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Linkedin Learning Product Review

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onlinefreecourse
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Linkedin Learning Product Review

LinkedIn Learning to me is a digital learning platform. Yes, I wanted to state that information up-front, so there is no more “what is it” or misinterpretation. 

Does it belong in the Top 50 Learning Systems for 2020?  The answer is yes.  However, the platform itself is a mix between easy and challenging, between smiles and irking, between me thinking, “cool” to me thinking, “what?”.

The system has come a long way and there is a lot to like here, but as you will read in this review, there is a lot that will drive you, and not to your favorite eatery.

Great

  • Home dashboard – Easy in a viewing aspect, although you cannot move around the learning paths (up or down the screen, once they are set on the admin side)
  • Very Netflix like experience – visually stunning
  • Header – the top is easy to follow for the learner, same for the administrator (i.e. their view)
  • Adding content to a learning path, a collection is super simple (on the admin side)
  • Adding users, groups, and managing them is simple to do
  • Selecting any piece of content to save is easy
  • Seeing content recommended by your organization, is very easy to find (learner side)
  • Administration side has some nice components
  • Can view content offline
  • Mobile app and content viewing is very good (tested on a tablet)
  • Ability to add new “skills” fast and easy to do
  • Quick links on the admin side, I liked – would have preferred to see a few more though

Average

  • Metrics – Simplified, this is not a platform for robust metrics visible on the screen (because you have to download them), and even then the robustness overall isn’t there
  • Administration back-end – Navigation is good, some of the features such as Best Practices from LinkedIn Learning is illogical (especially since in my test, because only one best practice had anything of use for the administrator (from the product or value add standpoint)
  • Create custom content and upload into the system is brand new, BUT it is limited to only videos and documents
  • Resources was more like a HELP section, so call it Help, because resources implies something else

Below Average

  • Inconsistent nomenclature related to the content, for example, with the exception of “audio courses”, the rest of the content are videos, but the system will state “video” and “course” as separate entities, however, an audio course is not identified as “audio”, rather it is identified as a “course”.  Custom content will change that slightly, because it could be a PDF as the content, but at this present time, you cannot upload SCORM content or any other course standard, so “course” is somewhat misleading.
  • Learning Paths on the home page can become nerve racking because with the exception of the one for your organization, the rest are the “collective whole” which is everyone on LinkedIn Learning, and in some cases it could be every Premium member too (as some content is given to them for free)
  • Featured on the home page, has absolutely nothing to do with your “skill or skills you have selected, it isn’t clear on why this content is “Featured”, since it is not even feasible for an administrator to select ‘featured’.
  • Two of the pathways (right below the “in progress and “saved” ones) change every time you click into a piece of content regardless of the other learning paths, and in many cases have ZERO to do with your selected skill or skills. 
  • You are limited in what you can do to ‘customize the system, from within the system, rather you will need LinkedIn Learning to do that for you, and even then some items are not doable.

I’ll have to admit right out of the start here, there is a lot to cover with this platform, and so I could easily go on and on, thus there is in some areas a bit more than other areas.  The way I decided to present enough to you the reader, was to incorporate more video explanations usual (all narrated), along with screen shots.

Learner Home Dashboard

Learnerhome

The Header on the Learner Home Page (main learner screen for LinkedIn Learning)

header

Home – This is always the home page for the learner, the main screen, where all the learning paths exist, including “trending”, “recommended”, “top liked”.

In Progress –  Content that is in progress (i.e. not completed)

inpro

Saved –  Content that is saved

saved

If you have not created a collection, “add to collection” is not visible.

My Organization is the content from your organization

Me – Is your profile (the learner)

If you are an administrator, then right after Me, you will see “Go to Administrator”

Back to the Learner home dashboard

This main home page would drive any superhero to consider retirement.  It was as I often refer to as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

As noted earlier, Featured – and more importantly what constitutes featured isn’t clear.  It is not based on the latest content.  One of the “Featured” was tied to my skill I selected, the other two seemed like it came from outer space.

Specifically,

  • Entrepreneurship Foundations (tied to skill, makes sense)
  • Managing Stress (yes, you have to deal with it, but I’d think there would be other topics/titles that are necessities, like oh, I don’t know – creating a business plan, for one)
  • Delivery Tips for speaking in Public

Plus in the feature area, and you also see this throughout all the content, some of the people who are the authors or instructors (the term LL uses actually), have their titles, and others do not.

One of the “Featured” instructors listed his accomplishments and a number to call to book him for speaking engagements. Not exactly, something I’d want to have my learners see, nor something that is relevant.  Frankly, I found it bordering on ethical, especially since if you really wanted to hire him, you can view his LinkedIn Profile separately.

Learning Paths on the home learner screen

This is another area that frustrated me, simply because the first two learning paths or I refer to as playlists are not necessarily tied to say the skill or skills that I selected at the beginning.

I found that depending on the content I picked, when I returned back to my home learner screen, the top two playlists may change.  In fact, the second playlist always changed in my test.  The first one in this example is listed as Trending for Executive Directors, which would rock if I was an executive director, but since I selected entrepreneurship, that wouldn’t be of relevance to me – i.e. being an executive director.

Even then one of the pieces of content was Marketing on Facebook, another Raising Capital, neither of which seem to me to be “essentials” for executive directors.  I get that people who are viewing the content with the job role of executive director and selecting Marketing for Facebook, but I would hope that with the algorithm LL uses, it would be able to ascertain that some of the content is irrelevant  (unless I was an exec director needing to figure out how to use Facebook).   Anyway, that’s just my take.

The second playlist in my test, was “Stay Sharp on Instructional Design”,  which has nothing to do with either of my skills I selected, nor makes any sense whatsoever. 

That said, the rest of the playlists or channels did make sense for the most part, but again, there was one that come out of nowhere.

In this amazing video you will hear me discuss the home page’s learning paths/playlists plus

  • The Different types of playlists you see
  • The “where do these first two playlists come from?”
  • Other other playlists/paths –  Trending, Most Liked (and where is the likes listed exactly?), what “viewers” means, Learn within 30 minutes, New on LinkedIn Learning, Because you Saved, Recommended for you, Trending in your industry
  • Confusion on a couple of pieces of content within a playlist or two
  • The challenge with “because you saved” and how does the system decide which of the saved content, is listed in the “because you saved” list, if you have say more than one piece of content you saved

In Progress

I found this area to be pretty simple and straightforward to a point.  The vernacular definitely needs a tweak, especially since the first piece of content you see is actually an audio file with a static image, so shouldn’t the “course” be called “audio”? I say this, because with video, it actually says “video”.  And I found most of the content to be videos, but listed as course.    Sure it could be a document, but then call it a document. inproYou can share the content on social media, but I was surprised the only options were Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.  Why not Instagram?  Or any of the other 200 social media sites?  How about Tik-Tok, especially for videos?

You will notice that “in progress” can include “Learning Path” too, and thus to view the content under that, you click and whalla it is a course, aka as a video in this example.

And yet, within the video – in fact, the one under this learning path, “Content” refers to table of contents, rather than say, calling it Table of Contents or TOC.  

Saved

saved

If you have not created a collection, then “Add to collection” is not visible.  Remember when I mentioned video as a piece of content, tada – here it is. Yet the course you see above is also a video.    I also found the time to be small in size.  I’m pretty confident that my mom could not read that.  I’m just saying.

Collections

I really liked collections, but again, something that starts off easy to do, quickly turns into a challenge, then back to easy to do but with an asterisk *.

