The Future of Higher Education
Foreign languages: the 10 easiest to learn
By Anne Merritt. The English language is closely related to many Germanic and Romance dialects, so when it comes to language study English speakers aren’t starting from scratch. Anne Merritt lists the 10 easiest to pick up.
We English speakers have a bad reputation in the world of language. According to a European Commission survey in 2012, 61 per cent of British respondents could not speak a second language. However, with growing foreign economies and more global communication than ever before, languages are becoming a crucial skill for professionals.
Ten easiest languages for native English speakers to learn.
The English language is closely related to many Germanic and Romance dialects, so when it comes to language study English speakers aren’t starting from scratch. Anne Merritt lists the 10 easiest to pick up.
Afrikaans
Like English, Afrikaans is in the West Germanic language family. Unlike English, its structure won’t make your head spin. A great feature of Afrikaans, especially for grammar-phobes, is its logical and non-inflective structure. Unlike English, there is no verb conjugation (swim, swam, swum). Unlike Romance languages, there is no gender (un homme, une femme in French)...
French
We can thank William the Conqueror for excellent, colour, identity, and about 8000 other French-derived English words left over from the Norman occupation. Linguists estimate that French has influenced up to a third of the modern English language, from the language of the courts in the 11th century to modern terms like je ne sais quoi, après-ski, and bourgeois...
Spanish
For language learners, a great feature of Spanish is its shallow orthographic depth – that is, in most cases, words are written as pronounced. This means that reading and writing in Spanish is a straightforward task...
Dutch
Another West Germanic cousin of the English language, Dutch is both structurally and syntactically familiar for English speakers. In terms of pronunciation and vocabulary, it parallels English in many ways, such as groen (green) or de oude man (the old man)...
Norwegian
This North Germanic language has consistent pronunciation and, for English speakers, some pretty breezy grammar. Norwegian and English have very similar syntax and word order. Verbs are an especially simple feature, with no conjugation according to number or person. The rules of conjugation are particularly straightforward, with a simple –e suffix for past tense, and –s for passive verbs...
Portuguese
Portuguese is grammatically similar to other Romance languages. One attractively simple feature is its interrogative form, which is expressed by intonation alone, not through rearranging phrases. We’re leaving now can become a question just by raising one’s voice at the end (“We’re leaving now?”) which is a natural linguistic habit of English speakers anyway. In Brazilian Portuguese, questions can also be posed through one catchall question tag: não é?
Swedish
Another Germanic language, Swedish shares many cognate words with English, such as konferens (conference), midnatt (midnight), and telefon (telephone). The syntax is also familiar to English speakers, with a Subject-Verb-Object structure, and verb conjugations which follow the same patterns and rules as in English grammar...
Italian
The most romantic of Romance language, Italian has a Latin-rooted vocabulary which allows for many Italian/English cognates, including foresta (forest), calendario (calendar), and ambizioso (ambitious)...
Esperanto
Esperanto advocate Leo Tolstoy claimed to have learned it in four hours. Most linguists class it among the easiest languages to learn, especially for Indo-European language speakers...
Frisian
This language is native to Friesland in the Netherlands, and is spoken by fewer than half a million people. Still, it is English’s closest sibling, uniquely connected in the tiny linguistic category of North Sea Germanic languages. The two parted ways, so to speak, when Old English and Old Frisian started evolving independently around the 8th century... Read more...
Could online courses be the death of the humanities?
Humanities are at risk, less from the free education market than the free market strategies in education, says Aurélien Mondon.Let's be clear, access to quality lectures for free is a fantastic achievement, allowing hundreds of thousands to access knowledge for its own sake. But with Tedx, Coursera and others like them taking part in the democratisation of education by removing it from the shackles of consumerism and the market, there is a risk that such developments will be detrimental to the exploration of knowledge in the long term. Carole Cadwalladr recently reported in the Observer that free online access to tertiary courses and lectures was set to revolutionise education. She imagined a United Kingdom where "the 'second-tier' universities … could struggle in the brave new free education market world". What her piece ignored is that these universities are already struggling, not because of the "free education market", but because of the hegemony of free market strategies in education. This is particularly striking in the humanities, an area of study to which only one paragraph was dedicated, but that could be the greatest loser in this recent transformation of the education landscape.
