EDUCAUSE | EDUCAUSE Review Online

Listening - The First Step of Many

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 21:45:11 +0000

When I was asked by EDUCAUSE to write a blog about the experiences of a first-time CIO, I was concerned that I wouldn't have enough to write about that would be of interest to the EDUCAUSE community. It then occurred to me that I'd like to approach this the way I approach many situations like this - ask and listen!

Exploring and Designing Breakthrough Models in Higher Education

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 19:09:34 +0000

What We're Reading, April 2013

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 17:05:27 +0000

"The 3-D Printing Revolution: Dreams Made Real, One Layer at a Time," Rachel Ehrenberg, Science News 183 (5) (March 9, 2013)
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/feature/id/348429/description/The_3-D_Printing_Revolution
Status report and backgrounder on 3-D printing: "Many herald 3-D printing as a game changer, a 'disruptive' technology that will turn traditional manufacturing on its head. But the technology is also at the peak of hype."

"Welcome to the Digital Public Library of America," Dan Cohen, DPLA blog post, April 18, 2013
http://dp.la/info/2013/04/18/message-from-the-executive-director/
Co-founder and DPLA Executive Director Cohen explains the launch of and goals for the new library, including planned development.

Blazing the Trail in Texas: Work in Progress on the Texas Affordable Baccalaureate

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:22:26 +0000

“What we’re talking about is a different satisfactory academic progress model than most of you are used to,” said project leader Van Davis to a large group of faculty from the two Texas campuses implementing the Texas Affordable Baccalaureate. Far from being shocked by his statement, the group appeared eager to dive into the day’s work on that very model.

Trending Now: Recent News in the Postsecondary World of Next Generation Learning

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:08:20 +0000

Peanut Butter Meets Chocolate: Hewlett OER and Deeper Learning Grantees Join Forces for a Day

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:58:10 +0000

The San Diego weather was cooler than usual last week, but an occasional chilly breeze off the Pacific did little to cool the enthusiasm among the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation grantees gathered at High Tech High School to exchange ideas and build on one another’s learning. Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC) staff joined the gathering because the Hewlett Foundation was a key supporter of NGLC’s first two waves of investment in 2011, “Building Blocks for College Completion” and “Building Blocks for College Readiness.” The Hewlett Foundation supported NGLC’s grants in the areas of open education resources (OER) and deeper learning.

MOOCs and Intellectual Property: Ownership and Use Rights

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 20:38:14 +0000

Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have become the buzzword these days. Besides the interest and the hype associated with MOOCs, campuses are having serious discussions about the opportunities and challenges that these online courses pose. The EDUCAUSE Executive Briefing, What Campus Leaders Need to Know About MOOCs, highlights a number of key issues for colleges and universities to understand about MOOCs, including intellectual property (IP) concerns. MOOCs may not be as open as is suggested in the name when it comes to the topic of IP/copyright. As noted in the Briefing, “Some commercial MOOC platforms have highly proprietary terms and conditions that claim ownership of course content and prohibit sharing or remixing of material.”

Pathway to Possibility: A Framework is Renovated and Refined

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 18:45:54 +0000

Last September, Next Generation Learning Challenges published a white paper laying out our perspective on what next generation learning is and what it requires. The six dimensions of the framework were built out of observations of the work of NGLC grantees and a scan of the field. Since then, we have been collecting comments, feedback, and suggestions for making the framework “work” for a broad audience, so that it may serve as a guidepost for those who are planning and designing technology-enabled next generation learning—including those applying to NGLC’s currently open Wave IV grant competition. We asked the EDUCAUSE community and others involved in this work, “What will it take for next generation learning to help more students attain better outcomes more affordably?”

Three Vexing Problems and their Common Origin

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 23:18:01 +0000

Walk around any institution of higher education, even those well known for effective delivery and use of information technology, and you will find the following to some degree or another.

Collaboration Enables Next-Generation Digital Learning

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 19:14:45 +0000

By Rob Abel, Marwin Britto, Patrick Masson, and John Johnston

The growing emergence of digital devices, learning platforms, and applications promises easier access to a variety of content, increased productivity, and the realization of personalized learning environments. Unfortunately, it is a major challenge to use these rapidly emerging resources productively to meet students' diverse and increasingly demanding learning needs.

Winds of Change: Higher Productivity in Higher Education

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 12:57:09 +0000

Editor’s Note: In this post, Brandt Redd suggests that personalized learning approaches can address dual pressures on higher education: increasing societal needs and expectations and flat or declining funding. Brandt is Senior Technology Officer for Education Programs at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He writes regularly at ofthat.com. This post originally appeared on the NGLC blog at nextgenlearning.org on February 11, 2013.

