Category Archives: Online Trends

Babson Study Confirms Strategic Importance of Online

The latest Babson (formerly Sloan-C) study on the state of online learning in the U.S. was released last week. (Babson study link) Going the Distance: Online Education in the United States 2011, by Elaine Allen and Jeff Seaman is the … Continue reading

Posted in Online Learning Policies, Procedures, Systems, Online Trends, Strategic Planning for Online | 4 Comments

A Cloud in Hybrid/Online’s Future?

Cloud computing is one of the major instructional technology trends in the past 5 years and is likely to remain so.  Vendors, with specific software applications, provide comprehensive solutions to IT departments and colleges that are often cash-strapped and lacking … Continue reading

Posted in Instructional Technology, Online Trends | 1 Comment

Institutional Process Toward Online: Part 2

In Part 1 on this topic, I discussed the evolution of hybrid online learning from traditional pedagogy to the point where hybrid/online courses are first offered (as illustrated in the diagram below).  This process is characterized by instructors willing to … Continue reading

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A Strategic Plan for Online: Guiding Principles

Strategic plans are written documents, and therein lay their value. For once a college or university creates and publicizes their strategic plan for hybrid/online learning, that policy has weight that mere proclamations by chancellors or presidents do not. The process … Continue reading

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Landmark Report: Strategic Planning for Online Learning

The Association for Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU), working with the Sloan National Commission for Online Learning, has produced a landmark study entitled “Online Learning as a Strategic Asset.” This extensive and comprehensive study reinforces some of the main themes … Continue reading

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The Disaggregated Professor

Last week’s (August 7, 2011) article in the Chronicle of Higher Education entitled, “Professors Cede Grading Power to Outsiders—Even Computers” triggered a very visceral reaction in me.  While I have been an advocate of hybrid/online learning at my institution, and … Continue reading

Posted in Online Trends, Paradigm Shift | 2 Comments

Institutional Process Toward Online – Part 1

Online learning has evolved from ‘distance education,” which evolved from the early forms of correspondence courses. The 100+ year span of this history has used various methods of communication, from the U.S. Postal Service in the 1800s, dedicated TV networks … Continue reading

Posted in Envisioning Online, Online Learning Policies, Procedures, Systems, Online Trends | 4 Comments