Online Learning Update

by Carol Smock, Helium

Many well known universities offer “minimal residence” degrees that allow students to remain in place, working their usual job, and take most of the course work online. Then they take 2 or 3 weeks of intense study on campus each semester. This allows them to experience instruction that would not be practical over the internet and provides for a well thought out and executed course of study. Some college courses are offered online without any requirements for meeting on campus. Assignments and tests are submitted via email. The student may never meet the professor face to face. Either part or all of a degree may be earned this way.

http://www.helium.com/items/1950914-online-courses-and-disadvantages

By Heidi Groover, Montana Kaimin

Nation Garza used to make pancakes in the morning before school. He would wake up early, whip up some batter and relax with his breakfast before leaving the house. Those days are over. This year, the Polson High School senior wakes up at 5:45 a.m., takes a fast shower, eats a bowl of cereal and heads to school for his “Early Bird” math class. He then goes to seven more classes and works his way through the advanced placement biology course he’s taking online through the Montana Digital Academy. “I’m trying to take as much science as I physically can to prepare myself for majoring in biology in college,” Garza said.

http://www.montanakaimin.com/news/online-academy-a-game-changer-1.1596723

By Alex Bell, Brown Daily Herald

The class of 2010 was the last group of Brown students to have known a time without Banner. Juniors are the last class to have been introduced to advising without the Dean of the College’s Advising Sidekick tool. About 80 percent of them applied online, compared to more than 99 percent of this year’s freshmen. And with more than 5,000 students now using Banner’s new course scheduler tool, it’s questionable how many of those freshmen have even heard of Mocha. After four years, who will be left to remember what being a Brown student was like before these new Web systems came about?

http://www.browndailyherald.com/mobile/a-tangled-web-an-undergrad-s-life-online-1.2326638

by eSchool News

Teacher Teresa Dove of the Florida Virtual School (FLVS) last week was chosen as the first winner of this new award, which not only recognizes excellent teaching but also the prevalence, and importance, of online learning across the country.Dove said that teaching online allows her to spend much more time working individually with students than she did previously in a traditional classroom. Spending only a moment with students in a traditional classroom is “not enough, and our kids deserve better,” she said. It also has allowed her to care for two young children at home and to teach while caring for her mother in the hospital. She explained that the big key to success for being an online teacher is to get to know your students.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2010/09/13/five-lessons-from-the-nations-best-online-teache/

by eGexaezine

The e-Learning Handbook provides a critical reflection on the current state of e-learning with contributions from the world’s foremost e-learning experts and best-selling authors from academe and industry. The book offers a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the technological, design, economic, evaluation, research, economic, and philosophical issues underlying e-learning. Each chapter includes a chart that summarizes the key take-away points, contains questions that are useful for guiding discussions, and offers suggestions of related links, books, papers, reports, and articles.

http://down.egexa.com/ebooks/508066-the-e-learning-handbook-a-comprehensive-guide-to-online-learning.html

by John Ostwald, the Troy Record

I was excited to hear that my friend had a baby, but also confused by this joyous message. My friend’s name is Barry. He isn’t married, in a relationship or even dating anyone. Subsequently, he explained that he had given birth to a new course. He teaches at a college nearby. He said that the process for the development of this course was like a pregnancy. It took him at least nine months and involved a lot of aches and pains. Barry said that his course was “online” which is sometimes also known as “distance learning.” Before I mention some of these issues, let me tell you a little about Barry. He is in his 50s and was not brought up on computers. He loves being in the classroom where he can be spontaneous and use the non verbal responses of his student to facilitate the class. He says that he has spent years developing “experiential tools, thoughtfully designed, to stimulate the classroom environment and assist in motivating students to learn.” He would rather listen to the sound of your voice than read email. He would much rather talk than text. He said that he really didn’t want to take on this challenge but he thought that it would be good for him. “It is the wave of the future.”

http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2010/09/12/opinion/doc4c8a71bf36110973928323.txt

by edreformer.com via e-learning news blog

Susan Patrick, President of iNACOL writes into the Chicago Tribune to voice her support for online learning initiatives in Chicago Public Schools. She finishes off her letter with a valid point, that students actually are motivated to take online courses, because they like it, and because online better influences their learning. What’s more, students want to learn online: a national study showed 40 percent of middle and high school students want to take online courses. Despite what critics say, there is no evidence that children in online or hybrid classes are any less socially adjusted than those children who attend brick-and-mortar, traditional schools.

http://empowerlms.wordpress.com/2010/09/11/students-are-motivated-to-take-online-courses/

by the Bellevue Reporter

Bellevue College is launching a new “eLearning for Educators” professional development program for K-12 and college teachers who wish to bring the benefits of online learning to their students. “eLearning” is a broad term that includes all forms of teaching and learning that are supported or enhanced by digital technology. The new program at the college teaches educators how to integrate new instructional technology into their courses, whether they teach in a traditional “in-class” venue, a fully online setting or in a hybrid format that blends the two approaches.

