Archives For Learning

Personal Librarians

Dwayne Harapnuik —  September 15, 2010 — Leave a comment

In this age of automation, online tutorials, and self serve learning it is refreshing to see an emphasis on personalized instruction. For incoming freshmen sometimes knowing who to contact for help is half the battle so it will be interesting to see how Drexel’s new program will work.

Read the full article…
Value of Academic LIbraries Report…

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The name says it all. Can we rise to this challenge…

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This video demonstrates that how we look at the world or the matter of perspective is very important to how we understand the messages we see and hear.

The 21st-Century Campus Report: Campus 2.0 by CDW-G reveals that high school students expect a high degree of technology in the College classrooms they hope to attend. The key findings by CDW-G reveal:

  • Higher education faculty and IT staff value technology as an essential tool for student success
  • Institutions are incorporating newer technology tools that are connecting and resonating with students, who grew up using technology. This technology empowers students and faculty to personalize and expand the learning experience
  • Institutions say that defining – and supporting – the new learning environment is a challenge. Many IT professionals report that their IT infrastructure needs to be updated to ensure future success
  • Incoming college students have even higher expectations for technology than today’s college students

While there appears to be a gap between high school student’s expectations and what colleges are able to deliver this is an even more significant gab between what college IT staffs are able to deliver and what faculty expect. Perhaps the most sobering aspect of the report is that the classroom is still viewed as the primary location of learning and learning outside of the classroom is viewed as access to online learning tools.

Read the full report…

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In this followup to his 2006 Ted Talk Sir Ken Robinson makes the argument that we must not settle for educational reform because this is simply changing an existing system, rather we need an educational revolution to radically change our educational system because it currenlty doesn’t work. Sir Ken Robinson states that there must be:

a radical shift from standardized schools to personalized learning — creating conditions where kids’ natural talents can flourish.

One can hope…