Online Higher Ed
Online Higher Ed
There’s an online-learning boom going on in higher education. The focus is on a relatively new model that promises to teach tens of thousands of students at a time for free, with a mix of short Web videos and automatically graded (or peer-graded) assignments. These new offerings are called massive open online courses, or MOOCs.
MOOCs evolved from earlier efforts to put university lecture notes online for free, public use. Back in 2001, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology started an ambitious effort to post lecture notes and other materials from all of its courses. No one called it a substitute for attending college, and one of the goals was to help teachers and professors elsewhere see models for designing their curricula. A handful of other universities also started so-called OpenCourseWare efforts, but it didn’t spark a revolution.
But free courseware efforts were a kind of long fuse, it turns out, for a blast that would come years later. YouTube emerged in 2005, making it free to distribute video to the masses. And broadband Internet access gradually became more widespread. Some universities began filming their lectures and posting some of them to YouTube channels, but the videos often felt tedious and hard to watch — presenting a view from the back row of learning.
It took someone outside of higher education—a former hedge-fund analyst named Salman Khan—to popularize a more Web-friendly way to teach online. In 2006 he started Khan Academy, full of short video clips (about 11 minutes each) on more-discrete topics than a typical college lecture. There are no classrooms or talking heads shown in these videos. Instead, Mr. Khan’s voice narrates as he draws and writes notes on a digital whiteboard.
Meanwhile, a few other professors were quietly experimenting with opening up their university courses to students online, essentially letting people audit for free from a distance. The freeloaders could participate in online discussions, and some even turned in homework.
A Stanford University computer-science professor named Sebastian Thrun was inspired by Khan Academy to create a free version of a course he was co-teaching about artificial intelligence. The idea got plenty of press coverage, and more than 160,000 students signed up — a number so large it got the attention of venture-capitalists in Silicon Valley. The boom was on.
Thrun started Udacity to offer MOOCs by professors at prestigious universities around the world. And two other Stanford professors, from the same department as Thrun, started Coursera, which began teaming up with highly selective colleges and universities to offer MOOCs. By the spring of 2013, Coursera had signed up 62 university partners and registered more than 3 million students from across the globe. Udacity, which has more than 160,000 students, recently partnered with San Jose State University for a pilot program of credit-bearing courses.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology jumped in as well. Along with Harvard University, it founded a nonprofit called edX to provide a platform to offer MOOCs. The two universities committed $60 million to start the project, and a handful of other universities have since joined in.
Most MOOCs offer their content for free but charge a small fee for a certificate to prove successful completion. Even the certificates carry no college credit, however.
But that might be changing. In February 2013, the American Council on Education, a Washington-based membership group of higher education institutions, recommended five Coursera courses for credit, as part of a program meant to help colleges decide whether to accept courses from unaccredited providers. San Jose State University is one of a few institutions that have experimented with offering credit to students who pass MOOCs, provided they pay the college a $150 fee.
Many reformers see MOOCs as a way to address a range of pressing problems in higher education. Some hope to bring down the cost of traditional classroom delivery by using “flipped classrooms,” in which students are assigned free lecture videos for homework, while class time is used to discuss the video material and do interactive exercises. Others hope that MOOCs will lead to low-cost alternatives to traditional campuses.
MOOCs face major challenges, however. Completion rates are often
tiny—typically around 10 percent—
in part because many people sign up for the free courses but then
never actually tune in. And cheating is a concern. MOOC providers
have set up methods to proctor tests for those who want a
verified certificate of completion.
These new online courses apparently played a role in the controversial ouster—and then reinstatement—of the University of Virginia’s president, Teresa Sullivan. In the days and weeks before her dismissal in 2012, members of the university’s board of visitors traded emails suggesting that they thought Sullivan was moving too slowly to explore MOOCs.
Meanwhile, plenty of colleges offer what is now seen as the old-fashioned version of online education. Such courses more closely mimic the classroom experience: They are led by individual professors who teach 20 to 30 students at a time and grade their homework by hand. For-profit colleges such as the University of Phoenix were early to this model, as were some state institutions, such as UMass Online, founded some 10 years ago. Those online courses are often not much cheaper than traditional courses, for students or the institutions that deliver them.
To help colleges move faster to offer traditional online degree programs, a few companies have emerged in recent years to pay for and help manage the programs’ creation, in exchange for a cut of future tuition revenue. Among those companies are the publishing and technology conglomerate Pearson and 2U, an education technology company formerly called 2tor. In general, the lines separating publisher, professor, university, and software company appear to be blurring as more courses move online.
College Made Them Feel Equal. The Virus Exposed How Unequal Their Lives Are.
The political science class was called “Forced Migration and Refugees.” Students read accounts of migrants fleeing broken economies and seeking better futures, of life plans drastically altered and the political forces that made it all seem necessary.
Then suddenly, the subject matter became personal: Haverford College shut down and evicted most students from the dormitories as the coronavirus spread through Pennsylvania.
Like many college courses around the country, the class soldiered on. The syllabus was revised. The students reconvened on a videoconferencing app.
