Author Archives: alex

BlogPost Progress Report: peer assessment

Over the last four semesters, beginning in the spring of 2011, I have been using a badge system that allows for peer review and the awarding of badges that can then be shared on the open badge infrastructure. As with many of my experiments with educational technologies, I figured the best way to learn what […]
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Buffet Evals

“Leon Rothberg, Ph.D., a 58-year-old professor of English Literature at Ohio State University, was shocked and saddened Monday after receiving a sub-par mid-semester evaluation from freshman student Chad Berner. The circles labeled 4 and 5 on the Scan-Tron form were predominantly filled in, placing Rothberg’s teaching skill in the ‘below average’ to ‘poor’ range.” So […]
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Review: Planned Obsolescence

It is rare that how a book is made is as important as its content. Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachi stands on its own as an outstanding action film, yet it is a rare review that does not mention the tiny budget with which it was accomplished. And here it is difficult to resist the urge […]
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What does the university offer?

The answer is obvious: courses. But you can get courses anywhere. I’ve written about this before (Dealing Out the Uni), but Jim Groom’s effort to get a new server for his course via Kickstarter has me thinking again. Earlier this week, in the context of discussing what the traditional university provided that crowdsourced and open […]
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