The advent of Internet-enabled mass access to college level educational content offers a number of opportunities to both consumers and providers. Consumers can shop for any number of content items online from a wide array of providers, choosing products based on the subject, the prestige of the provider, and the subsequent value of participation. Providers […] … learn more→

It’s easy to think of writing as a task, a verb in its present participle form, something our brain nags at us to do. Better, though, to think of it as a culture, something woven into the fabric of who we are as thinkers and scholars. But how does that happen? How do we make […] … learn more→

Every six seconds, for millions of years, comets have been colliding with one another near a star in the constellation Cetus called 49 CETI, which is visible to the naked eye. Over the past three decades, astronomers have discovered hundreds of dusty disks around stars, but only two — 49 CETI is one — have […] … learn more→

Today I’m annoyed at Facebook. Among the amazingly witty and touching postings from my friends and Amnesty International are “pages you might like” and advertisements for things I don’t need, especially single women. But on a happier note, I’m thinking about the mother of all supercomputers (and if there’s one thing I’ll always be grateful […] … learn more→

Divided cities such as Jerusalem, Belfast and Nicosia will permanently retain the symptoms of cities at war while the physical features of their division remain, says research announced today. A five-year, cross-disciplinary study of some of the world’s most troubled cities has led researchers to believe that the very concept of ‘post-conflict’, often cited by […] … learn more→

John Cleese once said that the main difference between Britain and the United States was that Americans understood customer service. This difference was behind the creation of his classic character, Basil Fawlty. Of course, believing that the customer is always right and keeping the customer satisfied are not straightforward matters, particularly when that customer is […] … learn more→

I\’m at a McDonald\’s, having just received two Big Macs and a large fries. The cardboard boxes plug \”Another Golden Opportunity\” for me to play McDonald\’s Monopoly. Each item also has a sticky tab on the front: \”1 in 4 Wins.\” Better yet, the large fries comes with a second tab, emphasizing \”Play Again.\” For […] … learn more→

School students today are taught physics based on obsolete theories and outmoded ways of thinking. Instead of the truth, most learn a naive simplification – the 300 year-old Newtonian physics, itself based on disproved 2,300 year-old Euclidean geometry. But why? Simply put, the thinking has long been that one can’t learn the truth without first […] … learn more→

A few weeks ago I received a survey invitation through an association listserve asking for information on faculty experiences with and responses to student requests for special treatment. Beyond a raw request for a grade change, many other types of request would affect grades: requests for extra credit, do-overs, late submissions, and so on that […] … learn more→

Last week Samford University sent a round of acceptances to applicants, and soon each of them will receive an invitation to join the Class of 2017′s Facebook group. Students who do so will be able to make friends, form social groups, and ask questions about the Alabama university. Meanwhile, Samford’s admissions office will get data […] … learn more→