eLearning at CPTC

Online Learning Set for Explosive Growth as Traditional Classrooms Decline

2011-01-26T11:21:00.000-08:00

By 2015, 25 million post-secondary students in the United States will be taking classes online. And as that happens, the number of students who take classes exclusively on physical campuses will plummet, from 14.4 million in 2010 to just 4.1 million five years later, according to a new forecast released by market research firm Ambient Insight. More...

World Library of Science

2011-01-25T15:19:00.000-08:00

See post by Sir John Daniel on the "World Library of Science," a joint venture between UNESCO and Nature Publishing Group.

...launch of a partnership between UNESCO and the Nature Publishing Group to create the World Library of Science, which will be the first open online learning resource covering the entire life and physical science curriculum at the secondary and post-secondary level. Nature Publishing is the world's premier scientific publisher. As well as its flagship journals Nature and Scientific American, it publishes 70 other leading science journals.

The Library will offer high-quality material drawn from Nature Publishing Group's publications as well as new instructional materials developed specifically for the World Library of Science.

It will contain 2500-3000 learning modules in all concepts of life and physical sciences arranged into standard curricula but capable of full customization by all institutions; and a robust web-based and mobile-based delivery system providing access to materials, tutors, and academic information to any faculty or student with basic connectivity.

This is an ambitious project, which claims that it "is intended to transform global science education by creating a common ground of current, research-oriented, vetted information and curriculum for all".

Content will be licensed with CC-BY-SA

There's an App for That

2011-01-24T09:06:00.001-08:00

A group of K-12 educators has put together a list of apps for education. Find the list at: http://theresanappforthat.wikispaces.com/.

eLearning Community Online Learning Sessions

2011-01-18T09:43:00.000-08:00

This Wednesday the 19^th at 3 PM there will be the first in a series of online sessions in Elluminate, planned for faculty who use or are interested in online learning technologies and associated teaching and learning best practices. The topics will cover use of ANGEL, Elluminate, Tegrity and other core technologies supported by the Washington State Board of Community and Technical Colleges and/or in common use in our system. These sessions are open to anyone wanting to attend and will be facilitated by eLearning professionals from system colleges and state board, eLearning staff. The list of topics is determined by the group of presenters and by suggestions to be made by attendees.

Also, beginning this week and continuing for the foreseeable future, there will also now be open office hours in Elluminate, every Wednesday at ten AM. These sessions, which will be without topic or agenda, are for any staff member or instructor who wants to come ask questions or get help using ANGEL, Elluminate, or Tegrity. The sessions will be attended by the same eLearning personnel who will make the weekly presentations.

Participants may log into Elluminate for all sessions and open office hours via this link:

Participant Link:

http://goo.gl/JpmfU

All sessions will be recorded and available via this link:

http://goo.gl/wi2Ab

To view the session schedule, follow this link:

http://goo.gl/cr2R5

If you have suggestions for how to improve the format of these sessions or a suggestion for a future topic, please fill in this form:

http://goo.gl/i6OGF

JFK library opens first online presidential archive

2011-01-18T09:31:00.000-08:00

In a move that will make primary-source documents more accessible for students, Caroline Kennedy unveiled the nation’s first online presidential archive on Jan. 13, a $10 million project to digitize the most important papers, photographs, and recordings of President John F. Kennedy’s days in office. More...

Free Access to Educational Tools

2011-01-12T14:13:00.000-08:00

Teachers are faced with daily challenges like: What standards am I required to teach? Where can I find quality education resources? How do I implement these resources in my classroom? And, given the current economic climate and numerous budget cutbacks, how can I find resources at no cost?

The Gateway to 21st Century Skills website provides a wealth of educational materials like lesson plans, instructional units, and classroom activities right at your fingertips. Teachers can discover resources that meet their needs can see how each resource is mapped to their specific state standards or the Common Core Standards. All the 50,000 plus educational resources are made available for free from the National Education Association sponsorship.http://www.TheGateway.org

Education in the Palm of Your Hand: 5 Questions with Brent Williams

2011-01-12T14:03:00.000-08:00

For the last decade, according to futurist Brent Williams, schools have been doing a disservice to students by failing to give them access to the most advanced technologies that budgets will allow. More...

State of Washington to Offer Online Materials as Texts

2011-01-10T08:38:00.000-08:00

It's a question that students, and a growing number of their professors, are asking: Why require students to buy expensive textbooks every year, when the Internet is awash in information, much of it free? After all, the words of Plato have not changed in the past 2,000 years, nor has basic algebra. More...

Email Isn't Dead Yet

2011-01-06T14:08:00.000-08:00

College technologists and email providers say that, in the campus context, reports of the death of email have been exaggerated. More...

