Socially Engaged Learning - Brian Basgen and Peter A. Testori, EDUCAUSE Review

Various instructional models for online learning focus on efficiencies of time and space, from flipped classrooms to competency-based education, MOOCs, and online learning environments that rely on reading, writing, and discussion. The model proposed here for online education focuses on social learning and student engagement, training faculty and designing online courses to make interaction the driving factor in creating a highly personalized experience for students. The model's five-point framework highlights best practices to create a high level of student engagement, with guidance on reading and writing instruction, peer group work, discussion, experiential learning, and assessment. http://er.educause.edu/articles/2016/3/socially-engaged-learning

Adaptive Learning Platforms: Creating a Path for Success - Connie Johnson, EDUCAUSE Review

Because of the advantages of personalized learning content, Colorado Technical University began piloting courses with adaptive learning in the beginning of 2012, launching the adaptive learning platform intellipath. University-wide training of students, staff, and faculty has resulted in 800 faculty members — about 82 percent — trained on intellipath, with most of those training sessions in years two and three of the rollout. In addition to improved student success markers such as grades, engagement, and retention, CTU has won several awards for its adaptive learning platform. http://er.educause.edu/articles/2016/3/adaptive-learning-platforms-creating-a-path-for-success

Personalized Learning: People, Practices, and Products - John O'Brien, EDUCAUSE Review

The transformation under way at the point where teaching, learning, and technology intersect is so promising and so complicated that it is no wonder those of us involved in talking and writing about these developments are looking for the perfect turn of phrase to bring it all together. It's our nature to seek out words to attach to the issues that matter, an inclination clearly at work within the universe of activities collected under the term personalized learning. The desire to name important trends in the technology landscape is hardly new: EDUCAUSE has made important contributions to the effort, capturing the imagination of the higher ed IT community by furthering both the idea of technology as a "game-changer" and the concept of "connected learning." http://er.educause.edu/articles/2016/3/personalized-learning-people-practices-and-products

Teachers Report: OER In; Textbooks Out - Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

More teachers said that technology has changed how they approach time management (93 percent) than how they approach instructional delivery (88 percent). It has also transformed how they handle parent communication. A solid 7 in 10 reported that they now use tech to do that. On the instructional front, most teachers apply tech to classroom lecture time (84 percent) and differentiated instruction (74 percent). Those results came out of a survey of nearly 1,000 American teachers who were contacted in January and February 2016 by TES Global, a company with a teacher community and marketplace. The findings were shared during a panel at SXSWedu taking place this week in Austin, TX. https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/03/09/teachers-report-oer-in-textbooks-out.aspx

Harvard Business School Focuses on New Online Classroom Initiative - JULIA E. DEBENEDICTIS, Harvard Crimson

Connecting students around the world through high-tech monitors, the HBX Live studio has begun operating, and administrators are eager to support further development of the online service. As part of HBX—the Business School’s online learning platform—HBX Live was added to the school’s digital learning repertoire in August with the goal of replicating the typical classroom experience. HBX Live is housed in the WGBH public broadcast studio in Brighton. The space is custom designed with a high-resolution video wall that mimics the amphitheater seating style of a traditional Business School classroom. So far, school affiliates have only used the HBX Live studio for “sessions,” including test runs with alumni, according to Michael P. Soulios, the senior production engineer and operations manager for HBX. http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/3/9/hbx-live-new-initiative/

To Stay Relevant, Your Company and Employees Must Keep Learning - Pat Wadors, Harvard Business Review

This past year, I have spoken with a number of career centers in universities. The most common question I get from them is, “How do we best prepare our students for the ‘real world’?” That’s a great question (and one that many fine minds are trying to figure out), but for those of us running large organizations in today’s digital economy, it’s the wrong one. It’s not about learning a set of skills and then being “prepared” for life. It’s about learning to continuously learn over the course of your whole career. As AT&T CEO and Chair Randall Stephenson, recently told the New York Times, “There is a need to retool yourself, and you should not expect to stop….People who do not spend five to 10 hours a week in online learning will obsolete themselves with the technology.” https://hbr.org/2016/03/to-stay-relevant-your-company-and-employees-must-keep-learning

Faculty Alert: You Can't Put the Mobile Genie Back in the Bottle - Toni Fuhrman, Campus Technology

Way back in 2013, in a research report on the bring-your-own-everything (BYOE) era of higher education, Educause Chief Research Officer Eden Dahlstrom and co-author/CIO Stephen diFilipo cautioned: "Device proliferation is manic, and unmanaged growth could result in a 'tragedy of the commons' situation, where too many devices find their way to campus networks too fast and institutions find more opportunities lost than taken." Fast-forward to today, and higher ed IT executives and faculty are still struggling with the ongoing job of catching up and keeping up with student expectations regarding mobile devices and mobile infrastructure. "Faculty is not adopting mobile as fast as students are demanding it," commented diFilipo in a recent interview. "We're dealing with 17- and 18-year-olds that live, breath and literally sleep with their mobile devices. This is a whole ecosystem. The mobile device is their power base. It is, in effect, their 'car' — a source of freedom, mobility, and identity in an age when kids are not as free to roam about as they once were." https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/03/08/faculty-alert-you-cant-put-the-mobile-genie-back-in-the-bottle.aspx

Online Learning offers 'any study, any time, anywhere' - Bill Steele, Cornell Chronicle

The “Cornell brand” is expanding its visibility in the digital world, as the university offers more courses online. In part, this trend grows from the work of a small group of people who were interested in advancing online learning and formed the Cornell Online Learning Community (COLC) a year ago. At a follow-up event March 1, the group – along with several newcomers – received encouragement from high places: “We are on the ground thinking about e-learning and academic technologies,” Provost Michael Kotlikoff told the audience of more than 100 faculty and staff members gathered in G-10 Biotech. “Our students expect it.” http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/2016/03/online-learning-offers-any-study-any-time-anywhere

Amazon eyes up education, plans a free platform for learning materials - Ingrid Lunden, Tech Crunch

Back in 2013, Amazon acquired (and continued to operate) online math instruction company TenMarks to gain a foothold in the online education space. Now it looks like Amazon is taking those learnings to the next level. The e-commerce giant plans to launch a free platform for schools and other educators to upload, manage and share educational materials. Signs indicate that the platform will be based around open educational resources (OER) and will come with a ratings system and interface that will resemble the commercial Amazon.com many of us already know and use. Earlier this month, Amazon Education quietly opened an “Amazon Education Wait List,” where educators could sign up to get an alert for when a new, free platform opens for business. http://techcrunch.com/2016/03/11/amazon-eyes-up-education-plans-a-free-platform-for-learning-materials/

Report: Game-Based Learning Helps Students Develop Writing Skills - Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology

According to initial results from recent pilot, digital game-based learning improved student engagement and self-efficacy in writing courses at 14 colleges and universities. Over the fall 2015 semester, a group of faculty piloted Toolwire's Writing Games with more than 1,000 students, primarily in developmental and introductory composition courses. The resulting research report documents "faculty and student reactions based on over 530,000 minutes of student usage" of the technology. Participating institutions include several campuses in the Maricopa, Lone Star, and Colorado Community College systems, as well as the California State University and City University of New York systems. The study was authored by Douglas Beckwith, Toolwire's senior fellow and a professor of practice at Arizona State University. https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/03/03/report-game-based-learning-helps-students-develop-writing-skills.aspx

Educators embrace forces of change in online learning - Jonathan Moules, Financial Times

Business schools were braced for disaster less than five years ago, with the arrival of massive open online courses, or Moocs, and the platforms that hosted them. Not quite. Early indications suggest that, far from cannibalising existing revenue streams such as income from executive education courses, the availability of online content is broadening the reach of institutions. Today, schools work in partnerships with Mooc platforms such as Coursera, so that interactive content and broadcast lectures complement study tours and time spent by students on campuses. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/1c23f588-cb35-11e5-a8ef-ea66e967dd44.html#axzz42EvEAodQ

Can the University of Phoenix Rise From the Ashes? - Jon Marcus, The Hechinger Report

The for-profit universities are busily devising strategies to rebuild enrollment that has crashed by 26% collectively since its peak in 2009—more than twice that at the University of Phoenix. They are also seeking out new sources of revenue, rather than continuing to rely almost entirely on federally subsidized student financial aid and inviting relentless scrutiny. And, while they’re at it, to overcome public mistrust, says University of Phoenix President Tim Slottow, who works upstairs in that office building on I-10. “I’m not naïve enough to tell you we’re over the hardest part,” says Slottow, a former chief financial officer at the University of Michigan. University of Phoenix parent Apollo Education Group announced in January that it had agreed to be acquired by a group of investors for $1.1 billion—slightly more than a tenth of what it was once worth—and go private. The deal will be finalized by August, if approved by regulators and shareholders. http://time.com/money/4246709/can-the-university-of-phoenix-rise-from-the-ashes/

Remote learning expands options for Latin American public universities - University World News

Higher education providers across Latin America are turning to online study instead of traditional lecture halls as a way of bringing university education within the reach of growing numbers of less affluent students, writes Richard House for Financial Times. Already, a 10th of Latin America’s 25 million university students study online using distance learning, with over half of that total in Brazil and a survey by FT Confidential Research, a Financial Times service, shows that adoption of remote learning continues to soar region-wide. Distance learning is helping to expand options for publicly funded higher education in remote areas of Brazil such as the Amazon basin. http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20160305123613838

