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"THE BOOKSTORE as we know it is doomed, because many of these establishments are going to go from making a little bit of money every day to losing a little bit. And it's hard to sustain daily losses for long, particularly when you're poorly capitalized, can't use the store as a loss leader and see no hope down the road. The death of the bookstore is being caused by the migration to ebooks (it won't take all books to become 'e', just enough to tip the scale) as well as the superior alternative of purchase and selection of books online. If the function of a bookstore is to stock every book and sell it to you quickly and cheaply, the store has failed."

Twenty-first-century learners have expectations that are not met within the current model of higher education. With the introduction of online learning, the anytime/anywhere mantra taken up by many postsecondary institutions was a first step to meeting learner needs for flexibility; however, the choice and determination of delivery mode still resides with the institution and course instructors. Recently, the massive open online course (MOOC) movement has been introduced as an undeniable force in higher education, and the authors argue that it is distracting leadership from focusing on alternative options for supporting the needs of learners who demand both personalization and real access to learning opportunities. The key element to the MOOC movement is its openness that enables student access to education. In this article, the authors present the multi-access learning framework that envelops the MOOC phenomenon and merges course access modes enabling student choice and agency. The authors report results from a pilot study on one type of multi-access course, where students were able to choose their mode of access. In this case, remote students accessed the course via webcam and joined their on-campus classmates and instructor who were together face-to-face. Implications for multi-access learning in relation to the MOOC movement are discussed.

There's a subtle but steady shift happening in classrooms across the nation. More and more, schools are seeking efficient, cost-effective alternatives to using paper and supporting over-priced textbook companies. One way is by supporting technology in schools. Schools are seeking ways to upgrade and sustain wireless infrastructures and integrate mobile devices that broaden teaching and learning opportunities. Similarly, schools are decreasing their dependency on paper and incorporating digital workflows.

"The Open Access Button is a browser-based tool that lets users track when they are denied access to research, then search for alternative access to the article.  Each time a user encounters a paywall, he simply clicks the button in his bookmark bar, fills out an optional dialogue box, and his experience is added to a map alongside other users.  Then, the user receives a link to search for free access to the article using resources such as Google Scholar. The Open Access Button initiative hopes to create a worldwide map showing the impact of denied access to research."

"In the United States-where public universities are hurting for funds, tuition and debt levels are growing, and graduation rates are stagnant-debate has focused on whether MOOCs represent a necessary innovation or the deplorable cheapening of elite university education. The question is: Could the hybrid, small-group model that's evolving abroad also provide a needed alternative for underserved American students?"

"I don't mean to imply any untoward motives by the makers of MOOCs. I'm not arguing that the content or methodologies of most current MOOCs are wrong because they are based on the dominant Western academic approaches. But I do believe it is important to point out that a powerful emerging educational movement strengthens the currently dominant academic culture, perhaps making it more difficult for alternative voices to be heard."

"A service of the USF Tampa Library, the Textbook Affordability Project (TAP) helps counter the rising cost of an education by connecting students and faculty with alternatives to full-price textbooks."

"The answer may be to combine the two. Anant Agarwal, who runs edX, proposes an alternative to the standard American four-year degree course. Students could spend an introductory year learning via a MOOC, followed by two years attending university and a final year starting part-time work while finishing their studies online. This sort of blended learning might prove more attractive than a four-year online degree. It could also draw in those who want to combine learning with work or child-rearing, freeing them from timetables assembled to suit academics."

"Affordable content is a choice. It's a choice that many students have made in recent years as they've sought alternatives to higher-priced textbook and courseware products. But it is also a choice for faculty, and informing and persuading instructors to make this choice remains a major obstacle to ensuring that affordable content is adopted widely in Higher Education."

Decentralized open source social networking service. In the wake of G+ shutting down, could be an alternative to Silicon Valley behemoths.

"A few disparities stood out. Smaller institutions were more likely to cite "superior service to in-house alternatives" as a reason to pursue partnerships. And while 46 percent of smaller institutions cited "online program expansion" as an area of interest, only 36 percent of the larger ones did."

"The challenge of presenting alternative "views" of symbolic and semantic content makes up the leading edge of accessibility research today and many problems have yet to be solved. This document presents an overview of approaches currently in development or in use in fields such as: Mathematics Sciences Simulations and immersion Robots and telepresence Charts, diagrams, and tables Geography and maps Music Languages"

"Teachers who have begun to challenge these assumptions engage in alternative practices that begin to help us articulate the commitments of connected teaching. These commitments and practices include: COLLABORATION: Connected teachers work collaboratively. CURIOSITY: Connected teachers bring an inquiry mindset to classroom practice. COURAGE: Connected teachers give up some of their control over the learning experience. CIVIC ENGAGEMENT: Connected teachers engage their students in public life. CARE: Connected teachers share their interests and learning with their students."

"Given our current, collective limitations, what are we to do? Instead of searching out alternative platforms, we might partner with LMSs to reconceptualize the LMS as a platform. In many ways, the LMS is already beginning to evolve in this direction. Canvas has their App Store, which is a more individual faculty-driven model. John Baker of D2L recently utilized the oft-referenced Lego analogy. LMSs in general are moving away from individual building blocks or custom integrations towards open standards like LTI, but the robustness of that interoperability is still inconsistent across what version of LTI their product meets."

"Students are unknowingly ensnared in The Maze when they first stop into the college bookstore to collect required books prior to the start of classes. They may be shell-shocked by the prices, but feel they have no alternative but to purchase the materials."

Dev Bootcamp, a nine-week intensive program that takes students with no programming background and turns them into world class beginner, job-ready software engineers. More than 90 percent of all Dev Bootcamp graduates, who are called "Boots," have found jobs in the tech community within three months after graduation.

Goodbye PowerPoint!

"Digg today announced that the first public beta of its Google Reader replacement Digg Reader will launch next week. Digg Reader will roll out in phases to allow the team to scale but the team promises that it will be available to everybody by June 26th."