The answer is not to ban Wikipedia. The answer is to teach students how to use sources appropriately. Teach students to be informed consumers of information. Teach them how the encyclopedia ought to be used in academic writing, as well as how to use blogs, tweets and Facebook posts. Teach them not to feel safe anywhere when it comes to our high standards. Teaching information literacy will empower our students to navigate and benefit from the greatest technology of abundance the world has ever known.
Why Wikipedia Does Belong in the Classroom - This article is the rebuttal to a previous RWW article about why Wikipedia doesn’t belong in the classroom. Where do educators you know stand on Wikipedia? I remember in college that professors who did address it discouraged its use as a cited source, so most students facing this just went to the citations at the bottom of a Wikipedia article and used those as sources for papers (I assume this is still very much the case). I like the idea of the teachable moment about info literacy, whether you say yea or nay about classroom use. This is the world we live in, and evaluating sources of content is a key competency.

Source: readwriteweb.com

With higher ed now, people often have a piece or two missing in their education, so we are responding to the changes in our culture and helping them pull all these pieces together,” Mr. Cross said. “Students already interface with a lot of different institutions and different classes and professors, and this will help that process. I don’t think this diminishes traditional higher ed at all. I think it’ll enhance it.

Online Degree Program Lets Students Test Out of What They Already Know

Competency-based “flexible” degree programs are great news for new adult learners and those who never finished their degree. 

Hat tip to Dave Waldron for this and more great edtech links.

Source: chronicle.com

(via The Dean’s List: 50 Must-Read Higher Education Technology Blogs | EdTech Magazine) I just found out from Corinne Weisgerber’s tweet last night that my little tumblog made it into EdTech Magazine’s “50 Must Read Higher Ed IT Blogs”! I’m blown away at my inclusion in this list since it features the best blogs in the industry - many of which I read myself for inspiration. Thanks again to EdTech: Focus on Higher Education for adding me to this list! Now I’m even more encouraged to continue sharing ed/tech/web resources for all students and those who support them.
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(via The Dean’s List: 50 Must-Read Higher Education Technology Blogs | EdTech Magazine)

I just found out from Corinne Weisgerber’s tweet last night that my little tumblog made it into EdTech Magazine’s “50 Must Read Higher Ed IT Blogs”! I’m blown away at my inclusion in this list since it features the best blogs in the industry - many of which I read myself for inspiration.

Thanks again to EdTech: Focus on Higher Education for adding me to this list! Now I’m even more encouraged to continue sharing ed/tech/web resources for all students and those who support them.

Source: edtechmagazine.com

We have to question the tyranny of the degree,” says David Wiley, an associate professor of instructional psychology and technology at Brigham Young University. Mr. Wiley is an outspoken advocate of so-called open education, and he imagines a future where screenfuls of badges from free or low-cost institutions, perhaps mixed with a course or two from a traditional college, replace the need for setting foot on a campus. “As soon as big employers everywhere start accepting these new credentials, either singly or in bundles, the gig is up completely.” The idea is already well established in some computer-programming jobs, with Microsoft and other companies developing certification programs to let employees show they have mastered certain computer systems.

‘Badges’ Earned Online Pose Challenge to Traditional College Diplomas

New article about the badge concept. Mozilla’s Badge initiative has been on my radar for a while, and I’d love to implement it here on campus. I have a few ideas where we could start using a badge system to reward learners and student workers here in Instructional Technology, but my questions right now are more technical. I’m so excited to see so many organizations interested in badge certification; for us, it’s a great solution for showcasing technical knowledge and soft skills students are picking up around their traditional certification/degree programs.

Source: chronicle.com

Coursekit, a Student-Created LMS, Officially Launches

world-shaker:

It’s a pretty compelling idea, even more so given that it was student-developed rather than corporate. Click through if you’d like to learn a bit more.

I’ve asked several times this year (here, here, and here) if the education world really needs another LMS. Regardless of how boring the Blackboard-bashing has become (to me personally at least), the number of new entrants in the LMS field does indicate that folks believe there’s room for competition and improvement. Certainly there is still a strong (and overwhelmingly negative) response to the incumbent players. As such, almost everyone in the learning management system industry now says that they’re rethinking what an LMS should do.

That includes, of course, Coursekit, which is taking a more social approach than administrative approach to the LMS. “Our goal is to turn courses into communities online,” says CEO Cohen. Doing so “transforms the learning experience from something that happens twice a week into a continuous conversation.”

Great idea! I look forward to learning more about it.