Sloan-C View
Perspectives in Quality Online Education		 Volume 9 Issue 6 - June 2010
ISSN 1541-2806
Quality, Scale and Breadth

Issue Contents

Annual Sloan-C Awards - Call for Nominations

The Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) has recognized outstanding work in the field of online education through an annual awards process since 2001. The Call for Nominations for a number of Sloan-C awards is now available on the Sloan-C website:

The 2010 Excellence in Online Teaching and Learning Awards: http://www.sloanconsortium.org/excell_awards

The 2010 Ralph E. Gomory Award for Quality Online Education: http://www.sloanconsortium.org/gomory_award

The 2010 A. Frank Mayadas Leadership Award in Online Education: http://www.sloanconsortium.org/mayadas_award

To read more information about the other Sloan-C awards, please click here.

Effective Practice Awards Submissions Due June 30th

For the first time, Sloan-C will award effective practices this year at the July 21, 2010 Emerging Technologies for Online Learning Symposium Awards Presentation Luncheon. We encourage you to post because practices submitted by June 30, 2010 are automatically eligible for award consideration.

Thousands visit effective practices for innovative, replicable practices supported by evidence for improving access, learning effectiveness, scalability, and faculty and student satisfaction.

Check out the rubric for judging practices, view award winners, and enter a practice.

Sloan Consortium Teams Up with HP on ‘HP Catalyst Initiative’ to Explore the Future of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education

The Sloan Consortium is collaborating with HP in the launch of the HP Catalyst Initiative, a new global grant program which explores the future of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.The HP Catalyst will establish a global network of five consortia, each of which will explore a specific STEM innovation theme – The Multi-Versity, Pedagogy 3.0, Global Collaboratories, The New Learner and Measuring Learning. Each consortium will receive more than $1 million in technology, financial and professional assistance.

The Sloan Consortium has been invited to facilitate the Multi-Versity consortium, which will investigate and demonstrate new and best practices in online education for STEM students, as well as professional development of instructional faculty. The long-term goal is to provide students new learning opportunities from a variety of institutions that can be applied toward certification and degrees.

Click here to read more.

New Sloan-C Webinars

This year, Sloan-C has added webinars to its resources for educators. Webinars typically last anywhere from a half hour to an hour and a half. Most are free to Individual Members. Institutional members and non members pay a separate fee.

Supporting Students in Social Media – Leveraging Efforts - June 7 2:00 - 3:30 ET

You have explored social networking tools like Twitter and Facebook at a personal level and are ready to integrate it at the classroom or institutional level. You're not alone. It's likely many people in your institution are using social media to connect with, engage and support students. How can you leverage these efforts for maximum student benefit?

Live Preview of the Emerging Technologies in Online Learning Symposium - June 15 2:00 - 3:00 ET

Learn more about the Emerging Technologies for Online Learning Symposium taking place July 20-23, 2010 in San Jose, CA. Hear about the MERLOT program content, featured sessions and track overviews.

Student Success Strategies: Teaching Students Techniques to Utilize Online Reference Materials in Their Academic Work - June 23 4:00 - 5:30 ET

Do you struggle with getting students to use academic resources in their assignments? This webinar will review best practices and literature on how to get students using academic research tools for their discussions and research papers.

Providing Effective Feedback in Online Courses - July 14 2:00 - 3:30 ET

Are you looking for strategies to enhance the feedback you provide your students? In this webinar, you will learn about feedback strategies have the biggest impact online to enhance student learning and critical thinking.

Please take a look at our upcoming webinars.
(Registrations for some of the webinars have not been opened yet.)

Share Your Views: Another Way to Participate in the Sloan-C Community

Below are blog posts of interest collected from http://www.sloanconsortium.org/blogs.

Effective Practice Awards Submissions Due June 30
New effective practices submitted by June 30 are eligible for awards to be presented at the July 21, 2010 Emerging Technologies for Online Learning Symposium Awards Presentation Luncheon.
Click here to read the blog post.

Reflections on the Quality Matters™ Program
It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost four years since the end of the FIPSE (Fund for the Improvement of Secondary Education) Grant project which launched the Quality Matters Program. Of course, that “end” was also a beginning and a continuation: the beginning of the Quality Matters Program as a self-sustaining organization, and the continuation of Quality Matters as a growing influence in online education, as Ron Legon described in his commentary.
Click here to read the blog post.

