The aging librarian and I hoisted the ladder against a remote bookshelf. We had been hunting an obscure periodical for nearly two hours. \”Climb,\” he instructed me. \”It should be way up there somewhere: Revue d\’assyriologie et d\’archéologie orientale, 1917. Be careful. Don\’t fall.\” I climbed. I fell. I fell in the prelapsarian sense. I […] … learn more→

Some ideas from the business world translate to academia better than others. At my college, we’re running an experiment with a summer math workshop. It’s targeted at students who either took the math placement test and didn’t like the results, or who are soon to take the placement test and are concerned about the possible […] … learn more→

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Somewhere, among the photocopied notes, the paperwork, the books, the rewrites and the endless forwarding to different university departments the same invoices and receipts in the endless quest for elusive conference funding, it still does. In fact, until reality set in, attending an overseas conference (or […] … learn more→

\”What is wrong with higher education? How will technology transform it? What new direction will it take in these difficult times?\” I often hear such questions, from both inside and outside the academy. Such questions deserve answers, of course, but they raise another question, one seldom asked: What is college for? This, too, deserves attention, […] … learn more→

There, I said it. Social media increases student engagement. How do I know this? Well, let\’s try an analogy. Let\’s say that you are a carpenter in the early 1900s. You have a certain toolkit that you use to go about your work. You build houses with said toolkit. Now, let\’s hop in a DeLorean […] … learn more→

We know how to deal with suspicious packages – as carefully as possible! These days, we let robots take the risk. But what if the robots are the risk? Some commentators argue we should be treating AI (artificial intelligence) as a suspicious package, because it might eventually blow up in our faces. Should we be […] … learn more→

The impending closure of art history at La Trobe University,Australia, has drawn sharp criticism from academics. They have pointed out that students enjoy art history: it is economical, has enduring value and demonstrably excellent outcomes. Alas, this mystery of a discipline loved by students and scorned by deans belongs to a larger trend in universities, […] … learn more→

The conventional wisdom among educators that students’ attention tends to drift off after 15 minutes is wrong, according to a new study conducted with eye-tracking devices. The study, conducted by David Rosengrant, an assistant professor of physics education at Kennesaw State University, found no pattern in when students become distracted. Instead, students’ focus waxes and […] … learn more→

Reporters, bloggers and other media trying to boost their Twitter presence can learn a few tips from an unexpected discipline: electrical engineering. Roja Bandari, a Ph.D. candidate in electrical engineering at UCLA, developed an algorithm that predicts with 84 percent accuracy whether a news article will be popular on Twitter or bomb on the social […] … learn more→

A new study co-authored by MIT economist James Poterba shows that many Americans have little financial cushion in retirement. Graphic: Christine DaniloffIt is a central worry of many Americans: not having enough money to live comfortably in old age. Now an innovative paper co-authored by an MIT economist shows that a large portion of America’s […] … learn more→