Community Colleges Get Creative to Survive Spring, While Prepping For A Surge Next Fall
Latease Jordan’s college, like most colleges, is basically closed. Classrooms have shuttered, offices are locked shut, courses have shifted online.
Zoombombing Isn’t Going Away, And it Could Get Worse
A brief exchange is all it took for one student to completely derail an online accounting test at the University of Arizona yesterday.
“Don’t make it too obvious at the start that you are trolling, just ease into it lmao.”
“I got you, me and two other friends are joining.”
Armed with a Zoom videoconference ID, the trolls got to work. Their efforts to disrupt the test resulted in its cancellation. Students have been asked to complete the test in their own time, the university confirmed.
Faculty Face Uphill Battle Adapting to Needs of Today’s Students
Faculty are crucial for students. They serve as instructors and mentors. They connect students with a network that will help them succeed and get good jobs in the future.
But they can also get in the way.
As the student population shifts away from the traditional 18-year-old heading off to live in a dorm to students who are older and lower income, institutions and their faculty members are struggling to find mutually agreeable ways to support nontraditional students.
Remote Learning 101 in the Time of COVID-19
What reporters need to know as students, schools, and families adjust to the new reality of distance teaching and learning
For millions of K-12 students, remote learning at home has replaced bricks-and-mortar classrooms for the foreseeable future, as districts comply with orders to shut down schools in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
What do reporters need to know about remote teaching and learning? How is the shift playing out across the country? What are compelling story ideas for reporters covering the day-to-day aspects of this experiment in remote learning, as well as big-picture angles for down the road?
Ritual, Rhythm, Community: Everything Higher Ed Does Best, the Coronavirus Attacks
At first, the virus came for spring break.
Having taken the full measure of a global pandemic, college leaders across the nation have in recent days told students not to return from their annual bacchanals or service sojourns. What came instead was for many a crushing assignment: Move back in with your parents, and meet your professors online to finish out the academic year.
With Coronavirus Disrupting College, Should Every Student Pass?
Carlos Polanco was living in a dormitory just two weeks ago, taking classes and thinking mostly about getting good grades and life after graduation. Now he is back in Clifton, N.J., home schooling his 12-year-old sister, doing household chores and worrying about the health of his relatives in the Dominican Republic.
“It would be amazing if I could just focus on my classes,” said Mr. Polanco, a junior at Dartmouth College, “but I have a lot of people depending on me.”
Canceled Research, Sports, Recitals — College Students Are Coping With More Than Closed Campuses
Moving his education online because of the coronavirus presents a much bigger problem for Cameron Pelton than it does for many of his Indiana University classmates.
Pelton is studying ballet and choreography, subjects that don’t convert easily to virtual instruction. Meanwhile, auditions have been canceled and seniors who were hoping to land jobs with ballet companies have had those aspirations delayed.
COVID-19 Disrupts International Student Exchange in Both Directions
For international students studying at U.S. universities that suspended in-person classes, the last week has not been easy.
The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that international students can take classes online without it adversely affecting their visa statuses. But as the COVID-19 pandemic has forced universities to partially close their campuses, many unanswered questions remain.
Coronavirus Upends College: Students in Online Classes, No Graduation
In the span of roughly two weeks, the American higher education system has transformed. Its future is increasingly uncertain.
Most classes are now being held online, often for the rest of the semester. Dorms are emptying across the country. Some universities are even postponing or canceling graduation ceremonies scheduled months out. This is all the more surprising given most universities have a reputation for being reticent to change, especially in a short amount of time.
Meet the Instructional Design ‘First Responders’ Helping Faculty Teach in an Emergency
As coronavirus pushed campuses across the country to close, and college after college issued orders to resuscitate courses online, it became clear that faculty needed help, stat.
Diann Maurer answered the call. An instructional designer in Texas who weathered Hurricane Harvey, she knew firsthand what it’s like to try to keep education alive during a crisis. So she whipped up a few online forms, messaged colleagues on Twitter and together they created the Instructional Design Emergency Response Network.
Disruptions to California Community Colleges Possible Into Next Academic Year, Chancellor Says
Community colleges across California should prepare for significant disruptions through the end of the academic year and possibly into next academic year because of the spread of the coronavirus, the system’s chancellor said Monday.
Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley was also given broad emergency powers Monday by the system’s Board of Governors to ensure that students at the state’s 114 community colleges can continue their education as the virus spreads.
College Professors Make A Mad Dash Online As Classes Go Virtual
WBEZ
Professor Daniel Stanford has spent the past 14 years at DePaul University creating trainings and resources for faculty members, including a whole section about teaching remotely. When the university joined schools across the country this week in announcing it was shifting all classes online due to the new coronavirus, he and his colleagues were ready to help.
‘Organized Chaos’: Many Massachusetts Colleges Unprepared for Transition to Online Teaching
Like many educators across the country right now, professors at Berklee College of Music in Boston are scrambling to compose online courses and tune up their remote teaching skills. Berklee has a bit of a head start, though, since its online program already enrolls more than 11,000 students each year.
Debbie Cavalier, the CEO of Berklee Online, said music actually lends itself to teaching remotely.
