditional on-campus programs with the addition of numerous distance education programs and courses. The School of Allied Health Sciences (SAHS), one of five schools within MCG, is an institutional leader in offering degree programs in Allied Health disciplines and for-credit and continuing education courses via a distance education format. These programs and courses are delivered using a variety of modalities including GSAMS, a real-time two-way interactive compressed video and audio network, and online using WebCT, an online course management software package (Carroll-Barefield, 2004).... This article will present faculty perspectives and experiences in transitioning a traditional brick-and-mortar program to an online degree program. (0) comments
Online learning gives Terra C.C. student new direction - News Messenger
Cheryl Covey of Clyde is just one class away from earning her bachelor's degree -- something she never thought possible just a few years ago. "My life has taken a completely different direction than I would have dreamed," said Covey. Online learning was a big part of achieving her educational goals. As a student at Terra Community College, Covey discovered that she could earn her bachelor's degree online, without leaving the Terra community, through Franklin University's Community College Alliance Program. (0) comments
The NSF National Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Digital Library (NSDL) Program - Lee L. Zia, DLib
In fall 2004, the National Science Foundation's (NSF) National Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Digital Library (NSDL) program2 made new grants in three tracks: Pathways, Services, and Targeted Research. Together with projects started in fiscal years (FY) 2000-03 these new grants continue the development of a national digital library of high quality educational resources to support learning at all levels in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). By enabling broad access to reliable and authoritative learning and teaching materials and associated services in a digital environment, the National Science Digital Library expects to promote continual improvements in the quality of formal STEM education, and also to serve as a resource for informal and lifelong learning. Proposals for the FY05 funding cycle are due April 11, 2005, and the full solicitation is available at http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf05545. (0) comments Sunday, March 20, 2005
Developing a Mobile Learning Environment to Support Virtual Education Communities - Barbara Heath, et al, THE Journal
Dozens of reports over the last 35 years have documented the decline in the number of students pursuing science and mathematics degrees. For instance, from 1995 to 2000, the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded in the physical sciences never exceeded 1.7%, while in mathematics that number never rose above 1% (Morgan 1998; Knapp 2001). Therefore, the ability of the nation’s colleges and universities to produce scientists and mathematicians is not keeping pace with the need for a technically competent workforce.... Fortunately, the situation is not entirely without hope. There is evidence that the loss of students from our science and mathematics courses can be curbed by implementing curricula designed to incorporate the principles associated with learning communities (LCs) and modern technologies that support anytime, anywhere learning. (0) comments
Cyber school finds growing demand: Online education offers flexibility - Julie Saccone, Saskatoon StarPhoenix
In a small room lined with computers and nestled in Holy Cross High School, a group of teachers tap away at their keyboards, responding to queries from the more than 1,400 students enrolled in the Saskatoon Catholic school division's cyber school. The school, which hosted an open house Tuesday, has seen an exponential boost in student enrolment and an expansion of its operations since it began in 2000. Cyber school teachers spend an hour each day responding to questions that in an average semester arrive in the form of 1,800 e-mails and 2,800 bulletin board messages for each class of 30 students. (0) comments
New Online Master's Degree in Information Technology to Be Offered by Cal State Fullerton in August
Information technology professionals who are interested in earning an advanced degree, yet don't have time to return to the classroom, can earn that degree online from Cal State Fullerton beginning in August. The master of science in information technology will be the first online program offered through the university's College of Business and Economics and the third online degree program available to Cal State Fullerton students. "We developed this program after a number of students - many already working for medium to large organizations in this area - expressed an interest in getting a master's degree," said Barry Pasternack, chair and professor of information systems and decision sciences, noting that ISDS has offered online courses since 1999. "The program will prepare individuals for careers in the field of information technology, as well as give professionals the skills needed to advance in their careers. It focuses on the managerial and technical skills needed to succeed in an information technology organization." (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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