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The author focuses on the use of blended education at two institutions: Wesleyan University and Bryn Mawr College. Both institutions are Carnegie Mellon University's Open Learning Initiative (OLI) to enhance courses previously taught solely face-to-face. Wesleyan University is using the OLI modules to tutor less-prepared students in introductory courses. The OLI course modules allow students to gain material at a faster pace than in a traditional classroom alone. Administrators at Wesleyan believe the blended model will reinforce the hands-on teaching practices their liberal arts program promotes.  Bryn Mawr as allowed faculty members to adopt OLI modules at their own initiative. Not only to the OLI modules assist the students in learning material faster, but the program also collects data on the student's learning patterns, personalizing the program through each use. Using personalized learning assistance will allow an elite institution, such as Bryn Mawr, to admit a wide range of students, with confidence less academically prepared students can be successful.  In initial research, students enrolled in blended courses using the OLI module learn as much, if not more, as students in courses only meeting face-to-face. The persistence rates of lower-income students using the OLI module were close to 100 percent in Bryn Mawr's preliminary study. While liberal arts colleges may continue to build their reputations on small classes and personalized attention from faculty members, blended courses are able to enhance the traditional instruction model. Perhaps in the future, more liberal arts colleges will be using their blende technologies as a selling point to prospective students as Wesleyan and Bryn Mawr currently are.

As online education continues to expand in the United States, Kenneth Heischmidt and Yves Damoiseau conducted a study to better understand the dimensions of quality in online business courses. The authors collected data and studied the dimensions of quality perceived by students in online classes. The results of the study aid online instructors develop courses to meet student expectations, increase satisfaction with the course, and ultimately increase student success. After surveying 260 business students at Southeast Missouri State University enrolled in an online class, 96 responded to the survey. The survey results led to three dimensions of quality in online courses: feedback, format, and content. Students expect timely feedback from an instructor, including prompt grading, access to the course and grades 24/7. The course format itself should be easy to navigate, without group work, and instruction facilitated by the instructor, according the students who participated in the study. Finally, the content of the course must offer clearly explained assignments, supplemental notes provided by the instructor, up-to-date content, and convey more information during class time than found within the textbook. In addition to the three dimensions of quality, the study also revealed, students expecting to receive an A or B in a course were also significantly more satisfied with their online course experience.  The number of participants in the study was small, limiting the results. A large participant pool is needed to test the results on a grander scale. The study focused on business students, but could be adjusted for other departments and programs in the future, increasing access to participants.

Most in attendance at the December symposium believe Kirschner and Stimpson would argue drastically different positions on online education. Both women attended online courses in an effort to better understand the experience, and were asked to reflect on those experiences at the symposium. Surprisingly, Kirschner and Stimpson felt similarly on a few major areas.  Stimpson completed a creative writing course through the University of Phoenix. Following her online experience, Stimpson argues the diminishing presence of faculty will deteriorate the dignity of the teaching profession and higher education as a whole. Those following trends and experts in higher education expected most of Stimpson's comments. Kirschner's role in the initial developments of online education led those at the symposium to expect her to fervently defend massive online courses. Surprisingly, Kirschner agreed with many of Stimpson's points, admitting face-to-face instruction is preferable to online education. Kirschner's comments alluded to her belief that brick and mortar institutions offer an educational experience superior to those offered through online programs.  Kirschner 's opinion differs from Stimpson only on her belief that technology and online education will make significant improvements over the years to come. Those improvements will aid in education instruction within online programs as well as on-ground courses. Stimpson believes the focus needs to be on the quality of instruction and presence of faculty support and communication, something not found in her online course. The similarities in both women's perspectives caught many at the symposium off-guard, but highlight the ever-changing nature of online education and its supporters.

