by Industry Today

Now in its fifth year, here are the new lists of the ‘Top Ten’ most influential people in the corporate e-learning sector, in the World, Europe, the UK and Asia-Pacific. Now in its fifth year, here are the new lists of the ‘Top Ten’ most influential people in the corporate e-learning sector, in the World, Europe, the UK and Asia-Pacific. These lists are compiled from a corporate online learning perspective, on the basis of a person’s perceived current influence on the online learning industry – as a practitioner, commentator, facilitator and/or thought leader. In such a subjective area, opinions will always differ – and there is no guarantee that the judges’ decisions will meet with universal acclaim – but these lists represent what a number of people think about the personalities who lead the corporate online learning world.

http://www.industrytoday.co.uk/it/the-fifth-annual-top-ten-e-learning-movers-and-shakers-/27654

by eLearning Infographics

Technology has provided educators with abundant resources that prevent online students from feeling detached and disengaged. Statistics reveal an increasing popularity of online video. Videos bring value to online courses by increasing interactivity, fostering engagement, and contributing real-world content. Video not only consolidates visual and auditory stimuli into a single package, but also helps ‘bridge the gap between schools’ artificial environment and the outside world, bringing reality into the classroom. The Effective Use of Video in Online Courses Infographic shows a variety of methods and effective practices for using videos in an online course and provide helpful strategies and tips that align with quality matters standards to ensure the effectiveness of video and other multimedia in students’ learning.

http://elearninginfographics.com/the-effective-use-of-video-in-online-courses-infographic/

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education

By Gabriel Kahn, Slate

Five years ago, Southern New Hampshire University was a 2,000-student private school struggling against declining enrollment, poor name recognition, and teetering finances. Today, it’s the Amazon.com of higher education. The school’s burgeoning online division has 180 different programs with an enrollment of 34,000. Students are referred to as “customers.” It undercuts competitors on tuition. And it deploys data analytics for everything from anticipating future demand to figuring out which students are most likely to stumble.

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/education/2014/01/southern_new_hampshire_university_how_paul_leblanc_s_tiny_school_has_become.html

By MELISSA KORN, Wall Street Journal

Zach Sims, the CEO of Codecademy, on gaining respect and making good hires. Want a sure route to a job? Learn to code, says startup co-founder Zach Sims. As chief executive of Codecademy, a two-year-old company that offers free, online instruction in computer programming, Mr. Sims believes that programming skills can be a ticket to upward mobility just as a college degree has been for generations. Lots of people seem to agree: 24 million unique users had signed on for courses on Codecademy’s platform by December, compared with eight million as of a year earlier. And the learn-to-code movement has gone global, with celebrities like Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh and nonprofits such as Girls Who Code and Code.org urging people of all ages to become fluent in JavaScript, HTML, Python and other computer languages. Yet it isn’t clear whether Codecademy will profit from teaching people how to program.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304753504579284452425047082

by Trent, Affordable Schools Online

At this time, only a dozen or so schools provide free laptops or tablets to their students. But, as online education becomes more popular and readily accepted, the number of schools — online and on-campus — offering technology to their students is growing. Some of the accredited online colleges that provide students with free laptops or tablets actually give students ownership of the devices. Stevens-Henager College is one such example. Meanwhile other schools, including well-respected institutions such as Wake Forest and Villanova Universities, lend you a laptop or tablet to use during your enrollment. However your school does it, the bottom line is that you will have the technology you need to earn your degree without having to spend additional money on a laptop or tablet.

https://trap.it/main/#!traps/id/5a946279-9ad4-452a-b18f-b1f8cc166a09/articles/6MGGhb44l0064crtMT13

By Julia Freeland, Education Next

When we talk about the disruptive potential of online learning, we usually describe new approaches to delivering academic content tailored to students’ individual interests and abilities. But with a laser-like focus on academic models, we risk losing sight of how technology can also enhance students’ relationships with adults and one another. In addition to altering instruction, technology stands to reshape how we guide and mentor students, and how we might expand their social and professional networks. True to a disruptive trajectory, collaborative technology may facilitate connections and strengthen networks where otherwise students’ associations to diverse and powerful groups are weak or nonexistent.

