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Massive Online Open Courses could revolutionize university education

Public release date: 24-Jun-2013
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Contact: Ana M Herrera
oic@uc3m.es
Carlos III University of Madrid

This news release is available in Spanish.

MOOCs are linked to the appearance of digital culture in all the areas of our lives, from the way we listen to music to the way we take photos, read the newspaper or watch movies. "Before, you had to have a radio, and a camera, go to the newsstand to buy the newspaper or go to the cinema, but now there are applications that enable us to do everything digitally," said the coordinator of the eMadrid network, Carlos Delgado Kloos, during the opening of this conference, dedicated to the transformational effect that the technology of MOOCs has on education; it was held on the Legans campus of the UC3M, and had over two hundred registered participants.

This disruptive process, in which technology is continually transforming our daily lives, also affects the world of teaching, which is faced with the dilemma of having to adapt to this new educational model, characterized by massification and progressive personalization of the contents being taught, or remaining faithful to its traditional model of lecture classes. Faced with this scenario, various questions arise: How will new technological developments affect Higher Education? Will teaching continue to be done in person or will it be done online instead? Will other educational methods arise? Will syllabi disintegrate into small, rapidly consumed pieces? Who will be responsible for certifying studies and evaluating which are the best teaching tools? Will there be new alliances among institutions? What will the university's role be? And the professor's?

Higher education and, especially, the university will have to try to respond to these questions and adapt to these new times, where new technologies, accessibility, mobility and a new type of social interaction through networks are becoming are taking on a major role. According to the researchers, MOOCs are democratizing education, enabling hundreds of thousands of students to sign up for these open courses, because they only need access to internet to do so. "This is not about replicating a lecture class online, because that can be done using a video; rather it is about choosing the parts of the educational process that can be implemented with these platforms, keeping the figure of the professor, who continues to be necessary in this context," explains Carlos Delgado Kloos, who is a tenured professor in UC3M's Telematic Engineering Department.

New spaces

One of the consequences of the appearance of MOOCs is the "deterritorialization" of the educational process. This is shaking up the key role played by universities' geographic proximity when enrolling students, which, according to the researchers, begs the question of whether equalizing the possibilities of access to the most important universities and the less renowned won't be detrimental to the latter. One way to avoid this risk is for institutions to work together to form joint platforms where they can offer MOOCs; in Spanish, among other platforms, Mirada X and UniMOOC can be found. In the United States students can use Udacity, Coursera and edX.

The eMadrid network is a program of activities among research groups subsidized by the Autonomous Community of Madrid, which promotes R+D+i Technology-Enhanced Learning. The project is coordinated by UC3M in partnership with the Universidad Autnoma of Madrid, the Universidad Complutense of Madrid, the Politcnica of Madrid, the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos and the UNED (National Distance Learning University). In addition, other universities and companies from the sector also participate in the project. This year the eMadrid network held its IV Conference on June 13th and 14th on UC3M's Legans campus. Titled "MOOCs, the transformational effect of technology on education", this conference presented a panoramic view of Technology Enhanced Learning and its evolution.

###

Further information: http://www.emadridnet.org

VIDEO: http://youtu.be/cEd_xjIGJlI

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[ | E-mail | Share ]

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 24-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Ana M Herrera
oic@uc3m.es
Carlos III University of Madrid

This news release is available in Spanish.

MOOCs are linked to the appearance of digital culture in all the areas of our lives, from the way we listen to music to the way we take photos, read the newspaper or watch movies. "Before, you had to have a radio, and a camera, go to the newsstand to buy the newspaper or go to the cinema, but now there are applications that enable us to do everything digitally," said the coordinator of the eMadrid network, Carlos Delgado Kloos, during the opening of this conference, dedicated to the transformational effect that the technology of MOOCs has on education; it was held on the Legans campus of the UC3M, and had over two hundred registered participants.

