3 Academic Advantages of Online Programs

By Lila Romero, US News

Online students can enjoy enhanced classroom discussions and acquire digital communication skills. Some people believe that online education provides a sub-par learning experience. But I think that’s hardly the case. As an online student earning a master’s degree in communication from Purdue University, I have come to know that some of my most memorable and enriching learning experiences happen within the virtual classroom. In my mind, there are three unique academic advantages of an online program.

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-learning-lessons/2015/10/16/3-academic-advantages-of-online-programs

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=14094

U Michigan Library Adds Video Streaming Service

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

The University of Michigan is one of the newest institutions to adopt a service that delivers streaming video to colleges and universities. Kanopy said it has added 377 new higher ed customers for the 2015-2016 academic year. Other new customers include the University of California, San Diego; Howard University; and Dartmouth College. U Michigan’s library introduced Kanopy to its community in August. Although the service boasts 26,000 documentaries, training films and theatrical releases in its collection, U Michigan focused its announcement on 600 videos in the area of the arts. Users are able to browse videos by subject or title. They can also create playlists and video clips. Streaming can be done on a PC with Flash, a Mac, iPads, iPhones and other mobile devices. The movies can be projected in classrooms, embedded into authenticated Web pages, including learning management system courses, and watched by any number of simultaneous viewers.

https://campustechnology.com/Articles/2015/09/14/U-Michigan-Library-Adds-Video-Streaming-Service.aspx

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=14077

Snow days no match for e-classes

by Daniel Morgan, Daily Reporter

As local schools gear up for the possibility of snow days this winter, two local districts are eyeing options that would allow teachers to conduct class even when bad weather keeps students home. Southern Hancock School Corp. was the first district in the county to make use of the Indiana Department of Education’s virtual-learning program, in which students log on to school-issued computers from home to complete assignments during days classes are canceled. Now the school district is prepared to repeat the program this school year, and Mt. Vernon School Corp. is hoping to take advantage of the opportunity, too. Officials from Southern Hancock say the program went well last year, and the district used the virtual lesson plans during all three days of its weather-related cancellations, sparing staff and students from making up that time later in the year.

http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/view/local_story/Snow-days-no-match-for-e-class_1443655429

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=13989

Helping Students Become Better Online Researchers

By Sarah Muthler, Edudemic

Your students are probably Internet authorities. When it comes to Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, they might know far more than you. All of that time spent tweeting and chatting doesn’t necessarily translate to deep learning though. As students progress through school, online research skills become more important — for good reason. Both college professors and employers will expect young people to know their way around the academic side of the Internet; a skill that for many students, needs to be taught. In a Pew survey, a majority of teachers said that their students lacked patience and determination when doing difficult research. A majority of teachers also said that their students didn’t know how to use multiple sources to support an argument.

http://www.edudemic.com/students-better-online-researchers/

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=13981

In the Mind of a Student

by Jacqueline Thomsen, Inside Higher Ed

Imagine if schoolteachers and college professors were immediately able to identify how each of their students learns, what learning style works best for each child and what new topics he or she is struggling with. Research faculty members at the University of Wisconsin at Madison are hoping that this can be the future of education. Their research uses a combination of psychology and computer science to determine how best to optimize teaching for individual students. This means teachers and professors will be able to immediately know what subjects students are struggling with and be able to address those needs, instead of teaching an entire class of students with ranging difficulties.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/09/25/researchers-uw-madison-hope-their-work-will-optimize-teachers-time-students

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=13928

Groups partner on spiraled technology skills integrated curriculum

by eSchool News

A new approach helps districts achieve continuity in teaching coding, programming and computer sciencecurriculum. Imparting 21st century skills means starting young learners with a proper foundation and thoughtfully advancing students with age-appropriate offerings at each grade and level. For its new 2015-2016 portfolio of curriculum solutions, Sunburst has been working with three partners–StudioWeb, Tynker and Wonder Workshop–that are passionate about introducing programming, coding and computer science to students spanning K-12.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/09/18/integrated-curriculum-986/

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=13870

Udemy sees 200% rise in revenue, online learning demand increases

by Natalie Marsh, the Pie News

Online learning platform, Udemy, has seen an increase in revenue of 200% year on year, as the demand for skills-based online learning increases.Udemy, which launched in 2010 in the US, provides free and paid-for online courses tailored for skills-based learning in subjects including language learning, office productivity and IT and software. Courses are created by instructors themselves, who receive all of the revenue, minus the payment fees, if they bring students to their course, or half of the revenue if students were brought in by Udemy. The revenue increase of the platform overall has risen since last year, when it was displaying a growth of 160%.

