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"As the Embedded For-Profit industry develops, he predicts it will further curtail professors' autonomy, already somewhat weakened by colleges' use of outside companies to host learning-management systems - and more recently to help manage and produce online-education programs."

"Anyone who has participated in course redesign efforts likely recognizes the milestones of this progression. That's not an accident. Course redesign, particularly when properly facilitated by experts who are themselves practitioners of Empirical Education, can move the instructors who are going through the redesign process at least partway up the ladder. In fact, it often happens spontaneously."

"one study found that regular online testing enhanced student learning (Angus & Watson, 2009). Another study found no differences in student performance between online and face-to-face testing (Karkee, Kim, & Fatica, 2010). There's really no right answer to be found in the research literature. All of us need to make our own plans about how and when to measure student learning. Hopefully, these plans are based in sound educational principles and result in effective assessment practices. Read on to learn more about some of the issues related to online testing."

"This index represents a compilation of activities to help instructors to plan their online and blended courses. A complete description of each activity is given, along with examples when possible."

"For a student who is visually impaired, alt-text descriptions are very important pieces of information. And when these descriptions are well-written, they can provide information just as effectively as the image they describe. So what makes an alt-text description effective? Here are five important characteristics they share:"

"Starting next fall, the University of Pennsylvania will offer what it says is the first online bachelor's degree at an Ivy League college, an illustration of the growing credibility and popularity of online education."

"The intent of this journal is to benefit faculty who teach by providing a place where they can share their ideas, practices, and research around teaching. The intended audience includes faculty and professionals at all institutions who teach, develop instruction, and conduct research related to teaching in higher education."

"Online education has been touted as a way to increase access to education. But it's increasingly unclear if online learning is living up to its promise for students, even as digital learning makes its way into more institutions' offerings. The quality of online courses still varies drastically, and research shows there are major racial disparities in digital-learning outcomes. This has all left us asking: Who does online education really serve?"

"Instructors often kick off a discussion board assignment by asking each student to respond to an assigned reading. To prevent plagiarism, some learning management systems are set up, either by the platform or by policies of the institution or instructor, to only reveal the full contents of a discussion thread after a student has already posted."

"Count the number of academic librarians.  Hire that many instructional designers."

"The University of Virginia expects to lay off or request retirement from as many as 38 employees at its School of Continuing and Professional Studies this spring. Lower student demand and the end of program partnerships have led to a drop in enrollment and an $8 million budget shortfall, according to Dean Alex Hernandez. His team views reorganization as its last option to address the crisis."

"with no existing online programs and a culture unaccustomed to rapid transformation, they weren't prepared for the challenge, Coleman admitted during a session last month at the University Professional, Continuing and Online Education Association's annual meeting. "Wellesley had no understanding of this market," Coleman said. "I'm not really sure that they had a full understanding of what this could be or what they wanted it to be.""

"Any visual communication can be improved with an understanding of design principles that help ensure viewers correctly perceive and interpret the elements of a graphic. To be effective, an infographic should accurately communicate its message, attract attention with its aesthetic appeal, and be visually efficient so it is easy to scan and perceive. Let's look at some ways to accomplish this in infographic design."

"Narrative podcasts are story-driven audio recordings. As opposed to more traditional interview-style podcasts, where a single person or group is interviewed, narrative podcasts splice together a number of interviews, recordings, and sounds to present a more complete listening experience. They tend to lean more heavily on production effects, such as the use of music and sound effects, as well as narrative storytelling techniques such as multiple characters, scene setting, backstory, hooks, framing devices, and cliffhangers. Narrative podcasts can be either fictional or non-fictional, but at their core both teach learners by presenting concepts as an immersive experience, allowing listeners to become a part of what they are learning."

"The costs of filming a new SMOC are between $9,000 and $66,000, according to data provided by Williams, with about two-thirds of classes between spring 2015 and fall 2018 costing more than $20,000. These figures don't include instructional costs."

""In other words," the researchers wrote, "students who have positive attitudes about multitasking and prefer to multitask appear to better control this academically disadvantageous behavior in face-to-face courses." They attribute the students' "control" heavily to what Lepp called the "norms of the classroom" -- essentially, pressure from peers or the instructor not to multitask."

"Understanding how time "works" in online courses can be a challenge for instructors: How do I determine the total time on task expected of students? How can I calculate the time students will need to complete course work? What should students be doing to accomplish course goals and learning outcomes? What should I be doing with my time as online instructor?  "

"focusing on the next mega-institution or the gold-rush mentality that has garnered so much attention in online education is a distraction from this higher calling. For us, a mega model does not align with our core educational philosophy. We imagine that for the majority of universities, the mega-university concept is not only unrealistic, it is also anathema to their institutional philosophy. We look forward to joining efforts across higher education to embrace a chapter of fundamental transformation."

"Quite expectedly, faculty comments included concerns about creating electronic correspondence courses, lowering course quality, and otherwise silencing the faculty voice in the teaching and learning process. Indeed, success with this new mode would depend on acknowledging the legitimacy of that fear and creating a process to encourage, respect, and retain the faculty voice. Our method of achieving this is anchored by five essential elements and will be applied to more than 250 courses, including general education, in nearly 20 academic programs."

"This symbiotic relationship between human teacher and computer seems to be the next frontier for education. No, cyborgs are not going to take over our classrooms. But in the very near future, teachers and AI computers may team up to provide stronger, better educational experiences for students at every level from primary school up to university."