10 top universities to let you attend ? online

The Hechinger Report

Students in a real-time virtual classroom run by the company 2U, which is part of the new Semester Online initiative.

By Jon Marcus, The Hechinger Report

The race to capture a potentially vast market for college courses provided online has taken another big step with the announcement Thursday by 10 top universities that they?ll offer such classes for college credit ? something earlier collaborations have struggled to do.

Semester Online envisions not huge, 100,000-student online courses such as those already being offered by MIT and Stanford, but a return to traditional-sized college classes of 12 to 15 students with live student-professor interactions ? just delivered online instead of in person. And rather than making the courses available for free to anyone, it will likely have admission standards and charge tuition, according to the university provosts who have helped set it up.

The concept creates a sudden and significant divide about how best to educate online, just as America?s top universities try to get in on an anticipated boom in online learning.


?The biggest selling point is that it isn?t really new,? says Rogan Kersh, provost of Wake Forest University, one of Semester Online?s member schools. ?It still feels like an extension of what we do now ? the traditional university course that we already know works well, as opposed to a Wild West [where] all bets are off [and it?s] every student for him- or herself.?

Courses will be taught by university faculty following the same curricula used in conventional courses and with conventional techniques such as class discussions, using technology that allows students and professors to see and talk with one another in real time. Students will be graded on their work by faculty and earn college credit if they get passing grades.

Other collaborations have promised to figure out a way to offer credit or other kinds of credentials for large-scale online courses, called massive open online courses, or MOOCs ? something that would threaten what has until now been a tightly held monopoly among traditional universities.

EdX, launched by MIT and Harvard earlier this year, plans to use private companies that will charge a fee to test students at examination centers around the world. Coursera, which includes Princeton, Columbia and Stanford, has proposed letting students take assessments online ? and monitoring them as they do so via webcam.

On Tuesday, the American Council on Education said it would review a small number of Coursera classes, and may recommend that universities provide credit for them. Even if it does, however, such a recommendation would not be binding.

Semester Online, on the other hand, planned ?from the very beginning? to offer credit, says Ed Macias, provost of Washington University in St. Louis, another member school. ?That?s built into our model.?

The initiative also includes Brandeis, Duke, Emory, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Rochester, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Vanderbilt. More universities may be added by the time the first courses are offered next fall, organizers say.

Although they were reluctant to say their model is a repudiation of MOOCs, several provosts of these institutions described it as a logical evolution of online higher education.

The earliest online courses were provided ?for credit by schools you [had] never heard of,? such as the now-ubiquitous University of Phoenix, says Jim Dean, dean of the Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC-Chapel Hill. ?Then the MOOCs were about courses from schools you?ve heard of, but not for credit. Now you?re seeing courses for credit by schools you?ve heard of.?

Kersh said the scale of the wholesale model is larger than many faculty are comfortable with, while Semester Online classes will be a manageable size.

More from The Hechinger Report

MOOCs ?are sexy and exciting because they?re new and different, but as a teacher, I?ve taught classes, and, to me, large means 200, not two million,? Kersh said. ?We want to deliver the kind of highest-quality educational experience that the United States has been the world leader in?and to abandon that for the sake of a massive global experience feels like something special has been lost.?

Still, a few universities are hedging their bets. Duke, Emory and Vanderbilt are members of both Semester Online and Coursera.

One thing the new collaboration has in common with earlier ones is that the details have yet to be fleshed out. The 10 universities will work with a for-profit company called 2U, which helps provide the infrastructure and support universities need to offer online courses. But the cost to students and the way that revenues will be split among participating schools, among other things, are still being negotiated, according to Macias.

?We thought it would be good to announce what we?re doing so people could hear about it,? he says.

A 2U spokesman, Chance Patterson, says tuition will likely be equal to what the universities charge for brick-and-mortar classes.

This story, "New online venture promises small classes and college credit," was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education-news outlet based at Teachers College, Columbia University.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/15/15195426-10-top-universities-unveil-semester-online-promising-college-credit-in-small-classes?lite

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The Anthropology of Food - Utah State Today - Utah State University ...

Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012

The anthropology of food is the subject of the next activity Nov. 17 at Utah State University?s Museum of Anthropology and its Saturdays at the Museum series.

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Activities that day include an in-depth look at the subject, including rituals and specific uses of foods from around the world. Museum guests will have a chance to try unique recipes, including those for the foods served at the first Thanksgiving. They can also participate in Thanksgiving traditions just as the pilgrims did.

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?Food is an everyday part of our cultural identity and thus, a part of us.? said Diana Azevedo, a museum assistant and USU graduate student. ?We wanted to celebrate the impact that food has on all people, and help patrons learn about the many ways that food both reflects and shapes our cultures.?

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In addition to the Saturdays at the Museum activity series with its 10 a.m.-4 p.m. hours, community members and USU students alike can visit the museum during its standard operating hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

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Funding for Saturday events is provided by a grant from the United States Institute of Museum and Library Services. More information about the IMLS is available online.

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The USU Museum of Anthropology is on the USU campus in the south turret of the historic Old Main building, Room 252. Admission is free. For Saturday activities, free parking is available in the adjacent lot, south of the building.

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For more information about museum events, call museum staff at (435) 797-7545 or visit the museum website.

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The Museum of Anthropology is part of the Anthropology Program at USU in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

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Related links:

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Source: Museum of Anthropology

Contact: USU Museum of Anthropology, (435) 797-7545, anthro.museum@usu.edu

Source: http://www.usu.edu/ust/index.cfm?article=51851

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Overwhelmed With Piles? Haloti Ngata Jersey Consider Our ...

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Source: http://www.healthuse.com/overwhelmed-with-piles-haloti-ngata-jersey-consider-our-techniques-for-alleviation.html

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'Angry Birds Star Wars' top paid iPhone app in Canada

Top 10 free and paid apps for the iPhone and iPad in Canada for the week ending Nov. 11.

Top Free iPhone Apps

1 YouTube (Google Inc.)

2 Gangnam Style Massacre (Carolina Patron)

3 Extreme Road Trip 2 (Roofdog Games)

4 Pocket Climber (PunchBox Studios)

5 Fix-It Felix Jr. (Disney)

6 Flashlight. (Apptures)

7 Facebook (Facebook, Inc.)

8 Instagram (Burbn, Inc.)

9 Find My iPhone (Apple)

10 Podcasts (Apple)

Top Paid iPhoneApps

1 Angry Birds Star Wars (Rovio Entertainment Inc.)

2 WhatsApp Messenger (WhatsApp Inc.)

3 Wreck-It Ralph (Disney)

4 Bad Piggies (Rovio Entertainment Ltd.)

5 Minecraft - Pocket Edition (Mojang)

6 Plague Inc. (Ndemic Creations)

7 Tetris (Electronic Arts)

8 Sleep Cycle alarm clock (Maciek Drejak Labs)

9 Angry Birds Space (Rovio Entertainment Ltd.)

10 Wipeout (Activision Publishing, Inc.)

Top Free iPadApps

1 Video Tube Free for YouTube (Yau You Music Video Preofessionals - Tube Studio)

2 Tiny Piano (squarepoet, inc.)

3 Gangnam Style Massacre (Carolina Patron)

4 WeatherEye HD (The Weather Network/MeteoMedia)

5 Extreme Road Trip 2 (Roofdog Games)

6 Skype for iPad (Skype Communications)

7 Podcasts (Apple)

8 iTunes U (Apple)

9 Find My Friends (Apple)

10 Find My iPhone (Apple)

Top Paid iPad Apps

1 Angry Birds Star Wars HD (Rovio Entertainment Inc.)

2 Wreck-It Ralph (Disney)

3 Angry Birds Star Wars (Rovio Entertainment Inc.)

4 GarageBand (Apple)

5 Bad Piggies HD (Rovio Entertainment Ltd.)

6 The Room (Fireproof Games)

7 Pages (Apple)

8 Minecraft - Pocket Edition (Mojang)

9 Angry Birds Space HD (Rovio Entertainment Ltd.)

10 Infinity Blade II (Chair Entertainment Group, LLC)

These apps are available from the App Store on your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch or at www.itunes.ca/appstore.

