online learning

Five Minute Film Festival: Video Boot Camp [Selak]

On 01/19/2015, in A/V -- audio/visual, attention, communications, creativity, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, education technology, elearning, engagement / engaging students, Google, multimedia, new media literacies, online learning, online media, by Daniel Christian

Five Minute Film Festival: Video Boot Camp — from edutopia.org by Bill Selak

Excerpt:

The rapid adoption of devices in the classroom has fundamentally changed the way we can create video. Every part of the creation process — writing, recording, editing, and distributing — is possible on the devices that can fit in our pocket. Vision is the most dominant of the five senses. Research shows that concepts are better remembered if they are taught visually. This is called the pictorial superiority effect, and it’s why video is such a powerful learning tool.

A video is created three times: when you write it, when you shoot it, and when you edit it. There are several formats that can be used to write a script for the classroom: a Google Doc, a dedicated app (ex: Storyboards), a Google Form, or a production organization document. Whichever format is used, emphasis should be placed on how it will be used in the classroom, and what the goal of the video is. When recording, it is important to incorporate basic rules of composition, such as the rule of thirds, into your video. Being aware of the environment (basic concepts like lighting and room tone) makes it easier to edit.

Curating content is another significant way to incorporate video into your classroom. If you don’t have the time or software to make a fancy video, odds are someone has already made it and shared it on YouTube. This Film Festival is equal parts curation and creation.

From DSC:
This is a nice collection of resources and tips to help you and your students further develop your new media literacy.

If a pair of 20-something lip-syncing comedians can have ~30 million subscribers, what might that mean for master teachers/professors/trainers in the future?

On 01/06/2015, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, attention, communications, communities of practice, convergence, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, digital storytelling, education, education technology, engagement / engaging students, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, Google, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, ideas, internet, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, lifelong learning, media/film, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, multimedia, new business models, online learning, online media, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, telepresence, television, training / L&D, transmedia, trends, web-based collaboration, youth, by Daniel Christian

YouTube’s Chief, Hitting a New ‘Play’ Button — from nytimes.com by Jonathan Mahler

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

At one point, the moderator asked Ms. Wojcicki if she thought cable television would still be around in 10 years. She paused for a moment before answering, with a bit of a sly smile, “Maybe.” The crowd laughed, even though just about everyone in the packed auditorium knew she was only half-joking.

If cable TV is gone in a decade, Ms. Wojcicki and the global digital video empire over which she presides will be one of the main causes. YouTube, founded in 2005 as a do-it-yourself platform for video hobbyists — its original motto was “Broadcast Yourself” — now produces more hit programming than any Hollywood studio.

Smosh, a pair of 20-something lip-syncing comedians, have roughly 30 million subscribers to their various YouTube channels. PewDiePie, a 24-year-old Swede who provides humorous commentary while he plays video games, has a following of similar size. The list goes on and on. For the sake of perspective, successful network television shows like “NCIS: New Orleans” or “The Big Bang Theory” average a little more than half that in weekly viewership. The 46-year-old Ms. Wojcicki — who will soon give birth to her fifth child — has quietly become one of the most powerful media executives in the world.

Also see:

Smart TV Alliance serves 58 million TV sets — from broadbandtvnews.com by by Robert Briel
Excerpt:
The Smart TV Alliance development platform is now compatible with one-third of the global smart TV market. App developers who use the Alliance’s common developer portal can reach 58 million smart TVs in a single, integrated process. The brands served include LG Electronics, Panasonic, TP Vision and Toshiba
.
Roku-Connected Televisions And The Future Of The Smart TV Wars — from fastcompany.com by Chris Gayomali
At CES, Roku announced new partnerships that will cram its platform inside more televisions. Built-in is the new box.
.
Netflix Launches Smart TV Seal of Approval Program — from variety.com by Todd Spangler
Sony, LG, Sharp, Vizo and makers of Roku TVs are expected to be first certified under ‘Netflix Recommended TV’ program
Excerpt:
Netflix — in a smart bid to get its brand affixed onto smart TVs — has announced the “Netflix Recommended TV” certification program under which it will give the thumbs up to Internet-connected television sets that deliver the best possible video-streaming experience for its service.

