Penn State World Campus Taps VR for Educating Teachers

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology
A project at Penn State World Campus immersed teachers into a virtual classroom as part of a graduate-level special education course. Students could use a virtual reality headset to watch 360-degree videos or view them as regular videos on YouTube.  The course, “Special Education 801,” helps teachers learn how to respond to challenging behaviors. The 360-degree view allows them to be placed into the classroom virtually to view a teacher explaining how she has arranged the space for learning. The videos were created using a 360-degree video camera and uploaded into the course in just a few days, Penn State World Campus representatives said.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/08/08/penn-state-world-campus-taps-vr-for-educating-teachers.aspx

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Report: VR and AR to Double Each Year Through 2021

By Joshua Bolkan, Campus Technology
Global spending on augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) will double, at a minimum, each year through 2021, according to a new forecast from International Data Corp. (IDC). Total spending on products and services in the category will reach $215 billion in 2021, according to the company, up from $11.4 billion this year and representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 113.2 percent for the forecast period. This year the United States will lead spending in the category at $3.2 billion, followed by Asia/Pacific excluding Japan (APeJ) at $3 billion and Western Europe at $2 billion. IDC predicts APEJ to take the top spot from the US for a couple years, slowing in 2019 and relinquishing the top spending slot in 2020 while Western Europe will move into the second spot in the following year.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/08/07/report-vr-and-ar-to-double-each-year-through-2021.aspx

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Report: Faculty want more OER-here’s why

BY LAURA ASCIONE, eCampus News

The study, Launching OER Degree Pathways: An Early Snapshot of Achieving the Dream’s OER Degree Initiative and Emerging Lessons, was released by Achieving the Dream (ATD) and conducted by SRI International and the rpk GROUP. The report indicates that faculty at colleges participating in ATD’s OER Degree Initiative are changing their teaching and that students are at least as or more engaged using OER courses than students in non-OER classrooms. Eighty-four percent of faculty members surveyed said students in the new OER courses had the same or a higher level of engagement with the learning materials as compared to courses they have taught using traditional course materials. Meanwhile, faculty with experience in using open resources who received assistance from technology specialists and librarians in developing their courses were most likely to report changes in their teaching, the report says.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/curriculum/report-faculty-oer/

http://achievingthedream.org/press_release/16735/after-one-year-largest-initiative-to-promote-the-use-of-open-educational-resources-for-degree-completion-finds-robust-course-development-strong-faculty-support-and-broad-based-leadership-for-oer-use

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Report says innovations could significantly impact the growth of edtech through to 2020

by Seb Murray, Business Because

Augmented reality and cloud computing are two key innovations driving the nascent edtech market in the US, according to a new study. Tech consultancy Technavio says the twin technologies, plus simulation, which replicates aspects of the real world online, have the potential to significantly impact the growth of edtech through to 2020. “The e-learning market in the US is growing rapidly due to changes in the education sector, such as the introduction of education technology and online content to the curriculum,” said Jhansi Mary, a lead analyst from Technavio. Innovations by vendors have led to the use of more advanced technologies such as simulations, cloud-based solutions, and AR in the education system.”

http://www.businessbecause.com/news/mba-distance-learning/4118/ar-cloud-computing-power-online-learning

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A School Blended With Online and On Campus Learning

By EMILY CLARK, Good4Utah

AISU Virtual is a blended online and on-campus program to promote a K-12 School in Murray, Utah. This allows students to work at their own speed online as well as on-campus. AISU Virtual, blends online and on-campus to personalize students learning. Core classes in English Language Arts, Social Studies and Science are taken online throughout the year at student’s own pace. All other courses, including mathematics and electives, may be taken online throughtout the year or taken on-campus following AISU’s trimester schedule. Students participate in two week learning Intensives. Three times a year (fall, winter and spring), AISU students can enroll in a hands-on interactive learning experiences, earning 0.5 credit each intensive. Students choose from 30-40 courses designed by AISU teachers and guest instructors that fulfill most elective requirements.