I’m going to jump over to Skills, since I did not post any content from my organization nor show my Learning History.  I found the ability to add additional skill super easy.  I mean you could spend a few hours picking all these skills (of interest) along with ones you need. 

Catalog

There are a couple of ways to view the entire content catalog on LL.  Choose either the search bar or select “Browse”

browseserach

I found Browse to be useful if you had a very specific idea on what type of content – by subject (but only in the three categories they provide), but using the search bar is for more across the board and/or by skills as it notes, or comfortably level.  For me, I used the search bar.

Catalog

The only topics in the “Browse” are Business, Creative and Technology and as you see, something like “dancing” isn’t considered to be “creative”.  Come to think about it, I’m not sure why “manufacturing” is under creative, but before you go, “Well it says Product”, then sure, no, actually it still doesn’t make sense.

Once you enter the catalog there is a lot to like, but and again it sounds like a broken record, because it is, things that are bewildering. 

In my ‘dancing’ example, I had content that showed up under best match that had absolutely nothing to do with dancing.  For example, “How to spend more time with friends” appeared along with some content on following color correction with some software and “what is inclusion”.   Again, these appeared under “best match” for the topic I selected.

When I picked “Animation and Illustration” on the Browse area, the catalog view included these very cool blue boxes with the different subjects within Animation, and yet, with other topics in browse those blue boxes did not appear, including if you used the search bar on various topics. 

This is a constant issue with LL, i.e. consistency.

Administration

Overall the administration home page was easy to follow.  I really did like the “Quick Links”, and it would be very cool to add “Favorites” that an administrator can select for example, if that ever becomes a feature opportunity (admin related).

That said, the ugly “huh” shows up on the administration home screen as well.  Right in the center – on the top of the page is “Recommended for admins” with a piece of content to view.

In my test, the content was “Bill George on Self Awareness, Authenticity and Leadership,”.  I’d love to know why is this recommended for administrators?  

adminhome

Best Practices to get more from LinkedIn Learning also appears on the administrator home page, and I found only one of the “best practices” made sense – the one for customer success center which had help guides, templates, implementation, etc.  The other two however, was a different story.

One was “Creating a Culture of Learning in six steps.” The third one? “4 Ways to Engage your Workforce,” which BTW was a PDF file.   See any irony there?  PDF file – Engage? HA!

Administration Header

Admin_header

The People area is where you  create users, groups and administrators, then add users, either to the system or in a group or groups – as well as manage them.  It is very easy to do which is a huge win in my book. 

uga

addusersgroups

I’d ideally prefer not to see the number of licenses on the same page as “users”, but that is something from my perspective. 

Within the content option, you can “Explore” and add content in this manner – I found that to be the ideal method.  Learning Path, is where you can add content after creating your learning path – again, fluid and fast, although the way to add it does not align to the same manner that you do with Explore from the standpoint of the entire catalog view – they are different, and returns back to lack of consistency. 

Content includes their new “custom content” capability  In previous versions you could only link to the content, now you can upload your own content, with a caveat – it can only be videos or documents, although you can upload a PowerPoint, which to me, I’ve never referred to as a document.  Again, that is just a nitpick, but saying Presentation might make more sense.  LL does identify file types which I appreciated.

Metrics and Reporting

Reports includes the metric part of the puzzle and while the layout is visually appealing overall, going granular from the metrics/reporting main page is not doable. 

Even when you want granular you have limited options (appearing as reporting options) and only then can you download to see it.  That’s right, you cannot see any of the additional reporting metrics within LL.  

In the Settings section you have multiple options

Settings

One I strongly recommend you changing is the Viewing Preferences for watching the content or listening to it.  The default is “Autoplay” which should be banned from every being used on the Internet.  Autoplay means the moment you zing in to view the video it starts to play.  As anyone who goes to some news sites (CNN and CBS Sports – I’m talking to you), while you are reading an article, if it has a video with it, it starts to auto-play.

It reminds me of the early days of net, where Midi files were all the rage and auto-play too (with said Midi files).  Hmm, I wonder why that disappeared after a few years, oh, right – everyone hated it.   Mute became your new friend.

Download Course Package is the ability to download AICC, but you can’t upload AICC nor any course standard for that matter.

You can interface with your LMS, LXP or any other type of learning system, and thus if that system has xAPI it can work with LL, but LL does not come with xAPI. 

This option is listed under “LMS Reporting APIs”.  The other option under this category? SuccessFactors Integration.  I surmise this is do to an integration partnership (in fact, very likely), but since LL is available with so many learning systems via a content partnership, why are they only showing SuccessFactors as the technology integration tied to reporting?

Bottom Line

I enjoyed overall most of LinkedIn Learning.  Yes, I got frustrated.  Yes, I said to my computer screen, why are they so inconsistent, why are they having this, when it should be shown as that, but equally I said out-loud, I like this, or that is so easy to do.

LinkedIn Learning is a digital learning platform.

It plays like one, it shows like you, and frankly it is one.

One you may enjoy or one that may frustrate you.

Regardless though, it is one that deserves its place

In the Top 50 for 2020.

Now, let’s fix that catalog and nomenclature.

E-Learning 24/7

 

 

Summer 2019 News Quiz | June 1-Aug. 28

By
onlinefreecourse
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Summer 2019 News Quiz | June 1-Aug. 28

This summer has produced dramatic headlines about events both national and global. Here are 49 questions to help you remember what happened and learn more. Can you answer them all without looking at the word bank at the bottom of this post?

We have also created this printable version of the quiz (PDF), as well as this one-page sheet (PDF) that lists just the answer choices in alphabetical order.

We will continue to update this post with the top news stories from now until Aug. 31. Then, starting Sept. 10, our regular 10-question interactive Weekly News Quiz will resume and publish most Tuesday mornings throughout the school year.

Directions: Try to fill in the missing word or words in each blank before looking at the list at the bottom of this post. Clicking each blank in the quiz will then take you to the original Times source for that entry so you can check your answer. (All Times articles accessed directly from this quiz are free to readers.)

1. In a prerecorded episode that aired on June 3, James Holzhauer’s reign on the game show “_________” came to an end with his 33rd game, a tantalizing $58,484 shy of the $2.52 million Ken Jennings won during his record 74-game winning streak in 2004.

2. _________ announced plans on June 4 to remove thousands of videos and channels that advocate neo-Nazism, white supremacy and other bigoted ideologies in an attempt to clean up extremism and hate speech on its popular service.

3. NASA announced on June 7 that for the first time it is allowing private citizens to fly to the _________, the only place where people currently live off the planet.

4. “_________,” a pulsing, poetic contemporary riff on an ancient Greek myth, won the Tony Award for best new musical. Ali Stoker became the first _________ to win a Tony.

5. Two notable moments in American sports in June: The St. Louis Blues ended a 52-year drought and won their first _________ in franchise history, and the Toronto Raptors won their first _________, becoming the first Canadian team to do so.

6. Riot police officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets in downtown __________ on June 12 as they repelled tens of thousands of protesters who tried to swarm the city’s legislature in anger over proposed legislation that would allow extraditions to mainland China. The territory’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, said on June 15 that she would indefinitely suspend the bill, but protests continued throughout the summer and evolved into a broader push to protect the territory’s autonomy and civil liberties, despite growing concerns that China might intervene militarily.

7. Explosions crippled two _________ in the Gulf of Oman on June 13 in what the United States called “unprovoked attacks” by Iran, raising alarms about immediate security and potential military conflict in a vital passageway for a third of the world’s petroleum. The downing of an American surveillance drone by Iran later that month further ratcheted up tensions and nearly resulted in military strikes by the United States.

