LipDub is awesome.

If you don’t know what it is, LipDub is a music video that’s produced in one single shot.  Loads of people take turns to each mime a line of the song to camera and there are no cuts in the action.

If that doesn’t make sense, check out the first University LipDub, produced in Germany.

Hopefully that’s whet your appetite.  Below are 10 more great LipDub videos of university students strutting their stuff and going crazy for the camera.

Most of these vids are based in France and Canada. We need to see UK universities doing LipDub! If you already know of any out there, let us know in the comments!

The only UK institution I’ve heard that’s up for a bit of LipDub is Edge Hill.  Their song of choice is “Footloose” and it’s taking place on 5th December.  I look forward to seeing the results.

Any other unis joining in the LipDub party?  “What do you do after studying?”

On to the videos!

1. First off, this is the video you’re most likely to have seen before.  A LipDub of the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling” that went hugely viral, with several million views.

2. Suffolk University in Boston go for a couple of Queen hits.

3. Katy Perry’s “Hot ‘N’ Cold”. Involving changes of clothes that involve no clothes at all. Ooh er!

4. Bryan Adams with “Summer Of ‘69″. Some great set pieces in this one. Animated ‘Remix’ sign near the start of this vid is a nice touch.

5. Mama Mia! It’s Abba!

6. Suckin’ too hard on your lollypop? Hey Mika, check out this LipDub!

7. More Mika for you.  This time it’s the ‘Golden’ people of Polyvalente Saint-Jérôme.

8. One of the most recent LipDubs. Texas State University get their lips round Move Along by All-American Rejects.

9. While we’re treated to a bit of Scissor Sisters and “I Don’t Feel Like Dancing”, watch for the lift break where we enter a different world.  Namely, Patrick Hernandez’s “Born To Be Alive”…

10. We kicked these videos off with a Black Eyed Peas track…so let’s get it ended with, erm, “Let’s Get It Started”.

]]> http://theuniversityblog.co.uk/2009/11/18/edulinks-5/ Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:00:42 +0000 Martin http://theuniversityblog.co.uk/2009/11/18/edulinks-5/

Straight into the EduLinks. Happy reading.

Apostrophe.me

It’s easy to get confused with apostrophes.  Help is at hand with this visual aid.  I don’t notice the “your” and “you’re” issue, so here’s my take on that one.  Whenever you want to say your/you’re and aren’t sure which to use, just take the sentence in context and replace your/you’re with the words “you are”.  If “you are” doesn’t make sense in the sentence, you need to use “your”. If “you are” is exactly what you wanted to convey, you should use “you’re”.  In short, “you are” is your friend and you’re better off knowing it!

University of Leicester – Essay Writing Diagnostic

This is a quality link you’ll want to bookmark.  The guide lets you choose how you approach essays and examine what problems you have, rather than just giving general advice.  Once you highlight your experience, the guide helps you improve in the areas you need to focus on most.  Simply set out and tailored to you!

Think Simple Now – 7 Keys to Reading Faster

I love speed reading.  It’s worth investing the time to improve your reading speed.  Scott Young heads you in the right direction.  And it’s not just about the ’speed’.  You need to know when to slow down too.  Scott explains:

“Many people I’ve talked to after introducing them to speed reading brag about how quickly they dashed through a book. But, these same people later confess that they remember little about what they read.”

How to Get More From Life – free EBook from Scott Young

If you like Scott’s post on reading faster, be sure to check out his new EBook.  It gives a broad introduction to all sorts of ideas and advice on learning, productivity, confidence, fitness, and even the meaning of life.  Scott says, “I write at least as much to articulate my own thoughts as I do to provide advice”.  We should all take a journey of discovery through our own thoughts.  Writing helps solidify those thoughts. Who knows, perhaps this EBook will spur you into writing down what’s on your mind too.

Eye Movement that boosts your creativity (Scientific American / BPS Research Digest)

“Sixty-two subjects performed a creativity task, where they had to come up with as many alternate uses for common objects like, a paper clip, pencil, shoe, etc. as they could in one minute.

“After this initial task researchers asked subjects to move their eyes to follow a target as it moved horizontally left to right for 30 seconds. This exercise is thought to increase the cross-talk between the hemispheres.

“Then the subjects completed the creative task again. Results were surprising. Subjects came up with significantly more unique uses for the everyday items, than the control group who stared straight ahead.” [Scientific American]

Cognitive Daily – What’s the best way to take a study break?

Time to get closer to nature.  A better break means for better study.