Shock, Fear, and Fatalism: As Coronavirus Prompts Colleges to Close, Students Grapple With Uncertainty
Effectively booted off campus in an effort to contain coronavirus contagion, hundreds of thousands of college students are reacting with shock, uncertainty, sadness, and, in some cases, devil-may-care fatalism. Even as they hurriedly arrange logistical details, the stress of an uncertain future is taking a toll.
Masks, Gloves and Doritos: COVID-19 Rattles College Students, Faculty
ALBANY — By noon on Thursday, the dorms at University at Albany were eerily silent. In the Campus Center, small clusters of students waited around listlessly. Some wore masks or rubber gloves provided by the college upon request.
Sharinel Nunez, a sophomore from Brooklyn, said she wore the protective gear because she was planning to take public transportation back home later in the day.
“I don’t know if I’m safer here or in the city,” she said. “I feel like there are a lot of cases we still don’t know about.”
Rules Eased on Colleges Seeking to Close Their Campuses Amid Outbreak
The U.S. Department of Education has moved to ease rules on colleges and universities looking to shift their classes onto the internet, as closures of campuses cascaded with the hastening spread of the coronavirus.
With fears growing in higher education, the department has granted what it said was “broad approval” to schools seeking relief from federal standards as they activated “distance learning” programs that still must comply with higher education laws.
Stanford, Others Switch to Online Classes Temporarily Amid Coronavirus Fears
Stanford University canceled in-person classes for the final two weeks of the quarter, switching to online instruction amid rising concern about the coronavirus outbreak.
As the coronavirus first reported in China spreads in the United States, several schools have taken this step as a precaution, hoping to avoid further infections on campus.
The decisions, which affect tens of thousands of students and faculty members, will be closely watched as university leaders grapple with how best to fight the outbreak.
Six Ways Colleges And Universities Are Responding To Coronavirus
So far just a few U.S. higher education students have confirmed exposure to COVID-19, mainly through contact with patients in hospitals. There are no outbreaks centered on campuses, and young people as a group appear less susceptible to the disease.
University of Washington Preparing for Potential Escalation of Coronavirus
The University of Washington is, among higher education institutions, somewhat of a ground zero for the new coronavirus. Of the 11 people killed by the virus in the United States, 10 were in Washington State.
Last week an online petition was posted asking the university, which enrolls 59,000 students on three campuses, to close. It had nearly 24,000 signatures on Thursday.
Five Tips for Education Reporters Covering the Coronavirus
How COVID-19 health crisis could impact students and schools, and what education leaders are doing to prepare
As the number of reported cases of the COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, continues to mount in the U.S., here are five things education reporters should keep in mind when covering the health crisis and its impact on schools and colleges. (This post will be periodically updated as circumstances warrant.)
How Technology Is Changing the Future of Higher Education
Cruising to class in her driverless car, a student crams from notes projected on the inside of the windshield while she gestures with her hands to shape a 3-D holographic model of her architecture project.
It looks like science fiction, an impression reinforced by the fact that it is being demonstrated in virtual reality in an ultramodern space with overstuffed pillows for seats. But this scenario is based on technology already in development.
73rd EWA National Seminar
Postponed
EWA’s National Seminar is the largest annual gathering of journalists on the education beat. This year’s event in Orlando will explore an array of timely topics of interest to journalists from across the country, with a thematic focus on with a thematic focus on the vital roles that education and journalism play in democratic societies.
As More Colleges Experiment With Online Remediation, Some Students Flourish While Many Others Fall Behind
Unlike lecture courses, online programs allow students to plug away at their own speed on problems matched to their individual learning needs — a format that works well for some students. But there are also pitfalls to that approach.
How Technology Is Reshaping the Modern College Classroom
The good and bad of online classes, AI in grading and accessibility
Technological innovation, which has upended everything from the way we order lunch to how we find a life partner, is also revolutionizing education. Optical character recognition devices, artificial intelligence grading programs and powerful computers are profoundly remaking what goes on inside traditional college classrooms. In addition, about a third of college students are taking at least one course online.
EWA Tip Sheet: Covering College Certificates and Microcredentials
Here are resources for understanding non-degree higher education alternatives.
Students and workers looking to quickly advance their careers are beginning to seek shorter and cheaper alternatives to traditional college degrees. And colleges, worried about a decline in the number of “traditional” freshmen, are creating alternative programs to attract new tuition-payers.
72nd EWA National Seminar
Baltimore • May 6-8, 2019
EWA’s National Seminar is the largest annual gathering of journalists on the education beat. This year’s event in Baltimore, hosted by Johns Hopkins University’s School of Education, will explore an array of timely topics of interest to journalists from across the country, with a thematic focus on student success, safety, and well-being.
Higher Education Seminar Fall 2018
Las Vegas • UNLV • September 24-25, 2018
The Education Writers Association will hold its 2018 Higher Education Seminar Sept. 24-25 on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
The theme of this year’s intensive training event for journalists will be “Navigating Rapid Change.” This journalist-only event will offer two days of high-impact learning opportunities. The seminar will focus on how both postsecondary education and journalism are adjusting to an increasingly divisive political environment, the decline of traditional revenue sources, and continuing technological innovations that are upending much of the economy.
