By Randhir Vieira / March 2014
eLearning allows one to learn on the fly, on their own schedule, and at their own pace. These are a few reasons why it has shown such traction in the business world, with people working from many locations and constantly on the move while they work. While users can be flexible on when they take and complete a course, trainers have the twin pressures of compliance and rapid marketplace change on their backs.
Read more.
eLearn Magazine
Monday, March 31, 2014
Microsoft to Offer Office for iPad, Maybe a Bit Late
By NICK WINGFIELDMarch 27, 2014
One of the most lucrative software franchises in history, Microsoft Office, has finally come to the most influential computing device of the last few years, the iPad.
Microsoft introduced the long-awaited suite of applications, which includes Word, PowerPoint and Excel, at an event here Thursday, where the company’s new chief executive, Satya Nadella, committed to making the software work on all major computing devices, including those made by its competitors. Microsoft plans to create Office apps for tablet computers running Google’s Android operating system, too.
The New York Times
Cloud Computing’s Watershed Week
By QUENTIN HARDY
In the technology world, March 2014 went out like a plan.
It may be no accident that in the last week of the year’s first quarter there were so many significant moves by big companies, particularly in giant systems of connected computers. Cloud computing and the Internet of Things, these moves suggest, are moving from their rough pioneering days to something bigger and more stable.
To consider just a few of the biggest moves over the week: Google harmonized its cloud computing business to a single entity, with a pricing model intended to hold customers by enticing them to build ever cheaper and more complex software.
The New York Times
Friday, March 28, 2014
New U. of California President Plays Down Online Education
by Steve Kolowich
The new president of the University of California, Janet Napolitano, does not think online education is the answer to the fundamental challenges facing her system.
Ms. Napolitano, who took office last fall after serving four years as U.S. secretary of homeland security, sat for an interview this week with Mark Baldassare, president of the Public Policy Institute of California. Mr. Baldassare noted that online education did not figure in her stated initiatives.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Top-Ten IT Issues, 2014: Be the Change You See
By Susan Grajek and the 2013–2014 EDUCAUSE IT Issues Panel.
Fasten your seatbelts. From the looks of this year's top-ten IT issues,1 2014 is turning out to be an exciting year. The field of higher education information technology is experiencing a sea change that has, arguably, been building since the advent of the personal computer in the early 1980s. It was then that IT organizations saw their mainframes challenged by microcomputer upstarts and that computing began to interest more than just the scientists and accountants. What we now call the consumerization of information technology has been developing ever since—chip by chip, app by app, and shopping cart by shopping cart. The democratization of information technology means that faculty and students have not only the desire but also the means to reshape the way they use technology in their work, that all members of the campus community want ubiquitous access to computing, and that presidents, provosts, and trustees expect to use information technology to help realize their institutions' strategic visions.
Educause
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
New Syllabus Archive Opens the ‘Curricular Black Box’
Course syllabi are a potentially valuable source of information for teaching and scholarship. Their contents could shed light on the evolution of fields (How has Foucault’s popularity changed over time?) or help professors develop new courses (What are best practices for teaching digital humanities?). But gathering and sharing syllabi can be a messy business. Privacy concerns, legal uncertainty, fragmented and inconsistent sharing practices—all present challenges.
Read more.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Read more.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Monday, March 24, 2014
Successful Online Learning Programs
More and more learners are finding online learning attractive, in part due to flexibility and convenience. Program administrators, instructors, and learners have roles to play in order to achieve success in the online environment.
- Build a sense of community
- Provide course introduction and plan (syllabus)
- Online orientation program: Information to prepare students for success in the online environment
- Access: Ability to access the online environment
- Computer Literacy: Ability to perform basic online computer functions. Applies to both faculty and students
- Reliable technology
- Curriculum: Not all courses can or should be taught online
- Learning styles: Not for a one-size-fits-all. Need to cater for different learning styles.
- Time management
- Course design: Consider collaboration, navigation
- Instructor engagement: Update course frequently, provide student feedback
- Keep your learners motivated
- Personalize course
What Is a Virtual Reality Headset, and Why Would I Want One?
If you’ve ever wanted to really get your head in the game, you’ll have the chance soon. Virtual reality headsets are coming.
On Tuesday evening Sony unveiled a new, futuristic virtual reality headset called Project Morpheus. It’s not the first of its kind: It looks and works like the Oculus Rift, a much-hyped virtual-reality headset from the startup Oculus VR.
Read more.
Yahoo Tech News
On Tuesday evening Sony unveiled a new, futuristic virtual reality headset called Project Morpheus. It’s not the first of its kind: It looks and works like the Oculus Rift, a much-hyped virtual-reality headset from the startup Oculus VR.
Read more.
Yahoo Tech News
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Virtual reality gets a new player with Sony's 'Project Morpheus'
By Doug Gross, CNN
(CNN) -- Virtual reality, the emerging 3D
technology many expect to be the next quantum leap in the video gaming world,
just got a little more real.
