Blogs

On the eve of his high school graduation, Ben told me he had a recurring fear that his diploma would actually be the blank sheet that the principal hands students who have not completed graduation requirements, but wish to walk with their class. I assured him that if he was missing or failing something, I would know about it — but in the event, we both checked.

In the spring of 2008 I stood on the lawn in front of the president’s house at the College of William and Mary with a group of undergraduates, fellow graduate students, and faculty singing the alma mater and wondering if anybody was hearing the students’ voices swell.

I spent Thursday at the “Strengthening Developmental Education” conference presented by the MDRC at Columbia University in a shockingly hot New York City. It was an odd cluster of presentations. On the one hand, the intellectual firepower present and the quality of evidence mustered was encouraging. There was an honesty about findings, and a humility in the face of facts, that’s all too rare at academic conferences. On the other, though, that meant that many of the findings suggested that much of the student success toolkit -- learning communities, summer bridge programs, and dual enrollment, to name a few -- just won’t live up to our hopes.

The Digital Humanities and public scholarship and engagement come together in this fantastic initiative.

What do you think are the most important attributes for a successful career in educational technology?

Like most people, my first encounter with the word “Monopoly” was through the board game by that name. It would...

UNow announced today that it has raised $17.5 million in funding. Some thoughts on for-profits, new for-profits, new higher ed models, and higher ed mythologies.

Does anyone think that, for the vast majority of students, going to college isn’t ultimately about acquiring knowledge and skills to be successful in a chosen career?