Online Education Space

Around noon most days at Johnson County Community College, educational technologist Marziah Karch shuts her office door, relaxes in front of her laptop and spends her lunch break with a sandwich and a MOOC.

MOOCs — massive open online courses — have attracted millions of students from all over the globe to learn from top professors at elite universities such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford, Princeton and Harvard.The best part is that MOOCs are free. All you need is time, a computer and the Internet. With that kind of anywhere, anytime, no-cost flexibility, MOOCs have moved to the center of a national discussion about the future of higher education. If students can get their higher education from MOOCs, then could universities’ ever more costly brick-and-mortar classrooms be in jeopardy of losing students?Some education experts say they expect that before long, higher education may look very different.MOOCs are poised to “change the game” for higher education, said Molly Corbett Broad, president of the American Council on Education.“MOOCs are changing the delivery system,” said Ed Hammond, president of Fort Hays State University. Kevin Carey, director of the education policy program at the New America Foundation, told the Chronicle of Higher Education that “the future is so clearly one of universal access to free, high-quality, impeccably bra…………… continues on Kansas City Star

Distance Education: A Systems View of Online Learning
The most comprehensive and authoritative book on the subject, DISTANCE EDUCATION, Third Edition, emphasizes a systems approach to …

The Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Designing and Teaching Online Courses (0)
”A rare book in education: one that is not only highly useful but also intellectually coherent and based on robust, transferable …

Bending to the will of Idaho voters, members of the State Board of Education voted 7-1 to ditch a requirement that Idaho high school students take two online classes to graduate.

But Monday’s decision clearly won’t be the last time the issue comes up: Nearly all of the board members said some Internet-learning mandate was necessary, to prepare public school students for the evolving, technology-dominated work force.

On Nov. 6, voters rejected all three laws that encompassed public schools chief Tom Luna’s education overhaul.

Most unpopular was Proposition 3, which included a $ 180 million contract for laptops — and the law directing the State Board of Education to establish an online requirement. Board members said their repeal of the two-credit requirement essentially resets discussions with groups including the Idaho Education Association teachers union about what level of online learning is appropriate.

“I still want to rapidly get back to the stakeholder approach that does something regarding the integration of technology in our classrooms,” said Board President Kenneth Edmunds, of Twin Falls, during the meeting in Boise.

With the vote, Idaho retreats from the ranks of states — Alabama, Florida and Michigan are the others — requiring Internet-courses to graduate.

The Idaho Education Association didn’t immediately return a ph…………… continues on Atlanta Journal Constitution

If you are not up for fighting rabid crowds in the middle of the night for a chance to purchase a laptop at a descent price, cyber shopping may be a safe alternative. Amazon has already begun its Black Friday Deals Week. Waiting lists have been instituted, so do not delay!

One excellent deal that is about to close (in 49 minutes) is a Samsung Series 3 laptop for $ 299.99. A 32 GB flash drive for $ 18.99 deal is also about to expire. Other electronics are also available. Samsung Galaxy tablets are currently on sale as well as printers, desktops, and monitors.

Best Buy is also advertising Cyber Monday deals and Black Friday online sales. The store will announce its Black Friday cyber deals on Thursday, November 22, 2012. Signing up for Best Buy email alerts will enable you to receive timely information about Black F…………… continues on Examiner.com

Distance Education: A Systems View of Online Learning
The most comprehensive and authoritative book on the subject, DISTANCE EDUCATION, Third Edition, emphasizes a systems approach to …

Building Online Learning Communities: Effective Strategies for the Virtual Classroom (Jossey Bass Higher and Adult Education)
Building Online Learning Communities further explores the development of virtual classroom environments that foster a sense of com…

No one should be surprised that the world’s premier public university wants in on the most pervasive trend in higher education: online learning.

In 2010, before the current explosion in online classes, open courseware and numerous flashy start-ups, the UC system created the UC Pilot Instruction program with the hope of offering for-credit online classes. Two years on, the program has finally launched its first classes and is on the brink of opening said classes to non-UC students. If program administrators can get their act together, this would be a welcome move that could be tailored to help our transfer students and address the problem of impacted community college classes.

In many ways, the UC Pilot Instruction program has bucked the trend of online learning. While other universities made their classes available for free online long ago, albeit without offering credit — for example, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology put its first courses online in 2002 — the UC pilot program is not only late, but lacks cohesion. Within the system’s 10 campuses, UC Irvine has been part of the open courseware trend since 2006, and UC Berkeley recently joined EdX, a high-profile online education collaboration between MIT and Harvard University. Given that many of the UC system’s own campuses have put their efforts elsewhere — and especially in li…………… continues on The UCSD Guardian Online

Craig H. Kennedy, senior associate dean at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College and a professor of special education and pediatrics, recently was named dean of the College of Education at the University of Georgia.

The appointment was announced by Jere Morehead, UGA senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, to whom Kennedy will report.