8. Kyle Kashuv, a survivor of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., announced on June 17 that _________ University had rescinded its admission offer over racist and derogatory comments he made when he was 16. Of the many student activists who emerged from the tragic shooting last year, Mr. Kashuv stood out as a conservative defender of the Second Amendment, surrounded by classmates who were mobilizing for sweeping new controls on guns.

9. The Library of Congress named Joy Harjo America’s new _________. She is the first Native American to hold the post.

10. At a historic hearing on June 19, Congress addressed the topic of _________ for African-Americans. It was the first time Congress has considered a bill, H.R. 40, that would create a commission to develop proposals to address the lingering effects of slavery and consider a “national apology” for the harm it has caused.

11. As expected, Duke’s _________ was selected first by the New Orleans Pelicans in the N.B.A. draft on June 20.

12. The advice columnist E. Jean Carroll accused __________ of sexually assaulting her in the mid-1990s in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room. He emphatically denied the accusations.

13. San Francisco became the first city in the United States to ban __________ on June 25, a move that seeks to curb what experts have described as a nicotine epidemic among teenagers.

14. It was a two-hour debate with 10 candidates. But there was only one defining moment of the second Democratic primary debate on June 27: Senator __________ of California invoking her personal history about being bused to school as she directly challenged Joseph R. Biden Jr., the former vice president, over his record on race and the use of busing to integrate schools.

15. In a pair of decisions with vast implications for the American political landscape, the Supreme Court on June 27 delivered a victory to Republicans by ruling that federal courts are powerless to hear challenges to extreme partisan _________, but gave a reprieve to Democrats by delaying the Trump administration’s efforts to add a question on _________ to the 2020 census.

16. President Trump on June 30 became the first sitting American commander in chief to set foot in North Korea as he met _________, the country’s leader, at the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone, and the two agreed to restart negotiations on a long-elusive nuclear agreement.

17. __________ exceeded a restriction on uranium under the 2015 international agreement curbing its nuclear program, the country’s state media reported on July 1. On July 8, the country’s atomic energy agency reported it had also surpassed the limits on uranium enrichment set out in the deal.

18. On July 2, the Department of Homeland Security’s independent watchdog said that overcrowded, squalid conditions are more widespread at _________ along the southern border than initially revealed. Its report described standing-room-only cells, children without showers and hot meals, and detainees clamoring desperately for release.

19. On July 2, Nike canceled the release of a sneaker featuring a 13-star _________ that is associated with the Revolutionary War, the Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross and, for some people, a painful history of oppression and racism.

20. _________’s military and civilian leaders announced on July 5 that they had reached an agreement to share power until elections, promising an end to the standoff that has paralyzed the African country since the ouster of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in April.

21. Dominating yet another opponent in yet another final, the _________ women’s soccer team claimed its fourth Women’s World Cup title on July 7, beating the Netherlands, 2-0, in Lyon, France, to repeat as world champions.

22. President Trump said on July 14 that a group of four minority congresswomen feuding with Speaker Nancy Pelosi should “_________” to the countries they came from rather than “loudly and viciously telling the people of the United States” how to run the government. Wrapped inside that insult, which was widely established as a racist trope, was a factually inaccurate claim: Only one of the lawmakers was born outside the country.

23. _________, whose 35 years on the United States Supreme Court transformed him, improbably, from a Republican antitrust lawyer into the outspoken leader of the court’s liberal wing, died on July 16 at a hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He was 99.

24. The year-old _________ epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo is now considered a global health emergency, the World Health Organization said on July 17, in a formal declaration that many public health experts called long overdue.

25. He was one of the most notorious outlaws of the last 100 years: a brutal Mexican cartel leader, a wily trafficker who smuggled more than $12 billion worth of drugs and plunged his country into a long-running tragedy of bloodshed and corruption. But on July 17, the 30-year criminal career of Joaquín Guzmán Loera, known to the world as _________, reached its final chapter as a federal judge in New York City sentenced him to life in prison.

26. At least 33 people were killed and three dozen injured by a fire ignited around an __________ studio in Kyoto, Japan, on July 18. The attack shook a country still reeling from a stabbing rampage in a Tokyo suburb in May.

27. Gov. Ricardo A. Rosselló of _________ announced his resignation on July 24, conceding that he could no longer credibly remain in power after an extraordinary popular uprising and looming impeachment proceedings had derailed his administration. Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators had marched in San Juan earlier in the week, demanding Mr. Rosselló’s resignation.

28. Two prime ministers were elected in July: Shinzo Abe declared victory in national elections on July 21, ensuring his place in history as _________’s longest-serving prime minister at a time when the country faces numerous challenges, including a rapidly aging population, tensions with its neighbors in Asia and coming trade talks with an unpredictable counterpart in the White House. On July 24 _________, an ardent supporter of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, took over as prime minister from Theresa May, projecting an optimistic view of the country’s future despite the looming specter of Brexit.

29. The special counsel, _________, testified at a House hearing on July 24 about his report on Russian interference in the 2016 election in which he warned lawmakers that Russia was again trying to sabotage American democracy before next year’s presidential election, defended his investigation’s conclusions about Moscow’s sweeping interference campaign in 2016 and publicly rejected President Trump’s criticism that he had conducted a “witch hunt.”

30. Kyle Giersdorf, 16, who plays online as “Bugha,” beat out 99 other players on July 28 to win the solo competition at the inaugural _________ World Cup.

31. On July 28, Lil Nas X’s “_________” notched a 17th week at the top of Billboard’s Hot 100, becoming the chart’s longest-running No. 1 song.

32. In the year since President Trump officially ended family separations at the southern border, immigration authorities have removed more than 900 _________ from their families, sometimes for reasons as minor as a parent not changing a baby’s diaper or having a traffic citation for driving without a license, according to new documents filed July 30 in federal court.

33. The Federal Reserve cut _________ on July 31 for the first time in more than a decade, as it tried to keep America’s record-long economic expansion going by insulating the economy from mounting global risks.

34. __________ made the stifling heat that enveloped parts of Europe in late July much more likely and hotter, researchers said on Aug. 2. The heat wave, the second to hit Europe since late June, set temperature records in Paris, as well as in Germany, the Netherlands and other countries. By early August, it had moved north over Greenland, causing the surface of the island’s vast ice sheet to melt at near-record levels.

35. _________ announced on Aug. 2 that it would allow adult women to obtain passports, travel and work without securing the permission of a male relative, dealing significant blows to the kingdom’s so-called “guardianship” system that has long been criticized by rights campaigners as oppressive to women.

36. On Aug. 4, Americans woke up to news of a shooting rampage in an entertainment district in _________, Ohio, where a man wearing body armor shot and killed nine people, including his own sister. Hours earlier, a 21-year-old with a rifle entered a Walmart in _________ and killed 20 people. Federal investigators said they were treating the Walmart attack as an act of domestic terrorism. The authorities said that the suspect, a 21-year-old white man, wrote a hate-filled manifesto that was posted online shortly before the shooting warning of a “Hispanic invasion of Texas.”

37. India’s Hindu nationalist government on Aug. 5 unilaterally wiped out the autonomy of the restive _________ region, sending in thousands of army troops to quell any possible unrest the move would bring in a disputed territory fought over by India and Pakistan.

