In the News Archives: 2011
Click here for scholarly papers.
← Current News | Older News Archives →
New Course-Management Software Promises Facebook-Like Experience
Wired Campus
November 29, 2011 - Three University of Pennsylvania students who recently dropped out to start an upstart course-management system today unveiled their software, called Coursekit, after having raised more than $1-million in venture capital.
E-Book, In-House
Inside Higher Ed
November 7, 2011 - The American Public University System wants to get more bang for its buck with e-textbooks, so the for-profit college system is enlisting its professors to write and edit digital course materials.
Students Push Their Facebook Use Further Into Course Work
Wired Campus
October 27, 2011 - College students are taking social media to a new level, using Web sites like Facebook to communicate with other students about their coursework, according to results of a new survey on student technology use.
6 Best Practices for Universities Embracing Social Media
Mashable
October 10, 2011 - While many schools experience great success with social media, others never get their efforts off the ground. Here are six best practices for universities seeking to build effective social media engagement.
University Bids for Students on Groupon
Chicago Tribune
September 5, 2011 - National Louis University on Tuesday will offer a Groupon for a graduate-level introduction to teaching course, officials said. With the Groupon, prospective students can save nearly 60 percent on tuition for the single, three-credit course and earn credit toward a graduate degree
Online Enterprises Gain Foothold as Path to a College Degree
The New York Times
August 25, 2011 - A host of new online enterprises are making earning a college degree cheaper, faster and flexible enough to take work experience into account.
The Beloit College Mind-Set List Welcomes the 'Internet Class'
The Chronicle of Higher Education
August 23, 2011 - As classes resume this fall, take a good look at those first-year students armed with their laptops, notebooks, tablets, and smartphones. They are the first college freshmen to grow up taking the word "online" for granted, say Ron Nief and Tom McBride, the minds behind the annual Beloit College Mind-Set List.
The 2011 Mind-Set of Faculty (Born Before 1980)
The Chronicle Review
August 21, 2011 - As an antidote to Beloit College's annual Mindset List [see link above], designed to orient faculty and administrators to the cultural touchstones that have shaped the lives of incoming freshmen, [Bruce Krajewski hereby offers], for the benefit of students and administrators, a similar list of characteristics of faculty members who were born before 1980 and who teach at public institutions.
Are for-profit colleges hurting online education's reputation?
eCampus News
August 3, 2011 - Senate hearings and negative headlines have dogged for-profit schools, many with large web-based education programs
10 Keys to the Portal
Campus Technology
August 1, 2011 -
Successful web portals help campus users stay informed, in touch, and up to speed. They are also a telling window into the efficiency of your institution.
Community-College Students Perform Worse Online Than Face to Face
The Chronicle of Higher Education
July 18, 2011 -
Community-college students enrolled in online courses fail and drop out more often than those whose coursework is classroom-based, according to a new study released by the Community College Research Center at the Teachers College at Columbia University.
Federal court nixes online-learning rule
Columbia Daily Tribune
July 13, 2011 - A U.S. District Court struck down a federal rule that would have required universities to get permission from states to enroll residents in online programs, but that doesn't mean schools are off the hook.
Spread of e-learning could get costly
Columbia Daily Tribune
July 12, 2011 - A new federal rule that will force universities to get approval from each state where they enroll students online might affect who can sign up for University of Missouri e-courses in the future.
A College Education for All, Free and Online
The Chronicle of Higher Education
July 10, 2011 - The University of the People, a tuition-free online institution, strives to serve the vast numbers of students who have no access to traditional higher education.
Professors Consider Classroom Uses for Google Plus
Wired Campus
July 8, 2011 - Google Plus, the social-networking platform, is so new that most Internet users are not yet able to see it—an invitation is required while the service is in its test phase. But some professors who have tried it say they already see possible uses for teaching and research if the service catches on.
Improving Completion Rates for Online Students
Academic Impressions
July 7, 2011 - With the percentage of students who are taking online courses rising rapidly (a 17% increase in 2009 alone), improving completion rates for online students (many of whom are returning, adult learners) will likely become a key priority for higher education.
Five Common Pitfalls of Online Course Design
Faculty Focus
July 6, 2011 - Much of what passes for an “online course” these days could more accurately be described as the electronic version of class hand-outs. These courses usually consist of a course description, a syllabus, lecture notes, reading lists, and assignment checklists. In other words, whatever materials a student might have viewed on paper in the past are now read onscreen, and whatever presentations a student might have watched in the classroom are now observed on their screen.
