Online flexibility has rising appeal by Andrew Trounson

THE effectiveness and efficiency of online learning will come under increased scrutiny during the review of teaching funding.
The scrutiny comes as people start asking whether face-to-face learning is more expensive to deliver.

Curtin University's director of e-Learning Tony Herrington argues there is no basis to downgrade the worth of modern online learning and that it demands the same funding priority as face-to-face.

He also argues academic teaching load is the same whether the students are in a real classroom or online.

Associate Professor Herrington said the emergence of face-to-face online learning through software such as Skype and virtual classrooms is making the differences between the two teaching methods irrelevant. The flexibility that online provides digitally savvy students is increasingly attractive, he said.

He also believed online learning can be superior to face-to-face environments if students are left sitting passively in lecture theatres.
Read more...

Source: The Australian 

Online flexibility has rising appeal by Andrew Trounson

THE effectiveness and efficiency of online learning will come under increased scrutiny during the review of teaching funding.
The scrutiny comes as people start asking whether face-to-face learning is more expensive to deliver.

Curtin University's director of e-Learning Tony Herrington argues there is no basis to downgrade the worth of modern online learning and that it demands the same funding priority as face-to-face.

He also argues academic teaching load is the same whether the students are in a real classroom or online.

Associate Professor Herrington said the emergence of face-to-face online learning through software such as Skype and virtual classrooms is making the differences between the two teaching methods irrelevant. The flexibility that online provides digitally savvy students is increasingly attractive, he said.

He also believed online learning can be superior to face-to-face environments if students are left sitting passively in lecture theatres.
Read more...

Source: The Australian 

New Research: Blended Learning and the Rise of Online Learning in K-12 Education

In the best-selling education book “Disrupting Class,” the authors, Clayton Christensen, Michael Horn and Curtis Johnson predicted that by 2019, 50 percent of all high school courses will be delivered online.
Today, co-author Michael Horn, executive director of Innosight Institute, and Heather Staker, a senior research fellow at Innosight Institute, released new research in conjunction with the Charter School Growth Fund and Public Impact, which expands on this prediction and documents the rise of blended learning.

Blended learning is defined as any time a student learns at least in part at a supervised brick-and-mortar location away from home and at least in part through online delivery with some element of student control over time, place, path, and/or pace.

“U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently described a ‘new normal,’ where schools have to do more with less,” said Horn. “Blended learning will play a vital role, as school operators must rethink education’s structure and delivery with the new realities of public funding.”  
Read more... 

About Innosight Institute
Innosight Institute is a nonprofit/nonpartisan think tank based in Mountain View, Calif. whose mission is to apply Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen’s theories of disruptive innovation to develop and promote solutions to the problems in education.

About Charter School Growth Fund
The Charter School Growth Fund invests philanthropic venture capital in the nation's highest-performing charter school operators to dramatically expand their impact on underserved students.

About Public Impact 
Public Impact is a national education policy and management consulting firm based in Chapel Hill, N.C. which helps education leaders and policymakers improve student learning in K-12 education
Related link
Blended Learning and the Rise of Online Learning in K-12 Education (PDF)

Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns
By Clayton M. Christensen, Curtis W. Johnson and Michael B. Horn

Applies Bill Gates' theory of 'disruptive innovation' to a much-needed evolution in educational technologies - offering opportunities and challenges for the business community. This book shows how tomorrow's innovations in education will change the way the world learns - and what businesses can do to meet those changing demands. 
Buy the Book   

Source: Business Wire  

New Research: Blended Learning and the Rise of Online Learning in K-12 Education

In the best-selling education book “Disrupting Class,” the authors, Clayton Christensen, Michael Horn and Curtis Johnson predicted that by 2019, 50 percent of all high school courses will be delivered online.
Today, co-author Michael Horn, executive director of Innosight Institute, and Heather Staker, a senior research fellow at Innosight Institute, released new research in conjunction with the Charter School Growth Fund and Public Impact, which expands on this prediction and documents the rise of blended learning.