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/east_king/bel/community/102657974.html

 by Avani Chhaya, Daily Illini

Besides the convenience of the online medium, Evans said there are many advantages to these online classes, such as valuing time with the instructor. “I think one of the major pros is that we can push off the boring ‘sit-down watch a lecture type of stuff’ to watching a webcast,” Evans said. “Students can do that on their own time and it makes time with the instructors much more valuable. We will do problems that are geared and tailored towards our exams and discussion so I think students really appreciate that quite a bit.” Jane Rivas, junior in LAS, said she took a partially taught online organic chemistry course last year.

http://www.dailyillini.com/news/campus/2010/09/09/students-find-advantages-in-online-courses

By Rachel Peel, Texas Weslyan Rambler

Eight percent of three and four credit courses for grad students are offered online and 4 percent of undergrad classes are online this fall,” Wesleyan registrar Sherri Caraballo said. Online classes aren’t for everyone, although they do offer some students a cost-efficient way to get college hours under their belts. “I think online learning can be a real opportunity for the right student,” Dr. Price McMurray, associate professor of English, said. “As more and more students become accustomed to online learning, it’s definitely going to change how we do things,” McMurray said. “It may be that the outcomes of online learning are better than traditional learning.”

http://www.therambler.org/news/online-classes-give-students-flexibility-1.2323912

by Rainier Wong, Helium

Long ago, before the Internet became a common tool in many homes and educational institutions, a person would have to dress up properly and travel to attend classes at an education provider’s premise. Many things had changed since the introduction of the Internet. Today, with the Internet, classes can be conducted online. Some educational providers have already realise the potential of having an online educational class that they have incorporated it as a part of their curriculum or as an optional way of obtaining a quailification. In

http://www.helium.com/items/1947842-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-online-education-classes

by Mitzi Jones, Northeast Community College Viewpoint

Online classes seem to be a top choice for students nationwide when it comes to receiving a degree in almost any field imaginable. Northeast is joining that ever growing list of schools that are moving more toward online base learning to netter accommodate the students that attend. According to Greg Sunderman, Instructional Designer for Northeast’s online courses, in the fall of 2002 when the college started offering online classes there was only 15 classes offered. As of fall 2010 Northeast offers 104 online classes. Sunderman went on to say that about 10% of all credit hours generated through Northeast are from online based classes.

http://media.www.neccviewpoint.com/media/storage/paper1340/news/2010/09/09/Campus/Online.Classes.In.Full.Swing.At.Northeast-3929399.shtml

by Blake Wood, the University of Illinois at Springfield

The University of Illinois Springfield is celebrating its largest fall enrollment in the institution’s 40-year history. The total number of enrolled students both on campus and online at UIS is 5,174. Online programs at UIS are continuing to grow with a nearly 15% increase in the number of credit hours being taken online this semester, according to Ray Schroeder, director of the Center for Online Learning, Research, and Service. A total of 17,172 online credit hours being taken this fall compared to 14,955 online credit hours last fall. The number of students majoring in online degree or certificate programs grew by 63 students. A total 1,364 online majors are enrolled at UIS, a 4.8% increase from the previous fall semester. “UIS continues to lead the way in online learning. Every semester since we began offering online classes a dozen years ago, the number of online credit hours taken by our students has increased,” said Schroeder. Overall more than 55% of UIS students (2,850 total) are taking at least one online class this fall.

