My latest Chronicle column is on how inherently difficult it is to evaluate learning science claims, particularly when they get boiled down to marketing claims about product efficacy, and how deep academic distrust of vendors makes this already incredibly difficult challenge nearly impossible. Here’s where I stand on vendor participation in ed tech and learning science research: […]
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.
IHE Essay: Getting the political facts straight about State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement
The following essay, co-written by Russ Poulin and Phil Hill, was originally published at Inside Higher Ed in response to articles in the New York Times and Inside Higher Ed regarding whether New York state should sign the SARA agreement. A coalition of consumer groups, legal aid organizations and unions object to the state of […]
A Big Reason That Digital Textbooks Are Misunderstood
Chegg, which is in the midst of a dramatic change in their business model by moving from textbook rentals to digital student services, got slammed last week in the stock market. After reporting mixed results of better-than-expected earnings yet worse-than-expected revenues, their stock price lost 35% in one day (Feb 22). But this is not […]
Data On Average Age Of Current LMS Implementation
This week Jim Julius asked on Twitter if anyone had data on average length of time US higher ed institutions have had their current LMS. @PhilOnEdTech Do you know of any stats on avg length of time US colleges/unis have been using their current primary LMS? — Jim Julius (@jjulius) February 23, 2016 That’s an […]
College Scorecard: ED quietly adds in 700 missing colleges
It’s worth giving credit where credit is due, and the US Department of Education (ED) has fixed a problem that Russ Poulin and I pointed out where they had previously left ~700 colleges out of the College Scorecard. When the College Scorecard was announced, Russ noticed a handful of missing schools. When I did the […]
Empowering Students in Open Research
Phil and I will be writing a twice-monthly column for the Chronicle’s new Re:Learning section. In my inaugural column, “Muy Loco Parentis,” I write about how schools make data privacy decisions on behalf of the students that the students wouldn’t make for themselves, and that may even be net harmful for the students. In contrast […]
LearningStudio and OpenClass End-Of-Life: Pearson is getting out of LMS market
Pearson has notified customers that LearningStudio will be shut down as a standalone LMS over the next 2-3 years. Created from the Pearson acquisition of both eCollege and Fronter, LearningStudio has been targeted primarily at fully-online programs and associated hybrid programs – not for simple augmentation of face-to-face classes. The customer base has mostly included for-profit institutions […]