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Infographic: The Rising Power of MOOCs: Now, Everyone Can Learn at Harvard

The Rising Power of MOOCs: Now, Everyone Can Learn at Harvard

http://www.top10onlinecolleges.org/mooc/

MOOCs
Source: Top10OnlineColleges.org

The Rising Power of MOOCs: Now, everyone can learn at Harvard (or Yale, or…)

3 years ago, MOOCs were an idea. Now….
5 million: number of students signed on to MOOCs, around the world
33,000: the average number of students that sign up for a MOOC

The Dream: MOOCs Can:
• Offer Ivy League Courses at non-Ivy League prices (free), thus….
• Lifting people out of poverty
• Unlock billions of brains to solve the world’s biggest problems

And yet
1 in 4: Americans don’t even know what a MOOC is.
They are: Massive Open Online Courses.

Who Takes MOOCs:

• 37% have a B.S. degree
• 28% have a Master’s degree or profession
• 27% high school

Majority of those taking MOOCs tend to be young, male and employed, from highly developed countries.
• Over 40% of students are under 30 years old
• Less than 10% over 60
• 88 % of MOOC students are male
• 62 % are employed
• 13% are unemployed…or retired

Comparison of geographic location of students, by self identification and IP address
• U.S. 34% of MOOC students
• India: 7.28 %
• Brazil: 4.37 %
• Great Britain: 3.89%
• Canada: 3.4%
• Spain: 2.7 %
• Russia: 2.5%
• China: 2%
• Australia: 2%
• Germany: 1.7%

Employment:
• Student: 17.4%
• Part time employed: 6.9%
• Full time employed: 50%
• Self employed: 12.4%
• Unemployed: 6.6%
• Retired: 6.8%

Why do students Participate in MOOCs?
• Gain knowledge to get degree: 13.2%
• Gain specific skills to do job better: 43.9%
• Gain specific skills to get a new job: 17%
• Curiosity: 50%
[Those surveyed could pick more than one answer]

Requirements for successful online learning:
• Quality of material covered in the course
• Engagement of the teacher
• Interaction among students

Accredited Online (only) Schools offer MOOCs

edX: Courses from:
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Harvard
• University of California Berkeley

Coursera: Courses from:
• California Institute of Technology,
• University of Washington,
• Stanford University,
• Princeton University,
• Duke University
• John Hopkins University, and many others.

Udacity: Partner companies include:
• Google
• Facebook
• Bank of America

Udemy Free courses from:
• Dartmouth,
• the University of Virginia
• Northwestern and others….

iTunes Free Courses
• Apple’s free app. Right in the app, they can play video or audio lectures. Read books and view presentations.

Top Universities offer MOOCs:

• Stanford Free Courses - from Quantum Mechanics to The Future of the Internet.
• Stanford’s Introduction to Artificial Intelligence: 160,000 students from 190 countries signed up to Stanford’s Introduction to AI” course, with 23,000 reportedly completing.
• UC Berkeley Free Courses. Check out Berkeley Webcasts and Berkeley RSS feeds.
• MIT Free Courses: MIT’s RSS MOOC feed, and MIT’s Open Courseware.
• Duke Free Courses – Duke offers a variety of courses on ITunesU.
• Harvard Free Courses: Get a free Harvard education. No application required.
• UCLA Free Courses
• Yale Free Courses – Check out Open Yale
• Carnegie Mellon Free Courses – “No instructors, no credits, no charge”

Pros and Cons of MOOCs:

Pros: By design, MOOCs are….
Incredibly flexible
Diverse in their range of subjects
Open to anyone
Free.

And Downs:
No credit for completion
Lack of hands on learning
100,000 or more to 1, student to teacher ratio
High dropout rates of up to 90%

Sources:
http://poetsandquants.com/2013/12/17/the-mooc-revolution-the-best-mba-electives-for-free/
http://classroom-aid.com/2013/08/16/10159/
http://www.bdpa-detroit.org/portal/index.php/comittees/high-school-computer-competition-hscc/29-education/57-moocs-top-10-sites-for-free-education-with-elite-universities.html
Paper: The MOOC Phenomenon: Who Takes Massive Open Online Courses, and Why? By G. Christensen, A. Steinmetz, B. Alcorn, D. Woods, A Bennett, and E.J. Emanel. (U. of Pennsylvania)
http://distancelearn.about.com/od/isitforyou/tp/Top-Massively-Open-Online-Courses-Moocs.htm
http://www.technapex.com/2012/11/weighing-the-pros-and-cons-of-massive-open-online-courses-moocs/

