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We're excited to sponsor the 2016 Open edX Conference at Stanford University from June  14-16.

On Tuesday, Inside Higher Ed published an article discussing the impact of rising discount rates across higher education institutions. The article hinges on the data shown in the chart below. It indicates discount rates now average 48.6% for first-time freshman and 42.5% for all undergraduates. These rates are at all time highs.

In a previous post, I outline what it takes for an organization to move beyond the filmed movie stage of online learning to the point at which it is creating distinctive online learning experiences. To quote from that article: An online university class should not be the educational equivalent of a filmed play. It should deeply integrate new technologies for …

One of the things we think a lot about at ExtensionEngine is creating new and improved mechanisms for authentic assessments in online learning. Traditionally, online learning hasn’t done authentic assessment well due to limited faculty time, costs, and the limitations of machine grading. We are proposing a Microsoft Office Mix xBlock for Open edX (and eventually edX itself) that would address these limitations and, thus, increase the ease of deploying such assessments.

Evolution of film making vis a vis online learning

Many early movies were simply filmed plays. Early producers simply applied a new technology to an existing cultural construct. The excitement, lasting for a short period of time, was the simple act of watching a play …