Teachers

Blog: Law, Policy -- and IT?MOOCs: edX has some new partners, Cornell among them, named CornellX. Sometimes a later adoption is the right financial and strategic move, as was the minimal wait the Provost (with all kinds of administrative and faculty support behind him) gave before committing the University. My personal opinion? I am thrilled with the choice, the process, so far, as how the CU came to this decision, and look forward to future developments. Cornell has some outstanding teaching as well as research faculty. Moreover, in this digital age, I could not imagine a better approach to its long-standing commitment to outreach both as New York State's land-grant college and as a private university. Salute! Privacy: The Cornell-George Washington Law School Privacy Information Forum was a success! Excellent speakers, fantastic facilitators and engaged participants. The insight I gained addressed the question, "Why doesn't higher education adopt more readily the privacy officer model now fully embedded in corporate America? Historically, because it was a leader in privacy with the Family Education Rights Privacy Act, and therefore already has processes and solid stakeholders, such as registrars, so it may not experience or even actually need a "privacy" officer per se. The real answer is the old lawyer's response: It depends. There are a lot of other privacy laws now, most obviously GLBA for interest-bearing financial accounts (bursar, for example) and of course patient health care record of covered entities (HIPAA for hospitals or clinics). While those examples have their privacy and security officers by statute, coordination is the key among these three federal law requirements. And on the state front, we have Data Breach Notification laws too. My opinion: if the history, culture and traditions of an institution mitigate against the appointment of a central privacy officer per se, then let's take the issue to the next step: Institutions still need an authoritative information management officer. My principal contribution to Cornell in this area has been helping to put together a Regulated Data Chart which seeks to educate stewards and custodians on the appropriate use of data in our enterprise technologies. More about which I would be happy to discuss in later blogs, but for now reviewing it is the homework: http://www.it.cornell.edu/policies/infoprivacy/regdata/index.cfm Cloud Computing: The site above arose out of the need to address information management in cloud computing, although as we worked on it, it became clear that it was education we long could have used for on-premise services. Cloud computing has so many interesting components: consortial pricing and negotiation with Net+ Services of Internet 2, a very big win for higher education and growing; attention to information management; new internal processes within institutions for development of such services. These new processes are taking shape in ways that, once again, suit the institution. Some schools have created project management in order to guide it. Some have created ad hoc committees. But overall, the pattern is inserting the life cycle from identified need to implementation as a more intensely collaborative effort involving: contract lawyers, procurement, business pricing, technical support not only for plug-in but also for functionality, technical security assessment, institution policy harmonization and information management, and finally strong communications and outreach for the users. It is a cycle, not a linear process, one which I have likened to "gears" working together rather than a straight line of individual check boxes for procurement. And the sooner a school adopts it, the more efficient and professional it will become to address cloud computing in the higher education environment. That's all for now, more quick snap shots to come! Show on Jobs site:

As millions of children start streaming out of schools for a much-anticipated break, it's important to remember that there is a price to pay for summers free of learning. Students who don't engage in educational activities over the summer lose between one and three months of learning every year on average. In reading, the loss is cumulative; by the end of sixth grade, students who lose their reading skills over the summer will be as much as two full years behind their classmates.

Keeping kids reading over the summer is important. While some children enjoy reading, others would rather do just about anything else. So what is a parent of a reluctant reader to do? Look to your child's interests. Ask yourself, what is their favorite movie, hobby, sport or pastime? Look for a book with a similar plot line or topic matter.

Graphic novels may have a place in the classroom as an alternative form of literature, according to researchers. The results found in the study, published in Boston University's Journal of Education, are complex. For nearly every category of educational use, the response was overwhelmingly "never." Yet, a fourth of the teachers did say that they used graphic novels for struggling students or English Language Learners (ELL) either once a month or once a week.

The one thing my postgraduate teacher training course had simply not prepared me for was that more than a third of my first class of seven and eight year-olds might not be reading and writing with any degree of confidence. Granted, it was a school in special measures, and many of the pupils did not have the clear structure, support or guidance at school, or, in some cases, at home, that would help progress their literacy skills.

Mary Skinner-Alexander, a high school special education teacher in the Sioux Falls, S.D., district, has a student who communicates by directing his gaze at printed cards. Other students in her self-contained special education class of 9th through 12th graders are reading at the level of early-elementary students. And all will be expected to learn--and be tested on--academics based on the Common Core State Standards.

Some students engaged in a non-disruptive protest Tuesday at commencement ceremonies for Teachers College of Columbia University. The Washington Post reported that students held signs saying "Not a Test Score" to protest the awarding of an honor and a speaking role to Merryl Tisch, chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents. The students said that reforms pushed by Tisch rely excessively on standardized test scores, to the detriment of educational values. Susan Fuhrman, president of the college, released a letter (covering numerous controversies at the institution) in which she defended the honor for Tisch. "I have been listening closely to objections by some about bestowing the TC Medal of Distinguished Service on New York State Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch," Fuhrman wrote. "Let me assure you that our decision to bestow the TC Medal on Chancellor Tisch was made to recognize her body of work and leadership across a range of fields, including education, and does not constitute an institutional endorsement of specific decisions, opinions, or policies. The same standard applies to all of our medalists, and going forward we will broaden community involvement in the selection process." Ad keywords: Administrators

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Tuesday revived a bias lawsuit against Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge that had been dismissed by a lower court. In the case, a woman passed over as police chief said she was denied the position of police chief based on illegal gender bias, and was retaliated against for raising complaints about her treatment. The appeals court said that there was sufficient evidence for a full trial on the case. For example, the court noted that her application received no response and that a man got the job, even though a college degree was a requirement for the position, she had bachelor's and master's degrees, and the man lacked a college degree. While LSU offered non-discriminatory reasons for her dismissal, the appeals court said that the evidence in its entirety was sufficient for the case to go forward. Ad keywords: Administrators

Suzanne Fortier, president of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, has been selected as principal and vice chancellor of McGill University, in Quebec. James Gandre, provost and executive vice president of Roosevelt University, in Illinois, has been appointed president of Manhattan School of Music, in New York. Editorial Tags: College administrationNew presidents

Historically black colleges urge Education Department to reconsider changes to some student loan criteria, and for-profit colleges and student advocates gear up for rewrite of "gainful employment" regulation. Editorial Tags: Federal policyEducation DepartmentFinancial aidFor-profit collegesHistorically black colleges