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Transformation Program offers innovative course design approach

by Penn State University

This fall, five Penn State faculty making up the first cohort of the Blended Learning Transformation (BlendLT) program offered by Penn State Teaching and Learning with Technology (TLT) will be teaching their newly designed blended courses. Born out of Penn State’s mission to transform education, BlendLT not only offers full support for faculty who wish to redesign their existing residential instruction course to an innovative blended (face-to-face and online) format, but also sees the process through the actual teaching of the course and measurement of learning outcomes once the course has ended.

http://news.psu.edu/story/420516/2016/08/11/academics/blended-learning-transformation-program-offers-innovative-course

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6 Questions to Ask About Faculty in an Online Graduate Engineering Program

By Ian Quillen, US News

The life of an online engineering student isn’t that different from an on-ground one. Many online classes, heavily mathematical in nature, lend themselves easily to a live or archived lecture followed by a problem set students have to complete independently. Labs are sometimes more difficult to replicate online, but often students fulfill those with periodic campus visits. Because the course content translates easily, experts say, engineering schools have had a head start on making an online option available for students. But that doesn’t mean students should settle for programs that aren’t thoughtful about how to turn quality in-person instruction into an equally fulfilling virtual experience. Here are six questions to ask that may shed light on the quality of instruction in an online engineering graduate program.

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2015/08/10/6-questions-to-ask-about-faculty-in-an-online-graduate-engineering-program

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Can online tutors make anytime, anywhere learning a reality?

By Peter West, eSchool News

Recently, I began dubbing the current generation of students the “Netflix Generation.” They learn when they want, and expect learning resources to be available when and where they need them. This is similar to the way they consume media through streaming services such as Netflix (for movies and television series) and Spotify (for music). However, this now produces other pressures. Learning outside of traditional school hours does not remove the need for teachers. If all that students needed in order to learn was information, schools would have closed once Google and high-speed broadband arrived on the scene. Students continue to need support, a human explanation, encouragement to work through a problem, and insight to take them through a mental barrier to get to the next stage of problem solving. Yet if significant learning is happening outside traditional school hours, who is available to support it?

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/08/11/online-tutors-328/

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Documentation, communication key to online summer PE class

by Grace Paine, Charlottesville Tomorrow

Does physical education need to take place in the school gym? According to staff and students at Charlottesville High School, the answer is “no.” Charlottesville High School recently wrapped up its second year of offering students the chance to fulfill their physical education credit by taking a virtual course over the summer. The program’s goal, administrators say, is to grant students greater flexibility in their schedules so that they can pursue individualized interests during the school year.

http://www.cvilletomorrow.org/news/article/21707-documentation-communication-key-to-online-pe/

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Fla. students required to take online class to graduate

By Leigh Spann, WFLA

In 2011, the Florida Legislature passed the Digital Learning Act requiring students to complete one online course in order to graduate. At that time, high school sophomores, juniors and seniors were grandfathered out of the stipulation. This year’s rising seniors are the first that must graduate with a virtual course. Many haven’t yet. “That’s what we hear statistically from around our districts, 30 percent,” said Celeste Sanchez, District Relations Manager Florida Virtual School. Kelley Brenes is a rising junior at Sickles High School in Tampa. She may be two years from graduating, but she’s fulfilling the online class requirement right now.

http://www.wfla.com/story/26247954/students-need-online-class-to-graduate-many-havent-taken

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Back to School Anything but Routine for Alaska Virtual Academy Students

By Marketwatch

New school supplies and meeting new teachers are still part of the first day of school for Alaska Virtual Academy (AKVA) students across the state. They’ll meet each other in homeroom and catch up with classmates from last year, but there won’t be any backpacks, school cafeteria food or catching the bus for these students, who go to school full-time online. Instead, they’ll be learning how to log on, manage their homework and meet their assigned teacher as they learn from home. AKVA is a tuition-free, online public school, available to students in grades K-8 across the state of Alaska. Students attend school full-time online, and use the internet to access the engaging, award-winning K¹² curriculum. A public school choice, AKVA gives parents and families the opportunity to maximize their success with individualized learning.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/back-to-school-anything-but-routine-for-alaska-virtual-academy-students-2014-08-12

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Canvas Network Announces Minecraft MOOCs and App in a Suite of 15 MOOCs

by Kim Sun-Mi, Korea Times

Learning technology company Instructure, the creator of the Canvas learning management system for K-12 and higher education, today announced a major new experiment in K-12 learning by unveiling a suite of more than 15 MOOCs for teachers, students and even parents on its Canvas Network platform. The most ambitious collection of K-12 MOOCs to date, the suite includes two Minecraft MOOCs that aim to help teachers leverage gamification best practices in the classroom. Enrollment is free and open for registration for anyone in the world at canvas.net

http://www.koreaittimes.com/story/39940/canvas-network-announces-minecraft-moocs-and-app-suite-15-moocs-k-12-teachers-students-a

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