http://news.uis.edu/2010/09/uis-sets-record-with-5174-students.html

By Travis Kaya, Chronicle of Higher Ed

Thousands of unpublished pages of Jeremy Bentham’s manuscripts are ready for transcription with a new crowdsourcing program from University College London’s Transcribe Bentham project. Researchers at UCL are counting on Bentham enthusiasts around the globe to help transcribe and digitize thousands of handwritten pages of the influential philosopher’s work. The university has about 40,000 untranscribed pages of Bentham in its collection. It photographed 4,500 pages for the initial phase of the project—accessible through the Transcribe Bentham Web site—and is calling on Bentham scholars, armchair philosophers, or almost anyone with an Internet connection to turn the handwritten prose into machine-readable type.

http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Crowdsourcing-Project-Hopes-to/26829/?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en

By Glenda Watson Hyatt, Do It Myself Blog

For anyone who thinks the iPad is just some kind of over-priced, hipster toy, read this review …Then, I did something I had never done before: I went into one of the many Starbucks at O’Hare and ordered my first mocha frappuccino by myself. No misunderstanding or hand gesturing involved. It was so cool, like another door had just opened for me! I feel like technology is finally catching up with what I truly need.

http://www.doitmyselfblog.com/2010/the-ipad-as-an-affordable-communicator-initial-review/

by Charlie Eisenhood, NYU Local

Later this month, the University will begin posting full videos of lectures from select courses to its website and YouTube, making them free to anyone interested in the material. With this move, NYU will join schools like MIT and Carnegie Mellon that have pioneered the practice. However, in a much more visionary twist, the school will also experiment with offering some online courses to NYU undergraduates for credit. Students would watch all of the lectures online, freeing the professor for more small-group meetings and personalized instruction.

http://nyulocal.com/on-campus/2010/09/07/nyu-to-offer-free-online-courses-enhanced-student-versions-for-credit/

BY Detroit Free Press Education Writers

At Westwood Cyber High School, students who study largely online at home came Tuesday to pick up their spiffy equipment –an iMac desktop computer and a Canon all-in-one printer. “I like it,” said Deron Haley, 17, a senior who was unpacking his new equipment right before an afternoon orientation session. Schools like Westwood are changing the way students go to school. Few education trends have exploded as fast as online learning in recent years. Many districts are beefing up their online options.

http://www.freep.com/article/20100908/NEWS05/9080333/1st-day-of-school-mixes-tradition-transition

by Erin Kourkounis, PNJ.com

The virtual online learning schools in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, franchises of the Florida Virtual Academy and offered by the public school districts, are booming. In its second year, Escambia Virtual Academy’s enrollment has grown to 270 students from 125. This year, there are 26 teachers, compared to last year’s 18. More than 900 courses were completed last year, but students have enrolled in about 1,600 courses this year.

http://www.pnj.com/article/20100908/NEWS01/9080325/1006/NEWS01/More-students-go-to-Internet-for-school

By George Clarke, Daily Syracuse Orange

Starting this semester, Syracuse University professors will be back in class to learn the rules of teaching online courses. IST 700: “Tools and Techniques for Teaching Online” is an online course in the School of Information Studies that helps instructors understand the Internet classroom by allowing them to experience it as students, iSchool professor Scott Nicholson said. The course, in which 18 SU faculty members from various schools are enrolled, is a two-credit graduate-level course taught by Nicholson and fellow iSchool professor Peggy Brown. The course is taught online and open to all SU faculty. There are no office hours, and the class meets in person only once. Amid the economic recession, online courses at universities are more popular than ever, according to a 2009 study by the Sloan Consortium, an organization that specializes in integrating online courses into college education.

http://www.dailyorange.com/news/su-requires-professors-to-take-online-class-to-become-internet-savvy-1.1572104

By Marty Walz and Will Brownsberger, Boston Globe

Massachusetts should be in the forefront of using computers and the Internet to change where, when, and how students learn. We have the expertise to lead in virtual education, but the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has restricted school district efforts to introduce virtual schools. The education reform act approved by the Legislature in January makes it easy for districts to create virtual schools

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/09/08/a_real_virtual_education/

By Catherine Threlkeld, LSU Reveille

The University is looking to put more classes online and collaborate with Baton Rouge Community College to provide more financially feasible education services. Both ideas would be money-saving opportunities for the University, said Chancellor Michael Martin. Online courses would reach students who wouldn’t normally be able to take classes because of time or other lifestyle constraints, Martin said. Martin said the University currently only offers one online degree, a master’s degree in human resources, but is moving toward several other online degrees.

http://www.lsureveille.com/news/lsu-looks-into-more-online-courses-working-with-brcc-1.2321485