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Online Learning News and Research
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Saturday, April 23, 2005
In Defense of Cheating Donald A. Norman, Ubiquity
In a recent issue of Ubiquity, Evan Golub examined the implications for cheating of allowing students to use computers during examinations (Golub, E. (2005). PCs in the classroom & open book exams.I was disturbed by Golub's article because the emphasis was on cheating by students and possible counteractive measures. Never did he ask the more fundamental questions: What is the purpose of an examination; Why do students cheat? Instead, he proposed that faculty become police enforcers, trying to weed out dishonest behavior. I would prefer to turn faculty into educators and mentors, guiding students to use all the resources at their disposal to solve important problems. (0) comments
41 schools registered in eTwinning Programmes by di-ve.com (Malta)
eTwinning is an action supported by the European Commission that is quickly becoming more and more popular with Maltese schools. In line with the Lisbon Objectives, it provides a framework that promotes and supports ICT mediated collaborative educational projects between students aged 3-18. 41 schools in Malta have registered to participate and 17 are already actively engaged in collaborative projects with schools from across Europe. eTwinning is the main action within the European Commission's eLearning Programme. It aims to promote, support and facilitate partnerships between schools from across Europe. A strong point in favour of eTwinning is that all the forms and administrative work is taken care of simply online, so that teachers can concentrate on teaching. (0) comments
US military eyes online mental healthcare - Owen Hembry, New Zealand Herald
Medical software developer DGL Doctor Global is on the verge of a multimillion-dollar deal to supply its eCare for Life software to the United States military. The software would be used for online consultations with people suffering mental health problems after serving in military operations. DGL says a New England Journal of Medicine study shows 28 per cent of military veterans returning from Iraq experience mental health problems. With about 330,000 soldiers having served in Iraq, treatment could cost hundreds of millions of dollars. DGL chief executive Roger Gower said the software would enable patients to self-monitor, learn about and (0) comments Friday, April 22, 2005
Creating Connections: A Pilot Study on an Online Community of Learners - H. Carol Greene, Journal of Interactive Online Learning
This paper reports the findings from a pilot study that investigated the uses of computer-mediated communication in an educational psychology course for pre-service teachers that focused on problem-based learning via CD-ROM-based case analysis. Thirty-nine pre-service teachers and eight practicing teachers participated in the development of an online learning community in which they viewed video case studies as part of a virtual field experience component and communicated online through chat rooms and threaded discussion lists. Data sources included transcripts of chat room and threaded communication, field notes, student tasks and reflections, and exit interviews with the teachers and one student focus group. Methodology was qualitative in nature using a template organizing approach with the constant comparative method. This paper reports the findings concerning students’ learning about educational psychology and teaching, students’ appreciation of diverse settings, the developmental nature of the questions posed by the pre-service teachers, and the advantages and disadvantages of using the technological components in this course. Results showed that the case studies helped the students make sense of the concepts and theories being studied in class, while communication with the teachers helped the students see the practical applications of the information they were learning. (0) comments
Straight answers - eLearning - Times of India
What is eLearning all about? It Is about using technology to make the learning process effective and enjoyable. While eLearning can include a variety of delivery media -- CDs, computers, the Net -- it supplements a teacher's efforts at making learning more effective. Also, eLearning is the only way of providing a high-quality learning experience to a very large number of people. (0) comments
Seminar looks at teaching with technology - David Cole, the Easterner - Eastern Washington University
In Bill Williams’ introductory psychology class, students take quizzes from the comfort of their homes and use wireless response pads to answer questions during class lectures. Williams will be one of the presenters in a faculty seminar series starting April 25 that will explore ways of fusing traditional classroom instruction with technology. Featured speaker Dr. Carolyn G. Jarmon is scheduled to discuss “Teaching with Technology” during the week of seminars in the PUB on April 29. Jarmon, associate director of the Center for Academic Transformation, will explain the “Roadmap to Redesign” initiative and how universities across the country are developing methods of enhancing learning. So far, Jarmon has helped more than 50 colleges and universities integrate innovative uses of technology. (0) comments Thursday, April 21, 2005
Using Web-Based Practice to Enhance Mathematics Learning and Achievement - Diem M. Nguyen and Gerald Kulm, Journal of Interactive Online Learning
This article describes 1) the special features and accessibility of an innovative web-based practice instrument (WebMA) designed with randomized short-answer, matching and multiple choice items incorporated with automatically adapted feedback for middle school students; and 2) an exploratory study that compares the effects and contributions of web-based practice on students’ learning processes with that of traditional paper-and-pencil practice. With multiple practices and immediate adapted feedback, the web-based group performed significantly better than the paper-and-pencil group on both fraction and decimal operations at the end of the study. (0) comments
