We have a better understanding of UC Berkeley’s decision to remove free video lecture captures in response to an accessibility suit. Less so on Caroline Hoxby’s problematic paper on the ROI of online learning.
Big Picture
The "Big Picture" category covers larger trends and topics that influence both the problems that technology can help address in education as well as the barriers to implementing high-quality technology-supported education. This includes research-based topics such as learning science and program effectiveness studies, philosophical discussions such as outcomes definitions, and macro-forces such as government policy, markets, and business models.
Recommended Reading: Ballmer group publishes “Annual Report” on government spending
This is an interesting model for transparency in government, with some good data on public education expenditures as a bonus.
Lumen and Follett: Canary in the Curricular Materials Coal Mine?
The investment by one of the US’s largest textbook distributors in an OER company portends a larger shift in the curricular materials markets.
Digital Learning Compass: New WCET webcast on distance education enrollment trends
This Wednesday, April 19th, at 11am PDT / 2pm EDT I will be participating in a WCET webcast based on the latest National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) and its Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data for the Fall 2015 term on distance education (DE) enrollment.
Can There Be a Microscope of the Mind?
Want to understand “brain science” and “machine learning” better? Maybe? Give it a try with this post and see how you like it. You may be surprised at how accessible and relevant it can be.
Recommended Reading: The Power of Explaining to Others
A think piece on thinking from Mike Caulfield. You read him regularly like we do, right?
Clarifications On UC Berkeley’s Accessibility Decision To Restrict Video Access
The news headlines sounded terrible. The truth is more complicated.