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"Although massive open online courses (MOOCs) are seen to be, and are in fact designed to be, stand-alone online courses, their introduction to the higher education landscape has expanded the space of possibilities for blended course designs (those that combine online and face-to-face learning experiences). Instead of replacing courses at higher education institutions, could MOOCs enhance those courses? This paper reports one such exploration, in which a Stanford University Machine Learning MOOC was integrated into a graduate course in machine learning at Vanderbilt University during the Fall 2012 semester. The blended course design, which leveraged a MOOC course and platform for lecturing, grading, and discussion, enabled the Vanderbilt instructor to lead an overload course in a topic much desired by students. The study shows that while students regarded some elements of the course positively, they had concerns about the coupling of online and in-class components of this particular blended course design. Analysis of student and instructor reflections on the course suggests dimensions for characterizing blended course designs that incorporate MOOCs, either in whole or in part. Given the reported challenges in this case study of integrating a MOOC in its entirety in an on-campus course, the paper advocates for more complex forms of blended learning in which course materials are drawn from multiple MOOCs, as well as from other online sources."

"For example, Jaclyn is the underlying reason that I've had something of a change of heart about online classes. While I've been making a substantial contribution to my daughter's tuition and living expenses, Jaclyn decided in her sophomore year to get a job so that she could afford to move off campus and live a little better than she would if she stayed in the dorms. In the process, she took some online classes that fit her work schedule better than the traditional courses. Before my daughter started college, I couldn't see much reason for students at a bricks-and-mortar college to take online classes. Now I realize why those courses make so much sense for students who work - either out of necessity or by choice. It was Jaclyn who made it very clear to me that some online courses are much better than others. Good online classes have taught her much more than bad survey courses in the traditional format with 400 students in them. Her experiences were what inspired me to create what I hope will be a quality online class of my own."

"Nelson goes on to say that "Education ought to be clear, inviting and enjoyable, without booby-traps, humiliations, condescension or boredom. It ought to teach and reward initiative, curiosity, the habit of self-motivation, intellectual involvement." This reminded of this course. So far I can honestly say that I have thoroughly enjoyed this course. Many of my previous online courses were extremely repetitive and the assignments were very bland. We did the same thing over and over again every week. Read the article and write a post about it. We are taught to question things in this course. We are pushed to be creative and research topics that we cannot find easy answers to. We are not punished for our opinions, rather rewarded for getting our creative juices flowing. One of my favorite assignments was the one where we had to search a question that we already knew the answer to. I had no idea that my question about the S on superman's chest would lead to gender equality. It taught me to always take a deeper look. This course is the kind of course Nelson was talking about. It's unique, and definitely meets his criteria." h/t Jon

"Three types of courses make up the CopyrightX Community: - a residential course on Copyright Law, taught by Prof. William Fisher to approximately 100 Harvard Law School students; - an online course divided into sections of 25 students, each section taught by a Harvard Teaching Fellow; - a set of affiliated courses based in countries other than the United States, each taught by an expert in copyright law."

""One thing I've been thinking about lately is that the way I present myself in the online course is pretty different from how I present myself in the face-to-face course. In the first iteration of the course, I presented myself in a way that I assumed would be most effective." She described emphasizing a scripted, polished presentation and a no-nonsense persona of clarity and precision. "Now I am concerned less with my authority as a teacher in an online environment. Before, I presented myself in a more authoritative matter, which was not as effective, because I had a certain feeling of a barrier between myself and the class." She explained how she was willing to risk "being more effusive, more warm in written communication, more bubbly for lack of a better term" than her initial impulses dictated. "

"So here's what I want to tell you about the online portion of Trump University: It probably puts your university's online courses to shame. It certainly makes a mockery of what Silicon Valley darlings Coursera and Udacity call courses."

focuses on Moodle but has some interesting points on the general effect of course introduction videos on online student engagement/participation "Studies point to an introductory course video from the instructor welcoming students as being able to cause shifts in course evaluations and discussion postings. For that reason, instructors should consider creating short videos greeting the students"

Jody, I've used Moodle as a student. It's free and open source. You'd just need a place to host it. Not sure if AltLab does that--but they should! I liked it, but didn't do a ton with it. This might be useful: http://elearning.guru/which-learning-management-system-comparing-blackboard-canvas-moodle-part-1-course-content/

AH! Thank you, this is tremendous!

Interesting idea . . . with some repercussions. "Courses are bogus.  You don't go to MIT for the courses (and every course that MIT teaches is online anyway).  You go to MIT so that you can learn how learn stuff that they haven't yet started a class for. "

As current and future student populations-made up of Millennials and Gen Zs, a generation collectively now referred to as Generation C-become even more digitally reliant, we'll see more students flock in record breaking numbers to flexible learning environments.

What's contributing to this growth? "Flex-classes," a preferred learning style among Gen Cs that offers "flex-attendance" options to join classes "in-person" or "online" throughout the duration of a course, allowing students to more efficiently, and affordably, learn anytime, anywhere.

In fact, if the current enrollment growth rate continues, nearly half of all college students will be enrolled in a flexible online learning course by 2020.

" In this course we will examine the tools and practices associated with networked, open, and digital scholarship. In particular we will investigate the emergent practice of scholars' use of social media and online social networks for sharing, critiquing, improving, furthering, and reflecting upon their scholarship."

When you register for a course, you often have a choice: in-person or online. But at Peirce College, you don't have to pick one or the other. All students will soon get access to both formats in the same course.

As new technologies allow digital lessons to be tailored to various learning styles, a growing number of programs are evolving to enable students with disabilities to take online courses created with their needs in mind.

Here's the course site for Mia Zamora's #WritingRace course.

"This report presents an overview of current video practice: the widespread use of video and its costs, the relevance of production value for learning, the pedagogical considerations of teaching online, and the challenges of standardizing production. Findings are based on a literature review, our observation of online courses, and the results of 12 semi-structured interviews with practitioners in the field of educational video production. "

" The Open Learning Initiative offers online courses to anyone who wants to learn or teach. Our aim is to combine open, high-quality courses, continuous feedback, and research to improve learning and transform higher education.Learn More "

"The findings also show faculty members are creating new opportunities with technology. Through experimentation with online education, for example, faculty members say they are able to serve a more diverse set of students and think more critically about how to engage students with course content, and with free and open course materials, they say they are increasing access to education."

"Students, while they may be savvy smart-phone, tablet, and/or computer users, may not be prepared for the particular challenge of college level learning in the online environment. Colleges can easily include these resources in existing online courses and learning environments."

"Traditional courses have long focused on tools and techniques for the presentation of content. Traditional concerns from faculty focused on covering the material, getting through the book and meeting expectations so that faculty in other courses won't muse and wonder,  "Didn't you learn these concepts from faculty X?"   And "Didn't you study the work and contributions of  ____ (Fill in your favorite who)"  A major drawback with designing for content as a priority is that it focuses attention on what the faculty member is doing, thinking and talking about and not on the interaction and engagement of students with the core concepts and skills of a course. The new focus on learners encourages a focus on learners as a priority. The new focus on the learner is to develop a habit of asking, what is going on inside the learner's head? How much of the content is being integrated into their knowledge base? How much of the content and the tools can he/she actually use? What are students thinking and how did they arrive at their respective positions? Additionally, we are seeing a shift to looking at the student no only as an individual, but as an individual within the learning community. Other questions that we are now considering include: How is the learner supporting the community of learners and contributing to the overall growth of the group? "

Great way to offer tech support to students in an online course, by the great Laura Gibbs at U. of Oklahoma