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An interesting, critical appraisal of MOOCs' transformative potential by education historian Larry Cuban. Includes some hilarious graphics, in addition to good insights...

Larry Cuban on Wonder Woman / Man superintendents

Not a new article but one to provide a bit of balance to techie fervor. Larry Cuban's articles and books keep popping up in syllabi so consequently I discovered his blog.

NYTimes article critical of the current push for technology in schools.  Raises questions about lack of improvement in test scores, budget tensions between $$ for teachers vs technology, and dearth of research showing  improved engagement.  Features comments by Larry Cuban.

Very impressive list of 32 Web 2.0 applications. Especially fitting after today's class.

I was wondering if I should add this bookmark to the Diigo group but you've already found it. Awesome. By the way, he (Larry Ferlazzo) makes some pretty good blog posts, though he can tend to get a bit wordy.

"Minerva..... is an entirely different pedagogical species. The San Francisco-based company aims at a soup-to-nuts undergraduate education, resulting in a traditional bachelor's degree, but all via the Web, and with all of the social cachet of the country's priciest sheepskin. ....Nelson, its 36-year-old founder, has no experience in education; .....But Nelson managed to not only score a huge investment from Benchmark - the same VC firm that backed the likes of eBay, Yelp, and Mint -but also persuaded a group of A-list luminaries, including former Harvard president Larry Summers, to be on its board of advisors.

interesting that the founder has no experience in education.... :/

A reminder that technology is not in and of itself a motivating force in the classroom.

I wonder if different types of technology have different impacts. For example, I can absolutely see where students wouldn't be motivated by a digital whiteboard or a blog...too adult and too similar to traditional education. But what about things like games for learning? Would they draw in a non-traditional student and actually motivate them to learn, albeit indirectly? There seems to be research on the gamification aspect that shows its positive impact, so do Bill's comments only apply to a subset of educational technology?

For those who pine for film over digital movies, miss the clackety-clack of typewriters, or even rotary dial phones, well, get ready for the slow-motion demise of brick-and-mortar schools. COLLEGES TAKING OVER THE ENTIRE LEARNING PROCESS! STANFORD HAS STARTED --- OTHERS WILL FOLLOW!

Cuban asks an important question that cuts through the apparent controversy: what level of technology use is best for children in school? I think his response also highlights how to frame technology as a tool and enhancement rather than a replacement for hands-on learning