The Pitfalls Ahead Despite Secretary Duncan’s best efforts, I think it is going to be difficult to generate momentum for ESEA reauthorization in 2010 for four reasons: Policies: There is growing bipartisan consensus around important reforms such as increasing the number of high quality charter schools, changing approaches to human capital (including pay for performance), and focusing aggressive interventions with the lowest performing schools. But far trickier and more difficult is getting consensus around a new accountability framework to replace AYP — how much should student growth versus student proficiency be a factor in judging school performance? Could states add…

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John Bailey responded to ESEA In 2010? on February 1, 2010 07:31 AM

Find The Will I will start with addressing the question posed…Can the administration generate the political will needed to make reauthorization happen in 2010? I certainly hope so…but only if it is a law worth passing. The good news is, the current law does not expire and no reauthorization is needed to continue the accountability reforms currently embodied in NCLB.

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Margaret Spellings responded to ESEA In 2010? on February 1, 2010 07:30 AM

The University of Minnesota saw an increase in the number of classes taken online in the 2008-2009 school year, up 14 percent from the year before. In addition to an increased number of students, the University has added 174 classes and sections to the online program since the 2007-08 academic year.

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Number of online classes increasing – Danielle Nordine, University of Minnesota Daily

A small school in Maharashtra has incorporated unique methodology of edification for their students even if they do not wish to attend the classes in person, by providing web cam facility in the classroom.

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Teaching via webcam proves beneficial for students in Maharashtra – ANI, Simple Thoughts

Earlier this week, I wrote about my need for a speedy solution to my Learning Management System debacle. I received plenty of encouragement to jump on the Moodle train (and with good reason – I’ve seen a lot of really successful implementations embraced by teachers and students), but in the end, some talking with school principals and teachers led me in a different direction

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Solving my LMS debacle – Christopher Dawson, Education.zdnet.com

Though Global Campus is no longer operating, Nick Burbules, Urbana-Champaign Senate member and professor in Education credits it for heightening the discussion of e-learning opportunities. “I and many others are determined to have them (the University) continue to grow our online offerings,” he said. “There is a real sense that this is becoming part of our core mission.” Burbules said the next University-wide e-learning initiative will be called “U of I Online” and will mainly be run as three separate entities by the different campuses.

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University continues to progress online learning – Joseph Ward, Daily Illini

Online college education is expanding—rapidly. More than 4.6 million college students were taking at least one online course at the start of the 2008-2009 school year. That’s more than 1 in 4 college students, and it’s a 17 percent increase from 2007.

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Study: Online Education Continues Its Meteoric Growth – Jeff Greer, US News

Gates believes that online learning sites like Academic Earth will revolutionize education. Gates writes that sites that can cater to individual students online, offering a personalized learning experience, are innovative and will take interactivity to a new level.

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Gates believes that online learning sites to revolutionize education – Leena Rao, TechCrunch

Cyber schools are like traditional schools in that they will cover the same subject matter, but teaching and learning is conducted over the Internet. Many anticipate that the two pilot cyber schools will be established and fully working by fall 2010. Entities wishing to start a cyber school will have to apply at one of the authorizing universities in Michigan, such as CMU.

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Online learning cyber schools could see spike in Michigan – Carisa Seltz, Central Michigan Life

To prepare university students for the challenges of online learning, academic scholars from Ashford University developed and wrote, “The R-Model for Learning Online and Achieving Lifelong Goals.” The new book walks students through all facets of the online education experience. Following are the basic principles to achieving online learning success:

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Top Tips for Online Learning

As elite institutions like MIT or U.C. Berkeley begin offering more online courses, maybe you’ll have a concentration — under education, you can write “degree: one-third MIT and two-thirds UMD.” Maybe you’ll want to piece together a really specific major that you couldn’t pursue at a single institution — you’ll take “Christian Art” from Notre Dame, “Care of Stained and Leaded Glass” at the Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies, “Construction Engineering” at Texas Tech and “Counterterrorism” at this university — and you’ll wind up with a degree in “Religious Security.”

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Online classes: The education superhighway – Mardy Shualy, Diamondback Online

One of the higher education world’s boldest experiments began in September when 180 students from nearly 50 countries around the world logged on to their computers for their first day of school at the University of the People. At first glance, the school has many of the trappings of a modern university: a provost, department heads, even an admissions committee.

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Online Learning: Tuition-Free University Gains a Following – Alison Damast, Business Week

So what if that dude in the cubicle next to yours decides to get a masters degree, then grabs the promotion you wanted — but the degree turns out to be fake? A number of high-profile cases over the years demonstrate that some people in middle and senior corporate, government and non-profit management are not above using a bogus credential to get ahead.

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Bogus online degrees may be more widespread than you think – Beau Brendler, Wallet Pop

An advocate for open courseware, Gates shares his favorite sources for online lectures—as well as other education musings—on a new web site. Bill Gates’ new web site reveals his thoughts on open courseware, school reform, and more. It’s no surprise, really, but it turns out Microsoft founder and chairman Bill Gates is a strong supporter of the open-courseware movement that has swept through higher education in the last few years.

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What Bill Gates is learning online – eSchool News

Governor Tim Pawlenty at a Jan. 15 news conference said “You’re going to have the equivalent of iTunes in higher education, where instead of buying a song for 99 cents, you’re going to be able to click on Econ 101 for probably $199 or $399,” the governor predicted

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A paradigm shift is ahead for higher education – Lori Sturdevant, Star-Tribune

Three More Colleges Join Major Distance Learning Transparency Initiative College Choices for Adults, a website dedicated to providing adult learners with unique information to accelerate and better inform their college selection process, announces publication of data for three additional providers. Ashford University, Nazarene Bible College, and University of the Rockies join the 13 Transparency by Design charter institutions, which already publish information about their program-level learning outcomes, outcome metrics and how students perform against these measures.

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Three More Colleges Join Major Distance Learning Transparency Initiative

Online enrollments have continued to grow at rates far in excess of the total higher education student population, with the most recent data demonstrating no signs of slowing. • Over 4.6 million students were taking at least one online course during the fall 2008 term – 17 percent increase over the number reported the previous year

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Sloan Consortium: More than 25% of college students taking at least one online learning class

Online learning programmes – such as TEFL online courses – are no less effective than being educated in a classroom. This is the view of Laurence Stybel, executive-in-residence at the department of management and entrepreneurship at the Sawyer Business School at Suffolk University.

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Online learning ‘just as good as the classroom’ – Tefl-chalkboard

Online is the future, local colleges are saying. “Originally the decision to offer the degrees online … (was) quite frankly (because) we needed to change our business model to keep the doors open,” said Jeff Groeling, dean of online learning for Taylor University.

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Local colleges ramp up online learning: It’s a way to increase enrollment without a big investment – Ashley Smith, News-Sentinel

One expert discusses how disruptive innovations like online learning will change the way students learn and progress. Disruption has several definitions in the English language, and not many of them positive in nature

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Online Learning: Disruptive Innovation in the Classroom – Bridget McCrea, THE Journal