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The 2010s were the decade for technology to fundamentally change education. Two years before the decades dawn, Clayton Christensen, Michael B. Horn and Curtis Johnson predicted in their book Disrupting Class that online learning would revolutionize teacher-led instruction and catalyze a student-centered transformation in U.S. K-12 schools. As the decade began, enthusiasm for ed tech seemed on a steady rise. Mainstream news outlets highlighted the promise of Khan Academy and flipped classrooms. Meanwhile, schools and districts across the country committed to 1:1 initiatives that would put Chromebooks or iPads in the hands of every student.

As that happened, educational software platforms such as Dreambox, ST Math, Lexia, Newsela, iReady and IXL made strong inroads into schools. And with all this enthusiasm, a handful of new terms associated with online instruction such as blended learning, personalized learning and adaptive learning made their way into the lexicon.

Does all this online learning mean disruption has occurred in K-12 education? The answer is yes and no.

If we judge disruption purely by the adoption of ed tech in schools, the disruption is well underway and continues to unfold. Christensen, Horn and Johnson predicted that by 2019, roughly 50 percent of all high school courses would involve online delivery of instruction. Though data for checking this prediction have not been collected, if we consider the general use of online learning as a likely correlate with online instructional delivery in high school courses, the data we do have suggest their prediction was on target. A 2019 survey by NewSchools Venture Fund and Gallup found that 65 percent of teachers report using digital learning tools to teach every day. Additionally, in a 2019 survey by Education Week, 96 percent of teachers reported that their schools use digital technologies to personalize learning. As online learning resources replace the textbooks, worksheets and encyclopedias of yesteryear, its easy to mistake them as undeniable signals of the predicted disruption.

Yet that would be a mistake. The widespread adoption of online learning over the past decade has not resulted in a sweeping transformation of K-12 instruction and improvements in student performance. Online learning has been crammed on top of existing instructional models just as Christensen, Horn and Johnson warned leaving conventional classroom instruction largely intact. The aforementioned Education Week survey found that 60 percent of educators rarely or never use adaptive software to let students learn at their own pace. Instead, educators employ adaptive software primarily for remediation or enrichment, not for delivering core instruction in a more personalized manner. A recent McKinsey & Company report indicated that although 60 percent of surveyed teachers believed that their feedback was personalized to each student, only 44 percent of the students surveyed felt the same way. Furthermore, a 2017 study by RAND to evaluate pioneering personalized learning schools found, on average, only small measurable gains in student achievement.

In short, online learning is disrupting the markets for the instructional resources schools purchase. But it has not disrupted conventional approaches to instruction to make education more personalized.

Why hasnt the growth of online learning realized its potential to transform student learning? The most often cited causes include poor implementation, inadequate professional development and strains on teachers time. Forty-two percent of those surveyed by Education Week indicated that their professional development on personalized learning was effective but inconsistent, and another 35 percent reported that theirs was either ineffective or nonexistent. Seventy percent of U.S. teachers surveyed by McKinsey identified not enough time or flexible time as their No. 1 barrier to providing personalized learning.

Yet in addition to these commonsense reasons, there is likely a deeper challenge at play. The benefits of innovations often come not from the technologies themselves but from harnessing those technologies to power new ways of doing things in other words, new processes. But changing tried-and-true processes in any system is much harder than swapping out resources.

To illustrate, consider a non-education example.

In the late 19th century, factories were organized to optimize access to mechanical power. At the center of the factory was a large steam engine that drove the machinery through a branching system of drive shafts, gears and belts. The friction inherent in this system meant that the power declined rapidly as distance from the steam engine increased. Therefore, the machines that required the most power were placed closest to the steam engine in the middle of the factory.

A factory in Schaffhausen, Germany, with machinery powered by drive shafts and belts (theoildrum.com)

As electrification swept the industrial world in the early 20th century, factory managers started replacing their large steam engines with large electric motors. But the new technology had basically zero effect on factory output. Electric motors were less noisy and didnt produce smoke. But they also broke down more often than their steam-powered predecessors.

Productivity gains didnt come until three decades after electrification, when managers finally took advantage of electricity to redesign their factory layouts. Instead of clustering equipment around a large central motor, they began putting smaller motors in individual pieces of equipment and then organizing it all based on the natural flow of production. With these changes, factory productivity grew to two to three times what it had previously been.

The story of factory electrification parallels the modern advent of online learning. The benefit will be minimal if schools cram it on top of conventional instructional models in hopes of enhancing achievement gains. Instead, educators need to leverage online learning to reimagine conventional instruction through new blended-learning models.

Unfortunately, creating instructional models that take full advantage of online learning is easier said than done. For most educators, overhauling conventional instruction is irrational. Scrapping age-graded classrooms, teacher-directed instruction, bell schedules, required instructional minutes, letter grades, teacher roles and curriculum scope and sequence in one fell swoop is a bad idea for any school with a modicum of success. Time-tested and refined practices despite their inflexibility to students individual needs will almost always trump innovative practices that are unproven, underdeveloped and unsupported by the broader education ecosystem. Most successful educators are doing the right thing for their students if they take only tepid, marginal steps toward personalized learning.

It may take another two decades for online learning to transform conventional instruction, just as with electrified factories. Furthermore, as Disruption Theory predicts, breakthrough approaches to personalized instruction that take full advantage of online learning will likely need to emerge from outside conventional schools, rather than within them.

