By Joshua Kim. What books have you been reading to help you understand (and hopefully improve) higher education?
What books would you recommend?
My frame for my summer higher ed reading has been pretty narrow. I’m reading from the standpoint of a learning and technology person; as someone who believes that new technologies, new teaching methods, and enhanced faculty support can improve learning. Read more...
By Joshua Kim. Question: What would be the single most impactful investment we could make in improving student learning by leveraging technology?
Options:
A. Hire more instructional designers.
B. Invest in advanced digital learning platforms.
C. Develop institutional capabilities in learner-centric data analytics and assessment.
D. Free up faculty time.
E. None of the above - you supply an answer. Read more...
By Joshua Kim. "Educational technology use remains somewhat of a pig in a poke whose value is largely determined more by the perspective of supporters than any real data on learning outcomes. Edtech remains a sideshow for most faculty more interested in building a career than chasing fads.” Read more...
By Barbara Fister. Last March, I read Alice Marwick’s Status Update, a fascinating ethnographic account of Silicon Valley culture and how entwined that culture is in the design of the social media platforms that we use daily. It’s a world that presumes good things come to those who are smart and work hard and, within this meritocracy, everyone’s an entrepreneur with a personal brand to develop. Read more...
By Matt Reed. Are accrediting bodies toothless jellyfish, or jackbooted thugs?
Reading these two articles next to each other, it’s easy to be confused.
The first, by Andrew Kelly, suggests that accreditation agencies amount to the enforcers for a producers’ cartel. Read more...
By Matt Reed. The Dog has been missing for over a week. She broke free when I was trying to drop her off at a kennel before a weekend trip that ended up not happening; she has since been seen mostly in the Southwick, MA and Granby, CT areas. We’ve been distributing flyers, working Facebook and Twitter, putting up posters, calling animal control offices, setting humane traps, and doing just about everything possible short of actually catching her. Read more...
By Jason McSheene. You knew it was coming. Your social media feeds were filled with videos of friends and family dumping buckets of ice water on their heads. After a week or two of dodging, you thought you were in the clear. The fad had to pass soon, right? But then, your Aunt Nora Mae blindsided you with a nomination to either do the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge or donate to the ALS Association. Read more...
By Natascha Chtena. Surrounded by media reports that claim early risers are the most successful, productive, and happy among us, I used to feel guilty for being a night owl. Well-intentioned friends and mentors also kept insisting that waking up at dawn would be the solution to my frequent burnouts and help me manage my workload better. I tried multiple times to set my alarm to 5:00AM, but failed to get up every single time. Read more...
By Natascha Chtena. The student/advisor dynamic can be one of the most rewarding or most fraught relationships in graduate school, and choosing the right mentor is one of the most important decisions you will make as a graduate student. A positive relationship with your advisor can help you reach your full potential as an academic researcher, while a negative relationship can make the process extremely difficult—so much so that some students don’t finish their programs or leave with a Masters rather than complete their PhDs. Read more...
Dozens of higher education interest groups submitted comments last week on Senator Tom Harkin’s draft proposal to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. The American Council on Education submitted a consensus letter, signed by 20 other higher education groups, that laid out provisions that garnered widespread support as well as concern. Read more...
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