Jonathan Lekstutis
November 23, 2007

As online learning continues to grow and more and more students are making the choice to get their college degrees online, educators are searching for more ways to make the experience more enjoyable. During the fall 2006 term, about 3.5 million students took at least one online course, according to the Sloan Consortium report “Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning.” And although they did it because they wanted a college degree, that aspiration alone might not carry them to completion.

Distance Learning Leadership Not To Be Overshadowed by Technological Success,

Says Dr. Darcy Walsh Hardy

Angela Januzzi
August 10, 2007

At the recent 23^rd annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning, held in Madison Wisconsin, Thursday’s keynote speaker was Dr. Darcy Walsh Hardy. As Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Executive Director of the University of Texas System TeleCampus, Dr. Hardy hit on a highly relevant—but often overlooked—issue in the administration of distance learning: “Leadership Counts…And Adds More than Numbers.”

Why Distance Education Enrollment is Growing 

May 19, 2007 

I recently came across an article by the Sloan Consortium which estimated that there were about 3.2 million students enrolled in at least one online course during the fall semester of 2005.   What prompted these 3.2 million people to choose the courses that they enrolled in?  For most working professionals, time is a commodity and being able to take online courses at their convenience is very appealing.  The convenience and flexibility offered by online education is a major deciding factor for most consumers of online education.   But how do online schools decide what courses to offer?  Do they base their decisions on market trends?  If so, what kind of market research were they looking at?  Are they only interested in just offering online versions of traditional courses or are they look to improve student learning as a way of gaining a competitive advantage?   

USDLA
Collaboration, Momentum and Pragmatism

May 9, 2007
Patrick Sutton

This week I attended the USDLA conference. I was apprehensive before attending: as a representative of a performance-driven firm, I wasn’t sure if I would get enough value out of the conference to justify the time and money that we were going to spend on the trip.

The break-out sessions and the plenary panel did address topics that I found to be of value, such as:

1. Strategic Academic Planning for New Distance Education Programs that was presented by Richard Hezel and Dawn Anderson
2. On-Line vs. On-Campus Adult Students: Impact of Academics on Family and Work, presented by Ken Hartman

From an educational standpoint, I found the conference to be quite valuable; innumerable pedagogical topics were discussed that ranged from how to keep online students engaged, to how to avoid cheating in distance learning classes.

Distance Learning in the K-12 Classroom

Patrick Sutton

March 12, 2007

Last week, the results came in on a study that the Sloan Consortium conducted: the study found that 63% of k-12 schools have one or more students enrolled in either a fully online course, or a hybrid course that combines classroom learning with distance learning.

In addition to announcing the increased percentage of distance learners, the Sloan Consortium also reported that, out of the districts surveyed, they expect that the K-12 enrollments in online schools will increase by approximately 23% over the next 2 years.

Online Education Database Releases Online College Rankings

Patrick Sutton
March 1, 2007

Update on State Funded Distance Learning:

More State Funding Allocated to Distance Learning

Patrick Sutton

February 27, 2007

In another recent development that shows how fast distance learning initiatives are growing, the New Mexico Senate voted to create a statewide cyber academy.

More State Colleges and Universities
Use Distance Learning to Reach Students

Patrick Sutton
February 26, 2007

Recently, we’ve seen many news headlines that show how distance learning initiatives are beginning to form a bridge between high school and college.

This week, in Alabama, Dr. Anne Davidson, coordinator of the training site in Madison for Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators & Students Statewide (ACCESS) announced that the distance learning program initiated by the state of Alabama has provided 544 students with the opportunity to attend college-level classes, this semester alone.

Boosts in State-Funded Distance Learning Initiatives
Bring Increased Opportunities to
K-12 and Higher Education

Patrick Sutton

February 23, 2007

In an ambitious push to expand the educational resources of his state, North Carolina’s governor Mike Easley has boosted the education budget by 7.8% to a total allocation of $11.6 billion dollars. Many notable budgetary changes have been made, such as:

• Eliminating the state income tax for almost 600,000 low income individuals
• Provide $150 Million to send more students to college
• 5% pay increase for public school teachers
• Providing pre-k services to 10,000 more students
• Using lottery revenue to fund pre-k education initiatives

In addition, approximately $19 million will be funneled towards the “Learn and Earn”, a distance learning initiative that will allow students from any high school in the state to take college courses over the internet.