tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352504772011-12-26T00:33:46.056-07:00How can we work together to provide the best, most relevant education possible for today's students? How can the relationship between academia and the business community help, or hinder the mission of higher education?dsargentnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1191100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-26619148324850738312007-11-09T11:52:00.000-07:002007-11-09T12:01:10.767-07:00

Well, it has certainly been quite a while, hasn't it? :-)I've been up to a LOT of things - which I will discuss in greater detail later.In the meantime, here is a video service for teachers - Teacher Tube:Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-2143822792042718852007-04-20T12:03:00.000-06:002007-04-20T12:29:44.742-06:00

Great news for anyone interested in free alternatives to BlackBoard!DrupalEd is a powerful open source content management system with the power to support the e-learning needs of large educational institutions. It is also easy enough to install and use for individual teachers/professors to implement in their own classes (for teachers who would like to abandon BlackBoard, sans IT Department

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-52004363408248989802007-04-17T12:36:00.001-06:002007-04-17T12:36:55.566-06:00

Best wishes and thoughts to anyone affected by yesterday's madness at Virginia Tech.

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-30919283832034328782007-04-17T08:57:00.001-06:002007-04-17T08:57:59.844-06:00

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-86110417247773354682007-04-10T20:27:00.000-06:002007-04-10T21:05:37.486-06:00

Interesting situation over at the TechCrunch blog today, which is reflective of a growing number of similar ethical conflicts of interest catching headlines since the credential meltdown at Wikipedia.Of course, conflicts of interest in higher education are gaining a high degree of press right now as well. It would seem that as students have been forced to carry ever more burdensome loads of debt

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-87853322073592036292007-04-06T09:11:00.000-06:002007-04-06T09:30:14.894-06:00

Interesting followup to my previous post regarding the shaky foundations of Digg:Charles Cooper, over at Cnet.com, has written a book review, of sorts:"Andrew Keen doesn't fit the profile of your garden-variety bomb thrower. But make no mistake about this erudite British-born entrepreneur: He is out to rattle Silicon Valley and the geekerati by detonating many of the comfortable myths attending

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-17625694666620209022007-04-03T12:22:00.000-06:002007-04-03T12:42:58.133-06:00

Some very interesting issues on Digg have been exposed recently. And they're worth examining in the broader context of what this means for "Web 2.0" as such.First--it was revealed that the top 100 Digg users control 56% of Digg's frontpage content. Yikes...Then this, from the smalls blogger blog, and TechCrunch:Have a look at subvertandprofit.com. Quite a simple idea really - Advertisers, pay $1

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-18497685396126674792007-03-23T15:25:00.000-06:002007-03-23T15:28:22.032-06:00

I saw this discussed over at Weblogg-ed. It's definitely worth watching. Very interesting! Now, what does this mean for one's pedagogical practice?

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-80677638580633622372007-03-22T08:45:00.000-06:002007-03-22T08:55:37.314-06:00

Now there's one less reason to shell out $, and lose your copyright on all uploaded/posted files--yes, even your syllabus--to a company that practices predatory patent litigation, like BlackBoard:DrupalEdDrupalEd is based on the open source social networking/content creation software platform Drupal, which is easy to install/configure (I've done it myself over the course of a few hours earlier

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-71993431751590881092007-03-22T07:53:00.000-06:002007-03-22T08:28:51.632-06:00

Big news--thousands of CSU faculty members across the State of California have authorized a strike, which could happen as soon as next month. (Here is an NPR story on the subject.)Among their list of grievances: salaries that are well below the national average. This is particularly vexing at a time when executive (i.e. administrative) pay at both public and private institutions is soaring.

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-71432451323568741832007-03-12T13:06:00.000-06:002007-03-12T15:36:28.736-06:00

As Wikipedia grows up, academe reminds itself of its own obligations.On the heels of the credentials crisis at Wikipedia, there are new charges of plagiarism leveled against Ward Churchill.You may remember the controversy initially sparked by an essay written by Ward Churchill, a University of Colorado professor, which made national headlines a year or so ago.This controversy brought his work (

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-41355150446600827952007-03-09T07:51:00.000-07:002007-03-09T08:01:39.705-07:00

Every year, English teachers from across the country submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. These excerpts are published each year to the amusement of teachers and writers across the country.Here are last year's winners of the best worst student writing:1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-10228395792526353382007-03-06T17:04:00.000-07:002007-03-06T17:14:58.321-07:00

The results of a study published today, and reported on by business publication Inc, may help sound the wake-up call to cities and towns who are interested in making economic gains.The message: Fix your schools first.Start-Ups More Successful in Cities with Fewer High-School DropoutsThe education level of local populations can have a direct impact on business success, new research

