Virtual,+Online,+Distance+Educati

Don't Miss Our Page on Second Life and Other Virtual Worlds and Their Application in eLearning!!
[|Panopto] "The Socrates Project is an exciting new program that makes Panopto’s state-of-the-art lecture-capture technology accessible and affordable to accredited academic institutions. By providing free-of-charge access CourseCast, Panopto intends to forge a new, collaborative relationship with academia whereby all parties benefit from the greater understanding of the drivers of lecture-capture technology, and how they can continue to improve the learning outcomes of participating institutions."

[|Virtual High School]

03-26-08 NPR [|Public Schools Expand Curriculum Online]

03-05-08 Education Week //[|Voluntary Online-Teaching Standards Come Amid Concerns Over Quality] "As learning over the Internet grows in both popularity and controversy, experts are hoping that a new set of national standards for online teaching may help bring clarity and credibility to an industry that some analysts say sorely needs both." The standards can be downloaded [|here].

[|DePaul University Chooses PBwiki for Distance Education] "DePaul's School for New Learning offers between 200 to 300 online classes each year, serving about 4,000 students. Dr. Reubin wanted to give her instructors a flexible way to improve collaboration, both inside and outside the class. The answer was a program-wide deployment of wiki from PBwiki."

[|iPhone U @ Abilene Christian University] "What might a university look like with a fully deployed program of converged devices like the iPhone?// Connected //is one possible vision. This fictional day-in-the-life account highlights some of the potential benefits in a higher education setting when every student, faculty, and staff member is "connected." Though the applications and functions portrayed in the film are purely speculative, they're based on needs and ideas uncovered by our research - and we've already been making strides to transform this vision of mobile learning (mLearning) into reality."

[|Apple's iTunes University] "Designed to be completely intuitive, iTunes U is based on the iTunes Store, where millions of people already get their music, movies, and TV shows. Now there’s an area of the iTunes Store devoted entirely to education, where it’s easy to search thousands of audio and video files from schools across the country. Colleges and universities build their own iTunes U sites. Faculty post content they create for their classes. Students download what they need, and go. Learning isn’t just for the classroom anymore. It’s for anytime and anyplace you’ve got a Mac, a PC, or an iPod."//
 * //Duke University// [|Campus Demand Drives Development of iTunes U]
 * [|Stanford on iTunes U: RevSolutionizing Curriculum and Communications]
 * [|UC Berkley on iTunes U Galvanizes Campus]
 * //University of WIsconsin-Madison// [|Podcasts: Earmarked for Success]

//[|MIT's OpenCourseWare Project Sets an Example for Higher Education] 12-05-07 [|MIT Puts Entire Curriculum Online] 12-04-07 ALSO SEE//
 * //[|MIT K-12 Education Outreach]// //MIT has a wide variety of K-12 Outreach programs available to the public. What follows is a growing list of many of the programs, along with links to their webpages.//
 * //[|MIT's Online Course Resources and Materials for High School]// //No Cost//

//[|A Learner-Centered Framework for E-Learning]From Teachers College Record "The age is here of distance learning and new forms of e-learning. The rate at which a variety of institutions are entering the distance learning arena is increasing rapidly. In spite of the increased popularity and presence of online learning opportunities, however, many researchers and practitioners are decrying the lack of a research-validated framework to guide their design. Other researchers and practitioners point out that what works in effective traditional learning environments may or may not work in online environments. These concerns are addressed in this article through a review of relevant research and the presentation of a learner-centered framework. This framework is based on the American Psychological Association's (1997) research-validated Learner-Centered Psychological Principles, developed from over a century of research."

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development [|Special Report/ Twenty-First-Century Skills for the Whole Child] "A new report indicates that virtual learning can transform education—but only by incorporating the skills students need for success in work and life." Summer 2007

[|Board of Education OKs Utah Virtual Academy for K-12] From Salt Lake Tribune.

[|Connexions] a place to view and share educational material made of small knowledge chunks called modules that can be organized as courses, books, reports, etc. Anyone may view or contribute: authors create and collaborate; instructors rapidly build and share custom collections; learners find and explore content//
 * //[|Throw Away Your School Books: Here Comes Textbook 2.0]// //From CNN 11-08-07//

//[|Education Commission of the States]//
 * //[|Distance Learning/Virtual University]//

//[|Enriching Education Through Digital Sharing] From eSchool News Online learning resources listed at this site. "The desire to learn never ends—and neither should the opportunity. Thanks to new technologies, it’s now easier than ever for schools and other organizations to create rich, online repositories of learning “objects” that students, teachers, and other users can draw upon at their own convenience to enrich their education. Teachers across the globe, for example, are taking open digital content items and repurposing them for use in their classrooms; universities are making course content available online to users worldwide; and schools and vendors are creating online, interactive learning communities for educators to advance their knowledge and skills."