38. Two notable deaths in August: _________, the Nobel laureate in literature whose best-selling work explored black identity in America — and in particular the often crushing experience of black women — through luminous, incantatory prose resembling that of no other writer in English, died on Aug. 5 in the Bronx. She was 88. __________, who amassed a multibillion-dollar fortune with his brother Charles from the corporate behemoth they ran and then joined him in pouring their riches into a powerful right-wing libertarian movement that helped reshape American politics, died on Aug. 23. He was 79.

39. Victoria’s Secret cast an openly _________ woman for the first time, hiring the Brazilian model Valentina Sampaio for a catalog photo shoot, her agent said on Aug. 5.

40. The world’s land and water resources are being exploited at “unprecedented rates,” a new United Nations report warns, which combined with climate change is putting dire pressure on the ability of humanity to __________ itself. The report, prepared by more than 100 experts from 52 countries and released in summary form in Geneva on Aug. 8, found that the window to address the threat is closing rapidly.

41. _________, the financier who was long dogged by accusations of sexual abuse of girls and who was able to cultivate an array of high-profile friends despite his lurid lifestyle, killed himself in his Manhattan jail cell, officials said on Aug. 10. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan had charged him in July with sex trafficking of girls as young as 14 and sex trafficking conspiracy.

42. _________ won a record-tying sixth United States Gymnastics national championship Aug. 11. Her winning performance included two skills never executed successfully before in women’s gymnastics competition: a triple-double (two flips with three twists) on floor exercise and a double-double dismount (two flips with two twists) on balance beam.

43. The Trump administration on Aug. 12 announced that it would change the way the _________ Act is applied, significantly weakening the nation’s bedrock conservation law and making it harder to protect wildlife from the multiple threats posed by climate change.

44. It looked like a small-time assault case, but, somehow, it swept up Kim Kardashian West, President Trump and the United States’ top hostage negotiator. And on Aug. 14 it finally reached its conclusion, when judges in Stockholm found the rapper _________ guilty of assault.

45. The Food and Drug Administration on Aug. 14 effectively endorsed a three-drug regimen that has shown a 90 percent success rate against the most lethal strain of _________. The disease has surpassed AIDS as the leading infectious cause of death globally, and the so-called XDR strain is resistant to typical antibiotics.

46. Under intense pressure from President Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government on Aug. 15 barred two members of the United States Congress from entering _________ for an official visit, reversing a previous decision to admit two of the president’s most outspoken critics.

47. As an ecological disaster in the __________ escalated into a global political crisis, Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, took the rare step on Aug. 23 of mobilizing the armed forces to help contain blazes of a scale not seen in nearly a decade. The sudden reversal, after days of dismissing growing concern over hundreds of fires raging across the forest, came as international outrage grew over the rising deforestation in the world’s largest tropical rain forest.

48. A judge in Oklahoma on Aug. 26 ruled that Johnson & Johnson had intentionally played down the dangers and oversold the benefits of _________, and ordered it to pay the state $572 million in the first trial of a drug manufacturer for the destruction wrought by prescription painkillers.

49. President Trump shifted tone on his _________ war with China yet again on Aug. 26 at the Group of 7 Summit in France, calling President Xi Jinping of China a “great leader” just three days after branding him an “enemy” of the United States. Mr. Trump has pivoted repeatedly in his language on the conflict.

_________

Amazon
American flag
anime
ASAP Rocky
Boris Johnson
citizenship
climate change
David H. Koch
Dayton
e-cigarettes
Ebola
El Chapo
El Paso
Endangered Species
feed
Fortnite
gerrymandering
go back
Hadestown
Harvard
Hong Kong
interest rates
International Space Station
Iran
Israel
Japan
Jeffery Epstein
Jeopardy!
John Paul Stevens
Kamala Harris
Kashmir
Kim Jong-un
migrant centers
migrant children
N.B.A. Championship
oil tankers
Old Town Road
opioids
poet laureate
President Trump
Puerto Rico
reparations
Robert S. Mueller III
Saudi Arabia
Simone Biles
Stanley Cup
Sudan
Toni Morrison
trade
transgender
tuberculosis
United States
wheelchair user
YouTube
Zion Williamson

_________

You can find the quiz answers here (PDF).

The mystery photo? From the Aug. 2 article “Europe’s Heat Wave, Fueled by Climate Change, Moves to Greenland.” The original caption reads, “Water sprinklers last week in Vienna, where temperatures reached the mid-90s Fahrenheit.”

Summer Reading Contest Winner, Week 9: On ‘Dozens of Young People Hospitalized for Breathing and Lung Problems After Vaping’

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onlinefreecourse
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Summer Reading Contest Winner, Week 9: On ‘Dozens of Young People Hospitalized for Breathing and Lung Problems After Vaping’

Thank you to the 1,185 teenagers who participated in the ninth week of our 10-week Summer Reading Contest, and congratulations to Jordan Ferdman, our winner, as well as to our many runners-up and honorable mentions.

Scroll down to take a look at the variety of topics — from “sharenting” and vegan kimchi to coding in coal country and climate activism — that caught the eyes of our participants this week. You can find the work of all our winners since 2017 in this column.

Jordan Ferdman from New York City chose an article headlined “Dozens of Young People Hospitalized for Breathing and Lung Problems After Vaping” and wrote:

I couldn’t have been older than eight when my parents introduced to me the concept of intent versus impact. The idea that when you hurt someone, or your actions have a negative consequence, your intent is not what matters.

I cannot help but wonder if executive James Monsees understands my parents’ guiding principle. Though he acknowledged the rampant use among underage Americans, Juul products continue to sell. The effects of this are not, by any means, difficult to find: Shelia Kaplan’s “Dozens of Young People Hospitalized for Breathing and Lung Problems After Vaping” makes this abundantly clear. The bathrooms at my school are affectionately referred to as the “Juul rooms.” A well-known — and admittedly overdone — joke passed around in the hallways is about “toilets in the Juul room.” It would be easier for me to count my friends that don’t own a Juul than to count the friends that do. The vaping device has become so ingrained in teenage life that it’s difficult to go a day without seeing one peeking out of a pencil case or smuggled up a sleeve. Several of my classmates cannot go more than an hour or two without taking a hit in the school bathroom or, in some cases, the back of a classroom.

Executives claim hooking teenagers on nicotine was not the intention of the company, which is valued at $38 billion. But it is the impact, and failure to not only own up to that but to take larger steps to mitigate its damages is a disservice to the country’s youth.

Emily on “If You Didn’t ‘Sharent,’ Did You Even Parent?”