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-24303779938104513532007-03-02T15:11:00.000-07:002007-03-02T15:30:46.313-07:00

I've written about the need to revise publication expectations for professors seeking tenure. Now The Daily Princetonian, and Magna Publications, have also joined the discussion:Rethinking Scholarly Publication for TenureThe Daily Princetonian reports on its Web news page a story about the Modern Language Association’s task force recommendation regarding “ways in which universities should rethink

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-4726701393884150092007-02-27T10:18:00.000-07:002007-02-27T10:39:07.670-07:00

I've written before about the essential role that institutions of higher education play in maintaining America's competitiveness, and the damage that will occur if IHEs continue to become less accessible to worthy studetns from the working classes. However, Bill Gates' recent article in the Washington Post (which follows below) really spells it out...How to Keep America CompetitiveBy Bill

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-71496546592458235692007-02-27T10:15:00.000-07:002007-02-27T10:43:18.403-07:00

I'm back.I've been out of town for the past week. It was a much needed trip. :-)

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-63482726862472214412007-02-18T15:56:00.000-07:002007-02-18T16:03:43.725-07:00

As I was sorting through the remaining "Worst College Website" nominees this evening, I noticed a very valuable service had just been launched by Michael Felstein, over at e-Literate.There is now a centralized RSS-based informational service for those interested in EduPatents (such as the furor over Blackboard's abuse of this process). Definitely check out Michael's post regarding his work on

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-80073860904922489422007-02-15T10:31:00.000-07:002007-02-15T13:56:32.670-07:00

Many thanks for the links I've received. Going through the video nominations was a learning experience in how NOT to go about promoting one's college.Here are the ... um ... "Winners": Grand Prize WinnerWorst College Recruitment / Promotional VideoAppalachian State University"Appalachian is Hot Hot Hot!" You know you've produced a cult classic of horrible marketing when fans "honor" it on

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-4112978858206254312007-02-14T15:35:00.000-07:002007-02-14T15:36:38.926-07:00

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-46122071861415219852007-02-12T09:53:00.000-07:002007-02-12T10:02:47.226-07:00

While the web hunt for examples of the worst higher ed marketing is continuing (and thanks for the email nominations that I've received so far!), I'd like to post a very interesting article from Terra Incognita, a blog from Ken Udas at Penn State:Should Corporate Investments have a Place in Higher Education?"There are ongoing questions about the impact of commercial enterprises on higher

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-86200659696516407062007-02-08T08:43:00.000-07:002007-02-08T09:56:24.586-07:00

John Moravec, from Education Futures, had a great idea in his comment on When College Marketing Goes Wrong.... As of today, I'm starting a list of terrible college marketing sites and films.There will be a few categories:1. "They Paid Someone to Design This?!"A list of the most poorly designed college websites.2. "This Video is Supposed to Inspire... Whom?" A list of the cheesiest and most

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-62738280355649332452007-02-07T16:15:00.000-07:002007-02-08T09:55:25.013-07:00

Non-profit colleges are playing a serious game of catch-up when it comes to marketing themselves. Even the Chronicle of Higher Education has run features on the impact online marketing is having--as colleges come to realize that today's prospective students prefer to conduct their college searches online. Traditional marketing methods such as print advertising, TV, radio and the ubiquitous

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-14776593291336255992007-02-06T09:50:00.000-07:002007-02-06T09:58:52.290-07:00

Well, if you've been teaching over the past several years--you've probably *wanted* to do this...However, this professor actually followed through with it. I've posted before about controlling classroom rudeness, and this "technique" isn't recommended. --The fact that this class was being filmed leads me to suspect that this was staged. But I really could see this happening, nonetheless.--

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-57829670945194614982007-02-05T07:18:00.000-07:002007-02-05T07:26:59.501-07:00

Jonathan Green is the Dean of the college at Sweet Briar College. In this piece from InsideHigherEd, he shares his thoughts on the management skills he received from training as a conductor of music:"My discipline is music with a specialization in conducting. The longer I have served in administration, the more I believe my conducting training has provided me with the most valuable preparation

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-63932975747258395432007-02-01T14:37:00.000-07:002007-02-18T16:06:25.461-07:00

Stephen Downes, over at Stephen's Web (one of the oldest and largest sites devoted to all things education) has just posted a response to Blackboard's desperation move today--"The Blackboard Patent Pledge":"This is the big news today, of course. "The Blackboard Patent Pledge is a promise by the company to never assert its issued or pending course management system software patents against open

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-9045967011432591882007-02-01T10:14:00.000-07:002007-02-01T10:28:05.621-07:00

