OLDaily

Roundtable on Bryan Van Norden's Taking Back Philosophy: A Multicultural Manifesto
Expositions, 2018/12/07

I was engaged in this collection of essays not because I am concerned with the content of philosophy classes in American universities but because while I call myself a philosopher I am very much outside what contemporary philosophy would call itself. The focus of the work is to discuss the call to increase the emphasis on teaching LCTP (Less Commonly Taught Philosophers) and especially those of diverse cultures. But really, the point should be whether the definition of philosophy - as defined and taught by professors in western institutions makes any sense at all.

In this light, if you read only one of these essays, it should probably be Grant J. Silva on Professional Philosophy, “Diversity,” and Racist Exclusion. He writes, "increasing the number of white people (men in particular) studying 'non-Western' philosophy does not diversify philosophy; neither does offering admission into 'club philosophy' to racialized minorities, women, and those from the 'formerly' colonized world albeit on terms requiring their assimilation into well-established philosophical questions, methods, and problematics."

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Defining the Data Stack
Joe Pilla, IAB Data Center of Excellence, 2018/12/07

This report (18 page PDF) looks at data from a marketing and brand perspective, but offers a useful perspective for any digital enterprise, including education. It is based on "the need for a baseline understanding of how different types of data can enhance business performance for brands when used properly." It surveys four levels of data needs (and uses), a number of dataset types, and a typology based on data ownership. It's terse, but it draws out and makes clear some key aspects of data.

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A small blog neighborhood hiding in plain sight
Jon Udell, 2018/12/07

If a blog post is written, but nobody tweets it, does anyone hear it? I'm going to say, but the 'bog neighbourhood' will be smaller, more intimate, and more fruitful. " So, the experiment continues. Some items here, like this one, can enjoy a more intimate space than others, simply by not announcing themselves on Twitter. A small blog neighborhood hiding in plain sight."

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Benefits and Costs of MOOC - Based Alternative Credentials
Fiona Hollands, Aasiya Kazi, Columbia University, 2018/12/07

This is generally a good study (10 page PDF). "The hypothesis of the current study is that courses offered as a series with a culminating credential could be even more beneficial than individual MOOCs." I would call the outcome "inconclusive". The authors discuss, for example, credentials such as the micro-Masters, which can be offered at a much lower cost via MOOCs, and appear to have some currency in the workplace. What's interesting is that a majority of participants pay their own fees and do the work in their leisure time. (As an aside, we could do without the race-based generalizations that are so common in studies like this. The categories are arbitrary, and race is not a significant factor in educational attainment.) There is an associated webinar (slides, video). 

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