Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eCampus News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

Nevada college to combine online, face-to-face learning through flexible classes

Expanding online options could prevent some courses from being cancelled, officials said.

For students taking courses at the various campuses that make up Western Nevada College, commuting to and from class can be a two and a half hour ordeal. The mountainous drive can be a particular burden on those students already struggling to balance their school schedule with family and work obligations.

Western Nevada College is experimenting this fall with a new way for its students to learn: if a student’s schedule is not flexible enough, then maybe the class itself can be.

Called “flex classes,” the format consists of 15 courses that are both face to face and online. The courses, ranging from bookkeeping to introduction to criminal justice, will be taught at three of the college’s campuses, while also broadcast live online and archived for later viewing.…Read More

1 2

The role of smartpens in the flipped classroom

Six in 10 students in a recent survey said flipped learning has proven effective.

In a perfect world where students always do their homework and come to class completely prepared, flipping the classroom would be the ideal solution for keeping students engaged in class.

However, one of the challenges of teaching is that some students do not always come to class completely prepared. Maybe flipping the classroom would be easier in a high school setting, where parents can enforce homework time. But college students have a choice — they’re adults.

No one is standing over their shoulders and making them do their homework.…Read More

1 2

Is professorial ego driving opposition to flipped learning?

Flipped classrooms have proved popular with college students.

The advantages to a flipped classroom are obvious to someone who has done it and difficult to conceive for those who have not. A flipped classroom—a model that has students watching lectures online, outside the classroom, and doing assignments during class time—works quite effectively if viewed from a pedagogical perspective.

It also puts the onus on the students to take responsibility for their learning and negatively impacts grade inflation, because students are much more likely to earn lower grades from an online course simply because they don’t log in regularly or bother completing assignments.

I have been running a flipped classroom for many years. It also gives me online documentation as to what is happening in class with attendance and participation, which I never had in the brick-and-mortar environment.…Read More

1 2