Stephen

Posted on: March 12, 2014, 6:53 am Category: Uncategorized

By: Stephen Abram

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Tips for Students: Seven Reasons to Value Group Work

Tips for Students: Seven Reasons to Value Group Work

http://blog.cengage.com/tips-for-students-seven-reasons-to-value-group-work/

“Though group work often prompts a collective sigh among students, they may not yet realize that these projects provide a valuable opportunity to learn and practice many of the teamwork skills and practices that are used by businesses and organizations.

Instead of chafing against the prospect of group projects, they can focus on the advantages of working in groups, as described in Dr. Constance Staley’sFOCUS on College Success, Fourth Edition. We’ve summarized her points below.

When you work in groups, you can:

  1. Draw on the group’s collective knowledge. When you work independently, you’re limited to your own set of ideas and experiences. But, when you collaborate, your collective “knowledge base” allows you to approach a project from multiple angles.
  2. Learn from other people. In just about any group, you’re bound to encounter people with a range of skills, talents, and proficiencies that are different from yours. What’s more, you can teach others and pass along your expertise to them!
  3. Increase individual participation. It’s often difficult to speak up or stand out in a large group (such as a classroom full of other students, or an organization comprised of dozens—or hundreds—of employees). However, when you’re working on a smaller group or team, you’re more likely to have an opportunity to offer your contributions, exercise your skills, and make your voice heard.
  4. Build influence. Have you heard the phrase “there’s strength in numbers”? When you’re part of a group working together towards a common cause, you send a strong message: “many of us are dedicated to this issue.” It’s not as easy to dismiss the efforts and opinions of an organized, committed group of people.
  5. Recognize the strength of interdependence. Much as the many parts of an engine work together to get a car running, the members of a team rely on one another to get the job done. The awareness that others are relying on you can prompt a greater sense of responsibility that often results in a better end product.
  6. Experience the power of partnership. Engaging in discussions with a partner or a small group of people can help you reinforce what you’ve learned and clarify any questions you have.
  7. Discover the value of diversity. By working with other people whose experiences and perspectives differ from yours, you’ll come to see your project or problem in new ways. You’ll also gather insights that may not have come about had you stayed within your own frame of reference. (Staley, 335-337)”

Stephen

Posted on: March 12, 2014, 6:10 am Category: Uncategorized

By: Stephen Abram

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Symposium: The Future of Libraries: Do We Have Five Years to Live? May 1-2

The Future of Libraries: Do We Have Five Years to Live?

http://www.thefutureoflibraries.org/

Thursday and Friday, May 1-2, 2014, Toronto

A two-day institute for Library CEOs and  University/College chiefs and their senior staff, to get beyond the nostalgia, platitudes and cliches and explore the significant challenges facing library leaders. A unique program planned by and for public library CEOs/Directors and University Librarians and their senior staff.

In a world filled with turbulent change, are libraries keeping pace?  Are they innovating and engaging their communities with all the opportunities available?  Are they choosing the right focus and priorities?  Join us for spirited discussions and interactive problem-solving!

Confirmed speakers include:

  • Greg Buss, Chief Librarian, Richmond Public Library
  • Steven Coffman, Vice-President, LSSI
  • Jane Dysart, Partner, Dysart and Jones
  • Ken Haycock, Senior Partner, Ken Haycock & Associates, Inc.
  • Meg Backus, Chief Maker, Chattanooga Public Library
  • Rebecca Jones, Partner, Dysart and Jones
  • Mary-Ann Mavrinac, Vice-Provost, University of Rochester
  • Joe Matthews, President, JRM Consulting, and Author: Reflecting on the Future of Academic and Public Libraries 2013
  • Gary Price, Co-editor, INFODocket and FullTextReports.com
  • Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project
  • Ken Roberts, former CEO, Hamilton Public Library, and  member of the Royal Society of Canada expert panel on the future of libraries
  • Andrew Wells, University Librarian, University of New South Wales
  • Daphne Wood, Director, Planning and Development, Vancouver Public Library

Location
The Fairmont Royal York
100 Front Street West
Toronto, Ontario
Canada  M5J 1E3
Tel: +1-416-860-5015
Fax: +1-416-368-8148
www.fairmont.com

 

OLA and FOPL Members are eligible for a preferred rate for this symposium in Toronto.  This event was very successful in Vancouver and is being done again in our region.

