E-Learning-Inclusivo (Mashup)

"“So it was an instrument of radical change, that’s what they thought it was. And then around about the middle of the 1980s …this computer got into the hands of school administrations and the ministries and the commissioners of education, state education departments. And now look what they did with them … The establishment pulls together and now they’ve got … a computer curriculum, and there’s a special computer teacher. In other words, the computer has been thoroughly assimilated to the way you do things in school.” — Papert, in Papert & Freire, late 1980s via Milne (2013)."

"No one should teach in fear of the prospect of a wronged and vengeful student."

Summary from Academica Top Ten - Friday, January 6, 2017

"How to address student grade challenges before they happen

 Instructors can help address grade challenges by students before they happen if they follow a few basic steps, writes David Gooblar for Chronicle Vitae. The first step, the author argues, is to be as clear as possible about your expectations and grading policies in your syllabi. The second is to clarify your grading policies throughout a semester, giving a breakdown of grading criteria at the beginning of each new assignment. The author adds that it is also crucial to create space for the appropriate discussion of grades, explain your reasoning for particular grades, and stand your ground while remaining patient with students who challenge their grades. "

"Faculty member Betsy Lucal now strongly urges any student who will listen to reconsider their plans to earn a Ph.D."

Summary from Academica Top Ten - Monday, September 26, 2016:

"“I think they should not do it,” says IHE contributor of pursuing a PhD “I strongly urge any student who will listen to reconsider their plans to go on to earn a PhD,” writes Betsy Lucal for Inside Higher Ed. 

A professor at Indiana University South Bend, Lucal writes that universities’ increasing tendency to cut costs and follow the principles of “consumerism, individual empowerment and self-interest” has created a higher ed landscape in which she, a tenured professor, questions whether she will be able to make a living from academia for the remainder of her career. 

Lucal outlines a number of other reasons to avoid earning a PhD and entering academia."

The findings are preliminary, but the weakness in China’s higher education system is especially striking because Chinese leaders are pressing universities to train a new generation of highly skilled workers and produce innovations in science and technology to serve as an antidote to slowing economic growth.

The government has built hundreds of universities in recent years to meet soaring demand for higher education, which many families consider a pathway into the growing middle class. Enrollment last year reached 26.2 million students, up from 3.4 million in 1998, with much of the increase in three-year polytechnic programs.

But many universities, mired in bureaucracy and lax academic standards, have struggled. Students say the energetic and demanding teaching they are accustomed to in primary and secondary schools all but disappears when they reach college.

“Teachers don’t know how to attract the attention of students,” said Wang Chunwei, 22, an electrical engineering student at Tianjin Chengjian University, not far from Beijing. “Listening to their classes is like listening to someone reading out of a book.”

Others blame a lack of motivation among students. Chinese children spend years preparing for the gaokao, the all-powerful national exam that determines admission to universities in China. For many students, a few points on the test can mean the difference between a good and a bad university, and a life of wealth or poverty.

When students reach college, the pressure vanishes.

“You get a degree whether you study or not, so why bother studying?” said Wang Qi, 24, a graduate student in environmental engineering in Beijing.

The merits of the Chinese education system are a perennial subject of debate, in the United States as much as in China. The Obama administration has held up the stronger performance of Chinese high school students on international exams in math, science and reading as an example of stagnation in the United States.

Critics argue that Chinese teachers place an unhealthy emphasis on test preparation and rote memorization at the expense of critical thinking skills and creativity. They also say international exams overstate the strength of China’s system because they exclude students from poorer regions.

"If the most recent U.S. Election has taught us anything it's that we live in an era of fake news and sites. With accusations flying of manipulation of stories, the media and voters, it’s truly hard to know if what we read on blogs, social media and other sites is actually the truth or a tale spun to generate clicks. To further compound the problem a recent study from Stanford shows that the vast majority of students can’t determine it what they read on websites is true or baloney. 

The study showed More than two out of three middle-schoolers couldn’t see any valid reason to mistrust a post written by a bank executive arguing that young adults need more financial-planning help. And nearly four in 10 high-school students believed, based on the headline, that a photo of deformed daisies on a photo-sharing site provided strong evidence of toxic conditions near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, even though no source or location was given for the photo. 

 With many schools and districts rolling out 1:1 initiatives and a push to digitize learning, helping students understand where their information comes from, and if it is reliable and accurate are critical skills, not just for learning for but life as well. "

"It’s doesn’t have to be an antagonistic demand to prove themselves, it can be a warm invitation to contribute."

Summary from Academica Top Ten - Friday, August 26, 2016:

"Why professors should “cold call” on students to foster participation “In an ideal world, we wouldn’t need to call on students to get them to participate,” writes David Gooblar for Chronicle Vitae, but the reality is that professors will often have to call on students at random to solicit the desired level of participation. Critics of such “cold calling” might argue that it puts students on the spot and increases anxiety. Yet Gooblar cites research and personal experience that demonstrate that the practice offers a net positive for classrooms by helping students learn to speak up as a matter of habit."