MOOC Watch: Online courses for every purpose, listed in one place - Tim Dodd, Australian Financial Review

Class Central has a full list of free and low-cost online courses to boost your career, or to do for fun. Coursera's massive open online course on happiness and fulfilment is trending among users. Coursera's massive open online course on happiness and fulfilment is trending among users. For a comprehensive list of the new massive open online courses (MOOCs) that appear each month try www.class-central.com, a website that lists new courses and allows you to see reviews from students. Class Central says that over 550 online courses are either starting, or scheduled to start, in March 2016, not including the increasingly available self-paced courses, numbering over 900, which have no specific starting date. It allows you to search for courses by subject, and see courses which have just been announced. It also shows trending courses that are proving popular. http://www.afr.com/technology/apps/education/mooc-watch-online-courses-for-every-purpose-listed-in-one-place-20160304-gnav4b

Could Slack Be the Next Online Learning Platform? - Amy Ahearn, EdSurge

Despite these efforts, the challenge persists: how can we teach and assess subjects that are nuanced, nonlinear and deeply human on platforms that are increasingly adaptive and automated? Enter Slack. The online communication platform launched two years ago and now has more than 2.3 million users. It facilitates an online, supercharged version of watercooler conversation, enabling people to trade information and chat informally with colleagues. And it might just be a game changer for online education. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-03-04-could-slack-be-the-next-online-learning-platform

Free to Finish - Matt Reed, Inside Higher Ed

I tip my cap to Washington State for one of the smartest low-cost ideas for college completion I’ve seen in a long time. It’s in the process of passing a “Free to Finish” bill, by which former students who left college within 15 or fewer credits of the finish line a chance to finish for free. Students have to have been out of college for at least three years. This must be their first degree -- sorry, grad students -- and I assume the college in question must have been accredited. From the way the Washington Post piece is written, it sounds like the original college(s) can be anywhere in America. Details matter, yes, but from here it looks like a terrific idea. https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/confessions-community-college-dean/free-finish

6 Ways to Stay Happy, Healthy as an Online Student - Bradley Fuster, US News

Experts cite an optimum time of 10 hours per week per online class, and more than 10 hours for each online graduate course​ . For the typical full-time online student, that can add up to 40 to 50 hours per week of intensive seated screen time. Common ailments associated with extended computer use include musculoskeletal problems, repetitive stress injury, vision problems, headaches, obesity and stress disorders. In order to remain physically and mentally healthy, prospective online students should consider their work environment and actively aim to reduce any technology-induced health risks. Below are five recommendations to minimize health risks as an online student. http://www.usnews.com/education/online-learning-lessons/articles/2016-03-04/6-ways-to-stay-happy-healthy-as-an-online-student

University of Wisconsin's New Fake Tenure? - Colleen Flaherty, Inside Higher Ed

“I do not believe the academy is precisely like a business,” Regina Millner, board president, said at the meeting. “But we cannot have quality, serve our students, have quality faculty if we do not have a sound financial system. This is a different century, this is a different time …. We need to protect that quality by making certain critical decisions.” System President Ray Cross endorsed the policies in a statement, saying they “protect the principles of academic freedom” and “sustain our competitiveness in the global marketplace for faculty expertise, research prowess and teaching talent.” They also “enhance our accountability to Wisconsin citizens and stakeholders,” he said. Some professors took to Twitter during and after the vote under the hashtag #faketenure to express their disappointment. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/03/11/u-wisconsin-board-regents-approves-new-tenure-policies-despite-faculty-concerns

Transcript of Tomorrow - Carl Straumsheim, Inside Higher Ed

New transcripts and technologies take shape as colleges participating in the Comprehensive Student Record Project test new ways to track what students do in college. The University of Maryland University College will this fall pilot a digital “extended transcript.” For now, a prototype offers a look at one institution’s idea of the transcript of the future. UMUC is one of a dozen colleges involved in the Comprehensive Student Record Project, a partnership between the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) and NASPA: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education to advance different methods of tracking students’ academic progress. The project, which launched last year, is funded by a $1.27 million grant from Lumina Foundation. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/02/29/u-maryland-university-colleges-extended-transcript-new-type-student-record

My favorite MOOCs for learning to code - Tori Funkhouser, Tech Republic

This product manager by day and coding student by night tried about a dozen massive open online courses. Find out which platform she gives top honors. As a software product manager with an English degree, I needed to better understand software development without accruing more college debt. So, for the past couple of years, I've been slowly and painfully teaching myself software development, mostly via massive open online courses, or MOOCs. These courses allow learners such as myself many free and inexpensive ways to learn to code. Though learning to code has been fascinating and fun, it was daunting at first. I didn't know where to start, and I didn't know which online course would be best, so I tried about a dozen of them. Some of the options allowed me to try coding in a curated environment to see immediate effects of forgetting a semi-colon. Other options employed a more traditional lecture-response approach. Some allowed access to a community where I could interact with peers or instructors. http://www.techrepublic.com/article/my-favorite-moocs-for-learning-to-code/

20 (Inadequate) Ways of Talking About Learning, Technology and Higher Ed Change - Joshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed

How should we talk about our work at the intersection of learning, technology and higher ed change? What is the language of our practice? Here are 20 (inadequate) attempts to describe this (our) work: https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/20-inadequate-ways-talking-about-learning-technology-and-higher-ed

Sharing a New Way to Collaborate and Communicate - David Raths, Campus Technology

Wayne State University is looking to expand the reach of its communication-focused Academica portal to other campuses. Two years ago, Wayne State University (MI) embarked on an effort to reimagine its campus portal, implementing a new platform focused on real-time, two-way communication and better anticipating users' needs. (See our August 2014 feature on that initial rollout: "Rethinking the Campus Web Portal.") Developed in-house, the Academica portal offers single sign-on as an authenticated front door to applications, and is designed from the ground up to work on any mobile device. But first and foremost it is a social networking platform that enhances and enables collaboration. At the core of the social networking aspect of Academica is what Wayne State calls "message streams," which operate like a Facebook wall or a Twitter hashtag. https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/03/02/sharing-a-new-way-to-collaborate-and-communicate.aspx

What Employers Think About Your Online Nursing Degree - Jordan Friedman, US News

After applicants receive their initial training in person, employers will accept​ subsequent degrees earned online, experts say. ​For James Gregory, a graduate of​ the University of South Carolina's adult gerontology acute care nurse practitioner​ master's degree program, online education seemed like a natural choice, as he was able to attend class on a more flexible schedule, he says. Then, when he was applying for jobs, some employers asked him during interviews whether the quality of his online degree was equivalent to what he would have received in person. He says it was. The online degree program was "very challenging and far different, of course for me, than the days of going and having to be at class at 8, 10:15, or whatever, but the expectation was the same," says the 54-year old, who now​ works as an acute care nurse practitioner​ in South Carolina. http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2016-02-23/what-employers-think-about-your-online-nursing-degree

Yale School of Music seminar launches online - JOEY YE, Yale News

“Music and Social Action” is the first massive open online course launched by the School of Music, but it also stands out in other ways. Taught by music lecturer and MacArthur Fellow Sebastian Ruth, the course explores the societal roles of musicians and how classical music can enact social change. Executive Director of the Office of Digital Dissemination and Online Education Lucas Swineford said Yale Broadcast Studios, a part of the Center for Teaching and Learning, was instrumental in constructing many elements of the class that set it apart from those produced in the past. In particular, the course includes many visual components and seminar-style discussions. It is also the only MOOC so far to have required traveling outside of the state of Connecticut for filming. http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2016/03/03/school-of-music-seminar-launches-online/

The story behind UC Berkeley's $150 million deficit - Kai Ryssdal, Marketplace

The University of California, Berkeley, will see a major budget overhaul in the next few years. That's in light of the news that the campus is facing a $150 million structural deficit — meaning the campus is spending more than it makes. Nicholas Dirks is chancellor at the University of California, Berkeley. He talked to Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal on how the campus plans to deal with the deficit. "Are we going to look at some of our smaller professional schools and ask whether or not they could work better together?" Dirks said. "Yeah, we're going to ask all of those questions." http://www.marketplace.org/2016/02/25/education/story-behind-uc-berkeleys-150-million-deficit

Blended Learning Helps Students at Different Cognitive Levels - Mylea Charvat, Huffington Post

What is the best way to meet today's students "in the middle?" Kids today are more tech-savvy than ever before, and teachers are struggling to make sure that every student is educated according to their needs. From elementary to secondary school, students learn at different rates and have varying needs of social and educational interaction. How do we use cognitive data and blended learning to the students' benefit? Blended learning is defined as a formal education program in which a student learns, at least in part, through delivery of content and instruction via digital and online media with some element of student control over time, place, path or pace. This is critical as standard school curriculum is designed to the needs and ability of the average student, leaving many students to slip through the cracks. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mylea-charvat-phd/blended-learning-helps-st_b_9350242.html

Cal State Report: 10% of students experience homelessness, 23% worry about hunger - Phillip Zonkel, Long Beach Press Telegram

About 10 percent of students in the Cal State University system experience homelessness and another 23 percent of the students worry about hunger, according to a preliminary CSU study. The CSU said the report is the first time a public university system in the nation has conducted extensive research on these issues, with the goal of developing systemic solutions that will help students graduate. The study also found that CSU students experiencing food or housing instability have high levels of stress and need a single point of contact on campus. http://www.presstelegram.com/social-affairs/20160227/csu-report-10-of-students-experience-homelessness-23-worry-about-hunger