Thomas Arnett is a senior research fellow in education for the Christensen Institute whose work focuses on the changing roles of teachers in blended-learning environments and other innovative educational models. He also examines how teacher education and professional development are shifting to support the evolving needs of teachers and school systems.

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Arnett: Has online learning really disrupted K-12 education in the US? The answer is yes and No. Here's Why - LA School Report

The digital revolution has brought a lot of innovations and dramatically affected all businesses including education. Traditional institutions will always struggle with their inflexible pedagogical systems more than half of the knowledge that the kids learn in the first year of graduation become obsolete by the time they graduate.

This will not only create challenges for students to get jobs, but it also raises questions about whether the traditional 3-year (or four) degree programs will even survive. Even the quintessential question about the relevance and signalling value of the degree is in question now.

Several of all traditional institutions wont exist in 10 years because online education will upend their business models and push them towards bankruptcy. The future of education, hence, lies in all institutions at all levels, adopting online learning and online courses right from pre-school up to higher education.

Here are the six reasons that make online learning a compelling proposition for all institutions:

Online learning is replacing quite a few home-schooling systems across the world. Parents can now let the computer teach the kids as they take a relaxing break.

Online learning now provides personalised learning paths for weaker kids who would do better with some extra levels of tutoring.

These days, online learning provides multiple options for all levels of learners and provides a plenitude of certificate, diploma and even online degree courses.

Online learning is replacing quite a few home-schooling systems across the world.

Online learning provides the flexibility of time and space to the learner you can now do your studies anytime from any place. Working professionals find these programs suiting their work routines as they can plan their lessons around their free time.

Students do not need to bother about a missed class a recorded version of the same would be made available on the learning portal. Acquiring a degree from a foreign university may not need any travel, visa and other hassles!

Several online courses use a mix of self-paced videos and pre-scheduled live sessions by an instructor. Students can interact with the live teacher, get the guidance, feedback and solve their queries.

Since these online programs do not have any geographical constraint (the learner and the teacher can be at different parts of the world), most online courses get very high-quality faculty taking the lessons for the students.

Online courses are generally cheaper than classroom courses. Students can enrol into multiple programs from multiple institutions across the world, simultaneously, if they wish.

Several institutions also offer free-to-learn programs (MOOCs) that can be taken at no cost the certification is also available for a nominal cost. This also allows students to sample a few courses from different institutions and then finally zero-in on one of them.

Online courses are generally cheaper than classroom courses.

Online courses can enrol a much larger number of students for the courses where each of them can learn at their own pace using their own screens.

Institutions normally divide these online learners into multiple cohorts (groups) based on their initial assessments and plan their group activities.

Live classes are also scheduled for different cohorts where the faculty can conduct their classes at different paces for different groups of learners.

Students can get help from multiple sources if they get stuck in an online course. Some of these sources are free whereas some others may be paid ones.

Several other institutions and individuals provide tutoring and coaching sessions for a fee the benefit is you shall be able to pick the best teacher for yourself across any country without the need to travel there

The impact of online courses on the education system will be a shift from live teaching to the teacher developing online content for students. The role of a teacher or educator will always exist and can never be replaced but the methodology and pedagogy will change with these evolving new models. But for the learner, these courses come as a welcome boon flexible, economical, personalised and effective.

Article by Shantanu Rooj, Founder & CEO, Schoolguru Eduserve Pvt. Ltd

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Online learning becomes future of education as traditional methods fade - India Today

A previous version of this video incorrectly stated how many people the 1918 Spanish influenza killed. USA TODAY

As confirmed cases of theCOVID-19 coronavirusspread in the U.S. this week, school leaders nationwide are preparing for their worst-case scenario emergency plans. Some are already shutting down schoolsor considering online learningif the health threat persists.

And some are simply saying: Wash your hands.

So, who'sright? Perhaps everyone.

Districtleaders are right to emphasize hand washing, staying home if youre sick and covering your cough with a sleeve or tissue, school and health leaders said. But they should also disclose their emergency plans to parents about what will happenif the virus becomes more widespread even if it unnerves families, leaders said this week.

Six patients with the virus had died in Washington state as of Monday night, and new infections were reported in California, Illinois, Rhode Island, New York and Florida over the weekend.

Coronavirus live updates: 4 more die in Seattle area, bringing US death toll to 6

So far, the response from schools and health officials has varieddepending on whether a localityhas confirmed cases and experts' views on how much action is appropriate is rapidly evolving. But the uncertainty of how far the virus will spread has putschool leaders in a difficult spot ofprojectinga sense of calm while also acting with an abundance of caution for student safety.

"Everybody is in a state of alert," saidDan Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators.

Domenech said his organization has advised superintendents to inform parents of their districts' emergency operations plans that may be carried out if the virus spreads.

"There's no soft-sellingthis," Domenech said Monday afternoon.

"Last week I saw some districts had sent out messages to families that were pretty mild like, there's not much to be concerned about, this may not happen. That's not happening anymore. Now it's absolutely something to worry about and it's absolutely going to happen, it's just a matter of when."

The virus is not yet a pandemic in the U.S., said Donna Mazyck, executive director of the National Association of School Nurses. But because of the way it can spread, health officials are reviewing their emergency plans and figuring out what to do if the outbreak hits close to their regions.

"That is the key: How to prepare without panicking," Mazyck said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late last week offered different guidance to schools and daycare centersdepending on whether they have alocally identified case of COVID-19.