Adult College Students: The Undercovered 6.6 Million
35% of the college population are veterans, working parents and perpetual students like James Franco.
Adult learners, or college students aged 25 and older, are typically referred to as “nontraditional students,” in contrast to their younger, “traditional” student peers.
But that’s an oversimplification of “tradition.” Adult students have long been an important part of the college student body – whether it was the World War II veterans who flooded campuses thanks to the GI Bill, or seemingly perennial students like James Franco.
Inside the Scramble to Save Ashford U.
Investigative Reporting: Magazines and Weeklies
About the Entry
The Chronicle of Higher Education peers behind the scenes of the pushback against regulators by for-profit colleges, focusing on a company that worked to preserve revenue from veterans’ education benefits despite questions about the school’s eligibility for the federal program.
Entry Credit
The Teacher Strikes: What Reporters Need to Know
Teachers in Oklahoma and Kentucky are on the picket lines this week, pushing for better compensation for themselves and more money for schools in their respective states.
These strikes come just weeks after West Virginia’s schools were shuttered statewide for almost two weeks in March, eventually sparking the legislature there to award teachers pay raises.
Such work stoppages are historically rare, but the teachers involved say they were necessary to force resolutions to months - or even years - of stalled negotiations.
Questions to Ask as Schools Weigh Response to Student Walkouts
With student-led protests for stricter gun laws spreading, journalists probe districts' policies, preparedness
In the wake of one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history, a groundswell of student activism has jolted the gun control debate and left some school districts coping with the surge of civic engagement.
For education journalists, the developments present an opportunity to examine how local schools and districts are responding to and preparing for student demonstrations and walkouts. Are they encouraging students? Threatening to suspend them? Struggling to come up with a clear strategy?
71st EWA National Seminar
Los Angeles • May 16-18, 2018
EWA’s National Seminar is the largest annual gathering of journalists on the education beat. This multiday conference provides participants with top-notch training delivered through dozens of interactive sessions on covering education from early childhood through graduate school. Featuring prominent speakers, engaging campus visits, and plentiful networking opportunities, this must-attend conference provides participants with deeper understanding of the latest developments in education, a lengthy list of story ideas, and a toolbox of sharpened journalistic skills.
Higher Ed 2017: Covering Campus Conflict in the Time of Trump
Atlanta • October 2–3, 2017
From heated debates over free speech to the Trump administration’s threats to deport undocumented students, these are tense times on college campuses. For reporters who cover higher education, questions abound and important stories need to be told.
On Oct. 2-3, EWA will bring together journalists at Georgia State University in Atlanta to explore pressing issues in education after high school. (Here’s the preliminary agenda.) At this journalist-only seminar you will hear:
The Chronicle of Higher Education Turns 50
EWA Radio: Episode 101
Liz McMillen, the editor of the Chronicle of Higher Education, looks back at a half-century of milestone stories, memorable headlines, and key moments on the national higher education beat, many of which continue to echo today. Among them: equity and diversity, classroom technology, and free speech on campus. She discusses the Chronicle’s commitment to narrative journalism, lessons to be learned by looking back, and what’s ahead for the nation’s colleges and universities.
Competency-Based Education in College Settings
Competency-based education (CBE) has ignited a great deal of public interest in recent years because it allows students to learn and progress at a flexible pace and holds promise for filling workforce skills gaps. What makes it different? First and foremost, it measures learning rather than class time. Students move through material independently, usually in preparation for specific jobs, progressing when they demonstrate mastery of required knowledge and skills (called competencies).
Doing More With Higher Ed Data: From Policy to Newsrooms
Philadelphia • February 2–3, 2017
With colleges and universities under increased pressure to ensure that more students earn degrees without amassing mountains of debt, journalists are at the forefront in examining how these institutions measure up. But there’s one major obstacle that both colleges and reporters share when it comes to making sense of how well these schools are meeting their goals: insufficient data.
Competency-Based Education: More Interest and More Analysis
Scrap the lecture halls, final exams, degree plans and traditional semesters.
Back-to-School: You Need Stories, We’ve Got Ideas
For education reporters, coming up with fresh ideas for back-to-school stories is an annual ritual. And if you’re balancing the K-12 and higher education beats, it can be an even bigger challenge.
Obama Official: To Lower Cost of College, States Must Spend More
“The most expensive degree is the one you don’t get.” That’s Under Secretary of Education Ted Mitchell quoting former U.S. Ed Secretary Arne Duncan at the Education Writers Association’s National Seminar on Monday. Mitchell’s talk focused on how to prevent such a costly slip.
Higher Ed 2016
September 16–17 • Tempe, Arizona
What new techniques and practices should higher education embrace to ensure that more students graduate? Join the Education Writers Association September 16–17 at Arizona State University to explore cutting-edge innovations that aim to address financial, academic, and social barriers. More on the seminar theme.
This annual seminar is one of the largest gatherings of journalists covering postsecondary education. Network with others covering this beat and step up your coverage for the upcoming academic year.