Students favor summer online courses for convenience - Bailey Wright, UConn Daily Campus

Keeping up with increasingly digital times, colleges across the country have begun to offer more online courses to students in order to provide a more convenient and interactive learning experience. UConn is no different. Every year, the university offers 35 to 40 new online courses for its shortened summer session, a popular time for students to earn credits away from campus, Associate Director of UConn eCampus Desmond McCaffrey said. The Uconn eCampus provides a resource for students and faculty to interact regularly in a variety of ways. One of their programs helps faculty design online courses.“One of the things I’m happy to see is the breath of opportunity,” McCaffrey said about the new courses being offered in the summer, particularly those online. http://dailycampus.com/stories/2016/3/2/students-favor-summer-online-courses-for-convenience

Study: Which Students Persist in MOOCs - Inside Higher Ed

Learners who sign up for a massive open online course just days before it starts and complete a precourse survey are much more likely than their peers to finish the MOOC, according to a new paper published in the Journal of Higher Education. Researchers at Vanderbilt University examined the behavior of more than 2.1 million learners in 44 different MOOCs offered on Coursera, finding that precourse survey completers viewed 12 more lectures and were 12 percent more likely to earn a certificate of completion compared to those who skipped the survey. The results also provided some pointers for MOOC instructors on how best to structure their courses. https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/03/01/study-which-students-persist-moocs

What Berkeley’s budget cuts tell us about America’s public universities - the Conversation

The University of California at Berkeley recently announced a financial restructuring due to mounting structural deficits, including a US$150 million shortfall in the current budget year. All areas of university’s operations – academic, administrative and athletic – will likely face spending cuts. Higher education experts have begun to ask if Berkeley can stay Berkeley. From my perspective as a higher education researcher, the question is not just about the future of Berkeley, but about the financial constraints being faced by America’s public university sector. http://theconversation.com/what-berkeleys-budget-cuts-tell-us-about-americas-public-universities-54997

Grand Canyon University Stuck With for-Profit Status - Paul Fain, Inside Higher Ed

Grand Canyon U's leaders criticize decision by its accreditor to block the company's attempt to go nonprofit, raising questions about the broad use of outsourcing in higher education. Grand Canyon had proposed to create a new nonprofit “school corporation” and to house various functions of the company in a separate, unaccredited and for-profit “services corporation.” That structure is similar to those of smaller for-profits that previously have made the switch to nonprofit. The commission, however, decided that the proposed structure would move too much of Grand Canyon’s academic operations to the for-profit division. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/03/07/accreditor-blocks-grand-canyon-us-attempt-become-nonprofit

At Eastern Illinois University, my alma mater, a heartbreaking budget mess - Heidi Stevens, Chicago Tribune

Eastern, like the rest of the state's public universities, hasn't received a single dollar from Illinois in eight months, thanks to the General Assembly's and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's failure to agree on a budget. "It seems surrealist, to be frank," said Richard Wandling, professor and chair of Eastern's political science department. "It's beyond baffling." Wandling has taught at Eastern for 29 years. "Are we prepared to deal with the consequences when large numbers of Illinois students start looking to other states for college?" Wandling said. "We all know when you move to another state, you increase the chances that you're going to stay in that state after you graduate. We could be very much in the early stages of a brain drain, and that's not good for the economic welfare, the social welfare or the political welfare of the state. "There must be states out there licking their chops," he said. And we're preparing to feed them our young. http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/stevens/ct-fund-eiu-budget-alum-balancing-0229-20160229-column.html

Chief data officers speak on the state of campus analytics - Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

Purdue, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the University of South Carolina all have chief data officers — people to lead the use of analytics in higher ed decision-making — and these leaders all have different insights about their roles. Campus Technology reports Purdue’s CDO helped develop a new data governance structure to refresh old policy and when questions come up, stakeholders from all corners of campus are included — a process that takes longer, but engages all the right people early in the process. At UW-Madison, the CDO’s office is planning a comprehensive culture shift about who should be looking at data and how they should be using it, and at the University of South Carolina, they are building out their data warehouse and creating new systems given their analytics and reporting goals. http://www.educationdive.com/news/chief-data-officers-speak-on-the-state-of-campus-analytics/414700/

Budget gridlock could cost Penn State 1,100 jobs - Susan Snyder, Philadelphia Inquirer

Pennsylvania State University will lay off 1,100 employees and shut down its agricultural extension offices this summer if the state doesn't soon release its funding, president Eric Barron warned Friday. "This is an incredibly serious issue," Barron told the university's trustees. His prediction, delivered during the board's monthly meeting, was among the most dire in the eight-month budget impasse, one that has particularly punished Pennsylvania's four state-related universities. The freeze has cost Penn State, Temple University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Lincoln University about $600 million in anticipated funding for this fiscal year. http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20160227_Budget_gridlock_could_cost_Penn_State_1_100_jobs.html

Top universities could give students credit for completing cheap online courses - Tim Dodd, Financial Review

In a move that could hasten the acceptance of cheap online degrees the University of Queensland and the Australian National University are considering giving academic credit for massive open online courses (MOOCs). The two universities, both charter members of US online course provider edX, are discussing an international alliance with other universities in which each of them will offer credit for MOOC courses originating with other group members. At least four overseas universities have been in discussions about the alliance with the University of Queensland and ANU. These are Delft University of Technology in Holland, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, the University of British Columbia and Boston University. http://www.afr.com/technology/apps/education/top-universities-could-give-students-credit-for-completing-cheap-online-courses-20160226-gn4ggi

The Art & Science of Quality Course Announcements: How to Avoid the Trap of the Info Dump - Karen Costa, Faculty Focus

Plan announcements in advance whenever possible. Develop an editorial calendar to manage content. If you’ve already posted an important announcement that day and you feel the urge to post again, ask yourself if the content can wait a day. Try to focus on one main idea in each announcement. Use the date release tool in your LMS (if available) to manage your time. You can create daily announcements for the week in one sitting and release one per day to your students. Always ask the question, will this announcement do more harm than good? https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/the-art-science-of-quality-announcements-how-to-avoid-the-trap-of-the-info-dump/

Layoffs and Potential Layoffs in Illinois - Inside Higher Ed

With the state of Illinois continuing to operate without a state budget that should have been adopted in the summer, some public colleges are taking steps to deal with their running out of money. Chicago State University sent layoff notices to all 900 of its employees, The Chicago Tribune reported. The university said it isn't necessarily planning to eliminate all jobs but was complying with requirements for advance notice while it figures out how many jobs might actually go. Western Illinois University announced that it is eliminating 100 faculty and staff positions and reducing the length of many administrative contracts from 12 months to 10 or 11 months. https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/02/29/layoffs-and-potential-layoffs-illinois

3 Online Education Trends That Will Shape How You Hire In 2016 - Rick Levin, Forbes

Online course certificates will become a prerequisite on resumes whether or not they are recognized by an official accrediting institution. That’s because job seekers and talent managers increasingly recognize the value of these certificates as an alternative way to gain and demonstrate marketable skills. HR leaders are paying attention to online education not only on the resumes of job-seekers but also as a means of training their own employees. Millennials are expected to change jobs 13 times over the course of their careers. http://www.forbes.com/sites/schoolboard/2016/02/25/3-online-education-trends-that-will-shape-how-you-hire-in-2016/#2eed4da54761

Ultimaker, University of Illinois and Coursera push 3D printing education for all - Kira, 3Ders

3D printer manufacturer Ultimaker, the University of Illinois, and Coursera, an online education platform, have formed a wide-reaching, strategic partnership to further 3D printing education for learners around the world. The first aspect of this partnership is a series of free online classes about 3D printing, wich will be open and accessible to learners located practically anywhere via the Coursera platform. In addition, Ultimaker has agreed to equip the Illinois MakerLab with 17 new Ultimaker 3D printers, and it is sponsoring “Free Print Wednesdays,” an initiative at the MakerLab that will give Illinois students the opportunity to experience 3D printing hands-on. http://www.3ders.org/articles/20160225-ultimaker-university-of-illinois-and-coursera-push-3d-printing-education-for-all.html

State of Online Education #infographic - Babson Survey Research, et al

Infographic of the Online Report Card – Tracking Online Education in the United States. This is the 13th annual report of the state of online learning in U.S. Higher education. The 2015 Survey of Online Learning conducted by the Babson Survey Research Group and co-sponsored by the Online Learning Consortium (OLC), Pearson, StudyPortals, WCET and Tyton Partners, is the leading barometer of online learning in the United States. https://handouts-live.s3.amazonaws.com/9304da31902945af925eb7b5ba8b309c

How to Succeed in China - Ellie Bothwell, Times Higher Education

Research points to ways Western universities can position their programs. The paper, “Transnational higher education institutions in China: a comparison of policy orientation and reality,” published in the Journal of Studies in International Education, also found that universities in countries that already have “economic relations” with China and that seek to establish transnational education outlets in developed regions of the country have a higher likelihood of being accepted. The research analyzed the 64 transnational higher education institutions (TEIs) in operation in China in June 2015. It included an analysis of positions in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2014-15 for the foreign universities involved in the transnational projects. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/02/26/research-suggests-ways-western-universities-succeed-programs-china

Online education on the rise at Iowa's public universities - Vanessa Miller, The Gazette

