“That’s already been invented, you idiot!” was a friend’s reaction to my answer to the question “What do you want to do when you grow up?”. I’d said that I wanted to be an inventor, and when prompted for any ideas, I said that I thought electric cars were kind of cool. This was in […] … learn more→

Being on a tight budget and then living in a small dorm room doesn’t mean that you cannot have a stylish space. College happens to be the only time when you get to be roomies with your best friends and make it worth it.  Even a dingiest 3 bed dorm room could look amazing with […] … learn more→

I’ve written before of the microaggression lunacy affecting our campuses. It contributes to the culture of fear that is the lot of a typical teacher in higher ed—everything you say can now be viewed as offensive enough for termination, even if the offense is too small to be seen by any normal person. How do […] … learn more→

The math achievement of American high school students in 2015 fell for the second time in a row on a major international benchmark, pushing the United States down to the bottom half of 72 nations and regions around the world who participate in the international test, known as the Program for International Student Assessment or PISA.  Among […] … learn more→

Brazil’s public relations disaster has gone from bad to worse. In September, congress impeached president Dilma Rousseff for dubious reasons, in what some have called a “democratic coup d’etat”. Since then, street protests against the new government have been violently repressed. … learn more→

Over the past six years, we’ve had calls for teachers to be trained in everything from protecting girls from female genital mutilation to knowing how to recognise mental health issues in students. And the list of what teachers “should” or “could” be trained in is now very long. But while each call for training has […] … learn more→

When people think of edtech companies, they typically imagine these big behemoths that churn out faddish products for teachers and students. Their products are popular for a year or two, then they fade into the background as new products come to the forefront. Schools spend millions on these products and don’t get near that value […] … learn more→

Are you kidding me? University board chairs and college officials justify fat salaries while faculty and students are starving? This is not only unconscionable business practice, it’s intentional economic injustice that’s killing the American dream. Enough is enough: fight exploitation. Here’s a holiday story that is all too familiar for faculty and students: poverty. While […] … learn more→

Executive functioning sounds like a time-management seminar for CEOs, but it’s actually a term used by psychologists to describe the brain functions that regulate little things like task initiation, persistence, and completion. Executive functioning also oversees planning, working memory, and the ability to shift attention. In other words, most of the skills you need to […] … learn more→

There is palpable despair in most corners of higher education about the forthcoming Donald Trump presidency. Trump seems to frighten just about everyone who labours under the Jeffersonian ideal that an educated citizenry is vital to a flourishing democracy. It feels like we are all watching an approaching category-five storm and hunkering down to just […] … learn more→