Exploring Issues in Educational Technology in Virginia's Community Colleges
I’ve seen my share of conference keynotes, some tedious, some exhilarating, many forgettable. But I have never seen a keynote quite like the one delivered by Gardner Campbell on the morning of the first day of the OpenEd Conference. In fact, calling it a keynote is a disservice. It was more of a meditation. A performance. A confession. Maybe a […]
» Read moreI am in Vancouver, British Columbia this week for the Open Education Conference. This is the 9th year of the conference and, if attendance is any indicator, this year may be a tipping point for not only the conference but the issue of open education in general. Like me, many attendees are here for the first time, clearly reflecting a […]
» Read moreBlackboard announces that CEO Michael Chasen, who co-founded the company, will resign in December. From a post in the EdWeek blog: Since being purchased in July 2011 for $1.6 billion by private-equity firm Providence Equity Partners, Blackboard, based in Washington, D.C., has been through a series of dramatic changes, perhaps culminating in Chasen’s exit. In February, William Raduchel stepped down from Blackboard’s […]
» Read moreThe VCCS’s recent partnership with WGU to create a low-cost Nursing degree has ruffled some feathers in the higher education community in Virgina, so it’ll be interesting to see the response to the recently announced partnership between Straighterline, George Mason University, Northern Virginia Community College, and The Saylor Foundation? The details haven’t been worked out yet, but if Straigtherline’s All-You-Can Eat […]
» Read moreCheck out this article in the October edition of EdTech Magazine (brought to you by CDW-G) on the essential role technology is playing in the Reengineering efforts of the VCCS. Despite shrinking budgets and soaring enrollment, the Virginia Community College System has embarked on an ambitious six-year plan to improve student achievement, keep tuition affordable and increase job training opportunities […]
» Read moreYesterday was the kickoff of the newest MOOC on the block, The Current/Future State of Higher Education, or #CFHE12 for you folks who speak #hashtag. It is divided into six, weeklong sections, and includes readings, discussions, assignments, and creative challenges. It being a MOOC, this structure is inherently loose and liable to loosen even more as the course gets cranking. […]
» Read moreI’m crossing my fingers because I don’t want to jinx it, but I have a feeling that this is event is going to be awesome. After nearly a year of discussion and planning, I am pleased to be able to announce the call for proposals for Virginia’s inaugural Open and Digital Learning Resources Conference. This event was initiated by the Office of […]
» Read moreMOOC fever has broken out, infecting the insular and sheltered world of academia and spreading to the vulnerable population at large. Symptoms include a feeling of generalized urgency (Audrey Watters calls this FOMO), a paradoxical desire to monetize free and open content, and a susceptibility to buzzwords and confident-sounding prognostication. It won’t be long until we’ll begin to see articles […]
» Read moreDid you hear about what they just did in California? Here’s a great infographic showing clip art of Governor Jerry Brown signing the bill that creates a library of free, digital textbooks for the 50 most highly enrolled college courses in California, and the impact this effort will have on college students. Best of all, the rest of the world will have […]
» Read moreYesterday, Arne Duncan planted a flag squarely in the camp of digital textbooks in remarks to the National Press Club: Education Secretary Arne Duncan called Tuesday for the nation to move as fast as possible away from printed textbooks and toward digital ones. “Over the next few years, textbooks should be obsolete,” he declared. It’s not just a matter of keeping up […]
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