From Josh Blacker – HE funding and ‘value for money’

“If anything, tuition fees are a misnomer. We pay to join a community of learning. (At least in the current funding regime; previously, there was no ‘joining fee’, and as one alumni told me the other day, he came out of university with a cash surplus!) That’s what the arguments should be about – not whether a particular university course is ‘value for money’ or if students get ‘enough’ time with lecturers (bearing in mind, lots of us in the Arts and Humanities skip lectures because we might view particular lectures irrelevant to our own interests!).

“The question we should be asking – of ourselves, of universities, and of the public – is, ‘Should we have to pay to join a learning community?’”

Six Minutes – How to Deliver Group Presentations: The Unified Team Approach

The introduction to this extensive piece says it all: “A group presentation is only as strong as its weakest presenter.”

Introduce clarity, control and commitment to your presentation preparation with this guide.  It’s not squarely aimed at students, but there’s plenty of relevant detail to take on board.  You may not want to separate into ‘project manager’, ‘gap analyst’, and ‘chief researcher’, but don’t let that take away from the good advice given here.

And if you really want student-facing advice on presentations, TheUniversityBlog covers it in these posts:

• Create a good impression in a presentation
• Turning a ‘Group’ Into a Grade Winning ‘Team’

Tommy Gilchrist – RUSU 1 – Reading 0

It’s the Reading Town Takeover later this week.  I’m pleased to hear how Reading Students’ Union (RUSU) is already out in full force to fight for fairer funding in HE.  RUSU started their Town Takeover events on Saturday, taking things very seriously.  But fighting a serious cause can still be a lot of fun, which Tommy (VP Education at RUSU) describes in his latest blog post.  Bring it on!

Peter Mandelson has announced a new Higher Education blueprint, Higher Ambitions.

Among many measures, one thing Mandelson wants is greater funding and more priority given to science and technology subjects.

So…is it worth studying subjects in Arts and Humanities any more?

The Chronicle says “Just Don’t Go”.

Savvy Student says it “Isn’t Such a Bad Idea”.

What say you?

As promised, it’s EduLinks time.  Tuck in!

From NUS Westminster Update:

“53% of all English domiciled full-time undergraduate students undertook paid work at some time during the academic year-either during term-time, during the short vacations or both. For those undertaking such work, earnings over the academic year were on average £4 005 (after tax).”

World Affairs – The Universality of English

Around 6,000 languages are in use around the world today.  It has been suggested that only 600 languages will remain in use in a hundred years’ time.  The author asks whether that matters.

Procrastination

Found this video via Academic Productivity.  Hurrah!  Another way of using up more time working out how to stop procrastinating. 

MakeUseOf – How To Easily Make An Attractive Cover Page In MS Word 2007

Sometimes you need to provide a front page for a piece of work.  If you have some creative freedom over the front page, but don’t want to go beyond Word, this tutorial has got it…covered!  Get it?  Covered?  …I’ll get my coat.

From The Battlefield of Ideas (New Statesman)

“Politicians, perhaps anachronistically, still look to the universities for ideas. The universities brood on why it is that they are so unloved. Government and the universities are like a warring couple locked together in a loveless marriage. The answer lies in divorce. The more the universities are left alone, the more creative they will become, the better able to resume the role they once had as powerhouses of ideas. Paradoxically, if the universities wish to become more influential in government, they must first become more independent of it.”

Wise Bread – Bioavailability: How to Get More Nutrients From Your Food

You want the most out of your food, don’t you?  Taste may play a huge part in our enjoyment, but nutrition is something you probably think about.  Even if you don’t act on it much, you’ll know it’s best to eat healthily.  Don’t miss a trick; you could eek out more precious nutrients just by drinking orange juice or grinding black pepper on your food.  Wise Bread explains all.

From NUS calls for student loans chief to resign (Guardian)

“You’ve got the appalling situation which has left hundreds of thousands affected by this crisis, tens of thousands without their support, a miserable start to term and on top of that one of the most shameful spin operations from a public body I have ever seen. They have failed to communicate with the public, made broken promise after broken promise. In that context how anyone can expect us to have confidence is beyond me. It’s time for Ralph Seymour-Jackson to do honourable thing and resign – or for ministers to step in and sack him.”

RealSimple – 9 Things You Can Do to Be Happy in the Next 30 Minutes

Simple ideas, designed to give you a boost when you need it.  That is all.

BBC – Road map for universities awaited

The government has been pretty quiet on their plans for Higher Education and fees.  Mike Baker investigates what’s taking them so long.

