This is the opinion of Laurence Brockliss from the University of Oxford. It takes, time, commitment, and investment to launch an effective online program. See more details in this article.
About effective and timely feedback
Well, no news here, just the confirmation that student appreciate specific and timely feedback with examples. See the infographics below for more details.
Student opinion of your feedback (By Turnitin)
More information about feedback and its effective strategies is available at my Diigo collection.
Whose students are smarter?
Well, not US, and not UK… According to OECD study, the distribution of the highest performing graduates is as follows:
- Japan
- Finland
- Netherlands
- Sweden
- Australia
- Norway
- Belgium
- New Zealand
- England
- United States
New university … without instructors
A very interesting concept! A new college (named 42) opened in California, a branch of an institution in France with the same name. It will train about a thousand students a year in coding, programming, and software development by getting them to help each other with projects, then mark one anther’s work. See more here.
The 2016 Digital Study Trends Survey
According to the 2016 Digital Study Trends Survey, an annual survey of students (in 2016 there were 3,311 students, ranging from freshmen to PhDs) about 22 % of students said smartphones and other mobile devices are “extremely important” to studying (in 2014 there were only 13%). Other findings:
- A majority of students said technology makes studying more accessible (82%), helps them earn better grades (81 percent) and improves their focus (62%).
- Cost remains a barrier to technology use. About 39% said they would buy technology not required for a course, even if it was recommended.
- The laptop remains a #1 device for studying; 90% of students said the device is extremely or very helpful, easily “beating” professors and teaching assistants (72%), textbooks (67 %), and learning management systems (63%). The full report is available here.
Strategies to Help Students ‘Go Deep’ When Reading Digitally
More and more students read digital (rather than hard copies of printed text). Research shows that a level of comprehension and techniques are different, and thus, students need to be taught on how to read deeply the digital text. See more in this article and inform your students. Please also note changes in teaching that might be required to support student writing and discussion.
New report ranks the 50 top-paying college majors
Not surprisingly, many careers are in STEM (first 10). Science, engineering and technical programs encompass nearly the entire top 20, with liberal arts programs in fashion design and business ranking as 19th and 20th, respectively. See more here and use these data as a recruitment tool. See the full list here.
How the future Uni will look like?
Christine Ortiz, a former dean at MIT, is developing a nonprofit university that won’t rely on lectures, departments or majors. Instead, Ortiz, during a presentation at the recent IdeaFestival 2016, says students will use technology and hands-on research projects to build their own curriculum with faculty assistance. More details here.
Framing Classroom Incivility
How can faculty members and TAs respond to inappropriate behaviors without escalating the situation? How can they use insensitive comments as teachable moments effectively? In what ways can they protect themselves from student incivility? From where/whom can they find support for addressing student incivility? They are all sensitive topics. Read more on the subject here. What are your strategies?
Study: Student, Faculty Views on Digital Materials
Quality of materials and affordability will play a major role in adoption of digital materials. More details ate in the study done by by the market research firm Penn Schoen Berland and education company Pearson. About 80% of the 1,000 students and 200 faculty members surveyed said they believe digital course materials will supplant physical textbooks in the future.