The Future is Bright: Reflections on Innovations 2013

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 11:08:18 +0000

More than 3,600 administrators and faculty from the nation’s most creative community colleges came together in Dallas March 10 to 13 for the 15^th annual Innovations Conference of the League for Innovation in the Community College, and more than a few of them heard something about next generation learning while in attendance. NGLC staff were at the front of the room for two of the sessions and in the audience for many others, watching eyes light up. If enthusiasm and awareness spreads so easily, can scaling be far behind?

The following Innovations 2013 presentations featured strategies under development and lessons being learned through the design and implementation of NGLC projects and programs:

HEEMAC 2013 Conference Sessions from Daphne Hunt

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 21:15:28 +0000

Daphne J. Hunt, University Web Administrator in the Office of Web Services at Tarleton University, recently shared an article she wrote summarizing a few of what she considers the best sessions of HEEMAC 2013. Thank you to Daphne for sharing her thoughts with those of us who did not attend this conference. Those who have done something similar for various conferences they attended have helped build a wonderful (but definitely distributed) resource for the community. (I know many conference attendees share their reactions -- thanks to all the contributors, whether posted articles, blog entries, or live tweeting through events.) I encourage you to follow Daphne's lead and share your thoughts about conferences and meetings you attend.

HEEMAC 2013 Review: Theories + Methods + Strategies = A Potentially Great App!

Higher Education in the Connected Age

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 18:12:20 +0000

The change started with the network. Moving digital information instantly from one place to another has reshaped delivery systems, business models, and economics and has led to the globalization of almost every industry. However, this "network effect" is about more than the dissemination of information. It is about connections. We are no longer in the information age—we are in the connected age. Everyone and everything is interconnected. Anyone who can access the Web can participate. The connections magnify the reach and value of not just information but also our relationships, creating opportunities for learning, working, and collaborating on an unprecedented scale.

Fulbright Scholar Program Also Serves Learning Technologists

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:55:06 +0000

by Meg Stewart

“The world is changing. Our disciplines are changing. Our students are changing. But is higher education keeping pace?...For education to do better we cannot just keep doing the same things.” —Diana Oblinger

What I Learned in Jail

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:47:05 +0000

By David Underwood

"Are we going to do collage?" asked a large man in a blue jumpsuit and day-glo orange tennis shoes.

"No, I don't think we'll be doing any collage, at least not for now, Bob. Sorry."

It was the first day of my first class at the local county jail. I'd signed on as a volunteer graphic design instructor, and I knew there would be challenges. But putting a 290-pound student in a deep funk within the first five minutes of class was a bad start.

Launching Portmont College

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:22:14 +0000

Srikant Vasan reveals some of the challenges and goals around starting a new online university.

A Fundamentally Different Student Experience

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:29:28 +0000

Josh Jarrett talks about the spread of breakthrough models for student success and how these new ideas might just change our fundamental approach to education.

The CIO Minute: Theresa Rowe

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:24:05 +0000

Theresa Rowe explains some of the challenges she encountered on her path to becoming a female IT leader.

Accessibility: Front and Center

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:13:14 +0000

The author provides suggested actions to make accessibility a priority.

The Policy of BYOD: Considerations for Higher Education

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:06:18 +0000

Before drafting more policy, we might be wise to explore the concept of policy and what purpose policy serves in the context of BYOD.

The Portmont College Story

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:57:58 +0000

The author discusses Portmont College and the unique characteristics that will enable it to take on the higher education challenges of broadening access, lowering costs, and maintaining the highest quality:

We Love E-Books!

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 18:32:55 +0000

The authors discusses explores the question of Why can't e-books play nicer with libraries?

How Disruptive Is Information Technology Really?

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 18:29:07 +0000

How disruptive is this technology revolution, and what does this expansion of the world of knowledge portend for higher education? Certainly the boundaries that once separated teacher from student, research from teaching, and basic scholarship from practice are disappearing. This leads to some interesting questions about what lies ahead for those of us who chose to cast our lot with the academy. Who will be the teachers in the future, and who will be the learners? What role will a sense of place play in defining the distinctive character of learning? When will learning be informed by personal experiences, and when will it be more universal in character and conducted in cyberspace?

Bigfoot, Goldilocks, and Moonshots: A Report from the Frontiers of Personalized Learning

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 18:08:13 +0000

The creativity of higher education innovators has produced three categories of solutions with the potential to break the “iron triangle” of cost, quality, and access.