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The Future is Open Courseware: Three Institutions Offering Online Learning Opportunities

Guest Blogger — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:51:11 +0000

As society becomes increasingly more tech savvy, more and more of the foundations of our lives are turning to the web. Our professional lives have been conduced online and plugged in for several years now and, with the advent of social media and social networking, so too are our personal and social lives. The latest trend today seems to be online learning and online education. While at one time online education and online degrees were frowned upon by most employers and scholars, more and more people are turning to online avenues for their educational and academic endeavors. Furthermore, as online degrees and online courses become more popular, online courseware that is free and readily available are becoming the next hot thing. The internet is all about immediate access to information for no cost—this is the crux of open courseware. Open courseware allows anyone with a computer and the internet access to endless knowledge and academic pursuit. These three open courseware resources are wonderful waves of what will be part of the future of education and academics.

MIT Open Courseware

As one of the most prominent names in higher education, MIT plays a major role in America’s opinion on higher education. That being said, MIT has made real wave on the front of open courseware and online learning. Offering up to 1,800 courses online and free to access, MIT is one of the absolute best resources for open courseware in the world. These courses come directly from the actual traditional courses taught at MIT, including syllabi, reading lists, course notes, assignments, and much more. Of course, because MIT is a technical school, most of the courses offered are of that nature. There is both video and audio that accompanies many of the courses, providing a learning environment that closely compares to being inside a class at MIT. MIT’s initiative to provide higher learning material to anyone who wants it is admirable and forward thinking.

Berkeley Open Courseware

UC Berkeley offers webcasts of several different classes offered on their campus. UC Berkeley is one of the top ranked public universities in the nation and boasts some of the most influential professors in their fields. Allowing anyone to watch various webcasts or listen to podcasts of their lectures, Berkeley’s open courseware initiative is one of the best. Each course that is offered provides printable assignments, notes that you can get from the professor’s website, and tests from the actual class. This is a wonderful resource for anyone looking to expand their mind or build on their educational repertoire.

Carnegie Mellon Open Learning Initiative

Carnegie Mellon is another one of the biggest name universities in the nation offering open online learning resources. With Carnegie Mellon’s open learning initiative you can choose to either sign up as a user for free to keep track of your scores and progress or you can simply take a class unregistered. Though the school only offers a few courses online at this time, they are offered in a very useful and approachable way. Mellon offers classes such as Modern Biology, Media Programming, Statistics, French, and several others. These classes are easier to jump into than UC Berkeley’s or MIT’s simply because of the way they are presented. There is basically presented as an eBook, where you can jump from chapter to chapter at your own will.

Each of these open courseware initiatives are examples of how education can be accessible to anyone wishing to find it. These schools set a wonderful example by sharing their wealth of knowledge and resources and making learning and academia available to anyone who seeks it.

Jane Smith is a freelance writer and blogger. She writes about free background checks for Backgroundcheck.org. Questions and comments can be sent to: janesmth161 @ gmail.com.

The Future is Open Courseware: Three Institutions Offering Online Learning Opportunities is a post from Learning Online Info, a blog dedicated to the world of e-learning and the emerging learning technologies.

Get A World-Class Education With YouTube EDU and iTunes University

Guest Blogger — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 23:26:32 +0000

If only one thing has been made clear by the protestors marching against Wall Street and the government officials who have colluded to steal the American Dream, it is that a top-flight university education no longer guarantees a job.

People are now exploring new ways to learn without paying exorbitant tuition fees, and YouTube EDU and iTunes University may be just the ticket for prospective students willing to think – and study – outside the classroom.

Distance learning is nothing new, but neither is charging fees for it that can be as much as or more than brick-and-mortar institutions. People are fast coming to the conclusion that they are paying for the credits rather than the knowledge, and these two online avenues for learning can offer them a wide variety of free high-quality lectures, course material, classes and more.

iTunes University launched in 2007 and has since grown into a hub where a collection of hundreds of universities, museums and educational groups from around the world gather to post lessons, lectures, tutorials and podcasts of all kinds. While it may give off a more product-oriented feel by driving users to the iTunes Store, a few clicks through the offerings reveal there is a treasure trove of valuable knowledge that is free for the taking.

YoutTube EDU is more of an effort to organize and continuously update all things that have true educational merit that have been downloaded onto the site. It is easily searchable and there is a wealth of great content such as lectures from ivy-league schools, science demonstrations, debates and cultural performances, but users will likely run into some B material as well.

The benefits of these two endeavors can’t be undersold. It makes it possible for any person with access to the Internet to receive the exact same education as those individuals fortunate enough to attend the most prestigious learning institutions in the world. In fact, a great deal of the material is organized by university and subject so people can “take classes” as they would if they were in attendance at the university of their choosing.

