European MOOC model
OpenUpEd, 2016/12/16

As the article notes, Europe has embraced the MOOC and is creating its own distinct flavour (one that I would say is closer to the original MOOCs than the commercial American products). This article summarizes that movement with reference to numerous resources, including two surveys of the HOME project (Higher education Online: MOOCs the European way), the 2015 JRC-IPTS survey on open education in Europe, and the Porto Declaration on European MOOCs signed by more than 70 organizations.

[Link] [Comment]

Mwabu and Onyx Connect have joined forces to locally produce the Mwabu e-learning tablet.
Staff Writer, IT News Africa, 2016/12/16

Onyx Connect is a South African startup with backing from Google. Mwabu's head office is in Cambridge, UK, with a branch office near Durban. "Mwabu and Onyx Connect have joined forces to locally produce the Mwabu e-learning tablet. The partnership will allow Mwabu to locally produce e-learning tablets which will enable easy distribution of their e-learning content." It makes sense in all sorts of ways to manuacture them locally. The core technology (eg., "circuit-board designs and raw components") will be imported from China.

[Link] [Comment]

Online Course Quality: What do Nontraditional Students Value?
Emily Hixon, Casimir Barczyk, Penny Ralston-Berg, Janet Buckenmeyer, Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 2016/12/16

One reason I'm linking to this item is that it focuses on nontraditional students, which makes it a welcome relief from most similar work (it would be even better if it extended to non-students, but that may be asking a bit too much). The nontraditional students value about what you might expect: clear instructions on how to get started, clear assessment criteria, and access to technical support if something goes wrong. I would like to have known what traditional students favour more, but beyond saying they don't like the start-of-course introductions, the article doesn't really address that.

[Link] [Comment]