“I am very pleased that Dr. Kennedy has accepted our offer to become dean of the College of Education,” said UGA President Michael F. Adams. “The University of Georgia has a nationally important leadership role to play in ensuring access to quality education and conducting research that provides a foundation for optimal learning and human development. I am confident that Dr. Kennedy’s leadership will guide the college effectively in its important missions.”

Kennedy’s appointment is effective Jan. 1.

“The College of Education plays a vital role in preparing teachers and other professionals while also conducting outreach and research whose impact extends well beyond the state,” Morehead said. “Faculty in the college are already ranked among the most productive researchers in the nation, and Dr. Kennedy has the skills and experience to take the college and its research enterprise to an even higher level of prominence.”

For the past four years, Peabody College has been ranked the nation’s t…………… continues on Online Athens

FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION: We continue our series on the rise of online and blended learning and how free online courses are set to transform the higher education sector. Today RMIT’s Vice Chancellor, Mararet Gardner looks at how online education will affect different parts of higher education.

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New technologies and online learning are set to transform universities bringing an era of great change. But as we struggle to understand exactly what and how much disruption we will experience – and how soon – we need to also understand that change won’t be uniform across the sector.

With so many different sectors in tertiary education, the challenge created by Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) – free online courses offered by prestigious universities – will be more immediately important for some more than others.

Real disruption

The debate to date has mades it seem that the large-scale online free courses known as MOOCs, will affect every element of what universities offer. And underlying this debate is fear. Will there be fewer universities as we now know them? Undoubtedly, yes.

These fears about online learning and recognising their potential have been around for a while, but have reignited since we added “massive” and…………… continues on The Conversation

Engaging the Online Learner: Activities and Resources for Creative Instruction (Jossey-Bass Guides to Online Teaching and Learning)
This is a revision of the first title in Jossey-Bass’ Online Teaching & Learning series. This series helps higher education profes…

Essentials of Online Course Design: A Standards-Based Guide
In spite of the proliferation of online learning in higher education, creating online courses can still evoke a good deal of frust…

MISSOULA, Mont. — The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights has been investigating a complaint that educational technology used at the University of Montana is not adequately accessible to all students with disabilities.

The Alliance for Disability and Students at the University of Montana filed a complaint with the Department of Education last May alleging students with disabilities face discrimination at UM. The department’s Office of Civil Rights confirmed in an email to the Missoulian (http://bit.ly/QlCqcY ) Monday that it is investigating.

Travis Moses, a blind student, said he can’t always do his homework because some online videos loaded onto the learning management system Moodle don’t have adequate captions and some online images are not clear enough for a screen reading program to translate.

“I’ve been told every year, ‘Oh, we’re working on it,’” said Moses, a senior majoring in social work. “Well, you know, I’ve gotten to the point that I doubt it. I’m angry that something was put in place that was not verified.”

Courtney Damron, director of ADSUM, said the group tried to resolve the problem through channels on campus, but after five years of discussion, they felt UM administrators had not adequately addressed problems so the st…………… continues on The Republic

TALLAHASSEE – 

Every day, thousands of young students log onto the internet to take online classes.

They learn everything from arithmetic to American history and then get a grade that will count toward graduation.

Those grades are supposed to be awarded by certified teachers, but that may not be happening in the case of K12, a company contracted to run virtual schools.

The Florida Department of Education is investigating allegations of grades being doled out by uncertified teachers working for K12.

The company offers online classes in 43 Florida school districts, including Leon County, where district spokesman Chris Petley says red flags have gone up.

“We have a very limited number of classes (that) our students have taken specifically (from) this company, and in (those instances), we’ve had a couple where we have…moved the students,” Petley said.

The revelation is casting new light on the integrity of the virtual school program, putting officials at the State Department of Education in a difficult position.

They now have to investigate the very company they’ve turned to in an effort to help reduce class sizes and save money.

It’s a company that may also be using certified teachers to sign off on students they’ve never taught.

Even as critics charge K12 with cutting…………… continues on Bay News 9

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CARBONDALE – Hundreds of informative and interesting non-credit classes are just a computer away with Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s “Education to Go” online program.

The University’s Continuing Education and Outreach, in partnership with ed2go, offers more than 350 online, instructor-led courses covering a wide variety of topics and specialties. The courses are convenient and interactive, and feature lessons, quizzes, hands-on learning, discussion areas and supplementary work.

While the courses do not earn SIU Carbondale college credit, Continuing Education and Outreach keeps course completion records on file for transcript requests. Some courses offer continuing professional education credit.

Courses start at $ 94, and include most materials. The diverse course offerings cover everything from how to start your own business, invest in real estate, web technology and security, computer programing, accounting, creative writing, medical coding, several languages, grammar, and protecting your money, credit and identity, and many more topics.

<…………… continues on The Southern

Legislators got a crash course on online education yesterday, from virtual schools to “blended” ones, and how far other states and countries have gone with the technology.