I thought this was apropos to my earlier post about a new type of university. It would seem that a VC backed entrepreneurial program would simply make sense--from a business standpoint. After all, what better way to get a grip on what the 18-35 yr. olds are after, than to have them pitch their own ideas. You also get access to the best and brightest of the new generation of business owners/

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-889717409159034042007-01-31T06:58:00.001-07:002007-01-31T06:58:50.633-07:00

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-58839766265210420632007-01-29T10:26:00.000-07:002007-01-29T10:31:58.845-07:00

Hmmm.... It'll be interesting to see where this goes:Grand Canyon University features classes taught by full-time business owners, not academics."For undergraduates who complain that college doesn't teach them anything about the real world, a new four-year school in Arizona seeks to deliver business lessons from those who know them first-hand.Grand Canyon University's College of Entrepreneurship

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-67343097977051375512007-01-26T14:20:00.000-07:002007-02-18T16:04:15.815-07:00

Revisiting a Bad PatentI've reported on the terrible Blackboard patent before, and how it never should have been granted in the first place.Well, after EDUCAUSE and the Software Freedom Law Center filed formal petitions to have Blackboard's offending patent stripped--the Fed has finally begun doing its job:"In response to a challenge from a free and open software group, the U.S. Patent and

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-70613887516324559422007-01-26T11:04:00.000-07:002007-01-26T11:07:17.757-07:00

Oh boy... How would you like to be one of these students?"An admissions department e-mail sent from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill congratulated 2,700 prospective freshmen this week on their acceptance to the school.The problem is that none of the applicants have been admitted. They won't start finding out until March whether they've made the cut..."You can read the full story

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-66095065754254598202007-01-25T14:09:00.000-07:002007-01-25T14:31:35.616-07:00

I came across something VERY interesting over at the Schools Matter blog. Listening to the State of the Union Address, one might have been lulled into thinking that No Child Left Behind is producing some significant results. Maybe not...Here's what G. W. had to say:Minority students are closing the achievement gap, and student achievement is rising – more reading progress was made by 9-

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-36656442047169635192007-01-25T10:30:00.000-07:002007-01-25T12:09:23.054-07:00

"Pick up a newspaper or turn on the TV, and you can probably find a college professor opining on something - global warming, food security, poverty, you name it. But it isn't so easy to find anyone willing to opine on a college or university's practices in those same areas.Or at least, it wasn't that easy until Mark Orlowski came along. Orlowski founded the Sustainable Endowments Institute, a

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-77521635877634545972007-01-25T08:35:00.000-07:002007-01-25T08:36:43.013-07:00

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-28469974799135481912007-01-24T15:42:00.000-07:002007-01-25T08:40:07.112-07:00

As I'd written before, social netowks are becoming a venue for employers, as well as the most popular way Generations X & Y connect and collaborate with one another. However, employers aren't only looking to weed out the idiots from the pool of applicants... Social networks have become tools by which potential employers are seeking out the best and brightest candidates.For example, even the CIA

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-72483132708095080452007-01-24T13:53:00.000-07:002007-01-24T13:58:01.723-07:00

OOPS! Microsoft caught trying to "influence" Wikipedia articles:Microsoft Corp. has landed in the Wikipedia doghouse after it offered to pay a blogger to change technical articles on the community-produced Web encyclopedia site.While Wikipedia is known as the encyclopedia that anyone can tweak, founder Jimmy Wales and his cadre of volunteer editors, writers and moderators have blocked

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-55429277992672990402007-01-22T18:23:00.000-07:002007-01-22T18:36:06.562-07:00

John Moravec, over at Education Futures has just posted about a study from Gallup Management Journal, regarding innovation in organizations. The Gallup Management Journal recently published an article on what drives innovation in organizations. Shelley Mika disentangles innovation from creativity and identifies four driving principles of innovation, based on discussions with key thinkers and

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-3960568833008901032007-01-22T08:48:00.000-07:002007-01-22T09:24:04.239-07:00

The debate over the changing role of higher education is ramping up in academe. On one hand, there is the "higher ed should not simply be a training ground for the future workers of tomorrow" crowd, citing the many ethical and political risks associated with that position. On the other hand, there is the "students are entitled to receive the type of education they will require to succeed

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-64566302391895541062007-01-19T15:31:00.000-07:002007-01-19T17:12:08.620-07:00

As I'd reported back in November, there is a well-documented shortage of skilled workers in the US, and it's only getting worse.Richard Florida's book The Flight of the Creative Class documents much of the "brain migration" that's been occurring in recent years, and I highly recommend giving it a look. (I've also written about Florida's work here, and here.)Today, CNN is reporting on further