BPS Research Digest – A warm room makes people feel socially closer

Studies have suggested that when people are warm, they bond more easily.  They actually do get a ‘warm’ feeling.  So next time you want to get cosy with friends, turn up the heat.  You never know, it may be worth remembering when you have a presentation and want the lecturer on your side…

Harvard Business – Forwarding Is the New Networking

Just don’t forward *too* much.  And don’t worry so much about sending over the funnies.

PickTheBrain – 10 Very Common Stupid Tricks That Wreck A Good Life

In a similar vein to my recent post on mistakes to beat before they beat you, here are more issues to nip in the bud.  They may well be ‘common traps’, but that’s no reason to let them cause you grief.

You know what?  I made a mistake.

With all these posts on the subject of ‘Time’, I decided to look at how I use my blogging time to help you, my readers, best.

One big deal arose.  So I’m putting my hands up to the mistake, ready to bring things back to order.

Long-term readers of TheUniversityBlog will remember that I used to post regular EduLinks to the site.  Then I posted EduLinks less regularly.  Then I stopped entirely, in favour of a separate TumbleLog site.  Putting choice links and quotes there, I felt, would be a good thing.

Well it wasn’t. It hasn’t really worked on any level, so I believe that everyone benefits if I put EduLinks back where they belong…right here!  My apologies for messing you about.

I have learned a good thing from using the TumbleLog.  As well as occasional bumper posts of links here, I intend to post up single link posts and quotes of note.  It should be the best way to provide the right amount of goodness here on TheUniversityBlog, and bring everything together in a (hopefully) satisfying mix of woo!

If you’re a recent follower to the site, I hope your experience is about to get that little bit better.  If you’ve been following the highs and lows on here for a while now, I hope you’ll be happy to welcome back an old friend in the EduLinks.  Thank you for your support!

I bet a lot of people would like to have this guy as their tutor!

Over the last month or so, there was a lot of hype surrounding Derren Brown’s series ‘The Events‘.

While the series was thoroughly entertaining/annoying (delete as applicable), choosing lottery numbers or the correct number at roulette is very much a game of chance.

photo by conorwithonen

But there are many things you can do to create luck.  It won’t help you win the lottery, but it can give your life a real boost.  And when bad luck does come your way, a positive luck-searching attitude can turn your fortunes around pretty quickly.

I had a look for some links around the blogosphere about improving your luck by creating it yourself and found some great posts for you.

Of the four posts I’ve chosen, three mention a book by Dr Richard Wiseman, The Luck Factor.  Pretty good going!

1. Alex Shalman – 10 Practical Ways To Make Your Own Luck
2. Stepcase Lifehack – How To Be Lucky
3. How To Have Great Self Confidence – Build Self Confidence by Being Lucky?
4. Life Optimizer – A Simple Tip to Get Good Luck

As if that isn’t enough to chew on, here’s a bonus link for you to enjoy.  With more information from The Luck Factor, you can download The Complete Guide to Luck (9.4Mb PDF).  The PDF has worksheets and lists to help you create as much luck as possible.

All that’s left to say is, er, good luck!

photo by Jason Nicholls

You may have noticed along the sidebar on TheUniversityBlog that this is now a 10:10 website.  I’ll explain for those of you who don’t know what this is…

The 10:10 campaign aims to get everybody cutting their emissions by 10% in 2010.  What’s not to like about that?

The campaign kicked off on Tuesday and has already seen nearly 10,000 people sign up.  That number is rising quickly.

People signed up that you may know include Rory Bremner, Irvine Welsh, Pete Postlethwaite, Stella McCartney, Delia Smith, Colin Firth, Tamsin Greig, Alan Rickman, the entire Cabinet and Tory front bench, and many others.

Loads of universities and Students’ Unions are signing up and the National Union of Students is backing 10:10 all the way.

I got through the first update mailing from the 10:10 HQ and they’re asking everyone who has already signed up to find 10 more people to sign up to the campaign by the end of Friday.  So this is part of my attempt to get more people signing up.

If you need even more information, The Guardian has a great minisite dedicated to the campaign.

So let’s pledge to do our bit and cut those emissions by 10% in 2010.  We can do it.  So…

Go to it!