Stephen

Posted on: March 11, 2014, 10:56 am Category: Uncategorized

By: Stephen Abram

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Buzzfeed posted a list titled 22 Books You Pretend You’ve Read But Actually Haven’t.

Buzzfeed posted a list titled 22 Books You Pretend You’ve Read But Actually Haven’t. (via The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/sep/09/have-you-ever-lied-about-a-book)

“The top 10 books people claim to read but haven’t

1 1984 by George Orwell (26%)

2 War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (19%)

3 Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (18%)

4 The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger (15%)

5 A Passage to India by EM Forster (12%)

6 Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien (11%)

7 To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee (10%)

8 Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (8%)

9 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (8%)

10 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (5%)”

Then again I’m a librarian and have actually read most of these.  Sadly W&P and C&P are just too long.

Stephen

 

Posted on: March 11, 2014, 7:03 am Category: Uncategorized

By: Stephen Abram

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Top Resources for Essay Writers

Top Resources for Essay Writers

https://plus.google.com/u/1/103650930190663702488/posts

All stages of essay writing can be tricky, from the choice of a proper topic to the organization of the paper to the actual writing. Moreover, you also have to edit and proofread the paper in order to make sure it’s clean of all spelling errors and logical gaps. The content has to be free of plagiarism, and all sources you have used need to be properly referenced. When you have all those rules in mind, essay writing can become really confusing.

However, there are online resources that can help you through every stage of the process, and we will list some of the most useful ones in the continuation.

Help with your topic and thesis

The first stage of the process can often be the most troublesome one. However, there are online tools that offer great topic ideas, which you can later turn into thesis statements with the help of thesis generators.

1. Topic Generator by Custom Writing will allow you to search for a catchy topic for your paper by selecting the type of assignment and its subject. The generator will come up with three topic suggestions for your essay.

2. Thesis Generator 1.0 is a great tool for drafting clear thesis statements for argumentative and persuasive essays. In order to get a suggestion for your thesis statement, you will need to enter the topic and main argument of your paper, along with two reasons that support the main argument.

3. Thesis Statement Creator is also requires you to enter all components of the thesis statement, after which you will get a suggestion for a thesis statement that you can directly use into your essay.

4. How to write a college application essay – 10 practical ninja tips by Ninja Essays. This simple guide offers practical tips for writing impressive application essays. Paying attention to this advice will relieve you from the stress of college applications.

Understand the types of essays

All types of essays have different requirements, so you need guides that will help you understand their principles.

1. Roane State Online Writing Lab provides clear information about various types of essays, as well as samples that will help you get an impression of how great academic writing is done.

3. Writing Detective provides a useful online lesson that will teach you how compare/contrast essays are written, after which you can take a quiz to test your abilities.

The organization of your paper

Proper essay organization isn’t difficult to achieve, but many students struggle with it. These are the tools that will improve the structure of your papers:

1. Writinghouse is citation generator that will create the needed bibliography entries and in-text citations in your paper.

2. Essay Map by ReadWriteThink will help you organize your paper through an interactive guide.

2. From outline… to essay by iCivics is a lesson with side-by-side examples of appropriate organization.

3. Essay Organizer is an app for smartphones, which you can use to go through the detailed steps of essay writing and take notes at any time.

Great essays don’t come without proper grammar and syntax!

These tools will help you make sure your paper is error-free:

1. PaperRater will not only provide you with suggestions on how you can improve your paper in terms of style and vocabulary, but will also check it for plagiarism.

2. Purdue OWL offers any information about essays you could possibly need. It will teach you about proper grammar and syntax, as well as the general requirements for different types of essays.

3. UNLV Writing Center provides practical tips on essay writing that will teach you how to avoid the most common mistakes.

Check the uniqueness of your paper!

Professors don’t forgive plagiarism issues, so you better use these tools to make sure your paper is unique before you submit it:

1. PlagTracker is a simple, but very effective tool that provides links to articles and webpages of duplicate content.

2. Viper is another effective plagiarism checker, but this one requires a download.

Conclusion

Education is an aspect of life that has been particularly transformed due to the remarkable digital changes. Now that you have practical tools within reach, essay writing doesn’t have to be a struggle. Online tools will make this activity less stressful and less time-consuming!

