Virtually the Same?: Student Perceptions of the Equivalence of Online Classes to Face-to-Face Classes

by Carrie Anne Platt, et al; JOLT

Given the increasing number of online courses and the established association between student perceptions of learning environments and academic outcomes, this study investigated student perceptions of the equivalence of online classes and face-to-face classes. In contrast to previous studies on student perceptions of equivalence, which primarily used specific online classes as points of reference, this study focused on students’ perceptions of online courses in general. Overall, students did not perceive online and face-to-face classes to be equivalent, but previous exposure to online classes was positively associated with perceptions of general equivalence, comparative flexibility, comparative knowledge gained, and comparative level of interaction in online versus face-to-face classes. The final part of the paper applies these findings to the educational setting by discussing their implications for programs seeking to expand online course offerings.

http://jolt.merlot.org/vol10no3/Platt_0914.pdf

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How Google Glass Might Be Used in Education #infographic

by Open Colleges

The future is now. With Google Glass, teachers and students alike can display information in a smartphone-like hands-free format, while interacting with the Internet via natural language voice commands. With limitless possibilities at its fingertips, the education community can build closer working relationships with students, and allow children to get more involved with their learning experience. Here we take a look at how Google Glass might be used in education.

http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/google-glasses-education#.VIXfLjHF9hU

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Blended Learning: Making it Work in Your Classroom

by P.K. Yonge Devlopmental Research School

Blended learning is a core part of P. K. Yonge Developmental Research School. Since 2010, the school has taken a schoolwide approach to integrating digital content as part of their instructional framework. Driven by changes already happening at the higher education levels and the need to prepare students for the 21st century workplace, blended learning provides the school with a variety of ways to address student needs, differentiate instruction, and provide teachers with data for instructional decision-making. P. K. Yonge views blended learning as the combination of digital content and activity with face-to-face content and activity. It looks very different in each class at the school. When a teacher has an activity that works well face-toface, there isn’t any reason to look for a digital replacement. If they can find something digital that is more effective or efficient, then that is implemented.

http://www.edutopia.org/practice/blended-learning-making-it-work-your-classroom

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8 Ways to Help Introverts Brainstorm for Creative Projects

By Leah Levy, Edudemic

Here’s a little scenario that will be familiar to most teachers. There you are leading a brainstorm for a creative project, when you notice several students haven’t contributed a single word. Despite your best attempts to moderate and encourage all voices, you just can’t seem to catch the eyes of the quiet ones. But you know they’ve got great ideas; in fact, their written work is often the best in the class. And yet, you know they’ll be mortified if you call them by name — red cheeks and stammering is almost a guarantee. How can you help your introverted students brainstorm great ideas without this level of stress?

http://www.edudemic.com/8-ways-introverts-brainstorm/

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Clare-Gladwin RESD offers online learning option

By the Midland Daily News

Clare-Gladwin Regional Education Service District recently unveiled the Middle Michigan Regional Online Collaborative (MROC), offering students in grades 9-12 with an online learning option. The program gives high school students in Beaverton, Bullock Creek, Clare, Coleman, Farwell, Gladwin and Harrison school districts the opportunity to take up to two high school courses online each semester. Unlike a traditional online education experience, MROC provides multiple systems of support to help ensure student success. MROC courses are taught by a teacher from a local participating school district who is qualified a specific subject area.

http://www.ourmidland.com/news/clare-gladwin-resd-offers-online-learning-option/article_0cf7dd90-4e0b-502b-ad15-f9d95080ab6a.html

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Flexible Option: A Direct-Assessment Competency-Based Education Model

by Aaron Brower, EDUCAUSE Review

Although the need for more college degrees among the U.S. population is widely acknowledged, meeting that demand in the face of dramatically increased higher education costs, decreased state funding, and increasingly varied student demographics is a huge challenge. To address this, the University of Wisconsin (UW) launched its Flexible Option (UW Flex) direct-assessment CBE model, through which students can earn degrees and certificates from UW institutions. UW Flex focuses on assessment rather than credit hours, letting students undertake academic work at their own pace and prove mastery of required knowledge and skills through rigorous assessments. To help ensure student success, UW Flex supports students through an optimal blend of materials, people, and technology.

http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/flexible-option-direct-assessment-competency-based-education-model

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Columbia Launches Hybrid Learning Initiative

By Michael Hart, Campus Technology

Columbia University has launched an initiative to turn more of its traditional lecture courses into hybrid learning experiences that would incorporate the use of audiovisual materials, social media, flipped classrooms and real-time feedback from students. The Provost’s Faculty Advisory Committee on Online Learning has asked faculty members to submit their proposals to either turn existing courses into hybrid online courses or create new courses. A faculty committee will review the proposals and make recommendations to Provost John Coatsworth, who will announce November 24 which proposals the university will pursue. A second round of proposals will be accepted in the spring.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/11/10/columbia-launches-hybrid-learning-initiative.aspx