Huda Haque on “Trump’s Attacks Will Not Stop Me”

Mythili Iyer on “Push for Ethnic Studies in Schools Faces a Dilemma: Whose Stories to Tell”

Monique Kapur-Mauleon LansingENG11 on “Nigerians Flee After Men on Motorbikes Shoot Down Mourners”

DIFERENCIAS ENTRE LA GESTION PUBLICA DE TURISMO ENTRE BOLIVIA Y ESTADOS UNIDOS

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DIFERENCIAS ENTRE LA GESTION PUBLICA DE TURISMO ENTRE BOLIVIA Y ESTADOS UNIDOS
El presente artículo es un breve análisis de una visita que se realizó al país de Estados Unidos para conocer los ámbitos de la gestión del turismo en tres estados y obtener las principales lecciones aprendidas y conocimiento técnico del área. Esta visita estuvo organizada por el programa IVLP.
El Programa de Liderazgo para Visitantes Internacionales (IVLP, pos sus siglas en inglés) es el principal programa de intercambio profesional del Departamento de Estado de los Estados Unidos.
Lanzado en 1940, el IVLP busca fomentar el entendimiento mutuo con otras naciones a través de visitas de corta duración a Estados Unidos, las cuales son cuidadosamente diseñadas para líderes extranjeros (actuales y futuros). Estas visitas reflejan los intereses profesionales de los visitantes internacionales y apoyan los objetivos de política exterior de los Estados Unidos.
Desde su creación, miles de personas distinguidas han participado en el Programa de Liderazgo para Visitantes Internacionales, incluyendo centenares de Jefes y ex Jefes de Estado y de Gobierno, miles de Ministros y muchos otros líderes distinguidos del sector público y el sector privado.
Los visitantes extranjeros viajan a Estados Unidos para participar en una variedad de programas temáticos, ya sea individualmente o en grupos, por un tiempo máximo de tres semanas.
Mientras están en Estados Unidos los participantes visitan tres estados con sus respectivas ciudades. Los visitantes asisten a entrevistas profesionales con sus homólogos estadounidenses, aprenden sobre el sistema de gobierno estadounidense a nivel nacional, estatal y local y experimentan la cultura y la vida social estadounidense.
El programa inicial para el año 2018 contemplaba el proyecto “Ecoturismo, un proyecto para Bolivia” donde el Departamento de Estado a través de la Embajada de Estados Unidos en Bolivia realizó la búsqueda de postulantes a nivel nacional para que después de un proceso de selección, queden 10 candidatos del sector turístico para que se beneficien de esta visita.
Objetivos del programa
  • ·   Aprender cómo el ecoturismo contribuye a la conservación de hábitats protegidos, refugios de vida silvestre y parques nacionales en los EE. UU.
  • ·     Explorar cómo el ecoturismo tiene el potencial de beneficiar a las economías locales y promover el comercio relacionado, como artesanías, restaurantes y museos.
  • ·   Observar cómo el ecoturismo aumenta la conciencia sobre las condiciones sociales locales, la historia y la cultura de una región.
  • ·  Experimentar cómo el ecoturismo en los EE. UU. Trabaja para combinar viajes con oportunidades educativas sobre sostenibilidad y conservación.
  • ·     Ver cómo se construye el ecoturismo utilizando métodos ambientalmente racionales y opera con fuentes de energía alternativas.
  • ·     Observar cómo el ecoturismo minimiza el impacto humano en los hábitats naturales y promueve la conservación de los recursos.
  • ·  Ver cómo el ecoturismo sustenta el bienestar de la población local y/o las comunidades indígenas. 
  • ·   Aprender cómo el ecoturismo ayuda a aumentar la conciencia ambiental y cultural de los visitantes.

Temas a desarrollar
El proyecto abordó las siguientes temáticas en cada ciudad:
Portland, Oregon: Preservación histórica del turismo, gestión de la región vinícola
Pensacola, Florida: Promoción turística local Fomento del turismo y protección de ecosistemas frágiles
Santa Fe, Nuevo México: Papel de las comunidades indígenas en el turismo Ecoturismo de aventura Promoción turística estatal y local.
Portland, estado de Oregon

Situado en la confluencia de los ríos Willamette y Columbia, Portland fue originalmente un claro en el bosque, donde los nativos americanos y los comerciantes se detuvieron a descansar. En 1844, los habitantes de Nueva Inglaterra se instalaron en la zona y lanzaron una moneda para determinar si la ciudad se llamaría Boston o Portland, y Portland sería la ganadora. Los Saltos de Oro de California y Alaska, la Exposición del Centenario de Lewis y Clark de 1904 y la construcción de la Presa de Bonneville contribuyeron al crecimiento de la ciudad durante los primeros años del siglo XX. En la década de 1970, los planificadores urbanos progresistas establecieron un Límite de Crecimiento Urbano que permitía la coexistencia de valiosas tierras agrícolas y recursos naturales con la urbanización de Portland. Hoy en día, la combinación de la belleza natural del noroeste y la historia única de Portland lo convierten en una de las ciudades más habitables y más verdes del mundo.
Visitas, encuentros y resultados que se desarrollaron en Portland
Lugar/Institución
Responsable
Temáticas desarrolladas
Resultados
World Oregon (Institución auspiciadora del programa)
Jenny Eisenberg del Departamento de Estado
Bienvenida del programa y explicación de las actividades
Entendimiento del sistema federal de los Estados Unidos y el manejo de su gestión pública
Audubon Society of Portland (Sociedad protectora de aves)
Dan Van Den Broek, Responsable de educación
Sistema de protección de aves en peligro
Desarrollo de actividades complementarias
Sistema de Voluntariado
Sistema de membresías
Conocimiento de la historia de las necesidades de crear instituciones ecoturísticas en Portland
Manejo sostenible de una organización a través de la captación de recursos propios
Diversificación de actividades comerciales dentro de una organización
Restore Oregon (Organización defensora del patrimonio)
Lydia Ness y Katelyn Weber, Responsables de programas de preservación
Protección de patrimonio en riesgo
Restauración del patrimonio municipal
Promoción de sitios rescatados
Asociatividad pública privada para trabajos de restauración
Formas de incluir el turismo como dinamizador del patrimonio rescatado
Sistema de clasificación del patrimonio en riesgo
Maysara Winery (Empresa de vinos)
Sokol – Blosser (Empresa de vinos)
Stoller Winery (Empresa de vinos)
Jeff Davis, Anna Schneider, Fred McDougall, propietarios de las empresas
Producción vitivinícola
Formas de mercadeo y comercialización
Asociación con el turismo
Historia de la vocación vitivinícola de la zona
Cata de vinos
Sistema de membresía
Adicionales
Visita a las oficinas de información turística de Portland
Pensacola, estado de Florida

