Blogs

Riddle: How can you attract a roomful of academic parents from all fields together for two hours starting at 7 pm on a weeknight (without food)?

The semester has begun for most of us, and like many other semesters, most of us are teaching or TAing or doing something in the classroom. Teaching truly is one of the loves of my life. I find it invigorating, challenging, and, often, nerve-racking. But, I wouldn't have it any other way. I realized long ago that I belong in front of the classroom; however, I know that some of my colleagues sometimes struggle in front of a classroom. They're nervous, trembling, and unsure of themselves. While teaching surely isn't for everyone, it still is something that's expected from most graduate students, so you should be comfortable in front of a classroom. I know the title of this piece may seem shocking, but I've held to this philosophy, since I began teaching. It works for me. The most planning I do is putting together the syllabus for a class at the beginning, but I then just relax and teach. That's it.

Speculation runs rampant about Apple's education announcement in New York on Thursday. Let's connect the digital dots.

Coursekit's announcement on 1/2/12 that it had secured a $5 million Series A round of venture capital financing is important news in our industry. Perhaps more interesting than the money is that the investment is being led by a venture firm, Social+Capital Partnership, that was started by former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya. This investment will give the founders of Coursekit something perhaps even more valuable than development capital, that is networks and guidance within and from experience and plugged-in Silicon Valley veterans.

This semester I signed up for the University of Venus Networking Challenge. The challenge asked readers to reach outside of their departments and meet people in other disciplines, in other institutions, and/or in other countries. Because of my current employment position, I find myself getting in touch with a lot of people from other departments. Thus, I thought it would be unfair to count that as part of the challenge. However, the U Venus challenge prompted me to think about my interactions with faculty and staff from other schools and offices differently.

It's still not clear what Apple will announce at its big "education event" on Thursday. But no matter the outcome, it seems clear that the world of textbooks is changing. How will this influence the textbook rental giant Chegg?

Nope, no thoughts about mathematics. Well, no thoughts that are explicitly about mathematics although -- where sustainability is concerned -- math is always implicitly part of the conversation.

For all of our talk about the college’s carbon footprint, we at Alma have lately been discussing the many ways in which even a small college impacts the local community and environment.