Podcasting is a wonderful Internet technology that teachers can utilize to give students course materials they can access and use any place and any time that they want – even if they are not connected to a computer. Podcasting is versatile technology, and it can be used to convey course materials in audio, video and graphic formats.

One of the many advantages to podcasting is that student are able to download podcasted programs they want to view whenever and wherever they want to; podcasting is a highly mobile learning technology. In many cases, students can subscribe to a particular series of podcasts, and when new ones become available, they are automatically downloaded for them, ready to be viewed at the students’ convenience. Podcasts are great for instructors as well, because they can record, produce and publish their own podcasts very easily; instead of having to rely on other content that has already been podcasted, teachers can create their own and this control their course content to a much greater degree.

Podcasting is a fairly new technology, and it’s quickly growing in popularity with both teachers and students. Podcasting captures the power of the spoken word, and it allows educators to use audio recordings immediately in their lectures. In order for students to get the most out of podcasting, however, there are several things which must be kept in mind when teachers (and students!) produce podcasts which are intended to be heard by a large audience of students.

First, the material being podcasted should not be overly complex. Material that contains lots of details, facts and figures are more appropriate for lectures and readings. Why? Many students multi-task while they listen to podcasts, and they likely will not be taking notes. The same idea goes for lectures – they are not the best material for podcasts. Also, it is very important that the podcast have a narrow focus. If too much material is covered, students will get lost and frustrated. Finally, podcasts are most effective when they are delivered in natural, conversational tone, and when they are limited to lasting between three and 15 minutes.

Students using podcasting for the first time can expect that podcasts can greatly enhance their learning and understanding of a particular subject matter. Recordings of historical speeches, interviews and even old radio announcements can add a dimension to learning, and to teaching, that cannot be easily achieved in a traditional classroom setting.

Tags: Learning Technologies, Online Education by editor
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The Campaign for Learning joined the professional services firm KPMG to conduct a survey to determine how both providers and consumers of distance learning feel about it. Individual learners, providers of online learning and organizational users of e-Learning were all surveyed. Overall most people appeared to have a positive experience with online learning experiences. In this study, 86% reported that their online learning experiences have been positive, though a little over 50% also said that they have had some negative experiences as well. The Director of the Campaign for Learning and Information was quoted as saying that “E-learning evidently offers a wealth of potential for increasing participation and motivation, and current users appear to be making great use of it at work and at home.”

The survey provided a host of percentages and comparisons. It found that even though most of the e-learners learned at work, nearly 30% of them reported that they studied from home. Additionally, virtually everyone in the study (about 96%) reported that they wanted support for their studies, which could stem from the fact that, at least in this study, a full third of the employers reported that they do not offer support for employees pursuing e-Learning. However, a third of employers do not offer support for employees studying via distance learning. Interestingly, 40% of employers did not know how many of their own employees were taking e-Learning courses.

60% of e-learners surveyed reported that they believed it was possible to learn as effectively through online learning as other means. About 30% of individual learners thought their employers used e-Learning to make them undertake learning in their own time.

More than half of employers who took part said the proportion of their training budgets being spent on e-Learning initiatives was increasing. Just under half (46%) of employers said they believed e-Learning was more cost-effective than traditional methods.
The study also found that a common theme among employers’ responses was that e-learning was beneficial because it could be tapped into at the workplace, which meant that employees did not have to take off of work. This is an interesting reaction because it suggests that while employers do want their employees to further their skills and education, they would be happier if the learning did not affect their work productivity. If employees could use specified times of the day as “learning time,” and then go back to work, the overall productivity would not be affected.

Individuals believed that the main benefits of e-Learning were its convenience, its quick access to information and being allowed to work at their own pace. On the flip side, though, one of the biggest disadvantages of distance and online learning environments is that it is easy to waste time. The most successful students of online and distance learning programs are highly organized, have excellent time management skills and who set aside specific time to study and specific time to do emails and use the Internet for other things.

Tags: Financial Aid, Online Education by editor
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So this blog is pretty new and we are really trying to get more people interested in online learning. So we have been submitting the blog to directories like blogcatalog and BlogRush.

