We made it to the weekend! It was an…interesting…week for the staff here at Saylor.org HQ as we battled first a relentless D.C. heatwave and then a network implosion. Half of our air conditioning gave up on us, driving staff to our upstairs digs — imagine when the best place to be on a day with a heat index of 110F is the attic of a historic brick oven building. Thursday afternoon, we lost our network…if AC is optional (we’re a tough and fearsome crew), web access is mandatory. We scattered in search of cooler climes and better wi-fi, and on Friday, Saylor.org was brought to you from a couple dozen couches and kitchen tables across D.C, Maryland, and Virginia, and a few farther afield.
With high hopes for Monday, we’d like to share a couple noteworthy items from the week behind.
On Thursday, Cable Green did a great post on our K-12 courses for the Creative Commons blog — ‘Saylor Foundation launches open online K-12 courses‘ — with thoughts for teachers, schools, parents, and students on how to use our materials to meet their needs. Thanks to Cable, CC, and our K-12 team for bringing that together!
A couple pieces extolling the virtues of the Humanities crossed our path as well. A University of Oxford report finds that Humanities graduates are contributing plenty the the British economy, thank you very much. Investment in “the capacity for making informed choices, for evaluating evidence and argument, for creative thought and problem-solving” has not just produced well-rounded graduates, but “has paid ample dividends to the British economy and society.” (Article; report; and a h/t to the Chronicle.)
In that spirit, with fondness for and all due respect to STEM, we’re declaring full STEAM* ahead (we might even through some GLAM** in there while we’re at it). This infographic from University College London and 4Humanities sets out why humanities deserve a seat at the table. You can check out (and more easily share) the CC BY-licensed graphic over at our Facebook and Google+ pages as well.
Finally, here’s a quick guide to our posts this week:
- MMD: The Mini Afternoon Edition: Avenues for Learning – Warren Buffett already donates plenty of his own money…now he’s giving away his sister’s.
- CLEP® Aligned Principles of Microeconomics Now Available on iTunes U! – Our ECON101 course has been carefully aligned to the learning outcomes tested by The College Board’s CLEP® exam for economics. We’re offering this course both on the web through Saylor.org and on iOS devices at iTunes U.
- Top 5 misconceptions about the Common Core State Standards – Angelyn deflates five common arguments against the Common Core.
- Sidestepping Debt: Student Loans and Saylor – Monica reviews the 2011 film Default: the Student Loan Documentary. You can watch right from our post.
* Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math
** Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums
Photo credit: perfectsnap via photopin | CC BY-NC-SA
This post CC BY-NC-SA