5 big ideas for education innovation in 2018
Julia Freeland Fisher, Christensen Institute, 2018/01/11
It's getting past time to be predicting what will happen in 2018 but I wanted to add one more here. This article talks about what needs to be done in 2018, and as such, is a useful contribution. Included in the list: being clear about what we mean when we talk about just-in time supports; changing the debate from 'technology bad-or-evil' to 'constructivism or behaviourism'; talk about accountability; talk about student networks; and look internationally for dusruptions in education. More...

Turnitin User Agreement: I disagree
Hans de Zwart, 2018/01/11
This clause - not unique to TurnItIn - is a problem: "You acknowledge and agree that the form and nature of the Services and the Site which Turnitin provides may change from time to time without prior notice to You." I've seen it just about everywhere, and exercised by various service providers fairly frequently. More...

Google And Lenovo Unveil The First High-Quality Stand-Alone VR Headset
Daniel Terdiman, Fast Company, 2018/01/10
According to this article, "Google and Lenovo pulled back the wraps on their entrant into the stand-alone VR world, the Mirage Solo, a device that has all its computing onboard, and which is capable of positional tracking with no external sensors." These aren't available commercially yet, but it won't be long. More...

Higher Education Is Drowning in BS
Christian Smith, https://www.chronicle.com//img/photos/biz/photo_85241_landscape_650x433.jpg, 2018/01/26
Perhaps unaware of Harry G. Frankfurt's publication employing the same rhetorical device, Christian Smith launches into a tirade lashing the contemporary university for everything from "universities hijacked by the relentless pursuit of money and prestige" to "third-tier universities offering mediocre graduate programs to train second-rate Ph.D. students for jobs that do not exist." Ah, but I love a good rant, and this is a good rant. More...

As robots replace Indian techies, online education strikes gold
Rajiv Rao, ZDNet, 2018/01/26
It's one thing to talk about robot teachers in an environment where human teachers abound, but in an environment like India's tech industry there is no possibility of the teaching load being carried by traditional educators. Hence the headlines. More...

Restaurant Group, Pearson to Offer Free Education to Employees
Doug Lederman, Inside Higher Ed, 2018/01/26
The real headline isn't in the story but in the comments. "Is Pearson now in the business of awarding degrees?" asks Betsy Smith. Well, what if they are? What happens should the major publishers and content compabies obtain permission to grant degrees. More...

With New Personalized-Learning Software, AltSchool Moves Into Public Schools
Benjamin Herold, Education Week, 2018/01/26
More on AltSchool's pivot from running schools to selling personalized learning software as reported in December (more), including numerous criticisms of the company. More...

2017 Top Ten Books on Online Learning
Contact North, 2018/01/26
I'm thinking that the definition of 'book' ought to be changed for the purpose of such lists, because it seems to me highly unlikelt that the ten most important long-form reads of 2017 were published only by the likes of Routledge and Springer. More...