As a part of our efforts to reach out we would love to hear from you as well. Are there topics that you would like to read about? Do you have any questions about online learning that you want answered? Respond and the comments and we will do our best to answer your questions.

Tags: Online Education by editor
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Imagine you’re in a piazza in Florence, and you want to take an interesting walk around the city, but you want one a little different from the traditional ones found in most guide books. So, you break out your iPod and download a tour called “Florence’s historic cafes and wine bars.” Perfect! Sound interesting? It is, and it’s pretty new

Most of us have heard about online learning, distance education and virtual learning environments. Some of us may have even experienced one of these, either by taking classes, or by teaching one. But what about e-learning on a mobile device? There are scores of companies popping up recently which are offering downloadable lectures and talks related to tourism, languages and “how-to” articles. Some companies are making software which allows courses to be viewed through the small windows of hand-held devices such as PDAs and cell phones. A company called Atlantic Link is one of the pioneers in this exciting new field, and the company says that its software can revolutionize the way virtual learning takes place.

Stuck in line at the grocery store? Why not download a quiz or activity from your online class and take it while you’re waiting in line? Things like quizzes, games, activities, audio, video and Flash animations are all supported by the company’s software, and are supposed to play back perfectly, so that users will not be able to tell the difference between the PDA version and the computer screen version. The company says that courses can be accessed from phones’ hard drives, or can be accessed from the Internet. The ramifications of this technology are virtually endless. Students, tourists and everyone else can use their phones and PDA’s to access tourist guides for a new city they’re visiting, or to learn a new language. These mobile devices can also be used for product training and updates, maintenance guides and training, medical training, interactive museum guides and schools training.

While this technology is in its infancy, it is becoming rapidly available. Now, learning can take place whenever and wherever someone is in the world, even if they are not in front of a computer. People can share their own personal experiences and “insider tips,” make them available for downloading and then share the information with whoever wants to listen to or look at it. It’s an exciting new field, to be sure, so stay tuned.

Tags: Learning Technologies, Non-Traditional Students by editor
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We added Reviews to our site last month!!!! It has been great to hear from everyone. Our company has been involved with online schools for years, but never have we been understood so much about the student experience as we do now that we are able to hear from all of you.

So, what have we learned from all these reviews? A lot. We asked you to comment on your experience with learning technologies, professors, the other students, and the administration. The general response has resulted in two main reactions.

First, most students thoroughly enjoyed learning, using new technologies, and interacting with other students and professors. However, the second common response was that the administrators of online colleges and universities were sometimes hard to reach and communicate with.

Online student reviews often included references to flexibility, Kim from Niagara Falls, NY wrote, “They offer a wide variety of classes that can be completed around your schedule – however chaotic it may be.” Other students focused more on the positive atmosphere of online learning as Jenn from Taos, NM, did when she explained “I used the internet a lot, to write papers and do research, as well as to watch professor lectures on occasion, and email and instant messaging to chat with a professor and with classmates when there was a group assignment.” Though there have been few negative responses to the online learning coursework or interface, some reviews had unenthusiastic comments about the administration, one student complained that her career counselor wasn’t quick to help her with her course selection and another reviewer had trouble asking questions about their financial aid.

Considered more thoroughly both of these compliments and complaints re-affirm the one stipulation that most experienced online students, professors and schools continually preach, which is, in order to be a successful online student, you must be an independent learner. This sentiment was echoed by Zane in his review that stated “A certain type of learner will have success in an online environment. They need to be self-reliant, self-motivated and prepared to meet the inevitable frustration of technology mishaps.” If you are the type of student frequently seeking advice or consultation with an administrator online learning might not be the right choice.

The reviews have been great and we look forward to interacting with our users more and more. The more we can learn about your experiences in online learning and choosing an online school the more we can provide the resources that other prospective students need. Overall the experience has been a great one and we can’t wait to get more reviews and hear more about the online learning experience first hand.