Blended learning is defined as any time a student learns at least in part at a supervised brick-and-mortar location away from home and at least in part through online delivery with some element of student control over time, place, path, and/or pace.

“U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently described a ‘new normal,’ where schools have to do more with less,” said Horn. “Blended learning will play a vital role, as school operators must rethink education’s structure and delivery with the new realities of public funding.”  
Read more... 

About Innosight Institute
Innosight Institute is a nonprofit/nonpartisan think tank based in Mountain View, Calif. whose mission is to apply Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen’s theories of disruptive innovation to develop and promote solutions to the problems in education.

About Charter School Growth Fund
The Charter School Growth Fund invests philanthropic venture capital in the nation's highest-performing charter school operators to dramatically expand their impact on underserved students.

About Public Impact 
Public Impact is a national education policy and management consulting firm based in Chapel Hill, N.C. which helps education leaders and policymakers improve student learning in K-12 education
Related link
Blended Learning and the Rise of Online Learning in K-12 Education (PDF)

Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns
By Clayton M. Christensen, Curtis W. Johnson and Michael B. Horn

Applies Bill Gates' theory of 'disruptive innovation' to a much-needed evolution in educational technologies - offering opportunities and challenges for the business community. This book shows how tomorrow's innovations in education will change the way the world learns - and what businesses can do to meet those changing demands. 
Buy the Book   

Source: Business Wire  

Improving the E-learning Experience with web-based tool - Showdocument.com

ShowDocument is a service which allows professionals, teachers and students to collaborate using a variety of tools such as whiteboard, a text editor and more. Files can be uploaded, edited and saved offline or on our secured storage system. Opening a session requires no installation, and can be done directly from the main site at http://www.showdocument.com.

Photo: ShowDocument

In a White Paper (PDF) ShowDocument describes, "Learning is a deeply personal act that is facilitated when learning experiences are relevant, reliable,and engaging and different kinds of learning demand appropriate strategies, tools, and resources.

It is clear that a variety of technical and pedagogical features are vital when designing an effective e-learning platform. An e-learning platform should also allow students and teachers to communicate using text, voice and video; upload and co-edit text documents; and simultaneously view and annotate a wide range of computer files, including images, forms, video clips and web pages.

ShowDocument is a ‘Software as a Service’ (SaaS) e-learning application. ShowDocument provides students with advanced real-time communication and collaboration tools that enable them to initiate and participate in fully-synchronized ‘face-to-face’ online meetings with teachers.

ShowDocument is hosted on the Internet and accessed on demand - which requires no configuration or maintenance by technical personnel, and no purchase, download or installation, by e-learners and e-teachers. Created by HBR Labs, ShowDocument provides the opportunity to create an effective e-learning platform for a variety of educational communities. In sum, the ShowDocument e-learning platform takes a learning approach to e-learning.

Related links
Document Sharing and Web Meetings with a Single Click
Watch a Demo Video 

About ShowDocument
We specialize in providing free and low-cost online collaboration solutions, including document sharing, web meetings, and shared whiteboards. Meet your colleagues, clients and fellow students online with ShowDocument.
ShowDocument is a product of HBR Labs, a company that was founded in 2007 on the belief that in order for an interconnected world to work, people will need to use the web to meet and collaborate on projects.
And participating in a web meeting means more than just talking or listening in. It means working on files together, brain-storming withinteractive whiteboards, sharing documents and images, watching videos together, and a whole lot more.
One of the challenges of globalization is that it means people will access the web in many different types of environments. Students go online in coffee bars that tend to have unstable Internet connections. Corporate employees access the web from behind rigid firewalls. Many users will be prohibited by office policy (or by the age of their machine) from downloading plug-ins or software.
So HBR Labs set out to design a platform that eliminates all obstacles to online document sharing and collaboration. And that’s just what we did with ShowDocument (as well as with our sister product for corporations, VeriShow).
ShowDocument is a collaboration platform that lets you conduct web meetings with anyone anywhere anytime. All you need is a computer and a connection to the Internet. It’s quick and easy to use. Our business model is Freemium. We offerfree document sharing along with affordable feature-rich subscriptions. And ShowDocument requires no fussing with software or plug-ins to use. 

