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Partnering

rwweaver — 2011-09-08T17:07:03-07:00

John Donne's oft-quoted poem, "No Man is an Island," reads,
No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

Written during the 17th century, Donne's poem is still applicable, particularly in the education world. Students partner with teachers. Teachers partner with course material, programs, and then reach out to the students - teaching them not only the course material, but knowledge that will help the student "make the grade," and assist them in the everyday world - where collaboration and integration are integral to our existence.

Knowledge is best learned when shared, and best gained by sharing. No man is an island - when students, instructors, administration, parents, family, community collaborate when disseminating knowledge, the entire community benefits.
Donne understood partnering - and this is IHOU's mission.

The Hashtag Generation!

rwweaver — 2011-03-04T14:36:40-08:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-benavidez/the-hashtag-generation-young-latinos-america_b_831180.html

This article is one of the best I've read - presenting a strong argument regarding America's future - and those who will be a part of this post Baby Boom move forward.

A closing paragraph states, "We're going to have to invest in the future and that means education. You could call this the Latino Imperative. With all the big challenges facing this country, there is one that must be addressed now: educating young Latinos. Unfortunately, due to the severe economic recession, public education is being cut to the bare bone at the state and local levels and this may well jeopardize the resiliency of the young Latino community that must shoulder its increasing responsibility as workers and taxpayers."

State of the Union Address: Education and Latinos

rwweaver — 2011-01-27T14:19:16-08:00

Esther Aguilera, President & CEO of CHCI, discusses President Obama's State of the Union address in her article that can be found here. She suggests that education isn't just a "pathway to opportunity, it is a prerequisite." Higher education, particularly for Latinos, is imperative.

Aguilera states, "To address this critical need, the Board of Directors of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHCI) recently passed a unanimous resolution in support of the Lumina Foundation for Education, The Gates Foundation, key educational partners, as well the Administration to increase to 60 percent by 2025 the national college graduation rate for all Americans. To reach this goal and have the U.S. regain its education leadership status in the world will require engaging in programs and activities to improve the Latino college completion rate."

IHOU's mission most certainly reflects these goals. We are definitely in support of the Latino dream - the American dream.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

rwweaver — 2011-01-17T14:08:13-08:00

This month I've been thinking about "equality" and if there truly is such a concept. My answer - probably not. But I do think there is such a concept as "hope," which includes going about life as if tomorrow can be more than today. And so I personalize today's Reflection with a couple of thoughts from Mr. King's own writings:
"Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree."
There has to be a looking forward - moving in such a fashion that tomorrow can be better, because of our actions, whether small or monumental.
"I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word."
IHOU's desire is to break educational barriers that keep some from seeing the stars - and knowing the constellations.
Educational opportunities are available - and these will keep us all moving toward tomorrow, together.

Happy Holidays

rwweaver — 2010-12-22T09:14:13-08:00

De mi casa a su casa - feliz navidad y feliz ano nuevo,
Sus amigos de IHOU

From our house to yours - Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Your friends at IHOU

International Hispanic Online University Releases New Course � Living in the USA: Cultural and Academic Transitions

rwweaver — 2010-12-16T10:13:07-08:00

I've worked on this course for over a year - so happy to see it is now available for anyone transitioning to life in the USA.

The International Hispanic Online University (IHOU), a content provider of online college courses taught in Spanish, is pleased to announce the release of Living in the USA: Cultural and Academic Transitions, a new course available in English and Spanish.

Living in the USA: Cultural and Academic Transitions is meant to serve as a help to those who are transitioning from one cultural climate to another � specifically to the United States, and is meant for all adults, be they entry-level college students or those in the workforce, to those new to the United States or those who have been in the States for awhile, but would like to learn more about the USA.

Interested students will acquire a general understanding of the concepts and methods that shape the United States of America and broaden their knowledge of moving from one culture to another. Students will learn the value placed on higher education and be prepared to face the challenges that come with pursuing an education and will develop the ability to think critically by finding and utilizing resources available in one�s community.