]]> http://theuniversityblog.co.uk/2009/08/17/volunteer-for-the-nus/ Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:00:59 +0000 Martin http://theuniversityblog.co.uk/2009/08/17/volunteer-for-the-nus/

Don’t stay silent, get involved!  The National Union of Students are looking for volunteers to give up 2-3 hours of their time each week to get involved in promoting the NUS and working in campaigns to help promote a new blueprint of proposals for funding higher education that doesn’t involve upfront tuition fees.  I’m passionate about the blueprint and look forward to increasing discussion around the country.

Volunteers are needed in 10 towns for special ‘Town Takeovers‘ in Liverpool, Bristol, Sheffield, Manchester, Southampton, Reading, Newcastle, Cambridge, London and Birmingham.  If you study in any of these towns, now is a great chance to get involved locally in an important national campaign.  And while there’s a serious point to it, you know it’s bound to be fun too!

What are you waiting for? Check it out!

Lots of universities operate Twitter accounts (some listed here on Liz Azyan’s site), but what about the Student Unions?

Essex SU (photo by Arty Smirks)

I’ve long said that the Student Union (or Guild of Students) is a wonderful resource that’s often overlooked by students as just a group that sets up events and handles societies.  But a Student Union is so much more and it’s there for you!  It acts as a representative to all students, working on your behalf to get as much possible to help and support you as you study.

I’ve scoured the Twitterverse to find which Unions have Twitter accounts.  The list is below. They’re worth keeping an eye on as a quick way to stay up to date with events and news.

If I’m missing any that you know of (or run), let me know via Twitter (universityboy) and I’ll add it to the list.

Winchester SU

Student Unions on Twitter

Aberdeen – http://twitter.com/ausatwit
Abertay – http://twitter.com/AbertayStudents
Aberystwyth - https://twitter.com/aberguild
Anglia Ruskin - http://twitter.com/AngliaRuskinSU
Bath - http://twitter.com/BathSU
Birmingham City – http://twitter.com/bhamcitysu
Birmingham - http://twitter.com/guildofstudents
Bournemouth - http://twitter.com/sububournemouth
Bradford - http://twitter.com/ubuonline
Brighton - http://twitter.com/BrightonSU
Bristol - https://twitter.com/BristolSU
Brunel - http://twitter.com/brunelstudents
Cambridge - http://twitter.com/cusuonline
Canterbury Christ Church – http://twitter.com/christchurchsu
Cardiff - http://twitter.com/cardiffunion
Central Lancashire – http://twitter.com/uclansu
Chichester - http://twitter.com/Chi_Union
City - http://twitter.com/CULSU
Coventry - http://twitter.com/cusu
De Montfort – http://twitter.com/demontfortsu
Derby - http://twitter.com/udsu
Dundee - http://twitter.com/DundeeUnion
East Anglia (UEA) - http://twitter.com/UnionUEA
Edge Hill – http://twitter.com/edgehillsu
Edinburgh - http://twitter.com/EUSA
Essex - http://twitter.com/EssexSU
Exeter - http://twitter.com/exeterguild
Glamorgan - http://twitter.com/GlamSU
Goldsmiths (Uni of London) – http://twitter.com/goldsmiths_su
Hertfordshire - http://twitter.com/hertssu
Huddersfield - http://twitter.com/UHSU
Hull - http://twitter.com/Hullstudent
Imperial - http://twitter.com/icunion
Keele - http://twitter.com/keelesu
Kent - http://twitter.com/KentUnion
Lancaster - I only found President’s Twitter account: http://twitter.com/LUSUpres
Leeds - http://twitter.com/leedstudentlife
Leeds Met – http://twitter.com/leedsmetsu
Leicester - http://twitter.com/PercyGee
Lincoln - http://twitter.com/lincolnsu
Liverpool - http://twitter.com/lgos
Liverpool John Moores - https://twitter.com/LiverpoolSU
London South Bank – http://twitter.com/LSBUSU
Loughborough - http://twitter.com/loughboroughsu
Manchester - http://twitter.com/manchestersu
Middlesex - http://twitter.com/mdxsu
Northumbria - http://twitter.com/Northumbriasu
Nottingham - http://twitter.com/UONstudentnews
Nottingham Trent – http://twitter.com/Trentstudents
Oxford Brookes – http://twitter.com/OBSU
Plymouth - http://twitter.com/UPSU
Portsmouth - http://twitter.com/portsmouthsu
Salford - http://twitter.com/Salfordsu
Sheffield - http://twitter.com/sheffieldunion
Sheffield Hallam – https://twitter.com/hallamunion
Sheffield Hallam (Officers) – http://twitter.com/hallamofficers
Southampton Solent – http://twitter.com/solent_su
Staffordshire - http://twitter.com/StaffsUnion
St Andrews – http://twitter.com/standrewsunion
Sunderland - http://twitter.com/sunderlandsu
Surrey - http://twitter.com/guildfordussu
Sussex - http://twitter.com/USSU
Swansea - http://twitter.com/SwanseaUnion
Thames Valley – http://twitter.com/TVUSU
University Campus Suffolk – http://twitter.com/UCSunion
University College London (UCL) – http://twitter.com/UCLU
West of England (Bristol) – http://twitter.com/uwesu
Westminster - http://twitter.com/westminstersu
Winchester - http://twitter.com/winchestersu
Wolverhampton - http://twitter.com/wolvessu
Worcester - http://twitter.com/WorcesterSU
York - http://twitter.com/YUSU

