Weekly Reader

How the Recession Re-Sorted Freshmen
"A new study largely confirms what anecdotal reports had anticipated about national college enrollment patterns during the economic downturn: that enrollments of high school students swelled, that larger numbers of students chose community colleges, but that private colleges did not suffer the losses that many had predicted. But the study -- though its data are limited in scope -- also shows that the extent of the shifts, and how different institutions were affected, varied by region." -- Allie Grasgreen, Inside Higher Ed News, 7/14/11

5 Marketing Lessons from the World's Largest Book Club
"Imagine a book club bigger than Oprah’s – where people around the world all read together. That’s what Jeff Howe built on Twitter in partnership with The Atlantic – 1Book140. Each month, the book club nominates and votes on books to be read for the next month. A set of finalists is narrowed down and, with a chosen book selected, the entire Twitter user-base starts reading the book. Each week, Howe sets a chapter to be discussed and the discussion online begins. This month, they are reading Kafka on the Shore. Creating and attaching your brand to a movement like 1Book140 can be a powerful brand-building exercise. But what about starting your own movement? We’ve identified five things you can learn from 1Book140." -- Drew Davis, TippingPoint Labs Blog, 7/12/11

10 Major Mobile Learning Trends to Watch For
"Teachers and administrators have been bringing technology into the classroom for decades now, but with the advent of cloud computing and the proliferation of smaller, more portable computers and Internet-capable devices, it's now possible to bring the classroom into the technology instead. Mobile learning, sometimes abbreviated to M-Learning, focuses on learning through mobile devices, allowing learners to move about in a classroom or remotely learn from any location of their choice. It's a movement that's gained a lot of steam in recent years, and despite some criticisms, isn't like to fade fast – especially as new technologies that make mobile learning more practical continue to emerge and the popularity of remote learning opportunities like online colleges continue to grow." -- Online College Blog, 7/5/11

Professors Consider Classroom Uses for Google+
"Google Plus, the social-networking platform, is so new that most Internet users are not yet able to see it—an invitation is required while the service is in its test phase. But some professors who have tried it say they already see possible uses for teaching and research if the service catches on." -- Jeff Young, Wired Campus, 7/8/11

Teaching to the New Generation
"It is the beginning of the summer period again when I am no longer teaching and when I take some time to assess how the year went. After my experiences in the classroom this year, I am convinced more than ever that teaching with the traditional methods of lecturing does not work anymore on the students of the new generation. I am afraid that the failure to realize this is likely to create a gap between professors and the students, and thus stand as an obstacle to success in our classrooms." -- Itir Toksöz, University of Venus, 7/10/11