Newswise — The University of Virginia Darden School of Business announced today that Professor Michael Lenox’s upcoming massive open online course (MOOC), “Foundations of Business Strategy,” would enable students to address the needs of for-profit and nonprofit ventures through Coursolve, a platform that connects courses with organizations to empower students to solve real-life challenges. The course, which will offer an overview of the underpinnings of successful business strategies, begins on 2 September and will run for six weeks.
“Entrepreneurs don’t always have the resources to hire external support to address their needs, but we’ve seen firsthand that students are hungry for the chance to apply their knowledge to real-world problems,” Lenox said. “By collaborating with organizations, students can strengthen their skills development while potentially providing businesses and nonprofits with valuable insights.”
When Lenox first offered the course in March, it quickly became one of the top-enrolled MOOCs, cracking Bloomberg’s Top 10 List in this category. For a final project, students were asked to complete a strategic analysis of an organization of their choosing. While not required, more than 400 students elected to complete analyses in partnership with 100 different organizations, including established businesses, startups, resource-strapped nonprofits and social enterprises. In one such collaboration, insights from a group of students led an entrepreneur to shift his biotech startup from a service-based to a product-based business model. More...

By Alicia Mitchell. In a recent opinion piece written for the Observer, Anant Agarwal, president of leading MOOC provider edX, claimed that “anyone with an Internet connection can have access” to higher education. “MOOCs = access” is a concept that needs to be interrogated carefully: it cannot just be assumed that because something exists and because it is ‘free’, it is equally accessible to all people. There are a variety of mitigating factors that limit access to MOOCs, many of which are the same as those that also exclude disadvantaged groups from traditional educational models and stem from financial, geographical and educational disparity.In practical terms, sustained participation in a MOOC requires a set of resources and infrastructure that is a privilege, as many of us, including Agarwal, often forget. A reliable electricity supply, frequent and uninterrupted access to a device capable of going online and playing video and sound, and a secure, unrestricted Internet connection are essential starting blocks – as is a safe and comfortable space in which to learn. A recently published paper on the experiences of learners using non-personal computers to access online learning resources in Sri Lanka found that local telecentres often restricted access to high-bandwidth sites, such as YouTube, which often form a core part of MOOC resources. Read more...

David Krause, director of the Applied Investment Management program, noticed a growing trend over the past few years: Students and individuals in the workforce desire diverse academic opportunities. Krause decided to take action by bringing a massive open online course (MOOC) on applied investing to Marquette, the first of its kind.
Students in the four-week survey of investing course will learn about investment tools such as common stock, bonds, real estate and alternative investments. The self-paced course is open to anyone in the university and begins Sept. 23. More...

Twerking, a sexually provocative way of dancing made famous by Miley Cyrus this week at the MTV Video Music Awards, is one on a long list of new words that have just been added to Oxford Dictionaries Online.
The free online dictionary includes words that have made their way into common useage, if not into the actual pages of the venerable print Oxford Dictionary. Along with “twerk,” are selfie, MOOC, blondie, geek chic, and more.
Here’s a list of some of the new words that Oxford Dictionaries Press just announced were being added to Oxford Dictionaries Online. Read more...

National Taiwan University will launch Chinese-language Massive Open Online Courses on probability and China’s first emperor Qin Shi Huang Aug. 31 as part of efforts promoting Taiwan’s higher education sector.
“It is critically important for NTU professors to conduct Chinese-language interactive teaching with students from around the globe for the first time in MOOC history,” said Yeh Ping-cheng, director of the NTU MOOC project and associate professor of NTU Department of Electrical Engineering.
Taipei City-basd NTU is set to launch two other MOOCs on introduction to optics and machine learning, as well as up to 10 Chinese-language courses by the end of the year, Yeh said. The first two courses have received more than 10,000 registrations from around the world, he added.
Yeh and his students also developed “PaGamO,” a multiplayer online game for MOOCs. Aiming to make learning more enjoyable, the application will be used during the probability course.
MOOCs are playing a key role in the development of distance education, with providers including profit and nonprofit organizations such as Coursera, edX and Udacity.
NTU became the first local university to partner with U.S. educational technology company Coursera in February. It joins 75 prestigious education institutions worldwide, including Ivy League universities such as Brown, Princeton and Yale.

