Archive for August, 2009
« Previous EntriesReports of Facebook’s Death … Exaggerated?
Sunday, August 30th, 2009Reports of Facebook’s Death … Exaggerated?
Is the Facebook party breaking up? We still hear that plenty of students and professors are addicted to the social-networking site, but a New York Times Magazine article out today says that even though overall numbers on the site are up, a vocal group is heading for the exits.
“I have [...]
‘New York Times’ Columnists Offer Courses Online
Sunday, August 30th, 2009‘New York Times’ Columnists Offer Courses Online
With newspapers shrinking their staffs or shutting down altogether, three New York Times columnists have begun to pursue a backup career plan—teaching.
Well, not really.
Nicholas Kristof, Gail Collins, and Eric Asimov will be teaching courses online and in person through the newspaper’s continuing-education program, <a
Robot Gives Tours at National Taiwan U.
Friday, August 28th, 2009Robot Gives Tours at National Taiwan U.
After giving a campus tour of National Taiwan University, the guide needs to recharge — literally.
Engineering students have created a robot that can give guided tours around the university, both outdoors and inside a campus museum, the university says.
The robot, which is about three feet tall, uses GPS and [...]
New Tuition-Free ‘University of the People’ Tries to Democratize Higher Ed
Thursday, August 27th, 2009New Tuition-Free ‘University of the People’ Tries to Democratize Higher Ed
The latest experiment in peer-to-peer education kicks off next month – a new institution in which students will learn in virtual communities using free online materials and social-networking tools.
But now the venture, called University of the People, faces big questions. Among them: Can it get [...]
Sony Reader Devices Can Now Borrow E-Books From Libraries
Thursday, August 27th, 2009Sony Reader Devices Can Now Borrow E-Books From Libraries
Sony announced a deal on Tuesday that will let users of its Sony Reader e-book device check out digital books from college and public libraries.
The new feature involves a service by a company called OverDrive Inc., which distributes electronic books to about 9,000 libraries, about 100 of [...]
Professors Are Not Sold on Twitter’s Usefulness
Thursday, August 27th, 2009Professors Are Not Sold on Twitter’s Usefulness
We’ve been told that college students aren’t Twitter’s primary audience – people under the age of 25 make up only a quarter of the service’s users. But are college professors driving up membership? Not really, a new survey from Faculty Focus shows.
According to <a
New Editing Process Seeks to Improve Wikipedia’s Accuracy
Thursday, August 27th, 2009New Editing Process Seeks to Improve Wikipedia’s Accuracy
Students citing Wikipedia in papers about living people can feel a little more secure about the online encyclopedia’s accuracy.
Copying an effort that was tested in Wikipedia’s German version, a new feature called “flagged revisions” will not allow posts on living people to be updated until “an experienced volunteer [...]
New Editing Process Hopes to Improve Wikipedia’s Accuracy
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009New Editing Process Hopes to Improve Wikipedia’s Accuracy
Students citing Wikipedia in papers about living people can feel a little more secure about the online encyclopedia’s accuracy.
Copying an effort that was tested in Wikipedia’s German version, a new feature called “flagged revisions” will not allow posts on living people to be updated until “an experienced volunteer [...]
Labeling Library Archives Is a Game at Dartmouth College
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009Labeling Library Archives Is a Game at Dartmouth College
Professor Mary Flanagan wants students to go online and label library archives – for free.
Ms. Flanagan, a digital-humanities professor at Dartmouth College, is creating an Internet-based game in which users create descriptive tags for library images to improve searching through the library’s database. Although the program will [...]
Internet Seen as Leveling Opportunities for Scientists
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009Internet Seen as Leveling Opportunities for Scientists
The Internet has proved itself to be a democratizing force for a range of human endeavors, such as the simple act of selling a car or the complex task of shaming a repressive government. Could it also be leveling the playing field in scientific research?
A study led by Waverly [...]