In a surprise move last week, Purdue University announced its intention to acquire for-profit Kaplan University. If approved, Purdue will become a major player in online education. Its president, former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, described the takeover as a “third dimension” to Purdue, adding Kaplan to its research flagship and regional campuses. Mr. Daniels argued […] … learn more→

  Even a casual inspection of the want ads reveals incredible job demand for people with skill with computers. Alternatively, the cost of hiring someone to fix your computer when there’s a problem reveals that there’s clearly a shortage of people that know what they’re doing with computers. Daily experience with computers would be certain […] … learn more→

President Donald Trump has directed the United States Department of Education to evaluate whether the federal government has “overstepped its legal authority” in the field of education. This is not a new issue in American politics. Ever since the Department of Education became a Cabinet-level agency in 1979, opposition to federalized education has been a […] … learn more→

We all have writing demons. They go by various names – imposters, internal critics, inner editors, blockages, procrastinations … they are nasty and stop you writing. Mostly you wish they’d go away and just leave you be. But I’m here to tell you that you don’t want to get rid of these demons entirely. You […] … learn more→

For many British children, the music they grow up listening to with friends, family, parents and relatives is often not reflected in school music lessons. So while their teacher is trying to get them to listen to Mozart, Bach or Beethoven, back home in their bedrooms the radio is often tuned into a very different […] … learn more→

Much of PhD work is about organizing logic and reason through research. This is the domain of the Intellect. When I’m not engaged in making my research intelligible, I devote part of my day to spiritual practice and I engage that part of my mind where reason and logic are not required. While I grapple […] … learn more→

From jobbing researcher to PI: Nick Hopwood I was struck by the patter series about working on someone else’s project. The posts took me back to my time as a newly minted PhD, and nudged me into thinking about my position now – as someone whose research other people work on. In the second half of […] … learn more→

Science seems to be under attack in America, so much so that scientists and their supporters are marching in the streets. President Donald Trump has publicly called climate change a Chinese hoax abetted by greedy scientists. He has linked vaccines to autism despite overwhelming scientific consensus against these claims. Vice President Mike Pence has denied […] … learn more→

“Fill in the bubble” tests have been a fact of life in our government-run school system for a generation or two now. I certainly remember taking them every few years, and then the biggie, the SAT, in my last year of high school. Like everything government-run (see also: vaccinations), the bureaucracy has imposed ever more […] … learn more→

I write a lot about co- writing and the particular people I work with. But there’s one co-writing situation I don’t talk much about. And I should own up. I have been in a writing relationship with EN – full name EN Dnote  – for over twenty years. I confess that I have very occasionally […] … learn more→