Why the UK Must Start Loving Online Education

Online learning is rapidly gaining prominence among students, teachers and employers across the globe. Online education enables students to learn in a flexible, affordable and convenient way, which traditional education is unable to provide. But virtual learning is still considered second rate across the UK. However, it is now time for us to change our thinking and attitude towards online education. 

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 Better learning opportunities

 

As the opportunities for development increase and the student cap is lifted, online learning provides a means for universities across the UK to compete globally without striving to meet capacity. The scenario is somewhat different in the United States as online degree programmes have found a firm ground there. In the US, it is not considered as a poor quality alternative to college education. If the UK plans to make the most of the development opportunities, we need learn from the experience of the US and start appreciating online education more. 

Nancy Coleman, vice-president of academic services at PlattForm and former director of distance education at Boston University, recently wrote in an article “The lifting of the student cap is one driver, but what will matter long-term is taking a decent share of the ballooning numbers of students globally looking for a world-class degree. The OECD estimates the numbers of people with degrees will grow from around 129 million to 204 million by 2020. It’s also one answer to the problem of declining numbers of part-time students and creating the right kind of higher study offer for people in work. ” 

Growing number of online learners

 

According to a recent study from the Babson Survey Research Group, around 7.1 million students in higher education across the US are currently pursuing at least one course online included as part of their academic degree programme. But there seems to be some disagreement with the statistics as the initial study by the US education department on online study found that there are a around 5.5 million online learners in the US. Experts predict that the number of online learners will rise further with over half of all US students pursuing at least on online course by the year 2018. 

However, what is more important than the statistics is the hidden sentiment. By surveying academic leaders and experts, the researchers at Babson discovered that the number of students who believe online learning offers equal or even better learning outcomes than traditional education had increased to more than 74 per cent. Coleman added “Online degrees are no longer the preserve of the for-profit online operators, and three-quarters of all US universities and colleges now offer online degree options. The recent move from Stanford to turn MOOC (massive open online courses) offerings into paid-for courses is another indication of how online tuition is moving into the mainstream.” 

Reassessing how we teach

 

Across the United States of America, institutes have been striving to offer a cutting-edge digital experience to learners by observing social networking trends and utilising gaming technologies & remote working to encourage continuous interaction and engagement while studying. 

Nancy Coleman concluded by writing “Again, the UK needs role models. Academics in the US have needed to rethink how they teach their subject and recreate content. Most find the experience a useful exercise, getting back to the root of how their students really learn, how to challenge them and get them working both independently and as a collaborative network.” 

What are your thoughts on this? Feel free to share your opinions with us by commenting here. 

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How To Use Google Glass In The Classroom

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Innovation in learning and education has traditionally faced many challenges. Teachers and students have always followed proven methods when it comes to education. However the scenario has started to change, especially after the advent of online learning and MOOCs. Google has always been popular for innovations and its latest presentation, the Google Glass, might drastically change the way we teach and learn in the future.

Google Glass may not be widely popular yet, but it is undoubtedly gaining ground. The entire concept of having a display in front of your eyes providing you information in real time, which still seems somewhat like science fiction, have certainly grabbed the attention of several people, including me. But being in the education field I started thinking how can Google Glass be used to improve education. The fact is it can be used in quite a few ways in the classroom.

The features offered by the device have massive capabilities which can used be along with some unique classroom based ideas to help students learn better. Although some ideas may not be suitable for particular institutes, but it can definitely help several classrooms. How? Let’s have a look...

Google Glass in Education

This unique and innovative device has great potential which can help us to take education to a completely new level. Let me point out a few excellent uses of the device in education-

• Remote Teaching
• Providing Supplementary Material for Lectures
• Helping in Student Orientations
• Helping in Monitoring Students
• Offering a Close Look at Lab Work
• Helping in Better Medical Training
• Documenting Field Trips
• Helping to Learn While Participating
• Providing Tutorial Videos to Students
• Helping in Student Performances and Presentations
• Enabling To Record Lectures In Classes
• Helping in Monitoring Attendance
• Assisting Teachers to Capture Notes
• Helping in Remote Project Work by Student Groups
• Assisting In Performance Evaluations

But these are only a few uses of Google Glass in education. When used properly, the device can prove to be highly beneficial for campuses and classrooms. Let’s read how-

Enabling Teachers for Better Lectures

Educators can wear the device while giving lectures and start Google Hangouts with students who may participate in the sessions remotely. Google Glass may also be used as a back-up resource for the teachers to gather detailed and unplanned content when asked by the students.

Helping Students to Understand Lectures Better

Students attending the lectures may use the device to bookmark essential sections, take notes and even access additional content offered by the lecturer. It can also help foreign students to have real time translations while the lecture is being delivered.

Simulated Field Trips

It can be used to provide simulated and interactive field trips to students, especially for places that are hard to access like Federal Reserve Bank, LHC at CERN, Mountain ranges, war zone experiences, the White House and even outer space.

Providing Location Specific Information

Google Glass can help to try out QR codes throughout the campus and provide location specific information as the device can instantly interpret QR codes.

Offering Self-Guided Tours

Glass can be offered to prospects and visiting students to provide self-guided tours of college or university campus. It can automatically identify landmarks, detail the history of the institute and answer student queries.

Improving Sports

Google Glass may also be used in school or college sports and athletics like basketball, tennis, baseball, football etc. The players can use the device while playing and receive real time instructions from their coach. Students can also view video recordings of their performance to identify their strengths and weaknesses.

Do you think I missed something? Can you think of any other uses of Google Glass in education? If you have some other ideas then feel free to share with me. I would love to hear from you.

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