Using a Systems Approach to Build a World-Class Online Program — from onlinelearningconsortium.org by Dr. Michele Norton and Dr. Ben Zoghi, Texas A&M University
In this blog, we unpack some of our insights and capitalize on them as we take a systems approach to continue building a world-class online program.
Excerpt:
Insight 1: Shifting from Assigning Tasks to Developing Collaborative Partnerships
We often create to-do lists for all the aspects of our online course: the videos, the articles, the quizzes, putting it on the LMS, etc. We forget that they all go together to create one learning experience for our students.
The person who edits the videos has ideas you may never have thought of, even if they are not experts in your content. Thoughts are everywhere; you have to value each person that has a hand in the process and be open to building a collaborative partnership instead of navigating a transactional checklist.
In a truly connected campus, time, space and location should be absolutely irrelevant. “We should be able to build a digital twin of space and services and we need to think about things that are physical and digital – ‘phygital’,” he pointed out. https://t.co/cyud0rigZl
— Daniel Christian (he/him/his) (@dchristian5) September 8, 2021
More Companies Are Looking to Hire Accessibility Specialists — from wsj.com by Ann-Marie Alcántara
Effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, lawsuits, and diversity and inclusion efforts explain the increase in accessibility job postings, advocates and executives say
Excerpt:
Accessibility jobs, ranging from “head of accessibility” to “accessibility analyst,” are increasing at a rapid pace across industries as companies strive to make their products and services more tailored to people with disabilities.
The number of job listings with “accessibility” in the title grew 78% in the year ended in July from the previous 12 months, LinkedIn said in response to a data request from The Wall Street Journal. Such listings had risen 38% in the year between August 2019 and July 2020 compared with the previous year, according to the professional networking site owned by Microsoft Corp.
DC: Nice example of a learning ecosystem! pic.twitter.com/vOvZakjf59
— Daniel Christian (he/him/his) (@dchristian5) August 22, 2021
Tools for Building Branching Scenarios — from christytuckerlearning.com by Christy Tucker
When would you use Twine, Storyline, Rise, or other tools for building branching scenarios? It depends on the project and goals.
Excerpt:
When would you use Twine instead of Storyline or other tools for building branching scenarios? An attendee at one of my recent presentations asked me why I’d bother creating something in Twine rather than just storyboarding directly in Storyline, especially if I was using character images. Whether I would use Twine, Storyline, Rise, or something else depends on the project and the goals.
2U, Inc. and edX to Join Together in Industry-Redefining Combination — from transformingdigitaleducation.com
- 2U to acquire substantially all edX assets, including edX brand, website, and marketplace
- Together, 2U and edX will reach over 50 million learners, serve more than 230 partners, and offer over 3,500 digital programs on the world’s most comprehensive free-to-degree online education marketplace
- Proceeds of the transaction will go to a nonprofit led by Harvard and MIT focused on transforming educational outcomes, tackling learning inequities
Other items related to this:
- Is the edX Acquisition a Big Deal? — from eliterate.us by Michael Feldstein
- 2U to acquire edX for $800M — from highereddive.com by Natalie Schwartz
- 2U Buys edX for $800M, In Surprise End to Nonprofit MOOC Provider Started by MIT and Harvard — from edsurge.com by Jeffrey R. Young