The Redgate Read On Online Learning

I am a staunch proponent that human beings learn best through interacting with one another and by participating in cognitive exercise.   In the virtual classroom, it is my opinion that most learning management systems and instructional design promote interaction whether that interaction is with faculty or peers, real time or not, and this is good.  This interaction is girded with the help of modern technology and is exhibited through email, discussion boards, chat, streaming media, virtual office hours, wikis, and blogs. 

If you are a prospective online student reading this post, it is imperative that you do your research as it relates to an online school’s curriculum delivery.  You, as on online student, will be the beneficiary of a virtual classroom that promotes rich interaction.  Remember, the assembling of online courseware does not equal a online course.  Curriculum presentation is only one facet to your learning experience.

What about cognitive exercise?  This is something, in my experience, that is lacking in online instruction and curriculum design.  What do I mean?  Some facets of our current education system, including online learning, plunge us into deep mental ruts.  They reward a regurgitation of facts or mastery of learning objectives rather than encouraging people to rekindle the creativity that many of us left behind some years ago. 

Human cognitive development actually peaks in the teen years, flattens out in our late thirties, and then begins a gradual decline that continues until we die.  True learning, especially for the adult student, must include mental pursuits capable of combating this decline.  The most fulfilled people I know are those who strive to “rewire” whether through new educational, religious, philanthropic, or recreational pursuits.  These people keep challenging themselves by attempting to master new skills.  If you are thinking about finishing your degree or are already doing so, you should be commended for “rewiring.”

Online courses must be rich in interaction and cognitive exercise.  They must be of no less quality than face to face courses.  Unfortunately, many are not.  Although learning still occurs in such settings, the lack of these two elements will not keep the learner agile and fit for life.  Lifelong learning must be rewarded not competencies that encourage “domain expertise.”

Those of us in online learning must think beyond the status quo.  A better virtual classroom, that combines rich interaction with cognitive exercise,  not only helps learning outcomes and keeps learners engaged, but transcends the negative connotations that some in traditional educational circles have leveled against online learning.

The following article, featured in Forbes.com, was written by the lead investor of Chancellor University, Michael Clifford:

Higher education is overall a mature and highly inefficient industry. The instructional costs of a ground campus can be as high as 50% of total costs, according to Richard Vedder in his book, “Going Broke by Degree: Why College Costs So Much.” This contrasts starkly to online instructional costs of only around 15%.

While the difference in numbers can be stark, there may be little, if any, gap in the quality of education that can be administered over the Internet. In fact, a recent report by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which surveyed 1,000 universities, found that three-fourths of academic leaders at public colleges and universities believe that online learning quality equals or surpasses face-to-face instruction. This is being reinforced by regulators, who are determined to ensure that online education is at least comparable to face-to-face instruction in exchange for sought-after accreditation and the student loans that come with it.

Traditional universities are caught up in a perfect storm. States are slashing subsidies, endowment returns have fallen–some more than 50%–and end-of-year donations for 2008 practically disappeared. Meanwhile, operating costs and other expenses continue to rise. Don’t miss the rally, but don’t lose more money!

Distressed turnaround situations are becoming increasingly common in higher education. Good schools, hit with financial stressors, are in need of serious outside help, and many are finding it from financial investors, like me and my firm.

Smart firms bring more than just financial aid to the schools. They institute financial discipline, increase marketing to build on schools’ historic missions. Academics are given resources to teach. Students become the center of attention rather than faculty. Investors know that they will lose their money if the quality of education isn’t the best available, so they focus tremendous resources on making sure quality is the highest priority.

Another impressive aspect of online education is that these entities do not require a lot of capital. Our experience is that $15 million invested over a three- to four-year period will generate a company that is worth $300 million to $500 million in the public marketplace.

Once an investment team gets the school profitable, larger private equity firms step in with growth capital and then finally comes the IPO, or the “endowment of the future.”