For institutions that don't have a confirmed case, the CDC said schools should review and update their emergency plans, emphasizehand-washing, communicate with local health departments and reviewattendance policies including dropping rewards for perfect attendance.

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For institutions located in areas with COVID-19 cases, the CDC recommends schools talk with their local health officials beforecanceling classes. Together, they candetermine how long schools should be closed. And schools can also determineoptions for distance or online learning so kids don't fall behind.

Doctor's advice: The best preventative steps to contain the coronavirus

As of Monday, some school districts in Washington closed because of concerns over the virus.The Colville School District north of Spokaneclosed Monday until further notice or until after test results come back of a suspected local infection.

A few schools in northern Idaho, on the border of Washington, also shut down Mondayfor cleaning, eventhough Idaho currently has no confirmed cases of the virus. Students from these schools attended a jazz festival with musicians from a high school in Washington where a student has tested positive for the virus. However, the student with the virus wasn't at the festival.

Some schools closed even though health officials said it wasn't necessary. Bothell High School, located north of Seattle,shut down schools for cleaning for two days last week because a family member of an employee was quarantined for potentially having the virus. That person ultimately tested negative.

Last week, awoman in Solano County, California, became the first confirmed patient in the U.S. to have become infected by the virus by way of community transmission, rather than via international travel or through close contact with a person known to be infected.

That's what kicked the latest planning into high gear and ignited some parents' concerns about sending their kids to school, even though the virus has predominantly sickened older people.

Eileen Shihadeh, a parent of two students in Austin's public schools, said the Texas district so far has only told parents to take preventative measures, like covering coughs and sneezes. But Shihadeh is already considering when she would keep her kids home school, even without a directive from the district. She also might cancel the family's spring break trip to Oregon, because airports seem like a health hazard to her.

"As the worst-case scenarios are kicking in, especially with the CDC talking about the spread in the U.S. being inevitable, all of us (parents) are thinking about what we're going to do," said Shihadeh, who works for the school security company Raptor Technologies.

Schools should still waitfor guidance from their local health officials before implementing "social distancing" practices for students or staff, saidPamela Kahn,president of the California School Nurses Organization.

As of now, Kahn said, schools in California have only been advised to consider excluding children from school for 14 days if they have traveled abroad to mainland China.

"In my head and in my heart, I don't think this virus is hitting kids, but I wouldnt be blas and tell parents not to worry," Kahn said.

Some school district leaders are alreadyplanning for ways for children to learn from home, via online education options, in the event of long-term school closures from the virus.

Alberto Carvalho, the superintendent of the Miami-Dade County School District in Florida the fourth-largest district in the country said last week that the district was prepared to send children home with laptops and other personal learning devices so they could continue their studies at home.

Some ed tech firms that specialize in K-12 online learning are alreadytouting their services to schools. Study.com, which offers courses used by home-schooled students,has advertised its platform as an option.

Another company, Outschool, facilitates online group classes for students ages 3 to 18over the live video conferencing platform Zoom. Its leaders have offered to provide free teacher training and webinarsto schools interested in using video-conferencing as a way to hold classes in the event of long-term closures.

One small, private school in the San Francisco Bay Areais preparing to take Outschool up on its offer. David O'Connell, head of The Saklan School, which enrolls about 120 students, said he learned about Outschool froma parent. After talking with the company, he asked teachers last week if they'd be open to doing some training on it, in the event the school has to shut down because of the virus.

"We've never had to consider online school before," O'Connell said. "But we were looking for alternatives, and (Outschool) seems to be dynamic kids can ask questions in the moment."

OConnell said he didnt think theyd need to use the technology, but students' health and safety is the No. 1 concern, he said.

In the event of a school closure, he said, "There's also a huge cost to not doing anything."

Education coverage at USA TODAY is made possible in part by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Gates Foundation does not provide editorial input.

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US schools are in a 'state of alert' amid coronavirus outbreak. Are they overreacting or not doing enough? - USA TODAY

CHINA

Since 17 February, almost 2,700 teaching staff at Tsinghua University have delivered 4,000 online courses to 25,000 students spread across every time zone and continent. Shifting one of the worlds most elite university campuses into the cloud has required clarity, expertise, community and computers.

Tsinghuas decision to proceed with teaching-as-usual conveyed the clear message that higher education is one of our most precious resources. In times of uncertainty and fear, learning and research are more important than ever. Do not panic. Study and discover.

It will take millions of minds many decades to fully decode the ramifications of this shock to higher education. But it is important for people everywhere to know what has happened and immediately start making sense of what is going on.

No going back

A new global education economy has been born. Right now, universities, faculty and students in countries including China and Australia are relying entirely on online learning to deliver core education services.

Systems, experiences and expectations have been quickly forged which will almost surely yield widespread and enduring changes for global higher education. It is not possible nor desirable to go back from much that has been experienced.

Online learning has grown beyond smart acronyms and joined the mainstream education. Following Chinas lead, countries across Asia will almost certainly place more formal emphasis on online learning. Such a move holds global consequences, with Asia being the worlds biggest time zone for higher education.

New regulatory policies and cross-border agreements will be required. Countries will need to negotiate new rules with physical institutions such as campus-based universities, including bolstering the already flourishing emergence of career-long learning.

The role of university leaders

Though often quiet achievers, university leaders will play a more prominent global role. Findings from the Global University President Interviews research project, run by the Institute of Education at Tsinghua, reveals the role university leaders play in steering investigation and debate and carving out futures in almost every imaginable area.

