The pulse: The future of ‘flipping’
This month's edition of The Pulse, Inside Higher Ed's monthly technology podcast, looks at what the future holds for efforts to use technology to flip the classroom.
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A virtual analysis
Harvard recently published an analysis of four blended-format courses that offer "practical guidance for faculty members interested in fresh pedagogical approaches."
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BBC helps produce first World War MOOCs
Four universities in the UK are teaming up with the BBC to produce massive open online courses about World War I.
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For its second round of MOOCs, U. of Wisconsin at Madison embraces modularity
For its second round of MOOCs, the University of Wisconsin at Madison (UW-Madison) will feature smaller, more focused courses that target local learners and activities beyond the last day of class.
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Will free online courses ever replace a college education?
The Atlantic explores whether MOOCs could replace a collage education and decides that in order to do that, "MOOCs would have to begin offering meaningful credits—the kind someone could take to a job interview and expect to have taken seriously."
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Are courses outdated? MIT considers offering modules instead
In a recently released 213 page report (pdf) exploring how MIT should innovate to adapt to new technologies and new student expectations, the report's authors found that there may be benefits to offering "mix and match learning modules” rather than traditional 12-week university courses.
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CTLT Summer Institute
UBC's Centre for Teaching, Learning & Technology will be hosting their 2014 Summer Institute on August 25 through the 29th, 2014.
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Why lectures are dead (or soon will be)
Tony Bates examines the history, purpose, and research on the effectiveness of the lecture and argues that "there are much better ways to teach that will result in better learning over the length of a course or program, and that lectures, whether live, or on MOOCs, YouTube videos or TED talks, are a poor way to prepare learners for a digital age."
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Is the lecture really the thing that needs fixing?
Robert Talbert, a mathematics professor at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, responds to the Chronicle of Higher Education's Article “Can Universities Use Data to Fix What Ails the Lecture?"
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Can universities use data to fix what ails the lecture?
The Chronicle of Higher Education argues that if "data-driven teaching is the future of higher education, traditional universities are at a disadvantage" compared to online institutions.
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