I’ll be checking out the Facebook pages of Student Unions soon and publish a list of those too.  Watch this space!

Portsmouth SU (photo by Claire Sambrook)

As I briefly mentioned in my last post, I’m changing the way I do some things around here (for the better!).  One change is that I’ll be posting EduLinks and making short comments of note to a new Tumblelog for TheUniversityBlog.

Take a look and see.  Whether it’s about making slow decisions, creating sexy brands, or smelling fear , I hope to let you know about all sorts.  If you want to see any particular type of links featured, let me know.

That means today will be the final old-skool set of EduLinks posted here.  But fear not!  I will still compile a regular “Best of…” post here to cover what I’ve been adding to the Tumblelog (http://universityboy.tumblr.com).

Now, on with the last EduLinks of this kind.  Enjoy!

Economist – Encouraging Competitiveness – Researchers have found that people compete better in smaller groups.  Completing a test with 10 people makes average test scores higher than those completing a test with 100 people.  So next time you’re up against 10,000 people, imagine you’re up against 10 to try getting a bit more out of yourself!

EduChoices – 20 Twitter Tips for New Grads and Entrepreneurs – Twitter is apparently being used most by those in their late 20s and older at the moment.  Whether or not the balance changes considerably in the near future, Melissa Kahney has produced some quality suggestions to help recent graduates find new opportunities and network effectively.  Now is the time to strike!

Digital Ethnography – Toward a New Future of “Whatever” – The ever-brilliant Michael Wesch talks of “Meh” and “Generation Me” to describe why education currently brings in many bored faces, while “American Idol” auditions bring in passionate outbursts.  Professor Wesch hopes the colourful history of the word “Whatever” can add a new definition of hope.  Whatever it takes…

Chronicle Wired Campus – Students May Not Be as Software Savvy as They Think, Study Says – An American university has found that students tend to overestimate their skill level when it comes to Microsoft Office applications.  How accomplished do you think you are?

Britannica Blog – Neuroeconomics: Studying How We Make Decisions – This post explains how we sometimes offload the burden of making decisions onto others.  We might think all our decisions are our own, but the brain seems to suggest otherwise.

BBC – Using speech-writing techniques to win – This article from the BBC News Magazine asks, “Can speech-writing teach us skills for dealing with tricky situations in everyday life?”  It is a great piece for help on writing speeches and generally understanding how to get a good reaction.  Tried and tested techniques abound.

Psychology Today – Wandering Into the Innovation Economy – Worried about the recession?  Not sure what’s going to happen after you graduate?  Just let your mind wander and take control of the ideas that come to you.  One of those ideas may be what you need to change the world and find massive success while you’re at it.

Academic Productivity – 10 tips to harness the hidden potential of Wolfram Alpha – Now the hype has started to die down, Wolfram Alpha has emerged as a great tool for specific uses and functions.  It is not a ‘Google-killer’ because it serves a very different purpose.  Wolfram Alpha is definitely a site to remember, and Academic Productivity some of the wonderful ways you can use the powerful computational data on offer.

Okay, I wasn’t going to say anything, but now so much seems to be kicking off in HE that I’m going to mention it and explain what I’m up to…

First off, TheUniversityBlog is going to return to a much more regular posting schedule in a couple of weeks.  Secondly, with a number of recent life changes, I have been taking a break on a number of levels…with limited success.

I was meant to be spending a month or so relaxing and spending very little time online, very little time researching, very little time writing, and very little time doing anything much HE related.  I planned to keep up to date with what’s happening, but not do much else.