As the current Tsinghua case confirms, leadership is most tested when things go awry. The current situation presents a call to better understand university leadership during times of crisis, and how to steer an increasingly uncertain future. This is essential, for while technology enables global higher education, it is really the leaders, systems and engaged people who make education succeed.

The recent shock is a sharp prod to start learning quickly about online global higher education. Over recent decades, international education has given rise to reasonably well-known information economies, student markets, research ecosystems and geopolitics. Much less is known about the new global era. There is little policy about how managers can support hundreds of globally located faculty who are delivering top-end university education to students all over the world.

While it spawns big data, we know rather little about the value of online education. We know even less about how countries, universities and families will distribute time and money across physical, technological and intercontinental platforms. Early signs suggest that the global era will blend concrete, kerosene and silicone in creative and smart ways. Many countries, particularly in Asia, must quickly reform national policy to embrace online pieces of learning.

Higher education has just been shaken by forces beyond its control. Such a shock is unsurprising given the role universities now play in the general economy. Universities can and must direct their future for the good of the globe, as Tsinghuas leaders have demonstrated. Elite university education is surely more global and online than ever before. Now is the time for bold education experiments, informed by major useful research.

Professor Hamish Coates, Dr Wen Wen and Professor Jinghuan Shi are based at the Institute of Education at Tsinghua University, China. Email: hamishcoates@tsinghua.edu.cn

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Crisis is making online education economy go mainstream - University World News

For physical education class, her teacher performs exercises for students to follow. For English, she sits silently through lectures to virtual classrooms of 20 to 30 students.

She puts stickers or tissues over her webcam, so her classmates can't see her if a teacher calls on her to answer a question. "We're at home, so we don't look so good," she says.

Huang barely leaves the house, and she hasn't seen her friends for a month. But while she is isolated, she's also part of what may be the world's largest remote learning experiment.

And mainland China is just the start. Millions of students in Hong Kong, Macao, Vietnam, Mongolia, Japan, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq and Italy have been affected by school closures. For some, that means missing class altogether, while others are trialing online learning. Authorities in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom have indicated that, if the outbreak gets worse, they could shut schools, too.

But while online learning is allowing children to keep up their education in the time of the coronavirus, it's also come with a raft of other problems. For some students, the issues are minor -- shaky internet connections or trouble staying motivated. For others, the remote learning experiment could come at a cost of their mental health -- or even their academic future.

The components are the same: a laptop, an internet connection, and a bit of focus. But the type of online study differs from school to school, and country to country.

For Huang, learning at home means spending hours in front of a computer with little social interaction. There's no discussion in class, and she often can't hear her teacher because of the poor internet connection. She feels her classmates -- and their teachers -- are struggling to stay motivated.

"We cannot give (the teachers) a response even though they want it. So they feel bad and we feel awkward as well," she said.

Even after class, her work isn't over. She usually stays up until about 10 p.m. each night, completing homework which she submits online. Although she doesn't see her friends face-to-face, Huang says she actually feels closer to them -- they talk more than they would usually on Chinese online messenger apps such as WeChat and QQ because they're all hungry for contact.

"Because we can't meet anyone our age in reality, so we have to go online."

In Hong Kong, where schools have been closed for a month, some teachers are doing things differently.

At the International Montessori School, students work together in small groups on Google Hangouts so they can all see and talk to each other.

The school started off just posting videos and activities for students on their website, but quickly realized that it was crucial for children to see each other and speak with their teachers. Now they study together in small online groups.

The different learning style has actually led to innovation, he said -- a student made a video explaining how they solved a math problem, and a teacher made a video from a beach to help with a geology lesson.

Students in Hong Kong and mainland China have been isolated for weeks already, but in Italy, where the number of people infected with coronavirus soared past 800 this week, remote learning has just started.

Schools closed this week in the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto, which include the cities of Milan and Venice, and together have a combined population of about 15 million.

In Milan, Gini Dupasquier's two daughters have been learning through a combination of live PowerPoint presentations, group work with other students over Google Hangout, and a live chat with teachers.

"Emotionally, they're fine," Dupasquier said. "They're having fun with this new method. So far I see no problem at all."

A bigger problem for her -- like other working parents -- is having to balance being at home with her child with the demands of her job as a consultant. "I need to adapt my working hours," she said. "The balance is a bit tough."

In Casalpusterlengo, a northern Italian town in the so-called "red zone" where tens of thousands of residents have effectively been cut off from the rest of the country, Monica Moretti's 15-year-old daughter doesn't have access to livestreaming -- instead, she's doing homework using an electronic notebook. Unlike many children in mainland China, every afternoon she goes for a walk.

Students in senior grades are potentially facing bigger problems than falling behind on their schoolwork.

Jonathan Ye, an 18-year-old high school student in his final year at international school Shanghai Pinghe, has conditional entry to university in the United Kingdom. He still needs to do well on his final International Baccalaureate exam in May if he wants to start university overseas -- something he's been working toward for years.

"If I do not do well on that exam, then I'm screwed," he said. "I think I'll be OK because I like to self-study, but I'm not sure. I still get nervous because we are not going to school right now, so we might be missing information from the teacher."

But Ye's situation is better than most.

The Ministry of Education said it will assess and decide whether to delay the gaokao. Beijing authorities have already said there will be an online mock exam ahead of the gaokao -- although that isn't the actual gaokao exam.

Although Hong Kong schools are shut until April 20, the city will still hold its university entrance exam on March 27 as planned. The only difference: students will be required to wear face masks and desks will be moved further apart than normal.