Source: http://www.trurodaily.com/Canada---World/Society/2012-11-14/article-3120309/Angry-Birds-Star-Wars-top-paid-iPhone-app-in-Canada/1

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Baker senior Casey Hughston signs to play baseball at Alabama

"He's got all the tools. There's no telling how far he can go. He's got such a high ceiling." -- Baker coach Bill Glover

MOBILE, Alabama - Once Alabama came calling, Baker third baseman Casey Hughston didn't want to hear from anyone else.

Other schools, including UAB, Troy and South Alabama, recruited Hughston, but things changed when Alabama officials extended a scholarship offer last summer after a travel-league game in Tuscaloosa.

"I knew that's where I wanted to go," said Hughston, a lifelong Alabama fan. "It was a done deal for me. It was easy."

Hugston signed with Alabama on Thursday, putting him on track to fulfilling his dream of one day wearing crimson and white.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Hughston enjoyed a strong junior season, hitting .391 with four homers, 29 RBIs and 16 doubles. Pitchers knew to tread carefully when facing Hughston after he hit .365 with nine homers, 39 RBIs and 10 doubles as a sophomore.

A third baseman who has also pitched on the high school level, he said he will likely remain a corner infielder or perhaps an outfielder at Alabama.

"The ball jumps off his bat a little bit harder," Baker coach Bill Glover said. "He has a knack for hitting the ball real hard. He's a great athlete. He's got outstanding speed and a great arm. He's got all the tools. There's no telling how far he can go. He's got such a high ceiling."

Glover has watched Hughston develop for several years and said the teen's work ethic separates him from others.

"It doesn't matter if things are going well or not going well for him," Glover said, "he's always going to work hard and hustle. Last year, he got off to a slow start the first week of the season, but no one hustled more. That's a credit to him when he could have hung his head a little."

With his college destination secure, Hughston can now concentrate on his senior baseball season.

"I'm glad I know where I'm going," he said.

Source: http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/11/baker_senior_casey_hughston_si.html

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10 Ways to Healthify Your Thanksgiving, Stay Sane and Eat Like ...

Thanksgiving retro

Thanksgiving is exactly one week away, and the online world is buzzing with advice and suggestions. This is a special holiday where we look back and count our blessings. Our family, friends, our democracy. The fact that we have simple things like running water and electricity (ask Sandy survivors?).

1. No guilt. If you are on a weight loss diet, decide right now that Thanksgiving will count as a day off.

2. Home cooking. It may be rich and full of calories, but at least it?s low on preservatives, additives, colorings, and other artificial stuff your body does not need. Prepare the meal together with your spouse and children, and enjoy quality time together, before all the guests arrive.

3. Simple Plan. If you are hosting, you don?t need to serve 20 different dishes. Whittle them down to 6. Write down the top 3 dishes you plan on preparing and focus on them. Have your guests chip in with something they will bring.

4. Hors d?oeuvres. People consume 300-500 calories BEFORE the meal begins, just by snacking. So if you plan on appetizers ? go by the ?less is more? approach. Make them small. Tiny. Bite size.? Prepare a small amount that will run out if people start munching on seconds and thirds.

5. Small plates. When plates are smaller, people eat less. Period.

6. Serve from the Kitchen. Yes, it?s cool to have the Turkey on the dining room table, along with all the other dishes. It also makes it easy for folks to eat seconds and thirds?Consider plating in the kitchen, which is what you would expect any decent restaurant to do. You?re not an all you can-eat-buffet, are you?

7. Early Rainbows. Thanksgiving classics are all shades of brown ? turkey, stuffing, gravy, and potatoes. Thank goodness for the cranberry sauce! Serve some colorful salads as before the main course ? Corn on the cob, Broccoli, beans, carrots and peas, beets, leafy greens, etc? People who fill up on these will eat less of the high calorie stuff.