From DSC:
As you can see, BBBBBIIIIIGGGGG players are getting into this game. And there will be BBBBBIIIIIGGGGG opportunities that open up via what occurs in our living rooms. Such affordances won’t be limited to the future of entertainment only.

Trying to solve for the problem of education in 2015 — by Dave Cormier; with thanks to Maree Conway for her posting this on her University Futures Update

Excerpt:

The story of the rhizome
The rhizome has been the story i have used, frankly without thinking about it, to address this issue. There are lots of other ways to talk about it – a complex problem does not get solved by one solution. In a rhizomatic approach (super short version) each participant is responsible for creating their own map within a particular learning context. The journey never ‘starts’ and hopefully never ends. There is no beginning, no first step. Who you are will prescribe where you start and then you grow and reach out given your needs, happenstance, and the people in your context. That context, in my view, is a collection of people. Those people may be paying participants in a course, they may be people who wrote things, it could be people known to the facilitator. The curriculum of the course is the community of people pulled together by the facilitator and all those others that join, are contacted or interacted with. The interwebs… you know.

…

The point here is that i attempt to replace the ‘certainty of the prepared classroom’ with the ‘uncertainty of knowing’. In doing so I’m hoping to encourage students to engage in the learning process in their own right. I want them to make connections that make sense to them, so that when the course is over, they will simply keep making connections with the communities of knowing they have met during the class. The community is both the place where they learn from other people, but, more importantly, learning how to be in the community is a big part of the curriculum. Customs, mores, common perspectives, taboos… that sort of thing.

Trend: Campuses moving from online to On-Demand — from ecampusnews.com by Meris Stansbury
Management expert discusses why the future for college campuses is on-demand, not just online

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

IT experts are calling it a super storm of forces that’s changing the way a campus ecosystem operates.

First, the very foundation of student expectations is changing, with requirements for education delivery models that are more flexible and accessible than those of generations past.

Second, the higher-ed market—thanks to the economy and possibilities available via technology—is reshaping itself under new requirements for competition, delivery, funding, and outcomes.

And it’s this super storm, say experts, that’s creating the need for new business processes and strategies to better compete and retain students.

From DSC:
I don’t have data to back this up, but I also have it that student expectations are changing. (It would be great if someone out there who has some resources in this regard would post some links to such resources in the comments section.) Anecdotally, the students’ expectations of today are different from when I attended college years ago. We didn’t have the Internet back then; we didn’t have personal computing devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops; we didn’t work collaboratively; there were no online-based courses; we didn’t have nearly as many choices for learning at our disposal.

But taking cues from society at large and from the trends in computing, people want to connect and they want to do so on their terms — i.e., when it fits into their schedules. So I can see this sort of phenomenon picking up steam, at least for a significant subset of learners out there. In fact, it’s an underlying assumption I have in my Learning from the Living [Class] Room vision. Many of us will seek out training/education-on-demand types of resources throughout our careers — as we need them. Heutagogy, lifelong learning, and rhizomatic learning come to mind; so does the growth of Lynda.com and the growth of bootcamps/accelerated learning programs (such as flatironschool.com).

Finally, the concept of “learning hubs” is interesting in this regard, whereby a group of learners get together in a physical setting, but tap into online-based resources to help them learn about a topic/discipline. Those online-based resources could be synchronous or asynchronous. But learners come together when it works into their schedules.

Khan Academy lands on the Xbox One bringing free education videos to your TV [ Al-Riyami]

On 12/18/2014, in Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, lifelong learning, Microsoft, online learning, online media, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Excerpt from Khan Academy lands on the Xbox One bringing free education videos to your TV — from winbeta.org by Fahad Al-Riyami; with thanks to Keith W. O’Neal for posting this on Twitter

First available on the web, then on mobile devices, Khan Academy is now available on the Xbox One console too. The app provides access to thousands of educational videos on a range of different topics. The non-profit organization provides its video’s complete free of charge and makes them available to anyone in the world. No ads, and no regional restrictions.

The Living [Class] Room -- by Daniel Christian -- July 2012 -- a second device used in conjunction with a Smart/Connected TV

Future of the Campus in a Digital World — from campusmatters.net by Michael Haggans | November 2014

Excerpts from PDF (emphasis DSC):

In the digitally driven future of higher education, three-dimensional classroom spaces still will be needed. They won’t be used in the traditional manner and they won’t be the traditional kind. They will be bigger, flatter, faster and there will need to be fewer classrooms for the same number of students.