House Panel Votes to Repeal 'Credit Hour' and 'State Authorization' Rules
The Chronicle of Higher Education
June 16, 2011 - The U.S. House of Representatives education committee approved a bill Wednesday that would repeal a pair of controversial Education Department rules set to take effect July 1.
Why Are So Many Students Still Failing Online?
The Chronicle of Higher Education
May 22, 2011 - The author of this article addresses the need to improve the success rates of online learners.
Pace U. Researchers Work on New Way to Stop Online Cheating
The Chronicle of Higher Education
May 20, 2011 - Computer scientists at Pace University have developed a new way to detect cheating by online test-takers.
In college, it's not so much who lectures as how the teaching is done, Nobelist's study finds
Chicago Tribune
May 12, 2011 -
A study by a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, now a science adviser to President Barack Obama, suggests that how you teach is more important than who does the teaching.
Online Courses Should Always Include Proctored Finals, Economist Warns
Wired Campus
May 10, 2011 - Online economics students do not absorb much material from homework and chapter tests during the semester—perhaps because they expect to be able to cheat their way through the final exam.
The Rise of Teaching Machines
The Digital Campus
May 8, 2011 - Professors at Arizona State University are anticipating this summer's debut of Knewton, a new computerized-learning program that features immediate feedback and adaptation to students' learning curves.
Should Teaching Be Outsourced?
Inside Higher Ed
April 28, 2011 - Missouri State and Florida Atlantic Universities have agreed to let the Poynter Institute – a Florida-based nonprofit organization that focuses on non-credit journalism training for students and professionals – teach an introductory Journalism 101 course online for traditional credit at the two institutions.
MU takes part in course redesign project
Columbia Daily Tribune
4/15/11 - The University of Missouri plans to redesign a popular undergraduate course as part of a new statewide plan to make large lecture classes more efficient while improving student performance.
Colleges Aren't Keeping Up With Student Demand for Hybrid Programs, Survey Suggests
Wired Campus
4/14/11 - Students want hybrid programs that blend online and face-to-face experiences. But colleges don’t seem to be providing enough of them to meet the demand.
Gates Foundation Gives $10.6-Million to Improve College-Completion Rates With Technology
The Chronicle of Higher Education
4/7/11 - Today the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced that 29 organizations have won its inaugural Next Generation Learning Challenge, sharing $10.6-million to test projects for improving college-completion rates and course success.
Gates Goes Open
Inside Higher Ed
4/7/11 - Proprietary in his beta phase, Bill Gates 2.0 is all about sharing the wealth. And he is asking his latest crop of higher ed benefactors to do likewise.
Governing Boards Turn to Technology to Reinvent the University
The Chronicle of Higher Education
4/5/11 - Board members from across the country, gathering in Los Angeles recently for a national conference on college trusteeship, discussed the need to find cybersolutions (e.g. online learning) to solve some of the problems they're facing today.
Comparing Online Programs
Inside Higher Ed
3/24/11 - Kaye Shelton, Dean of Dallas Baptist University, with the help of Sloan-C, has developed a "quality scorecard" for comparing fully online college programs.
Cengage Launches Online Learning Platform
Campus Technology
3/23/11 - Called MindTap, the platform is designed to work across devices--traditional computers, smart phones, and tablets--to deliver coursework, learning management, and a range of educational materials.
Flip the classroom - every teacher should do this
Donald Clark Plan B
3/17/11 - Salman Kahn's Khan Academy provides the means for more effective instruction: allow the teaching to happen at home via instructional videos and practice problems, and use the classroom time for
application of the concepts.
Students Build Course-Management Software
Wired Campus
3/19/11 - Coursekit is a student-built learning content system hoping to compete in the LMS arena dominated by Blackboard by catering to the needs of professors and students.
Gigabit Web, South Korea, and the Coming Asian EDU Century
Inside Higher Ed
3/10/11 - South Korea and other Asian countries that invest heavily in universal broadband will lead the world in higher ed innovation.
Related video: Salman Khan, another educator chosen by Gates to speak at TED, presents Let's Use Video to Reinvent Education
Bill Gates Promotes Professor's Online Course at TED
Wired Campus
3/3/11 - Gates presents inspirational professors at the annual TED conference.
An iPad 2 LMS Fantasy
Inside Higher Ed
3/2/11 - During the iPad 2 event, Apple unveiled the iPad LMS. This article outlines some of its features.
Textbook Publisher Announces ‘App’ Approach to Learning Materials
Wired Campus
3/2/11 - Another entry in the arena of textbook companies seeking ways to compete in the digital age.