Collaboration Versus Competition in Online Learning (Romanian Conference Paper)
On April 27, 2010, I presented a paper at the Third International Conference on Higher Education in Iasi, Romania, as part of a day-long symposium organized by the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame. The conference was sponsored by the Alxeandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi. The paper is below. It includes a quick history of American distance education to set the stage for the kinds of collaborations we are beginning to see emerge as online learning matures.
Click here to read the blog post.

Does Personal Branding work?
I thought I'd make a few observations about personal branding and about how Sloan-C might capitalize on findings that seem to be coming over the transom. First, over the last two semesters, I've given my MBA students an assignment to improve their "personal brands" as a semester long exercise. What is a "personal brand" anyway? -- well, it is just YOU. What you say, what you know, what you want to do and have done, shared with the world. People see it as using social media to let everyone know about you. Some say you should associate a logo with yourself. Don't know about that - I'll just stay "John Bourne." Of course, Facebook is the favorite form of social media with a large fraction of America on Facebook (according to Time magazine this week).
Click here to read the blog post.

We’re Going There – Are You Coming Along?
A recent Georgetown University study says that by the year 2018, 62 percent of US jobs will require some college education, and more than half of all US jobs will require a college degree. (Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, 2009). If that doesn’t surprise you, it should!
Click here to read the blog post.

Fair Use and the Case Against Georgia State University: An Update
The latest round in the copyright infringement case brought against Georgia State University (GSU) by Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Inc., and Sage Publications should end soon. Each side filed a motion for summary judgment last February and the judge is expected to rule on the motions sometime this summer. Regardless of the outcome, most observers expect the publishers to continue to press their case to trial.
Click here to read the blog post.

HP Catalyst Grant
We are pleased to announce that the Sloan Consortium is collaborating with Hewlett-Packard on a new program called the HP Catalyst Initiative. The overall goal of the initiative is to create international collaborative "sandboxes" of innovation that will explore what the future of STEM education can look like—a future where students use their technical and creative ingenuity to address urgent social challenges in their communities and around the world.
Click here to read the blog post.

Instructor-led teaching and Open Educational Resources
Education, as practiced in much of higher education is instructor-led, including online education. In recent years there has been a flurry of interest in the use of open educational resources for learning with some organizations pushing the agenda that students can learn difficult topics simply by relying on what peer students know or can determine. Some have questioned this concept and have suggested that instructor expertise is needed to guide cohorts of student learners. Many colleges (often for-profits) rely on well-crafted lesson plans for instructors to follow, and include learning materials. This concept is different from a traditional college teaching experience in which faculty are asked to create a semester syllabus, select a textbook, gather appropriate materials and guide students through the learning experience.
Click here to read the blog post.

Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks (JALN) - Special Issues Call for Papers

The JALN is issuing a call for papers for the following special issues:

Special Issue on Open Educational Resources: June 15, 2010

Special Issue on Scale in Anytime Anywhere Education: August 15, 2010

16th Annual Sloan Consortium International Conference on Online Learning - Final Call for Presentations

Deadline is Monday, June 7th.

Don’t miss your final chance to submit a presentation for the 16th Annual Sloan Consortium International Conference On Online Learning: "The Power of Online Learning: Stimulating New Possibilities," to be held November 3-5, 2010 at the Caribe Royale Hotel and Resort in Orlando, FL. The conference strongly encourages presentations that report on online and blended learning research, theory, and practice at all levels. Proposals that address blended learning, issues of diversity, international applications of online learning, open educational resources, social networking, online learning and community colleges, and/or K-12 online education are especially encouraged.

In addition to regular session proposals, Sloan-C is also seeking innovative proposals for 2 exciting new presentation formats at this conference:

Great Ideas presentations will highlight effective practices in short fast-paced presentations limited to 15 minutes and 5 slides. Four "Great Ideas" will be presented in one session that will be part of our live and virtual (streamed and archived) conference. We are looking for truly outstanding ideas at any level (pedagogy, support services, institutional leadership) which address any of the Sloan-C pillars- access, faculty, satisfaction, student satisfaction, and institutional commitment. Great Ideas presentations should focus on one specific practice that can be generalized to other situations. Great Ideas are shorter and more focused on one effective practice than traditional conference proposals.

