We don’t have to go too far back in time to remember university classrooms where the only working materials were a blackboard, chalk, pens and paper. It is likely that many of today’s university teachers attended classes in similar conditions, because although they are omnipresent today, screens and internet connections everywhere are novelties from a […] … learn more→
Digital presentations and screens in universities: are we learning and teaching better?
Distance learning: how to support learners you don’t meet?
Is distance learning becoming the new norm in the world of adult education? In 2024, 60% of companies would have offered a training offer that is mainly distance learning (FAD) or hybrid. Even if this percentage shows a trend towards the digitalization of training, it should be noted that it is down compared to last year (64% […] … learn more→
Reel resistance: Netflix’s removal of Palestinian films adds to the erasure of Palestine
Netflix faces calls for a boycott after it removed its “Palestinian Stories” collection this October. This includes approximately 24 films. Netflix cited the expiration of three-year licences as the reason for pulling the films from the collection. Nonetheless, some viewers were outraged and almost 12,000 people signed a CodePink petition calling on Netflix to reinstate the films. The Israeli television series Fauda, produced […] … learn more→
Exercise boosts memory for up to 24 hours after a workout – new research
What’s good for your heart is good for your brain. Just as physical activity helps keep our bodies fit and strong as we age, it also helps maintain our cognitive function – and is even linked with lower dementia risk. Yet beyond the longer term cognitive benefits of physical activity, exercise also seems to give a […] … learn more→
We interviewed 30 Black public school teachers in Philadelphia to understand why so many are leaving the profession
Tracey, a high school teacher in the Philadelphia School District, remembers the hurtful comments she heard from parents when she started her career over a decade ago as a young Black teacher in what was then a predominantly white area of southwest Philly. “I can recall white parents making comments saying, ‘Oh, this young Black teacher who […] … learn more→
“Petrosavoirs”, allies of climate skeptics against renewable energies
A cultural war has begun. Continuous, open or hidden, explicit or diverted, it concerns the destiny of all humanity. It concerns knowledge about energy, and more particularly the untruths spread by international “petropowers”. This is evidenced by the insolent success in bookstores of climate-sceptic works which explicitly fuel doubt . The problem? These “petro-knowledges” are delaying collective […] … learn more→
Nobel Prize winners in economics are more concerned about the social imbalances generated by AI than the creation of super robots
Daron Acemoglu , Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson receive the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics. Their merit? Having contributed to economics in terms of institutions and development. The winners argue that, with the emergence of artificial intelligence, we are facing a social crossroads and propose a way to address it. The ideas of the winners These economists advocate the […] … learn more→
Death threats, phone tapping and stalking: the consequences academics can face from sharing their research
When she passed her PhD viva, literature researcher Ally Louks posted a picture of herself and her thesis on X (formerly Twitter) in November 2024 (see post here). The photo shared her thesis title: “Olfactory Ethics: The politics of smell in modern and contemporary prose”. The post garnered over 11,000 responses, some deeply negative. Louks […] … learn more→
If ‘correlation doesn’t imply causation’, how do scientists figure out why things happen?
Most of us have heard the phrase “correlation does not equal causation”. But understanding how scientists move beyond identifying correlations to establish causation remains a mystery to many. Finding out what causes a particular outcome is often the primary goal of scientific research, especially in studies relating to our health. We want to know if […] … learn more→
Swedish academics suffer widespread threat and harassment – most of it from their own colleagues and students
Last week, Ally Louks (now Dr. Louks), an academic at the University of Cambridge, posted a picture of herself on the social media site X with her fresh PhD thesis titled “Olfactory Ethics: The politics of smell in modern and contemporary prose”. The post received a surprising amount of attention – it has been viewed more than […] … learn more→