June 17, 2011, 11:00 am
By Jason B. Jones
"[My Online Summer is a weekly series chronicling my first effort at teaching a class entirely online in our campus's LMS. Read previous installments here.]
Most of the early adjustments to teaching online ranged from disconcerting to irritating to anxious. But this week, I wanted to mention one thing that has been infinitely better in an all-online course: grading. It has been much easier for me to grade the work of online students than those from a conventional class."
"May 25th, 2011
As online education rules loom, a call for cooperation between states
Web-based colleges will more easily comply with state rules if leaders seek 'uniformity,' online education experts say
as-online-education-rules-loom-a-call-for-cooperation-between-states
By Dennis Carter, Assistant Editor
Members of an influential online-learning task force said states should create uniform standards for online colleges and universities, making it easier for institutions to comply with a federal rule that will prove costly and confusing to web-based schools."
"June 21, 2011, 6:52 pm
By Marc Parry
"What happens when you invite the whole world to join an online class?
As The Chronicle reported last year, a growing number of educators are giving that idea a try by offering free "massive open online courses," or MOOC's, to anyone who wants to learn. Today, that experimental idea gained some more traction in mainstream higher education. The University of Illinois at Springfield announced a new not-for-credit MOOC devoted to examining the state of online education and where e-learning is heading. Nearly 500 people from two dozen countries have registered so far, with 1,000 expected to sign up by the time the course begins next Monday. (...)
Not enough MOOC for you? Stay tuned. Starting in September, another group will organize what the MOOC pioneer George Siemens calls the "Mother of all MOOCs."
In a blog post Monday, Mr. Siemens welcomed the growing interest from traditional universities. And he countered the more skeptical take offered by another open-education leader, David Wiley, who wrote recently that "MOOCs and their like are not the answer to higher-education's problems." (...)"