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"Today, innovation is increasingly conflated with hype, disruption for disruption's sake, and outsourcing laced with a dose of austerity-driven downsizing. If any concept should be seen as an uncomplicated good thing in higher education, it's innovation. Defined by a common-sense notion of "doing things better" and burnished by the sheen of dazzling technological advances, what's not to like about innovation?"

"Design thinking is an approach to innovation that combines human desirability, business viability, and technical feasibility to develop solutions to society's everyday problems. By putting people at the center, designing thinking and the human-centered design process ask innovators and leaders to tackle problems from multiple perspectives, especially those of people whose needs and desires are at the core of any problem. "

"To put it simply, innovation in schools today is far too focused on improving teaching, not amplifying learning."

""Academic innovation is where creativity, comprehensive excellence and our aspirations for societal impact all come together at the University of Michigan," Schlissel said. "Our new initiative will formally help us consider how we can leverage networked access to information, new modes of communication and data analytics to strengthen the quality of a Michigan education, tailor it to the needs of each individual student, and enhance our impact on society.""

Describes emergence of 'academic innovation centers' that integrate faculty development, instructional design, (and tech) for innovation and change in teaching and learning aimed at improving student success.

""This is a musical experience, a meditational concentration experience," says Tod Machover, composer and inventor at the MIT Media Lab. He created Vocal Vibrations with architect and designer Neri Oxman and with the help of Al Grodzinsky, a bioengineer at MIT and an expert in biological tissue. "

VCU School of Music putting grant funds toward innovative pedagogy.

"Big data, while a term that is in common use, is a bit of a misnomer: big data is not simply a matter of size. The notion of big data comprises volume, size, and velocity, and also poses the questions of how to move large data sets around and define a vision that makes sense of them.3"

"As we venture into the 21st century, we as a society, are faced with more innovation and challenge than ever before. We now live in an interconnected world, where the Internet and global communications are simultaneously uniting and isolating us as a society. How do we raise critical thinkers to best face the challenges that face our modern society? What changes in education methods should be implemented to  create a better learning environment for these budding minds? "

Site has its problems but the simple frame is interesting: imagine, design, create, deliver, evaluate.

I like the concept- maybe inspiration, creation, evaluation.

"Duolingo for schools offers a window into the future of education technology. It shows us how interactive digital technologies can be used to create a more equitable educational landscape, not just in the U.S., but globally. It reminds us why we all bought into these networked technologies in the first place. Data-driven solutions don't have to be all about corporate growth, they can also be about creating innovative ways to improve humanity's lived experience in the world."

h/t Stan

A wave of change aims to produce young doctors who are better prepared to meet the demands of the nation's changing health-care system - using team based learning, more interactive and hands-on learning opportunities, etc. Great quote from the article: "We've replaced 'the sage on the stage' with 'the guide on the side,' "

"A new grant program, announced on Thursday, takes aim at ugly-duckling research projects that have a big upside but are too nascent or implausible to win the attentions of federal grantmakers or venture capitalists. Amazon will provide $2 million initially for the grants, and the director of the program will be an Amazon employee, according to a legal agreement signed last spring. Individual grants will be worth anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000, said Vikram Jandhyala, the university's vice provost for innovation. The barriers for entry are purposefully low. There is no fixed application window. Anybody who works for the university, attends courses there, or is otherwise affiliated with the University of Washington is eligible to apply. The online application form asks for basic information and then a series of questions, beginning with: What's the problem, what's the solution, who will benefit, and why is now the right time to do it? The company is encouraging students and scholars of all stripes to apply, not just techies. "