CNN Article about Distance Learning

On November 9th an article was published at CNN about distance learning,
Report: Number of students taking online courses rises. A friend of mine from NWCET (Washington) sent it to me late last night and I believe it is interest. On a conference call with IT leaders today we discussed the article. We are trying to get the document referred to in the article. http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/11/09/colleges.online.ap/index.html

It states that 1/6th of all colleges students take distance learning classes. I didn't include it here because it is copyrighted by the AP.

NEXT LEVEL in CONTENT DEVELOPMENT?

The wiki phenomenon is truly getting legs, particularly since we're all becoming accustomed to the opportunity to participate in the creation and collection of knowledge, entertainment, etc. Myspace, Youtube and their ilk enjoy phenomenal attention because of the "social authoring" aspect. Check out these sites for more information on social authoring:

www.elgg.org

http://community.uaf.edu/~cde/wiki/WCET06/HomePage


https://www.umanitoba.ca/virtuallearningcommons/ This is a social space for faculty and students.

And if you haven't seen it, look at the cousin of wikipedia--wikibooks at www.wikibooks.com

where textbooks are authored by public participation.


I'm pleased to let you know that we are now testing packages that would give faculty the opportunity to make wikis, blogs, and author games and gaming quizzes. More about that later.

Thanks to Bob and Vince for their excellent comments. Jefferson has enviable partnerships with their K-12 system and with Sullivan University, making JCTC the key link for students in a seamless journey from high school to a bachelor's degree. And Vince's thoughts about modularization and access are important to this conversation, too. Don't miss Vince's powerpoints and explanations of podcasting, blogs, aggregations, etc. He makes the technology understandable. And to go to the next level, I feel like I need to first play catch up with the one we're on now. Certainly I feel less technologically astute than the teenagers, but first I need to catch up with Vince!

I visited at Maysville yesterday with faculty and campus leaders and continue to be blown away by the expertise in the system, and the dedication of the faculty that I have found in all my visits. Faculty pull double duty developing online courses often in adverse conditions like limited instructional design support, changing course management systems, and overwhelming numbers of students. It's the commitment of the colleges and their faculty which has brought about enormous growth in online courses and enrollment. What are your thoughts about how we go forward from here? How do we create the resources to provide excellent instructional design support, as well as be able to use the new access technologies described by Vince where appropriate in our courses? How do we continue to grow at a record breaking pace and ensure the best quality and good student and faculty support?

Welcome to our Blog, set up for discussions about innovation in the Kentucky Community and Technical Colleges (KCTCS) primarily in the area of eLearning.KCTCS is proud to be engaged in a bold LEAP forward to take eLearning to the next level, that is, to engage the next generation as well as all generations in higher education in ways that are meaningful to their life experiences and encourages their enrollment and achievement in college.The community and technical colleges of Kentucky have a robust program in online courses, certificate and degree programs, and currently have 56,000 enrollments in either totally online courses or web enhanced courses. Colleges are vigorously pursuing best practices in faculty and course development, and excellent teaching practices online. Additionally, the colleges are poised to offer the latest in simulation and 3D applications to enhance learning.This blog is offered as an opportunity for faculty, staff and students of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System to share their opinions, research, news, ideas about what it means to take eLearning to the Next Level.We hope to hear from you soon!