http://thepienews.com/news/udemy-sees-200-rise-in-revenue-online-learning-demand-increases/

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=13770

7 Things You Must Know About Lifetime Learning

By Miriam Cross, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

It’s never too late to go back to school, for a degree or for pleasure. You have plenty of options. Older adults may enroll in a degree program, sit in on regular college courses, attend classes with peers or take courses online. Many colleges and universities allow older adults to audit or take classes for credit, as well as host lifelong learning programs for adults 50 and over.

http://www.kiplinger.com/article/college/T042-C000-S002-what-you-must-know-about-lifetime-learning.html

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=13762

A Better Way to Find the Right OER

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

For a lot of educators who want to use open educational resources (OER), the challenge is finding the “good stuff.” Useful lessons, textbooks and whole courses may be freely available online, but pinpointing the ones that can really help students with a particular learning objective can become a major hurdle to their adoption. Russ Walker is an advocate for OER usage at DeVry University Long Beach as a professor in the College of Business & Management. He especially likes OER for supplemental materials. “Very often a textbook or other resources that are built into the course don’t quite hit a learning objective right on the head,” he noted. Students often come at the content with their own perspectives, interests and backgrounds, and they may need to learn a concept “in another way or from another viewpoint,” he said, or they may just need a review on a topic they haven’t worked with in a long time. So Walker does what he can to “provide a variety of resources, including OER.”

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/09/02/a-better-way-to-find-the-right-oer.aspx

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=13755

Online Tools Support Professor’s Commitment to Student Success Through Course Evaluation and Feedback

By: Cassie Lipp, University of Cincinnati

While statistics may be a difficult subject for many students, UC’s Chris Swoboda makes it easier for students to learn by breaking his Statistical Data Analysis I and II courses up into small online modules and units. Swoboda, an assistant professor in the School of Education, said making the courses available online has made the course accessible to more students, and it also creates an environment that allows them to personalize their learning experience. The course formats include extensive use of discussion boards, online tests and quizzes, web links, electronic feedback on homework, and instructions for Lynda.com and other web-based resources. Course videos include recorded lectures, tutorials for sample problems and explanations for discussion board questions.

http://www.uc.edu/profiles/profile.asp?id=22152

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=13747

15 Online Resources That Help Improve Essay-Writing Skills

By Julie Petersen, THE Journal

Throughout the journey from kindergarten to 12th grade, students are supposed to gain appropriate vocabulary and grammar skills that need to be successfully implemented into essay writing. Here are some effective online tools that can help you make the art of essay writing more attractive for your students.

http://thejournal.com/Articles/2015/06/25/15-Online-Resources-That-Help-Improve-Essay-Writing-Skills.aspx

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/d46wQoeIpn0/

7 Tips for Being a Successful Online Student

By Kristen Hicks, Edudemic

Once upon a time, educators recoiled from the idea of online education. How could classes taken over a computer possibly provide the same benefit to students as those taken in person? As technology has improved and more reputable educational institutions have embraced online learning over the past few years, many of the early criticisms lobbied at online learning have been well challenged. Over a third of all higher education students are taking at least one of their courses online, and more than 12% are enrolled in online courses exclusively. Clearly students, professors, and colleges are all coming around to the idea of distance education.

http://www.edudemic.com/7-tips-successful-online-student/

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/Aoy6ipAHiDU/

Economics & Humanities Podcasts to Propel Student Learning

By Leah Levy, Edudemic

Several weeks ago, we took a look at a number of excellent podcasts just begging to be used in History and STEM classrooms. This week, we’re detailing a few more excellent podcasts to add to the classroom library, along with further ideas for how you can integrate each type. Our goal: to spread a love and joy for podcasts the worldwide, and to promote a lot of learning along the way!

