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Although online courses at postsecondary institutions promise adults access, flexibility, and convenience, many barriers to online learning remain. This article presents findings from a qualitative case study, which explored the phenomenon of undergraduate and graduate women learners’ persistence in online degree-completion programs at a college in the Northeast of the United States. Research questions asked why women learners persisted or failed to persist, and how factors supporting or hindering persistence influenced learners. Interviews with a purposeful sample of 20 participants revealed the complexity of variables affecting learners’ persistence to graduation. Findings suggested that multiple responsibilities, insufficient interaction with faculty, technology, and coursework ranked highest as barriers to women’s persistence. Strong motivation to complete degrees, engagement in the learning community, and appreciation for the convenience of an online degree-completion option facilitated persistence.
Allison’s Daily Diigo Links 10/19/2011
2011/10/19 – 09:30
Allison’s Daily Diigo Links 10/18/2011
2011/10/18 – 09:30
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Where not to use QR codes – The Globe and Mail
In its eagerness to reach out to riders, the transit authority has mounted ads that urge residents to contact it by phone, in person, online – and even by QR code, printed right there on the ad. This would be fine, if the ad had not been mounted in a subway car. Toronto’s subways are, if nothing else, good to their name: well and truly underground. And for all the other places in the city you can get the reception you’d need to look up a QR code, it’s not on the subway.
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What happens when you take a comic book artist, an inventor, and a toy designer? You get Howtoons. Our mission is to provide engaging content that teaches kids how to build things, combining instructions with storytelling. Howtoons has a foundation of science and engineering education, inspiring creativity through art and imagination.
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Howtoons » Holy Batman Logo Equation!
Discovered by a math teacher, this equation plots out the Batman logo.
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Selected Articles – Life Learning Magazine
The following is a small selection of the many inspirational essays that have appeared in Life Learning Magazine since it began in 2002. We are happy to share some of our content with website visitors but hope you will subscribe to our digital magazine and enjoy all of our articles…including back issues, current and upcoming editions.
Allison’s Daily Diigo Links 10/17/2011
2011/10/17 – 09:30
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These graphs show the number of Flickr members who have uploaded at least one photo or video with a particular camera on a given day over the last year. The graphs are “normalized”, which is a fancy way of saying that they automatically correct for the fact that more people join Flickr each day: the graph moving up or down indicates a change in the camera’s popularity relative to all other cameras used by Flickr members. The graphs are only accurate to the extent that we can automatically detect the camera used to take the photo or shoot the video (about 2/3rds of the time). That is not usually possible with cameraphones, therefore they are under-represented.
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Invasive Species of Concern in Maryland
The MARYLAND INVASIVE SPECIES COUNCIL (MISC) provides leadership concerning invasive species and encourages efforts that prevent the introduction of, and manage the impact of, invasive species on Maryland ecosystems.
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Indians of the Midwest – Map 5
On and adjacent to the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation, this became an important fishing site after a federal court affirmed the Ojibwa’s off-reservation fishing rights. Photo courtesy of Allison Kipta
Allison’s Daily Diigo Links 10/15/2011
2011/10/15 – 09:30
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Based upon proven research and informed by practical experience, this Blended Learning Toolkit will offer guidance, examples, professional development, and other resources to help you prepare your own blended learning courses and programs.
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News: Freeing the LMS – Inside Higher Ed
Pearson’s new platform, called OpenClass, is only in beta phase; the company does not expect to take over the LMS market overnight. But by moving to turn the learning management platform into a free commodity — like campus e-mail has become for many institutions — Pearson is striking at the foundation of an industry that currently bills colleges for hundreds of millions per year.
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Do you love free apps available on Android market but don’t have a device with Android OS to use the free apps? Want to run your favourite Android OS apps on your XP, Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8 PC? Yes, it’s now possible to run Android apps on your PC.
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The Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) illustrates how teachers can use technology to enhance learning for K-12 students. The TIM incorporates five interdependent characteristics of meaningful learning environments: active, constructive, goal directed (i.e., reflective), authentic, and collaborative (Jonassen, Howland, Moore, & Marra, 2003). The TIM associates five levels of technology integration (i.e., entry, adoption, adaptation, infusion, and transformation) with each of the five characteristics of meaningful learning environments. Together, the five levels of technology integration and the five characteristics of meaningful learning environments create a matrix of 25 cells.
