Good afternoon and happy Monday! Let us help you take a break from the routine (it might even be time to call it a day). This week we are focusing on news about the many different venues for learning. As technology continues to advance, it has helped to further diversify the roads and avenues for learning new things, as well as what we are learning.

We begin with the latter. Billionaire Warren Buffett has developed an online learning course that will teach over 4,000 students about the art of philanthropy. Charitable Giving Gurus will be helping out with the course such as sports celebrities Cal Ripken Jr. and Boston Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner. These and others will be on desk to give advice to students as they prep to make a big decision for course designer Buffett: What to with his sister Doris’ $100,000? Rumor has that Mr. Buffett will continue to increase the sum of money if the enrollment to the course continues to skyrocket!

Tom Werner, Warren Buffett To Help Students Learn About Charitable Giving in Online Course (New England Sports Network)

Oregon Could Be The First State To Let Students To Go To College Tuition-Free (Business Insider)
Next up, Oregon is on its way to open up new avenues for learning by allowing students to attend public universities free of charge! However, there’s a catch: students must commit to paying 3% of their post-graduation salary back to the state of Oregon annually for twenty-four years! Despite of the fine print, students seem to be all for it, as they push for legislation to make this bill become a law. Of course, it’s an idea that has worked in Australia and Britain, and that was proposed by economist Milton Friedman back in 1955 (so we’ve had some time to think it over).

Which Way for K12 Blended Learning? (EdSurge)
Last but not least, this opinion piece sees new avenues in the realm of playlists of resources for students, which will help students obtain material to meet their own needs or specific standards. The journalist concludes that this avenue for learning can also free up time for teachers.

In other news…

A University’s Offer of Credit for a MOOC Gets No Takers ( Chronicle of Higher Ed.)
Busting Online Learning Myths (Education Week)

Happy week!

Photo Credit: country_boy_shane via photopin CC BY-ND 2.0