Tempe, Arizona
Seven Challenges First-Generation College Students Face & How to Write About Them
While many first-generation students are excited and ambitious when they step on campus — eager to beat the odds and become the first in their families to earn a college degree — others struggle with guilt, fear and loneliness, sometimes even struggling to remember why they decided to attend college in the first place. And they grapple with these feelings while they also have to figure out how to apply for financial aid, register for classes, and manage the other necessities of undergraduate life knowing they can’t turn to their families for guidance based on experience.
Bill My Boss: Why Employer-Paid Tuition Is on the Rise
With a tepid economic recovery and wage growth that fails to meet expectations, some workers may be wondering whether there’s an antidote to the fiscal malaise.
Ten Higher Ed Story Ideas for 2015-2016 (Plus One Bonus)
In a word, perspective.
69th EWA National Seminar
The Education Writers Association, the national professional organization for journalists who cover education, is thrilled to announce that its annual conference will take place from Sunday, May 1, through Tuesday, May 3, 2016, in the historic city of Boston.
Co-hosted by Boston University’s College of Communication and School of Education, EWA’s 69th National Seminar will examine a wide array of timely topics in education — from early childhood through career — while expanding and sharpening participants’ skills in reporting and storytelling.
Can Innovation Improve Higher Education?
2015 EWA National Seminar
Higher education faces a major challenge: How to educate more students better as resources and funding at most colleges mostly stay flat. This discussion will examine whether new technology and new approaches such as competency-based education or MOOCs can make college more affordable and effective.
Can Innovation Improve Higher Education?
The challenges facing higher education today are widely known, but no one really knows the future as technology reshapes how college courses are delivered, how effectively they teach, and who takes them at what cost.
The 2015 Education Beat: Common Core, Testing, School Choice
There’s a busy year ahead on the schools beat – I talked to reporters, policy analysts and educators to put together a cheat sheet to a few of the stories you can expect to be on the front burner in the coming months:
Revamping No Child Left Behind
The 10 Higher Education Stories You Should Be Covering This Year
Scott Jaschik of Inside Higher Ed talks to reporters at EWA’s 2014 Higher Education Seminar.
Recorded Sept. 6, 2014, at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
How to Help the 21st Century College Student
When Mark Milliron met with an advertising team to promote a new type of college in Texas, he wasn’t expecting fireworks. Still, the pitch floored him.
“The Texas Two-Step: Sign Up. Succeed.”
It was the sentence that would appear on billboards and in radio advertisements, enticing thousands of working adults to enroll in an online college – Western Governors University Texas. And it totally missed the point.
A Chance to Earn College Credit for What You Already Know
A car salesman, a secretary and a military vet filed into a conference room for a new kind of high-stakes test – one that could earn them up to 30 college credits in a single day.
Interactive Online Learning on Campus
Testing MOOCs and Other Platforms in Hybrid Formats in the University System of Maryland
Since November 2012, Ithaka S+R has been working with the University System of Maryland (USM) to test a variety of online learning technologies, assess student learning outcomes, and document lessons learned from these implementations. The USM is serving as a test bed for employing MOOCs from Coursera, the Open Learning Initiative (OLI) from Carnegie Mellon, and Pearson in a variety of subject areas on different campuses. …
Looking specifically at how faculty in the USM incorporated MOOCs and OLI into their courses, our report points to several positive outcomes:
How Are Competency-Based Education and Student-Centered Learning Changing Schools?
More students are earning high school diplomas – but the diplomas don’t mean those students are ready to succeed in college.
Nicholas Donohue, president and CEO of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, made that observation as he began to argue for a dramatic rethinking of the way schools measure learning, promote students and award diplomas. He made the argument during a “Deep Dive on Competency-Based Education and Student-Centered Learning” at EWA’s National Seminar in Nashville in May.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Covering the College Student Experience
2014 Higher Ed Seminar
For many college students — whether fresh out of high school or adults returning to school — their most serious obstacles to a degree won’t be homework or tests, but rather the challenges of navigating student life. Colleges are now being forced to face the longstanding problems that have often led to students’ flailing and failing on their own.
Top 10 Higher Education Stories You Should Be Covering
For higher education reporters, Inside Higher Ed editor Scott Jaschik’s annual top-10 list of story ideas is a highlight of EWA’s National Seminar. This year at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Jaschik kicked off his roundup with an issue that has affected many institutions around the country: sexual assault. The key to covering this story, he said, is not to imply that this is a new problem. Increased attention from the White House has challenged the ways that many colleges have addressed these incidents.
Live From Nashville: EWA’s 67th National Seminar
I’ve often made the case that there’s no reporting beat where the reporters are more collegial – or more committed to their work - than education. EWA’s 67th National Seminar, hosted by Vanderbilt University, helped to prove that point.
As Education Debate Heats Up, Nicholas Lemann Holds the Line
“I Walk the Line.” Nashville’s late, great Johnny Cash first sang that classic country anthem in 1956. This week in Tennessee’s Music City, journalists were urged to hold the line—as “the referee and truth teller in this fight we are having in education.”
The exhortation came from Nicholas Lemann, professor and dean emeritus at Columbia Journalism School, speaking at a May 18 banquet to honor winners of the 2013 National Awards for Education Reporting.