That's also an issue for students sitting other exams. Hong Kong-based Ruth Benny found home study just wasn't working for her 14-year-old daughter, who is sitting GCSEs this year. "There was no learning happening. It was just like a big long holiday," she said. Her daughter has now transferred to boarding school in the United Kingdom.

Some parents have raised concerns over paying expensive international school fees when their child isn't doing regular schooling.

Benny, who runs education consultancy Top Schools, said that if schools are doing the best they can, there's no need for reimbursement. Her 12-year-old son normally boards during the week at Harrow International School in Hong Kong, but they've reimbursed the cost of boarding while her child is out of school. "It's really as good as it can be, but I know that it's not like that for all schools."

Broomfield, the principal of International Montessori School, said that if schools reimbursed parents, the schools might not survive.

"We still have to run, we still have to pay our staff. We still want a school here when all this is over," he said. "I just don't see how those refunds can be provided."

And he pointed out that it had been a difficult time for teachers too, with much longer hours than usual, and a steep learning curve, particularly for the "tech dinosaurs" on their staff.

In a way, the situation was like trying to plumb a bathroom with the water still running, he said. "We had very little preparation for this," he said. "If you're going to renovate your bathroom, you turn your water off first. This was a whole replumbing of education, but we had to do it on the run."

There's also a risk that studying from home could impact children psychologically.

Hong Kong-based mental health expert Odile Thiang said the loss of routine and the loss of social activity could have a big impact on children, who were also stuck inside with their parents during an already stressful time. "There's also that general fear of contamination that people are feeling, so everything is adding up."

"(The psychological lessons) is yet to be learned, to really see what is going to come out of this major public health experiment that we're doing here," she said, adding that children tend to be very resilient.

Chris Dede, a professor at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, said there were plenty of studies showing the negative psychological effects on students who had been isolated from their peers after suffering serious illnesses.

Children studying from home could experience the same effects. But he pointed out that, in this situation, whole schools were studying remotely -- not just one single student who might feel lonely and left out.

"The shared problem becomes a way of having shared support," he said.

It's not the first time that schools have had to shut down or experiment with remote learning. In countries with particularly harsh winters, children sometimes find their school canceled for "snow days." In Hong Kong, some schools canceled classes last year over the ongoing pro-democracy protests.

And it's not like education experts have never thought of studying without a face-to-face teacher before. Children in remote parts of Australia have long taken lessons via education programs over the radio. And, in China artificial intelligence has been touted as a way to ensure students in rural communities get a better education.

According to Dede, a mix of online and face-to-face teaching is better than learning entirely offline, or entirely online. But the crucial thing isn't the medium, he said -- it is the quality and the method of teaching.

"The worst thing for children would be just to be isolated, at home, without emotional support from their friends, without the opportunity to have a skilled educator to help them learn," he said.

He sees this as a chance for educators to experiment with new teaching approaches, and then take what works back into the physical classroom.

Regardless of the teaching style, students were still lucky in a sense that this was happening now.

"We have social media, and the internet, and we have smart phones. So the degree of isolation and the degree of lost opportunity to learn would have been much greater if this happened two decades ago," he said.

CNN's Jo Shelley reported from Milan, Italy. CNN's Yong Xiong contributed reporting from Shanghai. CNN"s Kristie LuStout, Jadyn Sham, and Eric Cheung contributed from Hong Kong.

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Millions of children across the world aren't going to school. It's not just their education that could suffer - CNN

U.S. Marines with the Combined Anti-Armor Team, Weapons Company, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, conduct a hike aboard the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) in the Mediterranean Sea, Jan. 7, 2020. Bataan, homeported in Norfolk, is operating in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe and Africa. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Tanner Seims/Released)

The U.S. Navy is overhauling its approach to education because the nation no longer has a massive economic and technological edge over potential adversaries, according to a strategy it released Monday.

The Education for Seapower Strategy 2020 is the first unified, comprehensive education strategy for the Navy and Marine Corps, said John Kroger, who is implementing the strategy as the Navys first chief learning officer.

It is very much a response to the nations geopolitical position in the world today, versus the advantages it had at the end of the Cold War, Kroger said, noting Chinas economic strength and investments in 5G networks, energy storage and other major technologies that matter for war-fighting.

The Navy wants to create a naval community college to provide associates degrees to tens of thousands of young sailors and Marines, at no cost to them. It plans to unify the schools within the existing naval university system, similar to a state university system, and invest in them, as well as enact new policies to encourage and reward those who pursue professional military and civilian education.

In a world where potential adversaries are peers economically and technologically, how do you win? Kroger said in an interview. We think we can out-fight potential opponents because we can out-think them. In order to do that, we must have, by far, the best military education program in the world.

Kroger came to the Navy from Harvard University, where he was a visiting professor at Harvard Law School and leader in residence at the Kennedy School of Government. He was president of Reed College in Portland, Oregon, from 2012 to 2018, and previously served as Oregons attorney general. Kroger served as a Marine from 1983 to 1986.

Though the need to ensure an advantage in fighting wars is driving the reforms, Kroger said, the educational opportunities will change how and whom the Navy recruits. Its more challenging to recruit when theres relatively low unemployment, he said.

The strategy does not specifically say how much the Navy is looking to spend on education or where the money will come from. Kroger said it will rely mostly on existing education funding that can be used in a more cost-effective way. About $109 million was transferred from other Navy programs this fiscal year to pay for immediate education needs, including startup costs for the community college.

