5/18
Penn in the News
A round-up of Penn mentions in local, national, and international media.
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Penn In the News
Mapping a MOOC Reveals Global Patterns in Student Engagement
Teaching an online course that 49,000 students have signed up for presents an unprecedented challenge when it comes to an important aspect of instruction: knowing your audience. I could see from my course "dashboard" in Coursera that the students hailed from 190 countries, with 6 percent from India, 31 percent from the United States, and so on, but these numbers only took me so far. I wondered which places had lots of students earning a passing grade? Which places had students who were really engaged with the course? Since I’m a cartographer, it made sense to make some maps.
Penn In the News
The Legal Limits of ‘Yes Means Yes’
Paul Robinson of the Law School writes about the debate surrounding the use of “yes mean yes” as a sexual-consent policy on college campuses.
Penn In the News
Willful Ignorance On Campus
By now you’ve probably seen the video of a student screaming at Nicholas Christakis — the master of Silliman College at Yale — over his refusal to apologize for an email written by his wife, Erika Christakis, which some found insensitive for its suggestion that students "look away" if someone wore a Halloween costume that offended them.
Penn In the News
Audio: The LBJ Tapes: 50th Anniversary of Robert Weaver Swearing-in
Wendell Pritchett of the Law School talked about this book on Robert Weaver, the first Housing and Urban Development Department secretary and the first African-American cabinet secretary.
Penn In the News
What’s So Appealing About Obama’s Executive Actions on Guns
Susan Sorenson of the School of Social Policy and Practice shares her commentary on President Obama’s executive actions on guns.
Penn In the News
Campus Sex…With a Syllabus
“Where did I learn about sexual consent?” Jonathan Kalin was standing before an auditorium of Trinity College freshmen, pressing play on a clip from the movie “Superbad.” The 2007 film, you may recall, tells the story of two schlubby high school friends on a quest to lose their virginity before college. In this particular scene, the main characters, played by Jonah Hill and Michael Cera, are standing in the middle of a soccer scrimmage dissecting whether or not Mr. Hill’s romantic interest wants to hook up with him.
Penn In the News
NCAA Considers Easing Demands on Athletes’ Time
Leaders of the five most powerful athletics conferences, responding to players’ concerns that they spend too much time on their sports, are weighing ideas to limit the hours athletes are required to devote to their teams. One idea calls for a ban on practices and other mandatory athletics activities, not including competition, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Another proposal would create a three-week break at the end of the traditional playing season, allowing athletes to take time off.
Penn In the News
China Stock Swoon Could Boost US Real Estate
Sam Chandan of the Wharton School says, “The current volatility in China has underscored for Chinese investors the importance of diversifying their investments into the U.S. and elsewhere.”
Penn In the News
Paterno Gets His Halo Back On Mural
Pennsylvania State University's leadership isn't ready to honor Joe Paterno, but a State College artist has seen fit to give the late football coach back his halo. "I'm sorry for my fast actions with, you know, removing that halo," Michael Pilato said in a YouTube video showing former Penn State football player Bruce Clark painting the halo on Paterno, who is part of the 100- by 24-foot mural in downtown State College.
Penn In the News
Changing Skyline: Turning Richards Labs Into the Building Louis Kahn Wanted It to Be
University Architect David Hollenberg and Maja Bucan of the Perelman School of Medicine are quoted about the improvements to the Richards Medical Research Laboratory.