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Online snow days get early trial run

by Kim McGuire, Star Tribune

With vivid memories of the Polar Vortex and its frigid wrath, administrators at Cathedral High School in St. Cloud decided earlier this year that students would work from home online the next time bad weather forced a snow day. To make sure students and teachers were prepared, a “practice” snow day was slated for Nov. 21. But Mother Nature had other plans, dumping nearly a foot of snow on the St. Cloud area on Monday and forcing ­Cathedral officials to do a real-life trial before their test run. “It was sort of ready or not,” Cathedral High School Principal Lynn Grewing said. “But we were ready, and we got everything posted online pretty early.”

http://www.startribune.com/local/282227521.html

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Once taboo, cellphones now encouraged at some Treasure Valley schools

BY BILL ROBERTS, Idaho Statesman

If you want your Boise district school to start bring-your-own-device instruction, talk with your school principal, says David Roberts, district technology administrator. A student caught with a cellphone at school used to face almost certain doom. There was the trip to the vice principal’s office. Or the administrator slipped the phone into his desk drawer till the final bell rang. Or, worst of all, there was the dreaded call to parents. Teachers and principals once viewed cellphones as distractions and enemies of education. Now, increasing numbers of them are encouraging students to bring their electronic devices to class as an instrument that can deepen their learning.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/11/04/3465954/valley-students-cellphones-amp.html?sp=/99/101/

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University of Illinois to offer courses in Winter Session

By Abigale Svoboda, Daily Illini

After longing for winter break, many students find themselves bored with their month-long vacation. Starting this winter, students can earn a few credits by taking newly-offered winter break classes. The University will launch its online winter session pilot program during the 2014-2015 winter break. Students can enroll in one of eight different courses and earn up to four credit hours in four weeks. The University has never offered winter break courses, despite offering a summer session both online and on campus.

http://www.dailyillini.com/news/article_6398c2aa-5e2a-11e4-9561-001a4bcf6878.html

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Ultimate Guide to the Paperless Classroom

By Edudemic

Many top educators and administrators view the idea of a paperless classroom as an inevitability in education. In today’s digital age, these educators believe that a paperless classroom promotes a more efficient and organized classroom while preparing students for the practical world outside classroom walls. In other words, if every facet of life is becoming increasingly reliant on technology, then why not equip students accordingly? “We need technology in every classroom and in every student’s and teacher’s hand, because it is the pen and paper of our time,” said author and educator David Warlick. “It is the lens through which we experience much of our world.”

http://www.edudemic.com/ultimate-guide-paperless-classroom/

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Microsoft takes a stand on student privacy with best-in-class education solutions

by the Wall Street Journal

Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday opened its annual Microsoft in Education Global Forum by emphasizing the importance of student privacy and reaffirming its commitment to helping ensure that student data is never mined for advertising and marketing purposes. The opening keynote speech, which took place in front of an audience of 1,100, including innovative educators, school leaders and government officials from nearly 100 countries, also saw Microsoft highlight its end-to-end, best-in-class solutions with student success and career and college readiness at the forefront. “Privacy concerns are holding educators back from making the most of modern technology and preparing students to succeed in today’s workplace. At the same time, many solutions being used in the classroom are unintentionally putting student data at risk,” said Anthony Salcito, vice president, Worldwide Education, Microsoft.

http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20140312-903572.html

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Online training can support self-directed learning

by Virtual College (UK)

A growing number of businesses are pursuing the 70-20-10 principle in their learning and development initiatives. The concept involves the largest part of training coming through experience, but crucially, this is supported by other forms of learning: namely knowledge derived from colleagues and also courses and training, both online and in the classroom. The companies that are pursuing this principle include many at the top of their respective industries, such as Coca-Cola, Sony Ericsson, Morgan Stanley, Philips, Microsoft, Nike and Dell. The crucial thing to remember with such a multi-pronged approach is that each strand should support and reinforce the others, so online courses can be used to reiterate lessons that staff will need to learn in their day to day jobs, for example, while also introducing and expanding on other topics.

http://www.virtual-college.co.uk/news/Online-training-can-support-selfdirected-learning-newsitems-801702504.aspx

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4 Things To Consider As You Allow Phones in Class

By Colleen Lee, Edudemic

As a language teacher I find mobile phones are a great resource as a dictionary, a unique way to do homework and, for many of my students, an alternative way to take notes. I’ve been using them in my class for a while now and their presence is actually hardly noticed – so seamlessly is it a part of what we do. In working them into my class I’ve learned some things about how to introduce them that may help you if you just starting to allow them.