Classes that meet on campus will need additional area per student to accommodate interactive configurations, such as those allowing group work in the flow of the traditional class period. Typically these will be flat floors allowing easy configuration changes. At the same time, these rooms must be faster, with access to robust bandwidth.

Both physical and administrative adaptations will be required. While there will be more floor area per student when in class, the number of classroom hours per degree will drop, and all the while the expectation for digital transmission capability will continue to rise. To justify the required investment, institutions will have to rethink the administration of classroom scheduling to maximize effectiveness for students and faculty, and to achieve increased utilization. These are not new or easily managed issues for higher education. The accelerating move to online instruction will expose existing weaknesses of current systems and the benefits of more strategic investments and scheduling.
…
Digital Visible
From an institutional perspective, many of the implications of digital transformation are difficult to see, lost in a thicket of business issues presenting themselves with increasing urgency. Moreover, the changes induced by digital transformation are difficult to address through traditional facilities development and capital funding processes. These transformations are not about the need for a single new – or better – building, a campus student recreation center or teaching laboratory.

This is about adjusting the performance of the whole campus to support a digitally transformed pedagogy and academic community.

…
Libraries have never been about books. They have always been about access to and use of information.
…
Make campus matter
With so much of higher education available in digital and largely asynchronous forms, the justification for a campus must derive from something more than “we have always done it this way.” Even at the most traditional institutions “on-campus time per degree” will decrease. This change in convention will make the support of increasingly limited face-to-face time of
strategic value, rather than an assumed byproduct of traditional campus life.

“The New Leadership Challenge” & “The Architects of Online Learning…” [EDUCAUSE]

On 12/10/2014, in 21st century, business side of he, collaboration, education technology, higher education, IT in HE, leadership, online learning, reinvent, staying relevant, strategy, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

The New Leadership Challenge — from educause.edu by Michael Kubit

Excerpt:

These are not traditional IT leadership challenges: IT leaders must develop a new set of skills. Emotional and social intelligence, the ability to provide leadership through ambiguity, managing behavior as performance, and effective engagement of stakeholders are the critical skills for IT managers today.

…

Historically, the use of information technology focused largely on infrastructure and enterprise business applications. Today, IT organizations need to find ways to align more closely with the teaching, learning, and research missions of their respective institutions. Three of the EDUCAUSE Top Ten IT Issues for 2014 emphasize the support of technology in the teaching and learning mission. The remaining issues involve positioning information technology as a strategic asset to leverage as a vehicle for innovation.

…

The speed at which things change fundamentally, both within information technology and higher education, makes it clear that traditional approaches will not take us where we need to go. We need to develop organizations that are more networked and interconnected, that are flatter, flexible, and focused on outcomes. We need to develop learning organizations that can respond to both challenge and opportunity without managers playing the role of parent.

A great deal of evidence collected over several decades and significant research have identified the qualities and characteristics of effective leadership. As technologists, do we pay enough attention to the science of organizational development? Effective leadership is the key to solving the challenges and opportunities before us. No longer are the principles of emotional intelligence and organizational effectiveness reserved for senior leaders. These skills and competencies must become part of the core requirements for anyone in a leadership position. As an industry, we need to find ways to offer professional development for the most critical aspect of a manager’s tool kit — leading people.

The Architects of Online Learning: A Strategic Partnership for the Sustainability of Higher Education — from educause.edu by Robert Hansen

Excerpt:

The transformational impact of online education has profound implications for the sustainability of many traditional higher education institutions. As we all know, nontraditional students became the new majority well before the turn of the past century. More than 75 percent of today’s higher education students are nontraditional. As enrollments at many tuition-dependent institutions have declined, colleges and universities have turned to the adult market to stabilize their budgets. This means that having a clear vision for online education—the preferred format for so many working adults—has become a strategic imperative.