Iowa’s public universities collectively have continued to increase distance education offerings, driving up enrollment in courses and programs available online and aligning with Board of Regents goals. The University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and University of Northern Iowa all offer both noncredit and credit-bearing courses online in hopes of extending the campuses “beyond their physical boundaries to meet the needs of state, regional, national, and international audiences.” The Board of Regents lists “increasing distance education opportunities” as one of its strategic goals, and the universities are reaching their targetted goals, according to a recent progress report and a distance education report discussed Wednesday at a Board of Regents meeting. According to the new regent report, total duplicated distance-education enrollment in credit courses across the three campuses reached 65,428 in the academic year that ended last summer. That was 9.9 percent — or 5,886 — more than the prior year. http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/education/higher-education/online-education-on-the-rise-at-iowas-public-universities-20160224

Shindig Announces $50K Challenge to Study Video in Online Classes - EdSurge

A new research initiative is underway to understand how video impacts student engagement in online classes. Video-chat platform Shindig announced yesterday a “$50K Challenge,” in which it will partner with 25-50 faculty members and/or course designers at higher-ed institutions to let them test-drive the technology in their classrooms during the 2016 academic year. Shindig will award grants from $1,000 to $2,500 to faculty who use the platform and report data about how it impacts the online course experience. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-02-24-shindig-announces-50k-challenge-to-study-video-in-online-classes

Key Issues in Teaching and Learning 2016 - EDUCAUSE

Each year, ELI surveys the higher education community to determine key issues & opportunities in post-secondary teaching & learning. These key issues serve as the framework, or focal points, for our discussions and programming throughout the coming year. More than 900 community members voted on the following key issues for 2016. http://www.educause.edu/eli/initiatives/key-issues-in-teaching-and-learning

Boise State classrooms transition to mobile learning - Caroline Campana, the Arbiter

Boise State is starting a mobile learning program. More and more teachers are getting involved with classroom technology. Classes participating in this program are signed up for the use of an iPad for the duration of the semester. Students are introduced to new ways to use this technology and help them prepare for future jobs. “It seems as if more and more students are growing up immersed in technology. To keep students engaged, it’s smart for teachers to adapt to their learning style,” said Christine Moore, professor of public relations. Along with gaining access to one of these electronic devices for the semester, students also learn more about these devices. https://arbiteronline.com/2016/02/23/boise-state-classrooms-transition-to-mobile-learning/

7 Online Courses that Will Actually Help Your Life - MADDY FOLEY, Bustle

The courses I've highlighted today each focus on teaching a specific skill — Photoshop basics, HTML coding, and so on — but if none of them seem like a good fit for your life, I highly encourage browsing online education hubs like Coursera, Skillshare, and edX, all of whom provide free courses from top universities and professionals. Additionally, university resources like MIT's Open Courseware host huge databases of past syllabi and reading lists; and there's also The Muse, a career-advancing resource you should all check out which routinely compiles online courses arranged by job field. http://www.bustle.com/articles/143727-7-online-courses-that-will-actually-help-your-life

Online Vs. the Classroom: Where Should Students Learn? - U-News

The University of Missouri-Kansas City keeps up with the digital age and busy students by offering a variety of online courses. According to its website, they are: instructor led online asynchronous, instructor led online synchronous, online-campus, blended or hybrid course, and video. Online courses are not for every student, they cater to certain learning styles and may not be the best choice for everyone. UMKC Professor Jeannie Irons enjoys both online and in-person courses for different reasons. “I enjoy the flexibility of online courses for students because I know so many are juggling other commitments,” Irons said. “I also appreciate that flexibility for myself. Online courses are also great because students get time to process and write their thoughts out on discussion posts. I think this kind of reflective exercise is good for critical thinking.” http://info.umkc.edu/unews/online-vs-the-classroom-where-should-students-learn/

How Online Learning Degree Programs Figure into the Future of Higher Ed - Kitty McConnell, Columbus CEO

The Internet has disrupted every sector, and higher education is no exception. Online programs are changing the way students earn degrees at brick-and-mortar colleges and universities. Many of central Ohio’s academic institutions are investing in online initiatives to stay competitive. As eLearning gains wider acceptance among students and administrators, academic institutions and faculty are wrestling with the hows and whys of integrating online courses into traditional college curriculums. http://www.columbusceo.com/content/stories/2016/02/higher-elearning.html

MasterClass Raises $15 Million For Online Classes Taught By Celebrities - Connie Loizos, Tech Crunch

MasterClass, a San Francisco-based online education platform that’s luring some of the most talented professionals in their respective fields to teach, has raised $15 million in Series B funding led by New Enterprise Associates. What investors are backing is certainly interesting. MasterClass, which charges $90 for each “MasterClass,” currently features five options, including five hours of acting class that are taught by Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman; two hours of advanced tennis techniques taught by tennis great Serena Williams; 22 lessons on writing taught by bestselling author James Patterson; and 16 video lessons by entertainer Usher on the art of performance. http://techcrunch.com/2016/02/23/masterclass-raises-15-million-for-online-classes-taught-by-celebrities/

3 Ways Higher Ed Can Avoid the Fate of Polaroid - Joshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed

I’m in the middle of reading Adam Grant’s new book Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World - a book that is too good to recommend only once. One of the stories that Grant tells is the history of Polaroid. It is clear to us now that Polaroid should have affirmed that it was in the imaging business, not the paper business. Just as Blockbuster was in the watching movies at home business, and not the DVD rental from store business. The goal of not confusing what we do with how we do it is easy to say, and very hard to reach. In higher ed, we are in the learning, credentialing and knowledge creation business. We are not in the physical classroom or online classroom business. Physical and online classrooms are tools - they are a means to an end. https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/3-ways-higher-ed-can-avoid-fate-polaroid

These Six EdTech Ventures Are Deploying Big Data To Improve Digital Business Education - Seb Murray, Business Because

A Harvard Business School MBA is launching an edtech venture that will utilize big data analytics to improve students’ online learning. Ashwin Damera has teamed up with MIT Sloan School of Management, Columbia Business School, and Tuck School of Business to bring their world-leading content further into the digital realm. The Emeritus Institute of Management is the latest in a long line of start-ups biting into the rapidly growing online education market — expected to reach $107 billion last year, according to Docebo. Many are utilizing analytics to improve both teaching and learning. The crunching of data, along with a focus on virtual communication and teams, and on the skills needed for managing in the digital economy, are what sets the Emeritus Institute apart, Ashwin said. http://www.businessbecause.com/news/mba-distance-learning/3800/edtech-improves-online-business-training

Ubiquitous learning could push the term 'online' out of education - Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

Craig Weidemann and Karen Pollack, provosts at Penn State University, believe the maturation of online learning and otherwise innovative models have made the delivery mode for education irrelevant. For University Business, the pair writes that we are in a new era of ubiquitous learning, and 10 years from now the “online” label won’t even exist as learning happens immersively and without location mattering much. This shift will force institutions to think about technology, facilities, and their student bodies differently, and it is happening already as a growing number of high school graduates choose alternative options for higher education. http://www.educationdive.com/news/ubiquitous-learning-could-push-the-term-online-out-of-education/414702/

8 MOOCs for Better Technology-Enhanced Teaching - Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

These free courses will help update your skills with blended, OER, Universal Design and more. Let 2016 be the year you revamp your understanding of technology-enhanced teaching or add a new skill for helping students learn. We've culled through hundreds of massive open online courses (MOOCs) that are starting in or after February 2016 to identify seven free courses for fine-tuning the instructional practices in your classrooms. https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/02/10/8-moocs-for-better-technology-enhanced-teaching.aspx

Video Chat Your Way Into College: How Tech Is Changing The Admissions Process - Anya Kamenetz, NPR

Two new companies, Kira Academic and YouVisit, market novel applications of technology to colleges that want to find the best overseas students and vice versa. Kira Academic is a video-based real time admissions platform that works like a virtual interviewing tool. The company saw the potential market in higher education, and it now works with 140 universities around the world. Kira works with colleges to come up with a specific battery of questions. YouVisit produces video-based virtual reality "tours" of hotels, travel destinations and colleges, including Harvard and Yale. Shot in high-definition video, the VR tours give students the opportunity to explore a campus while feeling as if they're really there. http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/02/10/465583808/video-chat-your-way-into-college-how-tech-is-changing-the-admissions-process

The major momentum behind micro-credentials - JENNIFER KABAKER, eSchool News

Over the past two years, Digital Promise has been building an ecosystem of micro-credentials to provide competency-based recognition for the skills educators develop throughout their careers in both formal and informal contexts. Supported by the Open Badge Standard (developed by Mozilla) and digital badging technology, these micro-credentials provide educators with concrete validation of their learning that can be used as a type of currency in professional learning. To earn a micro-credential, an educator can select either a single micro-credential or a stack that is aligned with his or her interests or students’ needs, collect the required evidence to demonstrate competency, and submit it online for assessment. An assessor will download the video, and evaluate it through the publicly available rubric. http://www.eschoolnews.com/2016/02/16/the-major-momentum-behind-micro-credentials/

Chicago State University Sends Layoff Notices To All Employees - CBS Chicago News