Tags: Learning Technologies, Non-Traditional Students, Online Education by editor
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Online learning is growing rapidly in popularity, and while some may think that the field is firmly established, it actually is not quite yet. Today’s adopters of online learning are indeed early adopters, but online learning’s history goes back at least a decade.
The earliest adopters of online learning started to appear over a decade ago, and in most cases, they were not very successful due to slower Internet connections, lack of funding, and a generally pervasive belief that online learning and virtual environments “just wouldn’t work.” The brave pioneers of online learning include the University of Illinois, which began offering computerized calculus courses over the Internet in 1989 for high school students in rural Illinois. The University of Phoenix was the first private university to offer academic degrees completely online. The school grew slowly at first, and met with wide criticism from lots of skeptics – but today, it’s one of the most successful universities in the nation.
Flash forward to 2008, and online learning environments are rapidly gaining respect and popularity, and more and more students from all walks of life are choosing to go to school – or back to school – via virtual classrooms. Some sources report that, in 2008, 10% of college students will take at least one class completely online. Even so, there are many who resist the growth of online learning, and who continue to lament its “ineffectiveness” or the idea that online learning schools aren’t “real” schools, and that the degrees offered aren’t worth nearly as much as degrees offered at brick and mortar campuses.
These attitudes, however, are beginning to change rapidly. Studies show that many employers do, in fact, assign value to degrees earned online. As online learning becomes more “normal” and generally accepted, the criticisms will gradually go away, assuming online learning environments continue to be as effective as they have been. Of course, as with any new practice or technology, there are always speed bumps which some people take advantage of and use as an opportunity to criticize something new. Online learning programs are not all accredited, and some are better than others; but isn’t this also true of physical college campuses as well? Many online programs which are fully accredited are outstanding programs which easily offer students as good an education, if not better, than the one they could get at a physical campus. Add to the equation online learning’s attractive flexibility and environmental friendliness, and we have a new practice which will certainly to evolve and be successful for years to come.

Tags: Learning Technologies, Non-Traditional Students, Online Education by editor
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In early March of 2008, Goldman Sachs announced that, after a year of developing the program, the company was donating $100 million to provide at least 10,000 women with a business education as well as to develop and to improve business education programs at universities across the globe, especially in developing regions. The gift is one of the biggest corporate donations since 2000. Spread out over five years, the program will also aim to assist poor and disadvantaged women in the United States.
The gift made big news in March of 2008, and it raises some interesting questions about the motivations behind the donation, such as why Goldman Sachs chose to donate the money to support education as opposed to hunger or infrastructure. Goldman Sach’s position suggests that the company believes that education is critically important to both individual and global success. Mr. Blankfein of Goldman Sachs recognizes that the gift will likely raise objections, but he stands by the act of philanthropy because investing in educating women in developing countries will eventually positively impact those countries’ economies. Essentially, the money will improve the conditions in developing countries where Goldman’s money will be spent.
Goldman is joined in the venture by partners which include the Pan-African University in Lagos, Nigeria, to the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona. The fact that the project zeroes in on women is not surprising considering that score of nonprofits are working to provide women with financial educations and tools so that they may improve their own communities.
The Goldman Sach’s donation is not so much a gift, then, as it is an investment. The company expects that, in five or ten years, when a generation of women have benefitted from the donation, that their contributions to their own local economies will eventually come back to help the community as a whole.

Tags: Career Education, Non-Traditional Students by editor
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In 2002, MIT posted a bunch of course content online for free, intending it to be used as a resource for educators. What happened next really surprised the school. Educators did indeed make good use of the content – but over half of the site’s 755,000+ monthly visitors were simply independent learners looking for knowledge, as well as a great free education.

The reaction to and heavy use of the site suggested that the general public is very interested in acquiring knowledge. MIT’s posted content is what is now called open courseware, which is free material which can be accessed by anyone with an Internet connection. There are over 5,000 courses at over 150 colleges and universities around the world which currently make “open courseware” available, and the sites are extremely popular, and they’re growing to fill the demand. In 2007, Utah became the first state to publicly fund open courseware as it established the Utah OpenCourseware Alliance. It provides information and material from seven schools. Yale hopped on board in late 2007 as well and began offering open courseware, and it plans to make over 30 courses available, all of which will take the form of videotaped lectures.

