June 8

Open Course: Designing and Teaching for Impact in Online Courses

Indiana University is offering a self-paced open and free for all course through Canvas network on DESIGNING AND TEACHING FOR IMPACT IN ONLINE COURSES.

The course started June 6th, but you can enroll anytime. It takes about 2 hours of work per week and you can receive a badge for completion. The course offers help with design and with online teaching. ” It explores the backward design process beginning with learning outcomes, followed by assessments, activities, and content. It also includes topics such as online presence, course structure, usability, visual design, accessibility, multimedia, syllabi, and course management. It is a non-facilitated course where participants can work through the modules at their own pace based on their own needs and interests.”

Course map Canvas credit to Indiana Univeristy Designign and Teaching for Impact in Online CoursesWe would definitely recommend it to those who are interested in the topics mentioned above, and for faculty concerned about offering a quality course online that would support student success.

Category: Course Design, Online Teaching Pedagogy, Open Educational Resources, Professional Development | LEAVE A COMMENT
April 24

A Fresh (and Free-ish) Take on Being a Freshman

By Paul Keyworth

Pioneer in online education, Arizona State University (ASU), rocked the boat last week by launching its own version of a massive open online course (MOOC) — a new freshman entry model.  That’s right; around the globe, learners will be able to complete a full freshman year of courses entirely online.  ASU plans to roll out a dozen or so courses covering the whole gamut of disciplines in what they are calling the “Global Freshman Academy” (Byrne, 2015).

As with other MOOCs, the courses are free to take; however, to earn college credit, students will need to pay $200 per credit.  The idea is that they will be able to use this college credit to continue their undergraduate studies at either ASU or another university campus that recognizes and accepts the transfer of these credits.

Of course, students will not need to pay if they fail or withdraw from the course. This represents a far cheaper (potentially less than one tenth of the cost) and more risk-free alternative to physically going to college.  Moreover, SATs and high school transcripts will not be required to gain entry to the courses.

Traditionally, MOOCs have attracted learners who already hold college degrees. In what are already stormy waters for higher education, this latest initiative is sure to stir up controversy and raise accreditation issues.

Read the following articles for more details:

Arizona State U ‘MOOCs for credit program faces unanswered accreditation questions [Inside Higher Ed]

MOOCs for a Year’s Credit [Inside Higher Ed]

Arizona State, edX to offer entire freshman year of college online [Fortune]

Global Freshman Academy: Creating Access and Overcoming Early MOOC Setbacks [The EvoLLLution]

Category: Future Trends | LEAVE A COMMENT
April 22

The Positive Impact of Online Collaborative Learning on Student Success: An Assessment of Harvard Business School’s ‘HBX’ Initiative

Creative Commons "Harvard Business School Baker Library” by Chensiyuan (CC BY-SA) http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harvard_business_school_baker_library_2009a.JPG http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Creative Commons “Harvard Business School Baker Library” by Chensiyuan (CC BY-SA)
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harvard_business_school_baker_library_2009a.JPG
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

An article in Inside Higher Ed highlights the following positive effects of Harvard Business School’s HBX CORe program which was designed to facilitate extensive collaborative learning:

  • A course completion rate of over 85% (usually lower than 10% for MOOCs).
  • High satisfaction rate with 80 to 90% of learners evaluating the teaching and program content as either four or five out of a five.
  • Very high levels of engagement with peers and course materials through program analyses, reflections, and content discussions with peers (via required participation).

Read the article to learn the principles of collaborative learning that Harvard Business School used in their online course design.

Category: Course Design, Online Collaborative Learning, Online Teaching Pedagogy | LEAVE A COMMENT