DISTANCE EDUCATION: What is the future of online learning?

Presenter: John Morrison

Online learning is a complex activity which would benefit from some frameworks for thinking about where it has got to and where it could be going. Join technologist Joh Morrison as he introduces two frameworks which will help frame the current state of development of online learning and point to some possible future directions. The first framework is a developmental model of e-learning which shows the stages both students and programs pass through. The second model condenses the myriad ways of learning into a simple model and highlights the role of online learning in supporting the model. A few examples of research will be used to bring these models alive and highlight the challenges in progressing through these models. This is a short 30 minute presentation designed to provide a few tools for thinking about your online learning program and online learning in general.

John Morrison is a trained teacher and educational psychologist and has taught in K-12, college and university settings across Canada as well as holding various faculty support roles, primarily in educational technology. He has also worked in the elearning industry which gave him an opportunity to view e-learning implmentations around the globe. Originally a Brit, he has lived all over the UK and North America and is currently finishing an Ed.D. dissertation looking at students' experiences of networked learning.

GLOBAL OPEN LEARNING: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence

A bold experiment in distributed education, "Introduction to Artificial Intelligence" will be offered free and online to students worldwide during the fall of 2011. The course will include feedback on progress and a statement of accomplishment. Taught by Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig, the curriculum draws from that used in Stanford's introductory Artificial Intelligence course. The instructors will offer similar materials, assignments, and exams.

Artificial Intelligence is the science of making computer software that reasons about the world around it. Humanoid robots, Google Goggles, self-driving cars, even software that suggests music you might like to hear are all examples of AI. In this class, you will learn how to create this software from two of the leaders in the field. Class begins October 10.

Details on the course, including a syllabus is available here. Sign up above to receive additional information about participating in the online version when it becomes available.

How the class will work:

HOW IT WORKS, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: A MODERN APPROACH VIDEO

http://youtu.be/YuJwMoubGFk

A high speed internet connection is recommended as most of the course content will be video based. Access to a copy of Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach may be helpful but is not required. Peter Norvig is co-author of this text and is donating all royalties earned from his text to charity. Any edition of the textbook may be used but the third edition is preferred.

Stanford University's School of Engineering also offers other complete online courses at no cost. Click here to access Stanford Engineering Everywhere.

Sebastian Thrun is a Research Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University, a Google Fellow, a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the German Academy of Sciences. Thrun is best known for his research in robotics and machine learning. Fast Company Magazine selected him as the fifth most creative person in business, the UK Telegraph included him in their list of 100 living geniuses, and Popular Science included him in their list of Brilliant Ten. His self-driving car was named one of the 50 best inventions of 2010 by Time Magazine, and Scientific American named Thrun one of the 50 business and technology leaders. Thrun is the inaugural winner of the AAAI Ed Feigenbaum Prize and a recipient of the Max Planck Research Award. Thrun will be conference chair of the IJCAI 2013 conference  in Bejing, China.

Peter Norvig Artificial Intelligence, A Modern Approach

Peter Norvig is Director of Research at Google Inc. He is also a Fellow of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence and the Association for Computing Machinery. Norvig co-authored Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, which is the world's most popular text book on Artificial Intelligence. Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach is used in over 1,200 universities in over 100 countries, and it has been translated into 12 languages. Prior to joining Google, Norvig was the head of the Computational Sciences Division at NASA Ames Research Center, making him NASA's senior computer scientist. He received the NASA Exceptional Achievement Award in 2001. He has served as an assistant professor at the University of Southern California and a research faculty member at the University of California at Berkeley Computer Science Department, from which he received a Ph.D. in 1986 and the distinguished alumni award in 2006. He has over fifty publications in Computer Science, concentrating on Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing and Software Engineering