Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eCampus News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

The rise of ‘SuperPosters’ in MOOCs

SuperPosters scored high in MOOCs.

Participation has been an issue for massive open online course (MOOC) platforms as they face criticism from many corners of higher education, though there is one kind of MOOC participant that can serve as an example of an engaged student: the “SuperPoster.”

It’s these highly-involved MOOC students who post most frequently to MOOC forums, sometimes accounting for up to one-fourth of total comments submitted to those forums during the online course, according to new research released by Stanford University.

A review of 23 MOOCs that spanned from early 2012 to early 2013 showed that forum participation — meant to answer lingering questions after lectures and before exams — lagged in many classes. There were, however, the “SuperPosters,” who not only filled the forums with questions and answers, but achieved consistently high grades in each MOOC.…Read More

Stanford University is 1st college to raise $1B

Stanford University has set a new record for college fundraising, becoming the first school to collect more than $1 billion in a single year, according to a report released Wednesday, the Associated Press reports. For the eighth straight year, Stanford ranked first in the Council for Aid to Education’s annual college fundraising survey, which shows that elite institutions continue to grab a disproportionate share of donor dollars. In the 2012 fiscal year, roughly 3,500 U.S. colleges and universities raised $31 billion, 2.3 percent more than the previous year. The record was set in 2008 when schools took in $31.6 billion before fundraising dropped during the height of the financial crisis.

“We’re climbing out of the doldrums,” said survey director Ann Kaplan. “We haven’t returned to the high point of 2008, but we’re approaching it. I think you can say that about a lot of industries…”

Click here for the full story…Read More

Mobile apps make college sporting venues more like home

Colleges have struggled to install Wi-Fi networks in football stadiums.

Stanford University’s athletics department released a smart-phone application this fall that might help the stadium experience compete with the ever-improving living room experience.

The crystal clarity of big screen high-definition TVs, the boom of surround sound, and the convenience of a kitchen a few steps away—all advantages of the couch-bound sports fan, who doesn’t have to fight circuitous lines for nachos and a soda, and who has a perfect view of the field from start to finish.

Stanford unveiled two mobile applications that could add convenience to an often inconvenient day at the school’s sports venues.…Read More

Stanford doctoral student seeks peace through technology

Stanford officials and volunteers collected about 100 accounts from children in the West Bank.
Stanford officials and volunteers collected about 100 accounts from children in the West Bank.

The stories are harrowing, but Elizabeth Buckner hopes sharing accounts of the tension among Palestinians and Israelis with the help of mobile devices will offer perspective to children from both sides and promote understanding in the volatile region.

Buckner, a doctoral student at Stanford University’s School of Education, heads a group of volunteers who collect everyday stories from children who detail their experiences in disputed areas, road checkpoints, and border regions between Israel and Palestine.

The kids’ stories will be recorded and downloaded onto mobile devices that will be distributed at schools in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Buckner said the children’s stories—which range from details of family gatherings and sporting events to close calls with Israeli soldiers—soon will be available as a free iPhone application.…Read More

Study explores the future of book digitization

As more libraries move their collections online, some faculty are concerned about their ability to find and read digitized texts.
As more libraries move their collections online, some faculty are concerned about their ability to find and read digitized texts.

Reluctant faculty members, challenges in scanning old texts with foreign characters, and conflicting ideas about whether information should be commodified or made free on the internet have been barriers to educators and librarians who advocate for book digitization, according to research conducted by digital media experts from Rice University and the University of Michigan.

The report, “The Idea of Order: Transforming Research Collections for 21st Century Scholarship,” was released June 2 by the Washington, D.C.-based Council on Library and Information Resources, a nonprofit group that advocates for greater access to information. The research examines the “wistfulness” for the days of print libraries that has slowed the creation of digitized book collections, among other topics.

Many in higher education have argued for more comprehensive web-based libraries like Google’s much-publicized Book Search, which has come under scrutiny from the U.S. Justice Department.…Read More

Higher education’s best mobile technology programs

The University of Missouri last fall required all incoming journalism students to have an iPhone or iPod Touch.
The University of Missouri last fall required all incoming journalism students to have an iPhone or iPod Touch.

With small private campuses and large research universities alike teeming with iPhones, iPod Touches, BlackBerries, and other mobile devices, a college counseling company has highlighted five institutions in particular as the best landing spots for students attached to their gadgets.

IvyWise, a New York-based counseling company that released a list of the most environmentally friendly colleges in April, recently unveiled another list to help college applicants, this time focusing on schools that leverage the power of mobile devices to store and deliver recorded lectures, syllabi, homework, tests, and a host of other information that can be accessed any time, anywhere on campus.

The list, compiled by IvyWise counselors and released May 12, includes Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pa., Stanford University, the University of Maryland’s College Park campus, Ohio State University, and the University of Missouri.…Read More

Stanford affirms support for Google Book Search

Stanford agreed to make millions of its books available to Google's online library.
Stanford has agreed to make millions of its books available to Google's online library.

The U.S. Justice Department’s concerns about Google Book Search persist, but not everyone shares those concerns: Stanford University last week affirmed its support of the expansive online library in what a campus statement called a “milestone in Stanford’s commitment to the program and to the provision of public access to millions of its books.”

Stanford announced Feb. 2 that the school would be a “fully participating library” in the Google Book Search project, which seeks to make millions of books available as the internet giant battles publishers and other opponents who fear the web repository would have too much control over online book prices.

Stanford’s library is one of more than 20 worldwide that has signed on to Google Book Search.…Read More