8. Water. And fine wine. But not soft drinks, juices, juice drinks, and other useless liquid? calories.

9. Dessert can wait. Take A 15 minutes time out after the main course to let your body feel full. Then serve fresh fruit. Then dessert.

10. Plan for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. You?ve got a long weekend, 3 full days, after the big meal. While some may exercise by sprinting in amok during Black Friday?s big sales, try to plan a hike, jog, walk around the neighborhood. Whatever. Make sure you have plenty of fruit and vegetables stocked up to accompany your leftovers.

What are your plans for a healthy and fun Thanksgiving?

Source: http://blog.fooducate.com/2012/11/15/10-ways-to-healthify-your-thanksgiving-stay-sane-and-eat-like-royalty/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=10-ways-to-healthify-your-thanksgiving-stay-sane-and-eat-like-royalty

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Jennifer Rubin: GOP primaries are backfiring

To the consternation of conservatives, character and experience aren?t required to win the presidency. Being meritocracy advocates, they would like to think that the military hero and senatorial heavyweight would beat the guy who had been in the Senate only two years and accomplished virtually nothing there. Nope. Well, certainly the business executive with the sterling reputation and former governor (not to mention Olympics savior) would beat the incumbent who wouldn?t dare run on his shabby record, right? Nope.

Republicans keep running on resume and losing. Perhaps they are too hung up in qualifications. Seriously, Democrats think lack of national security expertise and a dearth of executive experience should not be barriers that prevent a charismatic liberal from becoming president. And they are right!

In fact, Republicans put in front of their candidates multiple hoops to leap through, far more than Democrats do. On the GOP side, nominees have to be pristine, lifelong conservatives (or adopt the dogma in exaggerated terms). They have to forfeit immigration reform views (McCain) or become late converts to the cause of keeping hardworking risk-takers out of the country. But they also have to have blue-collar appeal. They have to wow conservatives with rhetoric but be accomplished as well.

The strainer is so fine that no one makes it through, so the Republicans wind up, well, with the crop of 2012 contenders for Senate and the presidency, of which Mitt Romney was the only remotely credible contender (and only after several others refused to be drafted). In other words, in search of perfection the GOP winds up with people who can?t get elected. They have managed to turn the primary process from a selection process to one that excludes the normal, the relatable and the flexible.

Now it is tempting for conservatives to say, ?Fine. We?ll find our own charismatic, eloquent lightweight who hasn?t left footprints.? I?ve got nothing against expediency (this is politics, not theology), but the responsible party, the ?Dad? party, can?t bring itself to do it. It would be like telling their kids, ?Yes, do run with scissors. And don?t get hung up about leaving on every light in the house. It?s only money.? In other words, it is just not in Republicans? nature to be frivolous and irresponsible in selecting the leader of the free world.

Perhaps the format for candidate selection is wrong. Primaries, especially closed primaries, which the hard-line base prefers, and caucuses (where only the ?severely? conservative are dogged enough to turn out) are about preaching to the choir. Republicans have got that down for sure, but it turns out to be counterproductive in the general election. And it is not predictive of being a good president. Should Republicans come up with a reality-show format to test-run these people before letting them loose? (Finalists, create a flat-tax plan and sell it to a focus group in an hour. Go!) Not very practical.

Instead, Republican candidates for any office in which independents and Democrats are needed to win should, in primary, caucus, conventions, town halls and debate settings, be pressed to answer two fundamental questions before being selected as the party?s nominee. First, what have you been doing to expand the reach of the GOP beyond its hardcore base? If the answer is not much, open trap door and remove candidate.

Second, what innovative policy idea have you come up with that expands liberty and opportunity? (A family-friendly tax plan, you say? A plan to expand legal immigration? You there ... go to the head of the line.) If they haven?t tried to take conservative philosophy, apply it to real problems and experiment as needed, they aren?t worth much.

