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Jul 17th, 2004
From the Houston Chronicle …
LOS ANGELES – Despite concerns that the country's economic recovery may have hit some speed bumps, visits to employment Web sites rose sharply in June, Internet Audience Measurement service Nielsen NetRatings said today.
Traffic to career sites rose 30 percent in the month over a year earlier, NetRatings said, with a total of 27.2 million people visiting such pages.
Monster.com, a unit of Monster Worldwide Inc., topped the charts with a unique audience of 9.6 million users. It was followed by CareerBuilder with 9.3 million users and Yahoo Inc.'s HotJobs with 7.1 million users.
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Jul 16th, 2004
From Business Wire, the United States Distance Learning Association's first International Forum for Women in E-Learning (IFWE), "Dancing on the Glass Ceiling", will be held September 13 – 15 at the luxurious all-suite Pointe South Mountain Resort in Phoenix, Arizona. (www.usdla.org/html/events/ifwe).
IFWE is much more than a forum – it's a groundbreaking inaugural event for women leaders in distance learning seeking to establish their identity in the IFWE distance learning community. There will be offsite adventures, networking, and time to stimulate new thoughts on leadership, life balance, values, collaboration and global cooperation. The outstanding roster of speakers and fellow attendees compliments the intimate program format that allows participants to share, create, educate and learn. According to USDLA President and IFWE Chair, Dr. Darcy W. Hardy, "IFWE promises to be this year's premier professional event for women in the distance learning industry."
This is an opportunity to be inspired and renewed as distance learning professionals celebrate achievements and look towards aspirations for the future. Three fascinatingly diverse speakers Dee Dee Myers, brenda Laurel, and Christine von Prummer will give a balanced approach to distance learning through thought-provoking, lively and open conversations." Enjoy the lively panel discussion featuring several internationally and nationally known distance learning women who will share their own career experiences from their corner of the distance learning space.
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Jul 16th, 2004
From the Journal of Distance Education, a number of articles worth checking out. Particularing interesting is the piece about distance education for people with disabilities, which may be one direction course developers could go in the hopes of educating those who may otherwise have a difficult time attending a traditional university.
Informal Learning in an Online Community of Practice
Learning Together: Exploring Group Interactions Online
Students with Disabilities in Distance Education: Characteristics, Course Enrollment and Completion, and Support Services
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Jul 13th, 2004
From the blog Online Learning Update …
Last month, the portal elearningeuropa.info closed the contest "e-Learning for Higher Education Award" in which participants were asked to tell about their experience taking part in higher education on line courses. A great number of reached the editorial, most of them being very interesting, not only for their nominal nature, but also because they reflect the present situation of e-learning in Universities. We have considered necessary to collect the general ideas drawn from the messages received. After a quick reading on the comments sent by those that have experienced e-learning in higher education by attending some course on line, the first conclusion reached is that using e-learning has made life easier. Although some comments include certain complaints, e-learning is described, in general terms, as a worthwhile and rewarding experience.
And many other items well worth viewing.
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Jul 13th, 2004
Not very encouraging news from the LA Daily News … though interesting nonetheless.
Once expected to revolutionize higher education as the Internet transformed mass media, online education has disappointed its early enthusiasts but has found a valuable niche serving working adults, educators say.
"Once upon a time, in the go-go '90s, the thought was that online education would eventually supplant (traditional university education)," said David L. Kirp, professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley.
"But it's hard to replicate some of the things a real classroom can offer — those face-to-face interchanges that people often want."
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Jul 9th, 2004
This isn't an online university, but it is a good one. I've been informed that Thunderbird: The Garvin School of International Management, the number one accredited business school in the USA, ahead of Harvard, Wharton, etc., is looking for MBA students for their international business program. They are located in Glendale, Arizona. The program is open to students from all over the world, but you must be willing to move to Arizona.
Here are the qualifications you need to have to qualify for their program:
. A GMAT score of 550 or above
. An undergrad GPA of 3.0 or above
. An interest in Global Management
. Posess at least 2 years work experience
. Lastly, you must live in Arizona or be willing to relocate there
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Jul 8th, 2004
From THE Journal …
West Virginia Works to Create a Statewide Technology Infrastructure With Student achievement as the Ultimate Focus of Leadership
Known for its rich mountain heritage, rugged individualism and coal-based economy, West Virginia is a rural and economically challenged state. But West Virginia is also widely recognized as a national leader, a state where education technology has been proven to advance student learning and increase academic achievement. How can this dichotomy be explained? How could a state with one of the lowest average incomes in the nation be transformed into the test bed for instructional technology, where documented research proves that when technology is implemented appropriately, students achieve?
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Jul 8th, 2004
A new report from the libertarian free-market oriented CATO institute says control over education should be returned to local, state and parental control.
WASHINGTON — In a study released today, "A Lesson in Waste: Where Does All the Federal Education Money Go?" Neal McCluskey, a Cato education policy analyst, argues that giving the federal government control over education dollars has produced no discernable academic gains. Providing a detailed analysis of the explosive growth of federal education intervention, McCluskey makes the case that education policy should be returned to the states.
"Despite the more than quadrupling of federal spending on education and the near tripling of real per pupil expenditures between 1965 and 2003, most measures of student achievement have remained flat," McCluskey says. "Math and reading scores have stagnated, graduation rates have flatlined, and researchers have shown numerous billion-dollar federal programs to be failures."
Further, McCluskey questions the constitutionality of the federal government's involvement in education. "There is the traditional view that no federal [education] policy is legitimate because the Constitution gives the federal government no authority over education," he says.
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Jul 7th, 2004
The Financial Times has a number of nice pieces about what you should look for in online MBA programs. You have to subscribe for a 15-day free trial to access the pages, but it is worth it and you don't have to purchase anything.
Here are a few highlights:
Fresh ways of learning …
E-learning is in its infancy. Business schools are only now just beginning to realise its potential. But, while e-learning is the new kid on the block, distance learning is firmly rooted in the past.Web-based systems change the MBA landscape …
As communication systems become cheaper and more accessible, new interactive technologies hold great potential in the design of distance learning courses.
Ways to reduce the sense of online isolation …
Distance programmes must generate interaction for students in order for them to profit from courses and work effectively in virtual teams.
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Jul 7th, 2004
Via E-Learning Post, an article on effective online learning from JALN.
This from the introduction …
As the recipient of the 2003 Sloan-C award for Excellence in Online Teaching, I have been invited to share some of my thoughts regarding effective online pedagogy. I am nothing if not a teacher, and as such, I am honored-both by the recognition that accompanies this wonderful award, and by the opportunity to share my thoughts about asynchronous teaching and learning with my colleagues.
This may seem a strange way to begin, but I want to admit that my ever-emerging philosophy of education increasingly diminishes the role of "the teacher" in the teaching/learning equation. It took over 30 years of college teaching experience for me to realize that the learner is, for the most part, in charge of what gets learned. Implementing this point of view online has, for me, blurred, somewhat, the distinction between effective teaching and pedagogically sound instructional design. If I create an environment in which a majority of students gladly learn that which they and I deem relevant and salient, then have I succeeded as a teacher or as a designer?-and does it matter?
I hope some of the ideas that follow are helpful to others. I have liberally interspersed snippets from several of my current online courses throughout this essay. Because screen shots can be hard to read, I have also provided links to the actual courses whenever possible. When no link is available, it's because the course is password protected. Should you find any of the words and/or strategies useful, feel free to copy or adapt them for your own use.