Hot careers in e-learning - Syed Amir Ali Hashmi, Sify
Companies and educational institutes have realised the need for constant upgradation of knowledge, and e-learning is the easiest way to achieve it. E-learning not only saves time and energy, but also helps to upgrade knowledge 24x7. In the process, e-learning has opened up a barrage of job opportunities for the skilled. A couple of years ago, careers in technology-based training were, perhaps, interesting to those in the business, but essentially limited to the esoteric few. After all training, just like education, suffered from a credibility and prestige problem. But in spite of the odds, e-learning picked up and career opportunities grew. E-learning enables learning from material provided through the internet, intranet and CDs. The trend has picked up in recent years. (0) comments
Toshiba develops 3D screens - Computer Weekly
Toshiba has announced a display technology that makes 3D images appear to stand out several centimetres from the surface of a specially designed screen when viewed from an angle. The new technology, said Toshiba, opened up new areas of application for 3D displays, including e-learning, simulations of buildings and landscapes, and arcade games. Toshiba is continuing to refine the technology, including the integration of touchscreen control, but plans to ship commercial products based on it within two years. (0) comments Wednesday, April 20, 2005
New Horizons for Learning: An Interview with Dee Dickinson - Scott Windham and Dee Dickinson, Innovate
Dee Dickinson is the founder and chief learning officer of New Horizons for Learning, a nonprofit international education network whose mission is to identify, communicate, and help implement effective teaching and learning strategies. Founded in 1980 and now operating largely through its Web site, New Horizons focuses on outreach and partnerships to apply its resources to educational systems, homes, and other learning environments. For this interview, Dickinson sat down with Scott Windham, an Innovate board member. (0) comments
Technology key to future of higher education, official says - Yuma Sun
A University of Phoenix official made his first visit to the Yuma campus Thursday to discuss the next generation of higher education with members of the community. About 35 representatives from local school districts, businesses, banks and government agencies, including the city of Yuma, Yuma Proving Ground and Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, were expected to attend. In an interview with The Sun prior to the dinner, Brian Lindquist, associate vice president for academic affairs, discussed the highlights of his speech, focusing on technology advances that impact higher education. Lindquist said a lot of research has been done to find out what qualities employers want in their employees. The most desired employees would have good communication skills, be adaptable, work well in teams, and be able to solve problems and think critically. (0) comments
Accessibility is virtual schools' virtue: Statewide online system proposed - Todd Silberman, News Observer
Judith Darling's class roster includes students who live in places as far flung as Hatteras, Plymouth and Robeson County. She knows the high school students by their names, assignments and exams, but she has never laid eyes on them. They've been at the other end of a computer connection. By day, Darling teaches English and Latin in person at Garner High School. By night, she logs on from home as a virtual teacher. Her long-distance students know her only by her electronic messages, editing notes and the highlighted red comments she inserts in their assignments for Advanced Placement English. (0) comments Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Quality Assurance, Open and Distance Learning, and Australian Universities - Ian C. Reid, IRRODL
Open and distance education has integrated quality assurance processes since its inception. Recently, the increased use of distance teaching systems, technologies, and pedagogies by universities without a distance education heritage has enabled them to provide flexible learning opportunities. They have done this in addition to, or instead of, face-to-face instruction, yet the practice of quality assurance processes as a fundamental component of distance education provision has not necessarily followed these changes. This paper considers the relationship between notions of quality assurance and open and distance education, between quality assurance and higher education more broadly, and between quality assurance and the implementation of recent quality audits in Australian universities. The paper compares quality portfolios submitted to the Australian Universities Quality Agency by two universities, one involved in distance education, the other not involved. This comparison demonstrates that the relationship is variable, and suggests that reasons for this have more to do with business drivers than with educational rationales. (0) comments
E-Learning Expansion at UU
The University of Ulster today unveils three innovative postgraduate programmes in social research skills. Delivered by distance learning, they will be offered through the University’s Campus One from October 2005. The part-time programmes have been developed by the School of Policy Studies and, according to Course Director Professor Sile O’Connor from the Magee campus, because they will be delivered through e-learning, the programmes will be particularly suited to people who need maximum flexibility in time and place of access to learning opportunities.“The structure, content and mode of delivery make them unique not only in Ireland but in the UK,” adds Professor O’Connor. (0) comments
Learning from a distance - Bill Hafer, Beatrice Daily Sun
