This is a fact that is obvious to any organizer of post-baccalaureate orientation or open days in engineering school: boys are far more likelythan girls to hurry around booths dedicated to the trades of digital . One might think that it has always been so. Moreover, this state of affairs is anchored in mentalities, the figure of the “geek” still […] … learn more→
Why girls have abandoned computer science
Christian students fight back…and win
Six months ago I covered how the University of Iowa was targeting a Christian youth group, tossing them off campus because of their anti-homosexuality stance regarding their own club officers—note carefully, the group was merely asking that its own officers adhere to Christian beliefs. The Christian group decided to fight the university’s bullying, taking their […] … learn more→
University of California’s break with the biggest academic publisher could shake up scholarly publishing for good
The University of California recently made international headlines when it canceled its subscription with scientific journal publisher Elsevier. The twittersphere lit up. And Elsevier’s parent company, RELX, saw its stock drop 7 percent in response to the announcement. A library canceling a subscription seems like a simple, everyday business decision, so what’s the big deal? It was not just the clash-of-the-titans […] … learn more→
My CV is gender biased. Here’s what I plan to do about it
As a woman working in the environmental sciences, it was always obvious to me that most of my colleagues are men. This tended to focus my attention on surviving in a field in which I automatically contribute to diversity just by being there. Recently though I stopped to consider what I could do to support […] … learn more→
Duke Professor removed for asking students to speak english
Even though our schools are well-supported by a student loan scam pouring money on them in an ever increasing deluge, they always want more. A sweet spring of such funds comes from foreign students—they get to pay a “non resident” tuition penalty on top of the usual bloated tuition price. It’s particularly prevalent in graduate […] … learn more→
Artificial intelligence must know when to ask for human help
Artificial intelligence systems are powerful tools for businesses and governments to process data and respond to changing situations, whether on the stock market or on a battlefield. But there are still some things AI isn’t ready for. We are scholars of computer science working to understand and improve the ways in which algorithms interact with society. AI systems perform best when the […] … learn more→
Majority of university students report poor quality sleep, putting them at higher risk of mental health problems
If you went to university – or are still there – think about your sleep while there. Would you say you ticked all the boxes for healthy sleep – going to bed at a reasonable hour and waking up at the same time every day, sleeping for around eight hours, and avoiding sleeping in or […] … learn more→
Once captives of Boko Haram, these students are finding new meaning in their lives in Pennsylvania
Of all the challenges faced by people who’ve been displaced, perhaps none is more important than to find new meaning in their lives. And so it is with the four young women who are students in a college prep class that I teach at Dickinson College. All four students were among the more than 200 Chibok […] … learn more→
Debate: How to make good use of school assessments?
What can be done when evaluations do not stop falling, be they international ( Pisa , Pirls or Timss ), or national ( CP, CE1 ), and that they are not very good? Should we deplore, with Stanislas Dehaene, the absence of a reaction of the “Pisa shock” type ? The disappointing performances of French students in recent surveys have most often had the effect of indignant […] … learn more→
Australia should start planning for universal tertiary education
Australia is often characterised as having a mass higher education system. In fact, it could be called near-universal. According to the 2016 Census, 56% of Australians aged 15 years and over – 9.6 million people – hold a post-school qualification, up from 46% in 2006. Universal education does not mean every Australian should attain a higher education […] … learn more→