The Navy will ask Congress for more money for education beginning in fiscal year 2022, but the numbers arent finalized, Kroger said. He estimated it will cost $40 million to $50 million annually for the community college, to educate about 40,000 people each year.

There would not be a physical community college campus. Some general education classes would be provided online, but sailors and Marines would do the vast majority of their coursework online through civilian universities and community colleges that partner with the Navy. The Navy plans to seek approval from Congress this year and enroll the first students next year.

For the existing naval schools, the Navy wants to do budgeting for the system as a whole and Kroger will review their curriculum to avoid unnecessary duplication. The schools the Naval War College in Rhode Island, Marine Corps University in Virginia, Naval Postgraduate School in California and Naval Academy in Maryland will be expected to align their plans with the strategy.

To encourage service members to pursue educational opportunities, academic achievement will be rewarded by the boards that decide promotions and integrated into fitness reports and evaluations. Theres a close connection between a persons curiosity and aptitude for learning and their capacity to lead, the strategy states.

When the United States entered World War II, nearly all its admirals were Naval War College graduates. Now, less than a quarter of them are because the Navy hasnt stressed education as much, Kroger said.

Its somewhat of a shift, I think, from ways people think about the effectiveness of the armed forces, he said. Were not talking here about how fast our jets are, how powerful our missiles are. Were talking about the brainpower of our team.

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Oilfield Basics to Expand Presence in Online Educational Courses -- Paving Way Into Lucrative Continuing Educational Credit Market

Allentown, PA - (NewMediaWire) - March 2, 2020 - American Energy Partners, Inc.(American Energy) (PINK: AEPT), a diversified energy company, announces that Oilfield Basics, a wholly owned subsidiary, is expanding its course catalog. We estimate the catalog to be complete by the end of summer 2020. These courses will add to our current available content library covering Economic Evaluation, Valuation of Mineral Rights, Gas Lift Optimization and other production topics. The course offerings will be geared towards oil and gas production, best practices and cost saving measures as well as professional credit hour certifications.

In addition to industry certifications, courses will count towards Continuing Education Credits with a target market of professional engineers and professional geologists. The target price for these courses will be in line with competitors in the space, with packages of courses to be offered at a discounted rate. As with all economies of scale, we intend to be conscious of our margins as well as the increase in cost as blended services may or may not be added.

Josh Hickman, COO of American Energy Partners, had this to say concerning the expanded catalogue, American Energy sees providing quality, on demand instruction on needed topics in the Energy, Consulting and Legal industries as a critical growth engine for Oilfield Basics. These courses will fill the niche of high-quality lower-cost education specific to these industries.

Derek Krieg, President of Oilfield Basics, additionally stated, Our goal is to make these courses as content-rich as possible -- almost like you are sitting in class with the instructor. Our competitors solutions in this space are often around 80% or more reading. For Gen Zs, that is not acceptable. Videos and interactive content are going to be a critical part of these courses and our ongoing success.

For additional information, visit:Oilfield Basics, LLC

American Energy Partners, Inc. (AEPT)

AEPT and its group of companies focus on providing solutions in markets where energy production and water meet technology. Collectively, the subsidiaries are engaged in the energy sector as well as the design, construction and operation of regional water treatment facilities that serve the industrial, energy and government sectors.

For additional information, visit:American Energy Partners, Inc.

Safe Harbor

This press release contains forward-looking statements, particularly as related to, among other things, the business plans of AEPT, statements relating to goals, plans and projections regarding AEPTs financial position and business strategy. The words or phrases would be, will allow, intends to, may result, are expected to, will continue, anticipates, expects, estimate, project, indicate, could, potentially, should, believe, think, considers or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements fall within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934 and are subject to the safe harbor created by these sections. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, involve known and unknown risks, a reliance on third parties for information, transactions or orders that may be cancelled, and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or developments in our industry, to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from anticipated results include risks and uncertainties related to the fluctuation of global economic conditions, the performance of management and our employees, our ability to obtain financing, competition, general economic conditions and other factors that are detailed in our periodic reports and on documents we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements made herein are as of the date of this press release and should not be relied upon as of any subsequent date. AEPT cautions readers not to place undue reliance on such statements. AEPT does not undertake, and AEPT specifically disclaims any obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect occurrences, developments, unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statement. Actual results may differ materially from AEPTs expectations and estimates.

Company Contact:

[emailprotected]

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Oilfield Basics to Expand Presence in Online Educational Courses - Paving Way Into Lucrative Continuing Educational Credit Market - EnerCom Inc.

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While nurses need to become licensed as a registered nurse (RN) to work in Nebraska, many hospitals prefer to hire nurses that have at least a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing (BSN).

Not only does a BSN improve your resume when applying to nursing positions, but BSN holders earn roughly $30,000 more per year than the average non-BSN RN.

Whether you're an RN looking to continue your education or a new student without any previous nursing experience, Nebraska has plenty of high-quality education options to choose from.

Methodology

This is a panel-reviewed selection based on a number of factors including,

Nurse Panel

Our selection panel includes 4 Registered Nurses with over 55 years of combined nursing experience and 7 nursing degrees.

Because nursing careers take different forms, the top 10 Nebraska nursing schools are ranked in no particular order.

