Good Morning and happy Monday! This week we’re here to report on some new revolutionary methods of teaching, influenced by an abundance of resources and pop culture. Not only does this hip equation have the potential to attract more students, it also gives us new ways to look at learning. It also reminds us why we want to learn…what is that end goal?

We begin this week with a look at the desire to go beyond the face value of pop culture and relate it to learning. U. of California at Irvine, known for using somewhat revolutionary methods of learning, has decided to combine the popular ABC television series, The Walking Dead, with various subjects, including “mathematics, physics, and public health.” This method may not be new to the higher education world, but this course acts as a source of free online learning that brings together zombies and life’s greater issues. (And television.) Registration began Wednesday, August 28, but there’s still time as the course commences Oct. 24th. The cost? Free! (except for maybe a few zombie-filled nightmares)
MOOCs Meet the Zombie Apocalypse (Chronicle of Higher Ed.)

LearnBIG Creates Hub For Online Educational Resources (Digital Journal)
LearnBIG has announced the launch of a new site that will act as a hub for resources for “Pre-K, K-12, college and lifelong learners.” This new hub will allow its learners to filter their search by subject, level, and popularity. It will also produce a community forum as an opportunity for learners to give their feedback on the resources.

‘P-Tech’ Academic Model Taken Statewide in New York (Education Week)
Pathways in Technology Early College High School was built by partnering with IBM and public universities in New York City. Other New York schools have adopted this model of pairing professionals with students, as it can help better prepare learners for the real world.

iPad-Centered ‘Steve Jobs Schools’ Open in the Netherlands (Education Week)
Last but not least, we look to the Netherlands, where seven public schools have just opened bearing the name of Apple guru Steve Jobs. So why the name and use of iPad as the central tool? The schools’ namesake with a forward-thinker who popularized a flexibly learning technology…when used correctly. Teachers of these schools see talent coaching and the iPad-as-creative-tool as ways to “prepare students for the future” rather than for the past.

Have a great week! In other news…
Translating open health materials for the world (Opensource.com)
London’s first bilingual free school due to open (London24)
More Students Turn to Social Media to Inform Their College Search (Chronicle of Higher Ed.)

Photo Credit: Gregory Bastien via photopin CC BY NC ND 2.0