With state funding cut off due to the ongoing budget impasse, Chicago State University has announced all 900 employees, including the university president, are receiving layoff notices. CSU President Thomas Calhoun Jr. said the university has reached a point where it can’t continue to function as it has since the school year began last fall, so layoff notices have been sent to all faculty, staff, and administrators. Chicago State and the other eight public universities in Illinois have not received any state funding for the past eight months, as Gov. Bruce Rauner and Illinois lawmakers have yet to agree on a budget for the current fiscal year. http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2016/02/26/chicago-state-university-sends-layoff-notices-to-all-employees/

Is the Traditional College Education an Endangered Species? - Knowledge@Wharton

Would employers ever come to accept micro-credentials — individual certificates of digital accomplishment — in place of a bachelor’s or master’s degree? “Large employers are looking at these credentials as a way to either promote people or hire people,” Agarwal responded. He noted that edX has collaborated with organizations such as Aspiring Minds, an Indian company that connects learners to employment. Plus, he said, MIT is in discussion with a number of employers who are interested in the idea of a “micro-master’s” credential. He said that to truly alter the educational and employment ecosystem, edX would need to increase its successes, demonstrate that the course quality was good and show that learners were “learning about the same, or more, or close enough to what they would get in a campus education…. Once the press begins talking about it, and cost pressures continue beating up on everybody, I think there is a path forward.” http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/is-the-traditional-college-education-an-endangered-species/

Coursera Adds Mentors, Project-Based Courses to Online Offerings - EdSurge

Coursera began offering mentors for 10 of its courses, Class Central reports. For $248, students can receive 1:1 feedback, email and forum support, and live weekly “office hours" with mentors—professionals from industries relevant to each course. While companies including Udacity and General Assembly have offered mentor-guided courses for years, the space is mostly new for Coursera, whose other guided-course initiative (a peer-to-peer tutoring pilot in 2014) was short-lived. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-02-19-coursera-adds-mentors-project-based-courses-to-online-offerings

How to Make the Most of Online Learning - Demetra Katsifli, CMI

CMI chief executive Ann Francke said: “Many employers need to rethink how they go about helping their managers learn new skills. Just dumping textbooks onto smartphones is a dumb way to upskill managers. Managers want personalised bite-size content, to share knowledge and learn from connected peer networks, to ask questions and get feedback in real time. Why? Because it’s now part of how we work and live.” Today, online distance learning is no longer a poor cousin of the classroom. In fact, recent research has shown that people taking online courses are developing additional skills ¬– such as discipline, focus, accountability and troubleshooting – precisely because this method of learning requires them to be more organised and manage their own educational experience. A key feature of online distance learning is that the students are at the centre of the learning process and they have to take a more proactive role. http://www.managers.org.uk/insights/news/2016/february/how-to-make-the-most-of-online-learning

Thousands of Refugees to Receive College Credit Online through edX Partnership with Kiron - edX

As part of a joint effort to improve the lives of thousands of newly arrived Syrian and other refugees in Europe, edX today announced a partnership with Kiron that offers a pathway to earn free college credit. The collaboration, which begins April 2016, will provide online learning opportunities for thousands of current and new Kiron students who seek better lives after escaping Syria and other war-torn countries. Kiron, whose mission is to enable access to free higher education for refugees, independent of national and/or personal and financial situations, will integrate 300 edX courses into its learning platform. EdX will issue free verified certificates for specific courses, translating to college credit with Kiron's university campus partners. The full slate of offerings will include introductory as well as university-level specialty courses. http://news.sys-con.com/node/3684967

Columbia creates new administrative position for online education, expands online programming - JESSICA SPITZ, Columbia Spectator

Sandesh Tuladhar will work to centralize efforts to incorporate online education across the University as the new director of online education. Various forms of online education have been present at Columbia for years, including massive open online courses, certification programs, and “flipped” classrooms, which incorporate online resources into a course’s curriculum. However, with the recent creation of a new position for a Director of Online Education and the opening of the Center for Teaching and Learning, Columbia looks to expand the scale of online educational programming even further. http://columbiaspectator.com/news/2016/02/18/university-hires-first-director-online-education-online-education-efforts-rapidly

Students compare online, on-campus classes - Sophia Oswald, WASHBURN REVIEW

Whether or not you prefer online courses or taking a class in person depends on who you are and how you learn. There are many advantages to both types and the preference really depends on each individual student. When students decide to learn in the classroom, they are able to learn face-to-face and can ask questions as soon as they get stumped. These can be difficult for some people because you have to be on campus and are responsible for being there at a certain time. When students decide to enroll in an online course, they aren’t required to be in a class at a certain time and they don’t have to commute to be there. This type of course can help people who work a lot and have tight schedules. http://www.washburnreview.org/opinion/students-compare-online-on-campus-classes/article_e01c0d60-cec1-11e5-ba95-f391fa677f4c.html

Higher ed 'revolution' hard to predict, but on the way - Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

While it’s hard to say when higher education will be on the other side of a major shift and what, exactly, it will look like then, Richard DeMillo, Georgia Tech computing professor and author of "Revolution in Higher Education: How a Small Band of Innovators Will Make College Accessible and Affordable," believes the ‘revolution’ is inevitable. Campus Technology reports that DeMillo sees a major shift toward online programming and digital technology to better serve students at colleges and universities across the country, both the well-known and more obscure. A reimagined Physics 101 course at Georgia Tech replaced overcrowded labs with videos, made by students who go out into the world to conduct experiments and then report back, creating an entirely new experience for students — not simply an online version that doesn’t have space limitations. http://www.educationdive.com/news/higher-ed-revolution-hard-to-predict-but-on-the-way/414114/

Explore the Pros, Cons of Gamification in Online Education - Jordan Friedman, US News

To keep students engaged, some faculty incorporate game-design elements into online classes. For gamification to be effective, students need to view it as a serious form of learning, experts say. In his online course on ethical decision-making, Greg Andres, a philosophy lecturer at the University of Waterloo in Canada, has students compete for the top spot on the class' leader board. As they answer questions about how they would respond to various ethical dilemmas, they receive a certain number of points depending on how Andres views their responses in a given context. The goal is "to make course concepts concrete – here's how it actually plays out in real life," Andres says. Andres' class is an example of gamification, a term that generally refers to the implementation of different game-design elements – such as competition or the earning of points or badges – into various settings. http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2016-02-17/explore-the-pros-cons-of-gamification-in-online-education

Collecting the right data isn't enough — colleges must know how to use it - Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

Data collection around student performance has exploded in recent years, and many schools have figured out how to use the data to improve retention rates, make advising more efficient, strengthen classroom pedagogy, and offer the right services to meet student needs. But still, Jeff Ralyea, senior vice president of product management at Ellucian, sees that many campuses are lost. “What we have found is that the schools, even if they have the data, they just don’t know where to start in terms of using the data,” Ralyea said. Ellucian has been working on a set of guided analytics solutions that use heuristics to “teach” the program to anticipate desired analyses based on prior searches and user profiles. The higher education software and services company sees a strong desire for data-driven decision-making among its client institutions. This software makes it possible for a wider range of people to interpret the data in ways that can be meaningful for the organization. http://www.educationdive.com/news/collecting-the-right-data-isnt-enough-colleges-must-know-how-to-use-it/414040/

Proposed Overtime Rules May Have Big Impact on Higher Ed - Ellen Wexler, Inside Higher Ed

The Obama administration's proposed rules would extend overtime protections to millions -- including many postdocs and other employees in higher ed. Would the plan provide overdue relief or be a financial disaster for colleges and universities? President Obama has announced a proposal that would raise the salary threshold to exemption from overtime $50,440. If the change goes through, white-collar workers making less than $50,440 will be guaranteed overtime pay if they put in more than 40 hours a week. In higher education, the change would reclassify thousands of workers across the country. Colleges would be required to pay these professionals for any time worked over 40 hours a week -- or else raise their salaries significantly to get over $50,440. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/02/25/what-does-department-labors-overtime-rule-mean-higher-education

Teaching and Learning and IT Issues: Exploring the Intersections - Veronica Diaz and Malcolm Brown, EDUCAUSE Review

Optimizing Educational Technology, #2 on the EDUCAUSE Top 10 IT Issues list, closely aligns with several of the ELI Key Issues. Faculty development (ELI Key Issue #1) is about improving practice and enabling faculty members to support learning with the effective use of technology. Academic transformation (ELI Key Issue #2) is about using information technology creatively to support new teaching and learning models. Learning analytics (ELI Key Issue #5) refers to studying data about learners and their contexts in order to understand and optimize learning and the environments where it occurs. Finally, working with emerging technology (ELI Key Issue #3) is about having an ongoing awareness of innovations, developing an effective process by which to discover them, utilizing pilots, and considering full-scale implementation. http://er.educause.edu/articles/2016/1/teaching-and-learning-and-it-issues-exploring-the-intersections

Finding Our Voice: Instructional Designers in Higher Education - Sandra L. Miller and Gayle K. Stein, EDUCAUSE Review

A New Jersey workshop on instructional design gave attendees the opportunity to learn about instructional designers' roles at different institutions and brainstorm good ideas, tips and tricks, important contributions to the field, and how to overcome shared challenges. Instructional technologists and video production coordinators also are involved in the instructional design process, helping faculty learn how to use instructional tools. A major challenge for instructional designers is faculty resistance to new pedagogies and deliveries — not just to hybrid and online courses. Institutional acknowledgement of skill acquisition in their professional development can lead faculty to place a higher value on technology integration in teaching and learning. http://er.educause.edu/articles/2016/2/finding-our-voice-instructional-designers-in-higher-education

