Etcetera, Etcetera, Etcetera: ISU News, Interesting Links and So Forth
The University of Phoenix has submitted applications
to operate in New Jersey and New York. The goal is
to offer convenient programs that will attract adult
learners, specifically commuters, women, and minorities.
In 1998, Phoenix had 50,000 students; current enrollments
are 90,000. One reason: According to many community
college presidents, the University is very willing to
accept their students as transfers.
Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education (21 Sept 01)
Women who enroll in distance courses face more
challenges than men. This is the finding of a
study conducted by the American Association
of University Women. Reasons cited were:
"(1)classes add "another shift" to a woman's
workday between homemaking and child care;
(2) classes are often costly; and (3) about
one-third of women are focused on degrees and
careers, not enrichment." However, older women
responding to the survey indicated that online
education put them at ease as opposed to on-campus
classes that often are oriented toward
younger women. Cheris Kramarae, author of
the report, noted that few women are involved
in the process of creating online programs,
and suggested that it might be helpful if
women were more involved - as programmers,
designers, professors, and administrators.
Sources: Chronicle of Higher Education (Sep 01);
Wired.com
Kentucky Virtual University, the Commonweath's
official virtual campus, has served more than
6,100 Kentuckians since its start-up in Fall 1999.
The site offers students a one-stop point of access
to nearly 50 college credit and professional degree
programs from 27 Kentucky colleges and universities,
and other providers. In August 2001, KYVU implemented
SMARTTHINKING, which offers students around-the-clock
online tutoring and academic support.
Source: www.KYVU.org
Visit the National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
a one-stop, searchable site for U.S. Government science
and technology resources. The site includes links to
laboratories, information centers, online databases,
and sources of images, photographs, reports, and data.
NTIS is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
URL: http://www.ntis.gov
Lives, the Biography Resource, offers links to
thousands of biographies, memoirs, autobiographies,
and diaries of individuals who are no longer living.
Searches are possible by region, era, or profession.
URL: http://amillionlives.com
In 1999, the Merrick School of Business (University
of Baltimore) launched the first online, accredited
MBA. Professor Hossein Arsham, who taught the Program's
first online courses in Business Statistics and Applied
Management Science, has created a web site to share
ideas about teaching online. According to Arsham,
the site is a "report from the frontline of e-learning"
that covers how to begin, how to operate, and how
to make e-learning successful and enjoyable.
URL: http://UBMAIL.ubalt.edu/~harsham/interactive.htm
Rubistar is an online tool that makes it easy to create
your own rubrics for Oral Projects, Multimedia, Research
and Writing, or Work Skills. Built-in features let you go
back and edit or customize your rubrics and then give you
a URL so students can view or print the rubrics anywhere.
URL: http://rubistar.4teachers.org
Source: Blue Web'n Update (28 Sep 28 01)
Thought for October:
I'm an idealist. I don't know where I'm going,
but I'm on my way.
- Carl Sandburg
Interaction is an electronic newsletter delivered on the first day of
the month via electronic mail. Each issue offers information on
teaching, learning, course design and educational technologies, and
events pertaining to distance education at Indiana State University.
We invite your comments, articles, and suggestions. Please contact
Interaction at interact@web.indstate.edu
Interaction is published by the Office of Continuing
Education/Instructional Services.