This disruptive process, in which technology is continually transforming our daily lives, also affects the world of teaching, which is faced with the dilemma of having to adapt to this new educational model, characterized by massification and progressive personalization of the contents being taught, or remaining faithful to its traditional model of lecture classes. Faced with this scenario, various questions arise: How will new technological developments affect Higher Education? Will teaching continue to be done in person or will it be done online instead? Will other educational methods arise? Will syllabi disintegrate into small, rapidly consumed pieces? Who will be responsible for certifying studies and evaluating which are the best teaching tools? Will there be new alliances among institutions? What will the university's role be? And the professor's?

Higher education and, especially, the university will have to try to respond to these questions and adapt to these new times, where new technologies, accessibility, mobility and a new type of social interaction through networks are becoming are taking on a major role. According to the researchers, MOOCs are democratizing education, enabling hundreds of thousands of students to sign up for these open courses, because they only need access to internet to do so. "This is not about replicating a lecture class online, because that can be done using a video; rather it is about choosing the parts of the educational process that can be implemented with these platforms, keeping the figure of the professor, who continues to be necessary in this context," explains Carlos Delgado Kloos, who is a tenured professor in UC3M's Telematic Engineering Department.

New spaces

One of the consequences of the appearance of MOOCs is the "deterritorialization" of the educational process. This is shaking up the key role played by universities' geographic proximity when enrolling students, which, according to the researchers, begs the question of whether equalizing the possibilities of access to the most important universities and the less renowned won't be detrimental to the latter. One way to avoid this risk is for institutions to work together to form joint platforms where they can offer MOOCs; in Spanish, among other platforms, Mirada X and UniMOOC can be found. In the United States students can use Udacity, Coursera and edX.

The eMadrid network is a program of activities among research groups subsidized by the Autonomous Community of Madrid, which promotes R+D+i Technology-Enhanced Learning. The project is coordinated by UC3M in partnership with the Universidad Autnoma of Madrid, the Universidad Complutense of Madrid, the Politcnica of Madrid, the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos and the UNED (National Distance Learning University). In addition, other universities and companies from the sector also participate in the project. This year the eMadrid network held its IV Conference on June 13th and 14th on UC3M's Legans campus. Titled "MOOCs, the transformational effect of technology on education", this conference presented a panoramic view of Technology Enhanced Learning and its evolution.

###

Further information: http://www.emadridnet.org

VIDEO: http://youtu.be/cEd_xjIGJlI

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/ciuo-moo062413.php

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South Africa Says Nelson Mandela's Condition Critical - Health Care ...

South Africa's iconic former leader Nelson Mandela has lapsed into
critical condition after spending more than two weeks in a Pretoria
hospital to treat a lung infection, according to a statement from the
president's office.


President Jacob Zuma and deputy president of the ruling African National Congress, Cyril Ramaphosa, visited Mr. Mandela at the hospital Sunday evening.

The medical team treating Mr. Mandela told the pair of visitors the condition of the 94-year-old former president had "become critical over the past 24 hours," according to the president's office.

"The doctors are doing everything possible to get his condition to improve and are ensuring that Madiba is well-looked after and is comfortable," Mr. Zuma said referring to Mr. Mandela by his clan name.

For the past two weeks, the presidency has described Mr. Mandela's condition as "serious but stable." On Sunday, Mr. Zuma's spokesman Mac Maharaj described a sharp deterioration of Mr. Mandela's condition but wouldn't provide details, citing the ailing leader's privacy.

"His condition is clearly worse than serious, and clearly he's receiving intensive care treatment," Mr. Maharaj said. "What form that takes I'm not in a position to go into."

Mr. Mandela was admitted on June 8 for treatment of a lung infection, one in a long series of respiratory ailments he has battled since contracting tuberculosis during his 27 years in prison for opposing South Africa's former white-minority apartheid regime.

This is his fourth hospitalization since December. The visits have caused ripples of anxiety in South Africa, where Mr. Mandela has long been a unifying figure in a racially-polarized nation.

Mr. Mandela became the country's first black president after leading his African National Congress party to power in the 1994 elections on a platform of forgiveness and racial reconciliation. He served one five-year term before stepping down to focus on charity and advocacy work.