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-24914272106132440932007-01-19T10:54:00.002-07:002007-01-19T11:04:18.638-07:00

Here is another "meditation" on the state of business, and its relation to higher education.Charles H. Green, has a fun post on the role of spite. Reading this, I was reminded of certain departmental tiffs I'd observed over the years.Many academics like to idealize our lives in higher education, as though we were somehow un-corporate... But in many cases, the academic life is just a mirror of

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-86160446698041457962007-01-19T10:17:00.000-07:002007-01-19T10:28:55.360-07:00

After yesterday's post about MBA programs, I though this was a good "second act" to highlight other recent changes in MBA programs. After the corporate scandals of the past 7 years, the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the stock market crash of 2001/2002, training in business ethics has risen into the range of required courses for nearly every MBA graduate today.Once again, a meeting of

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-31725339630019058122007-01-18T08:24:00.000-07:002007-01-18T08:39:03.873-07:00

If you aren't familiar with Sam Huleatt's blog, Leveraging Ideas (formerly Intelligrad), it's worth a look. He's an MBA student, coming from a Liberal Arts undergraduate background, and he runs a social media consulting business, so much of what he discusses is "from the inside," so to speak.His post "Is Math Overrated for MBAs?" is a very interesting - and relevant - meditation on the shift in

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-63024422955187370732007-01-17T11:35:00.000-07:002007-01-17T11:42:19.751-07:00

Yet another salvo in the battle between brick and click universities--this time from the Wired Campus Blog:"Ever the critic of distance education, Rep. Vernon J. Ehlers, Republican of Michigan, has introduced legislation that would require scientific scrutiny of online learning. The Independent Study of Distance Education Act of 2007, H.R. 412, would direct the National Academy of Sciences to

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-30719967987574993372007-01-16T16:40:00.000-07:002007-01-16T16:44:14.989-07:00

Only a few years ago, if you had polled Simmons College administrators, faculty, students, and even technology staff members, the consensus would have been that “online” learning is not relevant to the mission of our institution. A “small university” with a liberal arts undergraduate program and four graduate schools, Simmons’ culture is “high touch” and personalized. To the uninitiated,

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-37189283290090716562007-01-15T09:12:00.000-07:002007-01-15T09:19:53.029-07:00

Alan Watts may forgive the pun, but there's an emerging realization among commercial software companies--giving it away leads to better growth. (Take note, Blackboard!)This just published over at Cnet:What's new:A small company called Aras is adopting an open-source model for its product lifecycle management application that's built with Microsoft technologies.Bottom line:More software

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-82880476427380395292007-01-13T15:12:00.000-07:002007-01-13T18:36:56.826-07:00

The Battle Between Click And Brick Universities by Kadence Buchanan The role of contemporary universities is currently experiencing tremendous change due to the advancements in technology. Today, it is not just a matter of sound administrative decisions made by institutions, but rather a global realization that e-learning is a dynamically growing industry. Undergraduate and graduate students

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-55014570691745876842007-01-12T15:38:00.000-07:002007-01-12T15:54:15.336-07:00

A somewhat contrarian view to the first article in this two-part series is from no less than Forbes Magazine.Here's a sample from the full article, Is College Worth It?....Search engines such as Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) have ushered in the era of open-source learning. Society is rapidly progressing to the point where any Googler is on equal footing with a Widener Library

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-15450899284103687932007-01-11T10:06:00.000-07:002007-01-18T08:48:24.141-07:00

You may have noticed that the debate over whether a college degree is actually worth the cost has been heating up over the past decade. As the cost of tuition, fees, room, board, textbooks, etc. grows year after year, many are finding it difficult to keep up (especially students and families from the working classes). Undergraduate federal student loan debt has reached an average of $19,202. The

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-16942851133383613222007-01-11T10:02:00.000-07:002007-01-11T10:05:24.776-07:00

How Much is Your College Degree WorthBy Christine SilvaAlthough many Americans work in unskilled labor, the outlook for non-college graduates continues to grow bleak. Now, with the majority of unskilled and mildly skilled labor being outsourced, it is almost impossible to guarantee a stable income without some higher education.According to the US Census Bureau, a college education almost

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-43728795613985256512007-01-09T08:42:00.000-07:002007-01-09T09:52:33.559-07:00

Some critics of social networking (and nervous parents) have advocated blocking access to sites like Facebook, MySpace and other high-profile sites at libraries, schools, and from home networks via web filters, etc.However, these efforts have been rather ineffective and/or counterintuitive. Aside from the age-old guarantee that whatever one's parents disapprove of becomes infinitely cooler, many

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-60829790978768305732007-01-04T08:26:00.000-07:002007-01-04T08:40:37.829-07:00