You see, the goal for conservatives can?t be to promote rigidity, marginalize the party, limit innovation and reject reasonable governance ( which sadly the primary process does). The core objective of modern conservatism is to foster liberty through limited government and support for civil society. Electability is the essential task. So demonstrated belief in the former and talent in the latter should be prized above other qualities. In the primary setting, bonus points should be given for answers like, ?Yeah, I used to believe that, but in the real world it turned out to be a rotten idea.?

Think of it like your kids? science fair ? prizes go to those who think creatively, challenge themselves and the audience, and don?t fear failure. Oh, and it helps if they can explain in layman?s terms what they?ve done.

Source: http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/c/34656/f/636663/s/259edc38/l/0L0Swashingtonpost0N0Cblogs0Cright0Eturn0Cpost0Cgop0Eprimaries0Eare0Ebackfiring0C20A120C110C150Cb22cf3680E2edf0E11e20Ebeb20E4b4cf50A876360Iblog0Bhtml0Dwprss0Frss0Iright0Eturn/story01.htm

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EverythingCroton: PETS ALIVE HOSTS CAT-SINO NIGHT IN CROTON

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

NEWSDAY - Pets Alive, a no-kill animal rescue, is hosting a fundraiser that is sure to be the cat's meow. The second annual event, dubbed 'Catsino Night', will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday (11/17) at the Skyview Rehabilitation and Healthcare center in Croton-on-Hudson. Read more here: http://newyork.newsday.com/westchester/westchester-now-1.3784383/pets-alive-hosts-catsino-night-fundraiser-in-croton-on-hudson-1.4221545?

You may also have an interest in CROTON?S CATS & DOGS, A FLICKR SET OF PHOTOS http://www.flickr.com/photos/22283683@N07/sets/72157627410262620/with/4347865576/

Source: http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2012/11/pets-alive-hosts-cat-sino-night-in.html

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Why You Should Get Business Startups In Australia

Business startups in Australia are indeed a risk, but it provides new opportunities to people who want to establish an industry. It has seen more often that there are startups companies in Australia which have domain as new technology comes out having huge returns. These companies usually are research-driven as well as bringing out something innovative that has big demand or comes out having new ways of doing something timeworn.

More often, the case of these companies are well owned by those people who are working as the senior executives as well as have enough experience in running a certain show. Business startups in Australia are offering golden opportunity to those venture capitalists and bankers. Unfortunately, there are so many people who think double before doing it for a certain reason that the said entity is startup.

Venture capitalists come in two stages. On the first phase, they come when new business has idea and nothing that much. For some new businesses, financing is always the problem that they are facing. In such case, business startups in Australia will need an additional funding for a certain reason that it needs to grow and expand. The fact is that business startups could be easily found anywhere. It can be on a boutique shop or restaurant wherein previous employee or group comes out in opening their own business.

It can also be new transport or travel company wherein new entrepreneurs are thinking that they truly have experience as well as enough knowledge and could sustain in their own.

You can never deny the fact that the internet is a perfect place that has a great number of startups that you can pick for your business. Some of business startups in Australia have a huge role in making a business a successful one. There are so many companies that have gone the public and have large customer-based with many clients all over the world.

This is a good example for you to come out as well as open your own startups in Australia ventures. When it works, then it definitely looks great. This is the main reason why there are so many people are engaged in using business startups in Australia. Aside from the fact that it can make your business successful, it will definitely assure to earn more money in using this. It is very easy to use and you are entitled in picking the right startups in Australia for your business.

The main reason that many people are afraid in having business startups is that they are afraid to loss a big amount of money; all you need to do is have a little bit of research works. By checking some testimonials and reviews for a certain startups in Australia, you will be properly inculcated about the credibility of the said startup. This will be a great help for you in determining the right startups that you could probably use for your business. It is indeed a must for you to have business startups in Australia in order for your business to achieve its goals.

Source: http://small-business.ezinemark.com/why-you-should-get-business-startups-in-australia-7d381a2a0687.html

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