By Allan Metcalf. A half century of field work and lexicography came to completion earlier this year with publication of the last volume of that massive work, the Dictionary of American Regional English. It encompasses six volumes of a thousand pages each, some 50,000 entries of American regional words, numerous maps and countless cross references, along with a final volume including an index by region and the complete list of responses to a nationwide survey of regional vocabulary. Read more...16 décembre 2013
DARE in the Air
By Allan Metcalf. A half century of field work and lexicography came to completion earlier this year with publication of the last volume of that massive work, the Dictionary of American Regional English. It encompasses six volumes of a thousand pages each, some 50,000 entries of American regional words, numerous maps and countless cross references, along with a final volume including an index by region and the complete list of responses to a nationwide survey of regional vocabulary. Read more...Speaking Up for the Creditless MOOC
By Matt McGarrity. Last year I agreed to teach a public-speaking MOOC on the Coursera platform. I wasn’t a MOOC advocate, but I believe that the study of speech and rhetoric benefits individuals and society as a whole. I routinely offer speech workshops for civic and professional groups around Washington State. A MOOC on public speaking would allow me to run a speech workshop on a global scale. More...
Georgia Tech Designs Its Udacity Pilot to Avoid Failure
By Steve Kolowich. G.P. (Bud) Peterson, president of the Georgia Institute of Technology, is determined not to become the next casualty of a failed MOOC experiment. Mr. Peterson saw what happened at San Jose State University earlier this year: An experiment with Udacity, a company that specializes in massive open online courses, turned into an embarrassment for Mohammad H. Qayoumi, San Jose State’s president, after its first run, in the spring semester, produced underwhelming results. Read more...
Confess Your Stress: selfies as therapy
By Brian Mathews. Like many libraries, we do a lot of things for students during finals. We give away food. We bring in therapy dogs and cats. We add extra tables and chairs. We’ve done mindfulness (and related) programs. We’ve done games and gaming. We’ve done bubble wrap. Our folks are always looking for new ways to help students during this challenging time. More...
Nonprofit Group Will Offer Personalized College Guidance Online
By Beckie Supiano. Get Schooled, a nonprofit group that seeks to improve college access, has received $2-million through Google’s Global Impact Awards to develop an online hub offering prospective students customized college information. More...
The Secrets of ‘Million-Dollar Ready’ Colleges
By Don Troop. Less than a third of American colleges managed to attract individual donations of $1-million or more from 2000 to 2012, leaving the other two-thirds to wonder: What is their secret? According to a study released on Tuesday, a number of factors influence an institution’s chances of landing a big gift, including presidential tenure, the student experience, and the philanthropic example that its board members set. More...
15 décembre 2013
Digital Public Library of America: Young but Well Connected
By Jennifer Howard. This past spring, after years of hopeful talk, the idea of a U.S. national digital library took the leap into reality. The early signs are promising. After only seven months, the Digital Public Library of America, or DPLA, serves as the central link in an expanding network of cultural institutions that want to make their holdings more visible to the public. It has attracted financial support from foundations and government agencies, among them the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and, mostly recently, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. And it's begun to attract not only users in search of far-flung information but also developers who want to build new tools and applications on its open-source platform. More...
College costs pose a challenge
New numbers about college costs and student debt provide a sobering reminder of the importance of planning for college and informing students about the realities of those costs.
The numbers also provide a caution for college leaders to redouble efforts to hold down costs.
The average student debt of a graduating college senior in 2008 was $23,450, the Institute for College Access & Success says in a new report that looks at public and private nonprofit four-year institutions.
By 2012 the average debt load for new grads had climbed to $29,400. More...
Recession Graduates Have Greater Job Satisfaction, Study
. College students who graduated during recessions were extremely satisfied with their jobs compared to those who found employment during economic booms, according to an Emory University study. Emily Bianchi, assistant professor of organization and management at Goizueta Business School, said that when people start their jobs in good financial times, they tend to question their career choices and advancements. On the other hand, recession graduates are more than happy to have found a job and are less likely to ponder over alternate paths. More...
U.S. Colleges Finding Ideals Tested Abroad
By Tamar Lewin. Members of the Wellesley College faculty reacted strongly when word spread that Peking University might fire Prof. Xia Yeliang, a critic of the Chinese government. Professor Xia, an economist, had visited Wellesley over the summer after the college signed a partnership agreement with Peking University. Read more...
