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September 29, 2006

National Educational Records Database

"The U.S. Education Department’s research division, the Institute of Education Sciences, is developing a database that would track students’ progress through college while protecting their privacy, the division’s director, Grover J. (Russ) Whitehurst, said this week. Speaking to the institute’s board, Mr. Whitehurst said the database would resolve many of the privacy concerns that derailed the Bush administration’s plan to create a “unit record” database using students’ Social Security numbers (The Chronicle, July 7)."

Read full story in the Chronicle of Higher Education News Blog

Posted by vvarvel at 10:00 AM | Comments (0)

September 26, 2006

Growth of Online Education in Traditional Institutions

"The number of courses being delivered to students through the Columbia College online learning program now exceeds the number of students taking courses through the traditional classroom method."

I was unable to tell from the article the percentage of students who take both online v. distance at the same time or at separate times. The quote above cannot be correct either unless you rephrase it as the number of course units taken online now exceeds the same number for traditional classes. The language in the article is convoluted as to actually comparable items, but the statements by President Brouder along with an allusion to future experiments with iPod courses are interesting.

Read the Full Story

Posted by vvarvel at 04:23 PM | Comments (0)

Yale Making Course Content Available on Internet for Free

"Yale University is producing digital videos of selected undergraduate courses that it will make available for free on the Internet through a grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. "

Read Full Story

Posted by vvarvel at 04:20 PM | Comments (0)

September 22, 2006

Howard Gardner readings

I like the idea of multiple intelligences. It makes sense that we have many neural capacities that are separate and distinct although linked in some ways. After reading these texts though, I am not sure that I am an advocate of Multiple Intelligences Theory anymore though. I still agree with it in principles, but the refusal to accept an executive function and the possibility of its use in labelling of indiduals and new forms of racism/sexism like rhetoric I'll term intelligentism is alarming. In any case, here are my notes, I hope that you enjoy.

Howard Gardner - Intelligence Reframed

Howard Gardner - MI Theory in Practice

Posted by vvarvel at 11:20 AM | Comments (0)

Acknowledging Samples

Early this week, I posted a question to the CNI-Copyright listserv. I asked a simple question about the legality of using a piece of music from another source (not sampling, but using the notes) that is clearly identifiable as that source without any credit. I didn't realize the heated discussion that would follow. It appears that people are greatly divisive over this issue. In practice, there are two cases that come to mind, one is wherin fair use was upheld in the sampling of Roy Orbison's Pretty Woman by 2 Live Crew. The other is where a use was ruled not fair by Vanilla Ice sampling of Queen. I would think that this would mean that it is not always clear cut that a music sample could be taken without at least some form of attribution. That was my question. Even if a use if fair, can it be lifted without attribution. The answer appears to be legally no in most cases (some argued all). But what about academic and professional courtesy. I first thought of this question because of the blatant plagiarism going on in blogs today. People seem to think that it is alright these days to take someone else's words and expressions and claim them as their own. In some cases, people are just too lazy to find out who said something first, and then don't bother to mention that it wasn't them. Steven Jamar posted an interesting response where he discussed an interesting brouhaha in his words about Bob Dylan's current work in which Henry Timrod was used without attribution. I am going to argue right here and now that we need, as a society, to return to responsible scholarship and accept when what we do it a derivative of someone else. Even if and especially when a use is done in a completely fair way, there should be some form of professional courtesy. It seems to be lacking in the me generation. Thanks for reading my rant.

Posted by vvarvel at 09:51 AM | Comments (0)

September 13, 2006

Free iPod, sign me up

At South Kent College in Dover, England, College students are to be given free iPods so they can catch up on missed lectures in their own time.

Read story

Posted by vvarvel at 08:40 AM | Comments (0)

September 12, 2006

School-Home Digital Divide

It's 2003 data, but still useful. At home, 78% of white students have Internet access, which isn’t enormously different than the percentage with access at school. In comparison, only 46% of African American students, 48% of Latinos and 43% of Native Americans had access at home; Asian-Americans and mixed ethnicity students fared better at 74% apiece. Regarding disability, 68% of non-disabled students and 55% of disabled students had home access.

Read the NCES Government Report

Posted by vvarvel at 01:35 PM | Comments (0)