Ben Showers, the author, admits to keeping the projections optimistic, and avoiding the issues of privacy, protection, and data shadow.The article describes five changes to mobile technology that will influence higher education into the future. The first change is mobile devices as a platform for learning and courses. Currently, mobile applications are more of a stepping-stone to larger course-management sites. In the future, students will desire actual learning platforms on their mobile device. The second change focuses on mobile realities. Augmented reality on mobile devices now allows the digital world to overlap with the real, physical world. Higher education institutions are able to use these new augmented reality technologies to aid students in find resources and information on-campus. The third mobile technology to affect higher education is mobile form. In the future, mobile devices will become more personalized and much smaller. As devices are created within glasses, earpieces, and sensors, higher education will have to adapt to those changes. Mobile scales are the fourth change to mobile technology Showers highlights. Large universities will have the ability to personalize each student's experience, offering an educational concierge service never before imagined. Finally, mobile disconnectedness will influence higher education. As students' lives become infiltrated with information via mobile devices, using the Internet, campuses should offer wifi coldspots. Wifi coldspots will offer students and faculty an opportunity to detach from the online work, taking a break from the academic world. 

Gene Wade, the creator of University Now, in an educational entrepreneur. A subsidiary of Wade's University Now, called New Charter University, uses similar education principles as Western Governors University, but with a different pricing model. New Charter University offers online, self-paced courses for $796 a semester. Students are able to sample courses for free and pay the enrollment fees in order to receive credit. The University is nationally accredited, offering associates, bachelors, and masters' degrees. When a student enrolls in a course, he or she takes an entrance exam, determining ability to understand course material. If the student proves knowledge mastery of some or all of the course topics, he or she is waived of completing that portion of the coursework.  Wade believes Pell Grants and access to student loans have led to the ever-increasing cost of college. New Charter University makes higher education affordable, while also convenient. A few questions tied to New Charter University's success still remain. Will employers value degrees offered through the University? Will the University obtain regional accreditation, allowing for credits to transfer to most colleges and universities across the country? Will students enroll in high numbers? Regardless of the future of New Charter University, Wade and his colleagues are collecting as much data on their students as possible. Tracking students allows University Now to better understand how students learn online, allowing new programs and technologies to enhance the online education model.

The authors feel textbooks are outdated by the time of print, offer a limited perspective, force the reader to take on a passive role while learning, and are limited to their physical form. The four limitations of textbooks are adding to higher education's lack of active learning. Students today expect to be engaged while they learn, not to read from an outdated textbook or listen to static lectures. There is a potential for change, however, believed by the authors. An example is given from Old Dominion University. A team of faculty all assigned to teach the course Social and Cultural Foundations of Education to potential education students, created an assignment where the students would write their own textbook. The final result  (called a wikibook) was determined by the students and faculty using a grading rubric for each student submission. The best-written and supported sections were submitted to the final wikibook. The assignment was a huge success. A few years later when educational laws changed in Virginia, the wikibook was quite to adapt. The authors argue wikibooks may not be factually perfect, but there are quite a few benefits: a student-centered learning experience, skills are developed in researching primary sources, and the instructional design is extremely adaptive and flexible. In order for a wikibook assignment to be successful, the faculty member(s) must take a guiding approach to student learning, instead of lecturing. The conclusion argues for a pedagogical shift, not necessarily involving wikibooks, but a more general transition to faculty to encourage creativity and joy in teaching and learning. 

The notion behind Professor Direct is to offer instructors the opportunity to teach courses online while determining the price or worth of the class, decreasing the cost of college courses drastically. Unlike other massive open online courses, Professor Direct calls their courses "ultra-affordable," averaging $99 a course. The instructor decides the cost of the course, in addition to office hours, communication (email) speed, tutorial options, and enrollment caps. Accessibility to the instructor, such as office hours and prompt email responses, allows professors to justify an increase in the cost of the course. Professors even receive commission for recruiting new students to their courses.  While there are a variety of benefits to enrolling at Professor Direct, few colleges and universities will accept transfer credits from the institution. Professor Direct also does not offer degrees, which prevents the organization from becoming accredited. The courses are, however, approved by the American Council on Education's College Credit Recommendation Service. Young alludes to an educational revolution if Professor Direct gained regional accreditation, a paradigm shift for higher education. For now, Professor Direct, and a similar organization called Udemy, are not accredited and are working to increase both their student populations and reputation within the higher education world. 