Source: ShowDocument 

Improving the E-learning Experience with web-based tool - Showdocument.com

ShowDocument is a service which allows professionals, teachers and students to collaborate using a variety of tools such as whiteboard, a text editor and more. Files can be uploaded, edited and saved offline or on our secured storage system. Opening a session requires no installation, and can be done directly from the main site at http://www.showdocument.com.

Photo: ShowDocument

In a White Paper (PDF) ShowDocument describes, "Learning is a deeply personal act that is facilitated when learning experiences are relevant, reliable,and engaging and different kinds of learning demand appropriate strategies, tools, and resources.

It is clear that a variety of technical and pedagogical features are vital when designing an effective e-learning platform. An e-learning platform should also allow students and teachers to communicate using text, voice and video; upload and co-edit text documents; and simultaneously view and annotate a wide range of computer files, including images, forms, video clips and web pages.

ShowDocument is a ‘Software as a Service’ (SaaS) e-learning application. ShowDocument provides students with advanced real-time communication and collaboration tools that enable them to initiate and participate in fully-synchronized ‘face-to-face’ online meetings with teachers.

ShowDocument is hosted on the Internet and accessed on demand - which requires no configuration or maintenance by technical personnel, and no purchase, download or installation, by e-learners and e-teachers. Created by HBR Labs, ShowDocument provides the opportunity to create an effective e-learning platform for a variety of educational communities. In sum, the ShowDocument e-learning platform takes a learning approach to e-learning.

Related links
Document Sharing and Web Meetings with a Single Click
Watch a Demo Video 

About ShowDocument
We specialize in providing free and low-cost online collaboration solutions, including document sharing, web meetings, and shared whiteboards. Meet your colleagues, clients and fellow students online with ShowDocument.
ShowDocument is a product of HBR Labs, a company that was founded in 2007 on the belief that in order for an interconnected world to work, people will need to use the web to meet and collaborate on projects.
And participating in a web meeting means more than just talking or listening in. It means working on files together, brain-storming withinteractive whiteboards, sharing documents and images, watching videos together, and a whole lot more.
One of the challenges of globalization is that it means people will access the web in many different types of environments. Students go online in coffee bars that tend to have unstable Internet connections. Corporate employees access the web from behind rigid firewalls. Many users will be prohibited by office policy (or by the age of their machine) from downloading plug-ins or software.
So HBR Labs set out to design a platform that eliminates all obstacles to online document sharing and collaboration. And that’s just what we did with ShowDocument (as well as with our sister product for corporations, VeriShow).
ShowDocument is a collaboration platform that lets you conduct web meetings with anyone anywhere anytime. All you need is a computer and a connection to the Internet. It’s quick and easy to use. Our business model is Freemium. We offerfree document sharing along with affordable feature-rich subscriptions. And ShowDocument requires no fussing with software or plug-ins to use. 

Source: ShowDocument 

Why Online Education Will Attain Full Scale by John Sener

The Sloan Consortium’s Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks examines the potential of online education.

The latest Sloan Survey of Online Learning revealed nearly 30 percent of all college and university students now take at least one course online. As adoption of online learning continues to increase, issues related to scale, such as quality, access and acceptance, become paramount. In the latest issue of the Sloan Consortium’s (Sloan-C) scholarly periodical, Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks (JALN), experts describe the practice and potential of online education.

JALN Volume 14, Issue 4, begins with an article titled, “Why Online Education Will Attain Full Scale,” by John Sener, who reasons online education “will soon become a routine, commonplace, and integral part of the educational experience.”

Abstract:
Online higher education has attained scale and is poised to take the next step in its growth. Although significant obstacles to a full scale adoption of online education remain, we will see full scale adoption of online higher education within the next five to ten years. Practically all higher education students will experience online education in some form during their collegiate career, and college students will be able to take online or blended degree programs and certificates in almost any subject. Full scale online education will occur as the result of compounded growth, increased familiarity and acceptance, various models of scalability, and possible wildcards which may accelerate growth. Online education will also attain full scale by becoming fully integrated into mainstream education. This transformation is necessary for online learning to reach its potential to improve the quality of education.
Read more...  

