Another Door Opens (Quietly) for MOOCs
Recent initiatives around MOOCs, if successful, may open a completely new chapter in the history of colleges and universities. It’s hard to see what serious roadblocks remain.
Federal Research Funding and the Unwillingness to Cut Bait
Recent austerity measures have shone a light on the need to make choices. Can professionals in academia discriminate between more valuable and less valuable activities in the same manner?
Who Is the Mook Among the MOOCs?
Who will be the winners and losers in the world of MOOCs? It may be that the decision by prominent universities to partner with online venues may undermine their own activities.
Book Review — "Academic and Professional Publishing"
A new book for scholarly publishers updates a classic, and shows just how diverse, interesting, and promising scholarly publishing has become.
SXSW Interactive — Where the Geeks (and Geek Watchers) Go
SXSW 2013 is heavy on hardware, invention, lessons about taking risks and exploring, usability, and discussions about how best to achieve authority and credibility.
Are Scholarly Societies Still Relevant to Young Researchers? Perhaps Surprisingly, Yes They Are
Remaining relevant requires action, and new research suggests it’s not too late for these actions to retain younger members, who remain interested in what professional and learned societies can and do offer.
SSP Launches Sharp, Redesigned Web Site
The Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP) launches its new Web site — a sharp, usable, and useful update that makes it easier to take advantage of SSP resources.
A Taxonomy of Confusions
There are specific contributing factors to confusion and coherence. Understanding these, as well as your own strengths and weaknesses, can help you write, read, and edit better.
The Shadow of the MOOC Grows Longer
Will massive open online courses (MOOCs) disrupt higher education? With recent announcements, the potential seems to be growing.
A New Publishing Ecosystem Emerges
A new publishing ecosystem is emerging that includes among its participants O’Reilly Media, Pearson, Safari Books, Barnes & Noble, Microsoft, and Liberty Media. This new ecosystem may come to challenge the proprietary ebook networks of Amazon and Apple.
Intellectual Property Is a University’s Best Friend
Universities should seek to retain control of their copyrights and develop mechanisms to monetize them to ensure the financial health of the institutions. This is a proposal that sides neither with open access advocates nor with the interests of commercial organizations.
Pickpockets, Attention, and Neuroscience — A Demonstration
Can you pay attention? Or will your attention deficits make you pay? This pickpocket knows the answer, and he’s helping people understand why their attention wanders, falters, or . . . squirrel!
Video Rewind — Unicode, the Video: All 49,000 Characters
Unicode is a vast system for rendering the written word. Here’s a video of its scope and complexity.
The $20 Tablet, and Four Interesting Questions for the Academic Market
A low-priced tablet computer from India might have the potential to change the game for many. Are we ready for a potential rapid and system-wide disruption?
Chefs’ Selections: The Best Books Read During 2012
Once again, the Chefs list their favorite books read this year — everything from Presidents to statisticians to cancer to owl soup. Enjoy!