Alexander Rudloff has written this article (reprinted here with permission) about an issue which is bound to come up for those in academe, and the private sector. It is also a timely follow-up to my article on the job market for liberal arts grads.Negotiating a New Job's SalaryBy Alexander RudloffOften when receiving a job offer, candidates are eager to sign on the dotted line. Maybe they've

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-44489667309345542472007-01-04T07:41:00.000-07:002007-01-04T07:59:48.631-07:00

Following a report from the National Acadamy of Engineering (which I wote about here), a team of researchers from Duke University have released a study (results were published this morning):Foreign-born entrepreneurs were behind one in four U.S. technology startups over the past decade, according to a study to be published Thursday.A team of researchers at Duke University estimated that 25

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-84556853637114793222007-01-04T06:28:00.001-07:002007-01-04T06:29:16.471-07:00

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-21542331906518587842007-01-01T10:53:00.000-07:002007-01-01T10:54:19.151-07:00

Happy New Year to everyone. :-)

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-62487596328009539472006-12-29T10:29:00.000-07:002006-12-29T11:36:32.267-07:00

As mentioned over at The Kept up Academic Librarian and The Universities Weblog, Yale University has responded to (entirely justified) criticism from the business community, and scholars, that MBA programs are not giving students the experience/skills that are required in the global economy. Starting this year, study abroad is required of all MBA students. "During the first two weeks of January,

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-8769938061707470502006-12-25T13:04:00.000-07:002006-12-25T13:53:58.555-07:00

Merry Christmas Everyone! :-)

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-26840221477313513152006-12-22T10:11:00.000-07:002006-12-22T10:26:49.484-07:00

Interesting article from the AP on the distribution of Federal funds at the Primary and Secondary level. It would seem our broken aid system extends to the Primary and Secondary levels, in addition to Institutions of Higher Education. As we've seen from the report published last month by Education Trust (I've posted the .pdf of the full report here), the nation's public universities have spent

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-38680064070277764982006-12-21T09:16:00.001-07:002006-12-21T09:56:26.130-07:00

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-45159006597579943602006-12-20T20:12:00.000-07:002006-12-21T09:56:38.155-07:00

This article deals with the problem of change in the Rust Belt (I'd written about it earlier this week).Michigan has lost more than 300,000 jobs since 2000, its unemployment rate stands at a nationwide high of 6.9%, and its college graduates are moving out of the state to find work.It gets worse.A University of Michigan study released last month predicted the state will lose 33,000 more jobs in

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-48679923887860585122006-12-20T15:00:00.000-07:002006-12-21T09:57:00.450-07:00

Richard Florida's blog, The Creativity Exchange (if you haven't read it, definitely do yourself the favor) has yet another interesting post on what it takes to foster creative spaces, and global competitiveness. Here's a sample: Here's an oped by Jim Wunderman, president and CEO of the Bay Area Council, a federation of the CEOs of hundreds of the largest employers in the Bay Area in today's

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-820233135460148582006-12-20T14:36:00.000-07:002006-12-21T09:56:12.615-07:00

Well, The Kept-Up Academic Librarian has found an article from today's New York Times dealing with the Education Trust report Engines of Inequality, which I posted about, just over a month ago... The NYT may be slow on the up-take, but it's good to see they do care about the issue.The more press this situation receives, the more likely it is that something will be done about it.

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-61383249128746381972006-12-18T11:34:00.000-07:002006-12-21T10:04:24.407-07:00

Today's guest post is from John M. (you can see his earlier post, "Helicopter Parents and Needy Students" here).I found this article on CNN, and it seemed very timely. As a grad student, I find myself in the unique position of being both a student and a faculty member depending on the day and time. So I've seen the the phenomena from both sides. I've had students take calls in class, inform me

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-58493533485804742652006-12-14T20:22:00.000-07:002006-12-14T20:24:02.944-07:00

There's an excellent article on the growing importance of computer skills (in the workplace, and beyond) over at FastCompany's site. I posted a sample from it below. The full article is definitely worth a look.More and more of your social interactions are moving online. Here are 10 major cultural implications of social software's growth.Social software is a subset of the broader set of

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-40769768773898017582006-12-14T14:17:00.000-07:002006-12-21T10:10:04.968-07:00

I was born in an agricultural and manufacturing region of the US, better known as "The Rust Belt." Over the years, I've watched as the vast majority of young people (especially those with talent and sought-after skills) have left. And that includes me. I remember the shock after the year 2000 census, when the extent of this exodus of talent finally had solid numbers associated with it.My

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-34317213930441904582006-12-11T21:50:00.000-07:002006-12-21T10:10:24.533-07:00