That hasn’t really happened.  I’ve been working on a number of projects and I’ve even posted a few things here in the last month (as you’ve probably seen).  I suppose it suggests I’m happy with what I’m doing, but it’s still naughty when I promised myself a complete break before digging in full on…Anyway, I will be back with a smile in a couple of weeks with more information, advice, comment, and the like.  Get ready!

However, there’s been a load of negative (grrrr!) developments of great importance to students in the last couple of days.  Given the magnitude of what’s been going on, I thought I should at least mention these right now.  So here goes (with links to further info):

1. Student maintenance grants and loans will be frozen in 2010/11, but tuition fees are increasing by 2.04%. Tuition fee loans will increase to cover the new cost of fees, but that’s no consolation.

BBC News
NUS
Guardian
Parliament Written Statement

2. Graduate job prospects are looking their bleakest in years as top employers cut jobs and competition is more fierce.

Guardian 1
Guardian 2
NUS
BBC News

3. Prospective students are less likely to find a place in this year’s Clearing, after the number of available places is cut. This is bad news at a time when more people than ever want to study in HE.

Times Higher Education
Times Online – Have you thought about studying in the US?

4. Some university Vice Chancellors have made shocking comments in a research paper that Times Higher Education has seen. One of the most controversial for students being:

“We all know that education is a commodity that can be bought and sold, often at a very high price.  So universities are busy doing that – charging students a large amount of money to study in England because it is a popular destination. Branding and marketing take the front seat, and education is in the back.”

Times Higher Education – V-Cs’ candid views slip out online

From these stories, it’s clear that things are uncertain right now, whether you’re a current student, prospective student, or recent graduate.  But it’s certainly worth keeping an eye on.  If there are any major developments, I’ll let you know.  And expect a better ongoing flow of information in a couple of weeks’ time.

Seems like I chose a bad time to chill out.  Let’s see if I really do last two weeks before getting totally stuck in with the blog…and beyond!

The National Union of Students (NUS) has published a blueprint that suggests setting up a People’s Trust for Higher Education.  It is, they say, “A fund built mainly on contributions by former undergraduate students and their employers, and the employers of current students”.

Rather than ramp up fees, lift caps and get universities charging different fees, the NUS blueprint asks for a form of graduate tax that would be paid over a fixed period of 20 years, based on your earnings.  The more you earn, the more you pay back.  This has been suggested as a reasonable alternative to implementing higher and variable fees.  In fact, it’s designed to abolish fees completely.

This blueprint has been written to stimulate public debate, rather than answer every question, rather than prove a solution to every problem, rather than explain a perfect system.

That said, it is still a clear set of proposals aimed at creating a fair system for all and encouraging widening participation.

The NUS state:

“Our proposals would end the very notion of a course fee or price, and shut the door on a market in fees. Graduates should contribute to the future costs of higher education according to their actual future earnings, so that those who benefit the most from university by earning more will contribute more, in order to give future students access to higher education.”

However, Nick Taylor brings up a valid point that the NUS suggestions could be “Funding Our Failures”.  He asks us on his blog to “think of an alternative that doesn’t persecute successful students and reward idiots”.

Taylor’s blog post asks a reasonable question, especially as the NUS blueprint specifically states, “Those who leave higher education and, for whatever reason, have only a very low income for the rest of their working lives, may pay nothing at all, and will have relatively little debt compared to today.”

Problem areas like this do need to be addressed, otherwise the system is open to abuse.  It is, therefore, up to us to contribute further to help introduce a system that works for all.  The NUS brings us closer to a way of funding HE using methods other than charging sky-high fees.  So now we have a more detailed, greater supported and generally talked about platform to work from and mould into shape.

Although an open statement, the NUS blueprint also starts to talk about the future of HE given the likely boost in revenue that’s been calculated.  They call for the funding to:

“be conditional on new measures to monitor and improve the quality of the student experience and the impact of higher expenditure in the higher education sector. We believe this should be focused on the outcomes of higher education and the extent to which it actually changes people’s lives.”

If widening participation is truly being taken seriously by the government, it should be made clear to all that HE can change people’s lives for the better and that it’s worth being a part of.  There will always be the ‘Wasters’ that Nick Taylor refers to, but I believe more can be done to persuade these individuals that they can achieve more to the benefit of themselves and others.  It won’t work for everyone, but this new blueprint should go beyond the debate of graduate tax versus student fees and look to the way in which individuals can be encouraged to make the most of their time within HE.  University looks like a laugh because it really can be a laugh.  That doesn’t stop it from being a positive and rewarding move in life at the same time.