The 10 biggest ed-tech stories of 2010

2011-01-04T09:35:00.000-08:00

STEM education gets a boost amid concerns about U.S. competitiveness ... States embrace cloud computing with large-scale school software projects... Assessments get a 21st-century makeover with the help of technology: These are among the many.. More

How to find a quality online degree

2011-01-03T10:25:00.000-08:00

While online degrees were once largely seen as being second-rate, recent studies have reported that employers are not only more open to, but are even showing a favorable sentiment toward candidates with online degrees these days, reports AOL Jobs. One such study, conducted by Excelsior College/Zogby International, found that 61 percent of CEOs and small-business owners were familiar with online degree programs–and 83 percent of those considered online degrees equivalent to those earned in a traditional classroom… More...

Free Computer Classes

2010-12-29T08:46:00.000-08:00

People will learn and improve computer skills during free classes at Pierce County Library on Thursday, Jan. 6 – Monday, Feb. 28. Participants with little or no computer experience will gain basic skills in the classes for beginners. Students may also choose from classes in job searching, small business and investment, as well as e-mail, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and creating a resume or website. Additional classes will offer instruction in how to appraise antiques and collectibles or download audiobooks using online Library services. More...

Meeting the Needs of Special Needs Students Virtually

2010-12-28T13:48:00.000-08:00

Students who interact with their peers during lessons are more motivated, more engaged with material, and more capable at learning language, communications, and listening skills. How do you retain that interaction for special needs students who might not have regular access--or any access--to a traditional classroom? More...

Instructing online instructors

2010-12-27T09:30:00.000-08:00

Campus official helps faculty members adjust to teaching online college courses as students clamor for web options More...

The Plagues & Pains of Plagiarism

2010-12-27T08:33:00.000-08:00

Plagiarism is a plague and a pain - and we need to be aware of best practices when we're writing and when we're teaching.

Join Dr. Meggin McIntosh for this special teleseminar with writing and plagiarism-prevention expert, Dr. Caroline L. Eisner. Here's where to get the details and get registered: http://meggin.com/Plagiarism.php

Lit2Go

2010-12-15T14:28:00.000-08:00

Lit2Go - a collaboration between the Florida Department of Education and the University of South Florida College of Education - supports literacy by providing access to recordings of historically and culturally significant literature. The extensive collection of hundreds of audiobooks, stories, and poems, including classics such as Alice in Wonderland, Aesop's Fables, and A Tale of Two Cities - all for free on iTunes. Check it out here.

10 Rules of Teaching in this Century

2010-12-08T10:15:00.000-08:00

We’ve been predicting a technology revolution for decades, and actually, it happened 5 years ago. We are now past the tipping point. Suddenly, we find that higher education no longer has a corner on knowledge-making and distribution. But on the bright side, the entire culture is learning-resource rich, technology has a more human face, and education has become more critical than ever. [More...]

Panel: Remove barriers to digital learning

2010-12-06T10:30:00.000-08:00

Digital and blended learning have the potential to improve U.S. education dramatically, because they can help teachers provide a more personal learning experience for their students. But for this to happen, policy makers must remove... [ Read More ]

It's Time to Trust Teachers with the Internet

2010-12-01T13:10:00.000-08:00

Although this article is talking about K-12 much of what she has to say applies to higher ed.

It's Time To Trust Teachers with the Internet: A Conversation with Meg Ormiston For Meg Ormiston, it's a wonder sometimes that teachers don't just give up. Restrictive Internet policies in schools, coupled with unresponsive IT departments and beleaguered administrators, present teachers with a nearly impossible situation: They're being pressured to incorporate 21st century teaching and learning into their classrooms, but they're not being allowed to use the tools they need to do that. More...

My Top 10 'Learning' books from 2010

2010-11-30T13:05:00.001-08:00

Sticky Learning November 29, 2010

Another year comes towards to an end and its been another year of great reading for anyone with an interest in learning. Once again I have read from a wide range of areas, all with something to add to how I think of learning. Below you'll find my top recommendations for the year along with a short summary of what I got out of reading each book. I haven't put these in a top ten order this year, there were so many contenders for the number one spot! Do you think there is a standout number one? READ MORE

Engaging Students through Online Collaboration

2010-11-29T15:13:00.000-08:00

With the help of technology, students in a growing number of classrooms are collaborating with their peers—both in their own schools and around the world—to solve problems and complete projects. This trend has important implications for schools, which are under enormous pressure to engage students in academically challenging ways that are relevant to their lives.

Online collaboration addresses a key 21^st-century skill that many companies say they’re looking for in their employees: the ability to work with others to solve common challenges. And there’s evidence to suggest that students are more motivated to do high-quality work when they’re working in groups with (and being judged by) their peers. More...

