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You probably received an email from Drew Faust about edX. Here's an article written after the announcement.

Can we get some of the $60 M to revamp iSites? :-)

Scroll down on this page to download the final report and case studies from a study that "examined the use of social software in the UK further and higher education sectors to collect evidence of the effective use of social software in enhancing student learning and engagement" (p. 9 of final report). For anyone considering boosting engagement through social media, this is a gold mine.

Hi Stephanie - Thanks for this! I just wrote in my mid-semester assignment that I need to find research about engagement through crowd-sourcing and social media in education! I've downloaded the report and can tell that with sentences like, "The results highlight the different pedagogical roles of social software: communication, nurturing creativity and innovation, and collaborative learning," you've definitely found great resources. ~ Leslie

A brief interview with L. Rafael Reif, MIT's provost, and Anant Agarwal, director of MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory about MITx, a new/developing online certificate program. Interesting how much they can not anticipate how/what this will impact (re: education, jobs, higher ed market).

Nice CHE article featuring 12 tech innovators who are transforming college campuses.

Good summary of the dilemma with iPads and tablets: are they good readers or do that make distractions too available?

Great article. Since readers require a higher degree of motivation when reading any given book on a tablet (to actively ignore distractions), this puts more pressure on publishers/authors to make their content meaningful and engaging. Perhaps this might result in higher standards for books/fewer books being published?

This article discusses 20 tips to enhance one's collaboration and blended learning experience.

"This new device actually has more memory and higher screen resolution than an Xbox 360 or Playstation 3," said Mike Capps, CEO of Epic Games. "So, these guys [Apple] are redefining mobile gaming again."

Interesting article discussing music games, including how they can influence the types of music people listen to and whether they can affect interest in learning and appreciating music.

The penetration of mobile phones appears to be higher than that of internet penetration.

Thanks for sharing this interesting article Uche. I think that while the major benefit of online courses is scale and reach, its downside is that it doesn't cater to individual student's ZPD. Still, the article ended nicely with an emphasis on the lecturer carrying out the online course. Great teaching X technology > teaching X great technology.

Although print books win out (in survey) when reading to children... I just met a 5th grader who described reading more because of her Kindle.

Article on college students using "serious" video games as part of their instruction.

Also as a follow-up to our conversation on Monday. Although more women are in STEM careers, there is still a lag in those considered "hard sciences." Most people look at mathematics as the core difference, these authors look at creativity. "For instance, three factors that are widely accepted as being positively correlated with creativity are playfulness, curiosity, and willingness to take risks. Studies have found that boys and men are generally more playful than girls and women, and are more curious and more willing to take risks, which could help explain why men are more creatively productive than women in general, and in particular, in the hard sciences."

Computer-led math learning at Virginia Tech.

Interesting article and very ambitious to address an academic need, but I wonder if the instruction/test environment addresses UDL principles to appeal to a variety of learners or if the multiple choice tests target a narrow definition of math success. I added a blog post above that highlights some of technology's short comings as a platform.

Great point. My feeling is that a lot of higher ed institutions use technology as a way to cut costs, so not much attention is paid to accommodating diverse learners. If I may think back to my own undergrad experience, the prevalent assumption is that you're old enough to seek out additional support on your own when you're stuck or want to learn more. I definitely think though that more attention should be paid to applying UDL principles to educational software (yes, even for adults), so that learning can move beyond passing multiple-choice tests!

This article describes Virginia State Univ Business School new partnership with GoingOn Network to increase engagement at the school. Do you believe they will accomplish their goal?