Finally, the blueprint opens the way for better support of lifelong learning (which is something I’m all for).  The graduate tax would be related to the number of credits that people have studied.  That allows people to move in and out of HE in different ways and benefit without being hit with huge fees, just for trying to gain more education.  A graduate tax would still need to be paid, but in such a way to allow greater access and better participation.

I am pleased to see today’s blueprint and hope for a wider debate within HE because of it.  While we may not have all the answers right now, we’re certainly a lot closer to finding an effective and fair system of funding higher education.  Now it’s up to us to get working on filling in the cracks and building a system that works for as many people as possible.

The more of us who get involved, the easier that should be.  Let’s do it!

Related Links:
The Guardian – Wes Streeting (President, NUS) on the blueprint

The Guardian’s own take on the graduate tax

BBC News

24dash

Compass Online

Metro

Times Online

University and College Union (UCU) response to the blueprint

Million+ response to the blueprint

The Guardian has put up a voting and commenting page about “Graduate Tax vs Tuition Fees“.  Be sure to watch the comments both for and against!

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  Open Culture strikes again with another great list of educational sites you should know about.
  (tags: education learning links)
• Charade: 12 Cheap Tips for Impulse Shopping Trips
  Impulse buying isn't good. But Megan's tips help take the pain away a bit. After all, as she says, "we nearly all do it".

  Tips are mainly aimed at clothes buying, but there's enough that easily crosses over for other impulse buys.

  (tags: money)
• Lifehacker – Get Better Advice by Taking Notes – Moleskine
  The "Moleskine Effect". I like it. While there are many reasons why this method works, there's just one person who this can benefit time and again…You.
  (tags: notes writing notetaking lifehacker)
• Thirteen Tips for Actually Getting Some Writing Done. – Psychology Today
  Great tips to get you working.
  (tags: writing procrastination)

• Is the National Student Survey fair? | Education | The Guardian
  NSS…FTW or WTF?

  –"We maintain that the data are still not very useful on a national basis," says Ant Bagshaw, education officer at Cambridge University student union (Cusu), which held out the longest against the survey. "But for internal use, some of them are quite interesting."–

  –The fact that so many institutions are now reviewing the way they do things as a result of the survey has finally proved its credentials. It is also why the National Union of Students backs it so enthusiastically, especially as it has often led to students being asked to help find solutions to the issues raised.–

  (tags: leaguetables nus studentexperience statistics)

• BBC NEWS | Health | Fruit and veg for under £1 a day
  Healthy eating doesn't have to be expensive. Or particularly difficult either.
  (tags: food eating)
• Lifehacker – First Look at Wolfram Alpha's Impressive (and Fun) Knowledge Computation – Wolfram Alpha
  Wolfram Alpha can be a bit of fun…
  (tags: wolframalpha search)
• Karen Blakeman’s Blog » Blog Archive » Wolfram Alpha is out – hmmm…
  Wolfram Alpha – http://www.wolframalpha.com/ – doesn't appear to be a 'Google killer' at the moment and it's not impressive enough to make a serious difference to a lot of academic research. Let's hope the service improves over time. However, Karen Blakeman explains why Wolfram Alpha isn't up to scratch yet in this piece.
  (tags: wolframalpha search technology)

• What Companies Should Know About Digital Natives « Web Strategy by Jeremiah Owyang | Social Media, Web Marketing
  (tags: internet research)
• School Gate – Times Online – WBLG: Tips for students on getting a job. Is competition for jobs a positive thing?
  (tags: job)

• Generation of graduates to pay 0% interest on student loans | Education | guardian.co.uk
  "More than 2.5 million students will pay 0% rate of interest on their loans from September, the government announced yesterday."
  (tags: money graduate)
• HEFCE : 11 May 2009 : National roll-out of ground-breaking mentoring scheme will help pupils to aim higher
  Aimhigher Associates is the first scheme of its kind to build long term links between undergraduates and school/college students from disadvantaged backgrounds to help raise educational aspirations. Undergraduates will be recruited to become Associates, using their personal experience to encourage and support pupils as young as 13 to make the most of their talents.
  (tags: mentor)
• Any fool can do either. Smart people learn to do both
  (tags: learning thinking future)
• Lessons from a Plagiarist – Dustin Wax – Stepcase Lifehack
  (tags: plagiarism)

