Despite two Senate inquiries in 1988 and 2001, it has taken 15 years and a state parliamentary review for the Victorian government to decide to build a specialist high school for students who are gifted, specifically targeting those from rural and regional Victoria. Research at both the national and international level has long advocated that […] … learn more→

Many universities encourage students to purchase laptops that they can bring to class. Charities like One Laptop per Child provide low-cost laptops to disadvantaged students. There is no doubt that having a desktop computer or laptop in school is useful for writing papers, gathering information and learning how to program and use software. But, as […] … learn more→

It’s not easy for Computer Science students at most universities in Africa to practice and develop their programming skills. They have the ability to program, but access to desktop or laptop computers might be a problem. I experienced this first-hand while teaching programming at a Kenyan university. Most African universities have public computer laboratories, but […] … learn more→

To celebrate the diversity, innovation and influence of academic books over the course of modern history, seven specialists share the book they believe has been most influential on modern British culture and society, as part of Academic Book Week. 1. The Law of the Constitution, by A.V Dicey Veronika Fikfak, lecturer and fellow in law, […] … learn more→

In the past couple of days, I’ve read two articles that both made me a bit sad. One, “Look What They Make You Give”, is Elizabeth Rodwell’s reflections on turning down a tenure-track job and what sacrifices she’s made to establish an academic career. The other is an anonymous author’s frustrations with her professor-husband and the way […] … learn more→

Major social change does not happen within the space of a year. Yet, to a large number of observers around the world, the “post-truth” phenomenon seemed to emerge from nowhere in 2016. Two key events of 2016 shaped our understanding of the post-truth world: one was in June, when Britain voted in favour of leaving […] … learn more→

Time and again I’ve often wondered about the honesty of what I’m doing in higher education. It isn’t the upper level, technical courses that repeatedly cause me to evaluate my morality, even though it’s easy to make a case that the more advanced courses are the least relevant to what anyone would use math for. […] … learn more→

As we watch Donald Trump take on the most powerful position in the world, many of us are left asking how a man who has consistently lied to his public could get so far. Some pundits are calling this the dawn of a new era. They say we now live in a post-fact or post-truth […] … learn more→

For aficionados of bad science, the blog of University of Colorado librarian Jeffrey Beall was essential reading. Beall’s blog charted the murky world of predatory and vanity academic publishers, many of which charge excessive fees for publishing papers or have dysfunctional peer review processes. I’ve seen rubbish on chemtrails, alien life, climate, HIV-AIDS and vaccines […] … learn more→