Council for Adult & Experiential Learning
The nonprofit Council for Adult & Experiential Learning, or CAEL as it is commonly called, advocates for initiatives that enable adults to earn postsecondary credentials more efficiently. They “support ways to link learning from [adults'] work and life experiences to their educational goals—so they earn their degrees and credentials faster.” CAEL’s expertise includes efforts such as prior learning assessment and competency-based education.
Harvard, MIT: Despite Low Completion Rates, MOOCs Work
Long-anticipated research into massive open online courses taught by MIT and Harvard finds that, while very few participants complete these classes, many others take advantage of “substantial” amounts of the content.
Making Sense of MOOCs
With the year winding down, higher education journalists and pundits are wondering whether 2013 will be remembered as a tipping point for MOOCs – massive open online courses.
The Higher Ed Beat: Ten Story Ideas on Technology and Innovation
It’s been a busy year for higher education reporters, and the New Year promises plenty of challenging — and important – stories to cover. I thought it would be a good time to revisit one of our most popular sessions from EWA’s National Seminar, held at Stanford University. Today’s guest blogger is Delece Smith-Barrow of U.S.
Higher Ed Beat: What Are the Top 10 Stories on College Campuses?
I’ll admit it – I look forward every fall when Scott Jaschik shares his “cheat sheet”of story ideas at EWA’s annual Higher Education Seminar.This year we met at Northeastern University, and Scott didn’t disappoint.We asked journalists who attended the seminar to contribute posts, and today’s guest blogger is Michael Vasquez of the Miami Herald.For more on higher education issues, including community colleges,
Moving Beyond MOOCs
EWA held its annual Higher Education Seminar recently at Boston’s Northeastern University. We invited some of the education journalists in attendance to contribute posts from the sessions. Today’s guest blogger is Carl Straumsheim of Inside Higher Ed.
Is it possible that two education company executives, a researcher and a reporter could spend an hour discussing technology in higher education without mentioning massive open online courses?
The 10 Higher Ed Stories You Should Be Covering This Year
From the “gainful employment” debate to what’s next for MOOCs, Inside Higher Ed Editor Scott Jaschik offers his ideas on topics in postsecondary education that journalists should be tracking.
Making the Most of Online Education
Recorded at EWA’s 2013 Higher Ed seminar, “Guess Who’s Coming to Campus: What Demographic Changes Mean for Colleges and Reporters.”
Research has found that the types of students most likely to opt for online courses for reasons of access, including low-income, black and Latino students, are the same students who are least likely to succeed in those courses. What practices and programs are succeeding at beating this trend?
Making the Most of Online Education
Research has found that the types of students most likely to opt for online courses for reasons of access, including low-income, black and Latino students, are the same students who are least likely to succeed in those courses. What practices and programs are succeeding at beating this trend? Speakers: Thomas Bailey, Director, Community College Research Center; Jay Bhatt, President and CEO, BlackBoard Inc; Bror Saxberg, Chief Learning Officer, Kaplan Inc.; Steve Kolowich, Staff Reporter, The Chronicle of Higher Education (moderator) Recorded Saturday, Sept.
The 10 Higher Education Stories You Should Be Covering This Year
From the “gainful employment” debate to what’s next for MOOCs, Inside Higher Ed Editor Scott Jaschik offers his ideas on topics in postsecondary education that journalists should be tracking.
Recorded Friday, Sept. 27 at EWA’s 2013 Higher Ed Seminar, Guess Who’s Coming to Campus: What Demographic Changes Mean for Colleges and Reporters.
What Online Education Means for College Classrooms
Early registration is now open for EWA’s 2013 Higher Education Seminar, to be held Sept.28-29 at Northeastern University in Boston.This is a journalists-only event, and you can register and apply for a scholarship here.In the meantime, EWA’s 66th National Seminar was recently held at Stanford University, and we asked some of the education reporters attending to contribute blog posts from the sessions.Today’s guest blogger is Mary Beth Marklein of USA Today.&
Follow-Up Friday: A Step Back for MOOCs in California
There’s been no shortage of buzz of the past year or so predicting the escalating impact of MOOCs — massive open online courses — on the delivery of higher education. That’s why the news out of San Jose State University this week is worth noting.
Thomas Friedman on Competition, Common Core, and the Surge of MOOCs
EWA’s 66th National Seminar, held at Stanford University, took place in May. We asked some of the journalists attending to contribute posts from the sessions. The majority of the content will soon be available at EdMedia Commons. Patrick O’Donnell of the Cleveland Plain Dealer is today’s guest blogger.
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman doesn’t write about education, as such. He writes about power and about changes on a global level.
Will Online Khan Academy ‘Educate the World’?
EWA’s 66th National Seminar, held at Stanford University, took place earlier this month. We asked some of the journalists attending to contribute posts from the sessions. The majority of the content will soon be available at EdMedia Commons. Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing a few of the posts, including the ones from our keynote sessions. Justin Pope, higher education reporter for the Associated Press, is today’s guest blogger.