Not everyone is 100% behind open courseware, however. Some doubt open courseware’s effectiveness as a teaching tool, arguing that real learning can only take place when people have an opportunity to interact with other students to discuss what they’re learning and reading about. One of the most interesting elements to open courseware is that, online learning environments where students can earn degrees, those using open courseware don’t get anything except knowledge and information. It’s a great way to fill in gaps on one’s education, but it doesn’t offer any “proof” of learning. However, some college programs do allow students to take a test to demonstrate their proficiency or prior knowledge in a particular subject – and open courseware is the cheapest way out there to acquire the knowledge, other than library books. However, the lack of discussion forums in open courseware has turned some people off, who turn to open courseware instead of online classes when their budgets do not allow them to pay for tuition.

Since its online courseware debut in 2002, MIT has made all of its 1800 courses available, and there are definite signs that many other universities are following suit. Open courseware brings to the forefront questions about access to education, free education and the importance – or lack thereof – of actual degrees.

Tags: Learning Technologies, Online Education by editor
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As education costs rise and the economy continues to flounder, student debt is one of the most pressing issues for today’s students. However, for students considering Nursing and Education degrees, special Loan Forgiveness programs can help to substantially reduce their school debt. Under certain circumstances, the federal government helps students out by cancelling all or part of an educational loan.

Different states and universities have their own loan forgiveness programs as well. For students training to be teachers, all or part of the educational loans can be forgiven if they agree to teach in low-income districts, or sometimes if they agree to teach high-need subjects such as Special Education, math and science.

The American Federation of Teachers maintains a frequently updated list of loan forgiveness programs for teachers which can be easily accessed online. Under the National Defense Education Act, students who agree to become full-time teachers in low-income districts can participate in a program which forgives 15% of the loan for the first and second year of teaching, 20% for the third year and fourth years and 30% for the fifth year. For students who want to train to be nurses, there is a Nursing Education Loan Repayment program which is a great option. This program is offered through the US Department of Health and Human Services, and it offers loan forgiveness for registered nurses who agree to practice for a set number of years in areas that lack adequate medical care, including remote and/or economically depressed regions.

Applications may be filled out online, and the loan repays up to 60% of the loan balance of registered nurses who agree to work at a critical shortage facility. In addition, nurses may be eligible to work a third year and qualify for an additional 25% of the loan balance paid. Information about all of these programs can be readily found online.

Tags: Financial Aid, Non-Traditional Students, Online Education by editor
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Self-help books were yesterday’s online courses, and they continue to be wildly popular. Self-help books have become so popular with many people they allowed readers to learn about topics that interested them, whether they be about personal growth, money and finance, or a myriad of other topics, on their own time.

Interestingly, these reasons are some of the very same students of online courses today use. Online courses are convenient, friendly to busy schedules, and they are offered on a very wide variety of topics. Does this mean that online courses will follow the same path as self-help books and become wildly popular as well over the next decade? The signs suggest that this may very well be the case. For while the cost of online courses is not always less than the same course taken in a brick and mortar classroom, the many conveniences they offer make the courses a great deal in more ways than one.

Just as a self-help book on choosing the right career is cheaper than going to a psychologist or career counselor, online courses can be cheaper in the long run because students do not have to pay for room and board, for gas and in some cases, even for books! Online learning is also similar to self-help books in the area of career advancement. Both methods allow learners to improve their knowledge and skills without physically stepping foot in an actual classroom, which can be a lot to ask after a long work day. Many online courses offer proficiency exams which allow students to demonstrate proficiency in a particular topic; it’s similar to showing a boss that you got straights A’s in a course.

Finally, the advent and incredible growth of the Internet over the last decade or so has undeniably led to a much greater thirst for knowledge for much of the population. The sheer fact that information – is so much easier to access now has resulted in many people becoming online research gurus who develop knowledge about a very wide variety of topics. Both self-help books and online learning provide ways for students to quench their thirst for knowledge, which for many people, seems to grow as more and more information becomes available.

Tags: Learning Technologies, Non-Traditional Students, Online Education by editor
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