• Prezi – The zooming presentation editor
  Prezi is the zooming presentation editor
  (tags: presentation web2.0 powerpoint)
• Why do 60% of students find their lectures boring? | Education | The Guardian
  So Powerpoint presentations can be boring…fair enough. Why not try using something like Prezi?
  (tags: lectures presentation)
• University guide: How to choose a course and how to meet universities on Facebook and Twitter | Education | The Guardian
  "There are lots of new ways to check out campuses and courses. Universities are even willing to meet you on Facebook and Twitter. Lucy Tobin offers her tips"
  (tags: university applications courses facebook twitter)
• A report says universities' use of virtual technologies is 'patchy' | Education | The Guardian
  (tags: twitter education web2.0 facebook technology learning)
• Dept. of Science: Don’t!: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker
  (tags: psychology self-control)
• How to Memorize Verbatim Text : Productivity501
  (tags: memory productivity learning)

• Why can't we concentrate? | Salon Books
  (tags: technology books psychology)
• Technology and books: Is the novel too much for our technology-addled brains? — chicagotribune.com
  (tags: technology books)
• FT.com / Weekend / Reportage – The split between scientists and writers
  (tags: science art academic)
• Is careers advice up to the job? | Education | The Guardian
  (tags: careers job jobs graduate employment)

• BBC NEWS | Education | More costs and cash for students
  “The survey found widespread confidence among students that university was a good investment, with 80% expecting to gain from higher earnings after graduation.

  “Confidence in the value of university had risen among first year students, compared with three years ago.”

  (tags: fees money university)
• Students more likely to live off government cash | Education | guardian.co.uk
  “The percentage doing paid work during the academic year fell from 58% in 2004-05 to 49% in 2007-08.

  “Half of part-time students and around one third of full-time students who worked during the academic year reported that this had affected their studies. The most common problems for both were less time available for study or reading, and more stress and higher workload (most often suffered by part-time students).”

  (tags: fees money university)
• How the E-Book Will Change the Way We Read and Write – WSJ.com
  (tags: ebooks books technology reading publishing)
• Say it Better: Can You Read Your Face? Fake a Smile? Detect a Lie?
  “An odd conclusion one can draw from this is that it is easier to fool others when faking an expression than to fool yourself. That makes sense since smiling when you are down is one proven way to lift yourself out of a funk and make others feel better around you. (Few notice your underlying feeling.) Also, it’s worth learning to read other’s facial expressions for many reasons – from knowing how to best connect in the moment to experiencing empathy.”
  (tags: communication psychology)
• Dangerously Irrelevant: Facebook, college students, and lower grades
  “My reaction when I started reading the news release was “They found some undergrads who aren’t using Facebook?” Then, sure enough, I found when I calculated the numbers that there were a mere 15 undergraduate non-Facebook users in the study.”I confess that I’m a little wary of some of Karpinski’s generalizations. Although she noted that other factors may be involved besides Facebook use or non-use, the ones that she hypothesized have to do with personality traits and/or predilection for online socialization.

  “Right now I’m not totally convinced that these findings don’t just represent the fact that about 80% of her non-Facebook users were graduate students. I think it’s safe to say that grad students generally spend more time studying than undergrads. Also, as she noted, grad students’ GPAs typically are higher.”

  (tags: facebook research socialmedia technology ohio)
• We Didn’t Start the Flame War – CollegeHumor Video
  (tags: video funny)
• Wired Campus: Professor Encourages Students to Pass Notes During Class — via Twitter – Chronicle.com
  (tags: twitter education web2.0 learning)

• Student blogs
  (tags: blog university Imperial)
• Ben Casnocha: The Blog: The Many Sides of Friendship
  (tags: friendship communication)
• Scott H Young » Restricting Yourself
  "Utilizing restrictions to get myself to do more interesting things. Giving up internet usage isn’t to limit my life, but the opposite, to enjoy it more. By restricting one set of choices, I can get out of my default behaviors and make more interesting choices.

  "There is this myth that people are perfectly rational, and that they will always pick the utility maximizing choice, when they have the option. That’s garbage. People are irrational, and that includes me. Given the choice, people do what they did yesterday, not what’s best."

  (tags: choice)
• Dynamic Periodic Table
  (tags: science reference education)
• Learning Physics Through Open Courses | Open Culture
  (tags: education physics science)

However you feel about today, we all have our own take on what love means to us.  I just hope you all manage to experience it and feel it the way you see it, all year round.  Happy Valentine’s Day.

“Do you want me to tell you something really subversive?  Love is everything it’s cracked up to be.  That’s why people are so cynical about it…It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for.  And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.”
- Erica Jong (1977)