Online and Hybrid Course Prioritization Guide: 10 Strategies for Promoting Enrollment Growth and Student Success

Institutions of all shapes and sizes are investing significant sums to expand their portfolio of online and hybrid courses without specific institutional priorities in mind, often resulting in a mix of arbitrary, sub-scale offerings. This creates an unsustainably expensive disconnect between the institution’s online portfolio (largely steered by unit-level interests and capacity) and its overarching interest in using technology to increase access, improve student success, and grow revenue. This guide is designed to help institutional leaders prioritize scarce resources devoted to online and hybrid course development toward the most promising available opportunities. By targeting specific curricular "gaps," institutions can improve retention, reduce time-to-degree, regain or expand their share of currently enrolled student credit hours, or even attract new students to existing programs.

Facilitating student self-direction in a blended learning environment

Business postgraduate education is rapidly adopting virtual learning environments to facilitate the needs of a time-poor stakeholder community, where part-time students find it difficult to attend face-to-face classes. Creating engaged, flexible learning opportunities in the virtual world is therefore the current challenge for many business academics. However, in the blended learning environment there is also the added pressure of encouraging these students to develop soft managerial or generic skills such as self-reflection. The current paper provides an overview of an action-research activity exploring the experiences of students who were required to acquire the skills of self-reflection within a blended learning unit dominated by on-line learning delivery. We present the responses of students and the changes made to our teaching and learning activities to improve the facilitation of both our face-to-face delivery as well as the on-line learning environment.

Out there

Slides on how to utilize the web to create an online portfolio using social network and tumblr. Also introduction to basic CMS's including indexhibit, for setting up a simple portfolio website.

Integração de tecnologias e webtecnologias no ensino de língua inglesa: concepções teóricas, crenças e interações na prática docente

Pós-graduação em Estudos Linguísticos - IBILCE

An online student portfolio for the development and assessment of engineering graduate attributes

An online student portfolio was evaluated as a means for engaging students with the concept of graduate attributes, and for documenting student attainment of graduate attributes. Students rated the portfolio system as easy to use, and indicated that it helped them to appreciate the skills and knowledge they had developed.

Towards a service portfolio management framework

Services in the form of business services or IT-enabled (Web) Services have become a corporate asset of high interest in striving towards the agile organisation. However, while the design and management of a single service is widely studied and well understood, little is known about how a set of services can be managed. This gap motivated this paper, in which we explore the concept of Service Portfolio Management. In particular, we propose a Service Portfolio Management Framework that explicates service portfolio goals, tasks, governance issues, methods and enablers. The Service Portfolio Management Framework is based upon a thorough analysis and consolidation of existing, well-established portfolio management approaches. From an academic point of view, the Service Portfolio Management Framework can be positioned as an extension of portfolio management conceptualisations in the area of service management. Based on the framework, possible directions for future research are provided. From a practical point of view, the Service Portfolio Management Framework provides an organisation with a novel approach to managing its emerging service portfolios.

60Sox and the 2bobmob : mentoring in an online learning community for creative industries graduates

Knowledge intensive services are the fastest growing segment of the international economy and the digital creative industries are a key segment therein. Australia is well positioned to exploit this opportunity but has a skills shortage in the digital content industries in terms of commercial ready graduates. We report on a solution to this problem, in the form of an online creative community of practice – www.60Sox.org - where new graduates are mentored by Australian industry leaders - the 2bobmob. We describe this community of practice as a virtual creative ecology and discuss networks, peer feedback and mentoring as key elements of post-tertiary learning, in the context of portfolio career progression.

Integrated literacies : every online player wins a prize

QUT Library’s model of learning support brings together academic literacy (study skills) and information literacy (research skills). The blended portfolio enables holistic planning and development, seamless services, connected learning resources and more authentic curriculum-embedded education. The model reinforces the Library’s strategic focus on learning service innovation and active engagement in teaching and learning. ----- ----- ----- The online learning strategy is a critical component of the broader literacies framework. This strategy unifies new and existing online resources (e.g.: Pilot, QUT cite|write and IFN001|AIRS Online) to augment learner capability. Across the suite, prudent application of emerging technologies with visual communications and learning design delivers a wide range of adaptive study tools. Separately and together, these resources meet the learning needs and styles of a diverse cohort providing positive and individual learning opportunities. Deliberate articulation with strategic directions regarding First Year Experience, assessment, retention and curriculum alignment assures that the Library’s initiatives move in step with institutional objectives relating to enhancing the student experience and flexible blended learning. ----- ----- ----- The release of Studywell in 2010 emphasises the continuing commitment to blended literacy education. Targeting undergraduate learners (particularly 1st year/transition), this online environment provides 24/7 access to practical study and research tools. Studywell’s design and application of technology creates a “discovery infrastructure” [1] which facilitates greater self-directed learning and interaction with content. ----- ----- ----- This paper presents QUT Library’s online learning strategy within the context of the parent “integrated literacies” framework. Highlighting the key online learning resources, the paper describes the inter-relationships between those resources to develop complementary literacies. The paper details broad aspects of the overarching learning and study support framework as well as the online strategy, including strategic positioning, quality and evaluation processes, maintenance, development, implementation, and client engagement and satisfaction with the learning resources.