http://www.edudemic.com/4-things-consider-allow-phones-class/

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PCs See ‘Most Severe Contraction on Record’

By David Nagel, THE Journal

The PC market tanked last year, but not quite as badly as expected. Overall PC shipments fell 9.8 percent in 2103, slightly better than the 10.1 percent decline previously forecast by market research firm IDC. The drop was the “most severe contraction on record,” IDC reported in its Quarterly PC Tracker, and it’s won’t be the last. IDC said long-term growth will be slightly below negative for the PC market, with a 6.1 percent decline expected this year and a 0.8 percent decline forecast for 2015. Worldwide PC shipments hit 315.1 million units in 2013. That’s expected to drop again to 295.9 million in 2014. By 2018, that figure will have slid further to 291.7 million, according to IDC’s latest forecast.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/03/05/pcs-see-most-severe-contraction-on-record.aspx

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The 6 Education Technology Trends You Should Know About

By Katie Lepi, Edudemic

Not too long ago, the NMC Horizon Report: 2014 Higher Education Edition was released, with the aim of examining emerging technologies for their potential impact on and use in teaching and learning within higher education settings. This is the eleventh time the New Media Consortium has put out this report, and it is interesting to look back and see what they had to say last year, as compared with their findings this year. In the report, the NMC teams with the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative to identify six trends that are accelerating the adoption of technology in higher education.

http://www.edudemic.com/education-trends-keep-tech-front-center/

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Canadian Sixth Annual State of the Nation: K-12 Online Learning Reports Continued Expansion

by Marketwired

The recently released sixth annual State of the Nation: K-12 Online Learning in Canada report finds the total number and proportion of K-12 students enrolled in blended and online learning courses and programs continues to increase from year to year, with British Columbia, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba leading the way. The annual report provides a unique and valuable insight into what is happening across Canada in each jurisdiction. In addition to provincial and territorial profiles, this year’s report provides several brief issue papers that shed light on some of the successes and challenges facing educators and government leaders as they continue to embrace technology-supported education.

http://www.itbusinessnet.com/article/Sixth-Annual-State-of-the-Nation:-K-12-Online-Learning-Reports-Continued-Expansion-of-Online-and-Blended-Learning-in-Many-Provinces-and-in-First-Nations-Metis-and-Inuit-(FNMI)-Programs–3073620

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IT Directions: ‘Change is the Only Thing We Can Count On’

By Bridget McCrea, THE Journal

Working with limited budgets and a seemingly endless pipeline of new technology tools, applications and equipment to test out and possibly implement, today’s K-12 IT directors have a lot on their plates right now. Add Common Core State Standards and growth of mobile devices on campus to the equation and the task of balancing student and teacher needs with available resources becomes that much more daunting. “Nothing is static around here when it comes to IT; everything is changing all the time,” said Steve Young, CTO at the Judson Independent School District in San Antonio, TX. “Half of the tools and applications we’re talking about today didn’t even exist a few years ago. At this point, change is the only thing we can count on.”

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/02/13/it-directions-change-is-the-only-thing-we-can-count-on.aspx

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Online Learning in Libraries Targets High-School Dropouts

by BRUCE EDWARD WALKER, Heartlander

The concept of the traditional library continues to evolve from rooms teeming with musty books, dusty shelves and spinster librarians shushing patrons. The latest evolution involves offering online alternatives to high-school dropouts, allowing them the opportunity to earn a diploma rather than a General Equivalency Diploma (GED). On January 9, Cengage launched its Career Online High School program for public libraries. COHS blends online learning with academic coaches who assist students with career advice and curricula guidance.

http://news.heartland.org/newspaper-article/2014/02/10/online-learning-libraries-targets-high-school-dropouts

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Virtual classes catching on in Ann Arbor Public Schools

By Donna Iadipaolo, A2 Journal

Ann Arbor Public Schools is now offering 228 online courses for students this semester through its “A2 Virtual + Academy.” “Students in grades 5-12 are eligible to take up to two courses each semester through the A2 Virtual Academy,” said Merri Lynn Colligan, director of Instructional Technology for the district. Registration for the online courses for this semester began Dec. 16, said Colligan, and one algebra course will be offered to students in other districts. “The middle and high school course offerings can be viewed at www.A2virtual.org,” she said. “Disciplines include English, mathematics, science, social studies, world languages, and electives.”

http://www.heritage.com/articles/2014/02/03/ann_arbor_journal/news/doc52e93493198fc870968422.txt

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