Study suggests acceptance of online education still lags among high school students - Carl Straumsheim, Inside Higher Ed

Most college-bound high school students are concerned about the quality of online education, but many say they are open to the idea of taking some of their courses online, a new study shows. Russell Poulin, director of policy and analysis at the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET), criticized the authors of the study for designing it around “preconceptions” about online education. Their analysis, he said in an email, reinforces the presumption that high school students aren’t interested in studying online. “Since when is 43 percent of the students equated with ‘almost no interest’?” Poulin wrote, referring to the surveyed students who said they were interested in taking a few, half or most of their courses online. The undecided students, he added, shouldn’t be assumed to be negative toward online education. “Perhaps they would be interested if they try it?” he wrote. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/02/17/study-suggests-high-school-students-hold-negative-views-online-education

National Student Clearninghouse Research Center Reports on College Completion

Nationally, the college completion rate for students who started in four-year public institutions declined from 2008 to 2009 by 1.7 percentage points, dropping to 61.2 percent from 62.9 percent. In 15 states, the direction of the change in the college completion rate was actually positive including four states (California, Connecticut, Iowa, and South Carolina) where the college completion rate for students who started in four-year public institutions increased by 1 to 2 percentage points. This report was supported by a grant from the Lumina Foundation. Lumina Foundation, an Indianapolis-based private foundation, is committed to enrolling and graduating more students from college — especially 21st century students: low-income students, students of color, first-generation students and adult learners. (Much more detail at the link below) https://nscresearchcenter.org/signaturereport10-statesupplement/

MIT, Boeing, NASA, and edX to launch online architecture and systems engineering program - MIT Office of Digital Learning

MIT is collaborating with Boeing and NASA to develop a four-part online, certificate-based program: “Architecture and Systems Engineering: Models and Methods to Manage Complex Systems.” The program aims to ensure that the engineering workforce has continual training and access to the latest knowledge and methods to design and develop products in a rapidly changing environment. The four courses, which will be delivered by MIT Professional Education via the edX platform, will marry the research and knowledge of MIT’s world-renowned faculty with lessons and case studies in industry and government from Boeing and NASA professionals. http://news.mit.edu/2016/mit-boeing-nasa-edx-launch-online-architecture-systems-engineering-program-0216

Online learning makes Brown accessible to all - Editorial Board, Brown Daily Herald

Brown’s decision this year to open up eight for-credit, online summer courses comes as general interest in online education — including the Massive Open Online Courses that Brown had previously heralded as the future of education — has begun to wane. While the public discourse surrounding Coursera and edX — sites that allow anyone to watch lectures, participate in chat room sections and access course readings — has given way to broader discussions of tuition, affordability and debt, the expansion of Brown’s online summer courses offers a new entry point to examine the technological developments taking place in higher education. http://www.browndailyherald.com/2016/02/16/editorial-online-learning-makes-brown-accessible-to-all/

Penn State to open Intellectual Property Clinic - Shawn Annarelli, Centre Daily Times

Penn State Law is tentatively scheduled to open the Intellectual Property Clinic in the fall of 2016. Students in the clinic will work with those in the Penn State Law Entrepreneur Assistance Clinic, which launched in the fall of 2015. The clinics, according to the university, are expected to play a large role in Invent Penn State, a $30-million economic development initiative aimed at turning ideas at Penn State into business ventures. The university sees clinics like the IPC as a key component of the initiative. http://www.ecampusnews.com/business-news/psu-intellectual-property-528/

WCET Distance Education Enrollment Report 2016 - WCET

Based on data accumulated by the U.S. Department of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) surveys from the Fall of 2014, the WCET Distance Education Enrollment Report 2016 highlights differences by sector, graduate vs. undergraduate study, student location, and by the number of institutions educating students at a distance. Our aim is to enlighten readers about the current state of the industry through graphs, data tables, observations, and commentary based on our insights. http://wcet.wiche.edu/initiatives/research/WCET-Distance-Education-Enrollment-Report-2016

Coursera launches project-based courses - eCampus News

Students can create a business model, infographic, Android app, or comic book in applied project-based courses. In a Feb. 11 blog post, Coursera announced it is offering 12 new project-based courses in topics from persuasive writing to computer construction. The blog post references research showing that tackling real-life challenges is a powerful way to master new content, improve general problem-solving abilities, and prepare for increasingly difficult tasks. In a project-based course, students can master content efficiently by applying new concepts to a real-world project as they learn, the blog post explains. Students will receive guidance and suggestions from an instructor and a community of learners with similar goals, and when they complete the course, they’ll have a finished project to use and share. http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/project-based-courses-476/

People who don't spend 5 hours a week online learning will make themselves obsolete, says AT&T CEO - Biz Carson, Business Insider

Faced with competition from not just from Verizon and Sprint, but also Google and Amazon, the telecommunications giant is working aggressively to make sure its employees catch up and get ahead of the changing technology of the times. Its CEO and Chairman, Randall Stephenson, isn't afraid to mince words about will happen if his employees don't. In an interview with the New York Times, Stephenson said those who don't spend five to 10 hours a week learning online "will obsolete themselves with technology." "There is a need to retool yourself, and you should not expect to stop," Stephenson told the Times. http://www.businessinsider.com/people-who-dont-spend-5-hours-a-week-online-learning-will-make-themselves-obsolete-says-att-ceo-2016-2

What should MOOC quality standards look like? - Meris Stansbury, eCampus News

Research delves into issues when trying to gauge instructional and design quality in MOOCs for credit. As more institutions consider offering MOOCs for credit, often the MOOCs provided by third-party platforms, researchers say it’s imperative to gauge instructional and design effectiveness…but how, and with what quality standards? These are the main questions posited by Patrick Lowenthal, assistant professor at the Educational Technology College of Education at Boise State University; and Dr. Charles Hodges, associate professor of Leadership, Technology & Human Development at Georgia Southern University, in their research study on trying to measure the quality of MOOCs. http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/mooc-quality-standards-716/

A religion course for the Internet age - Brett Milano, Harvard

Harvard Divinity School senior lecturer Diane Moore has modest goals for her upcoming online course, “World Religions Through Their Scripture.” The course, which launches this spring, will bring together Harvard’s leading scholars in the world’s major religions: Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. As a HarvardX MOOC (massive open online course), it was designed to attract an international, multicultural audience. Moore, a senior lecturer on religious studies and education, a senior fellow at the Center for the Study of World Religions, and director of the Religious Literacy Project, has long been an advocate of “religious literacy,” meaning an understanding of how religion works in its cultural and political contexts. http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2016/02/a-religion-course-for-the-internet-age/

UF's online-only students find early success - Gabrielle Russon, Orlando Sentinel

Emily Long refuses to stay in her apartment all day, even though she won't physically go to class until she is halfway through her bachelor's degree at the University of Florida. "I'm like never home," says Long, who rents an apartment 15 minutes from campus. "That's a good thing." Her friend Ethan Cassidy sometimes can't shake the notion that he is missing out as he takes his online courses. To combat that, he has found friends whose paths to UF are similar. Cassidy and Long are among the 235 students in the second semester of their freshmen year under a new UF program that was criticized when it was announced a year ago. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/education/os-uf-online-only-student-20160212-story.html

New Textbook Liberation Fund Will Help Faculty Ditch High-Priced Textbooks - Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology

A new Textbook Liberation Fund offers grants for "faculty members or departments who want to transition their courses away from high-priced textbooks." The $500,000 fund was launched today by Skyepack, the digital publishing platform for open educational resources (OER), with the goal of saving college students $1 billion. "We believe students deserve cost-effective and simple alternatives to the textbook ecosystem most of us are familiar with," said Skyepack Chief Executive Officer Brady Kalb in a press release. "Getting your books or course required reading shouldn't necessitate a student loan." https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/02/10/new-textbook-liberation-fund-will-help-faculty-ditch-high-priced-textbooks.aspx

Youngsters have changed, education system has not: Anant Agarwal, edX CEO - Noah DMello, CIO India

Technology has disrupted almost all sectors, but it has stayed away from education, said Anant Agarwal, CEO, edX on the third day of NASSCOM 2016. “Education has remained in our classrooms and it hasn’t evolved from there. Technology has not touched this space,” he said. edX, which is a not-for-profit massive open online course (MOOC) provider and runs on open source software, is one of the few companies that has disrupted the way education is being dealt with, he said. He also said that futuristic technologies such as artificial intelligence are bringing disruption to education. “From customizing courses for students to grading essays, technology is redefining education,” he said. http://www.cio.in/news/youngsters-have-changed-education-system-has-not-anant-agarwal-edx-ceo

Montgomery County Community College offers scholarship for online course - Donna Rovins, Times-Herald

Jobs in manufacturing are becoming more technology based — requiring more advanced skills for employees as well as an understanding of manufacturing processes. To help people who may be seeking first-time employment in manufacturing or who recently entered the industry, Montgomery County Community College’s Center for Workforce Development is offering scholarships for an online, non-credit Manufacturing Fundamentals course to help them gain a basic understanding of today’s manufacturing environment. The $100 scholarships, which are being provided through a gift from the Montgomery County Economic Development Corp., will cover the fee for the first 100 participants that register for the course. http://www.timesherald.com/article/JR/20160212/BUSINESS/160219939

Udemy Thinks It’s Cracked the Future of Online Education - Alex Fitzpatrick, Time

