Google has created an interesting site that summarizes how search works. Â The design of the site is unique and the content explains Google policies.
RSS with Feedly
After learning that Google was dropping Reader, I started to look around. Feedly looks like it is trying to step up and take over. This link explains how to transition. I wonder what will happen to all of the apps built to use Reader as a back end.
Feedly has a nice interface for quickly scanning content.
Google will cut Reader
Google announced today that it will soon turn off Reader. I am a user, but not directly. I access my RSS feeds organized by Reader with other friendlier apps. My approach was common and this lack of direct use was likely part of the problem. First iGoogle and now Reader.
Average is over
This link will take you to a Tom Friedman on MOOCs and the future of higher education. Ironic to talk about professors who have a big stage (so does Friedman even when he has a limited background relevant to a topic). I tend to agree with Friedman on many things – the flat world, the reality of international competition, the importance of education. I have mixed reactions to his notions of technology and higher education (technology did flatten the world). Anyway, this is not for me to decide so what I do is offer the link for examination. BTW – the comments are also very good.
It struck me after reading this content and writing this post that my previous post concerned a description of students who struggle with learning in an online environment.
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What makes online difficult
A recent study focused on online courses in Higher Ed (summarized in the Inside Higher Education blog) is focused on the high attrition rate in MOOCs and junior college online courses.
But some groups fared worse than others. Men showed a more negative effect from online courses than did women in terms of both course persistence and grades. Black students’ grades fell significantly more in online courses, as did those of Asian students. Students with stronger academic skills saw their course persistence and grades decline less in online courses than did students with weaker academic credentials.
The researchers concluded that “students who are already doing poorly in college do even more poorly when they take online courses”.
The study reports several interesting findings describing those students likely to struggle online.
Teach ourselves – the Mitra vision
Sugata Mitra winner of the TED Prize for his vision of School in the Cloud (you may have read about his original hole in the wall computer experiment). A vision for self guided and group organized learning. I think we have seen this before (Summerhill) so I am skeptical, but I believe in empiricism – try it and see. I do like the concept of “granny as tutor” – granny is encouraging, is amazed, and asks you to help her understand.
What I want to know is how come they have not discovered YouTube? I certainly believe you can learn a lot on your own. This, I assume, was the vision for the public library. If you have the resources, the Internet offers even more possibilities. Offering access in areas of severe poverty provides an interesting test of potential. It will be important to evaluate critically.
P.S. – This may sound far too good to be true and some say that this is the case. Here is a critic to consider and here is another.
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