But this could take a while, and few on the Joint Committee for the Public Schools appeared to have their minds changed much — for or against — after at least this first class.

The committee held the special session to discuss the various models, as the Christie administration has moved ahead in approving charter schools employing the technology in levels not seen before in the state.

While countless traditional schools offer some online classes, two charter schools have been approved that would be entirely online, with students taking class from home or other remote locations. They have been postponed a year.

Two other “blended” schools, which opened this fall in Newark, have students come to a school location every day and work with both teachers face-to-face and online.

What the Legislature seeks to do at this point is unclear, although it is likely new legislation around charter schools in general will be introduced and would include provisions for online education. A similar session of the Joint Committee was held last year.

But the arrival of the new schools has sparked considerable debate among education and community advocates, with the state’s domi…………… continues on Patch.com

The University of Virginia may have settled its most urgent controversy by reinstating President Teresa Sullivan after initially forcing her out. But still unresolved is one issue underlying her ouster: whether the university was too slow to join the stampede of schools into the world of online education.

Many other schools share the concern and wonder if the technology will live up to its hype.

Rollins College in Florida was one of the early…………… continues on NPR

Research | Feature

Eighth-Graders and Algebra: Making the Case for Online Education

A better question than “Does online learning work?” might be “Under what circumstances and conditions does it have a positive impact on educational outcomes?”

Schools and districts are increasingly turning to online courses to expand learning opportunities for students, even though the research base supporting their effectiveness has been lacking. A 2009 US Department of Education review found only five studies in K-12 settings with research designs that provided enough evidence to suggest that online instruction yields positive effects. Meanwhile, a number of recent news stories have raised concerns about whether online learning–particularly full-time virtual schools –is fulfilling promises to support students’ academic achievement while containing, or even reducing, costs. As a result, many are still asking whether online learning works.

Because we have conducted one of the first rigorous research studies of K-12 online learning, we think a better question than “Does online learning work?” is “What are the circumstances and conditions under which online learning can have a positive impact on educational ou…………… continues on T.H.E. Journal

A Web-based education need not involve never leaving the house. Who’ll be first to offer the best networking amenities?

Declan TM/Flickr

At small liberal arts colleges everywhere, you’ll often hear administrators and faculty talk about the idea of learning as much from living on a residential campus as one does in the classroom. That’s just one aspect of “the college experience” that critics of online education lament losing in the imagined future where most courses are taught online and the university as we know it disappears.

That is how we imagine the future, isn’t it? During an Aspen Ideas Festival panel on the huge growth in distance learning, even among elite universities, moderator Rehema Ellis started to muse on whether her 9-year-old son would come of age in an era when online college was the norm.

“My God,” she suddenly said, “will he not leave home?”

But I can imagine an online education industry that looks a lot different than 18-year-olds streaming lectures in childhood bedrooms they seldom leave. In fact, I think selling “the college experience” to students taking their courses online is going to be a major growth industry over the next decade.

The Online Learning Idea Book, Volume 1: 95 Proven Ways to Enhance Technology-Based and Blended Learning
“For those who think online learning can’t be truly interactive, Patti Shank and her colleagues clearly demonstrate–in hundreds o…

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By Mary Carmichael and Johanna Kaiser, Globe Staff and Globe Correspondent

CAMBRIDGE — Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said today they will team up to launch a $ 60 million initiative to offer free, online, college-level courses under a joint superbrand known as edX.

The announcement instantly makes the entity a preeminent player in the burgeoning worldwide online education sector, which has seen several major start-ups — including some affiliated with top-tier universities — in recent months.

MIT already has a head start. In December, it announced it would create Web-based courses featuring discussion forums, short videos, and laboratory simulations, all under the guidance of MIT professors and teaching assistants. It hopes other universities will adopt the technology from its open-source platform.

But Harvard??™s role in the project goes well beyond using MIT??™s existing platform to deliver its own content. The two universities also plan to collaborate on research into how students learn online by monitoring the progress of the hundreds of thousands of people they hope will sign up for classes, which could range from high-level math and engineering to the humanities.

???Through this partnership we will not only make knowledge more available but we will learn more about learning,???…………… continues on Boston.com

by Matt Standal

Bio | Email | Follow: @mattstandal

KTVB.COM

Posted on May 1, 2012 at 1:28 PM

Updated yesterday at 8:22 PM

BOISE — Despite his flashy smile and willingness to help students, it might be fair to say that Sal Khan isn’t your average teacher.

It also might be fair to say he isn’t your average venture capitalist, or your average ex-hedge fund manager.

That’s because Khan — who boasts three degrees from MIT along with an MBA from Harvard — is using all that knowledge to start his own revolution in teaching and learning:  The online Khan Academy — based in Mountain View, California.

The Khan Academy offers thousands of free, YouTube-based lessons on hundreds of topics from algebra, to organic chemistry, to venture capitalism. While the lessons are designed for K-12 stu…………… continues on KTVB

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