Women have a very influential voice and Fortune 500 Companies are taking note as witnessed at the recent BlogHer conference in New York City. Turns out, education is no different.
What is the charge? Rise to the Challenge...if we don't who will? On December 1-3 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USDLA is sponsoring the 2010 International Forum for Women in ELearning (IFWE). IFWE is an opportunity to share ideas, learn about distance learning programs and products, and gain a better understanding of being a leader in the field. It provides participants with a wonderful opportunity to establish new relationships and contacts with others involved in distance learning. The format of the event allows attendees to learn about relevant topics from many different points of view.
In a recent article published in The Arizona Republic, University of Phoenix appears to be taking a short-term hit to sacrifice for the greater good. The greater good being the preparedness of their students. UofP is driving a strong effort to help their students be successful and increase retention in the non-traditional learning environment. Including a new required orientation course and individualized learning paths, Greg Cappelli, the company's co-chief executive officer says, "We believe this is the right thing to do for the students".
Although risking short term losses, if University of Phoenix's gamble pays off and they improve retention, long term they will once again be leading the online learning global pack.
According to recent reports K-12 online learning is growing. Like early on in higher education there is much debate about whether online learning is the best choice for secondary learners. Nonetheless, the rapid growth and success in alternative learning environments is undeniable. Check out the statistics below.
K–12 online learning is a new field consisting of an estimated $50 million market, which is growing at an estimated annual pace of 30% annually.
The overall number of K–12 students engaged in online courses during 2007–2008 is estimated at 1.03 million, a 47% increase from 2005–2006
Online learning is currently used by 4% of K–12 students, and this number is expected to grow to 15% by 2011
44 states have significant supplemental online learning programs, significant full-time programs (in which students take most or all of their courses online), or both.
34 states offer state-led programs or initiatives that are designed, in most cases, to work with existing school districts to supplement course offerings for students.
As of January 2007, there were 173 virtual charter schools serving 92,235 students in 18 states.
57% of public secondary schools in the U.S. provide students access to online learning.
Recently we sponsored a free webinar - "Tools for Scaling your Distance Learning Program". To view the archived session go to http://smarterservices.com/webinars.cfm.
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