by Mike Krings, University of Kansas Researchers at the Center on Online Learning and Students with Disabilities have issued "Equity Matters: Digital and Online Learning for Students with Disabilities." The expansive report analyzes the online education policies of all 50 states and five U.S. territories and combines those findings with other research projects in the center to support recommendations for how to improve online and blended learning for all students. The report takes a wide view at online and blended learning for students with disabilities. In its five chapters it explains transformative change, provides a scan of policy for all 50 states and five territories regarding online learning for students with disabilities, details special education in online environments, explores the changing structure and roles within education and finally, examines access to online education, issues of data and privacy and graduation. It is available online. http://news.ku.edu/2015/11/17/ku-researchers-co-author-extensive-examination-online-learning-students-disabilities Share on Facebook

by Gabrielle Russon, Orlando Sentinal UCF is considering waiving some student fees for online-only programs. UCF is considering lowering some fees for future students who enroll in online-only courses. During a Wednesday meeting, University of Central Florida officials said it makes sense to eliminate several student fees for people who never come to campus or use the school’s resources. Eliminating the fees - including the $14.32 charge per credit hour for athletics - would save about $33 per credit hour for undergraduate students who enroll in online-only programs starting in the summer 2016. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/education/school-zone/os-ucf-online-classes-1202-post.html Share on Facebook

by Zach Oldham, Campus Chronicle One could equate speeding to cheating on several levels: It is clearly something that you are not supposed to do, yet some still will do it. Those who do try to avoid any and all enforcement. There are regulations in place to prevent us from doing so, and yet, everyone was 16 once. So what happens when the enforcement, or perception of enforcement, is removed? http://www.campuschroniclenews.com/?p=1747 Share on Facebook

by Ryan Lasker, GW Hatchet The Milken Institute School of Public Health will allow all of its graduate students to take part of their course loads online or on-campus starting next semester. The flexible program option will give students the opportunity to customize their class schedules to include a mix of online and on-campus courses for the first time. Julie DeLoia, the associate dean of academic affairs at the school, said in an email that the program will offer more flexible options to graduate students who are juggling responsibilities outside school. It can attract more non-traditional students who might have outside obligations like a family or a job to balance with their course loads, she said. http://www.gwhatchet.com/2015/12/02/public-health-school-combines-online-and-on-campus-graduate-programs/ Share on Facebook

by Julie Wurth, News-Gazette The "stackable" online degree offered by the new University of Illinois "iMBA" is a harbinger of big changes in graduate education, says the president of the groundbreaking Silicon Valley company partnering with the UI on the effort. "I think graduate education is about to undergo a massive disruption," possibly within the next four years, said Daphne Koller, the Stanford University professor who co-founded Coursera in 2011. http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2015-12-03/coursera-chief-imba-glimpse-future.html Share on Facebook

By SINDYA N. BHANOO, NY Times Free online educational courses may not be democratizing education as much as proponents believe, a new study reports. John D. Hansen, a doctoral student at Harvard University’s School of Education, and his colleagues looked at registration and completion patterns in 68 massive open online courses, or MOOCs, offered by Harvard and M.I.T. The data covered 164,198 participants aged 13 to 69. In a study published in the journal Science, Mr. Hansen and his colleagues reported that people living in more affluent neighborhoods were more likely to register and complete MOOCs. Each increase of $20,000 in neighborhood median income raised the odds of participation in a MOOC by 27 percent, the researchers found. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/08/science/online-classes-appeal-more-to-the-affluent.html Share on Facebook

by Melanie Pinola, LifeHacker CourseBuffet not only highlights free courses from top universities, it groups some of them into degree paths, so you can get a college BA-equivalent education from these free online courses. Currently two degree paths are available: Computer science and management, with finance coming soon. When you choose one of these paths, you’ll be presented with groups of courses organized similarly to traditional degrees, with core, advanced, and elective courses. And, just like a traditional degree, to complete the "program" you’re expected to achieve all the credits. The Core Computer Science courses include everything from intro to computer science to computer architecture, algorithms, programming languages, and databases. Within each topic, you can select from a variety of online courses to add to your path. http://lifehacker.com/coursebuffet-organizes-online-courses-into-a-diy-degree-1745973758 Share on Facebook

by Anya Kamenetz, NPR What’s not clear is exactly how these innovations are expected to spread or influence practices in public schools that don’t have dedicated resources for that purpose. "The technology is important, but it’s not really the hard or expensive part," Feldstein says. "These challenges are particularly hard for poorer schools, where there is less money and less support for teachers." In other words, scaling the benefits of personalized learning requires more than just software. Because of their resources and very public platform, any education idea supported by billionaire philanthropists is likely to receive more than its share of attention. Zuckerberg has been criticized for his previous foray into educational philanthropy in Newark, and he seems to be advocating a different approach here that partners more closely with educators and communities. http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/12/05/437536957/mark-zuckerberg-is-betting-tech-can-address-educational-equity-is-it-that-simple Share on Facebook

by Robert Talbert, Chronicle of Higher Ed Making a portfolio for tenure and promotion is a long-term, high-stakes project that requires care and attention. A judicious use of helpful technologies, with the right mind-set, can help us place attention on it productively so we can focus our main efforts on the jobs we were hired to do. http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/how-tech-tools-can-help-professors-prepare-their-tenure-portfolios/57644 Share on Facebook

by Tim Dodd, Financial Review Learn how to reduce your stress and enjoy life by learning "mindfulness" in a new free online course being offered by Monash University. "Mindfulness is … about intentionally paying attention to each moment, being fully engaged in whatever is happening around and within you, with an attitude of friendliness and compassion," the university says on the course website. Course presenters Craig Hassed (who is a senior lecturer and mindfulness co-ordinator at Monash University) and Richard Chambers (a clinical psychologist and mindfulness consultant at the university) say on their blog that mindfulness is an important life skill that can be learnt. http://www.afr.com/leadership/management/productivity/mooc-watch-monash-university-teaches-mindfulness-in-free-online-course-20151203-gle7z4 Share on Facebook