 

Stephen

Posted on: March 11, 2014, 6:34 am Category: Uncategorized

By: Stephen Abram

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Report: The Economic Impact of Community Colleges

Report: The Economic Impact of Community Colleges

Community Colleges Contributed $809 Billion to Economy in 2012

“The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) released a report, “Where Value Meets Values: The Economic Impact of Community Colleges,” showing that community colleges are a boon to the American economy at large and to the individual student.

In 2012 alone, the net total impact of community colleges on the U.S. economy was $809 billion in added income, equal to 5.4 percent of GDP. Over time, the U.S. economy will see even greater economic benefits, including $285.7 billion dollars in increased tax revenue as students earn higher wages and $19.2 billion in taxpayer savings as students require fewer safety net services, experience better health, and lower rates of crime.

Students also see a significant economic benefit. For every one dollar a student spends on his or her community college education, he or she sees an ROI of $3.80.

Please access the links below to read more:

The study was compiled by Economic Modeling Specialists Intl., (EMSI). EMSI turns labor market data into useful information that helps organizations understand the connection between economies, people, and work. Read more about EMSI.”

 

Stephen

Posted on: March 10, 2014, 6:22 am Category: Uncategorized

By: Stephen Abram

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Internet Consumption Around the World

Internet Consumption Around the World

http://www.internationalbusinessguide.org/internet-consumption/

Global Internet Consumption
Source: InternationalBusinessGuide.org

Internet Consumption Around the World

2013 marked the first year that there are more mobile internet devices than humans.
How do you consume the internet?

Fixed Broadband:
40% of the world is online through fixed broadband

The Big Picture

Fixed broadband access rates per 100 people:
Developed world: 77
World Average: 39
Developing world: 31

By Households:
41% total
Developed world: 78%
Developing world: 28%

Households out of 100:
Europe 77/100
The Americas 61/100
CIS 46/100
Arab States 34/100
Asia and Pacific 33/100
Africa 7/100

Other devices/connections
Phones:
25% of the world is on mobile broadband

Share of total mobile subscriptions:
total: 2.070 billion
Americas: 22.2%
Europe: 20.4%
CIS: 6.2%
Arab States: 3.4%
Africa: 4.5%
Asia-Pacific: 43.2%

With smartphones consuming 92% of global data
(Even thought they’re only 18% of handsets)

Video streaming is half of the data transmitted worldwide
And will be 2/3′s by 2017

Average smartphone behavior:
# of times typical user checks phone per day for:[4]
Messaging: 23
Voice Call: 22
Checking time: 18
Music: 13
Gaming: 12
Social Media: 9
Camera: 8
Alarm: 8
News and Alerts: 6
Calendar: 5
Web: 3
Search: 3
Other: 14

And Tablets
Less than 3 years from intro, surpassed desktop PC and notebook shipments
Devices of All Kinds

Number of internet connected devices by household:
America: 5.7
Europe: 10

By 2017:
23% PC’s
5% Smart PC’s
2% Consoles
67% Smartphones & Tablets
3% Other
WHAT we consume

There’s 9x more content online than there was 5 years ago.

Games
Average Number of Online Gamers and Time Spent Per Day
[region/average gamers per day/time spent on average gaming]
North America: 30.3 million/107 minutes per visitor
Latin America: 14.9 million/67 minutes per visitor
Europe: 45.6 million/97 minutes per visitor
Middle East/Africa: 6.2 million/45 minutes per visitor
Asia/Pacific: 47.9 million/47 minutes per visitor.

Banking
1/4 internet users uses banking sites globally:
North America: 45% of users
Europe: 37.8% of users
Latin America: 25.1% of users
Asia Pacific: 22% of users
Middle East/Africa: 8.8%

Video
Videos per user per month by country:
Canada: 303.7
U.S.: 286.3
UK: 268.6
Turkey: 250.7
Germany: 250.6
Japan: 222.7
France: 190.1
Spain: 178.6
Hong Kong: 160
Singapore: 153.2
Search and Social Networks