He retired from public life in 2004, and his appearances have been rare. At the opening of 2010 World Cup soccer tournament, which South Africa hosted, Mr. Mandela was driven around the stadium in a golf cart to rapturous applause.

In a statement, Jackson Mthembu, a spokesman for the ANC, said: "the African National Congress joins the presidency in calling upon all of us to keep President Mandela, his family and his medical team in our thoughts and prayers during this trying time."

Though Mr. Mandela doesn't figure as a politician any more, he remains a symbol of the promise unfulfilled by party and a country that is going through wrenching economic and political change.

Economic growth has slowed to under 1% in the first quarter of this year and unemployment among young people is close to 80%. Many young black South Africans, born after the dawn of democracy in 1994, are channeling their frustration toward the ruling ANC.

Protests in predominantly black townships have erupted over poor public services and a dearth of opportunity.

In his statement announcing Mr. Mandela's deteriorating condition, Mr. Zuma also defended the care he has received. CBS News reported over the weekend that the ambulance carrying Mr. Mandela to the hospital on June 8 broke down, leaving him lying in critical condition on a Johannesburg highway until he could be transferred to another vehicle.

Mr. Zuma's office confirmed that Mr. Mandela had needed to be transferred to a second ambulance, but denied his care was compromised. "There were seven doctors in the convoy who were in full control of the situation throughout the period," Mr. Zuma said. "He had expert medical care."

Source: http://planehealth.blogspot.com/2013/06/south-africa-says-nelson-mandelas.html

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New player is critical to unleashing T cells against disease

June 23, 2013 ? A major study from researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology provides new revelations about the intricate pathways involved in turning on T cells, the body's most important disease-fighting cells, and was published today in the scientific journal Nature.

The La Jolla Institute team is the first to prove that a certain type of protein, called septins, play a critical role in activating a calcium channel on the surface of the T cell. The channel is the portal through which calcium enters T cells from the blood stream, an action essential for the T cell's survival, activation, and ability to fight disease.

Patrick Hogan and Anjana Rao, Ph.D.s, are senior authors on the paper and Sonia Sharma and Ariel Quintana, Ph.D.s, are co-first authors. Drs. Sharma, Rao and Hogan are former researchers at Harvard Medical School with high-level genetics expertise who joined the La Jolla Institute in 2010. Dr. Quintana conducted advanced microscopy that was a major aspect of the study.

Dr. Hogan describes the discovery as another important step in understanding the overall functioning of T cells -- knowledge from which new, more precisely targeted drugs to treat diseases ranging from cancer to viral infections can emerge. "It's like working on an engine, you have to know what all the parts are doing to repair it," he says. "We want to understand the basic machinery inside a T cell. This will enable us to target the specific pressure points to turn up a T cell response against a tumor or virus or to turn it down in the case of autoimmune diseases."

The findings were published in a Nature paper entitled "An siRNA screen for NFAT activation identifies septins as coordinators of store-operated Ca2+ entry."

"We have found that the septin protein is a very strong regulator of the calcium response, which is essential for activating immune cells," says Dr. Sharma, who was recently appointed to a faculty position, and now leads her own independent laboratory at the La Jolla Institute, in addition to serving as scientific director of the newly established RNAi screening center.

Dr. Hogan says the discovery took the research team by surprise. "We knew septins existed in the cellular plasma (surface) membrane, but we didn't know they had anything to do with calcium signaling," he says. Septins are known to build scaffolding to provide structural support during cell division.

This finding builds on Dr. Rao and Dr. Hogan's groundbreaking discovery in 2006 showing that the protein ORAI1 forms the pore of the calcium channel. The channel's entryway had been one of the most sought after mysteries in biomedical science because it is the gateway to T cell functioning and, consequently, to better understanding how the body uses these cells to fight disease.

To the research team's surprise, the septins were forming a ring around the calcium channel. "We aren't sure why, but we theorize that the septins are rearranging the cellular membrane's structure to "corral" the key proteins STIM and ORAI1, and maybe other factors needed for the calcium channel to operate," says Dr. Hogan.

