Fast Facts: Online Learning and Mobile Technologies
Cognitive Dissonance
51% Percentage of college presidents who say online courses provide equal value to classroom experiences
29% Percentage of U.S. adults who hold this same view
SOURCE: "The Digital Revolution and Higher Education," based on surveys of 1,055 college presidents and an additional 2,142 U.S. adults; Pew Research Center (August 2011)
Distance Learning Digression
Most institutions that offer distance learning are not compliant with state-level consumer protection regulations.
That's the finding of a survey conducted by the University Professional & Continuing Education Association and the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies. Of 230 institutions surveyed (of which 215 serve students in other states), 69 percent reported that they have yet to apply for authorization to operate in any state.
This issue first drew national attention in October 2010 when the U.S. Education Department issued a regulation that each institution offering such courses must be able to document that it meets "any state requirements for it to be legally offering distance or correspondence education in that state."
Many institutions subsequently discovered that they had not sought the proper approvals in the states in which they enroll students.
Photo: Pankaj Kumar/Veer
Going Mobile
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab has launched the MIT Center for Mobile Learning to focus on the design and study of new mobile technologies and applications. The center will pursue research projects that explore location-aware learning apps, mobile sensing and data collection, augmented reality gaming and other educational uses for mobile technologies.
Its first project will examine App Inventor for Android, a simple programming system for creating mobile apps for the Android operating system.
Cyber Responsibility
The awareness that individuals affect online security is taking hold.
In preparation for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October, the international Anti-Phishing Working Group and the National Cyber Security Alliance conducted an online survey of more than 1,000 adults to poll the U.S. public about their views on digital citizenship.
Posted on StopThinkConnect.org, a website promoting online safety and security, the survey data suggests that people realize their critical part in keeping themselves and others safe online:
96% believe they have a personal responsibility to be safer and more secure online.
93% believe their online actions cannot only protect family and friends but also make the Internet safer for everyone.
61% believe that much of online security and safety is within their personal control.
48% believe their actions to stay safe and secure can have a positive effect on the financial and national security of the country.
