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by Jon Marcus on The Hechinger Report, December 26, 2011. Open University, a successful British online public university to be used as a model in the U.S. The goal is to help students who are intimidated by higher education adapt to and succeed in college. Next Generation Learning Challenges, a Gates funded initiative, will adapt two free Open University, at-your-own-pace online courses for use at about a dozen U.S. colleges and universities this academic year: one to help students be more comfortable with math so they do better on placement tests or move more quickly through remedial courses, and another to teach students skills to prepare them for college.

From About page, "EdTechTalk is a community of educators interested in discussing and learning about the uses of educational technology. We webcast several live shows each week." Webcast categories include 21st Century Learning, EdTech Weekly, EdTechTalk, and many others.

A program of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Statway focuses on helping community college students learn basic skills in statistics, data analysis, and quantitative reasoning as part of a one-year pathway. The ultimate goal of this pathway is preparation for college-level statistics. This home page to Statway also includes links to the project blog (called Pathways Connection) and to the project's mailing list. There are 19 community colleges affiliated with this project.

This "network of researchers interested in research about education and the use of digital technologies to improve teaching and learning" launched in March 2010. While the network focuses primarily on Australian research, they are looking for evidence-based researched from all over the world. Users can follow the network on Twitter, or via RSS feed. Free sign-up is required.

Created by the Office of Justice Programs, this site bills itself as a clearinghouse for "Evidence-Based Programs and What Works in Criminal Justice." You can look for programs with a particular focus (e.g. juveniles or substance abuse) or you can look at all programs. All programs have undergone a rigorous research and screening process (see" Learn how programs are rated" link) and each then receives a rating of "effective," "promising" or "no effects."

I find this site both appealing and compelling. For the reader, the material is rendered very simply, but still reflects the deep preliminary research that the Office of Justice has done. Perhaps also a good teaching tool in terms of how to evaluate reports or information. -- Stephanie

No author or date listed, this blog posts promotes a guide to Google+ for educators, written by Steven W. Anderson. I bookmark this post for two reasons. First, obviously, the opportunity for educators to learn more about Google+ and it's potential educational applications. But also the format, LiveBinder, is an interesting way to present and share resources.

This three-part series from American Radioworks looks at the American higher education system and asks "what's the right kind of education to get? And why are so many Americans failing to finish college." The programs include: Some College, No Degree; Don't Lecture Me (also bookmarked); and Who Needs and English Major.

Posted by George Siemens on his blog elearnspace, September 5 2011. Siemens argues that instructors can't provide "coherence" for knowledge just by "broadcasting" a course. He suggests that coherence is about how "*we* connect information elements and how we use artifacts and narratives to share that coherence." I am interested in the idea of "information foraging," especially in the context of content curation.

Presented by Dean Shareski and posted by Wesley Fryer on October 11 2010, this is the 2010 pre-conference keynote to the K12 Online 2010 conference. Shareski discusses how the advent of the internet has facilitated sharing about educators and their colleagues.

By Ros Smith, published by JISC, Sept 6 2010. Announcement and podcast posted on the JISC site. This newly published guide raises questions about the meaning of assessment, and how more effective assessment (ideally taking advantage of current technologies) might also promote the idea of students becoming lifelong learners. There is a 13 minute podcast with Ros Smith, the author. The new guide can be downloaded by chapter, of full guide (as PDF or Word docs). Also, until Oct 31, 2010, printed copies can be ordered for free.

Conference dates: July 11-14, 2011. Conference organizer Gary Stager. This annual convening is somewhat like an "unconference" and invites teachers to take on the role of learners for the duration. The focus is on personal project development, with lots of good resources in the form of guest speakers and "mentors." On this News page, you can see blog posts describing the conference. 2012 conference (5th annual) to be held July 9-12, 2012 in Manchester, NH.

TED has set up an education Brain Trust of short lectures that it says anyone may contribute to. Should be fascinating.