Building the Education Revolution!

Online education lets us move ahead without quitting our day job. Let's face it, we are busier than ever with work, family, and errands. But we can't drop everything to go back to school. We need a school that works with your packed schedule. That's where online classes comes in- flexible, convenient, and plenty of bang for your buck.

Online schools offer a wide variety of accredited degree programs that we can take at our own pace and from the comfort of your home. Degree programs offered range from certificates to associates degrees to bachelor's degrees and even up to doctorates. From Nursing, Criminal Justice, and Information Systems to Education, Accounting, and Psychology, online universities have the majors we are looking for. Best of all, we can learn when you want without leaving home.

Online universities gives the knowledge and training we need to move our career forward. Degree programs range from two to four years in length. Because we students don't have to quit our full-time jobs while in school,we are able to gain a degree and invaluable work experience simultaneously.
The first step toward earning an online degree is learning more. Classes and Careers lets you browse thousands of accredited online degrees and contact schools for more information.Lets welcome to the first step toward our next degree…

Building the Education Revolution (BER) is a key element of the Australian Government’s Nation Building – Economic Stimulus Plan and will provide infrastructure funding so each of Australia’s 9540 schools can meet the needs of 21st century students and teachers.

Indigenous Schooling
The department is committed to the Australian Government's targets of reducing Indigenous disadvantage, including halving the gap in reading, writing and numeric achievements for Indigenous children within a decade; and to halve the gap for Indigenous students in year 12 equivalent attainment rates by 2020. Through the Council of Australian Governments (CO AG) all governments in Australia are working towards delivering world-class schooling for all children.

Trade Training Centers
The Trade Training Centers in Schools Program is an important element of the Commonwealth Government’s Education Revolution. It will provide $2.5 billion over 10 years to enable all secondary schools to apply for funding of between $500,000 and $1.5 million for Trade Training Centers.

Digital Education Revolution
The Digital Education Revolution, a major part of the Australian Government's Education Revolution, is a vital step in creating a world-class education system for Australia.

K12 Strategy

In this time when parents, students, and schools are under more pressure than ever to
Succeed, K¹² offers many ways to do just that. With a continuum of effective, inspiring online learning options:… from exceptional online courses… to blended online/classroom school programs… to full-time online public and private school programs… K¹² has become the largest provider of online learning for grades K-12, because we know better than anyone else how to build engaging curriculum that blends online and offline learning experiences. We also enable differentiated instruction down to the individual level — rooted in decades of educational research. We can wrap this curriculum with services that include teacher support, daily lesson plans, and a vibrant, global online community.We use technology, not as an endpoint, but as a channel for delivering game-changing solutions to large challenges. And we can deliver results that far exceed expectations:
For parents looking to change or supplement their child’s traditional schooling.
For districts and legislators who need to address dropout rates, credit recovery, advanced learners, special populations, and shrinking budgets.
For teachers who discover a new level of student engagement, and new confidence and satisfaction in teaching even the toughest subjects.
It turns out that children blossom when they’re immersed in the right blend of online and offline content and tools, and can work at the pace that’s right for them. And as the mind is engaged and challenged in the right way for each child, a life can change. We can see that a lot around here. To come learn why, and let’s join together in this 21st century journey.
K¹² Student Wins Most Inspiring Person Award! 12-year old Zach Bonner, a Florida student in a full-time K¹² public school program, has become the youngest winner of Belief net.com’s annual award. Read about Zach’s amazing work on behalf of homeless kids.Online Schooling is Working for More and More Families Online schools are becoming increasingly popular in the U.S., and nowhere more so than in Idaho. Learn about two families' experiences with the Idaho Virtual Academy.Video: How We Create Great Learning Watch K¹² experts explain how they develop the world’s best online education. Meet some of the amazing people who make K¹² learning happen in Science, History, Remedial Reading, and more.Study Finds Online Students Possess Strong Social Skills A new study finds that students enrolled in full-time, online public schools possess social skills superior to, or not significantly different than, students enrolled in traditional public schools. Read the report summary. K¹²’s High School Algebra Text Winesap Distinguished Achievement Award while we’re well-known for online learning, our “off-line” materials are first-class, too!Business Week names two K¹² partner schools the top high schools in their states! Ohio Virtual Academy and Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School were named the Parent’s Choice winners as best high school in Ohio and Pennsylvania, respectively, by Business Week magazine and Great Schools.net.

