Dec 21 Readings

Here are some readings that may be of interest:

• Universities may face free market overhaul - This is a report commissioned by the Australian gov't to assess higher education down under. It reminds me of Ontario's Rae report from a few years ago.
• Teaching by Lying: Professor Unveils 'Last Pirate' Hoax - A creative way to teach, but the approach pushes the boundaries of what is acceptable in higher ed.
• A New Look at the Impact of Diversity - Inside Higher Ed interviews the author of The Diversity Challenge: Social Identity & Intergroup Relations on the College Campus. Two interesting findings are highlighted, which make sense as a concept, but might be harder to implement: (1) In student housing efforts should be made to places students together that are from different racial/cultural background and (2) Ideally support for groups that segregate students into racial/cultural groups should be eliminated, or at least slowed down (eg Greek societies or minority student organizations).
• Facebook vs Google - This article is not directly about higher ed, but I thought I'd include it get people think about the ways higher ed can connect to these growing services.
• We have to write the rest of the song - I discovered Karl Fisch last year when I saw this video and I now follow his blog. Fisch is a grade school teacher, but this article about the importance of reflection applies to both grade school and college or university.