The Landscape of OER Policy and Practice in Texas

December 19, 2019.Reading time 11 minutes.

cover of the OER report reads open education resource s in Texas Higher Ed 2019

Welcome to Judith Sebesta, Executive Director of the Digital Higher Education Consortium of Texas (DigiTex), who joins us with an update on the strategic planning process for the former Virtual College of Texas and to tell us about this year’s survey by DigiTex on Open Educational Resources (OER). Judith provides an overview of the survey […]

Announcing 10 Tips for Report Writers

April 3, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

PIcture with red background and sign that reads, "10 Tips for Report Writers" from Oregon State University Ecampus Research Unit.

In this blog, we welcome Mary Ellen Dello Stritto and Kathryn Linder from the Oregon State University Ecampus Research Unit as they introduce a companion resource: 10 Tips for Report Writers. This new resource was thoughtfully developed to assist practitioners and researchers in the field. Like the Report Reader Checklist, this resource serves as a […]

Tracking enrollments in online and distance education in Canada: 2018

March 26, 2019.Reading time 13 minutes.

Pie chart graph that addresses the question "How Important is Online Learning for Your Institution's Strategic/Academic Plan?" The graph is divided into the following categories: extremely, very, moderately, slightly, and not at all.

WCET plays an integral role in advising the Canadian National Survey of Online and Distance Education. This is the second year of the survey and the following blog contains the most recent results. Thanks Tricia Donovan! –Erin Walton, contract editor for WCET In Canada, about one in twelve (8%) of all courses are taught online. […]

Open Textbooks and OER in Colorado: Lots of Interest and Great Promise

February 9, 2018.Reading time 12 minutes.

image of quote: {“Use of OER is a very clear strategy to speak to two very important concerns/barriers to education for today's learner populations: cost and convenience. Judiciously applying OER to these two critical decision-making issues can lower the barriers for a wide variety of students.” Mike Abbiatti, Exec Director of WCET

This week on WCET Frontiers Blog, Tanya Spilovoy, Ed. D., Director of Open Policy for WCET, discusses the outcomes of the Colorado Open Educational Resources (OER) Council recent work in open textbook initiatives, her research and consulting role with WCET, and how OER can be leveraged to meet state higher education goals. WCET is thrilled […]

Distance Ed Growth – Access is a Big Motivator, But It’s Complicated

February 1, 2018.Reading time 23 minutes.

Graph of answers to question "growth in stduents studying completely at a distance." Expense of F2F enrollments (33.3%), does not affect F2F enrollments as distance students do not come to campus (45.8%), is primarily focused on + funding over serving new students (19.3%), is primarily focused on serving new students over + funding (27.1%), is leading to more blended/hybrid options (64.6%)

Distance education enrollment data continue to show growth. But, we wondered why. Is the motivation to serve more students, to make money, both, neither, or a complex set of other issues? We had heard many theories, often delivered with absolute certainty, but little proof. One of the reasons I wanted to ask these questions was […]

Confessions of a Student at a Conference for Faculty and Administrators

December 14, 2017.Reading time 7 minutes.

hand holding a graphic of a "ball of data"

My name is Emma. I am 25 years old and I am a part time student who is also working full time. I have been familiar with WCET for quite sometime, however, it was not until recently that my interests aligned with their work. As I have pursued my education I have become interested in […]

Need Your Input: What Matters to You in Counting Distance Education Activities?

August 17, 2017.Reading time 15 minutes.

It is said that we count what we value. It is also said that not everything that can be counted has value. Can you help tell the difference when measuring distance education activities? The U.S. Department of Education needs your help in discerning what data it should be collecting about distance education and hybrid/blended learning. […]

Distance Ed Costs and Price: Not as Closely Correlated as You’d Think

February 16, 2017.Reading time 10 minutes.

What do you know about the price and cost of distance education? What do we charge students (the “price”)? How much does the institution spend to create the course (the “cost”)? In order to learn more about this issue, WCET conducted a survey with colleges and university leaders regarding the price and cost of distance […]

Do Closed Captions Help Students Learn?

December 14, 2016.Reading time 7 minutes.

This week we are happy to welcome Dr. Katie Linder, Oregon State University Ecampus, as our guest blog post author. Dr. Linder is here to discuss a national research project on student use of closed captions and transcriptions. The important results show that while these resources are not yet widely available, many students, even those […]

Edtech is a Human Experience: My First SXSWedu

March 14, 2016.Reading time 16 minutes.

Sometimes you have to start at the end to see the beginning more clearly. On my {somewhat delayed} journey home from SXSWedu, our Mike Abbiatti posed the question, “if technology is all it’s cracked up to be, why do we spend so much time in airplanes and hotels?” For me this is a simple answer. We’re […]