A paper released recently by the Community College Research Center reminds the champions of MOOCs and other online initiatives of one very important detail: Not all students prefer an online education; many higher education students still want in-person discussions and on-the-spot feedback.

But that’s not to say it will stay that way.

The CCRC paper is based on a small survey of cContinue Reading »

Being fined for safety. A new budget bill in Ohio would fine teachers $5,000 who educate students on safe sex rather than abstinence. (The Blade)

Musical curiosity builds better learners. An elementary school music teacher is calling for silent lunches during the school day. The reason? She wants to bring in live musicians to expose children to a different range of sounds. (NPR)

AContinue Reading »

Thirty years of just saying no. Drug Abuse Resistance Education turns 30 today. D.A.R.E was created in Los Angeles to teach students about the dangers of drug use. (Huffington Post)

MOOCs: Meet LOOCs. The Sloan Consortium event last week included “little” open online courses, or LOOCs, from the American College of Education. (EdSurge)

Sixteenth century comes to 21st century schoolContinue Reading »

Before you roll your eyes at another MOOC story, consider this: An Ohio community college has developed a math MOOC not for its students, but for its local high school students. Why? To get more students math-ready before they come to campus.

It’s an interesting take on the Massive Open Online Course, which — for all its fanfare — still hasn’t seemed to have developed a scalable, sustainContinue Reading »

Pressure’s on. About one-third of low-income, high-achieving high school graduates attend selective institutions, according to new research. (New York Times)

This doesn’t bode well. Less than 30 percent of professors who teach MOOCs believe that college credit should be tied to their courses. (The Chronicle of Higher Education)

An abandoned school. In 14 slides.  (Philly.com)

Don’t judge a (text)book by its cover. Up to one-third of high school math textbooks aren’t about the subject printed on its cover, according to a U.S. Department of Education analysis. (Associated Press)

Will other states follow? Kevin Carey explores the implications of California’s “groundbreaking” plan to make public universities accept online courses, like MOOCs, for credit. (Higher Continue Reading »

Statistic of the day. Nearly 90 percent of Americans say students should receive college credit for work experience and other skills learned outside of the classroom. An Education Sector-New America Foundation report last fall highlighted ways that institutions can measure learning based on competencies and prior learning assessments like these. (Gallup)

Oh, the irony. A MOOC intended toContinue Reading »

So maybe you thought the big news in higher education this past week was Mike Bloomberg’s gazillion-dollar gift to Johns Hopkins. Or perhaps the latest iteration of MOOCs as credit-bearing loss-leaders for a range of state university degree programs. Or the new report calling for reforming financial aid to boost college completion.

Not so. I just discovered a new tumblr called Accepted! Continue Reading »

When I see a story or blog nowadays on MOOCs, I am inclined not to read it. I mean, how much more could be said about Udacity, EdX, or Coursera that has not already been written?  But if you’re like me, resist that temptation and go back and read one of the many articles that appeared earlier this week about San Jose State partnering with Udacity to develop online, entry-level courses. It’s worContinue Reading »

This is the time of year when bloggers and reporters (some of whom, in the interest of full disclosure, are planning to take some time off for the holidays) produce a series of Year in Review stories. We asked our staff and our K20 Task Force members to share their thoughts on the biggest education news story of 2012. We also asked them for the most over-hyped education story of the year.