The rapid and exponential growth of the internet over the past 40 years has changed the nature of society. Indeed, at the end of the first two decades of the twenty-first century, the internet is our defining medium. This has ...
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Grades no fix for youth unemployment: Mitchell Institute
A senate inquiry has heard that Gonski funding aside, schools aren't doing enough to prepare students for life. Mitchell Institute Director Megan O'Connell told the inquiry on the future of work that an intense focus on grades has led to other ...
More »Leading the culture change, from the east of England
The change in the relationship between universities and students has been revolutionary – but its benefits are many. I was honoured to be asked to speak recently at the Universities Australia annual conference about a topic that sits at the ...
More »Unis and schools becoming more lethal: report
Learning isn't typically associated with danger, but that connection is increasingly palpable. Over the last five years, there have been over 12,700 attacks harming more than 21,000 students and educators. These statistics, courtesy of the Global Coalition to Protect Education from ...
More »No misconduct for controversial scientist
Maryanne Demasi has been cleared of academic misconduct by an inquiry commissioned by her alma mater: the University of Adelaide. The medical scientist turned controversial science journalist, best known as the former presenter of ABC show Catalyst, had been accused of duplicating ...
More »Opinion: Universities are crucial to improving pre-service teachers’ literacy
It is very difficult to dispute the need for teachers to possess sounds literacy skills. Communication and literacy are central to teaching success and personal literacy competency is an obvious prerequisite for much of a teacher’s work. Not only do ...
More »Sector reacts to Finkel’s ATAR critique
Australia's Chief Scientist, Alan Finkel, has an ATAR-related grievance. "Students select their courses with an eye to a number: the ATAR to enter a particular course," he wrote in his introduction to the STEM Industry-Schools Partnerships report. "Rightly or wrongly, ...
More »Is the Chief Scientist out of touch with what PhDs want?
"I have no patience for people who tell me that a person with a PhD who starts a company, or goes into the public service, is a waste of a good academic researcher. "The purpose of a PhD is to ...
More »A tale of one city, two graduates
The age of wisdom, not foolishness, is certainly in play in Newcastle. Its namesake university will imminently graduate its class of 2017. Among the graduates are Sapphire Dawson (24) and Declan Clausen (25). Though they will both don caps and gowns, in almost ...
More »Students, staff protest as Monash allegedly cuts Arts teaching budget while pushing BAs
"Tutorial size increases, online quizzes replacing assessment tasks, video streams (which often don't work) replacing classes, cuts in contact hours, refusal to pay staff for teaching time outside of tutorials, and a refusal to hire tutors if they have PhDs. ...
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