Crimson staff writer
Cynthia W. Shih
Latest Content
The Harvard Classroom, Digitized
This semester, the third since Harvard and MIT announced the launch of edX, many students are questioning whether virtual course materials in Harvard classes are enhancing—or detracting from—the learning process.
The edX Student
While MOOC advocates hope that transformation will lead to a democratization of higher education, low completion rates and edX’s changing economic model makes increasingly relevant the question of who takes the edX course—and why.
Looking In by Looking Out
As Harvard embarks on a capital campaign unprecedented in scope, global priorities might seem to focus on bettering the world—but faculty and administrators say they will ultimately improve research and pedagogy back home at Harvard. To look inward and improve its Cambridge campus, the University has determined that it must first look out, beyond the confines of its physical presence.
A.O. Scott
When the Wicked Witch of the West and her evil winged monkeys appeared on screen in “The Wizard of Oz,” A.O. Scott ’87-’88 ran out of the room screaming.
EdX More Than Doubles in Size with Addition of 15 New Schools
Fifteen institutions of higher education joined edX on Tuesday, expanding Harvard and MIT’s one-year-old virtual learning venture for the first time to Asia and more than doubling the rapidly expanding platform’s size.
Rejecting edX, Amherst Doubts Benefits of MOOC Revolution
For the more than 60 percent of Amherst College professors who voted against partnering with edX, reaching hundreds of thousands of students around the world does not align with the college’s mission to be “a purposefully small residential community.”
EdX Plans to Offer Popular Science and Cooking Course This Fall
This fall, thousands of students around the world will have a chance to whip chocolate emulsions under the guidance of culinary experts and Harvard professors with the launch of SPU27x: “Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science.” The introduction of SPU27x will mark edX’s first course with a lab component.
EdX Considers Compensation Models
Gregory Nagy, a classical Greek literature professor who created CB22x: The Ancient Greek Hero for HarvardX, approximated that he spends about 25 hours a week working on his course above and beyond his other responsibilities—making his total professional workload more than 1.5 times as big as it would be otherwise.
EdX To Seek New Revenue Models
As edX approaches its one-year anniversary, the rapidly growing online venture is looking to become economically self-sufficient, said edX President Anant Agarwal at a virtual education conference on Monday.
EdX Goes International as Six New Schools Join Partnership
EdX, the nonprofit online learning venture started by Harvard and MIT last May, announced Wednesday that it is doubling in size and expanding internationally with the addition of six new schools to its consortium.
EdX Launches Second HSPH Course
The new online version of the class, PH278x: “Human Health and Global Environmental Change,” will be offered this spring through edX, the online education platform launched by Harvard and MIT last May.
HSPH Close To Evening TF Pay
After many years of negotiations, Harvard School of Public Health administrators and student government representatives are finally close to reaching an agreement on standardizing teaching assistant salaries.
Diderot and Dissections: The World of the Non-Science Pre-Med
The challenge of filling pre-med requirements while concentrating in a non-science field has spread some students across multiple disciplines.
Public Hospital Reporting Reduces Angioplasties
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is the first of its kind to look at public reporting for these procedures on a national scale.
HSPH Study Links Sugary Beverages and Genetic Risk of Obesity
Harvard School of Public Health researchers found that a greater consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is linked with a greater genetic susceptibility to increased risk of obesity and high body mass index.