Top Site by Country

Europe:
Albania: Facebook
Algeria: Facebook
Armenia: Facebook
Austria: Google
Belgium: Google
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Facebook
Bulgaria: neobux.com
Croatia: Google
Cyprus: Facebook
Czech Republic: Google
Denmark: Google
Estonia: Google
Finland: Google
France: Google
Georgia: Facebook
Germany: Google
Greece: Google
Hungary: Google
Iceland: Facebook
Ireland: Google
Italy: Google
Latvia: Google
Lithuania: Facebook
Luxembourg: Google
Macedonia: Google
Malta: Google
Montenegro: Facebook
Morocco: Google
Netherlands: Google
Norway: Google
Poland: Google
Portugal: Google
Romania: Google
Serbia: Facebook
Slovakia: Google
Slovenia: Google
Spain: Google
Sweden: Google
Switzerland: Google
Ukraine: Google
UK: Google

Middle East:
Bahrain: Google
Egypt: Facebook
Israel: Google
Jordan: Facebook
Kuwait: Google
Lebanon: Facebook
Libya: Facebook
Oman: Google
Palestinian Territory: alwatanvoice.com
Qatar: Google
Saudi Arabia: Google
Syrian Arab Republic: Facebook
UAE: Google
Yemen: Google

Africa:
Cameroon: Yahoo
Cote d’Ivoire: Facebook
Ethiopia: Facebook
Ghana: Facebook
Kenya: Google
Madagascar: Google
Mauritania: Google
Mauritius: Google
Nigeria: Google
Reunion: Google
Senegal: Facebook
South Africa: Google
Sudan: Google
Tanzania: Facebook
Tunisia: Facebook
Uganda: Google

Asia/Pacific:
Australia: Google
Bangladesh: Facebook
Cambodia: Facebook
China: Baidu
Hong Kong: Google
India: Google
Indonesia: Google
Iran: Google
Iraq: Facebook
Japan: Yahoo
Macao: Google
Malaysia: Google
Mongolia: Facebook
Nepal: Facebook
New Zealand: Google
Pakistan: Google
Philippines: Facebook
Singapore: Google
Korea: Google
Sri Lanka: Google
Taiwan: Yahoo
Thailand: Facebook
Turkey: Google
Vietnam: Google

Americas:
Argentina: Google
Bahamas: Facebook
Barbados: Google
Bolivia: Facebook
Brazil: Facebook
Canada: Google
Chile: Google
Colombia: Google
Costa Rica: Google
Dominican Republic: Facebook
Ecuador: Facebook
El Salvador: Facebook
Guatemala: Facebook
Honduras: Google
Jamaica: Google
Mexico: Google
Nicaragua: Google
Panama: Google
Paraguay: Google
Peru: Google
Puerto Rico: Google
Trinidad and Tobago: Facebook
US: Google
Uruguay: Google
Venezuela: Google

CIS:
Azerbaijan: Facebook
Belarus: vk.com
Kazakhstan: mail.ru
Kyrgyzstan: Google
Moldova: Google
Russia: Yandex.ru
Uzbekistan: Google

This is how the world uses the Internet

Internet_Consumption_thumb

Citations

https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/press-releases/internet-connected-devices-surpass-half-a-billion-in-u-s-homes-according-to-the-npd-group/

http://blogs.technet.com/b/firehose/archive/2014/01/27/in-europe-there-are-10-digital-devices-per-household-and-the-number-will-grow-as-smart-computing-takes-hold.aspx

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/feb/07/mobile-internet-outnumber-people

http://www.businessinsider.com/10-charts-reveal-stunning-facts-about-how-people-use-the-internet-2013-6?op=1

http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/51a619a66bb3f7374b00000c-1200/tablets-are-selling-faster-than-smartphones-in-less-than-three-years-on-the-market-theyve-surpassed-desktop-and-notebook-pc-shipments.jpg

http://press.ihs.com/press-release/design-supply-chain-media/installed-base-internet-connected-video-devices-exceed-globa

http://www.comscoredatamine.com/2013/01/top-10-websites-in-the-middle-east-and-africa/

http://www.comscoredatamine.com/2013/06/asia-pacific-has-largest-daily-online-gaming-audience/

http://www.comscoredatamine.com/2011/12/canadians-watch-most-online-videos/

http://www.comscoredatamine.com/2012/06/1-in-4-internet-users-access-banking-sites-globally/

http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries

Stephen

Posted on: March 10, 2014, 6:15 am Category: Uncategorized

By: Stephen Abram

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