Virtual posters – If you cannot travel to Orlando this year, why not submit a virtual poster to share your work. Virtual posters will be posted online and will allow for you to interact around your work with conference attendees in a variety of modes.

Deadline for submission of proposals is June 7, 2010.
Submit proposals online at http://www.sloanconsortium.org/2010aln/call_for_papers.

3rd Annual Emerging Technologies for Online Learning Symposium (July 20-23rd, San Jose) Early Bird Registration ends June 30th

Register now for Early Bird pricing! Don’t miss your opportunity to register at the reduced rate of $495 for regular attendees or $445 for Sloan-C members. Early Bird registration deadline is June 30th.

Reserve your hotel room now at the Fairmont San Jose at special rate for Symposium attendees of $132.00 per night plus taxes. State of California employees receive a waiver of tax with valid government I.D. presented at check-in. Reservations should be made by June 25th in order to receive these special rates.

Learn more about the Symposium program – register now for a Free Preview Webinar Tuesday, June 15th @ 2:00pm ET via Elluminate. This is the 3rd in a series of 4 free webinars previewing the Emerging Technologies for Online Learning Symposium program. Gain additional insight to the program content, with a special focus on the MERLOT portion of the symposium.

Can’t join us in San Jose? Register for the Virtual Attendee option! The virtual attendee option offers a robust program of over 50 presentations, including the keynote, plenary and closing sessions. View the virtual attendee program here.

The Virtues of Persistence and Partnership

The Sloan Consortium would like to thank Compass Knowledge Group for their support as the Coast-to-Coast Diamond Sponsor

Compass Knowledge Group

There is an often-quoted saying that "If you build it, they will come." Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) built it, and almost nobody came. This "stall" phenomenon in online education is becoming more the norm than the exception. Markets are crowded, banner ads fill virtual space, and more and more schools are growing online. But like any market, those who deliver what they say, those who are informed about the market, and those who pay attention to detail will be successful, no matter how many schools join in. Such was and is the case with Eastern Kentucky University’s College of Justice and Safety. They initially fell short, Compass Knowledge Group helped them adjust, and now they are very successful.

After EKU launched the online Loss Prevention and Safety program in 2006, they had only 6 or 7 students. In there second intake, they had a disappointing 14. You have to understand the consequences of this. There were tremendous hopes, and a lot of eyes on them. The President had used them in her speeches; they were the beacons. So, EKU had a sit-down meeting with their partners at Compass Knowledge Group to evaluate what was going on. The Compass team came prepared with reams of research they had done on curriculum and the marketplace views of the program. Together they analyzed the data and came to the conclusion that the curriculum and the program title did not fit. They were not retail safety as the title implied, but rather emergency management, homeland security, and occupational safety. Compass strongly recommended EKU change the name of the program, segment concentrations, and implement a new marketing strategy. In that one day, Compass helped identify why things weren’t working and developed an action plan for improvement. And, it worked.

Enrollments have far exceeded expectations. While the experiment is still ongoing, the results are evident; the online program has quadrupled in size. They’re emerging, not just nationally, but internationally, while still in the growth phase. "Our partnership with Compass frees us up so our faculty can focus on great academics and our Compass team takes care of students’ logistical issues. They also bring us lots of academically qualified students that can do the work," said Tim Matthews, Director of Distance Learning. "At the end of the day, the desire is to find students that are a good-fit for the online safety, security, and emergency management program. That makes us all successful."

Compass Knowledge Group

Who We Are
We partner with prominent, non-profit institutions to help them build successful online academic programs. We were the first and continue to be the premier services provider in this industry. Our success is based upon a history of predictable performance that far exceeds industry standards.

What We Do
Marketplace & Institutional Assessment
Program Marketing
Student Recruitment
Retention & Student Support
Online Course Development & Faculty Support
Online Technologies
Financial Investment

We look forward to meeting with you at the Sloan Emerging Technologies for Online Learning Conference in San Jose!

