NEWS | RESEARCH - 2015 Survey on Online Education by OLC

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If you teach online, you might have wondered how distance education is doing as opposed to traditional education. For me, I've wondered about the future of my faculty colleagues who teach on-campus as opposed to those of us who teach online.

I've been in and out traveling but wanted to point you to the 2015 survey on the "health" of distance education as reported by the OLC last month.

So, in case you missed this:

2015 Survey on Online Education by Online Learning Consortium
http://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/2015SurveyInfo.pdf

Here is a 1-hour slide presentation of the OLC survey entitled, "Online Report Card - Tracking Online Education in the United States"
http://www.brainshark.com/pearsonschool/vu?pi=zFuzN896GzMmpAz0


Read the Babson College page on the survey HERE:
http://www.babson.edu/news-events/babson-news/Pages/2016-babson-releases-2015-survey-of-online-learning.aspx

REPORT: The New LMS: What should it do?

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The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation recently teamed up with EDUCAUSE to identify gaps between current LMS tools and the needs of future learners. In a research report entitled "The Next General Digital Environment" they found that new LMS tools will need to be made more like "lego blocks". There is a need for highly customizable learning environments as opposed to standardized learning management systems. The KEY DIMENSIONS of the "New LMS" discussed in the report released by Educause are:

1) Interoperability and Integration - The ability to operate with different types of  plugins and external tools.

2) Personalization - The ability to allow learners to customize their own learning experiences and pathways.

3) Analytics, Advising and Learning Assessment - The ability to produce "actionable information" and support different assessment approaches specifically in competency-based education.

4) Collaboration - The ability to allow learners to collaborate inside and outside the learning environment.

5) Accessibility and Universal Design - The ability to enable ALL learners and instructors to access content and learning assets.

Read the full report at:
http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eli3035.pdf

REPORT: US Dept. of Education | Ed Tech Developer's Guide

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The U.S. Dept. of Education (Office of Educational Technology) has just released a primer for educational technology developers who produce apps and learning tools. What is great about this guide is that it contains valuable insight from long-time educators and practitioners in the education field about what is ACTUALLY NEEDED in the schools in terms of educational technology.

The Ed Tech Developer's Guide gives detailed information about districts, schools, teachers, and students all over the country. It also discusses practical issues such as design, teacher training, privacy and accessibility, purchasing and parental use of these tools.

It is a helpful guide intended for developers of educational technology and is smartly created using the advice and experience of those on the front lines. That's a win-win situation on any given day!

You can download the guide here:
http://tech.ed.gov/developers-guide/

WHITE PAPER: Grovo.com on Digital Skills Gap

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Keeping you update with education research around the Web!

Did you know that according to the Harvard Business Review, many of our students online (and offline) do not have the necessary skills to advance in the workforce? In my consultancy, I've written technology courses for 4th graders who need to be prepared as early as possible to enter a competitive, global workforce. That's right, I wrote 4th graders!

What about our existing higher education students? Many of them are returning to school after 20 years of working on the same job. Are they ready for the technological advances that are surely coming their way? Are we ready to teach our students what they need?

Read this white paper by Grovo.com to learn the 8 Core Digital Skills Essential for Teaching and Learning in the 21st century.

WHITE PAPER: 3MediaPlay White Papers on Online Video Accessibility

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Keeping you update with education research around the Web!

3MediaPlay has a great set of informative white papers on making videos more accessible. Check out their white paper "bundle" HERE. (* You'll need to complete the short online form with your name and address)