Pensacola, fundada en 1559 por el explorador español, Don Tristán de Luna de Arellano, es el primer intento de asentamiento europeo en lo que hoy es Estados Unidos. Varias semanas después de que se estableciera el asentamiento en 1559, un huracán destruyó los suministros y el grupo luchó por sobrevivir. De Luna regresó a su España natal, y los españoles no regresaron a la zona hasta el siglo XVII. Desde entonces, la ciudad ha pertenecido a España, Francia, Inglaterra, los Estados Confederados y los Estados Unidos. Su gobierno ha cambiado de manos trece veces. Es parte de la media luna de la Costa del Golfo que va hacia el oeste a través de las puntas del sur de Alabama y Mississippi hasta las áreas de perforación de la plataforma petrolera de Louisiana y Texas.
Pensacola es muy conocida como el hogar de una importante estación aérea naval de los EE. UU. La estación es un centro de guerra electrónica y entrenamiento cartográfico y es la sede del equipo de precisión de vuelo de los Ángeles Azules. Si bien las instalaciones militares en el área son extremadamente importantes para la economía local, las playas y pueblos han desarrollado su propia economía, atrayendo a muchas personas de los condados del interior.
Visitas, encuentros y resultados que se desarrollaron en Portland
Lugar/Institución
Responsable
Temáticas desarrolladas
Resultados
Pensacola City Hall (Munipalidad de Pensacola)
Don Kraher, Ejecutivo del Consejo ciudadano
Historia de la ciudad
Sistema de gestión municipal
Vocaciones económicas de Pensacola
Conocer el desarrollo de un centro turístico de playa en medio de la Costa del Golfo
Conocer la forma de gobierno de una ciudad pequeña con una gran área metropolitana
University of West Florida
Lisa Assante, Responsable de Hospitalidad Global y Turismo
La hospitalidad como eje central del desarrollo del turismo
Capacitación a la población e instituciones
Conocer los resultados y sensación de hospitalidad de los servicios de la ciudad
Conocer la forma de participación de la ciudadanía en sus nociones de hospitalidad.
Visit Pensacola (Organización de mercadeo y promoción de Pensacola)
Nicole Stacey, Directora de marketing y promoción
Estrategias de promoción
Promoción usando el social media
Trabajo organizado junto al sector público y privado
Conocer el presupuesto y  la forma de distribución en los esfuerzos de marketing de la ciudad
Conocer las herramientas de mercado y resultados
Forma de trabajo como ONG aliada al sector público y privado
Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center (Centro de conservación para tortugas de mar de la playa Navarre)
Nicole Stephens. Responsable de coordinación y voluntariado
Participación de la ONG como educadora en temas ambientales
Formas de autosostenibilidad
Conocer las especies marinas amenazadas por la contaminación
Conocer los programas de educación ambiental para revertir la amenaza de las especies 
Blackwater River State Park (Parque estatal Río Blackwater)
Marshall Shaw, encargado de los Guarda parques
Turismo sostenible en los parques estatales
Protección de la biodiversidad a través del ecoturismo
Diversificación de actividades de aventura en los parques
Experimentar los recorridos ecoturísticos (canotaje)
Conocer la normativa para el manejo sostenible del parque
Conocer la forma de organización y personal del parque
Adventures Unlimited (Empresa de deportes aventura)
Jack Sandborn
Normas de ecoturismo para la empresa privada
Cuidado del medio ambiente a través de actividades responsables
Conocer la normativa para empresas privadas en cuanto al medio ambiente
Los sistemas de regulación estatal
Coldwaters Gardens (emprendimiento privado de cabañas ecoturísticas)
Rusty Erdman, dueño del negocio
Estrategias de marketing
Oportunidades en la industria del ecoturismo
Sostenibilidad para la pequeña empresa
Conocer las actividades ecoturísticas dentro el emprendimiento (reciclaje del agua, uso de paneles solares, etc)
Conocer los métodos de ampliación de productos al mercado a través de prácticas de sostenibilidad (flores, huevos, productos orgánicos, etc.)
Santa Fe, estado de Nuevo México

Santa Fe, a una altitud de 2.100 metros y con una población de 84.100 habitantes, es una mezcla de culturas nativas americanas, españolas, mexicanas y angloamericanas. Las calles estrechas de Santa Fe, los altos muros, los jardines protegidos y los antiguos edificios de adobe parecen formar parte del paisaje natural. La preservación histórica y la integridad arquitectónica de la comunidad están celosamente guardadas, también es un centro de comercio y algo de industria ligera, aunque su economía se basa principalmente en el turismo y el gobierno estatal. La revista Condé Nast Traveler califica a Santa Fe entre los tres principales destinos turísticos de los Estados Unidos. La industria del turismo produce $ 620 millones en producción económica anualmente. Santa Fe tiene 4.600 habitaciones en hoteles, moteles, spas y posadas, 275 restaurantes, 250 galerías y una amplia variedad de joyerías y boutiques.
Santa Fe es la segunda ciudad más antigua de los Estados Unidos. Ha sido una sede central del gobierno desde su fundación en 1610, cuando se desempeñó como capital provincial de España. Las banderas española, mexicana y confederada han volado sobre Santa Fe.
Visitas, encuentros y resultados que se desarrollaron en Santa Fe
Lugar/Institución
Responsable
Temáticas desarrolladas
Resultados
New Mexico Rafting Adventures (Empresa de actividades de aventura)
Brent Soloway, Dueño del negocio
Seguridad en las empresas de ecoturismo
Preservación de ríos estatales
Capacitación del personal
Experimentar actividades de aventura (rafting en el río Grande)
Conocer la forma de funcionamiento de las agencias de regulación estatal
Experimentar las acciones de seguridad personal de los recorridos
Cerro Gordo hiking trailhead (recorrido de caminata por el cerro Gordo)
Tim Rogers, Responsable programa de manejo y conservación
Programa de voluntariado para la conservación
Actividades de ecoturismo para potenciar áreas deprimidas
Protección de fauna a través de la educación
Conocer como las actividades de ecoturismo contribuyen a un aumento en la economía local
Experimentar actividades ecoturísticas (caminata por el cerro)
Conocer como el trabajo de voluntariado contribuye fuertemente al logro de los objetivos de una ONG
Ciudad de Pueblo (oficina de del gobernador de la Tribu Puye)
Michael Chavarria, Gobernador de la tribu Puye
Historia y herencia de los pueblos nativos americanos
Forma de gobierno de las tribus nativo americanas
Alcances de su legislación y miembros
Preservación de sus sitios arqueológicos y costumbres
Conocer la forma de organización de las tribus de nativos americanos, aspectos de autonomías, y su incursión al turismo comunitario
Conocer sus emprendimientos y el destino de sus utilidades
Conocer el desarrollo de la artesanía que llega a la especialización en distintos materiales
Emprendimiento de los nativos Puye Cliffs (Visita a los acantilados de Puye, ruinas arqueológicas)
Raul Lens, guía nativo de los acantilados
Preservación de sitios arqueológicos y costumbres
Prácticas medioambientales para el mantenimiento de los recursos naturales
Modo de vida de las culturas ancestrales
Conocer y experimentar los recorridos turísticos arqueológicos
Aprender la forma de vida y transferencia de conocimientos de la cultura de los navajos
Bandelier National Monument (Parque estatal de Bandelier)
Jason Lott, encargado de los Guarda parques
Modo de administración de un parque arqueológico desde el punto de vista estatal
Implementación de actividades complementarias a las de caminatas dentro el parque
Experimentar los recorridos del parque con una combinación de cultura, deporte y arqueología
Conocer el modo de organización y personal de un parque estatal
Departamento de turismo Gobernación de Nuevo México
David Griscom, director de turismo
Políticas de turismo en el estado de Nuevo México
Mercadeo del destino Nuevo México
Estadísticas y mercados principales 
Conocer como a partir de un producto turístico se desarrollan rutas y una variedad de oferta complementaria
Bases del turismo comunitario (tribal) y su apoyo por parte del estado
Museo Natural de historia y Ciencia de Albuquerque
Tom Williamson, Paleontólogo del museo
Mike Sanchez, responsable de historia y educación  
Manejo y organización del museo
Manejo de las muestras paleontológicas encontradas en la zona
Sinergia entre la educación e historia con el turismo
Conocer como actividades como protección y promoción de la paleontología crea oportunidades de desarrollo económico
Se ratifica la importancia de realizar este tipo de actividades de aprendizaje internacional e intercambio de experiencias con países como Estados Unidos que si bien presenta realidades diferentes al contexto nacional y diferencias muy amplias en cuanto a normativa, administración pública, institucionalidad, existen muchas actividades que tienen un grado alto de replicabilidad en nuestro contexto sobre todo en el sector turístico. El factor más importante es poder conocer estas experiencias de manos de los directos responsables de áreas, la mayoría con muchos años de experiencia y que suelen actuar como consejeros cuando se les plantea situaciones enfocadas a realidad nacional.
El factor más importante para entender las grandes diferencias entre la administración pública boliviana y norteamericana es el sistema federal basado en la descentralización del poder. La vigencia del federalismo en los Estados Unidos está basada en algo tan primordial como esencial para sustentar ese sistema: Una efectiva descentralización del poder. Esto implica que el poder reside en los cincuenta Estados miembros de la Unión, los cuales delegan en el Presidente unas pocas potestades, como ser la defensa exterior, la emisión y regulación de moneda y el manejo de las relaciones exteriores con otros países.
No obstante, esas pocas potestades que recaen de manera exclusiva en el Presidente están a su vez fuertemente condicionadas por el aval que debe prestar el Poder Legislativo, integrado por senadores y representantes de los Estados. Si bien desde nuestra perspectiva el Presidente de los Estados Unidos puede parecer una figura muy fuerte en el escenario global, hacia dentro de la Unión no es tal cosa. Los gobernadores son verdaderos “mini-presidentes” dentro de las fronteras de los Estados que gobiernan.
Hay un ordenamiento jurídico que garantiza la real autonomía de los Estados pero, sobre todo, la mayoría de ellos son autosuficientes en materia de recursos financieros. A diferencia de lo que sucede en Bolivia con el modelo autonómico, en Estados Unidos se observa una verdadera autonomía federal en el plano fiscal.
Ya en el ámbito turístico existe una fortaleza muy grande en cuanto a su normativa nacional y estatal ya que las entidades encargadas de la gestión turística están acompañadas por varias agencias de regulación para controlar los temas de seguridad y calidad, por lo cual los esfuerzos están enfocados en el mercadeo de los destinos con un énfasis muy fuerte en el social media.
En varias instituciones se nota un desarrollo sostenible por dos principales factores: el aprovechamiento de todos los recursos comerciales (venta de espacios para campings, cursos, clases, tiendas de recuerdos, merchandising, etc.)
Otro de los puntos diferenciadores es que las instituciones en turismo de Bolivia, realizan una planificación en base a la metodología de incorporar muchas temáticas en nuestro caso era la implementación en los 7 ejes estratégicos que se había planteado: Seguridad y facilitación turística, Mejora continua y calidad, Fomento e incentivo, Diversificación de la oferta, Educación y cultura turística, Alianzas y Promoción turística. Debiendo establecer estrategias de trabajo conjunto con otras instituciones pero con el riesgo de poder sobrepasar competencias tanto al interior del municipio como a nivel subnacional.
Entonces las entidades de gestión turística se dedican en mayor medida a atraer visitantes a sus regiones principalmente basadas en el mercadeo y no otras actividades que salen fuera de su competencia.
Por ultimo mencionar que a través de estas actividades se realizan contactos personales que desembocan en compromisos de seguimiento a las actividades planteadas en las visitas, ganando asesorías externas sin ningún costo para el municipio.