Sloan-C Membership - More Benefits, Same Price

Join the Sloan-C community. In 2010 Sloan-C instituted many new member benefits and options based on input from our members and friends. We made membership rolling (no longer based on calendar year) and added free webinars, practitioner documents and new membership types, with no increase in rates. Membership includes full web access to effective practices, the JALN, free webinars, practitioner docs, discounts on workshops, conferences and much more.

Join now and get a special JALN issue "Leveraging Resources for Anywhere, Anytime Education."

Click here for more details.

The 2010 College Pass Professional Development Package

Looking for a cost effective way to give your staff and faculty access to the full range of Sloan-C online workshops?

The College Pass Professional Development Package includes 100 seats in the widely acclaimed Sloan-C online workshop series. Many institutions use the workshops as a cost-effective and convenient way to improve quality in online education while networking with new colleagues. Online workshops are 2 to 3 weeks long with convenient synchronous and asynchronous delivery.

Benefits

- 100 seats per year in over 75 Sloan-C online workshops which cover a variety of key online education topics.

- Institutions may share or transfer seats to any individual, not only to faculty and administrators.

- Additional workshop seat coupons may be purchased at the rate of $1,950 per 50 coupons.

Price: $3,495 bringing down the cost of a workshop seat to $34.95 (Workshops are regularly priced at $345 and $495.)

Click here for more information about the College Pass Professional Development Package.

Learn From the Experts - The Sloan-C 2010 Workshop Series

Click here for other upcoming workshops.

Video and Audio Tools for Teaching and Learning - July 7 - 16

Video and audio are powerful media for teaching and learning and can become irreplaceable assets to any distance course. With both video and audio you can present information, communicate with your students, and demonstrate course learning objectvies efficiently and effectively. From threaded voice discussions to podcasting, audio has many applications for your distance course. Audio tools will not only deepen the sense of teacher and student presence in your course, they can also enhance the learning experience. This workshop explores five easy-to-use audio tools that can add some spice and help you build a more robust learning community. You will also have an opportunity to explore and discuss research on educational uses of audio.

Click here for details and registration.

Fair Use and The TEACH Act: A Closer Look - July 14 - 23

For those who already possess a basic understanding of copyright law, this workshop offers a closer look at the fair use defense and The TEACH Act. The workshop offers insight into how courts really evaluate the fair use factors when confronted with actual cases. In addition, the 9th Circuit's recent decision in Perfect 10 v. Amazon.com, Google.com et al will be discussed.

Click here for details and registration.

Getting Started: The First Step Toward Online Teaching - July 14 - 30

Getting Started: The First Step Toward Online Teaching is a prerequisite to the Online Teaching Certificate program. This workshop introduces potential faculty and/or administrators to online education fundamentals. You will not only discuss the concepts but use the technologies to gain practical "hands-on" experience.

Click here for details and registration.

Student Success Strategies: Teaching Students Techniques to Utilize Online Reference Materials in Their Academic Work - July 14 - 23

This workshop provides the opportunity to develop strategies to increase academic research and learning in the online classroom.

Click here for details and registration.

Using Moodle to Create Online Courses - July 26 - Aug 6

Moodle is an open source web-based learning management system and a low cost alternative for educators to create vibrant online content. The development of the Moodle platform was guided by a social constructionist framework of education which assumes that the knowledge a student receives is produced by the groups to which he or she belongs, or by particular discourse agreements. Moodle tools have an emphasis on: group work, collaboration, communication, sharing, activities, and critical reflection.

Click here for details and registration.

Elluminate

21st Century students learn differently. As 21st Century educators, you need the tools to reach them-regardless of geographical, physical, intellectual, and economic barriers. At Elluminate, we take global accessibility very seriously. While most eLearning and Web conferencing products are built with the mass market in mind, we take a radically different approach, elevating accessibility to a whole new level. Our No User Left Behind philosophy means that Elluminate Live! is completely cross platform, optimized for low bandwidth, and designed to engage all types of learners, including those with disabilities. Learn more about how Elluminate can help you deliver 21st Century learning today, http://www.ilearndifferently.net/.

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Featured Member Resource

Latest Issue of the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks

JALN Volume 14 Issue 1, Leveraging Resources for Anywhere Anytime Education, is a collection of previously published JALN articles, especially selected for their relevance to today's educational leaders.

Please click here to access the article abstracts.
Full articles available to members.

 

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