Originally, university presses were created to publish the otherwise un-publishable--the research and "high art" of scholars in various fields. However, as the universities have scaled back formerly hefty subsidies, one of the most basic realities of economics has begun to set in: A press needs to sell books (at least enough to cover expenses) in order to stay in business.Today, a young scholar

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-11397333358348922992006-12-08T14:14:00.000-07:002006-12-21T10:11:17.252-07:00

It is amazing to me, how so many academics have internalized an outdated, limited view of the career paths available to those with a Liberal Arts education. In particular, I hear a consistent drone of pessimism from professors, graduate students, and professional organizations in the Liberal Arts disciplines. I believe that this pessimism is a largely the result of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-38959081726065934972006-12-04T12:36:00.000-07:002006-12-21T10:11:39.177-07:00

Here is an interesting development. It seems like a win-win for Google and for cash-strapped schools (at all educational levels). Schools are no longer forced to pay ridiculous prices for multi-installation licenses, just to run Office on a classroom of computers. And students don't have to worry about software-compatibility issues. For example, one of the greatest obstacles to the greater

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-33683706713469887672006-11-30T21:30:00.000-07:002007-02-18T16:06:50.147-07:00

Blackboard's dominance of the academic market seems ready to take another hit. After EDUCAUSE fired off their public letter of complaint against Blackboard's software patent, apparently, others took it as a sign to take legal action.Cnet's News.com has a new report on this hot-button issue in higher ed:The Software Freedom Law Center said Thursday that it has asked the U.S. Patent Office to

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-16956463771903665952006-11-29T20:28:00.000-07:002006-11-29T20:55:00.819-07:00

Michael Roy, of AcademicCommons.org posted an interview with Gerald Graff that is worth a look.For those who aren't familiar with Graff, he's been a major figure in the field of Rhetoric since the '70s--and is one of the founding fathers (so to speak) of Reader-Response theory. Gerald Graff is a professor of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His recent work has centered on how

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-31570976814024549752006-11-28T23:14:00.000-07:002006-12-21T10:12:05.292-07:00

I just saw this on The Wired Campus, and thought it was a perfect follow-up to my Wikipedia assignment:Several scholars have taken stabs at assessing the credibility of Wikipedia, the open-source encyclopedia that seems to harbor more errors in theory than it does in practice (The Chronicle, October 27). And most of those experts -- including, most famously, the editors of Nature -- have come

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-16032533131261964312006-11-28T21:59:00.000-07:002006-12-10T10:16:04.983-07:00

We're closing in on the end of the semester, and the stress levels are up for everyone (faculty, students, staff, our respective family members who have to live with us at this time...).As we're all facing the year-end blitz, I wanted to share an assignment that my fellow professors are welcome to use.Recently, I took my own advice and assigned a "Class Editing Project" to my students. We

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-71754413805520176622006-11-24T12:09:00.000-07:002006-11-24T18:06:00.638-07:00

As a professor and IT professional, I've encountered various positions/preferences regarding the subject of professionalism. I'll discuss some of my experiences and musings on What is professionalism? in a series of future posts. However, I wanted to share a little something, which I saw over at Inc.com:Despite patient preference and other compelling reasons for dressing up, author Erin Marcus

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-30477157838026425892006-11-22T16:20:00.000-07:002006-11-22T16:23:13.854-07:00

I just wanted to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. I'll be back on Friday 11/24.

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-46909051559654956792006-11-21T09:29:00.000-07:002006-12-22T10:25:04.437-07:00

There is a new report from The Education Trust: Engines of Inequality: Diminishing Equity in the Nation's Premier Public Universities (click to download the full report).Included in the report is damning evidence of practices which betray the heart of how I and Richard Florida (as seen in my earlier post) view the mission of higher education. As Kati Haycock, director of The Education Trust,

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-57097774002367058512006-11-21T09:10:00.000-07:002006-11-21T09:12:50.416-07:00

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-77456981228437296262006-11-20T09:38:00.000-07:002006-11-20T09:42:41.499-07:00

If you're interested in hearing a presentation by Richard Florida (from the Pop!Tech 2004 Conference) on his research into creative economies, you can listen to it here:Richard Florida on the Creative Class

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-46729108608567237392006-11-20T09:16:00.000-07:002006-11-20T09:27:42.963-07:00

There's an interesting post over at Richard Florida's blog, The Creativity Exchange.Advanced institutions of higher education, when considered in the context of talent/human capital, are not only prerequisites for a healthy economy, but are essential for liberation and empowerment. In my view, the supply of talent is virtually limitless--limited only by the number of humans and our human

