Posted by: Sarah
on Jul 7, 2011
As the Baby Boomer generation nears retirement, many economic experts fear the decreasing working population coupled with the increasing lack of equally educated workers. The current workforce does not hold as many post-secondary degrees as the retiring Baby Boomers which could have a significant impact on the economy as more of those Boomers retire. While many adult workers have attempted some post-secondary education, many are finding the rigors of full-time employment, family obligations, and traditional course schedules too overwhelming. According to the research of Erik C. Burns in his paper entitled The Adult Learner: A Change Agent in Post-Secondary Education, Burns cites online education as the key factor for educating the current working population and providing an alternative to the traditional post-secondary education experience.
Posted by: Sarah
on May 9, 2011
For many online students, online learning takes place according to the students' schedule, their pace, and typically without any interaction in real time with the professor or other classmates. This has allowed online education to remain a fairly flexible learning platform. According to the case conducted by Amanda J. Rockinson-Szapkiw entitled Stewardship in Distance Education: A Comparative Analysis of Technologies that Support Student Learning, she posits that online learning courses could benefit significantly from real time interactions with the professors and others students. She states this addition of real time learning to the online environment may allow Christian educators to be better stewards of their resources.
Posted by: Sarah
on May 6, 2011
Online education has opened up the possibility of attending seminary for those limited by their geographic location. With several seminaries offering online courses or distance education programs, questions have been raised concerning the spiritual guidance gained by attending seminary online. Can a spiritual community be formed that encourages and stimulates each students' faith? According to the research conducted by Mary Lowe her article A Summary of the Findings of the Study:Assessing the Impact of Online Courses on the Spiritual Formation of Adult Students, Lowe found in her study that students did mature in their faith and other factors also influenced this spiritual growth apart from the online course itself.
Posted by: Jason
on May 1, 2011
Despite near uniform opposition from all sectors of higher education, the latest Dear Colleague letters from the Department of Education continue the march toward requiring online learning providers to secure state authorization anywhere they have students.
Posted by: Sarah
on Apr 26, 2011
As more researched-based universities venture into online education courses, faculty members will require some form of training or certification course for online teaching. Currently, these online certification courses are modeled on a “one size fits all” idea in which the course instructor does not fully model an effective online course design. According to the self study by Lee Graham and Lisa Thomas titled Certification in Distance Learning for Online Instructors:Exploration of an Organic Model for a Researched-Based Institution, Graham and Thomas believe that a more organic model of online certification is needed since many faculty members desire more freedom in course design or are already successful online course instructors.
Posted by: Sarah
on Mar 28, 2011
Many high school students view online education as a means to get another class or two into their full schedule. For other students, Georgia's virtual classrooms allow them to pursue extracurricular activities, remain homeschooled, or have immediate access to public education from outside the USA. According to an article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, virtual education allows students to take a full course load and gives the students the flexibility that more traditional schools cannot offer.
Posted by: Sarah
on Mar 8, 2011
In Southern California, Knightsen schools are reviewing a proposal that would create an online charter school within Contra Costa county. This online charter school will be accessible for all students regardless of the student's residency. According to an article on MercuryOnline.com, the new online charter school will give Knightsen students another education option that focuses on technology and flexible learning models.
Posted by: Sarah
on Feb 23, 2011
As many colleges and universities are beginning to offer more online courses, the University of Kansas has actively expanded its online and distance education options for students. Many students attending the University of Kansas enroll in a combination of traditional classroom instruction and online courses. According to an article on University Bound, the University of Kansas already offers many online courses and degree programs, and the university sees great potential in adding more online programs for its students and faculty members.
Posted by: Sarah
on Feb 22, 2011
During a meeting of Georgia Charter Schools Commission, the members of the commission voted to expand Georgia Cyber Academy. In an article in The Augusta Chronicle, Georgia Cyber Academy had requested to expand its offerings from K-9th grades to K-12th grades. In the past three years, this online school has met the necessary educational benchmarks for No Child Left Behind. By expanding the GCA program, the school will be able to increase the number of teachers for its online classes, offer more elective online classes, and provide more services for students through its virtual classrooms.
Posted by: Anahid
on Jul 14, 2010
There are a set of Universal instructional design (UID) principles that are appropriate for distance education. These principles were used to access the accessibility level of a sample online course in Moodle. In looking at these accessibility levels, recommendations were made to "improve the accessibility of online DE to learners with diverse abilities, disabilities, and needs."