Many people may argue the drawback is that YouTube EDU and iTunes University don’t issue degrees upon completing coursework, but the prevailing opinion of the day is that university diplomas are not worth what they used to be and that America’s cash-strapped economy now places a premium on performance and proven results over most any other credential.

Of course, the true benefit is that these sites provide opportunities for personal advancement that may or may not have anything to do with career advancement, and some would say that is what a world-class education is really all about.

This article was written by James Madeiros who writes for Criminal Justice Degree Schools, an education site providing information on earning a bachelors in criminal justice.

Get A World-Class Education With YouTube EDU and iTunes University is a post from Learning Online Info, a blog dedicated to the world of e-learning and the emerging learning technologies.

Three Valuable Web Tools for Improved Online Learning

Guest Blogger — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 23:47:49 +0000

As the web continues to evolve and mature, the tools that expand humanity’s options for learning and knowledge grow exponentially. If you think back just 15 short years, answering a quick question about the world required cracking open a dusty old encyclopedia. There was a 50/50 chance that the information it contained was still correct, and you could never rely on encyclopedias to learn about new or breaking information.

Today, to learn something new, we simply Google it or check with others on Twitter, Facebook, Quora, etc. Rarely, when we need a quick answer, do we pull a book off the shelf. These online tools and communities are becoming so efficient at distributing fresh, quality information, that society has completely changed its go-to sources for knowledge.

What I’d like to share today are three online tools that are real game-changers in terms of learning and enhancing your knowledge. These websites span areas such as English grammar, foreign languages, and computer literacy. Whether you use them independently, or as an enhancement to existing online learning you may already be taking, diving into each of these tools can be very valuable for gaining insight and experience into specific topics.

Grammar Improvement

The first tool that is a regular go-to for me is Grammarly. Grammarly is a spelling, grammar, and plagiarism tool all rolled up into a single interface. In terms of usability, it couldn’t be simpler. Simply paste text into the window and click ‘start’. What you get back is the standard spelling and grammar issues, but also rich information on your writing style, tips for improvement, and very advanced reporting on your work. With online learning, this is a great tool to be your final ‘proof reader’ before submitting a document.

Language Learning

Have you heard of LiveMocha? Imagine a social network like Facebook, except instead of connecting with friends, you are connecting with people who want to communicate in other languages.

For example, lets say you speak English but are learning Spanish. The rate at which you learn the new language would skyrocket if you were continually communicating with someone who spoke Spanish fluently. Now, there is very likely someone out there who speaks Spanish fluently, and is trying to learn English. Doesn’t it make all the sense in the world for you both to work on your language learning together?

This is the basic premise behind LiveMocha. In addition to connecting people who want to help each other improve their learning of a second language, there are also training modules, games, and other tools that help you learn faster than just a textbook and translation dictionary.

Online Training Courses

There’s nothing like a good video training course when you are trying to learn something technical. While lectures and labs help, sometimes you just really need to see someone else do it (and have a rewind button handy!). More and more people are using Lynda.com to learn and become proficient with a wide-range of technical skills. From Excel and Photoshop to PHP coding and database development, if you are trying to learn something technical, there is a very good chance that Lynda.com has a course that will help you along your way.

These tools are just three that we feel breathe new life into the options for learning a skill. The days of encyclopedias, textbooks, and lectures being the only way to learn are long gone. These great social and rich-media technologies are empowering students to learn in new and innovative ways that didn’t exist just a few short years ago!

Brian Patterson is a web and IT consultant, passionate about new and innovative technologies. From working with federal agencies on large enterprise applications, to small businesses with small websites, his experience has run the gamut in the IT world. Brian is a partner at MangoCo, an web consulting agency.

Three Valuable Web Tools for Improved Online Learning is a post from Learning Online Info, a blog dedicated to the world of e-learning and the emerging learning technologies.

Making Learning Real: A Problem Based Case Learning Resource

Jorge Goncalves — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 10:49:23 +0000

Making Learning Real is a comprehensive resource site for Problem Based Case Learning (PBCL) tools, videos, and more for instructors, students, and business partners. PBCL employs real-world business situations as the context for learning by asking students to solving current and authentic problems based on real scenarios at local businesses.

In this environment, students and teachers engage in a process that embodies the whole range of experiences and skills needed to become effective in the workplace: brainstorming, proposing solutions, and then testing, revising, presenting and implementing them. This teaching method significantly lowers the barriers typically separating the classroom from the work world by providing students with valuable experience.

Throughout the site, you will find videos featuring actual instructors, students, and business people often in authentic classroom situations. You will also find useful classroom tools, information about professional development programs, and other resources.

The Making Learning Real website is a collaboration between the Innovation in Teaching and Learning for Technological Education (ITL) project team at Nashville State Community College and the WGBH Educational Foundation. This website is one aspect of a large-scale resource development and dissemination project focused on PBCL and funded by a National Science Foundation grant.