http://www.edudemic.com/podcasts-propel-learning/

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/u2PTz5zJEFQ/

Harrington Park plans to start online math program during the summer

by MARC LIGHTDALE, North Jersey

The school district is putting together a new online mathematics program this summer to extend and supplement lessons from the academic year. Called mZone, it will use online resources to help 20 students work on math instruction beginning in July. “Parents are excited to see that this district never rests on its laurels and we’re looking to lead the way,” Superintendent Adam Fried said. The school district charges $200 to cover the costs for staffing and material.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/education/district-plans-to-start-online-math-program-1.1366890

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/OtVE629Z1l0/

Internet2 implements large-scale deployment of ONOS in live network

by Stefanie Botelho,University Business

Internet2, the open source SDN Network Operating System (ONOS) community, and the Internet2 NOC at Indiana University today announced they have actively deployed ONOS on Internet2’s nationwide research and education (R&E) network. Five higher education institutions —Duke University, Florida International University, the Indiana GigaPoP,MAX and the University of Maryland – College Park, and the University of Utah—are connected to a virtual slice of the Internet2 nation-wide network that is piloting this next-generation advanced network technology. “This is a major milestone in the SDN era,” said Rob Vietzke, vice president of network services at Internet2.

http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/internet2-implements-first-large-scale-deployment-onos-live-network

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/D9k8a_Bwo8o/

Educators From Every UNC System University Expand Online Teaching Abilities

By Amanda Wilcox, Times Warner Cable News

UNC system teachers from across the state are learning more about online teaching as the new education avenue continues to expand across the U.S. The National Center for Education Statistics reports more than 46,000 students took classes exclusively online through North Carolina universities in 2012. This week, 28 teachers from every UNC school are in Wilmington for the Instructional Innovation Incubator (i3) conference to learn more about teaching online. “Most of them have never taught online before. So they are brave and they are very motivated to learn more about teaching in online environments,” said Diana Ashe, with the UNCW Center for Teaching Excellence. The week-long conference is giving the instructors the opportunity to develop their own online courses. Thursday, they also learned about the tools available to them.

http://www.twcnews.com/nc/north-carolina/education/2015/06/4/educators-from-every-unc-university-expand-online-teaching-abilities.html

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/VruNDypzta8/

To curb cyberbullies, this district will monitor students’ social media

By Leslie Postal, Orlando Sentinel

Student messages on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook are now being monitored by the Orange County (Fla.) school district as part of a new program to curb cyberbullying, crime on campus and suicide. Central Florida’s largest school district announced that it had acquired new software that would allow it to grab and then analyze social media messages posted from its campuses, whether from students or staff. The software also would allow the district to search the thousands of messages posted on various sites for key words that might indicate trouble.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/06/02/social-media-monitoring-635/

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/wYGiNkPnlus/

Waco, University high schools to offer online, college-level courses

By STEPHANIE BUTTS, Waco Tribune

Waco Independent School District will begin online dual-credit classes in the fall in response to students’ requests to increase higher-level courses at both high schools. The online credit is part of a joint program between Waco ISD and McLennan Community College that will allow students to earn up to 18 college credit hours by the time they graduate high school, said Scott McClanahan, the district’s director of secondary advanced academics. Students who complete the necessary requirements in high school will automatically be enrolled at MCC the following summer to allow them to complete an associate’s degree within the following year, McClanahan said.

http://www.wacotrib.com/news/higher_education/waco-university-high-schools-to-offer-online-college-level-courses/article_7b4a78bb-940e-54e8-a53d-5aa4385b7512.html

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/27SDre56vrg/

4 Ways Digital Tech Has Changed K-12 Learning

By Matthew Lynch, THE Journal

Digital technology has taken the world by storm — particularly in the past decade. It makes sense that this trend would have an impact on K-12 learning because there is nothing in modern American society that digital technology has not touched. While the names of the mobile applications and computer programs may change, there are some foundational ways that technology has already changed the face of education forever.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2015/05/20/4-ways-digital-tech-has-changed-k12-learning.aspx

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/6Sdxq1YWmLs/

(Higher) Learning to Confidently Embrace the Cloud

by Steve Hall, EDUCAUSE Review

Moving some IT applications to the public cloud can benefit even small colleges, providing economies of scale not otherwise possible. The collaborative nature of the cloud means that academic institutions are highly susceptible to data loss — a vulnerability that makes data backup vital. IT looks for partners to help continuously improve business processes, adopt best practices, and help with professional development of the staff using the service.

http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/higher-learning-confidently-embrace-cloud

Share on Facebook

from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/lw-XUEsMA78/