Coursera has announced that it is continuing its offer of free courses for students and whole campuses, along with some enhanced functionality.
Even with the recent emphasis on remote instruction, now is the perfect time to consider strategies for physical classroom spaces.
When asked about the most pressing issue on their campuses, college and university presidents in a recent ACE survey deemed the mental health of students their top concern.
In a recent survey, three-quarters of U.S.-based students, faculty and administrators reported that COVID-19 has negatively affected student engagement. Nearly as many (73 percent) said the pandemic has damaged their work and career readiness. And seven in 10 (70 percent) said they believed that more students are falling behind in their studies as a result of COVID-19.
As early as next year, students at Arizona State University could be able to don a headset, sensors and a light knapsack and immerse themselves in a theme-park-like visit to an alien zoo. The university has struck an agreement with Dreamscape Immersive to bring the latter's virtual reality technology to campus.
A recent report from Every Learner Everywhere and Tyton Partners recommended five key actions institutions can take to ensure they are delivering high-quality digital learning experiences for all students.
A federal higher education open textbook pilot program is kicking off after a public-comment period that ended in April. The U.S. Department of Education recently published details about how to apply for funding in the Federal Register. Consortia of colleges and universities are being invited to develop programs to produce open educational resources under grants that will range in size from $500,000 to $2 million.
Faculty feel ready to teach online this fall, either partially or fully. In a recent survey produced by Bay View Analytics in partnership with four online learning organizations and underwritten by Cengage, 49 percent "strongly" agreed that they're prepared, while 35 percent said they "somewhat" agreed.
A community college in Massachusetts reported that it has doubled the use of free or open educational resources over the last year. Seventy-four courses at Massachusetts Bay Community College have adopted OER as way to make classes more affordable.
Rice University's OpenStax open educational resources initiative has announced plans to grow its library of free textbooks from its current selection of 42 books to nearly 90 titles.