A Conversation with Sal Khan, Part 3
As the Q&A concludes, Khan fields questions on adapting lessons for an international audience, the MOOC model, and solving the problem of credentialing in online ed.
A Conversation with Sal Khan, Part 2
During the Q&A, Khan discusses the history of distance learning, the structure and composition of his videos, and how Khan Academy is beginning to approach assessments.
A Conversation with Sal Khan, Part 1
John Merrow of Learning Matters talks with the founder of Khan Academy about the beginnings of the online education startup.
Innovation Showcase: Blended Learning Boom
These interactive sessions feature reporters, analysts and educators spotlighting efforts under way to harness the power of innovation to spark new approaches to K-12 and higher education. In this session, Marcie Bober-Michel, San Diego State University, interviewed by Kyla Calvert, KPBS, about a boom in courses that blend online and face-to-face learning. Recorded May 4, 2013 at EWA’s 66th National Seminar at Stanford University.
What to Make of MOOCs
In less than two years, massive open online courses (MOOCs) have altered discussions about higher education reform and access. Following the announcement that a handful of the courses merit traditional college credit, MOOCs may be poised to alter students’ pathways to a diploma. Or they might be the latest example of Internet overreach. A discussion of the possibilities.
Speakers: Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed; Daphne Koller, Coursera; Bob Samuels, University Council-AFT; Cathy Sandeen, American Council on Education; Gabi Zolla, Council for Adult and Experiential Learning
Top 10 Stories on Innovation in Higher Education
What are the higher education stories on innovation that reporters should be following this year? Scott Jaschik, editor and co-founder of Inside Higher Ed, offers his insights on what stories are worth covering in the coming months.
What Online Education Means for College Classrooms
The rise of online education arguably represents the first real change in centuries to how courses are taught in postsecondary education, both on and off campus. This discussion examines the potential online teaching technologies have to change how students learn—both in lecture halls and cyberspace—and how universities function.
Speakers: Claudia Dreifus, The New York Times; Sir Michael Barber, Pearson; John Mitchell, Stanford University; Mark Smith, National Education Association
Recorded May 2, 2013 at EWA’s 66th National Seminar at Stanford University.
A Conversation with Thomas Friedman, Part 4: Information Overload, College Costs and Education as a Civil Right
From the Education Writers Association 2013 National Seminar, a discussion between Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tom Friedman (New York Times) and Stephanie Banchero (Wall Street Journal). Filmed at Stanford University.
During the Q & A portion of his talk, Friedman fields questions on the pitfalls of online education, being overwhelmed by information, and how technology might offset rising tuition costs.
A Conversation with Thomas Friedman, Part 3: Modern Career Opportunities, Fear of Technology and Reasons to Be Optimistic
From the Education Writers Association 2013 National Seminar, a discussion between Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tom Friedman (New York Times) and Stephanie Banchero (Wall Street Journal). Filmed at Stanford University.
In part 3, Friedman discusses how young people are faring in the job market and how U.S. schools compare with their international counterparts.
A Conversation with Thomas Friedman, Part 2: Missing the Point on MOOCs, Cost vs. Value in Higher Ed and the ‘401(k) World’
From the Education Writers Association 2013 National Seminar, a discussion between Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tom Friedman (New York Times) and Stephanie Banchero (Wall Street Journal). Filmed at Stanford University.
In part 2, Friedman talks about the boom in Massive Open Online Courses, the role of teachers in increasingly tech-focused classrooms, and the importance of motivation in a world of defined contributions.
A Conversation with Thomas Friedman, Part 1: Education as National Security and What Holds America Back
From the Education Writers Association 2013 National Seminar, a discussion between Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tom Friedman (New York Times) and Stephanie Banchero (Wall Street Journal). Filmed at Stanford University.
In part 1, Friedman discusses the idea of education as an economic and national security issue.
Feds Weigh College Financial Aid for Competency Based Learning
An interesting letter went out Tuesday from the U.S. Department of Education, asking interested colleges to submit applications for approval for federal financial aid for students in programs that take into account alternative measures — and not just credit hours — in awarding degrees.
Turning the Page on Textbooks: More Affordable Options
Plummeting prices for e-readers and tablet computers mean big changes for the textbook industry, as more students and professors clamor for digital versions of traditional paper editions. What does this shift in the publishing world mean for college costs, and how are universities getting e-textbooks into the hands of students? Panelists: Jeff Young, The Chronicle of Higher Education (moderator); Nicole Allen, U.S. PIRG; Bruce Hildebrand, Association of American Publishers; Mickey Levitan, Courseload.
Can Technology Fix Higher Education?
From EWA’s Nov 4-5 Higher Education Seminar at UCLA: As more students crowd classrooms, many colleges and professors are looking for new ways to use technology to make the learning experience more effective. From large-scale course redesigns to using Twitter to pass “notes” in class, what’s the impact when college courses get plugged in?
EWA Interview: Kaplan CEO on Online Learning
Andrew Rosen, chair and CEO of Kaplan Inc., talks about the boom in online education, and reacts to increased government regulation of private-sector institutions.
State Systems Go MOOC
Universities from New Mexico to New York will join Coursera in a sprawling expansion of the Silicon Valley startup’s efforts to take online education to the masses.