And yet, even though many college and university leaders acknowledge the value of serving adult and nontraditional students, it’s fair to say that serving these students continues, more often than not, to be marginal to the mission—a noble afterthought to the core enterprise of serving first-time, full-time residential students. In other words, today’s colleges and universities are still designed to serve yesterday’s students.
…
Whether or not higher education is the next bubble, it is clear that online education is creating winners and losers. In order to thrive—or, in some cases, to survive—many institutions (especially regional colleges and universities) must use online education as the foremost opportunity to reach new markets.
…
We propose a renewed partnership between those who are innovative with technology (IT professionals) and those who are innovative in creating new academic programs and ways of reaching new audiences (continuing and online educators). This partnership has become a strategic imperative: the technical has become entrepreneurial, and the entrepreneurial has become technical.

Changing role of the CLO — from business-standard.com by Gurprriet Singh

Excerpt:

The ownership for keeping skills and competencies sharpened will move to the employee. With the emergence of MOOCs, social media enabled knowledge and connections, which facilitate you to identify and appoint mentors across dimensions and distance, the role of L&D as the provider of knowledge and provider of resource is soon becoming extinct. Individuals need to own their own development and leverage the resources available in social media. Just recently, IBM cut salaries by 10 per cent, of employees who had not kept their skills updated.

…

As Jack Welch said, “If the rate of change inside your organisation is slower than the rate of change outside, the end is near”. In such a scenario, the thinking and orientation must shift from being able to manage change TO being able to change on a dime which means Dynamism. The role of L&D thus becomes key in influencing the above cultural pillars. And to do so, is to select for the relevant traits, focus on interventions that help hone those traits. Traits and skills are honed by Experience. And that brings me to the 70:20:10.

From DSC:
I think Gurprriet is right when he says that there’s a shift in the ownership of our learning. We as individuals need to own our own development and leverage social media, MOOCs, online and/or F2F-based courses, other informal/on-the-job resources, our personal learning networks, and our Communities of Practice. Given the pace of change, each of us needs to be constantly building/expanding our own learning ecosystems. We need to be self-directed, lifelong learners (for me, this is where learning hubs and learning from our living rooms will also play a role in the future). One approach might be for those in L&D/corporate training-related functions to help employees know what’s out there — introduce them to the streams of content that are constantly flowing by. Encourage them to participate, teach them how to contribute, outline some of the elements of a solid learning ecosystem, create smaller learning hubs within a company.

learningnow.tv <-- An example of a significant piece of our future learning ecosystems? Quite possibly.

On 12/01/2014, in A/V -- audio/visual, adult learning, communications, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, digital storytelling, education technology, emerging technologies, future, game-changing environment, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interactivity, internet, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, lifelong learning, media/film, mobile learning, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, online learning, online media, personalized/customized learning, platforms, professional development, second screen apps, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, streams of content, tablets, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, telepresence, television, training / L&D, transmedia, UK, using teams, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

From their website: (emphasis DSC)

LEARNING NOW tv is a live-streamed internet tv channel bringing you inspirational interviews, debates and round tables, and advice and guidance on real world issues to keep you up-to date in the world of learning and development.

Membership to the channel is FREE. You will be able to interact with us on our social channel during the live stream as well as having a resource of the recorded programmes to refer to throughout the year.

Learning Now tv is run and produced by some of the L&D world’s leading experts who have many years’ experience of reporting the real-world issues for today’s learning and development professionals.

I originally saw this at Clive Sheperd’s posting:
TV very much alive for learning professionals

Also see:

This new service makes me think of some related graphics:

Addendum on 12/2/14 — from Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie – December 2, 2014 | #857

Idea – Courses in the Air:
There were representatives from airlines, Aviation Authorities and even Panasonic – which makes the interactive movie and TV systems on long distance airplanes. So, I rolled out one of my “aha ideas” that I would love to see invented sometime: Courses in the Air.

What if a passenger could choose to take a mini-course on a 4 to 14 hour flight. It would be a MOOC in the Sky – with video, reading and interactive elements – and someday might even include a real time video chat function as well. The learner could strive to earn a “badge” or roll them up into a certificate or degree program – that they pursued over several years of flights. It would be an intriguing element to add to international travel.

Musaic – A New Treasure Trove of Advice from Music Professionals! [musicmattersblog.com]

On 11/26/2014, in music, online learning, online media, online tutoring, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Musaic – A New Treasure Trove of Advice from Music Professionals! — from musicmattersblog.com

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

As I’ve attended music teacher workshops and conferences over the years, one of the highlights has always been attending master classes. I love watching other teachers interact with students and gleaning insights that I can utilize in my own teaching. Musaic – an initiative of New World Symphony – seeks to bring masterclasses and dozens of other videos from professional musicians right to your fingertips! In addition to masterclasses, you can view a growing collection of performances, tips, and how-to videos that will prove beneficial to music teachers and students alike. What a great project!