Doane University

Annual Tuition: $13,024 (based on per-credit tuition rate) | NCLEX Pass Rate: N/A

Traditional: No

Online: Yes

Accelerated: No

Bridge: No

For nearly 150 years, Doane University has educated Nebraskans who want to advance their careers. While Doane University doesn't have a traditional nursing program, it does have an RN-BSN option. Available online or at the Grand Island, Lincoln, or Omaha campuses, the RN-BSN program takes several semesters to complete and leads to higher-paying nursing jobs. Students need to have an RN license in Nebraska before applying, but the skills learned help nurses with their careers.

Bryan College of Health Sciences

Annual Tuition: $20,604 | NCLEX Pass Rate: 98.77%

Traditional: Yes

Online: Yes

Accelerated: No

Bridge: No

Based in Lincoln, Bryan College of Health Sciences focuses solely on degrees that lead to healthcare professions. Most degrees offered by Bryan Health College are in nursing, including a traditional BSN with excellent outcomes. Students in the BSN earn more clinical experience hours than students in any other Nebraska BSN, part of the reason graduates do so well on the NCLEX. Other nursing degrees at Bryan Health College include an RN-BSN completion program, a traditional Master's of Science in Nursing (MSN), an RN-MSN, a Ph.D., and a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP).

Union College-Nebraska

Annual Tuition: $24,620 | NCLEX Pass Rate: 100%

Traditional: Yes

Online: Yes

Accelerated: No

Bridge: Yes

Union College-Nebraska was founded in 1891 by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Despite being a private and religious school, U College "encourages students from all faith backgrounds" to find their calling and develop their skills. Undergraduate students have three BSN options: a traditional BSN, an RN-BSN, and an LPN-BSN. Students can complete some or all of the courses in these programs online. U College also boasts the highest first-time NCLEX pass rates in Nebraska, a fact that could make the high tuition rate worth it.

Creighton University

Annual Tuition: $41,176 | NCLEX Pass Rate: 92.96%

Traditional: Yes

Online: Yes

Accelerated: Yes

Bridge: No

Often considered one of the best private schools in the region, Creighton University comes from a Jesuit-Catholic background. Creighton is home to just under 9,000 students, 98% of whom find a job or enroll in graduate school within six months of graduating. Of course, most BSN graduates will find a position as an RN after completing their degree and passing the NCLEX. Along with a traditional BSN, Creighton offers an accelerated second degree BSN, and an MSN and DNP that can be completed partially online. BSN students can complete a four-year degree in Omaha or Hastings, giving students a little more flexibility than other schools.

Nebraska Methodist College

Annual Tuition: $18,560 | NCLEX Pass Rate: 98.61%

Traditional: Yes

Online: Yes

Accelerated: Yes

Bridge: Yes

With just over 1,000 students, Nebraska Methodist College is one of the smallest schools to offer nursing degrees. NMC offers plenty of degree options for students, including four different BSNs (including a 3-4 year traditional BSN), six different MSN options, five DNP choices, and various certificates. Every undergraduate program is accredited by the CCNE and graduates have performed incredibly well on the NCLEX. Also, NMC is part of the larger Methodist Health System, meaning students can expect to gain experience at a related healthcare facility.

University of Nebraska Medical Center

Annual In-State Tuition: $11,776 (based on per-credit tuition rate) | Annual Out-of-State Tuition: $31,680 (based on per-credit tuition rate) | NCLEX Pass Rate: 95.64%

Traditional: Yes

Online: Yes

Accelerated: Yes

Bridge: Yes

The University of Nebraska Medical Center is the only public health sciences college in the state, meaning Nebraska residents can take advantage of a lower in-state tuition rate. Founded as the Omaha Medical College in 1881, UNMC provides Nebraska with roughly half of its dentists, pharmacists, physicians, and BSN-educated nurses. The College of Nursing offers a traditional, accelerated, and RN-BSN option for undergraduate nurses across five campuses and online. The traditional option is available at every campus and offers summers off after the first two years.

Nebraska Wesleyan University

Annual Tuition: $35,442 | NCLEX Pass Rate: 76.47%

Traditional: Yes

Online: No

Accelerated: No

Bridge: No

Nebraska Wesleyan University is a private school based in Lincoln and Omaha with Methodist roots. While Nebraska Wesleyan still maintains a close relationship with the Methodist church, nursing students receive a holistic education that doesn't emphasize religion. The main nursing degree -- the traditional BSN -- offers accelerated eight-week courses and requires over 900 clinical hours. Other nursing degree options include an RN-BSN and three different MSN degrees. Nursing students haven't had the highest NCLEX pass rates, but the school has only graduated one BSN class so far and should improve over the coming years.

Clarkson College

Annual Tuition: $17,856 | NCLEX Pass Rate: 96.52%

Traditional: Yes

Online: Yes

Accelerated: No

Bridge: Yes

While Clarkson College has grown over the past 130 years, the school remembers how it began as a small school of nursing. Nursing remains the primary focus at Clarkson College, and nursing students have plenty of options to choose from. The main program, the traditional BSN, has excellent outcomes and students perform well on the NCLEX. After completing the BSN and working for one year, students become eligible to immediately enroll in Clarkson's MSN to further their careers.

College of St. Mary

Annual Tuition: $21,370 | NCLEX Pass Rate: 86.79%

Traditional: Yes

Online: No

Accelerated: Yes

Bridge: No

Another small college with a religious background, College of St. Mary doesn't offer low in-state tuition rates to Nebraska residents. However, College of St. Mary does have an excellent location in the middle of Omaha and near plenty of interesting places to see and things to do. The only nursing program offered by CSM is a traditional BSN. The BSN comes standard as a three-year degree, though students can choose to take four years to complete the program. Along with a strong NCLEX pass rate for students in 2018, CSM also saw 94% of graduates find a position within six months of graduating.