Best Online Education

Do we know what the best online education is? The one that allows us to better our self and your family without worrying about how we are going to get it all accomplished. If we have dreams and goals then there is no reason why we cannot see them to fruition. If not having enough education is the excuse, then we no longer having it to fall back on? The best online education can be found today and it makes getting our certificate, GED or college diploma easier than ever before.
Online education classes offer us a new way of viewing the classroom. In today's online classes, you classroom is a discussion forum where your questions, comments, and 'classroom' participation is all done in real time. We imagine being able to have a heated discussion about a topic in an online forum. If we are familiar with forums then we know that this happens. While in a classroom forum diplomacy and courtesy still reign, the discussions are just as informative and heated.
And what about being able to watch a movie for class on your own time? With the best online education classes we can schedule our class work around your life. Live satellite feeds, our professor based on what is convenient for the student’s schedules tests and quizzes and many people enjoy the fact that they do not have to be visible in a classroom any longer. With online classes, we no longer have to worry about leaving your job to get an education.
What kind of classes do we want to take? What king of degree do you want to earn? Do you have a future career goal in mind? Or do we already know what we want to do and just need to sign up for the classes? No matter where we are in this decision process the best online education is the one that allow us to achieve our goals without having to sacrifice a good job or our family time. Taking the time to choose the degree we want and research the institution you intend to get it from. Always going with an accredited college and university and talking to the counselors they’re to find out if we can get our degree wholly online. It is possible that you may never have to step foot in a classroom again.
And that is a big consideration when finding the best online education to meet our needs.

E-learning

E-learning (or electronic learning or e-learning) is a term that encompasses all forms of Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) or very specific types of TEL such as online or Web-based learning. Nevertheless, the term does not have a universally accepted definition[1] and there are divides in the e-learning industry about whether a technology-enhanced system can be called e-learning if there is no set pedagogy as some argue e-learning is: "pedagogy empowered by digital technology".[2]
The term e-learning is ambiguous to those outside the e-learning industry, and even within its diverse disciplines it has different meanings to different people [1]. For instance, in companies it often refers to the strategies that use the company network to deliver training courses to employees and lately in most Universities, e-learning is used to define a specific mode to attend a course or program of study where the students rarely or never meet face-to-face, nor access on-campus educational facilities, because they study online.

Goals and benefits of e-learning

E-Learning can provide benefits for the organizations and individuals involved.
Improved performance: A 12-year meta-analysis of research by the U.S. Department of Education found that higher education students in online learning generally performed better than those in face-to-face courses.[3]
Increased access: Instructors of the highest calibre can share their knowledge across borders, allowing students to attend courses across physical, political, and economic boundaries. Recognized experts have the opportunity of making information available internationally, to anyone interested at minimum costs. For example, the MIT OpenCourseWare program has made substantial portions of that university's curriculum and lectures available for free online.
Convenience and flexibility to learners: in many contexts, e-learning is self-paced and the learning sessions are available 24x7. Learners are not bound to a specific day/time to physically attend classes. They can also pause learning sessions at their convenience.The High technology is not necessary for all online courses. Basic Internet access, audio, and video capabilities are common requirements. [4] Depending on the technology used, students can begin their courses while at work and finish them at home on a different computer.
To develop the skills and competencies needed in the 21st century, in particular to ensure that learners have the digital literacy skills required in their discipline, profession or career Bates (2009)[5] states that a major argument for e-learning is that it enables learners to develop essential skills for knowledge-based workers by embedding the use of information and communications technologies within the curriculum. He also argues that using e-learning in this way has major implications for course design and the assessment of learners.

Additional advantages of computer-based training over traditional classroom training include the ability to:

Paying less per credit hour
Reducing overall training time
Spreading training out over extended periods of time (even months)
Bookmarking progress (computer remembering where the student left off so they can resume the courses from there)
Remaining in one location (e.g., home, office, airport, coffee shop, etc.) with no need to travel
Receiving quality training that bolsters job performance.

How to develop online Education system?

We want to set up an online education system where every one can get answer of his/her problem not only in text form but also in the form of audio/visual i.e. , for instance, if we want to learn how to call APIA in visual basic ,then, it will be better to teach us visually rather textually.
The table below displays the seven best practices for education and gives a brief definition of each.

