Education Commons^™

Slow Edtech: Pedagogical Principles, Collaborative Explorations, And Persistent Challenges, Peter Taylor, Felicia Sullivan, Jeremy Szteiter

Jeremy Szteiter

This article describes two “Slow EdTech” initiatives, using this label to denote a focus on learning and the development of capacities for learning along with a mindful approach to the uptake of new digital tools that become available. One initiative, dating from 2001, is a set of guidelines about specific situations and specific ways in which specific educational technologies are of significant pedagogical benefit. The other, dating from 2013, is online Collaborative Explorations (CEs) for moderate-sized open online collaborative learning. The tools and processes used in CEs for inquiry, dialogue, reflection, and collaboration are designed to be readily learned by …

Productivity In The Cognitive Overload Era, George K. Thiruvathukal

George K. Thiruvathukal

Could technologies that emphasize the concept of "we" rather than "me" help modern society overcome its information overload?

The Space For Social Media In Structured Online Learning, Gilly Salmon, Bella Ross, Ekaterina Pechenkina, Anne-Marie Chase

Dr Anne-Marie Chase

The Merchants Of Moocs, James Grimmelmann

James Grimmelmann

A loose network of educators, entrepreneurs, and investors are promoting Massive Open Online Courses as an innovation that will radically disrupt higher education. These Merchants of MOOCs see MOOCs' novel features—star professors, flipped classrooms, economies of scale, unbundling, and openness—as the key to dramatically improving higher education while reducing its cost.But MOOCs are far from unprecedented. There is very little in them that has not been tried before, from 19th-century correspondence courses to Fathom, Columbia's $25 million dot-com boondoggle. Claims of disruption look rather different when this missing context is restored. This essay examines some common arguments about what gives …

Dilemas Y Retos De Los Cursos En Línea, Marion Lloyd

Marion Lloyd

A un año del lanzamiento de los primeros MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses), el modelo llega al público en español.

What’S The Future Of Systems Librarian And Systems Librarianship?, Xiaohua (Cindy) Li, Hong Ma

Xiaohua (Cindy) Li

There has not been a clear definition of what a system librarian should be, and the definition now is even blurry. Since cloud computing becomes the paradigm for many organizations to manage their IT infrastructure and the advancement of library discovery services start to break the traditional model of the functions of library automation systems, the nature of system librarian jobs is undergoing dramatic changes. The uncertainty of the future arouses the concerns of system librarians. Facing the transformation that technology brings to the library world, system librarians have to choose either to sink in the sea change or take …

From Oer To Plar: Credentialing For Open Education, Norman Friesen, Christine Wihak

Norman Friesen

Recent developments in OER and MOOCs (Open Educational Resources and Massive Open Online Courses) have raised questions as to how learners engaging with these courses and components might be assessed or credentialed. This descriptive and exploratory paper examines PLAR (Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition) as a possible answer to these questions. It highlights three possible connections between PLAR and open education which hold the greatest promise for credentialing open learning experiences: 1) PLAR may be used to assess and credential open educational activities through the use of exam banks such as CLEP (College Level Examination Program); 2) Learning occurring in …

What’S The Future Of Systems Librarian And Systems Librarianship?, Xiaohua (Cindy) Li, Hong Ma

Hong Ma

There has not been a clear definition of what a system librarian should be, and the definition now is even blurry. Since cloud computing becomes the paradigm for many organizations to manage their IT infrastructure and the advancement of library discovery services start to break the traditional model of the functions of library automation systems, the nature of system librarian jobs is undergoing dramatic changes. The uncertainty of the future arouses the concerns of system librarians. Facing the transformation that technology brings to the library world, system librarians have to choose either to sink in the sea change or take …