stay-awake-all-night-to-study

First I’d like to thank my colleague Fred for producing such a great blog last week as I was off meeting with one of our great customer institutions. Of course, all of the instructors and students at the school were wrapping up classes and starting preparations for finals before heading off for a much-deserved holiday break. To all the students I met last week and students with looming exams everywhere, best of luck and go get ‘em!

So it’s no surprise that this week’s list of higher education and ed tech tidbits starts with the oft-dreaded Finals Week:

  • One study looks at the dismal completion rates of MOOCs from the perspective of a student’s “intent to finish” a course. Of course, “intent” leaves much room for interpretation. Despite the fact that these numbers are higher than your average MOOC completion rate, I’m still not sold on all the hype as a viable alternative to a face-to-face or blended education experience.
  • As students get ready for finals, there’s no shortage of creative ways to fuel up and power through. Here’s a look at how students across the US are coping with stress and all-night study sessions (yet another reason video review might come in handy), including taking study breaks to play with therapy kitties and puppies. Probably a good time to check out your Starbucks stock!
  • When it comes to numbers and higher education, Josh Kim has pretty much covered all the bases. This particular number caught my eye: Over 5 million students are involved in distance (online) learning.  This is over a quarter of all students!
  • Speaking of numbers, what’s the hiring outlook for IT professionals in higher education going into 2015? Campus Technology breaks down the skills universities are seeking in potential applicants along with the unique advantages and challenges in this sector.

So that’s it for this week’s round up. Next week will be our final edition of 2014 (yikes, time flies when you’re having fun!). Until then, hope those of you on break get a healthy dose of R&R and enjoy the season!