Brad Powers

Over the last ten years or so, there has been a significant increase in the use of online education for many universities and higher education institutions. That is not news. What is news, according to an official from the University of California-Irvine, is that all American campuses will soon be offering some type of “free open courseware.”

This was the discussion that took place a few weeks ago on the UC Irvine campus which focused on the various “trends in free course material and how making textbooks, lectures and other course materials available online free of charge has changed higher education.” Indeed, it has even been predicted that this type of courseware will soon be standard at “small community colleges and research universities alike.”

Even though YouTube might be a great time waster and something that parents, teachers and educators in general want to ensure the children in their care avoid, great educational material can be gleaned if just a little selectivity is employed. But how can you weed out the bad stuff so that children are free to benefit from the good?

Thanks to M86 Security (an Internet Security Company) there is now a service that achieves this goal. VuSafe is a free website designed to enable educators to seek out worthy video content from YouTube (as well as other sites). In addition, the software lets you take good video clips to an online library and share them with students, omitting anything inappropriate.

So for those looking for a fun and enjoyable way to get an online education without the negative stuff, VuSafe is a great way to do it.

Knewton is an online company that provides personal educational aid to help increase scores on tests like the GMAT. Now, the company is taking online education to the next level by providing real university math programs for Arizona State University students.

Students who score lower than a certain grade will be required to use the Knewton learning program. Through the program, students will receive homework assignments based on their personal levels and learning styles. That way, the students will adapt to the material at their own pace, with personalized instruction. ASU will also use the program to gather information about the students’ learning process, which will enable them to provide more suitable tutoring classes in person.

ASU’s introductory math courses will also integrate Knewton’s program. Course professors will be able to use the program to help students strengthen their individual weaknesses.

The integration of the program into school policy may herald a dramatic change in the schooling system over the course of the next few years.