Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) burst into the public consciousness in 2012 after feverish press reports about elite US universities offering free courses, through the Internet, to hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) course on Circuits and Electronics that had attracted 155,000 registrations was a typical example. Pundits proclaimed a revolution in higher education and numerous universities, fearful of being left behind, joined a rush to offer MOOCs.
The post MOOCs and higher education: evolution or revolution? appeared first on OUPblog.
This year's Lore Kephart '86 Distinguished Lecture Series is bringing Dr. Richard White, the esteemed Margaret Byrne Professor of American History at Stanford University, to Villanova University for a lecture titled: "The Late Great Environmental Crisis of the Gilded Age: A Success Story."
The Lecture Series is a gift by my father to the university from which my mother graduated with honors after raising three children. Each year it brings extraordinary people to the campus for dialogue with students and the community. Jill Lepore has joined us. Andrew Bacevich. James McPherson. Others.
The selection of Dr. Richard White for this year's lecture is especially timely—and inspired. Dr. White is a Pulitzer-Prize nominated historian with a special interest in environmental history and Native American history. Through his Spatial History Lab at Stanford, he "explores the construction of space by transcontinental railroads during the late nineteenth century." It's a topic about which he wrote in
Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America, a Los Angeles Times Book Award winner.
My father, the Kephart family, and Villanova University invite you to join us for this free event:
October 1, 2015
7 PM - 9 PM
Villanova Room, Connelly Center
Villanova University
Lauren, Publicity Assistant
This weekend, James S. Fishkin, Professor of Communication and Political Science at Stanford University and Director of the Center for Deliberative Democracy, will conduct a Deliberative Poll® in Michigan. A 
scientific sample of 200+ people will convene in Lansing to deliberate about the state’s economic future, and in the end, the poll will reveal what the public thinks about these issues, both before and after it has had a chance to become informed.
Fishkin’s most recent book, When the People Speak: Deliberative Democracy and Public Consultation, explains this method of polling. It combines a new theory of democracy with actual practice, and has demonstrated how an idea that harks back to ancient Athens can be used to revive modern democracies. Fishkin and his collaborators have already conducted deliberative democracy projects in the United States, China, Britain, Denmark, Australia, Italy, Bulgaria, Northern Ireland, and in the entire European Union. These projects have resulted in the massive expansion of wind power in Texas, the building of sewage treatment plants in China, and greater mutual understanding between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland.
When the People Speak is accompanied by a DVD of “Europe in One Room” by Emmy Award-winning documentary makers Paladin Invision. The film recounts one of the most challenging deliberative democracy efforts with a scientific sample from 27 countries speaking 21 languages. Watch the trailer after the jump.
EUROPE IN ONE ROOM
Courtesy of the Center for Deliberative Democracy
Click here to view the embedded video.
What an incredible finish we had to February Vacation!
B raced this car
in the Poland Pinewood Derby and he came in 1st place!!!
He's off to the regionals in April . . .
April 12th to be exact.
If you're a New Englander, that date may sound veeeeeeeee-rrrrrry familiar.
Sigh.
Me: What are the odds? To have two big events on the same weekend! ARRRRG!
Hubby: Go to your conference . . .
Me: I want to, I missed last years (A graduated - can't attend in May)
Hubby: Go to your conference .,. .
Me: But this is a big thing for B, he looks forward to it. He'll be mad at me . . .
Hubby: Go to your conference! B will be fine . . . we'll make a guys day out of it. There will be over 100 cars there, we're just planning to have fun and see how far he can go with it.
Me: But I . . .
Hubby: Go! We'll call you every step of the way . . .
I love my husband.