JALN access is free to members and non members can purchase individual pdfs or print copies.

Source: Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks (JALN) 

Why Online Education Will Attain Full Scale by John Sener

The Sloan Consortium’s Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks examines the potential of online education.

The latest Sloan Survey of Online Learning revealed nearly 30 percent of all college and university students now take at least one course online. As adoption of online learning continues to increase, issues related to scale, such as quality, access and acceptance, become paramount. In the latest issue of the Sloan Consortium’s (Sloan-C) scholarly periodical, Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks (JALN), experts describe the practice and potential of online education.

JALN Volume 14, Issue 4, begins with an article titled, “Why Online Education Will Attain Full Scale,” by John Sener, who reasons online education “will soon become a routine, commonplace, and integral part of the educational experience.”

Abstract:
Online higher education has attained scale and is poised to take the next step in its growth. Although significant obstacles to a full scale adoption of online education remain, we will see full scale adoption of online higher education within the next five to ten years. Practically all higher education students will experience online education in some form during their collegiate career, and college students will be able to take online or blended degree programs and certificates in almost any subject. Full scale online education will occur as the result of compounded growth, increased familiarity and acceptance, various models of scalability, and possible wildcards which may accelerate growth. Online education will also attain full scale by becoming fully integrated into mainstream education. This transformation is necessary for online learning to reach its potential to improve the quality of education.
Read more...  

JALN access is free to members and non members can purchase individual pdfs or print copies.

Source: Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks (JALN) 

How to predict the future with game theory by Professor Bruce Bueno de Mesquita

Virtual Professors showcases the most interesting free online college courses and lectures from top university professors and industry experts.

Virtual Professors writes, "Hailed as “the new Nostradamus,” Bruce Bueno de Mesquita has been shaking the world of political science to its foundations with his predictions of world events. His systems based on game theory have an astonishing 90%+ ratio of accuracy and are frequently used to shape US foreign-policy decisions on issues such as the terrorist threat to America to the peace process in Northern Ireland.
Considered by many to be the most important foreign-policy analyst there is, it is no surprise that he is regularly consulted by the CIA and US Department of Defense."

In this lecture below Professor Bueno de Mesquita looks at what is needed to reliably anticipate and even alter events in any situation involving negotiation in the shadow of the threat of coercion. He will demonstrate how to bring science to decision making in any situation from personal to professional.

Predictioneer: How to predict the future with game-theory




About Bruce Bueno de Mesquita
Bruce is the Julius Silver Professor of Politics and Director of the Alexander Hamilton Center for Political Economy at New York University and a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is also a partner in Mesquita & Roundell, LLC (212 632 3950; contact harry@mesquita-roundell.com), a New York-based consulting firm that uses game theory models he developed to assist corporations and the U.S. intelligence and policymaking community in complex negotiations involving mergers and acquisitions, litigation, regulation, and national security matters.

Bruce received his doctorate in political science from the University of Michigan in 1971 and a doctorate (Honoris Causa) from the University of Groningen in 1999. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Council on Foreign Relations, a former Guggenheim Fellow, the 2007 recipient of South Korea’s DMZ Peace Prize, and the recipient of many other academic honors for his teaching and his research.
Read more... 

The Predictioneer's Game: Using the Logic of Brazen Self-Interest to See and Shape the Future
By Bruce Bueno de Mesquita

The Predictioneer’s Game uses game theory, which is a fancy label for a simple idea – people compete, and they always do what they think is in their own best interest – and its insights into human behavior to predict and even engineer political, financial, and personal events. The forecasts derived by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita have been employed by everyone from the CIA to major business firms, and have an amazing 90 percent accuracy rate. This dazzling and revelatory book shares his startling methods and lets you play along in a range of high-stakes negotiations and conflicts.

