By John Warner. Clay Shirky is so concerned about the state of higher education that he can’t help but want to destroy it. In a recent blog post, he argues that we are in the midst of a new (or not so new) “reality.” This reality, to Shirky’s figuring, is the end of higher education’s “Golden Age.” The solution – which is no real surprise coming from someone who has made his living as an Internet futurist – is to embrace our digitally mediated future. Read more...
By G. Rendell. I recently started reading Nature's Trust, by Mary Christina Wood. It had been recommended as a possible text for an introductory course in sustainability. I like the book, I can see why it was recommended, but as a text it really presumes a range of knowledge well beyond what I expect of first-year students. Thus, I think I'll stick with Jared Diamond's Collapse, which makes a lot of the same fundamental points while being more immediately accessible. Read more...
By Susan O'Doherty. Last week, Bill, Ben and I left our hotel in Shanghai at 5:30 AM China time (13 hours ahead of Eastern US time). Our second plane landed at JFK at around 2PM, half an hour late.. The second flight, from Beijng to New York, was difficult — the seats were cramped, even for a smallish person like me. Bill and Ben, on either side of me, were eating their knees, and of course spilled over into my space. When the passengers in front of us reclined, our tray tables were forced into my chest/their midsections. I am usually a good plane sleeper, but sleep wasn't an option on this trip. Read more...
By Joshua Kim. Does Google’s $3.2 billion dollar acquisition of Nest Labs have any relevance to higher education?
Why should it matter to us if Google buys a maker of fancy thermostats and smoke detectors?
Drawing a connection between Nest and the Google / higher ed potential requires a few leaps. Read more...
By Joshua Kim. Last week my institution announced that it is joining the edX consortium, and will start offering open online courses this fall.
Over the next weeks and months I’m hoping that our IHE community can utilize this platform to engage in a discussion about how to best leverage open online education to improve an intimate, campus-based, learning experience. Read more...
By Joshua Kim. This February we will pack up the car and leave our small NH town for an 6-day campus tour roadshow. 8 campus tours booked. 8 info sessions arranged.
Our future class of 2019 daughter will be listening closely to the campus tour guide, checking out the classrooms, sampling the food, and investigating the student center and athletic facilities. Read more...
By Barbara Fister. As I mentioned last week, I’m working with a group of liberal arts college librarians to explore the question of whether we can contribute something valuable to the open access movement by founding a press. (It's not too late to tell us what you think. Scholars, we have a survey for that, and it's open for a few more days.) This puts participating librarians on the horns of a dilemma because it would involve taking money that we use to provide our local communities access to published scholarship in order to publish scholarship anyone can access. The practical and the ideal are in direct competition for resources. Read more...
By Eric Stoller. Sometimes a blog is like a giant basket of thoughts. Today's post is really a combination of thoughts and ideas that have been bouncing around in my head (and onto Twitter). First and foremost, I need to share Chris Schmidt's lovely thought from Twitter. With so many negative tweets being shared across the 140 character-sphere, it's nice to see Chris' positivity shining through. I wish more senior student affairs officers would post stuff like this. No actual agenda or strategy...just a great thought to start the day. Read more...
By Katie Shives. One of the best aspects of earning a graduate degree is obtaining a high level of specialization in niche areas of academia. However, this specialization can lead to a somewhat limited view of total career prospects with a graduate degree. Even though many of us have focused down to one or two areas so that we have well-developed skill-sets for our academic niche, making the jump to employment outside of academia can be difficult without knowing what to expect next. One action that graduate students can take is conducting informational interviews with individuals employed in areas where you might want to work after graduation. Read more...
By Erin Bedford. If you’re currently doing a PhD in a STEM field and don’t intend on staying in academia, you’re not alone. In many fields, the number of graduates from PhD programs is growing faster than the number of tenure-track positions, to the point of many questioning how long the current system will last. Governments and universities are realizing this and are working to help get PhD students the skills they need to be successful outside of the ivory tower, but it’s important for you to take charge of your career path and to take advantage of what’s offered. Getting a PhD gives you a spectacular set of skills. Read more.../https%3A%2F%2Fprofilepics.canalblog.com%2Fprofilepics%2F1%2F0%2F1076071.jpg)