A world where online learning is generalised and ends up replacing other education delivery modes could seriously impact the original purpose of a university. Most of the examples cited by Cadwalladr are from what is often termed the 'hard sciences'. Even in these disciplines, a problem lies in what seems to me the central element of higher education learning: the development of critical abilities and the potential for students to express their own original analytical skills. Assessment marked automatically, where only one answer is correct, does not leave space for human imagination and, by extension, progress. But critical skills are also (or should be) central to assessment in the humanities, from good essay writing to more developed research. Read more...
EdMedia 2013 - World Conference on Educational Media and Technology
EdMedia 2013 - World Conference on Educational Media and Technology. Victoria, BC, Canada - June 24-28, 2013.The EdMedia World Conference on Educational Media and Technology is an international conference, organized by the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). This annual conference serves as a multi-disciplinary forum for the discussion and exchange of information on the research, development, and applications on all topics related to multimedia, hypermedia and telecommunications/distance education.
Proposal Submission Guide & Form
EdMedia--World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications is an international conference, organized by the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). This annual conference serves as a multi-disciplinary forum for the discussion and exchange of information on the research, development, and applications on all topics related to multimedia, hypermedia and telecommunications/distance education. EdMedia, the premiere international conference in the field, spans all disciplines and levels of education and annually attracts more than 1,500 leaders in the field from over 70 countries. For a list, see: Countries @ EdMedia. We invite you to attend EdMedia and submit proposals for papers, panels, roundtables, tutorials, workshops, posters/demonstrations, corporate showcases/demos, and SIG discussions. The Conference Review Policy requires that each proposal will be peer-reviewed by for inclusion in the conference program, proceedings book, and online proceedings available on EdITLib - Education and Information Technology Digital Library.
Topics
The scope of the conference includes, but is not limited to, the following major topics as they relate to the educational and developmental aspects of multimedia/hypermedia and telecommunications. Sub-topics listed here.
From Boardroom to Classroom
By Alexandra Tilsley. Students at Yale University enrolled in elementary Bengali meet four days a week in a campus classroom, just like they would for any other course, but there is one big difference: their instructor is almost 300 miles away, in Ithaca, N.Y. Yale, Cornell University, and Columbia University, backed by a two-year, $1.2 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, have launched a pilot program to conduct classes in uncommonly taught languages, including Indonesian, Yoruba, and Zulu, across the different campuses using videoconferencing technology. In doing so, they’re reviving not only language programs on the brink of extinction, but also a familiar concept in distance education. At a time when asynchronous instruction reaching hundreds of thousands of students is increasingly common, these universities are returning to a mode of distance learning geared toward small classes in which students all meet at the same time.
“It’s been a while since videoconferencing has been in education,” Dick Feldman, director of Cornell’s Language Resource Center. The project evolved after a round of federal budget cuts in 2011 essentially gutted foreign language programs across the country, taking 47 percent of the budget for National Resource Centers, hubs of foreign language and cultural study. The language directors at the three universities, who knew each other through other collaborations, realized as the cuts began to hit their campuses that they had an opportunity to join forces and preserve some of the rarely taught languages. Read more...
Making Higher Education Work
By Margaret Andrews. Quick: What percentage of employers believes that the graduates of post-secondary education they hired in the past year have been adequately prepared for the job market? 42%.
And what percentage of young people believe that they were adequately prepared for an entry-level position in their chosen field of study? 45%.
And now, what percentage of postsecondary education providers believe that graduates from their institution are adequately prepared for entry-level positions in their chosen field of study? 72%.