[|Exploring E-Learning Reforms for Michigan: The New Education (R)evolution]

[|Florida Virtual High School]//

[|Highschool.com: The Virtual Classroom Redefines Education] //From Edutopia April 2005

[|Innovations in Education: Connecting Students to Advanced Courses Online] 12-07 U. S. Department of Education

[|MIT Open Courseware] "MIT is committed to advancing education and discovery through knowledge open to everyone. OCW shares free lecture notes, exams, and other resources from more than 1700 courses spanning MIT's entire curriculum."

[|National Center for Education Statistics]//
 * [|Forum Guide to Elementary/Secondary Virtual Education]

[|North American Council for Online Learning] (NACOL)
 * [|A National Primer on K-12 Online Learning] May 2007
 * [|Access and Equity in Online Casses and Virtual Schools] 2007
 * [|Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning: A Review of State-Level Policy and Practice] 2007
 * [|Professional Development for Virtual Schooling and Online Learning] 2007
 * [|Ten Myths About Virtual Schools]
 * [|Virtual Schools and 21st Century Skills] From the [|North American Council for Online Learning] and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills November 2006
 * [|Virtual Schools: Trends, Benefits and Elluminate Part 1] Webinar ["Virtual schools / online instruction is an increasingly common method of teaching and learning and providing accessibility options for learners and their families. On a global basis, K-12 and higher education institutions are establishing online schools and programs that aim to provide students with an alternate and effective educational experience. Elluminate users are invited to attend a panel discussion, led by Susan Patrick, President and CEO of NACOL, with virtual school administrators and teachers that will examine the trends and issues facing everyone in this new paradigm. Leading practitioners from virtual schools across North America will provide insights and discuss their experiences on issues and impacts evidenced by their individual organizations. Issues and trends ranging from student retention rates, to the measurement of impacts, to best practices and current trends will be discussed."] You May View the Elluminate Live! Recording.
 * See numerous reports available at [|NACOL]

[|North Central Regional Educational Laboratory] (NCREL)
 * [|A Synthesis of New Research on K-12 Online Learning] November 2005

[|Online Learning: Virtual Valedictory: Distance Education Goes Mainstream] //From Edutopia September 2007 [Note: Don't overlook the sidebars in this article for information, including the multimedia presentation on online learning.

[|Orono Fits a World of Words into Language Lab] At a suburban Minneapolis high school, students are learning Tagalog, Japanese, Korean and other languages only rarely part of public school curriculum. A new language lab allows students to use interactive software to independently study languages at their own pace using digital lessons and digital audio files. From Minnesota Star Tribune

[|Reports Reveal Online Learning's Successes, Needs] NACOL sheds light on virtual schooling's phenomenal growth ... and need for regulation From eSchool News 11-21-07

[|Southern Regional Eduction Board]//
 * [|Online learning resources]

[|Virtual High School] "Virtual High School is the pioneer of online course design and instruction for teachers and online education for high school students. Virtual High School partners with schools to provide rigorous, student-centered online courses that help expand vs. replace existing curriculum options. Members of the VHS collaborative include over 9,000 enrolled students, 419 member schools and 260 teachers in 28 states and 33 countries. The recipient of the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) 2005 awards for Excellence in Programming and Excellence in Best Practices and the Stockholm Challenge2001 Award for exemplary use of technology in education, VHS was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Maynard, Massachusetts. For more information, visit __www.govhs.org__ or call (978) 897-1900."

[|Virtual High School Meanderings] This blog focuses upon issues pertaining to distance education within the K-12 system, specifically the use of virtual high schools.

[| World Future Society] From The Futurist 10 Breakthroughs Transforming Life Over the Next 20-30 Years //1. Alternative energy 2. Desalination 3. Precision farming 4. Biometrics 5. Quantum computers 6. Entertainment on demand 7. Global access//

**8. Virtual education or distance learning**
9. Nanotechnology 10. Smart Robots

03-25-08 Science Daily [|College Students Score Higher in Classes That Incorporate Instructional Technology Than in Traditional Classes]

02-11-08 New York Times [|In Oil-Rich Mideast, Shades of the Ivy League] "At a time when almost every major American university is concerned with expanding its global reach, Education City [in Doha, Qatar] provides a glimpse of the range of American expertise in demand overseas. Five universities have brought programs here, and more are on their way."