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Information Architects – The 100% Easy-2-Read Standard
Initially it is more difficult to create a good layout with a big font size, but that difficulty will help you design a simpler, clearer site. Cramming a site with information isn’t difficult, but making it simple and easy-to-use is. At first, you’ll be shocked how big the default text is. But after a day, you won’t want to see anything smaller than 100% font-size for the main text. It looks big at first, but once you use it you quickly realize why all browser makers chose this as the default text size.
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Create and share dynamic conversations around documents, snapshots, diagrams and videos — basically anything there is to talk about. You can talk, type, and draw right on the screen. VoiceThread takes your conversations to the next level, capturing your presence, not just your comments. Anyone can join the discussion from their iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC — anytime, anywhere. Stunningly simple and accessible, VoiceThread is already in use by architects, executives, kindergartners, professors, and engineers around the world. More than 25% of the top Universities in the U.S. use VoiceThread to connect and communicate around digital media.
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FlipSnack | PDF to Flash page flip – flipping book software
FlipSnack is an online flipping book software that allows you to convert PDF documents into Flash page flip digital publications. It’s the ideal solution for those who wish to embed a book, magazine, catalog, newspaper, portfolio or any other kind of document into a website or blog. Once created, you can embed your flipping book collection, download them or share them on social networking websites such as Facebook. P.S. With FlipSnack you can upload several documents at once, allowing you to embed not only one, but multiple page flip publications in the same Flash widget.
Allison’s Daily Diigo Links 10/14/2011
2011/10/14 – 09:30
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King Henri IV of France’s severed head ‘should be reunited with body’ | History News Network
The severed head of King Henri IV of France, lost during the Revolution and formally identified last year, should be reunited with his body, the pretender to the throne of France has demanded. Louis de Bourbon said the embalmed head, identified by forensic scientists in December, should now be reinterred with his body so that one of France’s best-loved monarchs can “rest in peace”.
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This research investigated Irish Small to Medium Sized Educational Institutions (SMSEs) involved in Higher Education (HE) that adopted Moodle, the OSS (Open Source Software) course management system (CMS). As Moodle has only been adopted in the Irish HE sector in the last 5-7 years, this research crucially studied the attitudes of the SMSEs that have invested in it to uncover the influencing factors (lessons learned, rationale) concerning OSS adoption in HE from the view point of the smaller colleges. A full population of Small and Medium Sized Educational Institutions, large colleges and universities in HE operating in Ireland that utilize Moodle were included in this research. A variety of Open Source Moodle service providers (large and small) operating in Ireland were also included in this research. This research found a high degree of improved confidence in additional Open Source core system adoption and integration in SMSEs resulting from Moodle adoption. This confidence has been a direct result of the Moodle experience and the supportive community that has been found to encapsulate it. The Moodle experience in Ireland has, without doubt, challenged traditional preconceptions and fears concerning core OSS adoption. In addition, proactive SMSEs have benefited greatly in Moodle assistance from other colleges, particularly the universities. Quality external Moodle support service has been viewed very positively. This research also suggests that%
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Educational hardware and content | Pew Internet & American Life Project
In addition to expanding access to educational opportunities through online learning, digital technology shows promise in revolutionizing other aspects of education. College texts are big business, with the higher education market estimated at more than $8 billion annually.6 But paper may be giving way to digital versions—whether consumed on a web page, a library’s “e-reserves” or through an e-reader such as a Nook or Kindle. The advent of digital textbooks has already begun; digital textbooks make up about 3% of sales, according to the National Association of College Stores.7 And in July, Amazon announced the option to rent textbooks on the Kindle for as little as 30 days. The college presidents surveyed believe that a rapid conversion to digital textbooks is just around the corner. Just under two-thirds of today’s college presidents (62%) believe that more than half of the textbooks used by students at their institution a decade from now will be entirely digital. Just 7% of presidents believe that less than a quarter of the texts their students will use in the future will be digital, and 30% estimate the share will be between 25% and 50%.