For more information about the course, or how your organization can offer the course, please visit http://www.ihou.org/transitions.

Education, Technology, and Sesame Street: Serving Latino and Other Students

rwweaver — 2010-11-30T20:05:12-08:00

The November 2010 "Smithsonian" magazine has a short article by G. Wayne Clough (secretary of the Smithsonian Institution) titled, "Big Opportunity."

Clough discusses how Sesame Street transformed learning for American children. Clough quotes Claudine Brown, the Smithsonian's director of education, "Sesame Street is Brown's favorite example of a 'pivotal moment in history when technology and educational opportunities came together to make something amazing happen.'"

Clough suggests that Brown, education, and the Smithsonian face challenges in continuing to make education and technology fit the needs of the student. Clough states, "Only 70 percent of US students earn a high-school diploma. . . . Approximately 50 percent of African-American, Latino, and Native American youths drop out of school prior to graduation."

One of the ways the Smithsonian is addressing this problem is by engaging students through innovative programs such as the "Latino Virtual Museum," an "online, 3-D learning environment in which users create an avatar and explore the Smithsonian's vast collections and multidisciplinary research."

At a July conference on education co-hosted by the Smithsonian, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said, "No technological innovation in our lifetime has greater potential to transform education than broadband Internet." The Smithsonian will play a role in this by digitizing their collections, making videos available, sharing research-based curriculum materials, and enhancing interactivity through "Smithsonian Commons," and making this accessible to through the Internet.

Thank you Smithsonian Institution for reaching out with your materials - and providing students of all ages, races, and economic backgrounds with the opportunity for continual educational growth. Thanks Big Bird and Elmo for helping transform education.

Maybe Experience Really Can Be the Best Teacher

rwweaver — 2010-11-23T11:13:21-08:00

This article, from the November 21, 2010 Chronicle of Higher Education discusses the value of employment to a college student's education and success. IHOU strongly supports this suggestion, which is one of the many reasons for having Spanish-language courses, online. Enjoy -

College students work for different reasons. Many take jobs to pay tuition and related educational expenses. Others work to afford electronic gadgets (often ones that we, their professors, don't yet know exist). Regardless of the reasons, many professors and administrators consider students' working during college to be an unfortunate distraction from what should be their primary focus: their academic studies.

Nonetheless, next to going to class, work is by far the most common activity in which undergraduates take part. At least two-thirds of students at four-year colleges and four-fifths of their counterparts at two-year colleges work at some point during college, either on or off campus. And, contrary to long-held beliefs, findings from the 2008 National Survey of Student Engagement show that working is positively related to several dimensions of student engagement, especially for full-time students.

Given that policy makers and institutional leaders are looking for low- or no-cost ways to improve student success�especially for part-time and older students and from historically underrepresented groups�it's high time we look for ways to use the work experience to enrich rather than detract from learning and college completion.

Substantial research suggests that working during college is related to acquiring such employer-preferred skills as teamwork and time management. Employment also has the potential to deepen and enrich learning, as is the case when students participate in such "high impact" activities as learning communities, student-faculty research, study abroad, capstone seminars, and internships both paid and unpaid. When done well, those and other high-impact activities require students to connect, reflect on, and integrate what they are learning from their classes with other life experiences. Doing so helps students see firsthand the practical value of their classroom learning by applying it in real-life settings�which, additionally, often helps to clarify their career aspirations.

For more than a century, integrating learning and work along with service has been the mission of the seven federally recognized work colleges in the United States: the College of the Ozarks and Alice Lloyd, Berea, Blackburn, Ecclesia, Sterling, and Warren Wilson Colleges. These institutions meet the eligibility criteria for funds from the Work-Colleges Program administered by the U.S. Department of Education, including featuring work, learning, and service in their educational philosophy; requiring that all students work at least five hours a week (though most students at work colleges average between 10-15 hours); and making student performance on the job as well as the classroom part of the student record. The goal is to help students learn to balance study, service to others, and the demands of their jobs.

