Free Webinar on Professors and Technology

The new study Digital Faculty: Professors, Teaching and Technology, 2012, found that professors are excited about technology trends in education, including the growth of e-textbooks. This is the type of information that should be important to collegiate retailers as the industry moves forward.

Inside Higher Education is now offering a free hour-long webinar Sept. 24 at 2 p.m. Eastern to discuss the findings. The panel will be made up of Inside Higher Ed editor Scott Jaschik; Joshua Kim, a blogger for the publication and director of learning and technology, Dartmouth College; technology reporter Steve Kolowich; and Jeff Seaman, co-director, Babson Survey Research Group.

Registration information will be shared with sponsor companies CourseSmart, Deltak, Pearson, and Sonic Foundry.

White House Meets with Higher Ed

Here is an update by the Chronicle on President Obama’s private meeting with presidents of higher education institutions.  While there were no concrete proposals one president, according to the article, believes that “some pretty substantial proposals will evolve in the next few months.  The three take away messages were: Urgency on College Affordability, solution will have to affect all sectors of higher education, and the country needs innovations and cost-management from colleges and leadership from the states."  F. King Alexander says, “I would say they’re in the process of formulating some proposals that would certainly have an impact on higher education and force higher education to think creatively about their ability to help students succeed and control college costs.”

According to the story, the meeting comprised of college presidents who have a record for implementing programs to increase achievement, reduce costs, or both.  “The Obama administration was looking for ways to take successful efforts and make them ‘more strategic and more systemic and have more of an impact because we’re not where we want to be on college tuition.’”