Higher Ed Tech News and Research ~ Ray Schroeder, editor. To help make alternative credentials a more viable option for adult learners, Eduventures recommends that institutions create a strategic framework by focusing on three areas: Define your alternative credentialing options, whether they are certificates, badges, formal statements of accomplishment, or endorsements of some kind. More...

Higher Ed Tech News and Research ~ Ray Schroeder, editor. The newest classroom at Harvard’s business school has no desks or chairs. Instead, the professor teaches facing a towering digital screen that stretches from wall to wall, filled with the live video feeds of up to 60 students tuned in from their computers. More...

Higher Ed Tech News and Research ~ Ray Schroeder, editor. McGill University is partnering with edX to launch what they institutions are calling a “GROOC,” or a massive open online course (MOOC) for groups. More...

Higher Ed Tech News and Research ~ Ray Schroeder, editor. The Global Freshman Academy is unique in many ways — allowing students to take classes before deciding whether to pay for the credit, charging only $200 per class credit and accepting students without requiring SATs or a transcript. More...

Higher Ed Tech News and Research ~ Ray Schroeder, editor. It can be difficult to reach people from all corners of the globe, but Penn professor Brian Bushee’s financial accounting course, offered through the massive online open course provider Coursera, has found its way to students in every single country, excluding the Vatican City, Cuba and North Korea. More...

Higher Ed Tech News and Research ~ Ray Schroeder, editor. “The challenge is keeping up with the pace of advances, and technology, and try not to follow the fads, and just stick to what is good for our students, and their success ultimately,” said Ahmad Ezzeddine, associate vice president for educational outreach and international programs at Wayne State University. More...

Higher Ed Tech News and Research ~ Ray Schroeder, editor. Exploring a learning topic from a whole new perspective is a rare opportunity. Fortunately, TED talks offer the chance to dive into the minds of other educators, subject matter experts, and eLearning professionals. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. A waste of time
Jon Dron, The Landing, 2015/09/09

I am loathe to produce a chart similar to Jon Dron's because I know what it would show: approximately ten hours a day of 'wasted' time, a couple of hours spent in productive labour, and the rest in leisure, transportation, and the like. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Should We Teach Strategies?
Stephen Krashen, SKrashen, 2015/09/09

Nice article on whether we should teach language-learning strategies (for example, strategies that help us comprehend, strategies that help us compose articles). In general, writes Stephen Krashen, it's a good idea, but he notes that some strategies are instinctive or innate ("everyone predicts..."). More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Personal Learning in the Workplace
Stephen Downes, [Sept] 07, 2015, Association of Medical Educators of Europe (AMEE), Glasgow, Scotland

In this presentation I draw the distinction between personalized learning and personal learning, arguing that the latter emphasizes environment and affordances, while the former emphasizes content and testing. More...