The Secret Formula to Becoming an E-Learning Pro
Tom Kuhlmann, The Rapid eLearning Blog, June 4, 2014

I don't do the same things as described in these examples, because my idea of e-learning is very different, but I do practice something like the (not-so-secret) formula to becoming an e-learning pro:

• e-learning pros practice their craft
• e-learning pros show examples of their work
• e-learning pros share what they do and learn

As the author says, "I'm not sure why more people don’t do this. It’s a simple way to build your business and profile in the industry." Researchers, for example.

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Reclaiming Education
Jim Groom, Brian Lamb, EDUCAUSE Review, June 4, 2014

I guess everybody knows I'm a fully paid up subscriber to this vision, and I really appreciate Jim Groom and Brian Lamb's statement of it: "Starting now. A technology that allows for limitless reproduction of knowledge resources, instantaneous global sharing and cooperation, and all the powerful benefits of digital manipulation, recombination, and computation must be a 'bag of gold' for scholarship and for learning." Be sure to look at the very top of the article for the link to case studies - otherwise you'll miss half of what's there. See also Groom's post on reclaiming innovation, which in turn contains some good videos, including this one from Audrey Watters and Kin Lane.

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Skills and Higher Education in Canada
Daniel Munro, Canada 2020, June 4, 2014

Interesting and very detailed report from an institute called Canada 2020 on education and skills development. It underlines the importance of education in social and economic development, and focuses on two challenges - excellence, which it defines as "producing the right skills" (their emphasis), and equity, which focuses on the distribution of skills. The report makes the following recommendations which line up with these challenges:

1. Create a National Learning Outcomes Assessment Program
2. Create a Canadian Council on Skills and Higher Education
3. Make significant new investments in education and skills for Aboriginal peoples
4. Identify and support programs to narrow skills and education gaps between men and women
5. Improve credential recognition and skills training for immigrants.

The report was authored by Daniel Munro of the Conference Board of Canada.

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College Credentials by Condé Nast
Doug Lederman, Inside Higher Ed, June 4, 2014

Would you trust a college degree issued by Wired Magazine or Architectural Digest? Maybe not, but that's not stopping some colleges from teaming up with Condé Nast to offer degree programs, even Masters'. I can see it now - an MBA from the Vanity Fair déCollage. "Condé Nast writers and editors will contribute subject matter expertise and the publisher will provide some financial backing to the partnerships." I imagine magazine writers will be cheaper to hire than professors, and easier to replace.

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Province, post-secondary institutions develop online tool to help persons with disabilities
Press Release, Government of New Brunswick, June 4, 2014

This is nice to see. "PSE institutions in New Brunswick have teamed with the provincial government to launch a new website, Supporting Students with Disabilities. It includes training modules for educators, identifies different types of learning difficulties and disabilities, and outlines services provided for students by the institutions."

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