Ed Tech Thought Leader Interview: Innovative CIO Phil Komarny
Kelly Walsh, Emerging Education Technology, January 28, 2014

Two part interview (part one, part two) with Phil Komarny, VP and CIO for Seton Hall University (noted for its iPad and Macbook programs for students). As expected, it's grounded in the IT needs of the traditional campus-based university, but nonetheless contains good insights and advice. Some interesting lessons, eg: "The concept of ‘logging into a domain account’ or ‘binding the devices to the domain’ were simply foundational IT thinking but these concepts become very disruptive." One thing that struck my eye: "The LMS that is currently being delivered ‘to the university’ will soon be a thing of the past. As new models of education are developed, they will be scalable, competency based and adaptive, the focus of the platforms will be on the learner. The learner will manage and curate their learning, content and product. It will travel with them and be added to over a lifetime." That should sound very familiar to readers of this newsletter.

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Why Student Debt Burden is Falling Like a Stone
Alex Usher, Higher Education Strategy Associates, January 28, 2014

I don't know what Higher Ed Strategy's Alex Usher is up to with this article purporting to show that the student loan debt burder issue is "people trying to manufacture a good crisis" but this article doesn't show it. It purports to "care about the data" but is almost completely unsourced. The one reference to an external resource is to a Canadian Tax and Credit Simulator, which while it may be a great tool, is not data. Most of his data is based on total borrowing for the year, not individual debt loads. OK. Reality check. Net income for graduates has been steady or declining a bit in real terms over the last couple of decades. Interest rates - the main determinant of repayments - have fallen a lot; they were up over 16% when I graduated in 1986, were down to the 7% range in the 1990s, and now are in the 3% range. But despite this - according to Usher's own figures - the student loan burden is as great today as it was in the 1990s. Imagine what they would look like should the interest rate return to 7% or even 16%! The purported 'easing of the debt buden' isn't actually an easing at all, it's a temporary (albeit welcome) but of relief. An interest rate increase, combined with stagnant net incomes, will pull the rug out from under a very precarious house of cards. And that's in Canada; things will be worse in regions where tuition is much higher.

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India MOOCs
Viplav Baxi, India MOOCs, January 28, 2014

Contributors to Viplax Baxi's India MOOCs website are discussing the sites mission and goals. some of the suggestions are ambitious. "No learning without learning outcome guarantees," says one. "Make the Indian MOOC an institution of choice for Learners locally and globally," says another. And I guess I agree with Manish: "While cMOOCs are desirable and should be the ultimate goal, xMOOC is surely an important step in that direction." Read more on the India MOOCs report. You can share your input at the EdgeX Google Group.

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Online education platform Coursera blocks students in Syria and Iran
Nina Curley, Wamda, January 28, 2014

I'm sorry to hear about this ban. I have always been of a mind that science and education transcent international differences (the phrase 'teachers without borders' should be redundant). But accoridng to reports, the same Syrian doctor Syrian doctor thanked by Coursera for a blog post about the benefits of worldwide education is now barred from the online course site. Iranian students have protested the change on Facebook. This report from Wamda suggests that the change may be related to Coursera's decision to begin commercializing course offerings. "The move comes just days after an announcement that Coursera will expand its paid offerings." OLDaily has long had readers in Iran and Syria and I've exchanged email with them from time to time, and we are all the richer for their presence. I hope Coursera can find a way past this blockade. Via Inside Higher Ed. Image: Wikipedia.

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School ditches rules and loses bullies
Fairfax, TVNZ, January 28, 2014

I found this pretty interesting. A school in New Zealand had a number of rules intended to keep children safe. But as part of a study, they abandoned the rules completely. "Mudslides, skateboarding, bullrush and tree climbing (and a 'loose parts pit') kept the children so occupied the school no longer needed a timeout area or as many teachers on patrol." According to this report, the results were excellent. The children didn't injure themselves, they behaved better, and (arguably) were better prepared for life. It's a view I subscribe to. I did all those things (except the scooter; I never got a scooter) and I'm sure it added a lot to my education (I did get a dirt bike at 16, a ripping Kawasaki 100, that was better than a scooter). And while I can't generalize from my own experience, I think the results in my case were positive. Via Dominic Cardy.

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Your Assumptions About Reading Are Wrong
Tim Kastelle, The Discipline of Innovation, January 27, 2014

Way back in the 1990s there was a prevailing opinion that the internet would result in the end of reasing. This was (I guess) because most people thought of it as another sort of TV. But there was a minority opinion to the effect that the internet would increase reading, because so much communication (from email to discussion boards to blogs) was in text (you can probably find this discussion somewhere in the annals of OLDaily). So, who was right? The long term results are still to come, but as of 2014, the short term results are encouraging. An old (2005) Gallup survey shows rates of reading climbing to the highest levels in half a century. And a new (this week) Pew survey shows readings rates (especially of e-books) continuing to climb. So if you're still in the group that thinks internet use decreases reading, check your assumptions.

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