On Feb. 12, Udemy announced that more than 10 million students have taken one of its courses. In the U.S., there were about 13 million students working toward a four-year degree during fall 2015 semester, according to the Department of Education. It is another example of the rising popularity of online education as college costs have boomed in the United States. Americans hold $1.2 trillion in student loan debt, second only to mortgages in terms of consumer obligations. Entering the workforce deep in the red could be a handicap that follows graduates the rest of their careers, economists say. http://time.com/4215787/udemy-dennis-yang/

Making Our Teaching Efficient: Flipping the Classroom - Linda C. Hodges, Tomorrow's Professor

Faculty typically spend a lot of time teaching—over 20 hours of a 50-hour workweek in one study (Bentley and Kyvik 2012). Are we spending that time productively? Obviously, whether or not we feel productive depends on what we hope to accomplish as instructors. For example, virtually all the faculty surveyed in the 2013–14 Higher Education Research Institute Faculty Survey felt that two learning outcomes were particularly key: 
developing students’ abilities to think critically (99.1%) and promoting students’ abilities to write effectively (92.7%). If these are our top goals for student learning, how do we direct our time most efficiently to achieve them? As more data become available on how people learn, the answer to this question may lie in our use of the flipped classroom. https://tomprof.stanford.edu/posting/1463

What I Learned Teaching a Course on Artificial Intelligence (and You Can, Too) - David Schatsky, Huffington Post

I recently finished teaching a free, eight-week online course on artificial intelligence and cognitive technologies. Over 7,000 students registered for the course. Many of them were active participants in rich discussions throughout the eight weeks. I'd like to tell you what I learned from my students during the course, and invite you to register for the next run of the course, which starts on March 14. Students were fascinated with the ways in which perceptual technologies like speech recognition and computer vision make possible natural interfaces between humans and computers. And they actively debated the implications of cognitive technologies for businesses, workers, and society. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-schatsky/what-i-learned-teaching-a_b_9212496.html

College-accrediting agency sends warning amid Illinois budget impasse - Associated Press

The state budget impasse could have "significant" consequences for the public colleges and universities in Illinois, according to a higher-education accrediting agency. In a letter sent Thursday, the Higher Learning Commission, the regional accrediting agency for 19 states including Illinois, issued a warning to Gov. Bruce Rauner and members of the General Assembly, the (Champaign) News-Gazette reported. Schools that have to suspend operations or close because of unavailable state funding could lose their accreditation if they don't come up with plans for their students to continue at another college, the commission warned lawmakers. "The lack of state funding is putting Illinois colleges and universities at serious risk and jeopardizing the future of students," commission President Barbara Gellman-Danley wrote in the letter. http://www.qconline.com/news/illinois/college-accrediting-agency-sends-warning-amid-illinois-budget-impasse/article_042b5a1e-cf42-11e5-80cc-bb1fb414f8a0.html

10 Ways to Fail When Creating an Online Program - Joshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed

The best part of my job is the opportunity to work with folks at the beginning of planning an online learning program. Whether these colleagues are from my own institution, or from a peer institution, I always say the same 10 things. https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/10-ways-fail-when-creating-online-program

Appearance and gender both matter in the classroom, new studies suggest - Eric Schulzke, Deseret News

Two new experiments seem to show that both college students and instructors carry biases when one rates the other. One study shows that better-looking female students have an advantage in the classroom, while another shows that male professors get better teaching evaluations than their female peers. In a large study at Metropolitan State University of Denver released in January, researchers found that attractive female students received measurably better grades than their less attractive peers — but only in traditional classrooms. That apppearance boost disappeared in online courses. The second study found that female instructors were consistently rated lower than male instructors. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865647235/Do-appearance-and-gender-really-matter-in-the-classroom.html

Students, librarians urge professors to use open-source textbooks - Katherine Long, The Seattle Times

In Washington state, pending legislation could promote the use of online textbooks and open-source materials. A student advocacy group, along with one of the University of Washington’s top librarians, is urging faculty members to take a good look at using more free online textbooks. And two bills in the state Legislature would promote and facilitate the use of such open-source textbooks and course materials. The problem is the high price of textbooks. U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) and student affiliates of that nonprofit, including WashPIRG, say the cost of textbooks has gone up 73 percent in the last decade –four times the rate of inflation. http://www.ecampusnews.com/policy/legislation/open-source-textbooks-562/

Higher-ed leaders: 5 steps to a meaningful social media profile - Peter Sclafani, eCampus News

Some of the country’s most-followed CIOs on social media outline how others can get started, what to avoid. Being a higher-ed leader, like a Chief Information Officer (CIO), at an institution today also means being active on social networking sites. For example, CIOs at universities across the county are being asked to help their institution’s brand outreach and community growth by embracing Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other platforms, like LinkedIn. http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/social-media-profile-676/

Linguistics of foul language - Peter Rosen, KSL

You're not supposed to say them. We can't spell them out for you. But at the University of Utah, you can get credit for studying curse words. The university's Linguistics Department offers an online class titled "Bad Words and Taboo Terms," taught by Randy Eggert. "We started it really as a class that would attract non-majors," he said. "It's a fairly new area of research," Eggert said. "For years the topic itself was taboo. Few people were willing to research it seriously until the 1980s." Bad words, themselves, though, are nothing new. http://www.ksl.com/?sid=38431212&nid=148&fm=most_popular&s_cid=article_popular-10

Princeton's COS 126 ratings improve after switching to online lectures - JESSICA LI, Daily Princetonion

After traditional, in-class lectures were replaced by ones held online, lecture ratings for COS 126: General Computer Science improved from 3.3 to 3.8, according to Professor of Computer Science and COS 126 course head Robert Sedgewick. COS 126 is the largest course in the University by annual enrollment, with 318 students having completed it in the fall semester and 405 students currently enrolled for the spring semester, according to the Office of the Registrar. COS 126 lectures, coined as ‘flipped lectures,’ have been offered exclusively online since this past fall semester, according to Sedgewick. http://dailyprincetonian.com/news/2016/02/cos-126-ratings-improve-after-switching-to-online-lectures/

Will the Internet remove traditional higher ed's prestige factor? - Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

Michael Kinsley writes for The Washington Post that the Internet may be higher education’s great disruptor, bringing down traditional institutions by taking away the power of prestige. The prestige factor that enshrines the nation’s most elite institutions comes with the selective admissions process, but when anyone can access the course content offered to the privileged few, Kinsley posits the $200,000 education may not seem so worth it. While online, for-profit universities have not yet posed much of a threat to the Harvards and Yales of the higher education sector, there is a chance that they'll get better 10 or 20 years down the line, or that MOOCs will get better, and information once reserved for the privileged few can be had by many more, for far less. http://www.educationdive.com/news/will-the-internet-remove-traditional-higher-eds-prestige-factor/413466/

Public universities in Ohio could face performance reviews by state auditor - Jim Siegel, Columbus Dispatch

A bill giving the state auditor the ability to peek under the curtain into the operations of Ohio’s public universities breezed through the House, but some worry that it could now face more opposition. The Ohio House unanimously approved the bill opening two- and four-year universities to performance audits that seek to identify potential savings through efficiencies and process changes. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/02/07/1-universities-could-face-performance-audits.html

Apollo Education Group to go private in $1.1B sale - Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

A group of investors has agreed to purchase Apollo Education Group, owner of the for-profit college chain University of Phoenix, in a $1.1 billion cash deal. The New York Times reports that the buyers include Chicago-based investment firm Vistria Group, whose founder, Marty Nesbitt, has close ties to President Barack Obama and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, and whose COO, Tony Miller, served as deputy secretary of the Obama Department of Education from 2009 to 2013. While the investors hope to help clean up the for-profit industry with the purchase and plan to run the University of Phoenix with “the highest ethical standards,” critics of the sector and the purchase say the new team will have trouble doing so, given their obligations to shareholders — especially as they bought out Apollo Education Group shares for about 30% more than its stock was worth on the market. http://www.educationdive.com/news/apollo-education-group-to-go-private-in-11b-sale/413574/

2015 Online Report Card - Tracking Online Education in the United States - the Online Learning Consortium

Multi-year trend shows growth in online enrollments continues to outpace overall higher ed enrollments. Online Report Card – Tracking Online Education in the United States, is the 13th annual report of the state of online learning in U.S. Higher education. The 2015 Survey of Online Learning is conducted by the Babson Survey Research Group and co-sponsored by the Online Learning Consortium (OLC), Pearson, StudyPortals, WCET and Tyton Partners, is the leading barometer of online learning in the United States. Key report findings include: A year‐to‐year 3.9% increase in the number of distance education students, up from the 3.7% rate recorded last year. More than one in four students (28%) now take at least one distance education course (a total of 5,828,826 students, a year‐to‐year increase of 217,275). The total of 5.8 million fall 2014 distance education students is composed of 2.85 million taking all of their courses at a distance and 2.97 million taking some, but not all, distance courses. http://onlinelearningconsortium.org/read/online-report-card-tracking-online-education-united-states-2015/

Microsoft Donates $1 Billion in Cloud Services to Nonprofits, Universities - the Center for Digital Education

