By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Canadian colleges’ successes with disadvantaged learners Highlighted at UNESCO-UNEVOC Skills Summit
Unattributed, Colleges, Institutes Canada, 2014/10/21
According to this post, Colleges and Institutes Canada has released a report describing "the programs, support services and innovations that Canadian colleges are using to increase access to post-secondary education for vulnerable groups." The report (60 page PDF) is organized as a series of 55 or so one-page articles, each describing a case where someone uses one of the services (it would make a great series of blog posts). More...
Chartbeat tries to fight the smoke and mirrors in web measurement by going public with its metrics
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Chartbeat tries to fight the smoke and mirrors in web measurement by going public with its metrics
Mathew Ingram, GigaOm, 2014/10/21
We need to "stop thinking about pageviews or other traffic-focused metrics, and start thinking about measuring actual attention or engagement," says Chartbeat founder and CEO Tony Haile as his company is set to open access to the company's metrics and procedures. More...
The Open Standard
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. The Open Standard
Various authors, Mozilla, 2014/10/21
Mozilla has launched a newsletter called 'The Open Standard' which addresses issues such as privacy, transparency and trust. The lead article today, for example, is titled: Who’s Collecting Kids’ Personal Data? Lots of People. More...
Harnessing informal and social learning
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Harnessing informal and social learning
Charles Gould, Brightwave, Slideshare, 2014/10/21
Interesting presentation (especially the screen shots in the latter half) on personal and informal learning. Key learning points: Early adoption examples of dynamic social learning in real-world scenarios. More...
Social Learning is Voluntary; Collaboration Platforms are Enablers
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Social Learning is Voluntary; Collaboration Platforms are Enablers
Sahana Chattopadhyay, ID and Other Reflections, 2014/10/21
I've used the phrase 'free learning and control learning' in the past to highlight the same distinction, but while my terminology didn't really take off, perhaps Jane Hart's 'social learning and fauxial learning' will fare better. I'm not betting on it. More...
Improving Procurement and IT Efficiency Critical for Institutional Success
By Jeff Denneen - EvoLLLution. 1. Why are higher education institutions under so much pressure to streamline internal processes and reduce operational costs?
It’s a problem that has been brewing for a long time. If you go back over the past 30 years, the annual growth rate in expenses at a university has been roughly seven percent per year. Over time that has translated into [increased] tuition for students, increased borrowing and financial aid through loan program for students, or increased state support for public institutions. More...
Personalized and Automated: How Efficiency Benefits Students and the Institution
By Timothy Renick - EvoLLLution. 1. How do systems built around predictive analytics, such as the GPS at Georgia State University, support staff productivity?
The goal is really twofold. It is in the first instance obviously to help students. We can use data more effectively to do so. There are all kinds of data points that we really had at our fingertips for years that we haven’t used aggressively, proactively enough to actually benefit our students. More...
Navigating the Bureaucracy of Higher Education: How Processes Impair Persistence for Adults
By Scott Greenberg - EvoLLLution. Bureaucracy: “A system that has many complicated rules and ways of doing things (Merriam-Webster); A system of administration distinguished by written and inflexible rules, regulations and procedures (Business Dictionary.com).”
Colleges and universities work hard to provide a supportive academic community that fosters student success, but they often miss their mark when it comes to serving adult learners. The bureaucratic nature of our institutions—with its policies and procedures wrapped in a one-size-fits-all model—can often be a hindrance for adult learners. More...
How Data Management Creates Strategic Advantages for Institutions
By Sharon Blanton - EvoLLLution. I just returned from an exhilarating and exhausting two weeks of conferences. The content at the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference and Gartner Symposium was significantly focused on what is often called Institutional Research or Business Intelligence. Why? Because all organizations are focused on achieving a strategic advantage. More...
Efficiency Is the First Step Toward Long-Term Sustainability
By Kenneth Hartman - EvoLLLution. 1. What is the biggest roadblock stopping senior institutional administrators from taking steps to make their institutions more efficient?
Every institution is different but many of them have some of the same issues. For example, the governance structure — how strong or influential the board is, the faculty senate, unions, etc. There’s an issue of leadership in the experience of today’s presidents; we’re seeing a great turnover of university and college presidents at the two-year and four-year level. More...