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Tag: Online Learning

Coronavirus (11) – The International Student Imperative

Whatever the manifold benefits of a more internationalized student body, at many institutions in Canada, one reigns supreme: money.   It’s a problem everywhere in Canada, but in Ontario, British Columbia and Cape Breton in particular, international student fees make up huge portions of the institutional operating budget: rarely lower than 20% of income and in some cases reaching over 50%.  Partly through government neglect and partly through institutional avarice, institutions became hooked on international student money. And then came a crisis

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April 6, 2020 2 Comments

Coronavirus (9) – September & Big Classes

(Yes, I know, I said I would try to stay off Coronavirus topics.  But it’s bloody hard to talk about anything else, isn’t it?) One of the least attractive features of the modern university is the mega-classroom: the huge, 300-1000 student classes that dominate first-year courses.  These courses, point-blank, are terrible.  I mean, I know, fields of study all have entry points and there are some basics about each one that students need to master before moving on to other

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March 31, 2020 1 Comment

Coronavirus (8) – Scenario Planning

For the last three weeks, life on university and college campuses has all been about doing what is needed to save the semester and move to remote learning/remote working format.  I get the sense that this is the week when everyone’s attention is going to shift to “omg, what do we do now?”  The answer to that question will vary, of course, but if there is just one piece of advice I could give everyone, it is that the absolute

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March 30, 2020 1 Comment

Coronavirus (7) – The Decision

Yeah, I know I said I’d stay off this topic this week, but I think there is something that needs saying. It is finally sinking in that this is a long-duration crisis. Not 2 weeks long, not 2 months long: maybe half a year or more.  And that means thinking about September starts now.  We do not know exactly when this thing will unwind, nor how exactly we will phase back into normalcy.  But the frontier is moving back.  Last

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March 24, 2020 No Comments

Coronavirus (4) – “Moving Online”

One of the most annoying things about the last couple of weeks – apart from the general collapse of civilization – has been everyone and their dog claiming they are “moving classes online”.  I really wish we had found another word for this, because if there is one thing universities and colleges are NOT doing, it is transitioning to online education. It must be especially galling if you’re, say, at Athabasca University and produce real, high-quality online content all the

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March 17, 2020 1 Comment

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