A good starting point is the Tools and Resources section. Here you can find a PBCL Design Tool, a Need to Know Board, a Habits of Mind Checklist, a Scoring Rubric for Presentations, an Observation Form and a Learning Log among others.

Making Learning Real: A Problem Based Case Learning Resource is a post from Learning Online Info, a blog dedicated to the world of e-learning and the emerging learning technologies.

OECD: Education at a Glance 2010

Jorge Goncalves — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 10:29:22 +0000

Education at a Glance 2010: OECD Indicators. Across OECD countries, governments are seeking policies to make education more effective while searching for additional resources to meet the increasing demand for education.

The 2010 edition of Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators enables countries to see themselves in the light of other countries’ performance. It provides a rich, comparable and up-to-date array of indicators on systems and represents the consensus of professional thinking on how to measure the current state of education internationally.

The book contains concise and easily accessible data on key topics in education today, including:

Education levels and student numbers: How far have adults studied, and what access do young people have to education?
Economic and social benefits of education: How does education affect people’s job prospects, and what is its impact on incomes?
Paying for education: What share of public spending goes on education, and what is the role of private spending?
The school environment: How many hours do teachers work, and how does class size vary?

Each indicator is presented on a two-page spread that explains its significance, discusses the main findings and key trends, and pres a roadmap for finding out more in the OECD education databases and in other OECD education publications. Highlights from Education at a Glance 2010 is an ideal introduction to the OECD’s unrivaled collection of internationally comparative data on education and learning.

See also: Online Education Database: The UNESCO/OECD/EUROSTAT (UOE) database on education statistics is compiled on the basis of national administrative sources, reported by Ministries of Education or National Statistical offices according to international standards, definitions and classifications. The collected annual data cover the outputs of educational institutions, the policy levers that shape educational outputs, the human and financial resources invested in education, structural characteristics of education systems, and the economic and social outcomes of education.

OECD: Education at a Glance 2010 is a post from Learning Online Info, a blog dedicated to the world of e-learning and the emerging learning technologies.

The Best of Online Learning: Free Video Lectures

Guest Blogger — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:49:57 +0000

This is a guest post by Olivia Coleman, who writes on the topics of online colleges and universities. She welcomes your comments here or at her email Id: olivia.coleman33 @gmail.com.

Having attended a brick-and-mortar institution, I remember what a crapshoot in-school lectures could be. Some were marginally interesting, others were pointless beyond comprehension, and still others were nothing short of life-changing. A delightful, relatively new online trend that is becoming further popularized through the advent of OpenCourseWare is the availability of recorded classroom lectures.

The beauty of free video lectures is, of course, the ease of access. Want to learn about the latest findings in cognitive science? Or how about brush up on basic algebra skills? Maybe you’d even be interested in viewing a more controversial lecture in which a Harvard professor discusses human nature and morality. While before, we would have to be enrolled in a school to reap the benefits of these lectures, now each of these can be viewed with a few quick clicks of the mouse.

Free video lectures not only enable you to get a full in-class experience in topics that you find interesting, but they can be very helpful if you want a different explanation of a concept that you are having difficulty understanding. For example, say you are taking a course in college-level calculus. Your textbook or instructor have a specific way of teaching the material, but you still don’t quite understand. With free video lectures available online, you can see for yourself how other professors teach the same subject matter. Since there are millions of different ways to communicate and explain millions of different ideas, you can surf the Net at your leisure to find the one method that’s right for you.

Now where to find these video lectures? There are several venues online that compile the best video lectures. Two great sites for video lectures browsing are Academic Earth and Free Video Lectures. If science is your cup of tea, then check out Free Science Videos and Lectures. This website breaks down groups of video lectures by their respective science field. You can also check out what’s available on YouTube, or you can go to different university websites that have OpenCourseWare options.

Whether you’re pursuing a degree online or at a brick-and-mortar institution, every student stands to benefit from the proliferation of online video lectures. The opening up of education online is precisely what has allowed video lectures to gain such freedom of access. Anyone who wants to learn more about anything should take full advantage of the best that eLearning has to offer.

The Best of Online Learning: Free Video Lectures is a post from Learning Online Info, a blog dedicated to the world of e-learning and the emerging learning technologies.

Wiki Walkthrough: Wikis FAQs answered by TeachersFirst (with examples)

Jorge Goncalves — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:49:33 +0000

TeachersFirst Wiki Walkthrough: The path starts with the basic What in the world is a wiki? and continues with Who uses wikis? and What is the difference between a wiki and a blog? For teachers is important to know So how do I use wikis with my class(es)? or What benefits are there from student wiki participation? Some examples can be seen on the wiki walk through some sample wikis. We can even play with some wiki tools on the Which wiki tool will you use? section. A visit to the TeachersFirst wiki is also recommended. Here we can find more ideas on how to use a wiki as a learning tool.