Other institutions are pursuing similar ends. The University of Maine at Farmington has created more on-campus jobs to help students see the connections between curriculum and work. Boston's Northeastern University and the University of Waterloo, in Ontario, offer large numbers of high-quality off-campus internships.

As part of a two-day visit to the University of Iowa in 2009, I encouraged staff members in the division of student services to teach their student employees to connect and apply what they were learning in class to their jobs, and vice versa. They subsequently started a small pilot program with students working in different kinds of jobs�clerking at the campus bookstore, assisting at the health center, and answering questions at the residence-hall information desk, to name just a few.

Supervisors met with their student employees twice during the semester. To focus those conversations, they provided students with a list of questions in advance:

How is this job fitting in with your academics?
What are you learning here at work that is helping you in class?
What are you learning in class that you can apply here at work?
Can you give a couple of examples of what you are learning here at work that you will use in your chosen profession?

Although only about half of the 33 students who had the structured meetings with their supervisors responded, the results of the survey comparing them with 373 co-workers who did not have such meetings were striking. On virtually every measure, the pilot-program group was much more positive. For example, about 70 percent of the students in the pilot program agreed that they had made connections between their work experience and their major-field course work, compared with only 29 percent of their co-workers. Sixty-nine percent of the pilot-program workers reported that their work had helped improve their written communication skills, compared with 17 percent of their peers. Seventy-seven percent of the pilot-program workers said their jobs had helped them use critical-thinking skills to solve problems, compared with 56 percent of the others.

Iowa is expanding the program this year, making an effort to include more students working in areas such as food service, where integrating academic learning with the work experience may be more challenging. Any college can adapt this generic, low-cost, potentially high-payoff approach.

For students in off-campus jobs, a classroom-based model can achieve similar ends. Professors can create assignments that encourage such students to make connections between course materials and their jobs, and can lead discussions that ask students to reflect on and integrate their learning. For example, in an upper-division writing course, a professor could ask students to analyze, in a genre appropriate for the field, the relevance of key concepts presented in class readings to one's workplace, or to dealing effectively with a low-performing co-worker.

Getting students to talk, in the company of their peers, about how they are applying their learning can be a significant challenge. One way to jump-start meaningful exchanges is to include in the class an upper-division student who is articulate in such matters. After a few sessions, students will very likely begin making and discussing connections themselves.

Not every course needs to be so structured for students to derive benefits from connecting learning and work. If working students have just one or two such courses in the first year, and again a few more times in the major, they would begin to develop an enhanced, practiced capacity for reflection and integration that they can use in other classes and settings.

So how can colleges build on those successes? One way is for a consortium of colleges and universities to seek funds to develop course modules focused on connecting learning and employment. The challenges and rewards of using work to educational advantage could then be documented and adapted by colleges with large numbers of working students.

There are many good ideas for enhancing college achievement and helping more undergraduates succeed. Few promise to deliver as much bang for the buck as making work more relevant to learning, and vice versa.

(George D. Kuh is director of the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment, located at Indiana University at Bloomington and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a professor emeritus of higher education at Indiana University and author of High Impact Practices: What They Are, Who Has Access to Them, and Why They Matter [AAC&U, 2008].)

RE: Closing the Gap

Carrie Main — 2010-11-18T08:46:00-08:00

Speaking in particular about the needs of Hispanics in Higher Education, I recently read a new report released by the American Council of Education (ACE) on the topic. In fact, the aforementioned ACE report indicates that higher education has not addressed the needs of a particular sub-group of Hispanics, the Hispanic immigrant adult. Some of the barriers to education for Hispanic immigrant adults cited in the ACE report are the following: lack of English fluency, interrupted school due to immigration, and placement in low-wage jobs.