Dr. Sharma adds that, "essentially we believe the septins are choreographing the interaction of these two proteins that are important in instigating the immune response." Without the septins' involvement, T cell activation does not occur.

In the study, the researchers devised a simple visual readout of activity in a main pathway responsible for activation of T cells -- the same pathway that is targeted by the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporin A that is used clinically -- and looked for impairment of the activity when individual genes were, in effect, deleted. After sorting through the roughly 20,000 human genes, they turned up 887 gene "hits," says Dr. Hogan.

With further experiments, they should be able to classify those hits into genes that affect the calcium channel itself and genes that act later in the pathway. "We are hopeful that one or more of these genes can be used as a clinical target for new drugs to treat transplant rejection and immune diseases, some of the same indications now treated with cyclosporine A," adds Dr. Hogan. He believes that a medication aimed at an early step of calcium entry through the ORAI channel could be more effective and have fewer side effects than cyclosporin A, which targets a later step in the pathway and can cause complications such as kidney disease.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/uf267gV8CMA/130623144925.htm

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Week 8 of Jackson trial features experts, emotion

FILE - In this March 5, 2009 file photo, US singer Michael Jackson announces that he is set to play ten live concerts at the London O2 Arena in July, which he announced at a press conference at the London O2 Arena. Charles Czeisler, a sleep expert testified on Friday, June 21, 2013, in Los Angeles that Jackson was suffering from total sleep deprivation at the time of his death in June 2009 and the condition would have shortened his life unless it was properly treated. The Harvard University sleep researcher testified as an expert witness in a lawsuit being pursued by Jackson?s mother, Katherine Jackson, against concert giant AEG Live LLC, claiming the company failed to properly investigate the doctor convicted of giving the superstar a fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File)

FILE - In this March 5, 2009 file photo, US singer Michael Jackson announces that he is set to play ten live concerts at the London O2 Arena in July, which he announced at a press conference at the London O2 Arena. Charles Czeisler, a sleep expert testified on Friday, June 21, 2013, in Los Angeles that Jackson was suffering from total sleep deprivation at the time of his death in June 2009 and the condition would have shortened his life unless it was properly treated. The Harvard University sleep researcher testified as an expert witness in a lawsuit being pursued by Jackson?s mother, Katherine Jackson, against concert giant AEG Live LLC, claiming the company failed to properly investigate the doctor convicted of giving the superstar a fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File)

This handout photo released by the LA Superior Court and presented as evidence shows an undated thank you note from 2009 written by Paris Jackson to chef Kai Chase, thanking her for gifts bought for the family at Disneyland. Chase testified on Tuesday, June 18, 2013, about the lives of Michael Jackson?s children and their father?s devotion to them. Her recollections came in a trial in Los Angeles being pursued by Jackson?s mother, Katherine Jackson, against concert giant AEG Live LLC, claiming the company failed to properly investigate the doctor convicted of giving the superstar a fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol in 2009. (AP Photo/LA Superior Court)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? A look at key moments this past week in the wrongful death trial in Los Angeles between Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, and concert giant AEG Live LLC, and what is expected at court in the week ahead:

THE CASE

Jackson's mother wants a jury to determine that the promoter of Jackson's planned comeback concerts didn't properly investigate Dr. Conrad Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter by a criminal jury for Jackson's June 2009 death. AEG's attorney says the case is about personal choice, namely Jackson's decision to have Murray serve as his doctor and give him doses of a powerful anesthetic as a sleep aid. Millions, possibly billions, of dollars are at stake.

WHAT HAPPENED THIS PAST WEEK

? Jackson's personal chef Kai Chase told jurors about Jackson's relationship with his children as well as her impressions that the singer appeared weaker in the final weeks of his life. She recounted numerous tender moments, including a party Jackson threw for his daughter Paris on her 11th birthday, complete with a private circus.

? Charles Czeisler, an expert sleep researcher from Harvard University, told jurors that Jackson was totally sleep-deprived by the time of his death because the singer's use of propofol was not giving him actual sleep but was akin to being in a drug-induced coma.

