Distance Education Offers Alternative Path for Students

by Wilmington Biz

The first priority of UNCW’s strategic plan is to “attract and retain high-quality, diverse students” by ensuring that “a UNCW education is accessible and affordable to the sons and daughters of North Carolina.” Access to education is always on our minds as we consider new programs and curriculum, because many times accessibility can make all the difference in completing a program or making the decision to pursue an advanced degree. Distance education and online programs are the answer for many students, particularly non-traditional students. Tuition costs, location and professional and personal commitments often derail a student’s educational aspirations, but online programs can be a way to overcome these obstacles.

http://www.wilmingtonbiz.com/insights/aswani_volety/distance_education_offers_alternative_path_for_students/1882

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=35484

‘iLearn@home’: Teachers, students prepare for out-of-classroom instruction

BY WILL PERKINS, Glasgow Daily Times

Barren County High School students returned from winter break on Wednesday to begin a new semester. In addition to meeting their new teachers and classmates, students also began preparing for potential snow days. Since Barren County Schools participates in the iLearn@home program, instruction doesn’t stop when school is canceled due to inclement weather. For the first five days school is out, students can independently complete activities and assignments that their teachers plan ahead of time — and then these days don’t have to be made up later. BCHS Principal Brad Johnson said teachers and students have really embraced this program. “I think it’s been a great thing for us,” he said of iLearn@home. “I think it’s led to more students and more teachers using the online capabilities.

http://www.glasgowdailytimes.com/news/ilearn-home-teachers-students-prepare-for-out-of-classroom-instruction/article_6425832a-f0cb-11e7-b7a1-1f90d7385b2c.html

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=35474

UM-Flint’s new video production studio enhances online learning

UM-Flint’s new video production studio enhances online learning
By ROBERT GOLD, UM Flint

UM-Flint’s Office of Extended Learning has opened a new video production studio. It was created to help faculty enrich their online courses. The studio is located on the 11th floor of the Northbank Center. Crews from the university’s Information Technology Services, Engineering Department and Facilities and Operations renovated an old locker room into the new professional space. The sound-proof studio features a 10-foot wide green screen and an 8-foot wide lightboard, which is “an internally illuminated sheet of glass that instructors can write highly visible notes and illustrations on,” said Nick Gaspar, OEL’s technology manager.

 

UM-Flint’s new video production studio enhances online learning

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=35449

2017 Guide for Deep Learning Business Applications

by Mikhail Naumov, Forbes

The promise of artificial intelligence is ubiquitous and often portrayed in Hollywood as a calculating robo-nemesis, disguised as a friend or personal assistant (just see Her, exMachina, and Westworld). Yet, there are few areas better suited for an AI-powered transformation than enterprise & business functions. Thanks to “online learning”, the real time re-training of AI algorithms, the models which get trained first will grow faster and become stronger over time. This will propel early adopters towards producing more consistent results faster, enabling them to rapidly pull ahead of the pack.

forbes.com/sites/mikhailnaumov/2016/12/30/2017-guide-for-deep-learning-business-applications/#6e4e99a77bb8

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=22199

5 ways you can instantly become more tech savvy

By Young Entrepreneur Council29

If you building an tech company, it is important to acquire at some tech skills to understand the various processes of your business. With so many amazing resources available online and the growing reliance on technology, there has never been a better time to learn something new. Perhaps you want to widen your reach and turn your brick and mortar business into an e-commerce enterprise; maybe you need to develop new skills for your job or career goals; or, maybe you just want to use technology to make life more convenient and entertaining. Whatever the reason is, skills like programming, gaming, designing and other online applications and processes can be developed through your own self-guided education. As COO of a growing business, I wanted to become more tech savvy in order to help with our web design, social media pages and content creation. I set out to do just that, learning that anyone can develop skills to help them professionally and personally.

https://e27.co/5-ways-you-can-instantly-become-more-tech-savvy-20161229/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=22135

Short classes give students a jump on spring semester

By Dylan Lysen, Manhattan (KS) Mercury

While many K-State students have gone home for the holidays, some have already gone back to class. The university’s winter intersession classes — shortened courses offered between fall and spring semesters — began on Tuesday, with several more beginning next week. The courses span different topics, including masonry, computer science, dance and even social media. Andrew Smith, an instructor with 25 years of journalism experience, said the social media course provided through K-State’s journalism school is one of the many that are only online. While some intersession courses are traditional lectures, online courses offer recorded lectures and discussion topics on message boards.

http://themercury.com/articles/short-classes-give-students-a-jump-on-spring-semester

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=22195

UC online course program should enhance variety, integration

BY YIWEI SUN, Daily Bruin

To improve its effectiveness, the UC Cross-Campus Enrollment can enact three changes. Firstly, it could introduce more courses to increase the diversity of classes offered. Secondly, it could improve the evaluation system to better account for the existing course units to so that more classes can fulfill major or general education requirement. Last, the online registration portal could also be streamlined for greater convenience. The UC has the advantage of having a few top-notch public schools in the system, and improving on the UC Cross-Campus Enrollment can allow students to benefit from the courses offered elsewhere and maximize the gain from limited resources.