The No Significant Difference Phenomenon
This Web site aggregates studies measuring whether online college courses are as effective as traditional ones. Despite the site’s name, the database now includes research with a range of findings, but most show that students completing online courses learn as least as much as those in a classroom.
The Sloan Consortium
Supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, The Sloan Consortium promotes moving online education into the mainstream. It runs three major technology conferences each year and produces reports.
Educause
Educause is one of the largest organizations devoted to supporting technology professionals in higher education. Its Center for Applied Research compiles data and issues reports on trends in technology use at colleges.
League for Innovation in Community Colleges
The League for Innovation in Community Colleges is “specifically committed to improving community colleges through innovation, experimentation, and institutional transformation.” Founded in 1968, the League played a key role in helping to increase the number of community colleges nationally during the 1970s and currently is working to help community colleges improve their graduation rates.
Georgia Tech and Udacity Roll Out Massive New Low-Cost Degree Program
The Georgia Institute of Technology plans to offer a $7,000 online master’s degree to 10,000 new students over the next three years without hiring much more than a handful of new instructors.
NMC Horizon Report: Higher Education Edition
Each year this report identifies six key trends in technology in higher education and presents an analysis of their potential impacts. The 2013 edition predicts that MOOCs and tablet computing will become widespread at colleges within the next year.
Campus Computing Project
This project conducts one of the largest annual surveys of higher-ed technology leaders in the United States. Among the findings in the 2012 survey was a strong skepticism of whether a new model of online education known as MOOCs, or “massive open online courses,” could offer a new model for bringing in revenue.
What You Need to Know About MOOC’s
Colleges and professors have rushed to try a new form of online teaching known as MOOC’s—short for “massive open online courses.” The courses raise questions about the future of teaching, the value of a degree, and the effect technology will have on how colleges operate.
Online Courses Are Second Choice for Community College Students in Some Subject Areas
The wholesale replacement of community college curriculums with online courses might not be the best idea, according to new research from the Community College Research Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College.
Who Owns a MOOC?
At U. of California Santa Cruz, faculty leaders argue that Coursera’s deals with instructors endanger hard-won intellectual property rights.
New Technologies Aim to Foil Online Course Cheating
Companies such as ProctorU are creating technology to ensure that students in online courses do not cheat when it comes to taking tests.
The Minds Behind the MOOCs
This survey included views from more than 100 professors who were among the first to teach MOOCs, or “massive open online courses.”
The Race to Fill Online Classrooms Expands Overseas
Two platforms for Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) each announced that they are expanding their reach with international partners.
American Council on Education Recommends 5 MOOCs for Credit
In what could be a major step toward bridging the gap between massive open online courses and the credentialing system, the American Council on Education has endorsed five MOOCs for credit.
Online Class on How to Teach Online Classes Goes Laughably Awry
In the span of a week, an online course on how to teach online courses turned into a master class in how not to.
Adaptability to Online Learning: Differences Across Types of Students and Academic Subject Areas
This study found that students who take more online courses are less likely to earn a degree. It is based on data from 500,000 courses taken by more than 40,000 community- and technical-college students in Washington State.
The New Intelligence
Knewton says its data-rich system can read students’ minds. The company has landed Arizona State and Pearson as partners—will the rest of higher education follow?
‘A Bill of Rights and Principles for Learning in the Digital Age’
Drafted by a dozen educators brought together by MOOC pioneer Sebastian Thrun, the founder of Udacity, this document proposes a set of “inalienable rights” that the authors say students and their advocates should demand from institutions and companies that offer online courses and technology tools.
Changing Course: Ten Years of Tracking Online Education in the United States
This report, produced jointly by Babson Survey Research Group and the College Board, offers a nationwide look at colleges’ use of online learning. It found that 32 percent of college students have taken at least one online course and that the number of online students has risen steadily for years.
College of the Future Could Be Come One, Come All
The spread of MOOCs is likely to have wide fallout, potentially drawing students away from lower-tier colleges.
The Siege of Academe
For years, Silicon Valley has failed to breach the walls of higher education with disruptive technology. But the tide of battle is changing.
MOOC Mania
Free online courses are raising big questions about the future of higher education.
Dozens of Plagiarism Incidents Are Reported in Coursera’s Free Online Courses
Students are cheating in MOOCs, even though they carry no credit.
Inside the Coursera Contract: How an Upstart Company Might Profit From Free Courses
Colleges that usually move at a glacial pace are rushing into deals with the upstart company. What exactly have they signed up for
The Stanford Education Experiment Could Change Higher Learning Forever
When two computer-science professors opened their course up to the world, 160,000 people signed up
Could Many Universities Follow Borders Bookstores Into Oblivion?
Two experts from Georgia Tech talk about the challenges and opportunities facing colleges at a time of economic pain and technological change
Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses
Proponents of online education frequently cite this book-length report, which offers a scathing indictment of the quality of teaching at traditional colleges. The authors used a standardized test called the Collegiate Learning Assessment to compare what students knew as they entered college to their performance at the end of their second year of college, and found that 45 percent showed no significant improvement in a range of skills.