WHAT THE JURY SAW

? Jurors got their first glimpse of Jackson's oldest children, Prince and Paris, testifying. An AEG lawyer played short clips of the pair to challenge testimony offered by Chase. The two-minute clip of Paris Jackson's testimony showed her alternately looking down and at an AEG Live attorney as she described her father's rocky relationship with her former nanny.

? The jury was shown several images related to how Jackson raised his children, including a handwritten note that Paris wrote Chase thanking her for several gifts she bought for the family while at Disneyland.

QUOTABLE MOMENTS

? "It was the most beautiful expression of love I've ever seen," Chase said about a Cirque du Soleil-style circus that Jackson hired for Paris' 11th birthday.

? "The meticulous detailing of his deterioration here was both profound and sad," Czeisler said of emails documenting Jackson's missed rehearsals and inability to perform songs and dance moves without tour worker being afraid he would hurt himself.

WHAT'S NEXT

? Jurors will hear from an expert in medical conflict of interest cases and may also hear testimony from Tim Leiweke, the former CEO of AEG Live's parent company, the Anshutz Entertainment Group. Leiweke's testimony may be shown to jurors from his videotaped deposition.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-06-22-Jackson-AEG%20Suit-Glance/id-288c79c533314ec7b4634fc730a66252

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Four Egyptian Shi'ites killed in attack by Sunni Muslims

CAIRO (Reuters) - Four Egyptian Shi'ites were killed on Sunday in an attack by Sunni Muslims fearing the spread of Shi'ite Islam in Egypt, according to reports by state media, witnesses and security sources.

Residents of the town of Zawiyat Abu Muslim in Giza province on the outskirts of Cairo surrounded the home of a prominent Shi'ite after learning he was hosting a religious gathering, witnesses and security sources told Reuters.

The residents beat the guests and threw petrol bombs at the house, setting it on fire, the sources said. The state newspaper al-Ahram said four Shi'ites had been taken to hospital, and the Health Ministry later said four people injured in the attack had died.

President Mohamed Mursi and his ruling Muslim Brotherhood have this month thrown their weight behind a call for jihad in Syria by fellow Sunni Islamists across the Middle East, heightening awareness of sectarian frictions in Egypt, where Shi'ites are a small minority.

Tension among Egypt's hardline Sunnis over the spread of Shi'ism has been increased by a visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who called for a strategic alliance with Egypt.

Nothing came of that proposal, but around 100 Sunni Islamists demonstrated in front of a senior Iranian diplomat's residence in April to protest against Egypt's decision to admit commercial flights from Iran.

(Writing by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/four-egyptian-shiites-killed-attack-sunni-muslims-215919629.html

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Bret Michaels survives bus crash

5 hours ago

Ethan Miller / Getty Images

Bret Michaels.

Bret Michaels is one lucky guy.

After a string of health scares and another bus accident back in 2009, the singer has escaped serious injury again, after his tour bus hit several deer on the way to his show in Biloxi, Miss., Friday morning.

NEWS: Bret Michaels talks trashing a hotel room with Charlie Sheen

"Except for some bumps and bruises I am thankful there were no serious injuries," Michaels told Celebuzz. "It is unfortunate for the deer, but thankfully due to modern RV technology and a steel firewall we are all OK. I have every intention to make tonight's show in Biloxi and the tour will continue."

The former Poison frontman only sustained minor cuts and bruises, according to the site.

This is just the latest in a series of scares for Michaels.

PHOTOS: Bret Michaels tweets Eva Longoria birthday greetings with a picture of Kim Kardashian

In 2010, he was hospitalized for appendicitis, a stroke, and a brain hemorrhage, which he suffered after banging his head at the Tony Awards in 2009.

And in 2011, he underwent surgery after doctors found a hole in his heart.

Just call him Mr. Unbreakable.

PHOTOS: Check out Bret Michaels' big moments!

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/bret-michaels-survives-bus-crash-minor-injuries-6C10418979

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