Category Archives:
Inside Online Learning
Calling All Online Instructors: It’s Connected Educator Month!
How are you connecting with your colleagues? As part of the U.S. Department of Education’s Connected Online Communities of Practice (COCP) project, the first ever “Connected Educator Month” reminds us of the benefits of learning from our teaching peers at all levels of education. A primary goal of the event is to encourage us to […]
Making the Most of a MOOC
Would you like to take an online course from Duke, Stanford, The University of Edinburgh, or the University of Toronto? You can, via their partnerships with Coursera. The list of schools that have recently announced MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) development is impressive and continues to grow. There are those who embrace the MOOC as […]
Is a Bachelor’s Degree Enough?
If you are currently involved in the job search process you may be asking yourself this question. It was also addressed at PayScale.com‘s Google+ Hangout presentation last week. The speakers, a panel including employment recruiters, educators, and research analysts, shared a range of responses relevant to today’s college students and job seekers. There was a […]
Online Teaching and Learning: The 2012 Effective Practice Awards
Looking for new ideas for your online course? This annual awards program from The Sloan Consortium highlights innovative online teaching and learning strategies with demonstrated evidence of success. A seven-member panel reviews the practices that have been added to the system throughout the year – each practice goes through and initial submission and peer review […]
What’s the Best Career Advice You’ve Ever Received?
This was the question posed to me, and a room full of about a hundred career services professionals, at a recent presentation. In a small group exercise, we were each asked to turn to the person next to us and share our answers. I immediately wondered what it would be like to capture all of […]
An Update on Gainful Employment
Last year I wrote about Gainful Employment and initial drafts of the “rule anticipated to go into effect by July 2012.” What has happened since then? Gainful Employment requires that institutions offering vocational programs (i.e., non-degree, certificates) show evidence that they prepare their students for entry into the workforce. According to a recent press release […]
Finding an Online Course to Finish Your Degree
In the last several weeks I’ve received two questions from readers related to the topic of locating and enrolling in online courses that would count as part of a traditional degree program. One of the potential benefits of online education is being able to take advantage of not only the convenience of any time, any […]
How Usable Is Your Online Course Content?
The worlds of web design and online learning are interconnected in many ways. As an instructional designer, I work to ensure that courses are effective not only in terms of online navigation and working links, but also in the presentation of meaningful content and interaction. Not all websites are created equal – some have much […]
Will You Fit In? Conducting Company Research with Social Media
The Internet allows for a networking two-way street – just as recruiters can search for information about you as a potential applicant through social media, you can use social media to find out more about them, too. Company profiles and accounts are established to foster community connections and provide a place, and often a point […]
How Are Online Programs Serving Adult Learners?
Our lives are increasingly busy as we try to juggle multiple roles and responsibilities, and adding school to the schedule only extends the list of things we need to accomplish each week. A 2011 study [PDF] from Noel-Levitz higher education consultants found that the majority of online learners are adults (55% are 35 and over) […]