Also see:

Helpful resources from Michigan Virtual University re: online learning/learners

On 11/26/2014, in K-12 related, Michigan, online learning, student-related, by Daniel Christian

MVU releases guide to help schools navigate the virtual learning journey — from mivhs.org, as posted on September 17, 2014

Excerpt:

MVU…released a guide for mentors of online learning students, “Mentor Fundamentals: A Guide for Mentoring Online Learners,” that is intended to provide an understanding of the fundamental elements of mentoring or coaching students for success with online courses.

Download the mentor guide »

About MVU
Michigan Virtual University® is a private, nonprofit
Michigan corporation established by the State of
Michigan in 1998 to serve as a champion for
online learning. It is the parent organization of the
Michigan Virtual School®, Michigan LearnPort®, and
Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute™.
Visit www.mivu.org for more information.

Excerpts from MVU’s mentor guide:

Why Students Choose Online Learning
The State Virtual School Leadership Alliance shared the following evidence that state virtual schools meet the 10 attributes of Next Generation Learning (as established by Next Generation Learning Challenges). From the student’s point of view, online learning is attractive because it is:

Personalized to my needs and learning goals.
When students select their courses, they take greater ownership.
Flexible so that I can try different ways to learn.
Online learning allows scheduling to accommodate health, athletic, job and family circumstances.
Interactive and engaging to draw me in.
Students meet people outside their community in a safe environment, and multimedia used in online learning provides different ways of learning.
Relevant to the life I’d like to lead.
Students gain more experience using the 21st century technology tools used in college and in the workplace.
Paced by my own progress measured against goals I understand.
Students can move faster or slower through assignments and track their own progress toward their goals.
Constantly informed by different ways of demonstrating and measuring my progress.
Educational technology can measure and share tudent progress quickly.
Collaborative with faculty, peers, and others, unlimited by proximity.
Students can access learning materials and resources – including local, state, and national experts – using online communication tools.
Responsive and supportive when I need extra help.
Communicating outside the typical school day is supported by the online learning culture. Many students – and teachers – report they spend more time interacting online than in the face-to-face classroom.
Challenging but achievable, with opportunities to become an expert in an area of interest.
Online learning reinforces lifelong learning skills and promotes information literacy and communication skills as well as thinking and problem-solving skills.
Available to me as much as it is to every other student.
Online learning can direct the talents of some of the most skilled educators to the most underserved populations. A zip code does not have to determine learning options any more.

Profile of a Successful Online Learner
Instructors with years of online teaching experience agree that students who have successful, satisfying experiences learning online share several critical characteristics. Review these characteristics and answer these questions for and with potential online learners.

Good Time Management:
Can the student create and maintain a study schedule throughout the semester without face-to-face interaction with a teacher?
Effective Communication:
Can the student ask for help, make contact with other students and the instructor online, and describe any problems she/he has with learning materials using email, text messaging and/or the telephone?
Independent Study Habits:
Can the student study and complete assignments without direct supervision and maintain the self-discipline to stick to a schedule?
Self-Motivation:
Does the student have a strong desire to learn skills, acquire knowledge, and fulfill assignments in online courses because of an educational goal? Can she/he maintain focus on that goal?
Academic Readiness:
Does the student have the basic reading, writing, math and computer literacy skills to succeed in the class?
Technologically Prepared:
Does the student know how to open, create and/or save a document; use various technology tools (e.g., dictionary, thesaurus, grammar checker, calculator); and identify various file formats (e.g., doc, xls, pdf, jpg)? (from Michigan Educational Technology Standards for Students 2009).

Also see:

MVU’s Online Learner Readiness Rubric

Here’s a peek at the Minerva Project’s classroom of the future — from washingtonpost.com by Matt McFarland
Check out five ideas that could impact the way we live, work and play.

Excerpt:

“Think of the fanciest version of Google Hangouts or Skype designed to be a classroom,” explains a student. “It’s very different than a traditional classroom, but in a way it’s what a traditional classroom distilled down to its purest form I feel like would look like,” says another.