Sony, makers of the top-selling PlayStation 4, has rolled out
"Project Morpheus," a virtual reality system it says will pair with
its top-selling gaming console to immerse players in the virtual worlds in
which they're playing.
CNN
7 Ways Advisors Can More Effectively Engage Online Students
by Susan Ohrablo (Nova
Southeastern University)
Online students are at significant risk for attrition
as they experience isolation and a sense of disconnect from the institution, as
well as find themselves lacking resources and information. Advisors can greatly
impact students’ perceptions of their online experience by providing ongoing
support and information to students.
Academic Impressions
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Online learning technology prerequisites
- Computer skills
- email/communications
- Word processing
- Web skills
- Create and submit assignments
Goggles Bring Virtual Reality Closer To Your Living Room
Goggles
Bring Virtual Reality Closer To Your Living Room
by Laura Sydell
NPR - March 16, 2014
Going back to ancient times, the aim of storytellers has been to immerse us in an experience — of another place, time or point of view. This past week at the South by Southwest film, music and technology conferences in Austin, storytellers and great technologists showed off new ways to take us beyond cinema, or TV or even traditional video games. One of the most compelling experiences came via the Oculus Rift, a set of virtual reality goggles....
5 Tips From a MOOC Producer
March 14, 2014 by Kaysi Holman
It was the second Google Hangout On Air broadcast for the “History and Future of (Mostly) Higher Education.” Professors and students at three universities—Duke, Stanford, and the University of California at Santa Barbara—were engaged in conversation while dozens of viewers watched, asking questions in the Google Hangout and in the MOOC forums and live-tweeting the session. Seven minutes in, without warning, Google Hangout stopped recording and broadcasting. Viewers were left with blank screens, and there was no way to show the session later … and the seconds were ticking past. A quick Google search offered no solutions, and the interface was not responding. What to do?
It was the second Google Hangout On Air broadcast for the “History and Future of (Mostly) Higher Education.” Professors and students at three universities—Duke, Stanford, and the University of California at Santa Barbara—were engaged in conversation while dozens of viewers watched, asking questions in the Google Hangout and in the MOOC forums and live-tweeting the session. Seven minutes in, without warning, Google Hangout stopped recording and broadcasting. Viewers were left with blank screens, and there was no way to show the session later … and the seconds were ticking past. A quick Google search offered no solutions, and the interface was not responding. What to do?
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Friday, March 14, 2014
Online Education orientation programs
Online Education orientation programs
- Program goals
- Program target
- What should the orientation program be composed of? Content.
- Best practices
- Delivery
- Step-by-step video tutorials
- Online guides/QuickStarts
Ovum: Higher education lagging in cloud adoption
November 21, 2013 Written by Business Cloud News
As the higher education market becomes increasingly competitive, colleges and universities are slowly moving to adopt new learning management systems. The aim is to improve operational efficiency and the satisfaction of staff and students, an Ovum survey released this week suggests. According to Navneet Johal, an analyst at Ovum, a lack of interest in cloud-based platforms may hold some institutions back from achieving these objectives.
As the higher education market becomes increasingly competitive, colleges and universities are slowly moving to adopt new learning management systems. The aim is to improve operational efficiency and the satisfaction of staff and students, an Ovum survey released this week suggests. According to Navneet Johal, an analyst at Ovum, a lack of interest in cloud-based platforms may hold some institutions back from achieving these objectives.
Read more.
BusinessCloud
News Article: QuickWire: There May Be Fewer Online Programs Than You Think
March 13, 2014 by Lawrence Biemiller
A new report on online education finds “noise in the data” that institutions send to the U.S. Department of Education about their offerings. While 3,311 institutions say they have online programs, the report says, the actual number is more like 1,243—in part because the definition of “online” is “overly ambiguous and broad,” and in part because an institution that has multiple campuses can count each as having online programs, even if the institution in fact has only a single online offering available to all its students.
Read more.
http://chronicle.com/blogs
A new report on online education finds “noise in the data” that institutions send to the U.S. Department of Education about their offerings. While 3,311 institutions say they have online programs, the report says, the actual number is more like 1,243—in part because the definition of “online” is “overly ambiguous and broad,” and in part because an institution that has multiple campuses can count each as having online programs, even if the institution in fact has only a single online offering available to all its students.
Read more.
http://chronicle.com/blogs
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Screencasts in Teaching
Screencasts are digital recordings of a computer screen that may include audio, video, and images.
Best Practices
Resources
Best Practices
- Video length: keep under 10 minutes
- Video structure: Keep it simple. Avoid special effects and excessive transitions
- Video management: Keep video naming convention consistent and associated with your topic
- Mute notification sounds and window pop ups
- Mute office phones and cell phones
Resources
- Software
Flipped Classroom
Best Practices:
Resources
- Have a pedagogical model
- Evaluate technology for creating the content (instructor) and consuming the content (students)
Resources
- Books:
- Flip Your Classroom: Reach Every Student in Every Class Every Day [Jonathan Bergmann, Aaron Sams]
Using Qualtrics in Teaching and Learning
Surveys in Teaching and Learning
Best Practices
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