Earth Day 2014

In honor of Earth day, I'm evaluating how I faired regarding last year's resolutions to reduce my eco-foot print... I have reduced the number of global acres of the earth's productive area that I use from 23 to 17.

Unfortunately, it would still take four planet earth's to sustain us if everyone lived like me--discouraging indeed.  I looks like I've got more work to do in the coming year to live a greener lifestyle.

Here's a great infographic snapshot of the environment in 2014:

Explore more visuals like this one on the web's largest information design community - Visually.

Change your passwords to avoid heartache from heartbleed

If you’ve been under a rock the past week, you might not be aware that many of your online accounts may have been compromised by the heartbleed bug.  The security breach is with the servers you have been logging into (e.g. Gmail, instant messaging, Facebook, Instagram, Netflix, Dropbox, etc.), so the only thing that you can do is change your passwords sooner rather than later.  

Mashable has compiled a great list of accounts that may have been affected including social networks, email providers, online shopping sites, financial institutions and more.

Bottom line, change your passwords ASAP!

Where do we stand with MOOCs?

A small multidisciplinary group from across campus came together today for a conversation about MOOC’s and what they mean for higher ed.  The anticipatory set from the discussion moderator  included a memorable analogy: A year and a half ago, MOOCs were to higher ed as Godzilla was to puny NYC inhabitants.  Now, most folks seem less enthusiastic about their ability to replace the traditional college education [our moderator used an image of a dead mouse which brought quickly to my mind thoughts of the San Jose MOOC catastrophy]… 

Yet, the reality of where MOOCs fit into higher ed surely lies somewhere in between the two extremes and requires a closer look at more successful programs like Georgia Tech’s MOOC Master’s degree in computer science now available through Udacity.  So where are we headed? I don’t see MOOCs crushing traditional higher education beneath its heel like Godzilla crushed taxi cabs any time soon. The cost to develop and deliver a MOOC ($50K-250) means most MOOCs will be low cost, but not free.  Given the challenges of assessment, low completion rates and problems ensuring or certifying the quality of learning, MOOCs could coexist (and/or be utilized as resources in more traditional higher ed courses), be used outside higher ed for public relations (i.e. NGO PR, ed programs or social engagement) or be used within higher ed for student recruitment for higher ed organizations (i.e. showcasing what a college has to offer).

New report sheds light on how K-12 students use digital tools & resources

Project Tomorrow released the report The New Digital Learning Playbook: Understanding the Spectrum of Students’ Activities and Aspirations at a Congressional Briefing held in Washington, DC this week.  This report provides some insight into the profile of students entering college in the next few years.  The sad news is that the widening digital divide and getting girls interested in STEM related disciplines are still problematic.  Check out this infographic for some of the highlights in the report.

Digital Playbook: Mobile Learning Infograph