I am curious as to how educational policy in general, and the specific mission of the International Hispanic Online University (IHOU), plan to address the needs of Hispanic adult learners. The ACE report concurs with the ideals of the Obama administration, the education of Latino or Hispanic students correlates to overall educational achievement in the U.S.. The question remains as to how higher education and federal education policies will adapt to serve Hispanic students.

Closing the Gap

rwweaver — 2010-11-09T18:31:57-08:00

On February 24, 2009, President Barack Obama said, "By 2020, American will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world." A hearty goal, and what will it take for the United States to make Obama's dream a reality?

In 2008 (latest numbers) the US was ranked as tenth in educational attainment, or the percentage of adults with associates or higher degrees, and traditional US college-age students lag behind other countries in their degree attainment. Yet the biggest population growth is in students of color, who often have modest disposable income. In order to attain the number of degrees required to become #1 in higher education, internationally, the gap can only close by reaching out to an under-served and fast growing sector of potential students, those of Latino or Hispanic descent.

Hispanics have the fastest growth rate of any other racial and ethnic group in the nation, a trend that will likely continue as immigration and birth rates continue to grow among Latinos. And, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, nearly 90% of Hispanics between the ages of 16 and 25 believe a college education is important to success in life.

In order to make Obama's wish a reality, a focused effort on growing the Latino population in higher education is a must. As Latino students are pulled into institutions of higher education there must be an emphasis on language of origin, the strength and involvement of family of origin, and accessibility of courses.

IHOU, in partnering with private and public institutions can assist in meeting these needs, and in doing so, empowering students, their families, their communities, and the nation, placing the US, once again, as #1 in degree attainment.

Sloan-C Report From the Trenches (Terri Taylor Straut)

rwweaver — 2010-11-04T06:10:30-07:00

The highlight of the first day of the 16th Annual Sloan Consortium International Conference on Online Learning was the keynote session by Peter Smith, Ed.D., Senior Vice President of Academic Strategies and Development for Kaplan Higher Education. Dr. Smith described the current challenges of higher education today, with a focus on how higher education must find ways to serve previously under-served populations including English language learners. He proposed that higher education is based on the concept of scarcity: faculty are scarce so we collect them in universities; campuses are physical places where we go to use the scarce resources of faculty and libraries. The whole system has historically been based on meritocracy. This system cannot scale to meet the growing need to educate a diverse population.

Moving into the future, Dr. Smith suggests our institutions of higher education need to move toward building capacity rather than being gatekeepers who determine who is eligible to partake in the limited resources of the academy. The fact is that today curriculum and content are not scarce. We need to find ways to create merit in learners who have not historically had the opportunity to pursue higher education. This is a big challenge for our traditional campuses that are stuck in a model based on scarcity.

Some trends Dr. Smith discussed include:

Alliances between traditional institutions of higher education, for-profit and non-profit, business and others. It is in the interest of us all to find ways to figure out how to meet these very real needs and we can't all be good at all aspects of the work that needs to be done.
Learning Outcomes needs to be clearly defined, and content needs to be delivered in flexible ways to meet the needs of diverse learners. We need to connect teaching and learning and collectively begin to define quality based on learning outcomes, rather than antiquated measures.
Diagnostics become imperative so that learners can have their prior learning validated and have the flexibility to create personalized learning plans that have meaning to them.
ePortfolios need to be standardized.
Articulation and Transfer Standards need to be transparent. We can't play hide the ball with credit.
Third Party Review of Assessment of Learning may become a standard. Essentially we are moving from a traditional stacked curriculum model of specialized knowledge to a more 'wiki' like approach. Institutions of Higher Education need to learn to embrace this change and engage students from their perspective.

The challenges that we face today actually call to action the online learning community to bring to bear our best practices, research strategies and models. We need to embrace these challenges and help create the solutions that will assist us in doubling the number of degree-seeking learners from 16 million to 32 million people in the next 10-15 years.

