Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


Online Learning Consortium to Expand Digital Courseware Initiatives

The Online Learning Consortium's work to spread adoption of next-generation digital courseware solutions in higher education just got a $2.5 million boost from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant will "support OLC's efforts to foster effective practices in post-secondary digital learning," with the ultimate goal of improving outcomes in general courses — particularly for disadvantaged and underserved students, according to a press release. OLC defines digital courseware as "adaptive digital learning tools, including software that supports student learning such as games, apps and personalized content."

"There is a need to provide a new lens into the classroom and new insights on the dynamics impacting the use of innovative learning solutions in addressing the barriers to student success," said Kathleen Ives, CEO and executive director for the Online Learning Consortium. "Through several focused initiatives, OLC is committed to helping increase awareness and adoption of innovative learning courseware by higher education faculty and institutions, with a focus on improving student success at colleges and universities across the country."

In particular, the grant will fund a new OLC prize competition to "recognize and reward exemplar institutions and faculty for effective use of digital courseware," as well as an expansion of the OLC Quality Scorecard.

The soon-to-be-launched prize competition will aim to "drive institutions and faculty to freshly evaluate next-generation courseware and understand its benefits and how it can be used to promote student success." It will also promote the sharing of best practices, to help more institutions adopt digital learning solutions.

The OLC Quality Scorecard suite will be expanded to include a digital courseware ancillary scorecard, which will include "the steps needed to identify, measure and quantify elements that define quality, with a focus on attributes which result in a positive impact on student success, especially for students from minority, first-generation, low-income or other disadvantaged backgrounds."

For more information on these initiatives, visit the OLC site.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Abstract polygonal hacker with laptop on technology dark background

    Cybersecurity Researchers Identify First Fully Autonomous AI-Driven Ransomware Attack

    Threat researchers at cloud security firm Sysdig have disclosed what they describe as the first documented ransomware operation carried out end-to-end by an autonomous AI agent, with no human typing commands or directing individual steps once the attack was underway.

  • CIS Sandbox Tutor Eli Blouin at Bentley University imagines a future technology learning partner that supports curiosity, critical thinking, feedback, and personalized learning.

    Student Voices: Technology as a Future Learning Partner

    A data analytics and marketing major at Bentley University and a distinguished lecturer at the university explore the future of "technology learning partners" — technologies that participate in the learning process by asking questions and giving feedback, not just information search results.

  • Silhouettes of business professionals stand against a blurred futuristic city skyline at night, with a glowing digital network data connection

    It's Time for Higher Ed to Get Serious About AI Strategy

    Without a coordinated strategy that involves multiple academic and administrative units across the entire campus, colleges risk wasting resources, duplicating efforts, and ultimately failing to deliver on the promise of deploying technology to improve learning and operations.

  • Hootsuite

    Beyond the Feed: How Higher Ed Turns Social Media Into a Measurable Enrollment Engine

    More than half of prospective students research programs on social media before visiting a university website, and nearly half will skip applying to a school that looks inactive online. Hootsuite, the all-in-one social OS platform trusted by more than 2,000 higher education institutions, helps campus teams turn everyday posts into measurable outcomes, from applications to alumni giving.