Education to Employment, a new report by McKinsey from which these data are taken, is a great read, whether the full report or the executive summary. The findings are based on surveys across nine countries (Brazil, Germany, India, Mexico, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States) with 4,656 young people (aged 15 to 29) employed or nearing graduation, 2,832 employers, and 908 postsecondary education providers. According to the report, the disconnect between what employers, students and education providers believe about work-readiness stems, in large part, from a lack of engagement across the three groups. Read more...
Coursera Creates an Academic Advisory Board
Nine top academic officials from universities that offer free online courses through Coursera will be part of the upstart company’s first academic advisory board, Coursera announced on Thursday. The panel, which will have a rotating membership, will advise the company on “strategic academic and business decisions,” according to a news release. Coursera’s announcement comes two days after it introduced a new recruiting service that charges employers to connect with top students who are interested in job opportunities.Cours à distance et en présentiel
Blog Educpros de Pierre Dubois. 27 et 28 novembre 2012. Pour la première fois de ma vie, je donne six heures de cours dans une "salle de téléprésence immersive". Invitation par le Collège doctoral international de l’Université Européenne de Bretagne. Le thème: "Enseignement supérieur et recherche en France: points forts, points faibles, opportunités et menaces". Le public: 21 doctorants des 8 écoles doctorales de l’UEB. Cours en présentiel: onze doctorants sont à mes côtés à Brest. Cours à distance: une doctorante se trouve à Lorient et neuf doctorants à Rennes. J’ai accepté, avec grand plaisir, le défi de tenter une expérience innovante et stimulante. En voici un bilan personnel.Salle de cours dans chacune des trois villes: un amphithéâtre de 18 places, équipé des technologies les plus avancées pour un enseignement multi-sites. Des fauteuils plus que confortables. Capacité d’accueil des 3 amphis: 54. Les doctorants de Rennes et de Lorient sont à près de deux cents kilomètres de Brest mais ils sont présents et visibles sur un très grand écran. Chaque doctorant a devant lui un écran d’ordinateur et un micro, peut intervenir quand il le veut. Sons et images d’une qualité exceptionnelle. Tout se passe comme si nous étions tous dans le même amphithéâtre circulaire, moi au milieu de l’arène; les doctorants de Brest sont derrière moi.
Esquisse de bilan de de cette expérience, étape par étape. Enseigner à distance et en présentiel, avec l’appui d’équipements technologiques sophistiqués, nécessite un important travail de préparation des contenus. Il aurait été insupportable de donner quatre conférences d’une heure et demie et de discuter avec les étudiants sans supports d’informations, montrables en temps réel. J’ai fait ce travail de préparation et l’ai organisé sous la forme d’un plan détaillé, constamment accessible sur chaque poste de travail. Pour chacune des cinq parties du cours, j’ai pu ouvrir un document pdf ou un lien web (document déjà en ligne sur la toile). Voici ce document: invitation au lecteur à se lancer dans la navigation! Suite de l'article...
Blog Educpros Pierre Dubois. 27th and 28th November 2012. For the first time in my life, I give six hours of courses in "immersive telepresence room." Invitation by the International Doctoral College European University of Brittany. Theme: "Higher Education and Research in France: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats." Public: 21 doctoral students 8 doctoral schools of UEB. During presential eleven PhD students are with me at Brest. Distance learning courses: a doctoral student is in Lorient and nine doctoral students in Rennes. I accepted with great pleasure, the challenge of trying innovative and challenging experience. Here's a personal balance sheet. More...Renforçons le pacte de compétitivité par l'économie sociale et solidaire
Par Claude Alphandéry, président du Labo de l'ESS, François Chérèque, syndicaliste, Edmond Maire, administrateur de France active. Le coût du travail n'est que l'une des nombreuses causes du déclin industriel de la France (pression excessive du capital financier, manque de coopération, manque de considération pour les salariés, les usagers, les fournisseurs, excès de charges intermédiaires...). Les entreprises, et d'abord les petites et moyennes, qui constituent le maillage économique du territoire, ne peuvent s'y résigner. Elles ont besoin de traitements de fond pour les redynamiser.Le "pacte de compétitivité" est donc incontournable, il n'a que trop tardé. Mais, tel qu'il est, il ne se suffit pas à lui-même: la compétitivité crée certes de nouvelles activités, de nouveaux métiers, de nouveaux postes d'emplois. Mais elle en supprime beaucoup d'autres au nom de l'efficacité. Le solde n'est pas en mesure de réduire sensiblement le gap (fossé) de cinq millions de chômeurs.
