Archive for Education

Words of Wisdom vs. Words From Our Sponsor

Words of Wisdom vs. Words From Our Sponsor - New York Times

A $4 billion-a-year business cannot change fundamentally overnight; the shift from printed to electronic textbook will take years. In the meantime, a small publisher of college textbooks, Freeload Press of St. Paul, seeks to take advantage of this flux with a new concept: providing free e-textbooks to students. The catch? Ads are inserted within the text.

You may need a username and password to access this NYT article, but you should have one anyway My kids talk about Channel 1 all the time, so there is no doubt that given time this model could work.

17 October, 2006 | No comments

To: Professor@University.edu Subject: Why It’s All About Me

To: Professor@University.edu Subject: Why It’s All About Me - New York Times
At colleges and universities nationwide, e-mail has made professors much more approachable. But many say it has made them too accessible, erasing boundaries that traditionally kept students at a healthy distance.

Here is a pretty interesting article about how e-mail is changing the student - professor relationship. Some of it is for the good and some if it not so good. I personally remember one experience, years ago, with a student who was having some issues during the semester. I worked and worked with the student, but class requirements can’t be changed. In frustration the student sent me a nasty e-mail claiming that I was insensitive…I simply replied, let me think about your e-mail and get back with you. This caused the student to think about what they said, they quickly apologized. It seems that I was one of the few professors working with them through this tough time and a problem with another professor caused them to strike at me. I had more than 70 e-mails from this student at this point in the semester, so I knew that I was doing all that I could, but e-mail enabled the student to strike before thinking.

We all need to spend more time thinking about what we write in e-mails…I know I do.

24 February, 2006 | No comments

High-speed college network closes

BBC NEWS | Technology | High-speed college network closes

The i2Hub network was of particular concern to the entertainment industry as it allowed users to download large files in seconds.

The service was set up to allow students to share textbooks and research papers, but quickly become used by many for sharing films and music.

This is interesting in that the network was established for legitimate reasons…or was it?

15 November, 2005 | No comments

Blogging opens new medium for academics

Blogging opens new medium for academics
A follow up story to the events unfolding for former faculty members of the University of Chicago who blog.

26 October, 2005 | No comments

Online learning lawsuit

Lawsuit forces Web2 learning strategies: Hardly surprising news, but very significant in my view. The FLOSSE blog in Finland points to a student from Capella University filing a lawsuit against the university for its use of an LMS (WebCT) that the student believes to be inaccessible and therefore discriminatory…

I read this over at Trey Martindale’s Blog at Teachable.org and had to investigate further…

As I read it I had to laugh. The student who is filing the lawsuit wants to get a degree in Information Technology Systems Design! If the student can not figure out WebCT how is he going to make it in the real world?

But then as I read the original post that Trey linked to and the lawyer for the student says he is representing a disability (read the comments), which opens up a whole bunch of questions. Online learning can be a good thing for some with disabilities, but as with anything, it can’t please everyone. Where do we draw the line? Can online learning be everything to everyone? Should it?

I am a big supporter of online learning, but this is clearly evidence that it doesn’t always work for all situations.

In my opinion (this in just my opinion at this point in time) a college education has become a right, not a priviledge. Right now the best schools are immuned to some of the “problems.” But there is a mentality that any student should be able to get any degree they want. I remember clearly a conversation with one student who was failing 2 business classess. The student was in tears. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of mentioning that there were other things to study besides business. The student became indignant and said “but I work hard!” The story ends well as I suggested the student take an F in one class so they can make a C in one and then retake the one with the F over the summer. This worked and the student finished the program. But this attitude speaks to a bigger issue. I want to be a football star, but a almost 40, I am not physically capable. Had I made different decisions in my youth perhaps those options would be available to me, but they are not - becasue of my choices and my actual abilities. Personally, I think letting students study whatever they want, but not necessarily are good at, actual can put the student at great risk down the road. Sure they get an education, but if they have to struggle with the subject matter the rest of their life or if they change disciplines, did education really occur?

Now I am not saying that we should assign people to carrer tracks, but what I am saying is we need to get back to realizing the a college eduction is still a priviledge and not a right. Again this is just my current opinion, which can change

However all that said, I am glad there are blogs like teachable.org and people like Trey out there who struggle with these issues and examine emerging technologies to see how they can better be used in educational settings.

18 October, 2005 | No comments

Blogging 101–Web logs go to school

Blogging 101–Web logs go to school | CNET News.com

Fisher set up online personal journals–Web logs or blogs–this fall for each of his students at Joseph H. Kerr School in the Canadian town of Snow Lake, Manitoba. His combined seventh- and eighth-grade class generates about a dozen entries a day on topics ranging from classroom assignments to weekend plans, which Fisher reviews before posting online.

It is interesting that when some of my collagues as their college students about Blogs they get a weird look. However, fifth graders are working wit them already! Now, I speculate that the reason many college students don’t recognize blogs is that they simply view them as websites, but that is a different topic. By starting young, blogging can become a part of the culture. Personally, I am thinking of incorporating it in my classes as well.

18 October, 2005 | No comments

College textbook prices are unfair and unnecessary | csmonitor.com

College textbook prices are unfair and unnecessary | csmonitor.com

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. – When I begin my college classes today, my greatest fear will not be term papers or tough professors. Instead, I will be worrying about how much my textbooks will cost me this time, and whether the total will manage to break the $1,000 mark for the fourth semester in a row.

That number is not a typo, and I am not alone. College students across the nation are digging ever deeper into their pockets as pricetags continue to climb at a dizzying pace. A recent study by the Government Accountability Office revealed that prices are increasing at twice the rate of inflation, and they have risen more than 186 percent since 1986.

