University of North Texas

CLEAR celebrates UNT's distance learning programs with free webinars

@ Online

Please join CLEAR in celebrating National Distance Learning Week

Please join us online during the week of November 8th - 12th, 2010 for FREE webinars offered by the United States Distance Learning Association at http://www.usdla.org/ndlw/.

USDLA, SLOAN-C, and Innovative Educators are offering free webinars in Higher Education, Virtual Worlds, Blended Learning, Faculty Preparation in Online Teaching, Brain-based Learning, Mobile Learning, and more.

Sponsored by the United States Distance Learning Association, National Distance Learning Week (NDLW) held November 8-12, 2010, seeks to promote and celebrate the tremendous growth and accomplishments occurring today in distance learning programs offered by schools, businesses, and governmental departments.

Currently, over 3.5 million college students are taking online courses and/or earning online college degrees. The University of North Texas has been providing distance learning courses and programs since 1997 and is the second largest provider of distance learning courses at a Texas public institution of higher education. In fall 2010, UNT offered 47,185.5 semester credit hours through distance learning. Nearly 11,000 students are currently enrolled in one or more distance learning courses, and 3,452 of them are taking only courses offered in this format.

During this week, CLEAR has chosen to highlight some of the ways in which UNT's distance learning programs have made an impact:

On Monday, November 8, CLEAR salutes the Department of Anthropology for providing quality education and building community among anthropology professionals through its Applied Anthropology Online Master's Program.

On Tuesday, November 9, CLEAR applauds the Coalition for Leadership in Aging Services (CLAS) for offering the Certified Aging Services Professional (CASP) National Certification Program through three flexible distance learning options that are designed to meet individuals’ preferred learning styles.

On Wednesday, November 10, CLEAR recognizes the Department of Educational Psychology’s Project DART, a program funded by the U.S. Department of Education and designed to professionally prepare educators in rural Texas who have not previously had access to formal coursework in autism. Using distance learning for instructional delivery and communications, Project DART extends UNT’s current face-to-face (F2F) Master’s degree in special education with a specialization in autism intervention.

On Thursday, November 11, 2010, CLEAR recognizes the Department of Library and Information Sciences for being a leader at UNT in distance learning by offering a Master of Science in Library and Information Science through cohort-based Web Institutes. The department created the Web Institute as a foundation for distance learning students beginning their Master's degree study. Students meet at a host site for four-day or nine-day Institutes and complete the remainder of the course online. This cohort-based approach provides an opportunity for students and faculty to build a vibrant learning community.

On Friday, November 12, 2010 CLEAR recognizes the Department of Learning Technologies for leadership in distance learning by providing the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences (BAAS) degree program, with a major in Applied Technology and Performance Improvement. Designed for community college students who have completed an AAS degree, or who have earned technical credits in a specialization, the ATPI BAAS enables students to complete their Bachelor’s degree at UNT by taking 42 credit hours of junior/senior level professional development courses online.