Tag Archive for 'professional education'

Online Education in the News – December 3, 2007

Published by Zornitsa Vodenska on December 3, 2007 in In the News. 0 Comments

Updates on: Curriki.org’s wiki approach to teacher education, Japanese university’s mobile phone course, a Biology teacher’s tale of implementing online materials into classes, Bloomsburg University’s online course for deaf and hard of hearing students

Curriki.org, a nonprofit group originally part of Sun Microsystems that likewise takes content contributions from the public at large, teaches educators themselves how to teach. Is this wiki-approach academically credible? Will its free content hurt textbook publishers? — International Herald Tribune

Cyber University in Japan has begun offering a mobile class on the “mysteries of the pyramids,” but instead of a typical PC’s display of text, images, sound, and video, the mobile version offers a streaming Power Point presentation on the topic. The university – 71 percent of which is owned by Softbank, a mobile service provider — has 1,850 students, and offers almost 100 courses, though only one is available for phones. — Engadget

High school students are hooked on a Biology teacher’s video lectures and notes available online. He talks about how easy it is to record and upload them – and he admits he is not even a tech-savvy person. His web site received some 38,000 hits last year, indicating that his students are using the lectures repeatedly after class, as well as sharing the site with other students. — T.H.E. Journal

Last semester, Bloomsburg University began using Wimba’s Live Classroom, a Web-based learning tool, to offer deaf and hard of hearing students an online course that includes a sign-language interpreter and closed-caption text to accompany the standard slide presentation and instructor’s voice. — Campus Technology

Research in the News — November 26, 2007

Published by Zornitsa Vodenska on November 26, 2007 in In the News. 0 Comments

Updates on: ebook reader technology, report on k-12 online learning programs, an evaluation of continuing and professional education websites, the relationship between webspace choice and socioeconomic background, and the cost and efficiency of public education

Amazon Kindle - image by Wikimedia
People are talking about the new Kindle electronic reader by Amazon. A blogger gives her personal but very informed, research-backed opinion, suggesting that this kind of technology is perhaps old-fashioned and explaining why we need a version with more of a “digital twist.” – TechLearning

According to Keeping Pace, a new report on K-12 online learning researched and written by Evergreen Consulting Associates, most online learning programs are growing by 25 percent each year, with 42 states running significant supplemental, full-time or combined supplemental and full-time online learning programs. However, the report also notes that the majority of education leaders still lack sufficient policy oversight to maintain student opportunities and demonstrate quality to stakeholders. — T.H.E. Journal

A study by educational consultancy Eduventures reveals that continuing and professional education (CPE) websites do not rank well in some key functionality areas, such as content, search capabilities, and multimedia. According to the report, CPE sites are strong on aesthetics and marketing but lack depth. — Campus Technology

A Northwestern University study suggests that students’ choice of webspace (MySpace, Facebook or Xanga) might be related to social factors, such as race, ethnicity and parents’ education. The findings challenge the ideas about the Web’s potential to improve people’s lives by sidestepping physical constraints. — EurekAlert

The cost of public education in Illinois has increased dramatically over the past 12 years, but has student performance improved? Is the ACT or the ISAT a better indicator of student knowledge level? The author of this article has strong opinions on both questions and backs her convictions with data from research institutions in Illinois and DC. — Chicago Daily Herald