Forecasting high-frequency futures returns using online langevin dynamics

Forecasting the returns of assets at high frequency is the key challenge for high-frequency algorithmic trading strategies. In this paper, we propose a jump-diffusion model for asset price movements that models price and its trend and allows a momentum strategy to be developed. Conditional on jump times, we derive closed-form transition densities for this model. We show how this allows us to extract a trend from high-frequency finance data by using a Rao-Blackwellized variable rate particle filter to filter incoming price data. Our results show that even in the presence of transaction costs our algorithm can achieve a Sharpe ratio above 1 when applied across a portfolio of 75 futures contracts at high frequency. © 2011 IEEE.

EPS (Electronic Portfolio System)

In 2001, before the term “e-portfolio” was common parlance there was a perceived need to enable teachers in training to save, store, present and archive their electronically-based work so that it could be assessed by tutors. A Teacher Training Agency (TTA) Grant was used to design and implement an online system for trainee teachers to save evidence of their activities called Electronic Portfolio System (EPS). Over the years, its use and value has changed and, through the support of the Teacher Development Agency for schools (TDA), the system will continue to develop. The features of the system have grown organically because of technology changes and by tutors and mentors identifying affordances. This presentation will identify the principles and how they guide the development process. It will give an opportunity to elucidate the next stages in e-portfolio developments.

Online student portfolios for demonstration of engineering graduate attributes

Engineers Australia is the Australian professional body that accredits undergraduate engineering programs. It espouses an ‘outcomes-based’ program accreditation philosophy, but imposes mandatory ‘process’ requirements for off-campus programs that are in addition to the requirements for conventional on-campus programs. The focus on off-campus engineering study raises the question: how can learning outcomes, regardless of mode of study, be effectively measured? The current answer appears to be ‘graduate attributes’. The literature reveals a range of sophistication in approach to graduate attributes from identifying desirable graduate attributes, through to evidence-based certification of individual student attainment of graduate attributes. Many engineering accrediting bodies around the world identify student portfolios as a strategy for demonstrating student attainment of graduate attributes. The increasing use of online technology by students and educators alike, including as part of assessment, means that many of the reported applications of student portfolios are online portfolios. The effectiveness of online student portfolios will depend on them being embedded in day-to-day educational practice, rather than being an optional extra given a low priority by busy students. This paper presents a survey of the related literature and briefly outlines a project in progress at Deakin University to trial an online student portfolio.

Students' perceptions of the value of the elements of an online learning environment : looking back in moving forward

In 2003, Deakin University implemented a centralised learning management system (LMS) under the banner of Deakin Studies Online (DSO), as well as implementing policies requiring all its units of study to have at least a basic online presence from 2004. Given the scope of the university's commitment to online education, it was considered essential to evaluate the effectiveness of this investment. Based on more than 5400 responses obtained from students in 2004 and 2005 as part of the DSO evaluation survey, the analysis presented here identifies those elements of the online learning environment (OLE) that are most used and valued by students, those elements of the OLE that students most want to see improved, and, those factors that most contribute to students' perceptions that use of the OLE enhanced their learning experience. The most used and valued elements were core LMS functions, including accessing unit information, accessing lecture/tute/lab notes, interacting with unit learning resources, reading online discussions, contacting lecturers/tutors and submitting assignments online. The OLE elements identified as most needing attention were receiving feedback on assignments; viewing my marks; and reviewing unit progress. Students felt that using DSO enhanced their learning experience when they were adequately supported by unit teachers and technical support services; when they were able to find and use unit information; and when they were able to read the online contributions of other unit members. The retrospective analysis of data collected in the period 2004-2005 has been shaped by a forward-looking agenda. The array of elements available within, and in association with, traditional LMSs which has emerged since that time raises the future challenge of how to maximise and evidence educational value through the optimal combination of elements from the portfolio of e-learning technologies increasingly available to educators.

The pragmatic portfolio : an assessment approach for distributed learning

Portfolios, especially where they involve some use of or link to online technologies, are currently a popular focus for learning innovation in universities, drawing on a tradition of using portfolios in some areas of higher education and attempting to extend and broaden this practice. In some cases this focus has led to ambitious plans for whole-of-institution approaches, often involving significant technological development. However, the term portfolio can also cover a wider variety of possible learning and assessment activities and there are ways of using portfolios which, while quite traditional in their own form and approach, enable teachers to approach other aspects of their curriculum and pedagogy in far more innovative ways. This paper explores the conceptual basis on which the Department of Internet Studies at Curtin University of Technology is utilising a pragmatic approach to portfolio assessment within individual units of study, so as to enable a more thorough implementation of distributed learning. In this form of learning, where students regularly contribute to their own and others' learning through short tasks and conversations, the evidence of achievement is widely distributed and not easily accessible for either formative or summative assessment. As explained in the paper, students are required to collate, select, and then contextualise a sample of these numerous productive moments of their ongoing study. The paper concludes that while other goals for portfolio assessment (such as encouraging reflection) can also be used with this approach, its primary value is in unleashing the potential of social media creativity in a manner that motivates students via the requirement of assessment, enables feedback to be provided to guide learning, and which promotes shared responsibility between teachers and students in determining the kind and extent of their learning activities.