02-10-08 New York Times [|U. S. Universities Rush to Set Up Outposts Abroad] Many establishing campuses around the world, including China, Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

03-05-08 Education Week [|Voluntary Online-Teaching Standards Come Amid Concerns Over Quality] "As learning over the Internet grows in both popularity and controversy, experts are hoping that a new set of national standards for online teaching may help bring clarity and credibility to an industry that some analysts say sorely needs both."03-05-08

03-04-08 San Diego Union-Tribune [|Reviewing for a Test Could Be Just a Click Away on Your iPod]"Today's classrooms are increasingly high-tech with electronic “chalkboards” that work like touch-screen computers, wireless access, Web cams and clickers that use infrared rays to project students' responses on a screen. So perhaps it was inevitable that an electronic version of the daily class lecture is now available to students anytime, anywhere." EHV 03-09-08

[|Check out what Abilene Christian University is doing.] The advent of using iPhones and iPods has opened up new considerations for eLearning and now what is called mLearning--mobile learning. EHV

"What might a university look like with a fully deployed program of converged devices like the iPhone? //Connected// is one possible vision. This fictional day-in-the-life account highlights some of the potential benefits in a higher education setting when every student, faculty, and staff member is "connected." Though the applications and functions portrayed in the film are purely speculative, they're based on needs and ideas uncovered by our research - and we've already been making strides to transform this vision of mobile learning (mLearning) into reality." EV 03-04-08)

[|Twitter in Academics]"Some of these ideas are general, and some are specifically from a Twittering assignment I did for a class last semester. When I first added it to the syllabus I had no idea what to expect. It was just sort of an experiment that I had planned for the end of the semester (all of the students signed up for twitter and followed each other). After using it I have to say it was one of the better things I did with that class, for reasons I will explain below."


 * Here is another [|site] listing ten large universities offering //free// online courses.**

[|Open Wireless Access Assured for Cell Phones]

Interesting article. Click [|Most Utah Testing Done the Old-Fashioned Way] to read. Posted 10-13-07 "Troy University in Alabama, which will be rolling out the camera technology for many of its approximately 11,000 online students, will charge students $125 to use the device."

[|Online Courses Increase in Popularity] from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "In addition, many schools are designing "hybrid" courses that meet face-to-face less frequently than traditional classes but include additional time online. Gene Maeroff, author of "A Classroom of One" and senior fellow at the Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media at Columbia University, said the hybrids are becoming important because they enhance the "ability to overcome obstacles of time and place." He said, 'I think that higher education is rapidly moving toward the point where there will hardly be a course that doesn't, in one way or another, make use of technology.'"

Here is a very interesting site that talks about the need for a vision. http://www.stager.org/blog/2007/09/why-teachers-dont-use-web-20-historical.html

[|Conn. Begins Offering Online High School Classes]

[|Minds on Fire: Open Education, the Long Tail, and Learning 2.0] BY JOHN SEELY BROWN AND RICHARD P. ADLER "The building blocks provided by the Open Educational Resources movement, along with e-Science and e-Humanities and the resources of the Web 2.0, are creating the conditions for the emergence of new kinds of open participatory learning ecosystems that will support active, passion-based learning: Learning 2.0."

[|The Horizon Project report] "The annual Horizon Report describes the continuing work of the New Media Consortium (NMC)’s Horizon Project, a five-year qualitative research effort that seeks to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, or creative expression within learning-focused organizations."

[|Ride the 2.0 (Successfully): A Strategy for Deploying Web 2.0 Technologies]"Marist College's award-winning work with Web 2.0 applications has led to the development of an e-learning 2.0 strategy for the pedagogically based deployment of these technologies. We will present our strategy and lessons learned from recent implementations, including methodologies for controlling costs, enhancing learning, and ensuring alignment with strategic goals."

[|Let Me Learn with My Peers Online! Foreign Language Learning Through Reciprocal Peer Tutoring]"The results of this study show how Internet technology can be leveraged with reciprocal peer tutoring to enhance language learning. The use of the computer as a means to engage students in authentic situations contributed to increased motivation and engagement in learning."

[|Online Teaching and Classroom Change: The Trans-Classroom Teacher in the Age of the Internet] "This study, although preliminary and confined to one setting, suggests that the trans-classroom teacher's migratory journey to and from the online classroom can transform that teacher's face-to-face classroom practice in subtle and important ways."

[|Using Video Streaming and Podcasting to Design Rich-media Online Courses] "This session will cover lessons learned and best practices for creating highly interactive, student-centered, rich-media online courses with customizable and mobile learning using Mediasite video streaming and video and audio podcasting. It will include a tour of a course Web site, 10 principles for good practice for innovative online education, and a course design toolkit."