Best Practice
Definition
Time on task
Making the best use of time means effective learning for students and effective teaching for faculty.
High expectations
Expecting students to perform well becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Rich, rapid feedback
Feedback to students in a timely fashion enhances motivation and learning.
Active learning
Students learn best when they are actively engaging with the content.
Interaction with faculty
Students and faculty interact to promote academic exchange.
Interaction with peers
Students interact with peers in a cooperative learning environment where they are encouraged to explore their own interpretations and those of their peers
Respect for diversity
Learning activities are designed to allow for different ways of knowing

Online Pedagogy: Theories & Best Practices

“New technologies can communicate high expectations explicitly and efficiently. Significant real-life problems, conflicting perspectives, or paradoxical data sets can set powerful learning challenges that drive students to not only acquire information but sharpen their cognitive skills of analysis, synthesis, application, and evaluation. "

Comprehensive Websites about Best Practices

ROD Standards and Template Guidelines at Rod.org
SR EB Principles of Good Practice at e-initiatives.org
TILT/Seven Principles Library at tltgroup.org
Good Models of Teaching with Technology as knowledge loom.org
Assessment at uts.edu.au
Good Practices in Student Assessment at UCD.educ

Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education
Good practice in undergraduate education:

Encourages contact between students and faculty;
Develops reciprocity and cooperation among students;
Encourages active learning;
Gives prompt feedback;
Emphasizes time on task;
Communicates high expectations; and
Respects diverse talents and ways of learning.

Guiding Principles for Faculty in Distance Learning

Distance learning courses will be carefully planned to meet the needs of students within unique learning contexts and environments.
Distance learning programs are most effective when they include careful planning and consistency among courses.
It is important for faculty who are engaged in the delivery of distance learning courses to take advantage of appropriate professional developmental experiences.
Distance learning courses will be periodically reviewed and evaluated to ensure quality, consistency with the curriculum, currency, and advancement of the Student learning outcomes.
Faculty will work to ensure that incentives and rewards for distance learning course development and delivery are clearly defined and understood.
An assessment plan is adapted or developed in order to achieve effectiveness, continuity, and sustainability of the assessment process.
Course outcome assessment activities are integrated components of the assessment plan.
Learning activities are organized around demonstrable learning outcomes embedded in course components including: course delivery mode; pedagogy; content; organization; and evaluation.
Content developed for distance learning courses will comply with copyright law.
Faculty members involved in content development will be aware of their institution's policies with regard to content ownership.
The medium/media chosen to deliver courses and/or programs will be pedagogically effectual, accessible to students, receptive to different learning styles, and sensitive to the time and place limitations of the students.
The institution provides appropriate support services to distance students that are equivalent to services provided for its on-campus students.
The institution provides its students at a distance with accessible library and other learning resources appropriate to the courses or programs delivered via technology. It develops systems to support them in accessing and using these library and other learning resources effectively.
It is important to provide the appropriate developmental experiences for faculty who are engaged in the delivery of distance learning experiences.
The institution implements policies and processes by which the instructional effectiveness of each distance-learning course is evaluated periodically.
Timely and reliable technical support is vital to the success of any distance-learning program.
It is recommended that the faculty develop a system of faculty incentives and rewards cooperatively and the administration, which encourages effort and recognizes achievement associated with the development and delivery of distance learning courses.
The institution will communicate copyright and intellectual property policies to all faculty and staff working on distance-learning course development and delivery.
The institution complies with state policies and maintains regional accreditation standards in regard to distance-learning programs.

Basic Skills for Online Instructors

Instructors should know how to manage collaborative groups.
Instructors should how to leverage questioning strategies effectively.
Instructors should have subject matter expertise.
Instructors should be able to coordinate and involve students in activities.
Instructors should have knowledge of basic learning theory.
Instructors should have specific knowledge of distance learning theory.
Instructors should be able to correlate study guide with distance media.
Instructors should be able to apply graphic design and visual thinking.

Characteristics of Meaningful Learning as Guidelines for Designing Constructivist Learning Environments

Meaningful learning is:

Active
Constructive
Collaborative
Intentional
Complex
Contextual
Conversational
Reflective

General Guidelines for Distance Education Programs

Identifying the teaching or learning objectives to be achieved, and then choose the technology tools that make the goals achievable.
Subordinating technology to the educational objectives.

Choosing technologies that are appropriate to the educational, geographic, social, and economic status of the learners.
Using a delivery mode as transparently as possible.
Devising alternative delivery methods for students having special needs.
Choosing technologies that are established, reliable, adaptable to a range of disciplines, and well supported.
Making plans for an alternative delivery scheme that can be deployed rapidly if the primary delivery system fails.
Choosing delivery methods that maximize the time that instructors can spend assisting students.

Other Resources: