The Redgate Read On Online Learning

The Redgate family has certainly had its share of educational experiences, milestones, accomplishments, and tuition payments :

Shaun Redgate Sr. – Graduated Liberty University undergrad and grad (88/90) – School of Lifelong Learning

Melody Redgate — Graduated from Liberty University School of Nursing (97)

Shaun Redgate Jr. — Graduated from the University of Virginia (03)

Brett Redgate — Graduated from James Madison University (05)

Paul Redgate — Graduated from Emory and Henry College (05)

Lindsey Redgate — Graduated from Longwood Unversity (05)

Madison Redgate — Class of 2030 — somewhere

Christina Redgate — Will graduate this spring from the College of William and Mary

Scott Redgate — Class of 2011 at James Madison University

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ATTENTION ADULT LEARNER !!!  Did you know that one out of every two adult learners are supported by some type of tuition assistance plan?  Here is a “snapshot” of how these tuition assistance or tuition reimbursement programs work:

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Well — I just finished up instructing for one of Liberty University’s Distance Learning Program’s spring sub-terms.  In fact, I just submitted my final grades.  My class, BIBL 104, Survey Of Biblical Literature had 23 students in our virtual, asynchronous classroom.  The more classes I serve as adjunct for the more convinced I am that online students need online instructors who are not only subject matter experts but are also extremely responsive to students’ inquiries and questions.   I have had students tell me “horror stories” of online professors who failed to communicate in a consistent and timely way. 

Since many online programs operate primarily in an asychronous environment, it is imperative that communication in the virtual classroom be timely.  Remember, asychronous delivery means that the communication protocols are not synchronous and that information is transmitted intermittenly or at non-prescribed intervals.  

A couple thoughts on this:   Read the rest of this entry »

Elearners.com is a comprehensive web portal that provides resources to online learners and connects them with online learning providers.  They are one of the largest portals in this space.  They recently reported, based on data they have collected, the most popular online degrees that students enrolled in for 2007.  Here is the list: Read the rest of this entry »

Federal enactment of No Child Left Behind and the federal government’s requirements that states offer students in low performing schools an alternative means of pursuing public education, coupled with state momentum behind requiring high schools students to complete some form of online education prior to graduation has substantially opened up the virtual marketplace for online K - 12 programs.  The No Child Left Behind Act has its shortcomings.  Although I am not in that space, there are two Redgates (Paul and his wife, Lindsey) who are currently teachers in a public school setting and my daughter, Christina, who graduates this May from William and Mary with a degree in education, have voiced to me their concerns.  Nevertheless, No Child Left Behind does open the door for a more vibrant virtual opportunity.

My colleague, Ron Kennedy (www.ronaldkennedy.com) and I have launched an online 3 - 12 Academy (www.libertyonlineacademy.com)  a little over six months ago.  We have deliberately held back on the recruiting “throttle” as we fine tune our messaging, infrastructure, and academic protocol.  What has been interesting is that we have been enrolling students every month and the student make-up is about 50% from a public school setting and 50% from a home school environment.   In the current online K - 12 market, growth has been most significant in rural, high poverty, large public school districts in the Southeast and Central regions and has been driven by efforts to improve cost efficiency.  Read the rest of this entry »