News 01-28-2003
Sponsor: Nish Sonwalkar of MIT Evaluates Online Learning
www.syllabus.com/radio/index.asp
Syllabus Radio features interviews with established leaders, creative thinkers
and education technology experts in higher education. Log on to www.syllabus.com/radio/index.asp
and hear Judith Boettcher and Nishikant Sonwalkar discuss multidimensional evaluation
tools that work well for online learning and assessing pedagogical effectiveness.
Log on and listen to this interview and others covering the hottest technology
issues on campus.
Penn State Launches Complete Online MBA Program
Penn State has launched a master's of business administration degree program
that is available completely online. The Intercollege MBA (iMBA) has 28 students
currently working in fields such as medicine, information technology, and finance,
enrolled in the program. The program features instruction by Penn State graduate
faculty members that can be accessed anytime, anywhere. Students can complete
the 48-credit program in two years, without having to quit their jobs or move.
"We've developed a niche that will attract new individuals to Penn State," said
John Fizel, iMBA program chair and professor of economics at Penn State-Erie,
Behrend College. "Whether you live in London, Colorado Springs or Atlanta, you
can become part of the Penn State family."
For more information visit: http://worldcampus.psu.edu/imba
MIT Confab Explores Third-World Higher Ed
MIT has invited 60 people from 16 countries to convene in Cambridge, Mass.,
Feb. 6-7, to explore higher education in developing countries by leveraging
the Internet, television, and radio technologies. The two-day workshop plans
to establish LINC, the Learning International Networks Consortium, an MIT-managed
project that will bring together academics and practitioners concerned about
eLearning in developing countries. Speakers include Milad Fares Sebaaly, Provost,
Syrian Virtual University; Naveed Malik, Rector, Virtual University of Pakistan;
Judy Dori, Technion University (Israel); El-hadi Khaldi, Rector, Universite
de la Formation Continue (Algeria); and Magdallen Juma, African Virtual University.
For more information visit: http://ken.mit.edu/linc
(login e-mail: [email protected], password: 48linc)
SUNY Online Network Enrollment Up 34 Percent
The State University of New York (SUNY) said that fall 2002 enrollment of 19,214
students in the SUNY Learning Network (SLN), its online learning arm, is an
increase of 34 percent over the fall 2001 enrollment of 14,303. The growth puts
SLN's projected total year-long enrollment at more than 50,000 students, breaking
last year's all-time record of 40,000 students enrolled, which was an increase
of more than 56 percent over the 2000-01 enrollment of 25,500. In SLN's first
academic year, 1995-96, the online learning network enrolled 119 students in
eight courses on two campuses. In fall 2002, 1,399 faculty members offered 2,067
courses. Since 1998, SLN has offered 8,538 courses.
For more information visit: http://SLN.suny.edu
Distance Learning Awards Nomination Deadline Nears
The deadline for the United States Distance Learning Association’s 2003 Annual
Distance Learning Awards is drawing near. Deadline for nominations is Monday,
Feb. 3, 2003. The awards will be presented on April 30, 2003 during the Learning
and Training Week Conference & Expo held at the Washington Convention Center
in Washington, D.C. The awards are given to honor outstanding achievements by
individuals and organizations in the field of distance learning including education
and training. Fifteen awards are given in five major areas, which include Pre
K-12 Education; Higher Ed; Corporate/Business; Government; and Telehealth.
For more information visit: www.usdla.org/html/events/dlAwards.htm
Oxford U. Press Enlists Online Service Provider
Oxford University Press has asked Ingenta to build a scholarly books Web site
for the publisher. The site will feature: 750 current and selected backlist
titles available in full text at launch, equivalent to 250,000 printed pages.
It will also include "comprehensive coverage" in the areas of economics, political
science, philosophy, and religion. Navigable and fully searchable abstracts
will also be available. Ingenta distributes published scientific, professional,
and academic research via the Internet, and develops and maintains specialist
Web sites for publishers, self-publishing societies, and libraries.