Psalm 46:1
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth.[b] A song.
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
…
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
Debt to degree: A new way of measuring college success — from educationsector.org by Kevin Carey and Erin Dillon
Excerpt:
The American higher education system is plagued by two chronic problems: dropouts and debt. Barely half of the students who start college get a degree within six years, and graduation rates at less-selective colleges often hover at 25 percent or less. At the same time, student loan debt is at an all-time high, recently passing credit card debt in total volume.1 Loan default rates have risen sharply in recent years, consigning a growing number of students to years of financial misery. In combination, drop-outs and debt are a major threat to the nation’s ability to help students become productive, well-educated citizens.
Taking a second look at the untapped employment potential of the web — from learnoutlive.com by Andre Klein
Also see:
Ephesians 3:20-21 — BibleGateway.com
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, 21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
From DSC:
Items re: The Singularity:
From DSC:
I don’t mean to suggest here that just because someone is pursuing the development of AI, robotics, etc. that their heart isn’t right — that’s just not accurate and such a perspective would be painting a broad and bogus swath across mankind.
But from some of the robotic and AI-related sites and blogs that I’ve seen (and not necessarily those listed above), I’m becoming a bit more skeptical of peoples’ motivations in this space, as many of these folks seem to be saying they can create better than God can. Alternatively, some don’t believe in a Creator at all, and thus want to make themselves the ultimate creator. When inventors, entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, military leaders, and other relevant parties have “hearts of flesh” that are compassionate, caring, and giving…these technologies can be very useful and beneficial. But I’m more concerned if these types of technologies are warped into a pathway for power, personal gain, military applications, etc.
Also see:
“Fresh Artists is an innovative concept of child-centric philanthropy. We believe art is a canvas that provides hope, purpose and voice to future generations of creative thinkers.”
Isaiah 12:4 –– from BibleGateway.com’s Verse of the Day
DIY U: The Future Of Learning [Video] — from FastCompany.com by Anya Kamenetz
From Khan Academy and TED Talks to instructional YouTube videos, the future of learning is open and free.
A related comment from DSC:
I have it that higher ed is a bubble and if an increasingly larger group of people can’t afford it — yet still want it — then, in my book, that’s a major problem.
I’ll use myself as an example. My wife and I could not begin to afford to send our kids to many of the colleges and universities out there right now — today, in 2011! (Let alone in 2017+ when our kids start hitting the college scene.) I should note that our kids are doing well in school and are very talented, hard workers. I should also point out that my wife and I place a very high value on being educated and we are both trying to pass that value along to the next generation.
But if you tell me that higher ed is not a bubble, the first question I will ask you (besides what planet are you living on) is what’s the gross income for your household? If you are making close to 6 figures, I highly doubt that your perspective will be the same as that of folks from households who are making $20,000-$50,000 a year. In fact, my hunch is that those who say higher ed is not a bubble are:
My take on this is that all of us in higher education need to figure out how we can greatly reduce the price of higher education. It shouldn’t be how well you understand the system or how many hours of work you have done to figure out the grants, loans, etc. that exist out there.
NEVER again should we be pleased with ANY sort of increase in tuition. Never again should we say, “Well, our tuition only went up by ___% which is the smallest increase in our history (or the smallest increase relative to our competition…or the smallest in our state/country/nation).”
Such a situation is causing a backlash against the current higher education environment/setup.
As such, we need to constantly be looking to reinvent ourselves — and to staying relevant.
Addendum on 6/17/11:
A technology broadside against school leadership preparation programs — from BigThink.com by Scott McLeod
Excerpt:
If every other information-oriented societal sector is finding that transformative reinvention is the cost of survival in our current climate, schools and universities shouldn’t expect that they somehow will be immune from the same changes that are radically altering their institutional peers. We shouldn’t pretend that these revolutions aren’t going to affect us too, in compelling and often as yet unknown ways. And, yet, for some reason we do.
As long-existing barriers to learning, communicating, and collaborating disappear – and as what it means to be a productive learner, citizen, and employee shifts dramatically – it’s worth asking how we as educational leadership faculty and programs are responding. Are we doing what we should? To date the evidence is pretty clear that most of us are not.
…
Can we as educational leadership faculty do better? Given the scale and scope of the transformations occurring around us – and their power and potential for student learning – we MUST do better. It’s embarrassing to consider how little we’ve done to stay relevant. A learning revolution has occurred and – given the attention we’ve paid it – it’s as if many of us didn’t care.
From DSC — also see:
20 Forecasts for 2011-2025 — from the World Future Society
Trends and breakthroughs likely to affect your work, your investments, and your family
From DSC:
The following portion of the text really jumped out at me, and loyal followers of this blog will recognize the graphics (below) that I occasionally post re: this accelerating pace of change:
The rate of change is accelerating.
…
Today, it’s as if we’re driving 200 miles an hour and only looking out of the rear-view mirror.
or perhaps this one…
Citigroup data breach: A lesson and warning for all — from forbes.com by Illana Green
Excerpt:
“While Citi customers aren’t likely to have fraudulent charges against their accounts as a result of this breach, they are likely to encounter social engineering attempts to enable further crime,” said Chester Wisniewski, senior security advisor at online security firm Sophos.
This is a realistic concern for many of the Citigroup customers because exposure of personal email addresses and account numbers can lead to efforts by hackers to engage in major fraud. Wisniewski warned customers that having your name and “other sensitive information” in hand, the attackers can easily provide convincing information that might allow them to extract even more personal information from the victims.
From DSC:
If Citigroup can be busted into…is anyone’s data safe? Really? Hackers may think this is a game, but if they are not stopped, they will increasingly reak havoc on the Internet and on society at large, and put a chilling effect on innovation, growth, progress. No one will want to put anything on the net.
Also see:
Excerpt:
The battle between hacktivists and governments around the world is hotting up, with each day bringing news of fresh arrests and retaliatory strikes.
In Spain, three hackers await their fate after being arrested in connection with the attack on Sony’s networks, and the Turkish government has also confirmed the arrest of 32 people it claims are members of the Anonymous collective.
Stateside, Anonymous has identified its next target as the US Federal Reserve, while LulzSec — the collective infamous for hacking not just Sony, but also Nintendo and Bethesda‘s networks in recent weeks — has admitted an attack on the US Senate’s website.
The American government has threatened to respond to cyber attacks from foreign countries with traditional military force, but the likes of Anonymous and LulzSec don’t fit into that category. LulzSec pointed to this in its statement after the attack: “We don’t like the US government very much. This is a small, just-for-kicks release of some internal data from Senate.gov — is this an act of war, gentlemen? Problem?”
Excerpt:
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — What do you get when college costs skyrocket but incomes barely budge? Yet another blow to the middle class.
“As the out-of-pocket costs of a college education go up faster than incomes, it’s pricing low and medium income families out of a college education,” said Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of financial aid sites FinAid.org and FastWeb.com.
The numbers confirm what most middle class families already know — college is becoming so expensive, it’s starting to hold them back.
