Education software companies are making big bets on the growing popularity of the Internet.
But what are the rules and regulations governing how software companies can help students navigate the vast and confusing world of online learning?
A major milestone came last month when the U.S. Department of Education released the first in a series of regulations designed to simplify how colleges and universities interact with students.
The regulations, which are part of a $50 billion initiative to streamline learning and prepare students for jobs, aim to make it easier for students to access college-related materials online.
The rules were announced last month by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who has been an advocate for online learning and is leading the push for more student access to education.
While the regulations won’t go into effect for a few years, DeVos said that the new rules will provide “institutional accountability for colleges and online learning.”
They will establish an appropriate process to ensure that colleges and their partners have access to the materials they need to meet the needs of students.
In a statement, DeVos called the new guidelines “an important first step toward helping students get the information they need on the web and to get access to relevant online content.”
She said the rules are part “of a larger plan to stream-line the way colleges and other educational institutions make the learning experience for all of their students.”
The regulations also provide “strong and consistent enforcement to ensure compliance with the requirements and protect students from fraudulent use,” she said.
More:College students: You’ll have a hard time navigating this new world of learningThe regulations are aimed at helping colleges and education organizations, such as colleges and the nation’s largest nonprofit, make more money off the Web.
Online learning is booming, and more than 10 million students are enrolled at colleges across the country.
But the rules could be a boon for colleges, because they would allow them to sell students online course materials without requiring them to buy physical books and textbooks.
The regulations are being crafted by the Education Information Technology Task Force, an independent agency within the Department of Labor.
The group, which has more than 1,000 members, is tasked with streamlining the use of technology in higher education and preparing students for careers in technology.
The rule-making is a big deal for colleges because the government’s new rules could make it more affordable for students and teachers to access courses and materials online, making it easier to get into college and help students prepare for jobs.
The rules also will help to ensure the public has access to higher education, which is still underfunded.
The new rules are designed to “help students access college content at a pace that is reasonable and fair,” said John T. Schulz, the task force’s director of communications and marketing.
The task force, which consists of some of the country’s largest education technology companies, including the companies that make education-related software, also is overseeing efforts to streamfill federal online learning programs and prepare college students for job-ready jobs.
The agency is also developing guidance on how colleges should make sure that students and their parents have access for learning online, Schulz said.
The guidance is expected to be finalized this year.
The U.K.-based company Learning and Learning, which owns the educational software software company Epson, is spearheading the effort to make sure schools and teachers have access online.
The company, which sells more than 4 million educational software products, has made the process for downloading, installing and configuring its software easy.
Learning and Learning chief executive David Johnson said the new regulations will make it much easier for colleges to offer courses and courses to students.
It will allow them more flexibility to tailor their programs to students’ interests, and it will help them create courses that are appropriate for their students, he said.
A college’s online course is different from a print book, which students have to take in person and have to pay for.
A print book costs about $1,200 to $1.50 a page, depending on the content and how many pages of the book you want to buy.
With the new regulation, the cost of the course is reduced to $40 a page.
The company plans to introduce courses and products that are easy to use, easy to remember, and teach students how to use computers, he added.
Learning is also working to make the educational materials easier to access and for schools to make them available online.
In addition to Epson’s Learning and Learngr.com, the company is also launching an online course provider, Education Content.
The website allows students to learn about topics like history, math and science.
Learning has been working with the company to provide students with information that can be accessed from anywhere on the Internet, Johnson said.
Education Content plans to allow students to create and print course materials on their own.
The courses will be free for students, and can be customized with subjects or materials that are relevant to the students’ learning goals, he noted