Nonprofit Center for Information Technology Opens With Federal Support

On 01.27.10, In Higher Education, Information Technology, By dancalloway

by JILL LASTER, The Chronicle of Higher Education
Published 27 January 2010 @ 14:44 UTC

WASHINGTON, DC – A nonprofit corporation created to find new uses of information technology in education debuted on Monday.

Congress authorized the creation of the National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies in 2008. The New York Times reports that the center could be giving out grants by fall.

The center received $500,000 in funds from the Department of Education–far less than the $50-million that advocates requested when Congress authorized the center in 2008. The center also plans to solicit private funds.

Lawrence K. Grossman, former president of NBC News and PBS, and Newton N. Minow, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, recommended a multibillion-dollar trust that would function as a “venture capital fund” to do research on learning technology in 2001, according to the Times.

The center was included in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act and was endorsed by several higher-education associations. It wants to finance projects such as three-dimensional simulations of abstract concepts.

The Federation of American Scientists is excited about the new project, said Melanie Stegman, the group’s director of educational technologies.

“We think there’s a lot more to be learned on how to use technology in education most effectively,” she said. “We also think this center for research in education goes hand-in-hand with training teachers.”

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Research Project on the Assessment of Adult Learner Achievement in the Classroom

On 10.16.09, In Education, Higher Education, Reference, By dancalloway

by DAN CALLOWAY; The Chronicler’s Web
Published 16 October 2009 @ 19:16 UTC

WEAVERVILLE, NC – Several months ago, Dan Calloway conducted a research project to assess adult learner achievement in the classroom.  Specifically, this research project was conducted on Wolf Creek Academy.female college graduate

The research project conducted on students attending a 300-level Computer Science and Network Engineering Course at Wolf-Creek Academy was performed using a norm-referenced pre-assessment test prior to instruction to assess the overall knowledge and skill levels of the learners prior to instruction taking place, and was followed by criterion-referenced assessments consisting of a formative assessment at roughly the mid-point of instruction and a summative assessment following instruction.

The results of the adult learning assessment indicate that the criterion-referenced assessments chosen for this research project represent the “best practices” in adult learning assessment and demonstrate how the process of interpreting these assessments can have a profound impact on adult teaching.

To read the research report in its entirety, please visit: Research Project to Assess Adult Learner Achievement in the Classroom.

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5 Biggest Myths about Online Degree Programs

On 09.23.09, In Higher Education, Technology, By Donald Calloway

Posted September 23, 2009; The Chronicler’s Web
Source:  Woodrow Aames, MSN Encarta

computerCLARKSBURG, WV — You know the game: One person whispers a secret to someone else, they whisper to the next person, and by the time you hear the remark out loud, there’s no resemblance to the original remark. The same goes for lingering myths about the quality and validity of the education you receive from online degree programs. While shortcomings may have existed in the earliest years of Internet instruction, today’s online college and trade school education programs are accredited and their degrees and certifications are accepted by employers.

Back in the early 1960s, the first computer-based education system was created at the University of Illinois. The PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automated Teaching Operations) online learning system could only reach 1,000 computers around the world. Today, more than 227 million Americans are connected to the Internet, an increase of 118 percent since this decade. Whether you live in the heart of New York City or on a hilltop in remote Wyoming, you have access to accredited, online college degree programs throughout the globe.

Students working online at the time of their choosing can enroll, pay fees, log-on in the virtual classroom, attend lectures, watch streaming presentations, participate in class discussions, and email peers and instructors. And they have access to libraries and Web-based resources 24 hours a day, every day. There are colleges and universities completely devoted to an online education, while nearly every major university in the land offers coursework online or combines online assignments with on-campus learning in a hybrid curriculum. The Sloan Consortium reports that more than 20 percent of all post-secondary students — more than 3.9 million students — were taking at least one online course in 2007.

Let’s examine the top-five myths about online adult education and college degree programs: (more…)

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Call For Higher Education Accountability Not Going Away

On 09.14.09, In Education, Higher Education, By dancalloway

by DAN CALLOWAY
Published September 14, 2009; The Chronicler’s Web

WEAVERVILLE, NC – Despite the comments that follow this article, the expectation that higher education is accountable to the people who fund it and to whom it serves is not going to go away. No matter how much some folks try to diminish those who call for accountability or those who try to meet that demand, there is a rightful expectation that colleges and universities become transparent about the learning outcomes they do or do not produce. And, that they use what data they produce to continuously improve their performance.

While the Education Sector reports deals with state colleges and universities, and how effectively each state assesses learning outcomes, all colleges and universities need to assess learning outcomes. Some time ago, I reported on the efforts of colleges and universities that serve adults at a distance to assess learning outcomes, and use these and other data to better inform adults seeking a college to attend. The institutions engaged in this effort have worked, in partnership with WCET, a part of the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education (WICHE), to develop a Web site to deliver information on learning outcomes and other consumer information. Since the initial post about Transparency by Design, the original 12 institutions have been joined by American InterContinental University and Colorado Technical University. And, we partnered with WCET, which serves as the aggregator and publisher of data from the participating institutions on a Web site – www.collegechoicesforadults.org – that is not intended for marketing, but rather for consumer information. (more…)

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