Coursera, one of the largest education companies offering online courses, claims to be content in building their user base without earning profits. Venture capitalists continue to invest in massive open online classes, however, without generating revenue, the investments may begin to wane. For now, elite colleges and universities, in addition to for-profit educational companies, will continue to offer online classes for free, while searching for a margin for profitability. A few sources for revenue have been considered. One of the most promising sources is the payment of licensing fees paid by other institutions to use "courses in a box" or video tutorials complementing currently offered courses. Another possible source of revenue is the sale of high-achieving student data. Corporate employers, such as Facebook and Twitter, can buy information on high-performing students studying specific subjects. A third option for profit generation is charging for credit-baring courses. The American Council on Education is reviewing a variety of courses offered through Coursera to determine if the courses are college credit worthy.  No steady revenue source has been identified in connection with massive open online classes, yet. While different organizations and institutions continue to find a way to profit from highly accessible online education, the user base will continue to increase. Hopefully, in addition to finding a mode of revenue, courses may be offered for college credit and the completion rate of MOOCs will increase. The current completion rate of MOOCs is 10%. 

The article touches upon topics relevant to all Americans, creating a large audience. Anyone influenced by higher education should be interested in Carlson and Blumenstyk's perspective.  While hype surrounds MOOCs and instructional technologies today, others are arguing for investment in brick and mortar colleges and universities. Patricia McGuire, the president of Trinity Washington University, believes those who stand to profit most from MOOCs and other forms of online education have created most of the hype.  Trinity Washington University is full of students receiving Pell Grants and a sub-standard high school education, students who need face-to-face instruction and tutoring more than most other students.  McGuire and other higher education officials listed in the article argue the online education movement is creating a wider gap between those that can afford an on-campus college experience and those that cannot. Unfortunately those that cannot afford to live on-campus and attend an elite university need the resources offered at brick and mortar institutions the most. While enhancement to teaching and learning may come from the development of online education, MOOCS, and new instruction technologies, an emphasis must be put on making on-campus education affordable. If face-to-face instruction is made inaccessible for most Americans, the country will suffer greatly, mainly by a wide divide between the haves and the have-nots within the working word as well as in higher education.

Joshua Kim, the Director of Learning and Technology for the Master of Health Care Delivery Science program at Dartmouth College, often writes for Inside Higher Ed. In this article, Kim shares ten questions posed to him by Rachel Hanel, a student and employee at Kaplan University. Hanel presented ten questions to Kim based on his experience with learning management systems (LMS).  Kim believes higher education institutions should based their LMS selection off of the quality of the product, the quality of the company, and the size of the user community, not just price. Kim also points out the direct and indirect costs associated with each LMS must be evaluated before making a decision. Students are looking for an LMS utilized by faculty members, while faculty members have a wide range of requests from an LMS, making the selection of a LMS for a college or university difficult. A few products and services to watch break into the LMS market over the next few years are Instructure Canvas, OpenClass, and Coursekit, in addition to Moodle and Blackboard, whom already hold most of the market share. According to Kim, institutions should put education first when reviewing LMSs. College and university personnel, specifically those looking to switch or add a LMS, are the intended audience. 

PRWeb assists companies and organizations release news on their products and services, with extended reach through online searches. LoudCloud Systems, the creator of LoudCloud Learning Ecosystem, for Higher Education, promoted an enhanced version of their current product through PRWeb in July of 2012. The new LoudCloud Learning Ecosystem, for higher education, includes greater flexibility for teachers and administrators; a task centered design, a redesigned behavioral reader, and enhanced analytics on students, administration, and teachers. LoudCloud Systems establish themselves as an emerging leader in learning management systems in 2010, and has continued to impress the education industry with new products and upgrades. The learning solutions offered by LoudCloud are intuitive, collaborative, adaptive and intelligent. The system collects data on users and personalizes their learning experience based on each individual's learning styles. LoudCloud Learning Ecosystems, for Higher Education now offers more than 100 discreet rights, but also allows for segmented branding within one system for larger institutions.  LoudCloud Systems offers services for higher education and K-12 institutions. Administrators and information technology personnel are the intended audience for this article. The reader should remember LoudCloud wrote the article, with supervision by PRWeb. 