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-34780754473521397452006-11-16T09:20:00.000-07:002006-11-16T09:51:11.716-07:00

Here is an excellent piece by Jim Webb, in yesterday's Wall Street Journal. Whether or not you agree with him, it's an enlightening--and disturbing--read.The most important -- and unfortunately the least debated -- issue in politics today is our society's steady drift toward a class-based system, the likes of which we have not seen since the 19th century. ... It is not unfair to say that they are

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-67000214588675703022006-11-15T21:46:00.000-07:002006-11-15T22:08:12.522-07:00

For some time now, Bill Gates (of Microsoft) has put the immense resources of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to work in a series of attempts to reform America's public education system. Mr. Gates was recently interviewed by the Associated Press:Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said Monday that the U.S. higher education system is the envy of the world but primary and secondary schools

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-33891798533767498332006-11-14T21:38:00.000-07:002006-11-14T21:56:13.481-07:00

I heard this interview on NPR today, and felt that it was important to share.However you may feel about the state of higher education in your country/state/city, you can count yourself lucky... As you probably know by now, Iraq's Ministry of Higher Education was forced to cancel all classes until further notice, due to the mass kidnapping of roughly 100 academics today. The gunmen went through

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-43798338288129064572006-11-13T20:45:00.000-07:002006-11-13T20:55:14.678-07:00

Today's Guest Post is from John M.:Are you:In constant contact with your child?In constant contact with school administrators?Making your child's academic decisions?Feel bad about yourself when your child does not do well?This is part of a self-test published by the College Board to see if you are a helicopter parent. There have been a bunch of articles in papers across the country about

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-66292231081944438332006-11-10T14:23:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:37:35.669-07:00

The folks over at IntelliGrad have started a ranking of the most tech-savvy campuses.They've begun assessing/ranking colleges based on a number of factors:After doing some research IntelliGrad has arrived at what we believe to be the first 2.0 Campus Rankings. We base these results on numerous factors including: innovation of alumni, innovative use of technology in teaching, school size, school

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-53421300861615434262006-11-09T14:55:00.000-07:002006-11-09T15:37:05.746-07:00

It would seem that the future is upon us, in academe. The numbers of higher ed students taking at least one course in an online format has risen to a new astonishing high (up from a previous record high). Some questions that immediately come to mind are: What are we (academics and administrators) going to do about this growing trend?What are the challenges these teachers and students face?

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-57251272162536863622006-11-09T12:21:00.000-07:002006-11-09T13:31:57.618-07:00

Dr. Reid Cornwell has posted another gem for thought. After reading it, I wondered: If, as I've seen elsewhere, online spaces (such as Wikipedia) have a de-professionalizing effect, is there room for elitism online?In writing about scholarly networks in Netspace, Barry Wellman, Emanuel Koku, and Jeremy Hunsinger have described such groups as Invisible Universities. We accept their opinion as

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-85895580401539825142006-11-08T17:52:00.000-07:002006-11-09T13:12:20.918-07:00

I found this instructional graphic over at Preoccupations yesterday. It's a perfect example of what I'm struggling against on a daily basis in my classes. I teach at an engineering college, and am trying to share creative values with my students.In general, our freshmen are very bright and hard working. They're a wonderful group, and I don't think I'd be happy teaching anywhere else. However,

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-83875634251769865682006-11-07T14:37:00.000-07:002006-11-07T15:51:11.057-07:00

Teachers and students can already get free wiki-spaces (the same software that powers Wikipedia) over at Edublogs.org, but for some, this may not be the right option. Many schools, and corporations, have compelling reasons to create their own wikis, and other social networks (for instance, IBM is using social networking to help fuel creativity in their R&D labs). These groups may need spaces

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-69338107416608668922006-11-06T21:01:00.000-07:002006-11-06T21:12:39.189-07:00

"New technologies are starting to rattle the foundations of online self-expression," Hyman writes in his own mog. "Coupling these tools with technology to help you find people who share similar tastes will usher in a new wave of relationship building.... New communities will flourish and become the most powerful means of discovering what we want to consume." (Read the full article here.)

