The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

Elite Institutions Throw Open The Digital Doors To The Masses

From Harvard to Stanford, a growing number of elite universities are throwing open their digital doors to the masses. They're offering their most popular courses online for no charge, allowing anyone with an Internet connection to learn from world-renowned scholars and scientists. Many colleges have offered Web-based courses for years, but the participation of top-tier research universities marks a major milestone in the expansion of digital learning. Read more at:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/elite-colleges-transform-online-higher-education-16934298#.UCAUOk1lTYg

Colleges Students Head To Facebook And Matching Sites To Find Perfect Roommate

Housing officials on the Boulder campus match freshmen based on a set of a half dozen lifestyle questions, which include sleep habits, study approaches and whether they smoke. Now, some students who insist on finding their own roommates -- many of whom have been perusing Facebook profiles -- have the added option of using websites that match students using an even more extensive lifestyle survey. Justin Gaither, cofounder of roomsurf.com, said that the website does not yet have a formal relationship with CU, though incoming students can sign up for the site and pay a one-time, $15 fee.  Read more at:
http://www.dailycamera.com/cu-news/ci_21039618/some-cu-freshmen-look-websites-find-roommate-matches

Is Udacity The Future Of Higher Education

Educators and policymakers have long dreamed of providing universal, low cost, first-class higher education. Their wish may come true soon thanks to an unlikely source: Silicon Valley. One of the men responsible for what may be an Athens-like renaissance is Sebastian Thrun. Realizing the potential at his fingertips, Thrun launched Udacity, an independent online education company that provides high quality education at low cost to virtually everyone. Udacity offers 11 STEM courses like "Introduction to Physics," "Intro to Computer Science," and "Web Application Engineering" -- all free. I asked Thrun whether his enterprise and others like it will be the end of higher education as we know it. Read more at:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/05/opinion/bennett-udacity-education/index.html

Twitter Hijacking Leads To Strange Message To Campus Community

No, Towson University is not suggesting anyone try a new weight loss plan. The university's TowsonUNews Twitter account was hijacked late last week, leaving some 6,121 people wondering why Towson was suggesting via Twitter that they try this new weight-loss diet. Towson media specialist Gay Pinder sheepishly acknowledged Monday morning, that, yes, she clicked on one of those "people are saying nasty things about you, click here to find out what" links late last week. That's why the notices showed up on so many people's Twitter feeds. Read more at:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/baltimore-insider-blog/bs-ae-towson-weight-20120423,0,6033917.story

When College Students Text In Class They Learn Less

A university professor in Pennsylvania has completed a study and written a soon-to-be-published paper on the effects of text messaging by college students during class.The results? Students who send and receive texts during class have a hard time paying attention to lectures and risk not learning as much as they would if they weren’t texting and were paying attention. Read more at:
http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2012/04/new_study_shows_college_studen.html

Startup Success Has Higher Ed Wondering How It Can Capitalize

For all their similarities - visionary student founders, explosive marketshare, tremendous valuations - there is at least one difference that their respective alma matters are likely to take note of as the Facebook IPO grows near. While Stanford netted a $336 Million dollar pay-day from Google's 2004 IPO, Facebook's looming IPO will leave the trustees of Harvard with little more than a cameo in last year's Oscar-nominated film. While university investment in startups outside of technology-transfer is fairly new, college campuses have long been a breeding ground for new businesses. Read more at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dylan-reid/facebook-ipo-universities-startups_b_1329370.html

MOOCs Have The Potential To Democratize Higher Education

The big names have been a big draw. Since Udacity, the for-profit startup running the course, opened registration on Jan. 23, more than 90,000 students have enrolled in the search-engine course and another taught by Mr. Thrun, who led the development of Google’s self-driving car. Welcome to the brave new world of Massive Open Online Courses — known as MOOCs — a tool for democratizing higher education. While the vast potential of free online courses has excited theoretical interest for decades, in the past few months hundreds of thousands of motivated students around the world who lack access to elite universities have been embracing them as a path toward sophisticated skills and high-paying jobs, without paying tuition or collecting a college degree. And in what some see as a threat to traditional institutions, several of these courses now come with an informal credential (though that, in most cases, will not be free). Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/05/education/moocs-large-courses-open-to-all-topple-campus-walls.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha26

MLA Adds A Citation Format For The Tweet

The Modern Language Association likes to keep up with the times. As we all know, some information breaks first or only on Twitter and a good academic needs to be able to cite those sources. So, the MLA has devised a standard format that you should keep in mind. It's simple. Also, I just love the "Tweet" at the end. However, it's curious that no URL is required, especially given the difficulty of Twitter search for anything not said in the past day or two. Read more at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/03/how-do-you-cite-a-tweet-in-an-academic-paper/253932/

University Administration Commits To Social Media To Reach Community

Friend limits for personal Facebook profiles may have stymied Texas A&M University President R. Bowen Loftin from engaging more personally with students, but Loftin believes he’s found the solution to this problem: Twitter. “Social media allows a university — particularly one as large and diverse as Texas A&M — to communicate with and connect to a wide range of audiences instantaneously,” said Cook, who took to Twitter earlier this year to defend the university’s famed 12^th Man trademark. “Here at Texas A&M, we have made a commitment from the president to many of our colleges and divisions to embrace social media to not only drive conversation, but participate in it as well.” Read more at:
http://tamutimes.tamu.edu/2012/02/21/texas-am-president-r-bowen-loftin-solves-facebook-dilemma-with-twitter/

A Social Media Infographic For Higher Education

Schools are on a short list of organizations that have been notoriously slow to adopt emerging tech. But within the last few years, as social media becomes more integral to students’ lives, educational institutions are finally catching on, and catching up. When it comes to higher ed, there are not only opportunities for digital learning, but digital marketing too. Some schools have taken the reigns on both sides, with mixed results. The infographic below takes a look at how schools have fared with social media over the last few years — what platforms are best, where they’ve succeeded, and the challenges that lay ahead. Read ore at:
http://mashable.com/2012/02/03/higher-education-social-media/