Four faculty members from Ferris State University share their experiences integrating technology into their classrooms, usingto the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning. The Center assists faculty members in learning technologies to enhance their lesson plans. All four faculty members insist the technology is easy to learn and use as enrichment to coursework. The technology allows the faculty members to establish a presence, both online and on-ground, all while using technology their students are already familiar with. Faculty members, as well as information technology employees, at higher education institutions are the intended audience for this video. Each faculty member described a different technology he or she uses within the classroom (both online and on-ground). The four technologies described include Adobe Connect, iTunes U, CPS pulse clickers, and Poll Everywhere. Adobe Connect is a way for students and faculty members to engage online, including back and forth real-time discussion. iTunes U allows faculty members to share podcasts of lectures and lessons for students to listen or watch at their leisure. CPS pulse clickers enable students to take tests and quizzes during class and receive immediate feedback and grades. The CPS pulse clickers also let the professor know what material students have or have not mastered, dictating the rest of the lecture. Finally, Poll Everywhere allows faculty to poll students before, during, or after class, increasing student engagement, as cell phones are typically used to poll.

The University of Delaware created a video highlighting one faculty member's use of technology within a study abroad program in Panama. Professor Jorge Cubillas works in the Foreign Languages and Literatures department at the University of Delaware. Cubillas uses Facebook and blogs to assist students in reinforcing material learned in class. The intended audience for this video is higher education administrators working with study abroad programs.  Cubillas creates a group within Facebook for the University of Delaware students studying in Panama each semester. Interestingly, Cubillas does not interact with the students using the Facebook group, but rather allows them to feel more comfortable by sharing with just students.  The Facebook group, according Cubillas, creates cohesion within the group and facilitates sharing of information and experiences among the students. Students also contribute to blogs, adding written passages, as well as personal videos, reflecting on their experiences so far. The students' written and oral skills in Spanish improve through their blogs, while also sharing great, personal experiences with the rest of the world.

This article explores the gap between expectations of faculty and students by focusing on defining the online "student". The author looks at practitioner interviews to identify "ways of talking" about students and Annemarie Mol's (2002; 1999) concept of enactment to understand who students are and how they behave in the interactive spaces of online learning. The author's argument is that understanding the category of "student" in multiple ways offers faculty a way to approach the "potentially disorienting spaces" (Bayne and Ross, 2007) of online teaching practices. Online learning presents a different environment of interaction and engagement for teaching and this article states that in order to be effective, teaching online students requires new strategies for engagement. Some of the strategies outline developing a community of learners, treating students as customers, and considering students in the context of their digital generation. This article is helpful for those who are teaching an online course or considering how to design an online offering. The author is a curriculum and academic developer for LaTrobe University in Australia.

This article explains how one institution, Abilene Christian University (ACU) has focused on mobile phones and how they are successfully changing the classroom and data collection efforts. This is one example of how the traditional teaching and learning model is becoming more collaborative and interactive, now that instructors and students have equal and flexible access to information. ACU does regular self-reporting surveys of students and teachers to assess their opinions and evaluations. Based on the data collected since using devices in their courses, students are participating more during class and communication between faculty and students has increased. This article also describes how this institution has incorporated "mobile learning fellows", faculty who are given time to work on and evaluate a mobile learning project of their choice. The author is the Senior Editor of Network World magazine and this information would be helpful for faculty and administrators in information technology or instructional technology, in order to successfully implement curriculum onto mobile devices.

Julie Phillips, an online instructor for Globe Education Network, shares an extensive list of suggestions for faculty members hoping to incorporate service-learning into an online course. On-ground courses have long included service-learning components at colleges and universities across the country. Over the past decade online programs have grown drastically, but have left the challenge of offering service-learning courses to online learners. Phillips offers a variety of suggestions to assist a faculty member or administrator develop an online course including a service-learning assignment. Below is a list of Phillips' recommendations: - Select an appropriate course - Establish clear expectations - Respond to email/outreach from students and community partners within 24-48 hours - Volunteering should align with course objectives - Identify challenges upfront - Communicate, communicate, communicate - Encourage reflection throughout the course - Listen to student concerns and work through them - Enlist feedback from students and community partners - Allow students to share their experiences - Requirements should be realistic - Never underestimate the power that hands-on experience has on student learning - Incorporate various resources into class to help guide students - Not all community partners are created the same - Get excited!

