Group items tagged

"Last Friday I shared Flippity's template for creating a random name picker in Google Sheets. Over the weekend I received quite a few requests for help in using that template. To, hopefully, answer those questions I created the video that you see embedded below. "

"Based on the research synthesized in the 2012 NRC report Discipline-Based Education Research, Reaching Students strives to answer these questions and presents the best thinking to date on teaching and learning undergraduate science and engineering. Focusing on the disciplines of astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, geosciences, and physics, this book is an introduction to strategies to try in undergraduate classrooms. Concrete examples and case studies illustrate how experienced instructors and leaders have applied evidence-based approaches to address student needs, encouraged the use of effective techniques within a department or an institution, and addressed the challenges that arose along the way."

"Opportunities abound for software designers and developers to create impactful tools for teachers, school leaders, students, and their families. This guide for developers, startups and entrepreneurs addresses key questions about the education ecosystem and highlights critical needs and opportunities to develop digital tools and apps for learning. Crowd-sourced from knowledgeable educators, developers, and researchers who were willing to share what they have learned, this guide is designed to help entrepreneurs apply technology in smart ways to solve persistent problems in education. "

"Last fall, Alberta Education sent two 2013 diploma-exam questions along with nearly 1,900 student essay answers that had been graded by teachers to LightSide, a Pennsylvania company that develops computer software to score student essays. LightSide's automated algorithms outperformed human reliability in the Alberta study by about 20 per cent, said the company's January 2014 report to the government."

"Labeling colleges as the "worst" is controversial of course. But with more and more Americans feeling like they've been priced out of college or are not getting bang for their buck, questions of value and return on investment are getting lots of attention, especially from the Obama administration."

As you beginning to explore online delivery of your courses, a natural question is how do you translate what you currently are doing as you transition your course online?

"Google Forms makes peer evaluation possible and simple. I collect the names and email addresses of both students: evaluator and evaluatee. I use the "grid" style question type to allow peers to rank each criteria on a scale of 1-5 against the rubric. I can include a URL to the grading criteria in the help text, so all students have access to the standard assessment guide. "

"People now buy songs, not albums. They read articles, not newspapers. So why not mix and match learning "modules" rather than lock into 12-week university courses? That question is a major theme of a 213-page report released on Monday by a committee at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology exploring how the 153-year-old engineering powerhouse should innovate to adapt to new technologies and new student expectations."

"When I first began tweeting, I came up with the following "formula" to help guide my work. Identify>Engage>Leverage This approach was (as it is today) pretty simple. If I could find the people I was interested in following, I could engage with them (e.g., retweet their posts, promote their blogs, share their professional achievements, etc.) and then "leverage" these connections; this "leveraging" process would include followers responding to my "Questions of the Week," retweeting my posts, and/or reaching out to me directly referencing my handle in their tweets.) The challenge, of course, is actually finding these "influencers" and in this post I'll share some research approaches that have worked for me."

"The Chronicle asked students, recent graduates, parents, and experts a simple question: What is the most you should borrow for a bachelor's degree?"

"Faculty and students at UC Davis, meanwhile, are developing what they call "hyperlibraries" of faculty writings, homework questions, research and other content available online that are then vetted, and, like a Wikipedia page, constantly expanded and adapted to meet specific needs. The goal is to produce e-textbooks in the chemistry, biology, statistics, math, physics and geology fields - dubbed ChemiWiki, BioWiki, MathWiki, etc. - that eventually will supplant traditional texts, which can cost up to $300 per copy, said UC Davis chemistry professor Delmar Larsen. A pilot study of the ChemWiki last spring found that students in a general chemistry class who used the online materials would have spent about $125,000 had they bought new textbooks, Larsen said."

"As these online course products have improved, more and more schools have plugged them into their curricula. The result is a creeping homogenization of basic classes throughout many U.S. universities. That's raising some uncomfortable questions, starting with: Why should I pick one school over another if they offer the exact same classes? And: Why are universities buying ready-made frozen meals instead of cooking up their own educational fare?"

At Monday's meeting, Harker will discuss his vision in an address titled, "University of Delaware and the Future of Higher Education." Faculty will also be able to ask questions and share concerns. "One of my responsibilities as president is to anticipate the opportunities and threats facing us and higher education, with an eye toward continuing UD's role as an outstanding university," Harker wrote. "The University of Delaware has already made incredible progress. But we still have much work to do."

"Hootsuite or Buffer? Buffer or Hootsuite? The question floats around social media circles and comes up time and time again. For me, it's like asking a gamer which is better, an Xbox 360 or a PlayStation 3? Each has its own traits and features, some people will align more with one or the other."

"An easy No Need to Study path through college for those who can literally pay extra should also fuel lingering questions of class and race bias in higher education. Elite education opportunities already skew to those most able to afford to them. But the ability to get a degree by opening a checkbook instead of a textbook does, at a minimum, complicate efforts to flatten the education-access pyramid. "

"The key question we face is whether online learning should aim to replace teachers and instructors through automation, or whether technology should be used to empower not only teachers but also learners. Of course, the answer will always be a mix of both, but getting the balance right is critical."

"This document is a code of best practices that helps educators using media literacy concepts and techniques to interpret the copyright doctrine of fair use. Fair use is the right to use copyrighted material without permission or payment under some circumstances-especially when the cultural or social benefits of the use are predominant. It is a general right that applies even in situations where the law provides no specific authorization for the use in question-as it does for certain narrowly defined classroom activities."

This is a deep and complex question, one not susceptible to single answers or easy slogans.  Fortunately, two William and Mary economists have published one of the best and most accessible explanations I've ever seen."

"The beauty in opening with "tell me about yourself" is that it allows you to start a conversation without the fear that you're going to inadvertently make someone uncomfortable or self-conscious. Posing a broad question lets people lead you to who they are"

"The $1.8 billion (£1.3 billion) sale of Turnitin has highlighted the growing power of the company that produces plagiarism-checking software used in universities across the globe, and raised questions about its business model."