In what seems a waterfall release of free services, Microsoft Philanthropies has revealed intentions to donate $1 billion in cloud tools to universities and nonprofits. The word comes from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who on Jan. 19 lauded the action as a new and vital resource for social and economic change. The resources are calculated to touch more than 70,000 organizations in a swift three-year span, with as much as $350 million donated in 2016. The reasoning, Nadella writes in a company blog post, is to confront an emerging digital divide, one rooted in the ecosystem of advanced technologies like predictive analytics and big data. Many nonprofits and research groups struggle to afford the tools, and Nadella said an intervention was the only foreseeable remedy. http://www.centerdigitaled.com/higher-ed/Microsoft-Donates-1-Billion-in-Cloud-Services-to-Nonprofits-Universities.html

The Struggle to Make Online Courses Accessible in Higher Ed - TANYA ROSCORLA, Center for Digital Education

Though the Americans with Disabilities Act has clear accessibility requirements, very rarely does anyone come knocking on college doors to find out whether they're abiding by the law. The University of Illinois Springfield also encourages faculty members to adopt the Universal Design for Learning framework, and gives them the option to collaborate with instructional designers and faculty developers as they create their courses. With this strategy, the Center for Online Learning, Research and Service can take care of most students' needs and work with the Office of Disability Services on technology accommodations for those who require extra support. "Sometimes we think, 'Well, if we create an office of accessibility, we've done all we need to do,' but it's so much more than that," said Vickie Cook, director of the Center for Online Learning, Research and Service at University of Illinois Springfield. "It's really everyone's job to think about accessibility, and that work is never done. Accessibility is an ongoing role and responsibility for everyone across campus." http://www.centerdigitaled.com/higher-ed/The-Struggle-to-Make-Online-Courses-Accessible-in-Higher-Ed.html

NMC Horizon Report Reveals Top Tech, Trends, Troubles in Higher Ed - TANYA ROSCORLA, Center for Digital Education

An annual report provides a snapshot of what could be in store for higher education leaders in the next five years. Sevices that detect and respond to human emotion could be coming to higher education in the next four to five years. The NMC Horizon Report 2016 Higher Education Edition looks ahead at important technology developments like this one, along with challenges and trends to accelerate technology adoption. In a report released Thursday, Feb. 4, NMC and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative give higher education leaders a big picture look at what could happen with technology in their field so they can use it to help inform their strategic planning. http://www.nmc.org/publication/nmc-horizon-report-2016-higher-education-edition/ http://www.centerdigitaled.com/higher-ed/NMC-Horizon-Report-Reveals-Top-Tech-Trends-Troubles-in-Higher-Ed.html

Regents committee OKs new tenure policy - Associated Press

A University of Wisconsin System regents committee overwhelmingly approved policy changes Friday that would allow chancellors to lay off tenured professors if their programs are cut and fire them for poor performance. The full Board of Regents is expected to consider the policy changes at a meeting next month. Critics contend the revisions would allow chancellors and regents to shrink programs to save money. Campuses could use the revisions to start cutting liberal arts programs to appease Republicans, who see the system as simply a giant job trainer, according to David Vanness, an associate professor of population health sciences at UW-Madison and president of the Madison chapter of the American Association of University Professors. "(The policy changes) are carefully crafted to look good in some places and hide land mines in others," Vanness said. http://www.wtmj.com/news/regents-committee-oks-new-tenure-policy

PwC tells universities to adapt or perish - by Tim Dodd, Financial Review

There are clear signs that digital disruption is transforming universities and leaving behind those that can't adapt fast enough. Not surprisingly this seems to be more apparent to students, who come from the generation of digital natives, than to many university academics and administrators. Last week the Australian Higher Education Industrial Association, the registered employer organisation for higher education providers, published a report it commissioned from PwC titled Australian Higher Education Workforce of the Future. It explores what the employment model for universities is likely to be 10 or 20 years hence, when the full impact of digital disruption, as well as other change-makers like fee deregulation and increased competition, will have hit. http://www.afr.com/leadership/careers/pwc-tells-universities-to-adapt-or-perish-20160204-gmm2ek

New On-line Classes and Models - David, RealClimate

My free online class on Coursera.org entitled Global Warming I: The Science and Modeling of Climate Change has already served 45,000 people (started, not finished) in the four times that it’s run. Now it’s set up in a new format, called “on demand mode”, which allows people to start, progress, and finish on their own calendars. This would be an advantage if a teacher wanted to use the material to supplement a class; there are no longer any time constraints built into the Coursera system to prevent that. http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2016/02/new-on-line-classes-and-models/

You don’t need an Ivy League degree to make a lot of money in these fields - Jillian Berman, Market Watch

Graduates of top-tier schools who major in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) don’t earn much more than graduates of schools that are easier to get into, according to research from Michael Hilmer, an economist at San Diego State University, and Eric Eide and Mark Showalter, economists at Brigham Young University. But for students who major in business or liberal arts, where you go to school matters -- business majors from top schools make 12% more than those from midtier schools and 18% more than their colleagues from bottom tier schools, for example. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/you-dont-need-an-ivy-league-degree-to-make-a-lot-of-money-in-these-fields-2016-02-02

King’s College head: ignoring online education is big danger - John Elmes, Times Higher Education

Ed Byrne, president and principal of King’s College London, believes that any university not exploring the world of distance education will find itself in “real trouble” because no institution is “immune to disruption”. Speaking during a debate at education company Pearson about online learning’s impact on global higher education, Professor Byrne said: “If I look ahead and think of the range of things universities do, we’re going to have to have superb technological environments everywhere – whether it’s in e-education…or on-campus [education]. He said he hoped that “the need for accelerated, exponential change will be met by the sector”. But he added: “I think places that just ignore all this – business as usual, nothing changes – will be in real trouble in every aspect of what they do.” https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/kings-college-head-ignoring-online-education-big-danger

Penn State professor looks to incorporate virtual reality for online classes - Matthew Grillo, The Daily Collegian

Following Penn State’s continued advancements in online education, Conrad Tucker is hoping to blend virtual reality with online classes. Tucker, an assistant professor in engineering design and industrial engineering at Penn State, received a research grant from the Penn State Center for Online Innovation in Learning. “The importance of online and digital learning is only going to expand as we move toward a more connected world,” Tucker said. http://www.collegian.psu.edu/news/campus/article_3afd7250-cb84-11e5-91d8-bb9da8a079e0.html

5 Tips to Improve Writing in Online Classes - Bradley Fuster, US News

Online classes typically require more written communication and interaction than oral participation. Unlike face-to-face classes, which often credit oral participation, online courses generally rely more on written work for grading and assessment purposes. As students submit assignments from the same devices they use to communicate for instant messaging, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Yik Yak and countless other social platforms, the trap exists to treat the weekly PHI 101 reflection or SOC 100 paper as an LOL, ROFL, SMH, GR8 hot mess. Consider these five tips to improve your performance when taking writing-intensive online classes. http://www.usnews.com/education/online-learning-lessons/2016/02/05/5-tips-to-improve-writing-for-online-classes

UC-Berkeley deals with backlash from secret monitoring - Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

The University of California System is taking heat from faculty at UC Berkeley after a faculty member on the campus IT committee sent an email to his colleagues explaining the extent of a new computer network monitoring system. The Daily Bruin reports the new system was installed following an attack on UCLA Health in July 2015 and kept quiet until last week, secretly monitoring and possibly recording all traffic into and out of the campus network. While the university has said it is not reading faculty emails, privacy concerns have been raised, as well as concerns that the system acted without regard to proper shared governance procedures. http://www.educationdive.com/news/uc-berkeley-deals-with-backlash-from-secret-monitoring/413330/

In Israel, War Is No Excuse for Not Doing Your Homework - Judy Maltz, Haartz

In a forecast published last week, the Israeli army addressed the probability of an all-out confrontation with Hamas or Hezbollah sometime soon. Its conclusions were not particularly heartening. But whether or not Israel finds itself embroiled in another large-scale military operation in the near future, the country’s educational system intends to be prepared. At schools throughout the country this week, students participated in online learning drills designed to keep them on track with their studies in the event of war or any other national crisis that might keep them homebound. http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.701472

Pearson to leave the LMS market within 2-3 years - Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

Pearson has announced it will phase out support for its learning management system Learning Studio in the coming years, following a similar announcement last fall about OpenClass, which will leave the educational testing and services giant without an LMS in its portfolio. Inside Higher Ed reports Pearson believes it can create the greatest value for its customers by investing in course materials and other products that directly impact students and faculty, leaving the crowded LMS market behind. http://www.educationdive.com/news/pearson-to-leave-the-lms-market-within-2-3-years/413333/

Gallup to give US News rankings more competition - Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

Gallup announced Thursday it has developed a certification process for colleges based on their efforts to improve the “well-being” of students and faculty. The certification process could take up to three years and is akin to the process builders go through to get LEED certification for environmentally friendly designs, offering a more results-based evaluation of colleges than U.S. News has offered for more than 20 years. http://www.educationdive.com/news/gallup-to-give-us-news-rankings-more-competition/413382/

Universities look to cybersecurity partnerships - Laura Devaney, eCampus News

Teaming up with industry cybersecurity providers, universities are hoping to produce more highly-skilled cybersecurity professionals. As the information technology industry grows, cybersecurity careers are projected to grow along with it–leading to an increased need for students to pursue cybersecurity at the higher-ed level. National defense leaders and experts at the fourth annual Cybersecurity Summit in October revealed that in 2014, cybersecurity crimes cost the U.S. more than $1 trillion in damage http://www.ecampusnews.com/safety-and-security/cybersecurity-education-partnerships-982/