http://educationnext.org/can-technology-cultivate-social-capital/

By Denise-Marie Ordway, Orlando Sentinel

Millions of students nationwide flock to the Internet for classes, taking advantage of technology to finish a college degree faster, easier and often for less money. But even as more students demand online courses and degrees that can be completed without ever stepping onto campus, some of Florida’s private colleges have resisted the change. At Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida Southern College in Lakeland and other small, liberal arts schools, administrators worry about sacrificing the high-quality, face-to-face instruction they are known for in order to make learning more convenient. They also worry what will happen if they fail to keep up with the online trend. Competition already is fierce for students, who, college officials said, are less willing to borrow money to pay the higher tuition prices many private schools charge.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/education/os-private-college-online-trend-20131227,0,270243.story

By St. Louis Today

Starting January 13th, 2014, at the St. Louis Public Library, anyone in St. Louis will be able to take a free online computer science course with mentorship, followed by a job. LaunchCode is a St. Louis-based volunteer initiative that provides a way for people of any background to get a great job in software development. LaunchCode is taking advantage of what are called MOOCs, or massive open online courses that are academically rigorous offerings from some of the world’s best universities—and best of all, free. The selected course is CS50x, “Introduction to Computer Science,” an online version of one of the most popular courses at Harvard College. Created by teaching “rock star” David M. Malan, the course is offered to anyone, anywhere on edX, the not-for-profit online learning enterprise founded by MIT and Harvard University.

http://interact.stltoday.com/pr/business/PR123013062015461

by GAYLE CHRISTENSEN & BRANDON ALCORN, Hindu Business Line

India is facing major challenges in higher education. In 2007, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh noted that in almost half of India’s districts, higher education enrolments were “abysmally low” and that two-thirds of Indian universities and 90 per cent of Indian colleges were rated as below average on quality parameters. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) may be one potential solution, not to overcome India’s higher education challenges entirely, but to help alleviate some of the country’s access and quality issues in higher education. MOOCs have attracted international media attention over the last two years. Leading universities from around the world have partnered with MOOC providers, such as Coursera and EdX, to deliver high-quality online courses for free to millions of students around the world.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/make-online-education-click/article5519453.ece

By Kim Da-ye, Korean Times

Long before lectures went online in American colleges, e-learning became popular in Korea, replacing costly private tuition. The Chalk Academy, founded by Yeo Soo-a, a 27-year-old physics student at KAIST, currently offers 159 mini lectures to nearly 4,500 student. It is modeled after the Kahn Academy, a website set up by Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate Salman Kahn who rose to fame for his short tutorials published on YouTube. “I wondered why the intellectuals in Korea including professors haven’t started a MOOC. I thought if college students started the trend, intellectuals would join the movement,” said Yeo in an interview with The Korea Times.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/people/2013/12/178_148883.html

by MindShift

While the UK and US urge their schools to be more like those of Pacific Asian countries, the pressure there is to travel in the opposite direction. Addressing teachers in 2012, Heng Swee Keat, Singapore’s Minister for Education, argued for a radical shift in policy: “The educational paradigm of our parents’ generation, which emphasized the transmission of knowledge, is quickly being overtaken by a very different paradigm. This new concept of educational success focuses on the nurturing of key skills and competencies such as the ability to seek, to curate and to synthesize information; to create and innovate; to work in diverse cross-cultural teams; as well as to appreciate global issues within the local context.” These comments came shortly after South Korea’s ex-minister for education Byong Man Ahn cast doubt on the usefulness of a high PISA ranking, despite Korean students ranking first in reading and maths, and third in science, in the 2009 PISA survey.

http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/12/whats-our-vision-for-the-future-of-learning/

by eLearning Infographics

From the very basic “problem cylinder”, “KHUT”, “SAKI” to the plethora of new platforms, this inforgraphic tracks the incredible journey of Leaning Management Systems since it began in 1906, when University of Wisconsin was established as the first distance learning institution. This infographic has a number of “holes” – notably Blackboard and other leading LMS, but it does give a sense of the chain of development of platforms for distance learning.

http://elearninginfographics.com/the-history-of-learning-management-systems-infographic/

by Sramana Mitra, One Million by One Million Blog

It is that time of the year when we tend to pause and reflect. What have we achieved this year? What are the highlights of culture, business, technology, and trends that we have observed around us? For me, the most exciting and positive movement at present is in the domain of technology impacting education. And it is an impact that is coming from many different directions. Let’s explore them in further detail.