[|Learning Spaces] an Educause eBook. "Space, whether physical or virtual, can have a significant impact on learning. Learning Spaces focuses on how learner expectations influence such spaces, the principles and activities that facilitate learning, and the role of technology from the perspective of those who create learning environments: faculty, learning technologists, librarians, and administrators. Information technology has brought unique capabilities to learning spaces, whether stimulating greater interaction through the use of collaborative tools, videoconferencing with international experts, or opening virtual worlds for exploration. This e-book represents an ongoing exploration as we bring together space, technology, and pedagogy to ensure learner success."

[|Educating the Net Generation] an Educause eBook. "The Net Generation has grown up with information technology. The aptitudes, attitudes, expectations, and learning styles of Net Gen students reflect the environment in which they were raised—one that is decidedly different from that which existed when faculty and administrators were growing up."

//[|Understanding Digital Children: Teaching & Learning in the New Digital Landscape]// by Ian Jukes, Ted McCain and Bruce Macdonald. June 2007

[|Modest changes, Revolutionary Possibilities: Distance Learning and the Future of Education] "This rapid growth of distance learning suggests the need for educational researchers to understand how it may be re-shaping education in the present and what the continued rapid growth of distance learning might mean for the future of education." (02-06-08)

[|What Makes the Difference? A Practical Analysis of Research on the Effectiveness of Distance Education]"The considerable heterogeneity in the studies clearly indicates that there is indeed significant difference in learning outcomes of distance and face-to-face education. Individually many studies found significant differences between distance and face-to-face education, some favoring distance education and others face-to-face education. " (02-06-08) [|Teaching Diverse Populations]Dr. Kelley Costner discusses fostering cultural sensitivity in online learning. EV

[|Professional Development for Virtual Schooling and Online Learning] 2007 From [|North American Council for Online Learning] (NACOL) Also from NACOL [|Access and Equity in Online Casses and Virtual Schools]

[|A Learner-Centered Framework for E-Learning]From Teachers College Record "The age is here of distance learning and new forms of e-learning. The rate at which a variety of institutions are entering the distance learning arena is increasing rapidly. In spite of the increased popularity and presence of online learning opportunities, however, many researchers and practitioners are decrying the lack of a research-validated framework to guide their design. Other researchers and practitioners point out that what works in effective traditional learning environments may or may not work in online environments. These concerns are addressed in this article through a review of relevant research and the presentation of a learner-centered framework. This framework is based on the American Psychological Association's (1997) research-validated Learner-Centered Psychological Principles, developed from over a century of research."

[|MIT Puts Entire Curriculum Online] From Computer World "1,800 undergraduate and graduate courses are available for noncommercial use...In addition, 160 universities from countries and regions around the world, including Spain, China, Japan, Africa, Australia, Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia, have also published an estimated 5,000 courses, he said."

[|Online Courses Catch On in U. S. Colleges] From eSchool News "When today's college graduates get together for a reunion someday, they may decide to do it by computer. That's because right now, nearly one in five college students takes at least one class online, according to a new survey. For professors, the growth of e-learning has meant a big shift in the way they deal with students...

[|Confucius Institute to Open at Troy University]
 * BEIJING, China –** Gov. Bob Riley and Troy University Chancellor Jack Hawkins Jr. today announced the creation of the Confucius Institute at Troy University. The non-profit center will expand Chinese language and cultural education, provide business and industry ties to China and expand the use of the Governor’s Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators and Students Statewide, or ACCESS, program to Alabama high schools. The Confucius Institute at Troy University is the first such established in Alabama and the 25th in the United States.

“The Confucius Institute is an important step in the continued internationalization of Troy University. It will promote the understanding of Chinese language, history and culture to the students we teach and the communities we serve,” said Dr. Hawkins in a joint announcement between Chinese officials and the State of Alabama.

“On behalf of our Board of Trustees, I thank you for placing your confidence in Troy University. The Confucius Institute at TROY will be a source of pride for both of our great nations for generations to come,” he said.

The Confucius Institute at Troy University will be based on the Troy Campus and operate a satellite office on the University’s Montgomery Campus. Additionally, the Office of the Chinese Language Council International (Hanban), the governmental office that administers the Confucius Institute, has similar institutes in 30 other nations. Hebei Normal University of Science and Technology, which already has ties to TROY, will serve as the University’s Confucius Institute host.

Students from the Peoples Republic of China currently attending Troy University account for almost half of its almost 670 international students.