By Kasia Kovacs. College students today are increasingly different from those of previous generations. They are less likely to be white and more likely to be the first in their families to go to college. Professors who would like to guide these first-generation college students in adjusting to higher education may come across their own challenges. Communicating with people from different cultural backgrounds can become a barrier unto itself. Read more...
By Scott Jaschik. This is the second year of the #IHEreaderschoice award for the best book published by a scholarly publisher that would make a great holiday gift for an academic. More entries this year than last year were books about higher education, and some on social media suggested that such a book should win. Read more...
By Colleen Flaherty. A new book, based on five years of research involving academic scientists, sheds more light on the struggles of both men and women as they try to grow their careers and their families. Failing Families, Failing Science: Work-Family Conflict in Academic Science (New York University Press) is based on the idea that work-life balance is not an issue exclusive to women -- and must be addressed with gender-neutral solutions. Read more...
Scott McLemee delves into The Quantified Self by Deborah Lupton, a study of how digital self-tracking is insinuating itself into every nook and cranny of human experience. Read more...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. The Great Unbundling of Textbook Publishers
Michael Feldstein, e-Literate, 2016/10/25
The unbundling of the university is more story than fact, writes Michael Feldstein, but the unbundling of publishing is imminent. This tipping point may be open educational resources (OER), which are making textbook publishing unprofitable. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Book Review: 'Bourgeois Equality'
Charles Wolf, The Rand Blog, 2016/10/03
This review of Deirdre McCloskey's Bourgeois Equality ends too suddenly, almost in mid-thought, which is a pity. It would have been worth reading Charles Wolf's criticism of the 768 page tome. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Textbook Example of Unbundling
Alec Whitters, EdTech Digest, 2016/11/10
We've been reading recently about the unbundling of textbooks and this article continues that discussion, contrasting it with "patchy" evidence for predictions of the unbundling of education generally. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Is Audio Really the Future of the Book?
Rebecca Rego Barry, JSTOR Daily, 2016/11/17
I don't think anyone has seriously suggested that all books will be replaced by audio. It's far more plausible to suggests that all paper versions of books will be transferred to a digital format. More...
By Joshua Kim. In his essential new book The Attention Merchants, Columbia Law School professor Tim Wu quotes from William James' (1842-1910) observation that "our life experience would ultimately amount to whatever we had paid attention to.” More.../https%3A%2F%2Fprofilepics.canalblog.com%2Fprofilepics%2F1%2F0%2F1076071.jpg)
