Twigmore » online school

The Argument for Free Classes via iTunes

Peter Baer — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:11:12 +0000

Interesting piece from the NY Times Technology section on the rapid growth of iTunes U. More than 600 schools have posted approximately 250,000 classes on the two-year-old service. Open University, a distance learning institution in Britain, has more than 375,000 downloads a week. The real question here is how to bring this approach to k-12 education.

Obama community college proposal may not be enough

Peter Baer — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:29:14 +0000

Interesting Associated Press piece on overcrowding in community colleges. When we read about people having to commute three hours to get to school and about “graveyard shift” classes that end at 2:30a.m., we feel as though distance learning might by helpful here. It’s great that the federal government wants to provide funds, but it’s more critical than ever that they be used wisely.

In Hawaii, school’s out for recession

Peter Baer — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:34:03 +0000

Associated Press article highlighting how Barack Obama’s home state has created the nation’s shortest school year under a new union contract that closes schools on most Fridays for the remainder of the academic calendar. Obviously, parents and education authorities are upset. Perhaps situations like this will highlight the usefulness of online and distance learning technologies.

Online Education Expanding, Awaits Innovation

Peter Baer — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:13:30 +0000

Good article from the NY Times technology section on distance learning and online education. Today nearly one in four students take at least some college courses online, up from one in 10 in 2002. With this number growing quickly there is little doubt that this will be a key growth area in the world of education.

Video gaming the future of education?

Stephen Smyth — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:47:07 +0000

This thoug ht-prov oking piece from the Economist explores the idea of using video games as a learning method. The Quest t o Learn school has just opened in New York City and is based on this novel idea. The article suggests that innovation in education will only occur if you innovate both the content and the distribution simultaneously. This may be too much change at once for many…

Stimulus money for innovations in education announced

Peter Baer — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:30:34 +0000

CNN piece on The U.S. Department of Education looking to give innovative school districts and non-profit organizations a share of $650 million in education stimulus money now available in a new fund. There’s been a lot of confusion about how the money would be spent so this is good news. We also like the fact that it will be allocated directly to local districts — not through state education departments.

The Education Solution: To teach, train and retrain millions of people, online education is the only scalable option.

Peter Baer — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:38:27 +0000

Forbes article on how critical online channels are to advancing the cause of global education. The adoption of online education has happened largely in the for-profit education world, but that’s likely changing. Of the public universities, one of the biggest successes in embracing online delivery models is Colorado State University. About 1,000 students are currently enrolled in its online program.

Wall Street Journal article on online high schools

Stephen Smyth — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 23:05:24 +0000

Interesting that 1% of US high school students are now in online high schools. As this growth trend continues, socialization of students will continue to be a challenge.

Online High Schools Test Students' Social Skills