Author : Jose Fernando Villagra Caero
Degree : Bachelors
Major : Marketing and Advertising
Country : Bolivia
Language : Spanish

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Coursera Introduces Hands-On Learning with Coursera Labs

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Coursera Introduces Hands-On Learning with Coursera Labs

By Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO Coursera

August 28, 2019: At Coursera, we envision a world where anyone, anywhere can have access to the world’s best education, and we’re proud of how far we’ve come with over 3,600 courses, 190 top university and industry partners, and 14 degrees. But our work doesn’t stop there. In today’s rapidly changing world, companies are looking for candidates who have both the knowledge and the hands-on skills to tackle business problems using industry-standard tools. 

Today we’re excited to announce Coursera Labs, a new capability that allows partners to create hands-on projects using almost any third-party software application. These can be offered as standalone projects or integrated into courses. Coursera Labs allows learners to seamlessly work on projects and assignments in a browser without any environment setup or software downloads — simply click a button to instantly work on programming assignments using today’s most in-demand tools like Jupyter Notebook, RStudio, VS Code, cloud software consoles, and almost any native desktop application. In addition to programming, educators can also create custom applications in the Labs environment to help learners practice and apply skills in business, marketing, and humanities. 

As we expand our hands-on learning capabilities with Coursera Labs, we’re thrilled to announce our acquisition of Rhyme Softworks, an online platform for hands-on projects. With Rhyme’s virtual machines, beginner to intermediate-level learners can follow along with self-paced or live guided sessions while simultaneously completing a project or assignment — all from one browser using pre-configured Windows or Linux cloud desktops. Rhyme truly embraces the concept of “learn by doing” and, moving forward, we see big opportunities to use Rhyme to extend the capabilities we’ll offer with Coursera Labs. With this acquisition, we will also expand Rhyme’s office in Sofia, Bulgaria to focus on Labs-powered innovation efforts. 

Check out what Rhyme is all about here:

University of London was a pilot partner for Coursera Labs and created an innovative way for learners of their Introduction to Computer Programming course, which explores topics covered in their online Bachelor of Science in Computer Science degree, to immediately apply their coding skills. Using Coursera Labs, Goldsmiths, University of London created a custom application called Sleuth, where students write code to solve a series of interactive detective puzzles.

“Learners today not only want to grasp theoretical concepts, they also want to put their new skills into immediate use. The Sleuth game is a fun, interactive way for learners to test their understanding of the foundational programming skills we teach in the course,” said Dr. Mathew Yee-King, Programme Director, BSc Computer Science at University of London. “Using Coursera Labs, we were able to integrate Sleuth seamlessly into the learning experience, and we look forward to using this new capability to integrate more applied learning experiences into our online content.”

University of Michigan and University of Illinois are also going to use Coursera Labs for their upcoming content on the Coursera platform. We plan to roll this functionality out broadly to our full partner portfolio by the end of the year.

As online learning continues to support workforce training on the job and at home, it’s important to provide engaging, hands-on experiences that enable learners to test their mastery of new skills with the tools used in the workplace. We look forward to Coursera Labs and Rhyme enhancing our partners’ courses to prepare more learners for jobs of the future.

5

Looking for Graphs to Use in the Classroom? Here Are 34.

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Looking for Graphs to Use in the Classroom? Here Are 34.

Our third year of “What’s Going On in This Graph?”, our weekly collaboration with the American Statistical Association, begins in September. To help you prepare, we have amassed an archive with 34 graphs on an array of topics, including baseball, popular music, climate change and military budgets. Take a look to see how thousands of students have already interacted with these fascinating examples of data journalism.

If you’re new to the feature, here is how it works:

  • Each week during the school year we take a graph that has been published elsewhere in The New York Times and ask students to share what they notice and wonder about it. This feature is completely free.

  • We post these graphs on Thursdays, and include them in our free weekly newsletter, so teachers can plan for the coming week. Our first graph of the new school year will be released on Thursday, Sept. 5.

  • Then, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern time the next Wednesday, we host a live-moderated discussion where students from around the world post their observations and analysis while moderators from A.S.A. facilitate the conversation among the students. Our first live-moderated discussion will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 11.

  • Your class can join the discussion any day of the week, not just Wednesdays, and students can even comment on graphs in our archive.

  • On Thursday afternoons, a week after we publish each graph, we add an “update” to the post which includes additional background about these graphs and relevant statistical concepts.

Below you will find 16 kinds of graphs, ranging from a simple dot plot to a radar graph. To make this free library even more accessible for teachers, we’ve organized them by both topic and graph type.

In addition, we have two new ways you can stay on top of everything related to “What’s Going On in This Graph?” and share this feature with your colleagues:

  • Add our 2019-20 “What’s Going On in This Graph?” live-moderated discussion dates to your Google calendar.

  • Watch our related webinar, featuring Sharon Hessney from the American Statistical Association and Dan Meyer from Desmos, as well as guest teachers and students, about how to use “What’s Going On in This Graph?” in your classroom.

Join us for our third year of “What’s Going On in This Graph?” We can’t wait to get started!