During this economic downturn and throughout the bear market, one pocket of market strength has been in the for-profit schools. One of our portfolio companies, Grand Canyon Education, is a bit of a rarity. It completed an initial public offering last fall on Nov. 20, 2008, breaking the longest IPO dry spell in 33 years on Nasdaq. The stock still trades 25% higher than its offering price. Grand Canyon earned $6.7 million on revenue of $161.3 million in 2008, up significantly from net income of $3 million on $99.3 million in sales in 2007.

There are a handful of online education-oriented companies that are currently doing a nice job holding their own in the stock markets, including Capella Education , Apollo Group and American Public Education. Recently, Bridgepoint Education has filed its S-1 to go public.

Fueling the bullish trend for online education is America’s need to retool its workforce in order to compete in the global marketplace. In the Great Depression, the government asked us to pick up shovels to rebuild America. Now, in this economic crisis, the Department of Education, headed by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, is the key government agency to help people learn new skills so the U.S. can compete in the global marketplace.

Worldwide spending on education is estimated at $2.46 trillion, according to a 2004 UNESCO report; it is hard to find an industry this size that is growing so much faster than so many other market segments. The Internet has and will continue to facilitate this growth.

Saturation will not be an issue for at least 10 years because there are approximately 35 million working adults who haven’t completed their bachelor degrees and who could secure better employment with a degree. Many employers reimburse some tuition. Busy adults find the only way they can complete a degree is through the asynchronous convenience of online.

“(These companies) operate in an industry marked by strong secular demand trends as students seek to enhance their skills and thus future earnings prospects,” Britt Trukenbrod, principal at William Blair & Co., recently told me. “In general, investors view these characteristics favorably in addition to the sector’s legal, financial and regulatory barriers to entry. This foundation should help keep returns to education sector investors high in the years to come.”

Michael K. Clifford is chairman of SignificantFederation, LLC, a management firm that continues to invest in higher education. He was the founding/lead investor in Grand Canyon University and the predecessor to Bridgepoint Education, with several new niche offerings in his higher education pipeline.

Read the original article at http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/17/grand-canyon-university-personal-finance-investing-ideas-apollo-group.html

Knowledge is exploding!   I have heard it stated that the sum of all that is known doubles every seven years.  That’s good and bad.  It’s good in the sense that we have literally, at our fingertips, the ability to accumulate more knowledge in one year than previous generations accumulated in a lifetime.  It’s bad in the sense that, at the same time, the shelf life of knowledge is declining.  Read the rest of this entry »

I believe the chart above truly captures the essence of any transition, whether personal or professional.  We always start out with optimism and then, when faced with initial information or obstacles, that optimism turns into informed pessimism. The key element to this transition curve, however, is the “Crisis of Meaning.” It is at this juncture where one “makes it or breaks it.”  It is my opinion that a person’s attitude plays a critical role at this stage.

How does this apply to online learning?  For the adult learner who is earning his or her degree in the online modality, this pursuit is actually a journey, very similar to this transition curve.  The online adult learner usually starts with “Uninformed Optimism.”  They might know something about the school they want to attend, have researched tuition rates and programs, and even applied for financial aid.  But, they are really not versed in online learning and the demands that will be placed upon them.  That individual then moves quickly, in most cases, to “Informed Pessimism.”  They work feverishly to adjust to the asynchronous schedule, the virtual classroom, and the balancing of work, family, and school.  It’s tough — make no bones about it.  And then, rest assured, there is a “Crisis of Meaning.”  It might be as a result of a failed class, a family emergency, or a lack of self management.  This crisis often compounds itself with multiple challenges.  It is here where the online learner will either “crash and burn” or succeed.  

I just finished teaching one of my classes today and sent a parting email that basically said that there will be “tough days” in this journey but one can never quit.  The inevitable outcome, earning that coveted degree, certainly outweighs the fleeting challenges.  I believe this, and I also know that attitude and determination play key roles in whether or not one moves from the “Crisis of Meaning” to “Informed Optimism.” 

“Informed Optimism” is the launching pad to a successful completion of the journey.  It is there where the online learner has learned his priorities, mastered his schedule, and developed that “Don’t Quit” mentality.