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Blackboard has collaborated with Vital Source Technologies to launch a pilot program to test e-textbook integration with its Blackboard Learn learning management system.

The California State University System may bet big on virtual labs starting this fall, a sign of how heavily some policymakers are counting on technology to solve funding problems.

The effort could end in-the-flesh lab experimentation for many Cal State students who are not biology majors.

The proposal is part of a multipronged plan from the Cal State chancellor’s office to help students unable to find a path through the Cal State system. Officials are hoping to use a one-time infusion of $17.2 million for education technology to break the so-called course bottleneck that prevents students from advancing, prompts some to drop out and consumes state resources.

Officials have identified 22 bottleneck courses. Six of them are science classes, including biology courses where campuses struggle to find lab space and time for students. So, Cal State wonders: Can virtual lab software solve the problem?

According to a presentation by two Cal State administrators, “If 50 percent of STEM wet labs during a semester could be virtual, and the number of lab sections are doubled and filled, a campus will have a 100 percent increase in the capacity of their facilities.”

Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/05/23/cal-state-may-turn-virtual-labs#ixzz2U73NnMdC ;
Inside Higher Ed

The learning industry is taking-off with tons of gadgets and gizmos at our disposal. There are learning management systems, course creation tools, gameification techniques, and so much more. Even more exciting are the great leaps that have been made in the world of assessment, but before getting into that, here’s a little quiz for you: In your opinion, multiple choice questions:

 

A) Are great and are perfect for all types of learningB) Provide insight into what has truly been learnedC) Neither A or B

 

 

The number of students enrolled in American colleges and universities was 1.6 percent lower in 2011-12 than it was the year before, but the number of degrees conferred by those institutions was up 5.1 percent, new data from the Education Department's National Center for Education Statistics shows. The statistics, published in a report that also presents data on tuition levels, show that colleges that award federal financial aid enrolled a total unduplicated headcount of about 29 million students in 2011-12, down from more than 29.5 million in 2010-11. The biggest drops came among public two-year (down about 250,000 students) and private for-profit (about 200,000 students) colleges, with public four-year universities gaining about 100,000 students and private four-year colleges up slightly. The declines for men and women were roughly proportional.

But despite the smaller pool of students, degree completion increased. The colleges awarded slightly more than 1 million associate degrees (nearly 8 percent more than in 2010-11), and nearly 1,800 bachelor's degrees, 4.3 percent more than the year before.

Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/05/22/enrollments-down-degrees-new-us-data-show#ixzz2U17cZEdy 
Inside Higher Ed

The Century Foundation calls for radical change to avoid "the increasing economic and racial isolation of students" at community colleges.

Eighty-five percent of educational institutions allow instructors or students to use their own devices on institutional networks according to a new survey from Bradford Networks.

You can now talk to your computer kind of, sort of like you would a person -- that is, if you're running Google Chrome.

eCuaderno: Pistas, noticias y enlaces sobre Medios

Are you considering virtual instructor-led training (vILT) but aren’t quite sure how to get started…or whether your organization is even ready?  Join us for this session and you’ll learn what to expect from vILT, including its pros, cons and critical success factors. 

vILT can be a “best-of-both-worlds” learning modality, melding the strengths of traditional classroom and trendy e-learning.  Learners benefit from many ways to interact with the instructor and each other, allfrom the convenience of their homes anywhere in the world.  Yet certain limitations, if overlooked, can tarnish the vILT learning experience. 

This webinar delivers a comprehensive, balanced view of:  

What vILT is (and what it isn’t)Where vILT fits in relation to other learning modalitiesThe elements of a well-designed vILT programHow to anticipate and avoid common obstaclesPlanning tips to run a seamless vILT sessionBest practices to engage your participants and sustain their learning

“Can I take this training course on my iPad? smartphone? tablet?” Many instructional designers have heard that question lately and wondered exactly how to get their course content to fit into a mobile learning environment. Instructional designers (IDs) need to know which tools are fast, friendly, and provide cross-platform functionality and support.

College officials are concerned and confused by new licensing terms from Adobe they fear will dramatically raise costs.

While colleges have not yet sorted out some of the major issues, the changes by Adobe are already prompting at least a few college officials to say new versions of company's popular creative software will be unaffordable.

Adobe, the maker of Photoshop, InDesign, Acrobat and more than a dozen other products, recently changed the way it sells its software.

Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/05/22/adobe-pricing-plan-raises-concerns#ixzz2U1763g4A ;
Inside Higher Ed