Il y a en revanche de grands progrès à réaliser dans la formation, l'accompagnement social et professionnel, les relations du travail, qui peuvent donner aux salariés (mais aussi à ceux qui n'ont pas accès à l'emploi) une plus grande capacité d'adaptation aux mutations économiques, renforçant à la fois la sécurité de l'emploi et les moyens de production, et rendant possible la réduction du chômage. Suite de l'article...
Με Claude Alphandéry, Πρόεδρος του ΕΣΣ Lab, François Chérèque, συνδικαλιστής, Edmond Maire, διευθυντής του ενεργού Γαλλία. Κόστος εργασίας είναι μόνο μία από τις πολλές αιτίες της βιομηχανικής παρακμής της Γαλλίας (υπερβολική πίεση του κεφαλαίου οικονομικά, η έλλειψη συνεργασίας, έλλειψη σεβασμού για τους εργαζομένους, τους πελάτες, τους προμηθευτές, μεσάζοντες υπερβολικές δαπάνες ...). Οι επιχειρήσεις, και τις μικρές και μεσαίες πρώτη, που αποτελούν το πλέγμα οικονομική επικράτεια μπορεί να παραιτηθεί. Χρειάζονται DMARDs για αναζωογόνηση. Περισσότερα...Le risque des fusions d’écoles, c’est la banalisation du diplôme
Propos recueillis par Benoît Floc'h. Interview de Denis Lapert, directeur de Télécom école de management."Le grand amphi": Vous venez d'annoncer un rapprochement avec Grenoble école de management. Est-ce un premier pas vers une fusion?
Pas du tout. Je ne critique pas ceux qui choisissent de fusionner mais, personnellement, je ne vois pas les bénéfices que l'on peut en tirer. Certains disent qu'ils souhaitent atteindre "une taille critique". Je suis toujours à la recherche de ce qu'est une taille critique! S'agit-il du nombre de professeurs? du nombre d'étudiants? de la superficie de l'école? La directrice générale de Skema, Alice Guilhon, vient de donner une interview dans laquelle elle évoque la fusion qui a donné naissance à son école. Elle y dit que cela leur a coûté 4 millions d'euros. Mais l'école est-elle pour autant devenue meilleure en recherches? Elle ne le dit pas...
Normalement, quand on fusionne, c'est pour réduire ses coûts. Or, je n'entends aucun directeur qui fusionne dire qu'il agit dans ce but. Personnellement, d'ailleurs, je n'y crois pas trop. Un étudiant n'est pas un produit standard. Plus on a d'étudiants, plus il faut multiplier les forces d'encadrement. Cela ne fait pas d'économies d'échelle.
Par ailleurs, une école fusionnée diplôme 800, 900, 1 000 étudiants par an. Elle inonde le marché avec des étudiants qui ont tous le même diplôme, qui ont fait les mêmes stages... Dans ces conditions, je m'interroge sur la valeur du diplôme qu'ils détiennent. Comment les entreprises vont-elles les repérer, les distinguer? Le risque que court ces écoles, c'est la banalisation de leur diplôme. Suite de l'article...
Interview by Benedict Floc'h. Lapert Interview Denis, Director of Telecom Management School. "The great amphitheater": You have announced a merger with Grenoble School of Management. Is this a first step towards a merger? More...