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-37255106446876521742006-11-06T07:00:00.000-07:002006-11-06T20:56:04.487-07:00

A few wise words from John Moravec, over at EducationFutures.com (you can read the full post here):We are now in the Knowledge Age, maximizing what we know from information and new knowledge production; and, we are swiftly moving toward an age focused on the innovative and new contextual use of knowledge. Of course, 19th Century production line models of education need to be replaced. Human

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-86415306678334452692006-11-02T14:47:00.000-07:002006-11-02T15:18:07.945-07:00

Earlier this week, I spoke with the Director of a local R&D lab. He told me that this year, he had openings for 3 positions. He spent months searching for native-born PhDs (engineers) to fill the positions, but to no avail. He couldn't find one. Eventually, he was forced to take his employment search abroad, and help secure H1B visas for foreign workers. This is a common concern, and last

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-26262727121506923682006-11-02T14:29:00.000-07:002006-11-02T14:47:19.945-07:00

I just found an interesting article over at Inc.com (a publication focused on the various issues facing the small business and entrepreneurial communities).Time and time again, I encounter similar complaints from the business community about recent high school and college grads. We (that is, academics) are placing perhaps too much emphasis on exclusive professionalization--at a time when the

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-16474854662591463892006-11-02T10:47:00.000-07:002006-11-02T10:53:02.158-07:00

When promoting creativity at the workplace, or in the classroom, it is generally a good idea to have as thorough an understanding of one’s employees, or students, as possible. Both academe and the private sector are facing a new generation of students/graduates—a demographic much unlike those that have come before. When scholars and commentators refer to the millions of “tech-savvy” members of

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-39122442369227144412006-11-01T17:18:00.000-07:002006-11-02T10:47:44.918-07:00

Young people use technology like no previous generation. Unwired's Richard Leyland explains what to expect from them in the workplace and how to adapt your business to take advantage of their strengths.You've seen them hunched over a PC, performing bewildering tasks at breakneck speed. You've watched with suspicion as they created an online community of friends, blurring the boundaries between '

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-52557379819745971222006-10-31T12:26:00.000-07:002006-11-02T11:39:23.779-07:00

I just read an interesting article dealing with this issue (one close to my heart, and my pocketbook). The increasing descent of students (at the undergraduate, and most of all, graduate levels) into a lifetime of indentured servitude is astonishing... The size of tuition and fee increases at four-year public colleges has declined for the third year in a row, according to the College Board's

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-42640790049968471552006-10-31T12:16:00.000-07:002006-10-31T12:19:10.680-07:00

More on global creative economies:Nicole Dun made her way through customs at Bangalore International Airport, then onto a bus bound for Mysore, India, 86 miles away. She was understandably nervous. A freshly minted 22-year-old computer-science graduate of the University of California at Davis, she was leaving the United States for the first time and on her way to her first serious job.It wasn't

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-72348007271008808222006-10-31T12:05:00.000-07:002006-10-31T12:07:30.895-07:00

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-59456512519328269232006-10-31T11:45:00.000-07:002006-10-31T11:58:36.786-07:00

Over the past decade, Ireland has been transformed into what’s become known as “The Celtic Tiger.” Wise economic and educational policies have taken the country from its unenvied status as one of the poorest European nations, to one of the most dynamic, creative, and technologically advanced economies of the developed world. To give you an idea of just how dramatically this creative and

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-7865466058402027802006-10-29T15:20:00.000-07:002006-10-29T15:27:51.973-07:00

Situations like the one pictured below reaffirm my belief that professors and teachers have a duty to not only familiarize ourselves with sites & services like Wikipedia--but to contribute accurate and valuable information to them. The least we should do is keep an eye on articles in our specializations...

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-53468071871114476682006-10-27T13:32:00.000-06:002007-04-10T15:58:13.764-06:00

I just saw this, and had to spread the word... BlackBoard has long been one of the top software platforms in use at colleges and universities. BlackBoard has also been in hot water over its aggressive enforcement of policies that often seem counter-productive to the educational process...For instance, their Terms of Use state that they own the copyright on any student and faculty writing that is

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-66321904667246552992006-10-27T09:05:00.000-06:002006-10-27T09:06:48.932-06:00

Seeing as how this blog is created and maintained on a 4-month-old Intel MacBook, I figured this was applicable::-)

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-15892425531411967022006-10-26T10:57:00.000-06:002006-10-26T13:02:44.700-06:00

Another Guest Article from Dr. Reid Cornwell:Education: A National CrisisIn 1948 I entered South Fork School in Forsyth County, North Carolina. It was a rural school with K-12 in the same building and there was one class per grade. Unlike my peers, I had already learned to read. In fact, I was reading National Geographic mainly because I loved the pictures. I was also able to count and do basic

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35250477.post-1703421578082415402006-10-26T10:49:00.000-06:002006-10-26T12:17:21.564-06:00

Another interesting article over at Wired Campus:"Professors can learn a lot from Web 2.0 enterprises like Digg, the technology-news aggregator, and Second Life, the fast-growing virtual world, Ms. Wagner said. By connecting users to online communities, she said, those services provide more memorable learning experiences than students may get from more-entrenched, less-interactive

dsargentnoreply@blogger.com0