Journalism programs struggle to adapt to changing times
Soraya Roberts, University Affairs, 2018/07/27
Journalism runs in my blood. At the age of 10 I started my first newspaper - The Eagle Report - and in university I was editor of the student newspaper. And as journalism has changed over the years, so have I. Hence my latest effort, this newsletter. More...

What On Earth Is A MOOC-Based Degree Path?
Derek Newton, Forbes, 2018/07/27
I didn't appreciate the tone of this article as it uses phrases like "no more academic weight than the McDonald’s dollar menu" and "has the academic and employment standing of a dryer sheet" to describe MOOC credentials. Derek Newton is very sure. More...

Calgary malls use facial recognition to track shoppers' age, gender without consent
Sarah Rieger, CBC News, 2018/07/27
This is just a quick update to note that facial recognition technology is becoming mainstream. In this case, it is being used by a shopping mall in Calgary. As it becomes more widely used, expect it to become prevalent in schools. More...

Beyond 800 words
Tristan Ferne, BBC News Labs, Medium, 2018/07/26
This pair of posts (part one, part two; summarized at Nieman) looks at what can be done to enhance (or even replace) 800 word article, "the dominant form of online news from most publishers." Short posts (like the ones in OLDaily) work well for sharing. More...

Educational Exercises and Activities Community Group
Adam Sobieski, W3C, 2018/07/26

I'm not sure whether the world needed this but we're getting it nonetheless. More...

Student Resistance to Collaborative Learning
Sheri Stover, Cindra Holland, International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 2018/07/26
I was not a fan of collaborative learning in school and demonstrated many of the signs of resistance described in this paper. I didn't like the other team members, I didn't want to deal with them, and I did all the work anyways. More...

Why We Shouldn't Embrace the Genetics of Education
John Warner, Inside Higher Ed, 2018/07/26
Some very questionable research was published earlier this week associating a person's genetic makeup with the chances of their attaining higher education. With John Warner, I caution against embracing this work. "There is no limit to the damage we can do when wielding a score," he writes. More...

Critical Thinking Criteria for Evaluating Online Discussion
Arla G. Bernstein, CaroI Isaac, International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 2018/07/26
This study asked instructors what they thought would constitute evidence of 'critical thinking' in online discussions. The responses fell into two distinct categories: "1) demonstrates logic and reasoning (described as offering accurate supporting evidence and strategies and solutions); and 2) creative critical thought processes (described as novel perceptions, bias refutation, and alternative-seeking)." More...

Moodle In The Timeline Of ‘Canvas Beats Blackboard’
Moodle News, 2018/07/26
Despite a really annoying subscription prompt that flies into the screen from all directions, this article is a useful adjective-free summary of the reporting around the recent e-Literate-Mindwires announcement that Canvas as surpassed Blackboard. It's an interesting take because missing in all this discussion has been Moodle, and it's worth noting that Blockboard owns a couple of Moodle hosting services. More...

Can a Subscription Model Work for Online Learners and Teachers? Skillshare Just Raised $28 Million to Find Out
Tony Wan, EdSurge, 2018/07/25
We've seen the subscription model for courses adopted by a number of companies (most notably Lynda) so it's not a surprise to see Skillshare looking in this direction. More...