Revealing the origins of game theory and the advances made by John Nash, the Nobel Prize–winning scientist perhaps best known from A Beautiful Mind, Bueno de Mesquita details the controversial and cold-eyed system of calculation that he has since created, one that allows individuals to think strategically about what their opponents want, how much they want it, and how they might react to every move. From there, Bueno de Mesquita games such events as the North Korean disarmament talks and the Middle East peace process and recalls, among other cases, how he correctly predicted which corporate clients of the Arthur Andersen accounting firm were most likely engaged in fraudulent activity (hint: one of them started with an E). And looking as ever to the future, Bueno de Mesquita also demonstrates how game theory can provide successful strategies to combat both global warming (instead of relying on empty regulations, make nations compete in technology) and terror (figure out exactly how much U.S. aid will make Pakistan fight the Taliban).
Read more... 

Related link
The Predictioneer’s Game

Source: Virtual Professors and The Predictioneer’s Game  

How to predict the future with game theory by Professor Bruce Bueno de Mesquita

Virtual Professors showcases the most interesting free online college courses and lectures from top university professors and industry experts.

Virtual Professors writes, "Hailed as “the new Nostradamus,” Bruce Bueno de Mesquita has been shaking the world of political science to its foundations with his predictions of world events. His systems based on game theory have an astonishing 90%+ ratio of accuracy and are frequently used to shape US foreign-policy decisions on issues such as the terrorist threat to America to the peace process in Northern Ireland.
Considered by many to be the most important foreign-policy analyst there is, it is no surprise that he is regularly consulted by the CIA and US Department of Defense."

In this lecture below Professor Bueno de Mesquita looks at what is needed to reliably anticipate and even alter events in any situation involving negotiation in the shadow of the threat of coercion. He will demonstrate how to bring science to decision making in any situation from personal to professional.

Predictioneer: How to predict the future with game-theory




About Bruce Bueno de Mesquita
Bruce is the Julius Silver Professor of Politics and Director of the Alexander Hamilton Center for Political Economy at New York University and a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is also a partner in Mesquita & Roundell, LLC (212 632 3950; contact harry@mesquita-roundell.com), a New York-based consulting firm that uses game theory models he developed to assist corporations and the U.S. intelligence and policymaking community in complex negotiations involving mergers and acquisitions, litigation, regulation, and national security matters.

Bruce received his doctorate in political science from the University of Michigan in 1971 and a doctorate (Honoris Causa) from the University of Groningen in 1999. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Council on Foreign Relations, a former Guggenheim Fellow, the 2007 recipient of South Korea’s DMZ Peace Prize, and the recipient of many other academic honors for his teaching and his research.
Read more... 

The Predictioneer's Game: Using the Logic of Brazen Self-Interest to See and Shape the Future
By Bruce Bueno de Mesquita

The Predictioneer’s Game uses game theory, which is a fancy label for a simple idea – people compete, and they always do what they think is in their own best interest – and its insights into human behavior to predict and even engineer political, financial, and personal events. The forecasts derived by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita have been employed by everyone from the CIA to major business firms, and have an amazing 90 percent accuracy rate. This dazzling and revelatory book shares his startling methods and lets you play along in a range of high-stakes negotiations and conflicts.

Revealing the origins of game theory and the advances made by John Nash, the Nobel Prize–winning scientist perhaps best known from A Beautiful Mind, Bueno de Mesquita details the controversial and cold-eyed system of calculation that he has since created, one that allows individuals to think strategically about what their opponents want, how much they want it, and how they might react to every move. From there, Bueno de Mesquita games such events as the North Korean disarmament talks and the Middle East peace process and recalls, among other cases, how he correctly predicted which corporate clients of the Arthur Andersen accounting firm were most likely engaged in fraudulent activity (hint: one of them started with an E). And looking as ever to the future, Bueno de Mesquita also demonstrates how game theory can provide successful strategies to combat both global warming (instead of relying on empty regulations, make nations compete in technology) and terror (figure out exactly how much U.S. aid will make Pakistan fight the Taliban).
Read more... 

Related link
The Predictioneer’s Game

Source: Virtual Professors and The Predictioneer’s Game