16th Annual Sloan Consortium International Conference on Online Learning

rwweaver — 2010-10-27T13:40:57-07:00

The 16^th Annual Sloan Consortium International Conference on Online Learning is taking place this next week in Orlando, Florida. The theme of this year�s conference is: �Stimulating New Opportunities.�

Online learning is one of the fastest growing areas in higher education, and the Sloan Consortium is a viable forum for discussion regarding existing, in-development, and potential resources available to support higher learning. This conference will give educators, administrators, and course designers the opportunity to share their projects, learn from each other, and be tutored by leaders in the IT, ID, and course development world.

Presentation topics include: Colleges for the 21^st Century: The New ecology of Learning; Research on the Effectiveness of Online Learning: Insights, Controversies, and Gaps; IHOU will also be presenting; we can also be found in the Vendor area.

IHOU�s presentation topics and particulars are:

Solution to Serving Spanish-Speaking Students

November 4, 2010 - 1:40pm

Concurrent Session: 5

Cameron Loflin (Director of Marketing, International Hispanic Online University [IHOU], US)

Kent Johnson (Business Development Coordinator, International Hispanic Online University [IHOU], US)

Grand Sierra G

Session Duration: 35

Session Type: Vendor Showcase

Using Google Apps to Increase Collaboration and LMS Platform Portability in Course Design

Track: Technology and Emerging Learning Environments

November 5, 2010 - 11:10am

Concurrent Session: 8

Lead Presenter: Terri Straut (International Hispanic Online University, US)

Colt Alton (Ednak, US)

Grand Sierra A

Session Duration: 80

Session Type: Group Presentation

Virtual Session

http://sloanconsortium.org/

President Obama Signs Executive Order On Education and Hispanics

Ronda — 2010-10-20T15:30:40-07:00

On Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2010 President Obama signed an Executive Order renewing the White House Initiative on Education Excellence for Hispanics. Obama�s signing, in conjunction with the National Education Summit and Call to Action, demonstrates the White House�s commitment to Hispanics, education, and the prosperity of the nation. As education is made available to the Hispanic population, the fastest growing population in the US, education outcomes for all students will strengthen.

Experts from academia and community leaders were brought together to discuss issues regarding housing and discrimination, employment, K-12 education, education and technology, parental engagement in education, higher education, as well as establishing public-private partnerships, a Presidential Advisory Commission, and forming a Federal Interagency Working Group to exchange resources and to address the above-mentioned issues.

As the Latino population in the US continues to grow, the availability of higher education and participation in higher education has languished. The White House wants to return the US to its place as Number 1 internationally in college completion rates by 2020. In order to do so, institutions of higher education, must reach out to minorities, specifically to the Latino population, while K-12 need to emphasize the need for a higher education and prepare youngsters, and their families, for this opportunity. While more young people of all ethnicities are enrolling in post-secondary institutions, few are earning degrees. According to 2008 census data, only 12.9% of Hispanic students who attend college actually receive a degree. Failure to receive a high-school diploma and language obstacles were cited as hindrances to higher education degreed success.

As Obama signed the Executive Order, with several Latinos observing this signing, Obama said that Latino children are faced with �challenges of monumental proportions,� naming K-12 performance and preparation for higher education as two of these challenges.

Participants in this event included Hispanic leaders from around the nation, those who are the �movers and shakers� when it comes to academic excellence for the Hispanic population and assisting communities and institutions in expanding educational opportunities. In addition to attending the White House Initiative, those unable to attend were encouraged to form �Watch Parties� where they could view and participate in the discussions, via satellite, and in real-time.

IHOU supports and applauds this Call to Action, indeed, this entire initiative bodes well for IHOU�s mission which is: �The International Hispanic Online University provides the essential tools for students to reach their goals of education, success, and a better life.

IHOU recognizes that enabling Hispanic students to study core classes in Spanish and supporting them with a socio-educational network and English language learning increases the rate of degree attainment.�

The link to Obama�s signing and official press release is included here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/10/19/watch-live-150-president-obama-sign-executive-order-education-and-hispanics, where the release is presented in both English and Spanish.