By Michael Feldstein. The good news is that Blackboard, after going quiet for a while, is out giving updates again. The bad news is that the more they talk, the less I understand. More...
One Thing Blackboard is Doing Right
By Michael Feldstein. After Monday’s post on my confusion with Blackboard’s overall Learn strategy, I thought I would follow up with a reminder that there is one really important area where there are strong early signs that Blackboard is doing something right in a very important area: learning analytics. More...
A Big Reason That Digital Textbooks Are Misunderstood
By Phil Hill. Far too often people assume that digital equals low costs, even for textbooks. Then we get reports and surveys looking at digital textbooks as a method to “save money”, where it is almost assumed that digital textbooks do save money; it’s just a question of whether faculty take this fact into consideration. More...
Does a larger mallet actually change the game?
By Jeremy Cunningham. Whack-a-mole: the classic arcade game where a player is faced with a never-ending stream of moles popping up from the ground. When a player hit one in the right corner of the board, one pops up on the left side. Reforming education is a lot like Whack-a-Mole; the industry has so many interconnected issues and contradictory problems that no solution can cover every need. More...
The Impact of an Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE) Program on the Professional Practice of Graduates
This paper examines the impact of a distance education program offered by the University of Pretoria, South Africa, on the professional practice of teachers. A pilot study was conducted using a combination of surveys and focus group interviews. Findings reveal that the program was beneficial to graduates’ personal development, professional practice, schools, learners, and colleagues. More...
Connectivism: Learning theory of the future or vestige of the past?
Siemens and Downes initially received increasing attention in the blogosphere in 2005 when they discussed their ideas concerning distributed knowledge. An extended discourse has ensued in and around the status of ‘connectivism’ as a learning theory for the digital age. This has led to a number of questions in relation to existing learning theories. More...
Four centuries after Galileo was silenced, UK students are still curbing free speech
Why the A-Level psychology exam is already out of date
The importance of play: what universities can learn from preschools
Is your child taking a test? When is the right time?
By . Standardized tests have become the primary tool for determining a student’s academic ability. Legislators and administrators use test data to evaluate the effectiveness of schooling on children and create curriculum. More...