Actually Going to Class, for a Specific Course? How 20th-Century.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
2/27/11 - New learning technologies prompt a rethinking of traditional course structure.
'Embedded Librarian' on Twitter Served as Information Concierge for Class
Wired Campus
2/25/11 - A media-studies online course at Baylor University experiments with having a librarian follow along with the class discussion and tweet suggestions for additional resources.
Should You Teach Online?
Inside Higher Ed
2/24/11 -
An increasing number of instructors are asked to offer their courses online, but creating an effective online course is not as simple as just posting assignments or even recording your lectures. Find out if you're ready to consider teaching online.
Blackboard's Next Phase
Inside Higher Ed
2/22/11 -
With 95% of institutions having some sort of learning management system already in place, Blackboard has expanded about as far as it can in that arena. Their next phase of expansion will be focused on such technologies as mobile learning, synchronous communication, and learning analytics.
Related article from eCampus News: Blackboard mobile app designed for iPad competitor
Technology a key for students with hectic schedules, study says
eCampus News
2/16/11 -
A study conducted in December by Eduventures and published by Cengage Learning concludes that busy students want more technology in their learning environments.
Podcast: New Gates Foundation Grants Focus on ‘The Learning Moment’
Wired Campus
2/15/11 - Wired campus speaks with Mark David Milliron, deputy director for higher education at the Gates Foundation, at the 2011 Higher Ed Tech Summit in Las Vegas. The foundation is particularly interested in "aggressive collection and use of quality data" as a way to identify what is working and what isn't. Forty-seven finalists for the foundation's Next Generation Learning Challenges grants have been announced, including one from University of Missouri System.
The $10,000 Question
Inside Higher Ed
2/14/11 - Experts discuss Governor Perry's challenge to Texas institutions to develop $10,000 bachelor degrees.
Publishers Struggle to Get Professors to Use Latest E-Textbook Features
Wired Campus
2/10/11 - Despite studies showing that the new features included in digital texts improve student outcome, instructors simply aren't using them.
Disruption, Delivery and Degrees
Inside Higher Ed
2/9/11 - A new report, Disrupting College, warns that traditional higher education institutions may have to make changes to the current model in order to compete with the non-traditional institutions that have embraced new technologies.
Podcast: Obama's Plans for Advanced Ed Tech Center
Wired Campus
2/9/11 - In this 5 minute Wired Campus podcast, Karen Cator, director of the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education, speaks about the new National Center for Advanced Research and Information in Digital Technologies, which is scheduled to roll out within the first six months of 2011.
Online Bachelor's Degree for $10,000
Austin News KXAN.com
2/8/11
Texas's Governor Rick Perry challenges his state's higher education institutions to "develop bachelors degress that cost not more than $10,000, including textbooks."
Online Courseware's Existential Moment
Inside Higher Ed
2/3/11 - Taylor Walsh, author of Unlocking the Gates: How and Why Leading Universities Are Opening Up Access to Their Courses, discusses the open courseware efforts of top U.S. educational Institutions.
Video Uses Student Voices to Explore New Directions in Education
Wired Campus
1/26/11
- Michael Wesch, an associate professor of cultural anthropology at KSU and the man responsible for such viral videos as Web 2.0... The Machine is Us/in US, and A Vision of Students Today, is at it again with a call for short videos for his latest project, The Vision of Students Tomorrow. His goal for this current project is "to hear from probably the most important voice in the question of where to go next with education, and that voice, of course, is the students themselves."
What Degrees Should Mean
Inside Higher Ed
1/25/11 - The Lumina Foundation for Education has released its Degree Qualifications Profile draft. The profile will be tested and refined in the next few years by colleges and accreditors in order to establish what degree recipients should know and be able to do before being granted their degrees.
The Pulse: Blackboard Collaborate
Inside Higher Ed
1/10/11 - In this installment of Rod Murray's popular podcast, The Pulse, Rod interviews Matthew Wasowski, senior manager of customer programs at Blackboard Collaborate. Wasowski, formerly with Wimba, joined the Blackboard team when that company acquired Wimba and its biggest competitor, Elluminate. He talks about the differences between the two products, and explains how the two will be combined to morph into the powerful, feature-rich application, Blackboard Collaborate, due out this summer.
Rod begins the podcast speaking about his recent move to Inside Higher Ed. If you wish to skip to the interview, it begins approximately 2 and half minutes in, and ends at around the 16 minute mark.