Also see:

Pre-university online learning experience positively influences higher education study skills says new research (IOE)

On 11/20/2014, in higher education, K-12 related, lifelong learning, online learning, UK, youth, by Daniel Christian

Pre-university online learning experience positively influences higher education study skills says new research — from Anne Keeling, Media Relations for Pamoja Education
New research says online learning prepares 16-19 year olds well for university

London – A research study by the Institute of Education University of London (IOE), England has explored the impact of online learning on 16-19 year olds and its influence on their learning experience at university.

The study was conducted between February and July 2014 and involved a literature review, a self-report survey with university students, interviews between an IOE researcher and university students, and interviews between an IOE researcher and online teachers.

The results, published in November 2014, were based on the responses of 108 university students aged between 17 and 23 from 36 countries (primarily the US, UK and India). 58 of those surveyed had studied at least one two-year subject online as part of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP), delivered by UK-based Pamoja Education.

Of all 108 students surveyed, 78% said they considered it important in university to be able to plan and coordinate group tasks using online tools such as calendars, scheduling tools and discussion applications. 94% said having the ability to find academic resources online is valuable. 78% of all students who responded said that at university they try to solve learning problems by themselves. And 84% said it is definitely important to be able to set goals to help manage studying time for their university course.

Those students surveyed who had participated in online learning at school said that they had gained proficiency in a range of online learning tools that they were now using as part of their university working practice. They said that the online learning experience had helped them develop confidence in using technology to source information and that they were more likely to carry out their research online. Students believed studying online had helped them to become independent learners able to manage their own time. They felt that in comparison with other students they were less likely to need to turn to their university lecturers for practical help. IBDP online students who were interviewed by an IOE researcher commented that learning to study online had come with its own set of challenges, but that developing their skills within the supported environment of their school had been a beneficial experience that was now effectively helping their university study.

One student said “Studying online is different from attending regular classes. You have to be self-motivated to study on your own and set your own deadlines. Personally, I learned a lot from taking an online course because it helped me prepare myself in terms of scheduling and allocating time.” Another said “I had to be independent and in charge of my own learning so this has helped me be able to work this way.”

Ed Lawless, Principal of Pamoja Education says: “The research suggests there is a shift from school learning to university study, and that a good online learning experience helps students to prepare for that shift. It helps them to develop the ability to work with a whole range of online media, and to develop an awareness of managing their personal progress which university students recognise as an essential part of their study requirement.”

Teachers who were interviewed spoke about the importance of providing a supportive learning environment for school age online learners. Several teachers suggested that online learning provided students with a safe environment that allowed them to take risks, make mistakes and learn from their experiences and this had better prepared them for university

An overview of the IOE research: http://goo.gl/HC9NX2

A video of Professor Martin Oliver from the Institute of Education talking briefly about the outcomes of the IOE research: http://youtu.be/lChG3haprL8

Notes:
Pamoja Education is a social enterprise working in cooperation with the International Baccalaureate (IB) as the only provider of online IBDP courses for students aged 16-19. It has been delivering online IBDP subject learning to students around the world since 2009.

The Institute of Education is a world-leading university specialising in education and the social sciences. Founded in 1902, the Institute currently has more than 7,000 students and 800 staff. In the 2014 QS World University Rankings, the Institute was ranked number one for education worldwide. It has been shortlisted in the ‘University of the Year’ category of the 2014 Times Higher Education (THE) awards. In January 2014, the Institute was recognised by Ofsted for its ‘outstanding’ initial teacher training across primary, secondary and further education. In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise two-thirds of the publications that the IOE submitted were judged to be internationally significant and over a third were judged to be ‘world leading’. www.ioe.ac.uk

From DSC:
This research doesn’t surprise me at all. Those students/learners who can succeed online have to be disciplined. They have to take more responsibility for their learning and are more independent. Online learning is not for everyone. But as with anything, practice can make a big difference. Thanks Anne for the study/research tip here. Students who take online courses are only doing themselves a favor, as most likely, online learning will be a key part of their future learning ecosystems throughout their careers.

.