Environment, Science and Technology

Education

The Arts, Sports and Culture

Health & Wellness

United States Economy, Politics, History and Civics

Global Economies, History, Politics and Culture

On-Demand Webinar: Teach With Graphs From The New York Times

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On-Demand Webinar: Teach With Graphs From The New York Times

Teaching students how to read, interpret and question graphs, maps and charts is a key 21st-century skill. In this 54-minute webinar, recorded live in March 2019, join educators from The Learning Network, the American Statistical Association and Desmos, as well as guest teachers and students, as we discuss ways to teach and learn with the award-winning graphics from The New York Times.

Graphs pop up everywhere these days — not just in old media like textbooks, state exams and newspapers, but also on YouTube and Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. Yet they still serve the same age-old purposes: to inform and persuade — and, occasionally, to misinform. That means students are most likely interacting with statistics and visualized data not just in school, but in their everyday lives as well. Do they have the tools to understand these graphs, evaluate their reliability and draw logical conclusions?

Each week on The Learning Network, we spotlight a new Times graph — on topics ranging from pop music and sneakers to climate change and college costs — as part of our “What’s Going On in This Graph?” feature. On Wednesdays, teachers from the A.S.A. provide live facilitation to help students notice, wonder and deepen their analysis. And on Thursdays, our A.S.A. partners provide additional background about these graphs and relevant statistical concepts.

Resource List: In this PDF you can find links to all the resources we discuss in this webinar.

Original Webinar: You can watch the original, unedited webinar here and download a professional development certificate at the end. The webinar is free, but registration is required.

Sharon Hessney, Mathematics Teacher, Boston.

Ms. Hessney is an American Statistical Association member and a Boston math teacher. She curates the graphs for “What’s Going On in This Graph?”, writes the releases, and coordinates the online moderators.

Dan Meyer, Chief Academic Officer, Desmos.

Mr. Meyer explores the future of math, technology and learning as the chief academic officer at Desmos. He taught high school math to students who didn’t like high school math and has advocated for better math instruction on CNN, Good Morning America and TED.com.

Greg Yarnall, Advanced Placement History Teacher, Morris Township, N.J.

Mr. Yarnall is a longtime Advanced Placement History teacher at the Academy of Saint Elizabeth in Morris Township, N.J. His courses run the gamut from freshman World History to a dual-enrollment senior seminar on freedom, power and politics.

Kaitlyn Garrett, (10th grade) and Ellie Gates (11th grade), Students at Academy of Saint Elizabeth

Stefanie Geeve, Math Teacher, Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

Ms. Geeve, a math teacher and instructional coach at Glenbard West High School, is passionate about education. She has used “What Going On in This Graph?” with her students to promote critical thinking, curiosity and student questioning.

Shannon Moran and David Benjamin (9th grade), Students at Glenbard West High School.

World Conference on Online Learning 2019

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World Conference on Online Learning 2019

Dublin Convention Center

The World Conference on Online Learning is one of the larger conferences in the online learning space. This year’s conference is being held in Dublin, Ireland, November 3-7. As its name suggests, the World Conference on Online Learning is truly global in scope. From more than 650 paper submissions, the organizers are expecting close to 550 presentations, with authors representing 54 countries.

Now in its 28th year, the conference’s scope encompasses online learning as a whole, with MOOCs playing a prominent role in this year’s agenda. FutureLearn is a conference sponsor, and CEO Simon Nelson will be delivering a keynote address. Participants will also get to hear more about the rapid emergence of MOOC-based microcredentials; Beverley Oliver, former Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education at Deakin University, will share recent research on the subject. And one of the academics behind the first MOOCs, George Siemens, will be reflecting on the big questions in the conference’s final keynote. Furthermore, Class Central has learned that the conference will provide a platform for at least one announcement about the continuing development of MOOCs globally.

This year, the theme of the World Conference on Online Learning is “Transforming Lives and Societies”, referencing the reality that in the digital age higher education is not bounded by country borders. The theme aligns with the institutional mission of Dublin City University, which seeks to make a contribution to worldwide learning, particularly in developing countries. The organizers place online learning within the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, seeking to understand how online learning can advance that broader global agenda.

Mark Brown is the Director of the National Institute for Digital Learning based at Dublin City University and Conference Chair for this year’s conference. As Dr. Brown explained, “We are trying to present a multifaceted view of online learning. We take a critical perspective. My own academic work is defined by the saying, ‘the light comes through the cracks.’ This conference seeks to expose those cracks because that is where new knowledge and insight emerges.”

Conference participants can also look forward to having a uniquely Irish experience. The conference venue is located right in the heart of Dublin, near the historic Temple Bar neighborhood, and the program is peppered with “tastes of Ireland”. As Dr. Brown explained, “The social and cultural side of the conference is just as important as the academic side.” For example, one day of the conference ends with a walking tour structured around the conference theme and sub-themes, ending at a traditional Irish pub.

Registration remains open for the World Conference on Online Learning. The organizers anticipate strong demand and recommend booking early. Class Central will be in attendance. Let us know if you’ll be there too!

Class Central is a media partner for the 2019 World Conference on Online Learning. Check out our full list of conferences related to MOOCs and online learning.

Protected: Can You Be Happy Without Friends? (Millennial Study)

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The post Protected: Can You Be Happy Without Friends? (Millennial Study) appeared first on Coursera Blog.

Summer Reading Contest Winner, Week 8: On ‘There Was No Gunfire in Times Square. But the Panic Was Still Real.’

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Summer Reading Contest Winner, Week 8: On ‘There Was No Gunfire in Times Square. But the Panic Was Still Real.’

Thank you to the 1,252 teenagers who participated in the eighth week of our 10-week Summer Reading Contest, and congratulations to Annie Ma, our winner, as well as to our many runners-up and honorable mentions.

Scroll down to take a look at the variety of topics — from the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton to climate change and a mystifying math equation — that caught the eyes of our participants this week. You can find the work of all our winners since 2017 in this column.

And please remember to always check the top of our contest announcement to find the right place to participate, any week from now until Aug. 23.

Annie Ma from California chose an article headlined “There Was No Gunfire in Times Square. But the Panic Was Still Real.” She wrote:

Last Wednesday, while waiting for my bus to depart from the Santa Cruz Metro Center, I was falling asleep to Ed Sheeran when I heard the sound I never thought I would hear. It was like a thousand cymbals had clashed at one moment. In an instant, I was huddled beneath my seat, my body reduced to a twitching sack of adrenaline and jelly. The subsequent panic, gunshots, and dread made the waiting the worst twenty minutes of my life. I eventually learned that the shots were the result of a heated argument rather than a mentally unstable domestic terrorist.

Although no one was injured, the incident speaks to the severity of America’s gun problem. As Mr. Wilson explains, the population is so inundated with news of shootings that any loud sound — a vehicle backfiring, a store sign falling — can trigger widespread panic. More and more Americans are experiencing what it’s like to fear for their lives at the hands of a gun. We are actually, as Mr. Wilson puts it, living in a “new normal.”

As I listened to the car radio the next morning, I wondered how it might sound if shootings became so frequent they were reported like traffic: “A shooting at the Cupertino Target has the block zoned off and slow traffic backed up into Stelling. Additionally, police investigating a shooting at the Autumn Festival has the southbound 280 exit 13 closed.” It may very well be the new normal if we don’t take action to avoid it.

Vaidehi B on “How We Fact-Check in an Age of Misinformation”

Shena Han on “The Ideology of Hate and How to Fight It”

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