Blogs

On Monday August 20th Instructure's cloud based learning management system (LMS) Canvas experienced "slow loads or timeouts on certain pages".

A recent essay on InsideHigherEd discussed how academics commonly disregard deadlines. When reflecting on this, I began to think that this habit begins as grad students.

When students arrive on campus (as they are currently), it's impossible to know where each is eventually headed. Some will go into the arts (although most won't). Some will go into politics (ditto). Many will to into business or the professions, although more won't. But the one thing of which we can be sure is that each student -- whether (s)he graduates or not, regardless of major or degree -- will become part of the economy.

With much of high education in a constrained situation, there are more and more discussions regarding how to operate in an ongoing environment of greater than historical constraints for much of higher education. I have talked about a number of possible alternatives to deal with these constraints in a relatively recent blog including larger class size, more adjuncts, etc. Another important part of this equation are the choices that are provided and how extensive those choices are. And here, I am writing about the choice of courses within a major as well as areas of major.

We talk SEC football, coaches who dress like pro-golfers, getting an MFA, and comic novels.

Last week some singing friends and I attended a tango class in midtown Manhattan that had been advertised as beginner friendly. They wanted to go because they are fine dancers who are interested in investigating unfamiliar forms. I went along because I enjoy their company, but I had some apprehension. I am a klutz, and dance lessons are not my most comfortable milieu.

Richard Florida and Bill Bishop, in their different ways, have pointed out the increased geographic clustering of the educated/creative classes. Broadly speaking, the creative classes tend to cluster in urban areas near oceans, leaving the vast middle “hollowing out,” as Richard Longworth put it.

Let me explain how I understand Course Manager, as I remain somewhat confused about exactly what this does and how big a deal this platform might be.