California Virtual Campus

THE TERM ‘OPEN EDUCATION’ HAS BEEN IN use at least since the 1920s, when it emerged as an educational experiment of the Soviet Union. But since the wildfire spread of the internet in the late 20th century, open education has come to be inextricably associated with information technology. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Open Educational Resources initiative calls this “the simple and powerful idea that the world’s knowledge is a public good and that technology, in general, and the Worldwide Web, in particular, provide an extraordinary opportunity for everyone to share, use, and reuse knowledge.”

By Mary Grush

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After a century of serving adult learners from its Columbus, Ohio, campus, Franklin University is going global. Starting with a recently opened facility in Indianapolis, an ambitious five-year initiative is adding outposts staffed by U.S. educators in China, India, Macedonia, Poland, Slovakia and Vietnam.

To ensure that the educational experience of its far-flung community remains uniquely “Franklin,” the university is rolling out telepresence for distance communications, a technology that translates cultural nuances well across geographic boundaries, offering a lifelike experience.

by Anne Rawland Gabriel

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Online courses have been around for nearly two decades, but enrollment has soared in recent years as more universities increase their offerings. More than 4.6 million college students (about one in four) were taking at least one online course in 2008, a 17 percent increase over 2007.

By The Editors

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“Camera shy” is not the first phrase that comes to my mind for Siva Vaidhyanathan. The University of Virginia faculty member commands healthy fees for his lively presentations on media studies and law at conferences, and he has even appeared on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. But he’s not sure if he should record his lectures—or if he does, whether he should share them freely online.

By Jeffrey R Young

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Overview | How has the traditional approach to creating and sharing a résumé changed with the advent of technological tools and the Internet? How can technology be used to enhance a résumé and represent a person’s abilities? In this lesson, students reflect on their talents, achievements and experience and create two résumé versions – traditional and technology-enhanced – to learn how best to showcase their talents and ambitions.

By Dinah Mack and Holly Epstein Ojalvo

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Wisconsin’s Saint Norbert College uses video games in the classroom to correlate gaming behaviors with learning behaviors.

When Paul Waelchli hears media hype over a new video game release, his first thought is not about how much fun it will be to play. Instead, this information literacy and instruction librarian at De Pere, WI-based Saint Norbert College, said his brain starts clicking over how the new technology will help the institution’s 2,100 students adopt effective study habits and academic behaviors.

by Bridget McCrea

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Add this to the reasons you might not want to allow texting in your classroom:

Above the Law, a legal blog, reports that a Georgetown University law professor unwittingly caused a national media frenzy on Thursday when he used a Paper Chase-style pedagogical gambit.

By David Glenn

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The young woman seated next to us at the sushi bar exuded a vaguely exotic air; her looks and style, we thought, made it likely that she was not American born.

But then she spoke in perfect American English, even ending her declarative sentences in that rising questioning lilt characteristic of many young Californians.

By Eric A. Taub

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By virtually every measure, electronic learning is experiencing unprecedented growth and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. A new analysis and forecast released this month by research firm Ambient Insight bolstered previous research in this area, showing that electronic learning, by dollar volume, reached $27.1 billion in 2009 and predicting this figure will nearly double that by 2014, with academic institutions leading the way.

By David Nagel

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Students, faculty and staff all have a clear vision for the 21st century campus — it’s all about access and connections.

For students, the 21st century campus offers electronic access to all learning materials, including syllabi, textbooks, handouts and online grades. Professors at a modern campus use e-mail to communicate, and students have space online where they can chat, post and blog about coursework.

Julie Smith

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