Purdue University Global-Omaha

ADN Program Cost: $36,540 | NCLEX Pass Rate: 75%

Traditional: Yes

Online: Yes

Accelerated: No

Bridge: No

Part of Purdue's extensive global campus, Purdue University Global-Omaha allows students to earn an Associate Degree in Nursing in Omaha. After completing the associate degree and passing the NCLEX, students can then enroll in Purdue Global's online RN-BSN. So, while the process isn't conventional, students can earn a BSN from start to finish through the school. Purdue University Global-Omaha doesn't have the highest NCLEX pass rates, but the program first started graduating nurses with a BSN in 2017. That year, only half of the graduating students passed the NCLEX on their first try, so outcomes are improving.

Keep in mind that colleges and universities reserve the right to change tuition rates at any time. The yearly tuition rates listed here will vary for each student depending on various factors including,

Check with the specific school for current tuition rates.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS),

Nebraska's mean wage for registered nurses is lower than the national average of $75,510. However, Nebraska RNs earn a higher mean wage than nurses in South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, and Oklahoma.

The BLS reports that Nebraska has a location quotient of 1.15, meaning it employs more nurses for every 1,000 workers than the national average. Nebraska also employs more RNs than Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, and North Dakota.

Take some time to look over the different nursing school options in Nebraska. After several colleges catch your eye, you should learn more about each college, their nursing school, and their admissions process.

Here are the next steps broken down:

Contact each schools admissions office. The admissions office is in charge of all things admissions. Every school has its own admissions process, so contact each school you're interested in to learn more.

Check to see if you meet the nursing school requirements. In addition to the college's admissions, you need to meet each nursing school's admission standards. Nursing schools usually require a higher GPA, extra courses, and personal essays.

Submit your application(s). After you've found out everything you need to apply to the college and nursing school, the final step is to send in your application! On your application, you'll likely be required to submit:

Every college and nursing school has specific benefits that only it can offer. As a result, no single college or nursing program might stick out to you as the "best" option, and that's alright. Instead of focusing on the best nursing school, try looking at the best nursing school for you.

When comparing schools, consider factors such as:

When a school and/or program has accreditation, it means that the school/program meets the academic standards of a nationally-recognized accrediting body. In Nebraska, make sure any school you apply to is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). Also, look for nursing programmatic accreditation.

The two nursing accreditation organizations to look for are

If you earn a degree from an unaccredited school, you may have trouble securing federal financial aid and finding work as a nurse after graduation.

Nebraska is part of the Enhanced Nursing Licensure Compact (eNLC), meaning an RN license earned in Nebraska easily transfers to most other states, and vice versa. Most RNs -- including all new RNs -- earn a Nebraska license through examination.

To get a license in Nebraska, you'll need to:

Nebraska is arguably one of the best states for nurses in the Midwest. Along with being an affordable place to earn a degree, Nebraska has many colleges that offer a quality education. After earning or completing a BSN program, nurses find work in one of the best employers per capita in the region. As part of the eNLC, these nurses can also easily find work in any other eNLC member state.

References:

BLS

Nebraska Board of Nursing

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Education Top 10 Best Nursing Schools in Nebraska - Nurse.org

MIDLAND, Texas Midland ISD has responded after a picture circulated online, posing a threat to a school known as "MHS".

Concerned parents reached out to Midland ISD after the photo began making the rounds on Snapchat and Instagram.

The picture featured text telling people not to go to school on Monday and stated "Monday will be the day it all begins."

At the very bottom of the text it said "I WILL BE AT MHS."

Midland ISD tells us they are taking this threat seriously. This message was sent to Midland High School parents Sunday night:

Dear MHS Family, we are aware of a threatening message circulating on social media which references an MHS. MISD police are aware of this and investigating. We will have extra officers on campus tomorrow as a precaution. Classes will proceed as normal tomorrow and we look forward to seeing your student at school.

MISD also noted that it was unclear whether the "MHS" referenced was actually Midland High School.

A quick reverse image search via Google did not show any instances of this picture anywhere else online, meaning NewsWest 9 was unable to independently verify where the threat was directed at.

Several parents have reached out to us and noted there was an increased police presence around the Midland High campus.

MORE MIDLAND ISD NEWS FROM NEWSWEST 9:

MISD announces new Chief of Staff

Midland man pays off MISD student lunch debt

Water at Fannin Elementary is safe... except for one drinking fountain

MISD discusses longer school year for elementary students

Read the original here:
Midland ISD responds to online threat against 'MHS' - NewsWest9.com

Online Education Market 2020 report share informative data figures as well as important insights regarding some of the market component which is considered to be future course architects for the market. This includes factors such as market size, market share, market segmentation, significant growth drivers, market competition, different aspects impacting economic cycles in the market, demand, expected business up-downs, changing customer sentiments, key companies operating in the Online Education Market, etc. In order to deliver a complete understanding of the global market, the report also shares some of the useful details regarding regional as well as significant domestic markets. The report presents a 360-degree overview and SWOT analysis of the competitive landscape of the industries.

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Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.

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Online Education Market Growth, Size, Analysis, Outlook by 2020 Trends, Opportunities and Forecast to 2025 - Bandera County Courier