The Many Faces of Blended Learning

2010-11-22T11:05:00.000-08:00

Technology is transforming education, most notably in the way students have access to learning opportunities. More...

Video Primers in an Online Repository for e-Teaching and Learning (V-PORTAL)

2010-11-19T11:35:00.000-08:00

Prof. Curt Bonk has just released a series of 27 brief (7-10 minute) videos related to teaching online. The series, “Video Primers in an Online Repository for e-Teaching and Learning” (V-PORTAL), covers topics for both novice and more expert online instructors and educators. Watch them and learn how to engage learners with Web 2.0 technologies, build instructor presence, prepare highly interactive and relevant online activities, access free and open course resources, plan for the future of e-learning, and much more. Watch on Bonk’s YouTube Channel.

New web site combines project-based learning, social responsibility

2010-11-19T10:27:00.000-08:00

A new partnership between Microsoft Corp., the Smithsonian Institution,
and TakingITGlobal will help teachers integrate project-based learning
to teach their students core curriculum content, as well as
problem-solving skills and social responsibility, by having students
team up with their peers around the globe to solve real-world
environmental challenges. [ Read More ]

Intermittent ANGEL outage this Saturday, Nov 20th

2010-11-18T12:37:00.000-08:00

IMPORTANT!

All Users will have intermittent access to ANGEL between 8am and 8pm, this Saturday, November 20th, due to roadwork being done near Bothell on SR522, where the SB Bellevue DNS is located.

We use the SB to host our DNS so we can expect this interruption.

Instructors are being notified of this interruption.

Trends in Growth of Online Learning

2010-11-18T09:06:00.000-08:00

According to a recent report, while online growth is booming now, it may begin to slow down in the near future, as the biggest drivers of enrollment growth face budget challenges and stricter recruitment oversight from the federal government. More...

Online Education Grows by Almost a Million Students

2010-11-17T13:02:00.000-08:00

Eighth Annual Sloan Survey of Online Education Shows Economy Still Driving
Growth

The 2010 Sloan Survey of Online Learning reveals that enrollment rose
by almost one million students from a year earlier. The survey of more
than 2,500 colleges and universities nationwide finds approximately 5.6
million students were enrolled in at least one online course in fall
2009, the most recent term for which figures are available.

Other report findings include:

Almost two-thirds of for-profit institutions now say that online learning is a critical part of their long term strategy.

The 21% growth rate for online enrollments far exceeds the 2% growth in the overall higher education student population.

Nearly one-half of institutions report that the economic downturn has increased the demand for face-to-face courses and programs.

Three-quarters of institutions report that the economic downturn has increased demand for online courses and programs.

Please click here to download the report.

Free Tool to shorten URL links

2010-11-17T08:42:00.000-08:00

Bit.ly is a free and simple tool to shorten URLs.

Enjoy!

http://bit.ly/

New at iTunes U: Free eBooks

2010-11-17T08:35:00.001-08:00

http://tinyurl.com/ebooks-itunesU

Top 100 tools for learning

2010-11-16T14:42:00.000-08:00

Top100 Tools for Learning 2010

View more presentations from Jane Hart.

eLearning Resources from other SBCTC colleges

2010-11-16T14:24:00.000-08:00

Centralia College has put together a list of blogs from SBCTC colleges around the state. Take a look at the resources available: click here.

ANGEL 7.4 Instructor Resources

2010-03-12T11:01:00.000-08:00

We have posted the latest ANGEL 7.4 Resources. They are the ANGEL 7.4 Instructor Quickstart Tutorial and the ANGEL 7.4 Instructor Reference Manual. These resources are also available on the CPTC eLearning website.

Free plagiarism detector: Doc Cop

2009-11-03T09:47:00.000-08:00

DOC Cop is a free anti-plagiarism tool available to higher education.

The service provides three types of checks:

DOC Check, which evaluates individual documents--up to five at a time, 250,000 word maximum each--against one another;
Corpus Check, which evaluates an unlimited number of documents (up to 12,000 words each) against one another; and
Web Check, which compares strings of text (up to 550 words) against results found on the Web.

Click here for DOC Cop.

What is Web 2.0?

2009-10-19T15:34:00.000-07:00

Watch this video to learn more about Web 2.0.

2009-04-08T13:25:00.001-07:00

Today we've added the Training links. Here you will many available free trainings. We hope to continually update these listings.

Welcome!

2009-03-31T09:36:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the CPTC eLearning Blog!

This blog has been designed with you in mind. Hopefully you will find it a valuable resource for designing your online, hybrid and web-enhanced courses.

We hope that you will come here often and learn about the new tools that are available for your use.

Check back frequently and become a part of the community.