Category: Education Programs
Top 100 Open Coursewares and their Benefits
Online open courseware was not in demand until a few years back. However, it gained momentum in the recent days. The online open courseware projects offer lecture notes, chapters or entire textbooks online. They save you from doing a tedious research in libraries and provide information on a mouse click. Students who want to take a break from tuition courses or need supplementary materials for college courses or want to gain life experience, can avail the online open courseware to achieve their goal.
Recently, I came across an article titled "Top 100 Open Courseware Projects" at OEDb that lists 100 open courseware projects. The list is intriguing. It has covered different types of online open courseware projects and their utility. Starting from Agriculture, Art and Architecture, the list stretches up to physics, political science and social sciences. This is a must read for everyone who rely on online courses or want to explore the benefits of online education.
Teaching Teachers to Become Masters
– Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer
The Marygrove College, in conjunction with the Teachscape, Inc. of San Fransisco, is offering two new online graduate programs, one for elementary school teachers and the other for those who teach secondary school. Master in the Art of Teaching (MAT) in Reading & Literacy, Grades K-6 focuses on the structure of language and the five components of reading while MAT in Mathematics, Grades K-5 will help teachers improve their understanding of fundamental mathematics and help build their conceptual knowledge in the subject.
Marygrove, an independent liberal arts college based in Detroit, is a forerunner in the field of online graduate studies for teachers. It has graduated over 20,000 teachers since the MAT course’s inception in 1996, a figure that makes the program one of the biggest in the country.
Follow this link for more information on the courses.
U Cal Masters Online Instruction
– Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer
Here’s another regular brick-and-mortar educational institute that’s offering a postgraduate degree that can be earned completely online. Want to become a Master of Education? Then the California University of Pennsylvania, or U Cal, is just the place to be! Or not to be – you can take the course from the comfort of your home, sitting at your computer. According to Joseph Zisk, the chief architect of the course, the credits are transferable, and the course is as challenging as the one offered on campus. Registration for the spring semester 2007 is open till Jan 16.
Follow this link for more information.
Free For All…
– By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer
What’s standing between you and an online course? If the only hurdle is the cost, consider it removed effectively. The Internet is a vast store of knowledge, if you know just where to look. Learn language skills, pick up cooking tips, join bible classes even if you’re just mildly interested in the ecclesiastic, become computer-savvy, brush up on those journalistic tendencies, take advantage of the opencourseware that’s free to all – in general, learn what you’re interested in. All at the cost of a computer and a broadband connection only. Interested? Just follow this link for more details.
Online Opportunities Open Doors for Rural Kids
– By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer
This ATM has nothing to do with the banking system, but there sure are a host of kids who are banking on it to get themselves an invaluable education. The Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) is an interactive video classroom network that is being leveraged by the Maine Distance Learning Project to provide children living in rural areas access to quality courses and classes.
Having tasted success in the four years since its inception, the educational endeavor which operates through a network of 91 sites across the state is a lifeline for K-12 students. Teachers in participant schools are able to simultaneously teach those in the classroom and those miles away at another location through video cameras that follow movement with their electronic eyes, screening devices that allow any document to be scanned and viewed at all locations, and big-screen televisions that facilitate socialization between students at different schools.
Besides solving the problem of a dearth of teachers for certain subjects, the venture allows children to choose from a large pool of available courses instead of restricting them to those taught at their own schools. No wonder then that the project, which is funded by the Department of Education, has been described on its website as “an unprecedented instructional and communications system.”
Endorsement of online education plan of UI on hold!
Plans of going online of the University of Illinois faced a block when its faculty-student senate decided against the endorsing it. They claim that they are not stating that there should be no online education program from the university. On the contrary they are happy that such an initiative is being planned. They also feel that having an online program would mean that the students with lover affordability could have access to higher education through this program. The senate just feels that the current planning/model for the program is inadequate.