TeachersFirst is offering two free meetings at OK2Ask Guided Wiki Walk, today and July 29 at either 3 pm or 6 pm Eastern time both days (with a little homework in between).

Wiki Walkthrough: Wikis FAQs answered by TeachersFirst (with examples) is a post from Learning Online Info, a blog dedicated to the world of e-learning and the emerging learning technologies.

Microsoft Teacher Guides: Developing Critical Thinking Through Web Research Skills

Jorge Goncalves — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 14:56:36 +0000

From Search to Research: Developing Critical Thinking Through Web Research Skills (PDF). A very useful e-book, understandably a little biased into Microsoft’s tools, particularly Bing, full of good references to critical thinking resources, accompanied with a vast selection of links to related sites.

From Conclusion: ‘The Internet is a river of information that seems to grow wider and flow faster every day. Web content, including this e-book, reflects this ongoing process of expansion and change. To stay current, you have to intentionally keep moving along with it. Online web literacy discussions are great places to find the latest tips, techniques, examples, and strategies for teaching students essential web literacy skills that help them develop as critical thinkers capable of engaging the world intelligently and creatively.’

Microsoft Teacher Guides: Critical Thinking in the Classroom. Applying critical thinking skills through web research can help students improve search skills, evaluate the information they find and incorporate them in their work. It contains a critical thinking and web research curriculum developed in cooperation with the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).

The Critical Thinking Community: The Role of Socratic Questioning in Thinking, Teaching, & Learning

Critical Thinking Toolkit: a list of nine strategies for students to help them developing a practice of critical thinking. (Other study toolkits from this University of British Columbia site are also recommended)

Critical Thinking Compendium: a wiki about teaching critical thinking and Internet literacies maintained by Howard Rheingold and other educators.

Critical Thinking on the Web: a huge list of quality links to a wide variety of topics on this subject.

Microsoft Teacher Guides: Developing Critical Thinking Through Web Research Skills is a post from Learning Online Info, a blog dedicated to the world of e-learning and the emerging learning technologies.

2010 Horizon Report Highlights Mobile Computing and Open Content

Jorge Goncalves — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 10:01:54 +0000

2010 Horizon Report. From the Executive Summary: In each edition of the Horizon Report, six emerging technologies or practices are described that are likely to enter mainstream use on campuses within three adoption horizons spread over the next one to five years. Each report also presents critical trends and challenges that will affect teaching and learning over the same time frame. In the seven years that the Horizon Project has been underway, more than 400 leaders in the fields of business, industry, technology, and education have contributed to this long-running primary research effort.

The report’s format is consistent from year to year, opening with a discussion of the trends and challenges identified by the Advisory Board as most critical for the next five years. The format of the main section closely reflects the focus of the Horizon Project itself, centering on the applications of emerging technologies to teaching, learning, and creative inquiry.

Technologies to Watch: On the near-term horizon — that is, within the next 12 months — are mobile computing and open content.

You may also want to browse the Horizon Report Wiki, the workplace for the members of the Horizon Project Advisory Board to manage the process of selecting the topics for the 2010 Horizon Report or download the PDF version of the report (available in four languages).

2010 Horizon Report Highlights Mobile Computing and Open Content is a post from Learning Online Info, a blog dedicated to the world of e-learning and the emerging learning technologies.

Free: Handbook of Emerging Technologies for Learning

Jorge Goncalves — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:57:11 +0000

Recently, I’ve discovered the excellent Handbook of Emerging Technologies for Learning from George Siemens and Peter Tittenberger, Learning Technologies Centre (LTC), University of Manitoba. This handbook is freely available in two formats: wiki and PDF. The number, diversity and quality of the bibliographic references are worth mentioning. A must read!

Conclusion excerpt: The use of technology for learning is influenced by developments in numerous fields: technology itself, global trends (market economy growth, changing immigration patterns, intellectual shifts to emerging economies), societal trends and trends within educational research.

Much of the change in education over the last several decades has been defined by discussion of content. Should we teach more math? Science? What about ethics? How should we teach? Lecture? Problem-based learning? It seems that much of educational reform has been concerned with determining the content of education, rather than the model and process of learning design and delivery in a technology infused world.

For individual faculty members and departments, greater use of emerging technology can serve as an important bridging process between the traditional role of education and the not yet clearly defined future. Active participation in the ecology of perpetual change provides organizations with the capacity to sense, recognize, and respond to emerging patterns.

Free: Handbook of Emerging Technologies for Learning is a post from Learning Online Info, a blog dedicated to the world of e-learning and the emerging learning technologies.