http://dailybruin.com/2016/01/05/yiwei-sun-uc-online-course-program-should-enhance-variety-integration/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=14753

North Dakota University system takes aim at teacher shortage

by Amy R. Sisk, Bismark Tribune

Professionals looking to change careers to educate North Dakota’s K-12 students can soon make use of another path to obtaining a teaching license. Three colleges plan to offer a Master of Arts in teaching degree for people with a bachelor’s degree in a field outside education. The programs at Dickinson State University, Valley City State University and Mayville State University will provide graduate-level courses in teaching to people looking to make the switch. Classes to fill that void will be available on-site at the three colleges and online through DSU and VCSU, he said. The programs can be completed in two years.

http://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/education/university-system-takes-aim-at-teacher-shortage/article_982e27ba-1860-5108-b6e2-9b5643228dfa.html

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=14750

Alabama joins interstate college agreement to offer online courses

By Jim Cook, Dothan Eagle

Alabama colleges and universities will soon have an easier way to offer online courses to students in other states, and out-of-state institutions will have the same opportunity to offer online course in Alabama, thanks to an interstate agreement. Currently, to offer distance education courses in Alabama, colleges and universities must gain approval from the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. Now that Alabama is a member of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement, schools in participating states that have been approved by their state’s equivalent to ACHE will be able to offer online courses in Alabama. Colleges and universities in Alabama approved by ACHE will be able to offer classes in participating states without having to go through those states’ approval processes.

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20160105/NEWS/160109877

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=14756

Deep Learning: Gaze into the Web Abyss, and It Gazes Also into You

by John Hayward, Reuters

Americans are accustomed to the dominance of Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo as search engines, but on the global stage, a Chinese service called Baidu is now second only to Google in popularity. Baidu hasn’t announced any firm plans to move into the U.S. market yet, but, in addition to the huge market in China, they’ve expanded services to countries such as Egypt, Thailand, and most recently Brazil. They’ve also recently hired away one of Google’s top researchers, Andrew Ng, a specialist in artificial intelligence who has taught courses at Stanford University.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/01/05/deep-learning-gaze-into-the-web-abyss-and-it-gazes-also-into-you/

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/apLr54GTriU/

The future of online learning

by the Telegraph

When you can speak another language, your world becomes bigger, richer and more inspiring. And, say the Babbel founders, it should be easy and effective. The lessons are quick, bite-sized and entertaining and 50pc of Babbel users learn with apps as their primary resource. Witte says, “This mobile language learning supports Babbel’s idea of easy learning. The touch display allows for much faster rehearsal of vocabulary, simply by swiping cue cards left or right and users can check their pronunciation or record a speaking role in a dialogue, which contributes to stilling the fear of talking in an unfamiliar language.” Says Witte, “Online language learning owes a big part of its popularity to being easily accessible. It allows for getting your feet wet, to get started with learning without devoting too much time, money, or energy to organising a language class.” It’s the ultimate tool for the modern, time-pressed worker.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/education/learn-new-language/11327933/The-future-of-online-learning.html

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Our 20 Most Shared Virtual School Resources of 2013

By Dan Reiner, Connections Academy

In 2013, our Virtual Learning Connections community was busier than ever, with more of you sharing blog posts and resources across your favorite social media networks. Behind the scenes, we worked hard to bring you more of the information you “liked” best—more expert posts from our teachers and your fellow Learning Coaches, instructographics to illustrate helpful facts and activities in an engaging way, and practical tips on learning in an online environment. Here’s a list of your favorite virtual school resources of 2013.

http://www.connectionsacademy.com/blog/posts/2014-01-03/Our-20-Most-Shared-Virtual-School-Resources-of-2013.aspx

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/tD7jmOSVRAw/

Computer Science MOOCs For The New Year

by Sue Gee, I Programmer

One of the factors that can save a poorly taught course is that currently many of them attract participants who already know a great deal about the subjects being taught. They are therefore able to help out others who are new to the material. Unfortunately this is perceived as yet another shortcoming of MOOCs – that they attract already well qualified students who are topping up or updating their existing skills! Udacity has a new strategy to try to retain students which is referred to as “the full experience” for which students pay at a rate of $150 during the full period of study even though they can still go at their own pace. It is also important to note that if you don’t want extra support from a personal coach who will review code and give guidance on project work, you can still access the course content for free.

http://www.i-programmer.info/news/150-training-a-education/6800-computer-science-moocs-for-the-new-year.html

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6 Ways Social Media Will Change In 2014

By Katie Lepi, Edudemic

We know that technology and trends are changing all the time, so what will 2014 hold in store for social media? The handy infographic below takes a look at 6 trends and predictions for social media in the new year. While it is somewhat geared towards businesses, each one has implications in both the classroom and for personal use as well. Do any of these signal changes for your classroom? For those who don’t use social media, #1 will reign supreme. If you’re not already on the social media train, 2014 will be the year to hop on. If you’ve already been riding the train, check out #2-6 to see what the trends are expected to be!

http://www.edudemic.com/social-media-changes/

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