The senate reiterated that they want the plan to succeed. For this they have made several recommendations and have outlined several issues with the plan that UI has proposed. It was stated that over the years they have observed that the state funding in recent years has declined, stayed flat of perhaps sometimes seen a marginal increase. This situation leaves the university to fend for itself. If the program is not self sustaining, it might face the same fate as the unfortunate universities whose online program failed. News Gazette reports:
"I would never assert that it is not a risky venture," White said. But one thing is certain, he said. The UI’s financial future "is not very pretty and we need a major new revenue source and Global Campus is the best prospect we have so far," White said.
?stanbul Bilgi University now an esteemed partner of Laureate Education, Inc. in Turkey
Laureate Education, Inc. has recently signed up ?stanbul Bilgi University as its partner from Turkey. This announcement was made by Douglas Becker, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Laureate Education. ?stanbul Bilgi University is a non-profit foundation university and is one of the top private universities in Turkey. Laureate Education, Inc. on the other hand is a global education player providing superb university experience to over 240,000 students through its global network of accredited universities – both campus-based and online.
As part of the deal, ?stanbul Bilgi University will have increased access to online education, dual-degree programs and study abroad programs. The students of the university will now also be able to get global career placement from other network institutions worldwide. It is being felt that both the parties stand to gain from each others reputation and area of expertise. Best Graduate School Guide reports:
Through online universities, Laureate offers the growing population of non-traditional, working-adult students the convenience and flexibility of distance learning to pursue undergraduate, master’s and doctorate degree programs in major career fields including engineering, education, business, and healthcare.
Online education may help athletes on the move
Now education and sports can go hand in hand thanks to technology. It is a common to see college athletes struggle to play and get good grades at the same time. More often than not one observes that there is a conflict between the time of their regular classes and practice session and this can lead to gaping holes in their attendance in the class. A former coach of St John’s basketball team has teamed up with VBrick systems to provide the athletes with an opportunity of attending classes through a digital video system that can be played on computers, cell phones and even iPods.
The technology is available via a brick sized appliance that is placed in the classroom. The athletes are then given passwords to access the class in the digital format on their computers via the internet. Though this technology has several heads nodding in approval, the sheer cost of implementation can be phenomenal. It can range anything between $50,000 and $ 1 million depending on the extent to which the technology would be put to use. MSN.com reports:
NCAA President Myles Brand has made academic reform his top priority since taking over in 2003, pushing for more stringent academic standards and better graduation rates. Brand recently cited improving graduation rates among student-athletes, higher even than the general student population, as one of the greatest successes in college sports.”
Furthering the Cause of Distance Education
– By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer
Projects and research on distance education and its impact on society are getting a boost through the competitive grants program being offered by the Outreach School. A sum of $10,000 has been earmarked for the faculty and staff at the University of Wyoming and personnel at the Wyoming community college to pursue research or inquiry-based projects that concentrate on distance education.
Each award will have a maximum limit of $2,500, according to Scott Seville, , associate dean of the UW Outreach School and associate professor of zoology and physiology at the UW/Casper College Center. The winners, who will be announced on November 15, will have to complete their projects within the span of a year.
Curiosity Doesn’t Kill the Cat Here!
– By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer
If you’re looking to test the waters of online education, here’s the perfect solution for you. It won’t take up much of your precious time, it will definitely broaden your mental horizons, and doesn’t hurt your bank balance.
A virtual college in Scotland is using a little of the Arabian Nights to rope in learners. The New Curiosity Shop is staying true to its name and evoking curiosity with its “Three wishes” courses – a collection of short courses that can be taken at any time over the Internet. Each costs about $35, with study materials, learning activities, and a support forum thrown in.
The three wishes refer to three questions that students can ask their “genie” or teacher. Each course takes only six hours of your time, but assignments are due in a month.
Courses are offered for a year before being replaced by new offerings. On the current menu are a taster course in Astronomy – What Does It All Mean?, and a starter course in Philosophy – How to Learn Online.
Any takers? Just follow this link for more details.