It seems Digital Stakeholders is not the only place that questions the price of textbooks.

19 September, 2005 | No comments

Ambitious Google project: a digital age test of copyright law - 09/19/05

Ambitious Google project: a digital age test of copyright law - 09/19/05

With Google’s book-scanning program set to resume in earnest this fall, copyright laws that long preceded the Internet look to be headed for a digital-age test.

The outcome could determine how easy it will be for people with Internet access to benefit from knowledge that’s now mostly locked up — in books sitting on dusty library shelves, many of them out of print.

“More and more people are expecting access, and they are making do with what they can get easy access to,” said Brewster Kahle, co-founder of the Internet Archive, which runs smaller book-scanning projects, mostly for out-of-copyright works. “Let’s make it so that they find great works rather than whatever just happens to be on the Net.”

Book publishers use the internet to promote their products, but they have not recognized the immergence of digital stakeholders. Google sees this and is making a move that will change the book industry forever. Publishers need to do a better jobof recognizing their stakehodlers and adjust accordingly. With the internet and all that it offers there is no reason for students to be paying $200 a semester for books. Publishers would make better profit if they charged half for the digital version of the book and allowed students to use the extra $ on a laptop. What an idea, the student benefits and the publisher benefits. But industries often do not change unless forced to.

19 September, 2005 | No comments

IBM to Encourage Employees to Be Teachers

IBM to Encourage Employees to Be Teachers - Los Angeles Times

International Business Machines Corp., worried the United States is losing its competitive edge, will financially back employees who want to leave the company to become math and science teachers.

The new program, being announced Friday in concert with city and state education officials, reflects tech industry fears that U.S. students are falling behind peers from Bangalore to Beijing in the sciences.

IBM clearly sees how losing a few good teachers now could greatly enhance their future. Nice move by Big Blue.

16 September, 2005 | No comments

RedNova News - Technology - Web Portals: Smart Tools for Busy Educators

RedNova News - Technology - Web Portals: Smart Tools for Busy Educators

Teachers who become skillful at using directories and search engines have an easier time narrowing their searches: Search engines such as Google and web directories provided by services such as Yahoo! are very helpful. But even educators who are adept at using these tools report they are often overwhelmed by the number of sites to choose from. As a result, teachers often either limit their use of the internet by sticking with a few sites and tools they know well, or they shy away from using online resources at all. Fortunately, there is another tactic teachers can use to manage searches and gain access to tools that can facilitate increased use of technology in instruction. This approach involves the use of a web portal.

A quick look at the use of Web Portals in education as well as a brief history of the technology.

14 September, 2005 | No comments

Academic libraries empty stacks for online centers | csmonitor.com

Academic libraries empty stacks for online centers | csmonitor.com

A good article about how online access is changing the way we access knowledge. Now the concept of an “information commons” is growing.

25 August, 2005 | No comments

A Blog by Any Other Name…

A Blog by Any Other Name…

Well, a column or blog is in the eye of the reader. I’ve gotten plenty of praise and scorn for things I’ve written about in this space, but the name for this daily publication tends to vary depending on who’s writing. I have a blog, a column, a daily article, a story..

Great article about blogging, journalism and being a professional. There are some good links to some great stories where “professionals” did not act very professional. Unfortunately many lose the ability to think when they enter cyberspace.

25 August, 2005 | No comments

CNN.com - The Web aided my homework - Aug 18, 2005

CNN.com - The Web aided my homework - Aug 18, 2005
We always (or at least I always) seem to read about how the wb is helping students cheat. However this story shows how it can connect students with experts to get tough questions answered. Anytime some is encouraged to learn more it is a good thing…in my opinion.

I recall a semester at App State where a student was working on a project based on ASP. Ashe struggled with questions that were beyond him, he turned to an internet message forum and connected with someone in Korea who provided the some excellent assistance. Needless to say that student learned much more that day than how to code a project. He learned how to find answers, somthing that will serve him well the rest of his life.

21 August, 2005 | No comments

File-Sharing Continues On Campus Despite Legal Music Services - 08/20/05

File-Sharing Continues On Campus Despite Legal Music Services - 08/20/05

Haraz N. Ghanbari / Associated Press

American University Residence Hall Association President Will Mount said he and his student government colleagues ultimately voted to switch to Napster from Ruckus.

By Alex Veiga | AP Business Writer

LOS ANGELES — As a college freshman, Will Mount feasted on the free but mostly illegal music available through online file-sharing software such as Kazaa.

Now a senior, Mount has seen his free music fix become legal, thanks to an initiative by American University in Washington, D.C., to dissuade students from using its computer network to illegally swap music online.

“If you want to get the music in your iPod, you have to go to other places to buy it,” said Mount, 21, an Ohio native. “Or you are going to have to do something illegal to get it.”

20 August, 2005 | No comments

Arizona High School Trades Textbooks For Laptops - 08/19/05

Arizona High School Trades Textbooks For Laptops - 08/19/05

John Miller / Associated Press

Teacher Becky Ogle, standing, holds her laptop computer as she explains how to use an Excel spreadsheet to a freshman class at Empire High School in Vail, Ariz.. Empire High School issued Apple laptop computers to every student instead of traditional textbooks, becoming among the first public schools nationally to make the electronic leap.

By Arthur H. Rotstein / Associated Press

VAIL, Ariz. — Students at Empire High School here started class this year with no textbooks — but it wasn’t because of a funding crisis.

Instead, the school issued iBooks — laptop computers by Apple Computer Inc. — to each of its 340 students, becoming one of the first U.S. public schools to shun printed textbooks.

19 August, 2005 | No comments

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