Addendum on 11/26/14:

MVU releases guide to help schools navigate the virtual learning journey — from mivhs.org, as posted on September 17, 2014
Excerpt:
MVU recently released a guide for mentors of online learning students, “Mentor Fundamentals: A Guide for Mentoring Online Learners,” that is intended to provide an understanding of the fundamental elements of mentoring or coaching students for success with online courses.
Download the mentor guide »

Excerpt from mentor guide:

Why Students Choose Online Learning
The State Virtual School Leadership Alliance shared the following evidence that state virtual schools meet the 10 attributes of Next Generation Learning (as established by Next Generation Learning Challenges). From the student’s point of view, online learning is attractive because it is:

Personalized to my needs and learning goals.
When students select their courses, they take greater ownership.
Flexible so that I can try different ways to learn.
Online learning allows scheduling to accommodate health, athletic, job and family circumstances.
Interactive and engaging to draw me in.
Students meet people outside their community in a safe environment, and multimedia used in online learning provides different ways of learning.
Relevant to the life I’d like to lead.
Students gain more experience using the 21st century technology tools used in college and in the workplace.
Paced by my own progress measured against goals I understand.
Students can move faster or slower through assignments and track their own progress toward their goals.
Constantly informed by different ways of demonstrating and measuring my progress.
Educational technology can measure and share tudent progress quickly.
Collaborative with faculty, peers, and others, unlimited by proximity.
Students can access learning materials and resources – including local, state, and national experts – using online communication tools.
Responsive and supportive when I need extra help.
Communicating outside the typical school day is supported by the online learning culture. Many students – and teachers – report they spend more time interacting online than in the face-to-face classroom.
Challenging but achievable, with opportunities to become an expert in an area of interest.
Online learning reinforces lifelong learning skills and promotes information literacy and communication skills as well as thinking and problem-solving skills.
Available to me as much as it is to every other student.
Online learning can direct the talents of some of the most skilled educators to the most underserved populations. A zip code does not have to determine learning options any more.

History Channel bringing online courses to higher ed –from edtechmagazine.com by D. Frank Smith

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Television and higher education are being married through a new partnership between A&E Network’s History Channel and the University of Oklahoma.

The network has announced a 16-week, paid, online course focusing on U.S. history from 1865 to the present. The accredited course will involve video lectures produced by History Channel staff, quizzes, discussion groups and social interactions. The series is priced at $500 for college students, and $250 for lifelong learners.

Also from their press release (emphasis DSC):
History® Digital partners with the University of Oklahoma to offer the first TV network-branded online course for college credit — from historychannel.ou.edu

New York, NY (October 28, 2014) – A+E Network®’s HISTORY® Channel will partner with the University of Oklahoma to offer the very first TV Network-branded online course for transcripted college credit or for the lifelong learner. HISTORY® Channel’s United States, 1865 to the Present course enrollment will launch on October 28 at History.com/courses and will be taught by award winning teacher, OU professor, and renowned historian Steve Gillon. The announcement was made today by Dan Suratt, EVP, Digital Media, A+E Networks and University of Oklahoma President David L. Boren.

…

The groundbreaking 16-week interactive, immersive course, which will be offered during the Spring Semester, officially begins on January 12, 2015. Utilizing the strengths of both HISTORY® Channel and OU, “United States, 1865 to the Present” has been rigorously designed by an academic team from OU and will be taught by Professor Steve Gillon, the scholar-in-residence at HISTORY®Channel and professor at OU. Combining professionally-produced and engaging video lectures with quizzes, discussion groups and social interactions between student and professor, as well as selectively integrated multimedia assets from HISTORY® Channel, this course has been created to offer a singular and collaborative learning experience to a wide range of students.

From DSC:
Interesting partnership/collaboration effort here…again, this endeavor gets at the idea of using teams of specialists to create and deliver content. Also interesting here are the lower pricing structures and the idea of addressing lifelong learners.

The Living [Class] Room -- by Daniel Christian -- July 2012 -- a second device used in conjunction with a Smart/Connected TV

Learning Ecosystems

Five Minute Film Festival: Video Boot Camp [Selak]

Khan Academy lands on the Xbox One bringing free education videos to your TV [ Al-Riyami]

Future of the Campus in a Digital World [Haggans]

“The New Leadership Challenge” & “The Architects of Online Learning…” [EDUCAUSE]

Musaic – A New Treasure Trove of Advice from Music Professionals! [musicmattersblog.com]

History Channel bringing online courses to higher ed [Smith]

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