Published in a technology review journal through Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a marriage of technology and higher education is present. The intended audience is those interested in technology, as well as the world of higher education.  Although the article is titled The Crisis in Higher Education, a real sense of crisis is only found in the last few paragraphs.  Carr spends the majority of the article describing recent advances that have been made in technology influencing higher education. Two separate innovations and advances will soon combine in the future to bring online and technology-assisted education to a new level: massive open online courses (MOOCs) and software programs that collect data and analyze student learning behaviors in order to offer individualized teaching and tutoring.  While MOOCs, offered through organizations such as Coursera, Udacity, and edX, are testing the best way to present information to large groups of students located all over the world, they are also collecting learning behavior data at the same time. Software programmers are using their own data, combined with the data from MOOCs, to help develop more intuitive programs to aid in online learning. Critics argue that online classrooms cannot compare with conversations in on-ground classes or the relationship between a faculty member and a student on campus. The future of higher education is unknown, but Carr believes technology is leading the way. One of the main concerns regarding the adoption of new technology is campuses will rush into using it without researching the best options and ways to implement.  

The article gives a basic explanation of a few useful technologies to be used within an academic setting. First, a case is built for how technology can increase engagement and learning within the classroom, whether on-ground or online. Then the use of the internet, cloud computing, and multimedia are described. The authors highlight audio (podcasts and live chats), video (simulations, films, streamed videos, and screencasts), and blogging as multimedia options to be added to the classroom. In addition to multimedia, classroom learning can occur in a more mobile fashion. Many of the previous methods mentioned are use on desktop, laptops, and tablets. More and more students are utilizing their smartphones to access academic information. BlackBoard and eCollege both offer smartphone applications, which allow students and professors to access their course management sites through their phones. iPads are mentioned, but academic uses for these devices are yet to be determined. Finally, some institutions are offering degrees through Facebook, the social networking site. The Global MBA and The University of Whales in England, both offer MBAs through courses taught using Facebook. The article nicely summarizes a few technologies to be used within the classroom to enhance the students' experience. While the list is limited, and already out of date a few months after publication, the notion of using technology in the classroom to create a more dynamic experience is conveyed. The conclusion is a call for more research and study into making technology more effective within the classroom. 

The authors collected data from first-year students at the University of Illinois in relation to their iPad 2 use in academic and non-academic settings. The intended audience is librarians and faculty members interested in incorporating tablet technology in the classroom or other learning environments. The study results found the iPad 2 to be helpful to students when searching the internet, viewing course management pages, and utilizing apps in connection with course materials. The students also used the iPad 2 to listen to music, watch videos, use social networks, and Skype. After using the iPad 2 for one week, the students made suggestions for new apps that would helpful to them. The student suggestions included a campus map app, a contact info for faculty app, an app to help in selecting future courses, and an app to help monitor grades.  The authors concluded that tablets, specifically the iPad 2, have a lot of potential to improve teaching and learning methods within higher education, however, there is much progress to be made. While the drawbacks to the tablet are somehow limited (no keyboard, need wireless connection, etc), the number and scope of apps need to be increased. Students expressed interest in using apps in connection to academic work, but most of those apps have yet to be created. 

This article describes the value of having a "service lens" in strategic implementation of technology in higher education. The authors view higher education as a co-created set of activities and experiences, having value only in their use over time, which is a shift from traditional thinking. They share that this strategy requires a belief in service systems existing in order to serve consumers, employers, and society at large. A service lens puts the consumer (the student) at the center of improvement and innovation initiatives, considering the consumer's experience to be a foundation for looking at how to make important changes in higher education. The authors argue that service blueprinting can be used to transform a traditional course to an online course while enhancing efficient delivery of content, the student experience, and student learning outcomes. Several examples are shared from the authors' institution, Arizona State University, with evidence pointing to an increase in student success, achievable learning outcomes, and reducing cost. This article would be most helpful for faculty and staff looking to take a strategic approach in making decisions about technology based on the student experience.