Students grab their rojo (red) crayons and line up at the door to their classroom at Southern Elementary School at Blue Springs. Crayons in hand, the second-graders make their way down the hall to the library for their weekly Spanish lesson. Today's lesson is on how to say it's hot or cold, as well as learning the words for animals and colors. During the next 20 minutes, the students respond in unison or individually go to the front of the class to answer their Spanish teacher Eryn Sunday's questions. Nothing out of the ordinary for a teacher leading a group of second-graders, except that Sunday is in Beatrice. She is teaching the class using desktop conferencing technology from the Educational Service Unit 5 building through a distance learning network. The students can see and hear her and she can see and hear them. (0) comments Monday, April 18, 2005
The Design and Development of an Online, Case-based Course in a Teacher Preparation Program- Carmen M. Peña, Journal of Interactive Online Learning
The goals of this study were to: 1) design a web-based course using WebCT for future secondary school teachers at the University of Texas Pan American, 2) evaluate the effectiveness of the course, and 3) provide a set of guidelines for designing web-based courses for other teacher educators. The participants in this study consisted of junior- and senior-level students enrolled in a secondary, teacher education program at the University of Texas Pan American. There were 17 participants, 71% were female and 29% were male. All of the participants fit at least one of the characteristics of a “nontraditional” student. All of them were married, employed full-time, over the age of 30 and 63% had one or more children. [CP1] [CP2] [CP3] Participants completed a pretest prior to instruction and a posttest following instruction to measure achievement gains. The study was divided into two phases; participants completed a pretest and a posttest for phase I and phase II. [CP4] A t-test for dependent samples was used to determine if the mean scores on the posttest were significantly higher than the mean score on the pretest for phases I and II. The results of the t-test for phase I indicated that students scored significantly higher on the posttest (M = 74.63) than on the pretest (M = 57.72; t=5.56, p = .05). In phase II, students scored higher on the posttest (M = 80.21) than on the pretest (M = 76.84); however this difference was not statistically significant. Overall, the results indicated that the course was effective. The study concludes with a set of recommendations for designing/teaching an online course for teacher educators. (0) comments
Rural schools access college online - Jerry Hinnen, Demopolis Times
There's a big obstacle for ambitious students in Greene and Hale counties who want to get a jump on their college credit: there's no nearby college to go to. But now, the college is about come to them. It's arriving in the form of Stillman Academy, a unique new program developed by Tuscaloosa's Stillman College and promoted in partnership with U.S. Congressman Artur Davis. The Academy will allow students in Greene and Hale counties to take an intense six-week battery of college courses via the Internet. In addition to freshman-level Mathematics and English courses, the program will offer tutorials on applying for financial aid and taking the ACT, a college entrance exam. (0) comments
Polytechs migrate to Moodle - REUBEN SCHWARZ, New Zealand Stuff
The Open Polytechnic is leading a consortium of polytechs in a $1 million project to deploy open-source e-learning software. The Open Source Virtual Learning Environment project, funded by the Tertiary Education Committee, is believed to be the largest deployment of "Moodle" software to date globally. Project manager Richard Wyles says the polytechs started investigating open source as a way of cutting costs. He estimates that using Moodle instead of proprietary software will save the Open Polytechnic about $50,000 every year in licence fees alone. (0) comments Sunday, April 17, 2005
Supporting Online Students with Personal Interaction - Ronald C. Thomas, Jr., Educause Quarterly
More and more colleges and universities seek to extend their reach by offering individual courses and complete degree programs online. Planners of such initiatives will find it useful to examine the different challenges and approaches already in use on various campuses, as in the mentoring program at Florida State University (FSU). The critical issue FSU faced was scalability of its curriculum to an online constituency. The university planned to offer existing degree programs through online delivery with the expectation that demand would be high for these programs. The concern was how best to support faculty faced with students in greater numbers. At the same time, FSU needed to provide additional instructional support to the students who would not have face-to-face interaction with faculty or with other students. The importance of providing this support to students was borne out in Alley’s research, which stressed the criticality of instructors and mentors to student success in the online learning environment.1 (0) comments
Ball State’s ‘Digital Middletown’ Project Explores Wireless Broadband Initiatives - Layne Cameron, THE Journal
The fabled middletown Studies, conducted by Robert and Helen Lynd in the 1920s and ’30s, established Muncie, Ind., as the most studied city in America. Since then, technological initiatives such as the wireless broadband effort at Ball State University have established the Midwestern institution as a leader in cutting-edge innovations. It’s not surprising, then, that the university, which was founded in Muncie in 1899, has merged the two efforts not only to develop technology that will benefit students, faculty and Indiana residents, but also to study its sociological impact. (0) comments
Online College with No License Still Operating in Wyoming -- For Now - Mead Gruver, AP
An online college is still operating a Web site and has renewed its corporate license -- but has no education license eight months after a state law required it to get one or shut down. Hamilton University hasn't even inquired about licensing, according to Wyoming Department of Education officials. Hamilton attorney Tim Kingston initially told The Associated Press he didn't know about the Web site or corporate license renewal, but later declared that Hamilton would shut down the site and dissolve. (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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