Online Learning
News
www.milearnsonline.org
Week of August 3, 15 Below is a collection of news items about online learning, online/blended learning courses and
resources that can support online learning that were gathered the week beginning August 3, 15 More Information about online learning and online learning material can be found at
www.milearnsonline.org This MILearnsOnline Newsletter contains links to the articles in the following areas:
Moodle
Policy/Programming
Professional Development Teaching Resource
Technology
Moodle
•
Our Learn Moodle MOOC is starting soon!
Teaching with Moodle: An introduction is for anyone who wants to use the Moodle learning platform for
teaching, whether it be in a school, a university, a company or just personal interest. The course begins
officially on Sunday, August 9th and runs for four weeks, but you can sign up now and introduce yourself to
other participants in our forum. https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=317850
•
3.1 will be the next Moodle version with LTS (Long Term Support)
Announced yesterday (Tuesday 8/4 in the keynote) during the Moot in Minnesota, Moodle 3.1 will be the
next release with LTS (Long Term Support). This sets the new precedent of a LTS version release every 4
releases (which will be every 2 years) the most recent of which was Moodle 2.7.
http://www.moodlenews.com/2015/3-1-will-be-the-next-moodle-version-with-lts-long-term-support/
Policy
•
Homeschool and online programs becoming a popular way to educate
In 2012, 1,773 school-aged students were being homeschooled, according to the National Center for
Education Statistics. This was an increase from 2003, with 1,096 homeschooled students and 2007, with
1,520 home-schooled students. http://www.indianapolisrecorder.com/article_6dfb84c7-8d04-5f4b-b396fc79000e1637.html
•
New Parent Checklist Out Today Helps Empower Families to Support Children’s Success in School
As America’s 54 million students prepare to return to school this fall, the U.S. Department of Education,
America Achieves, National Council of La Raza (NCLR), National PTA and the United Negro College Fund
(UNCF) released a parent checklist today with questions and resources that parents and caregivers can use
to help ensure their children are getting the education they deserve. The checklist suggests key questions,
tips for educational success and resources for more information. http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/new-parent-checklist-out-today-helps-empower-families-support-children%E2%80%99s-successschool
•
Remote-Learner: Past, Present, Future
I had a chance to talk candidly with Ron Olsen, CEO of Remote-Learner this week at the MoodleMoot in
Minnesota and he provided me with some insight behind the decision to not renew the Moodle Partnership
that Remote-Learner had held since essentially founding the Moodle.com Partnership program nearly a
decade ago: it was not a decision that the organization made lightly.
http://www.moodlenews.com/2015/remote-learner-past-present-future/
•
EDTECH537 – Poll Entry: Would You Send Your Child To Virtual School?
In the introductory to Week 6 entry for my EDTECH537 – Blogging In The Classroom course, I mentioned
that today I would be posting a sample of a poll entry.
In previous semesters I have created an original poll, but this year I decided to borrow a poll from someone
else and re-post it here. https://virtualschooling.wordpress.com/2015/08/06/edtech537-poll-entry-would-yousend-your-child-to-virtual-school/
Top
Professional Development
•
iNACOL Hosting Webinar on Getting Started in Personalized Learning
On Wednesday, August 12, 2015,the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) will host
a Leadership Webinar from 2:00-3:00pm ET. Presenters Susan Patrick, President and CEO of iNACOL, and
Bryan Setser, Partner at 2Revolutions, will discuss how to get started in the planning and design of
personalized learning environments in K-12 education. http://news.sys-con.com/node/3389053
•
Make Teaching ‘Stick’ with Ideas from “Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning”
In this post I review key takeaways from the book “make it stick” and delve into its practical applications for
educators—how instructors who teach face-to-face or online can help their students learn better, and for
course and curriculum designers—how they can support learning through unique course design strategies.
The book begins “…people generally go about learning in the wrong ways…” and authors describe how the
methods we typically use to learn—reviewing material again and again to get that ‘A’ for instance, or
practicing the same skill for hours on end until mastery, are essentially ineffective (pg. xi).
https://onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com/2015/07/21/make-your-teaching-stick-with-ideas-from-make-itstick-the-science-of-successful-learning/
• Our Learn Moodle MOOC is starting soon!
Teaching with Moodle: An introduction is for anyone who wants to use the Moodle learning platform for
teaching, whether it be in a school, a university, a company or just personal interest. The course begins
officially on Sunday, August 9th and runs for four weeks, but you can sign up now and introduce yourself to
other participants in our forum. https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=317850
Top
Teaching Resources
• New Resources On Hiroshima Bombing
Here are new additions to The Best Resources For Learning About The Atomic Bombings Of Japan (you
might also be interested in The Best Sites For Learning About Nuclear Weapons )
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2015/08/05/new-resources-on-hiroshima-bombing/
• 5 Projects for Your Project-Based Learning Classroom This Year
PBL contextualizes learning, gives it a greater purpose. Students must acquire content knowledge
themselves—not through the less-engaging method of direct instruction. Thus, students guide their own
learning, add their own meaning and experiences, dig into the material, and actively engage with the
content. More importantly, students, not teachers, learn to answer the dreaded question: When will we ever
use this stuff? http://gettingsmart.com/2015/08/5-projects-for-your-project-based-learning-classroom-thisyear/
Technology
• Educational Technologies That Are Changing The Classroom
Whether it’s a university computer lab or a middle school audience, technology in the classroom
is playing a bigger role in the teaching styles of today’s educators. New tools are helping
to streamline the collaboration between teachers and their digitally-native students.
Top
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