Harvard and MIT Are Making EdX MOOC Data Available for Research

Harvard and MIT are making EdX MOOC data available for research. I think it could be a huge opportunity for some education researchers who are looking for data opportunities. The CHE story on it>http://chroni.cl/1fg2F2v

Competency-based Degree Programs are Ready for a Surge?

I noticed this story at Inside Highered which suggests competency-based degrees may be ready for a surge. >http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/02/21/direct-assessment-and-feds-take-competency-based-education . Competency-based implies that the student can test-out of much or all of the coursework normally required to earn a degree by passing appropriate tests or submitting completed work. Since higher education has become so expensive the demand for competency-based degrees seems to have surged. The validity of a competency-based degree depends on the validity of the methods that are used to assess the students skills and abilities, but isn't the validity of regular degree programs also dependent on that? The Inside Higher Ed story is concerned with the federal governments action in encouraging/discouraging competency-based higher education. Leading proponents of competency-based degrees include Southern New Hampshire University and Western Governors University, and I think you can count Excelsior University as a proponent too. These three institution are regionally accredited. The graduate degree program information presented on my website ( http://onlinegraduateschool.tripod.com/nfp.htm ) is focussed on online degree programs from regionally accredited institutions.

Newly Added to My Website: Online Master Degrees In Healthcare Informatics, Human Resources, Nursing, and Health Science.

Website news… I added information and links for online Master degree programs in Health Science and in Human Resources from a Catholic university in Loretto, Pennsylvania> http://onlinegraduateschool.tripod.com/nfp.htm#stf .

All the graduate degree programs presented on my website ( http://onlinegraduateschool.tripod.com/nfp.htm ) are online degree programs from regionally accredited institutions.

Has Your Website Been ... De-deprecated??

I found out that deprecated HTML on your website could hurt your websites ranking & functionality. See: http://webdesign.about.com/od/htmltags/a/bltags_deprctag.htm I was really surprised at some of the tags that are deprecated, some of which once seemed very critical and advanced, but are now hinging on the obsolete. Turns out CSS (style sheets) are now even more critical to web site design. This identifies deprecated HTML tags: http://www.codehelp.co.uk/html/deprecated.html

Credit for MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) Program Stalls

The Chronicle of Higher Education (http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/credit-for-moocs-effort-hits-a-snag/49573) reports that a program to give college credit for selected MOOC is not succeeding because students didn't sign-up. I wonder how many students at those colleges were eligible for the credit. Maybe students could have taken one of the MOOC after the program was announced, but I wonder if it would be too disruptive for an on campus student to take a MOOC when the student is already present on campus to take courses. Being on campus probably indicated a preference for on campus courses. In any case, the program is being modified. ( I posted a similar comment on my website: http://onlinegraduateschool.tripod.com/blog1.htm, and on the CHE comments.)

Recent Additions to my Find Your Online Graduate School Website.

I recently added links to the Adler School of Professional Psychology to my website. It is a nonprofit independent graduate school located in Chicago. I have read that this school will be changing it's name to Adler University soon. The school was named in honor of Alfred Adler who was a great, historic psychology theorist in community psychology, so this school seems likely to be a good choice for many. The programs offered online include Master degree programs in Industrial/Organizational Psychology; Psychology/Military Psychology; and Criminality. Another thing I like about this school is that it offers an APA accredited doctoral program on campus, and it seems to me that the doctoral program might be a logical next step after a student completed the Master's online. The implication of the APA approved doctoral degree program is that the faulty and school have a high level of credibility in the psychology community. APA only accredits doctoral programs, per ce, however schools that have such an accredited doctoral program gain credibility overall.

I also recently added links to the American University . Long ago I lived in the Washington, DC area and I was familiar with American University, which is very well known in that area. The online degree programs I list on my website for them are Master degrees in Strategic Communication, and Teaching English as a Foreign Language. There is also a Graduate Certificate in Project Monitoring and Evaluation. IMO someone who is working for the federal government in the DC area might benefit hugely from earning their Master from American University since it does have that positive profile and reputation in the National Capitol region.

HTML That May Make a Web Page More Mobile Small Screen Friendly

I read in a number of sources that you can add this: , to the head section of ur webpage to make it more small-screen mobile friendly! This code helps the mobile device depict your page on an appropriate scale so the user can read the text without a lot of extra zooming. If the users have to zoom a lot they are more likely to bounce.