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Frustrated With Corporate Course-Management Systems, Some Professors Go 'Edupunk' A group of tech-savvy professors are claiming punk music as inspiration for their approach to teaching. They call their approach Edupunk. Punk rock was a rebellion against the clean, predictable sound of popular music and it also encouraged a do-it-yourself attitude. Edupunk seems to be a reaction against the rise of course-managements systems, which offer cookie-cutter tools that can make every course Web site look the same.

Constructive alignment Constructive alignment of learning outcomes to assessment methods The following resources are available: Overview paper Professor Mike Osborne, University of Stirling and Workshop Director Report on the event and areas for future development and enhancement Professor Mike Osborne Keynote address: Aligning assessment with long-term learning needs Professor David Boud, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia Powerpoint slides | PDF version Case study 1: Assessment on the TQFE program- a case study of constructive alignment Dr Iddo Oberski, University of Stirling Powerpoint slides | PDF version Draft paper - Word version | PDF version Keynote address: Developing aligned courses Sue Drew, Sheffield Hallam University Powerpoint slides | PDF version Draft paper - Word version | PDF version

The appropriate role of the professoriate has been a topic of ongoing debate in higher education. As different types of educational institutions have emerged, the focus of scholarly pursuits and their relative value to the organization have evolved. This module examines how Boyer's model of scholarship can be used to clarify and balance roles of college faculty. Expanded Definition of Scholarship Boyer (1997) proposed an expanded definition of "scholarship" within the professorate based on four functions that underlie the Profile of a Quality Faculty Member (1.2.4): discovery, integration, application, and teaching. He argues that, within this framework, all forms of scholarship should be recognized and rewarded, and that this will lead to more personalized and flexible criteria for gaining tenure. He feels that, too often faculty members wrestle with conflicting obligations that leave little time to focus on their teaching role. Boyer proposes using "creativity contracts" that emphasize quality teaching and individualized professional development. He recommends that this model be based upon the life patterns of individuals and their passions. The first element of Boyer's model, discovery, is the one most closely aligned with traditional research. Discovery contributes not only to the stock of human knowledge but also to the intellectual climate of a college or university. He stresses that new research contributions are critical to the vitality of the academic environment, and that his model does not diminish the value of discovery scholarship. The second element, integration, focuses on making connections across disciplines. One interprets one's own research so that it is useful beyond one's own disciplinary boundaries and can be integrated into a larger body of knowledge. He stresses that the rapid pace of societal change within a global economy have elevated the importance of this form of scholarship. The third element, appl

Since September 2008, Guy Claxton has been Co-Director of the Centre for Real-World Learning (CrL), and Professor of the Learning Sciences, at the University of Winchester (see News). He previously held the same title at the University of Bristol Graduate School of Education. He has a 'double first' from Cambridge and a DPhil from Oxford, and is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and the Royal Society of Arts, and an Academician of the Academy of the Social Sciences. His books have been translated into many languages including Japanese, Greek, Italian, German, Spanish and Portuguese.

Unlocking Knowledge, Empowering Minds. "My life is in teaching. To have a chance to do that with a world audience is just wonderful." * Gilbert Strang MIT Mathematics professor United States Read more Free lecture notes, exams, and videos from MIT. No registration required.

Unlocking Knowledge, Empowering Minds. "My life is in teaching. To have a chance to do that with a world audience is just wonderful." * Gilbert Strang MIT Mathematics professor United States Read more Free lecture notes, exams, and videos from MIT. No registration required.

Dubbed "the explainer" by Wired magazine, Michael Wesch is a cultural anthropologist exploring the impact of new media on society and culture. After two years studying the impact of writing on a remote indigenous culture in the rain forest of Papua New Guinea, he has turned his attention to the effects of social media and digital technology on global society. His videos on culture, technology, education, and information have been viewed by millions, translated in over ten languages, and are frequently featured at international film festivals and major academic conferences worldwide. Wesch has won several major awards for his work, including a Wired Magazine Rave Award, the John Culkin Award for Outstanding Praxis in Media Ecology, and he was recently named an Emerging Explorer by National Geographic. He has also won several teaching awards, including the 2008 CASE/Carnegie U.S. Professor of the Year for Doctoral and Research Universities.

Turning a College Lecture into a Conversation with CoverItLive Alfred Hermida by Alfred Hermida, April 13, 2009 Tagged: coveritlive, journalism school, social media, twitter, university of british columbia Journalists who also teach will know that one of the challenges of teaching a large, undergraduate class is the sheer number of students. It can be hard to foster a discussion in a lecture hall, where many students may be too intimidated to speak up. So instead the lesson often becomes a lecture, as the professor stands up in front of the class and talks at them for the best part of an hour. In this instructor-centered model, knowledge is a commodity to be transmitted from the instructor to the student's empty vessel. There is a place for the traditional, one-to-many transmission. This is the way the mass media worked for much of the 20th century and continues to operate today. But the emergence of participatory journalism is changing this. Most news outlets, at the very least, solicit comments from their online readers. Others, such as Canada's Globe and Mail, use the live-blogging tool CoveritLive both for real-time reporting and for engaging readers in a discussion, such as in its coverage of the Mesh conference in Toronto. Tools such as CoveritLive or Twitter can turn the one-to-many model of journalism on its head, offering instead a many-to-many experience. The same tools may also have a use in the classroom, as a way of turning the traditional university lecture into a conversation.

Yung Tae Kim, aka Dr. Tae, is a skateboarder, videographer, scientist, and teacher. He earned his bachelor's degree in physics from the Georgia Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has held faculty positions Lake Forest College, DePaul University, and Northwestern University. As a skateboarder, he's best known for his consistent 360 flips, which admirers have nicknamed "Tae flips." His most recent video project is The Physics of Skateboarding with Dr. Tae, a series which combines his interests in science, skepticism, skateboarding, and education. When the Los Angeles Times needed someone to explain the physics behind Jake Brown's slam on the MegaRamp at X Games XIII, they called Dr. Tae. His unique background also caught the attention of Robomodo, a video game studio that hired him as a consultant for the development of Tony Hawk: RIDE for Activision (read about it in Time Out Chicago).

Building Learning Power In 1999 I wrote a book called Wise Up: Learning to Live the Learning Life (published by Bloomsbury / Network Press), in which I reviewed the growing evidence for the idea that people could be helped to become more effective learners. In 2001 I was approached by Bristol-based educational publisher TLO Ltd to write a book for teachers that drew out the practical implications, and in 2002 Building Learning Power: Helping Young People Become Better Learners, was published. In the box below are some of the enthusiastic reactions to that book.