http://www.sramanamitra.com/2013/12/26/the-future-of-education-10-trends-to-watch/

by Valley News

Many people joke about the forgetfulness that comes with age, but the laughing stops when absent-mindedness is diagnosed as dementia. According to Dementia Care Central, an online resource for dementia caregivers, the site estimated 5.4 million people in the U.S. have Alzheimer’s. That may be a shocking number, but keep in mind that Alzheimer’s disease is only one form of dementia. Finding ways to avoid memory issues as you age is important to everyone, but especially vital to those who have a family member who has been diagnosed with dementia. The good news is that researchers are continually discovering methods and techniques that improve, delay or even prevent dementia from occurring. One interesting line of attack against the debilitating disease is continuing your education. You may have been relieved when you finally graduated and moved on to the real world, but remaining a lifelong student will decrease your chances of battling devastating memory issues.

http://www.myvalleynews.com/story/75375/

by NME

The two year BA course is being run in conjunction with the University of Falmouth and British musical education specialists E-Mu, reports Music Radar. Courses in guitar, songwriting and music management will start in September 2014, with bass, drums and vocals courses in the pipeline. For more information, visit Emuedu.com. Earlier this year, a new heavy metal degree at Nottingham’s New College was criticised by leading education campaigners. The two-year course offers students the opportunity to learn how to compose and perform heavy metal music. However, the Campaign for Real Education hit out at the course and the college; labelling it an “easy option”.

http://www.nme.com/news/various-artists/74612

by Melissa, TDG

The course, called “Creative, Serious and Playful Science of Android Apps” is taught by Lawrence Angrave of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The course is divided into two tracks. First is the Android Developer Track, which is required for all students. This section began last December 2, and will end on January 26. Interested participants, however, may still join the class, as the course is still ongoing. Students who complete and pass this part of the course will receive a Statement of Accomplishment. Those who sign up for the Signature Track will get a Verified Certificate. The second section is the Computer Science and Programming Track. This is scheduled to run from January 27 until February 16. An optional part, this will introduce students to more complex computer science and programming concepts. An Illinois badge, plus a Statement of Accomplishment or Verified Certificate will also be given once students pass this section.

http://thedroidguy.com/2013/12/android-app-making-course/

by Jonathan Alcorn, Reuters

Universities in South Dakota, Nebraska, and other states have cut the number of credits students need to graduate. A proposal in Florida would let online courses forgo the usual higher-education accreditation process. A California legislator introduced a measure that would have substituted online courses for some of the brick-and-mortar kind at public universities. Some campuses of the University of North Carolina system are mulling getting rid of history, political science, and various others of more than 20 “low productive” programs. The University of Southern Maine may drop physics. And governors in Florida, North Carolina and Wisconsin have questioned whether taxpayers should continue subsidizing public universities for teaching the humanities.

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/12/we-are-creating-walmarts-of-higher-education/282619/

By Thomas Thoren, New Orleans Lens

Benjamin Franklin High School is looking to develop online coursework, both to bring in new money and to increase the school’s reach. At the board’s meeting Dec. 19, school president and CEO Timothy Rusnak gave a presentation on Louisiana’s Course Choice program. This online learning program allows high school students to take a multitude of online courses through other institutions, in-state or otherwise, and bring that grade back to the students’ home high schools. The state program began this school year. Benjamin Franklin High School will begin next year with an AP calculus course taught by Michael Masterson, who has developed online learning at community colleges. He is working with Rusnak to develop the online curriculum and the platform that students will use to access the coursework.

http://thelensnola.org/2013/12/27/school-leaders-developing-online-courses-for-income-recognition/

by Adam Rodewald, Green Bay Press Gazette

Education majors traditionally spend 18 weeks student teaching in a brick-and-mortar classroom before graduating. But that’s not Mike Wilbert’s style. The ambitious student at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh instead spent the first nine weeks of his practicum in front of a virtual classroom. The experience, despite a few kinks expected during a first-of-its-kind effort, has set a path for a cloud-based, tech-wedded future for teacher preparation programs.

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20131226/GPG0101/312260225/UW-Oshkosh-pilots-virtual-student-teaching-online-learning-blossoms?nclick_check=1