A new program will give grants to a variety of high-tech teaching projects, with the hope of helping low-income students better succeed in their studies.
Next Gen Learning Challenges, led by Educause, a nonprofit that supports education technology, is designed to find technology-based approaches to improve college readiness and completion among low-income students.
Initial goals include expanding access to free educational materials online, exploring the use of social networks for teaching, combining online and face-to-face education, and finding ways to measure learning success.
“Those are things that have been happening on the fringe of mainstream education for almost a decade now,” said David Wiley, an associate professor of instructional psychology and technology at Brigham Young University. “These challenges are really about bringing those innovations to scale, so they benefit many more people than they have.”
The program will provide grants to projects and, organizers hope, build a community of individuals and institutions that share its goals. It seeks to assist both current college students and young adults preparing for higher education.
Diana Oblinger, president and chief executive of Educause, announced the initiative today as a partnership between her organization, the League for Innovation in the Community College, the International Association of K-12 Online Learning, the Council of Chief State School Officers, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
“If you are not well prepared when you come to college, that has a very dramatic impact on completion,” she said. “We’re very excited and hoping we get a lot of community input to help us.”
Developing online and blended learning programs requires research and collaboration. Learn how top technology companies are partnering with campuses across the country to advance online learning as it becomes an increasingly important aspect of higher education.
2 Responses to New Grant Program Seeks to Expand Free Online Courses
angieclinton - June 27, 2010 at 1:03 am
I love online education. It saves me time to study new things in time. But there are really too many online education programs on internet and it is hard to tell which is good and which is not. You need experience. I am using http://www.online…ator.org this website and want to select some programs. Still underconsideration. Any suggestion?
jrod643 - June 29, 2010 at 8:50 pm
When choosing a school it is important to consider the accrediting body more than anything else. Regional Accreditation is a worthwhile accreditation the equivalent of many major universities. You also want to consider employment statistics, starting salaries after school, and professor credentials. Online education can be tricky in that regard meaning you have to know what you’re signing up. Does the school’s reputation hold it’s ground? Is it respected among employers? These are all questions that need answered when choosing a program. As far as a website choosing for you. I wouldn’t recommend it because those websites are marketing tools designed to feed online schools with prospective students. Pick out a program you want to study find the online schools that offer then delve into the information they provide. Don’t be afraid to talk to people but don’t get sold either. Choose based on the best program because that’s the program that will give you a return on the investment you make in school.