“In one sense, the public shaming… underscores the power of social media to hold people of all ages accountable, with consequences at times including harassment and both online and real-world “cancellation.” But the story behind the backlash also reveals a more complex portrait of behavior that for generations had gone unchecked in schools in one of the nation’s wealthiest counties.”
“Of all the learners that ever registered on a MOOC platform, one third did so in 2020… Data collected by Class Central show that pre-pandemic, technology-related subjects were the most popular: the ten most-followed courses were all career-focused. Post-pandemic, interest in soft skills and general topics increased. The most popular course during the pandemic turned out to be Yale University’s The Science of Well-Being, with over 2.5 million enrollments in 2020.”
“Do you love me, now that I can dance?”
“2020 was nobody’s favorite year and yet, it was a good year for my endeavors. In a surreal plot twist, the near-decade of work I’ve been doing in conspiracy culture suddenly became highly relevant. The bizarre claims and reasoning I’ve been neck-deep in for years emerged as a dominant force in American culture. I was ready to contribute to the conversation, I did, and I’ve still got plenty more to say. Here’s everything I produced this year. I think some of my very best work is in this lot.”
Copyright
Every week I send out articles I encounter from around the web. Subject matter ranges from hard knowledge about teaching to research about creativity and cognitive science to stories from other industries that, by analogy, inform what we do as educators. This breadth helps us see our work in new ways.
Readers include teachers, school leaders, university overseers, conference organizers, think tank workers, startup founders, nonprofit leaders, and people who are simply interested in what’s happening in education. They say it helps them keep tabs on what matters most in the conversation surrounding schools, teaching, learning, and more.
– Peter Nilsson