By Carolyn Fox. India is the second biggest market for MOOCs (massive open online courses) in the world, following the US. In time, however, India may surpass the US. After all, India's population is second to China's and India is third in terms of university enrollment worldwide; respectively the US and China are first and second for university enrollment at the moment but this may soon change.
MOOCs represent a huge opportunity for Indians in terms of an open education revolution. It could potentially give millions access and availability to high quality learning if they have Internet connectivity. First, there are more applicants than slots at top Indian universities. Second, millions of Indians live in poverty and are unable to afford or gain access to a higher education. More...

Pour lutter contre le chômage, la Région favorise l’insertion professionnelle des jeunes et le développement des compétences et des qualifications des demandeurs d’emploi et des salariés fragilisés. Elle soutient aussi les emplois-tremplin et les emplois d’avenir.
La Région développe des dispositifs qui favorisent tant l’insertion professionnelle des jeunes, par la formation et l’alternance, que le développement des compétences et des qualifications des demandeurs d’emploi et des salariés fragilisés par la crise notamment. Elle apporte par ailleurs son soutien aux dispositifs emplois-tremplin/emplois d’avenir.
Accroître son niveau de qualification
Pour accéder ou revenir à l’emploi, la formation est un atout précieux, quand elle s’insère dans un projet professionnel construit et adapté. La Région propose donc une grande diversité de formations, en complémentarité de celles financées par ses partenaires (État, Pôle emploi, conseils généraux, Agefiph…). Ces dernières permettent d’améliorer les qualifications des Franciliennes et des Franciliens, et ainsi de sécuriser leurs trajectoires professionnelles.
Le programme Compétences : obtenir  une qualification
Ce programme permet aux demandeurs d’emploi franciliens, jeunes et adultes, de continuer un projet professionnel, de se préqualifier ou de préparer un concours, mais surtout d’acquérir un diplôme ou une qualification reconnue dans les secteurs créateurs d’emplois, ou de développer et de mettre à jour des compétences professionnelles. Il donne accès à plus de 550 formations, assurées par 155 organismes sur toute l’Île-de-France, dans 25 secteurs d’activités, à tous les niveaux de diplômes (l’accès aux premiers niveaux de qualifications est prioritaire). Le dispositif se décline en trois catégories de parcours : parcours d’accès à la qualification, parcours certifiants et parcours professionnalisants. Les formations proposées peuvent faire l’objet d’une rémunération sous certaines conditions. Pour 2012-2013, le financement régional, d’un montant de 96,2 millions d'euros, couvre l’ouverture de 21.200 places de formation.
Les chantiers écoles
Grâce aux chantiers écoles, les demandeurs d’emploi qui le souhaitent peuvent acquérir un premier niveau de professionnalisation à l’emploi. Le tout grâce à une méthode active qui permet d’apprendre par la pratique, dans le cadre d’une production collective valorisante.
La VAE : un droit individuel à la formation
Instauré en 2002, le droit individuel à la Validation des acquis de l’expérience (VAE) permet à toute personne engagée dans la vie active de faire valider les acquis de son expérience, notamment professionnelle, en vue de l’acquisition d’un diplôme ou d’une certification. Mobilisée pour le déploiement de la VAE, la Région organise sur son territoire le réseau des centres et des points d’information et de conseil. Elle soutient en parallèle les candidats. Consciente que l’accompagnement à la VAE favorise l’obtention de la certification visée par le candidat, elle a porté une exigence de qualité de l’accompagnement des centres référencés. Deux programmes régionaux sont consacrés à la VAE : le programme régional d’information et d’entretiens conseils en VAE et le dispositif d’aide individuelle « chéquier VAE ».
Chéquiers qualifiants
En complément des programmes régionaux, la Région accorde des chéquiers qualifiants, soit une aide individuelle de 4.100 euros maximum, délivrés par les conseillers Pôle emploi ou mission locale, pour les formations certifiantes sur les premiers niveaux de qualification ne figurant pas au sein de l’offre régionale existante. Suite de l'article...

Il arrive, au cours d’une vie professionnelle, de connaître des périodes d’inactivité. Pour retrouver un emploi, il est parfois nécessaire d’évoluer ou de changer de métier. La formation est l’un des moyens prévus pour faciliter votre retour à l’emploi. Elle peut être organisée dans le cadre d’un contrat de travail de type particulier ou dans le cadre d’un stage.