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A few days ago, inspired by this recent post of Tim Gowers, a web page entitled “the cost of knowledge” has been set up as a location for mathematicians and other academics to declare a protest against the academic publishing practices of Reed Elsevier, in particular with regard to their exceptionally high journal prices, their policy of “bundling” journals together so that libraries are forced to purchase subscriptions to large numbers of low-quality journals in order to gain access to a handful of high-quality journals, and their opposition to the open access movement (as manifested, for instance, in their lobbying in support of legislation such as the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Research Works Act (RWA)). [These practices have been documented in a number of places; this wiki page, which was set up in response to Tim's post, collects several relevant links for this purpose. Some of the other commercial publishers have exhibited similar behaviour, though usually not to the extent that Elsevier has, which is why this particular publisher is the focus of this protest.] At the protest site, one can publicly declare a refusal to either publish at an Elsevier journal, referee for an Elsevier journal, or join the board of an Elsevier journal. (In the past, the editorial boards of several Elsevier journals have resigned over the pricing policies of the journal, most famously the board of Topology in 2006, but also the Journal of Algorithms in 2003, and a number of journals in other sciences as well. Several libraries, such as those of Harvard and Cornell, have also managed to negotiate an unbundling of Elsevier journals, but most libraries are still unable to subscribe to such journals individually.) http://terrytao.wordpress.com/2012/...t-of-knowledge/

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What is edX? Answering common questions about MIT and Harvard’s new partnership in online education. What is edX? An organization established by MIT and Harvard University that will develop an open-source technology platform to deliver online courses. EdX will support Harvard and MIT faculty in conducting research on teaching and learning on campus through tools that enrich classroom and laboratory experiences. At the same time, edX will also reach learners around the world through online course materials. The edX website will begin by hosting MITx and Harvardx content, with the goal of adding content from other universities interested in joining the platform. edX will also support the Harvard and MIT faculty in conducting research on teaching and learning. What are MITx and Harvardx? Portfolios of MIT and Harvard online courses offered to learners around the world through edX. What technology will edX use? An open-source online learning platform that will feature teaching designed specifically for the Web. Features will include: self-paced learning, online discussion groups, wiki-based collaborative learning, assessment of learning as a student progresses through a course, and online laboratories. The platform will also serve as a laboratory from which data will be gathered to better understand how students learn. Because it is open-source, the platform will be improved continuously. Is there anything innovative about the online technology? Yes. It will move beyond the standard model of online education that relies on watching video content and will offer an interactive experience for students. And the technology will be open-source; other universities will be able to leverage the innovative technology to create their own online offerings. Why are MIT and Harvard doing this? To improve education on campus and around the world: On campus, edX research will enhance our understanding of how students learn and how technologies can best be used as part of our larger efforts to improve teaching and learning. Beyond our campuses, edX will expand access to education, allow for certificates of mastery to be earned by able learners, and make the open-source platform available to other institutions. http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/edx-faq-050212.html

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With college costs skyrocketing, a growing group of policymakers is coalescing behind an audacious plan: Make college free for anyone who can't pay. It may sound impossible in an era of dwindling education budgets, but proposals in Michigan and California claim it can be done through tax credits or creative repayment setups. If either plan becomes reality, it could show a way out of the tuition crisis that's affected most public and many private universities. The most elite private universities have long offered generous scholarships to low- and middle-income students out of their teeming endowments, with some—like Harvard and Princeton—promising a free ride without student loans to anyone whose parents don't earn enough to pay. But for the vast majority of college-bound students, that's not an option—yet. Since taking office, President Barack Obama has modestly expanded federal Pell Grants and loan accessibility. But in his State of the Union address this year, Obama acknowledged those reforms are not enough to keep education affordable. "Colleges and universities have to do their part to keep costs down," he said. Patrick Callan, president of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, says the cost-free tuition vision is in its earliest days, but he's excited for the possibility. "I've been a hawk on the tuition issue and have been opposed to tuition hikes," he says. "I haven't heard the cost-free position articulated with the exception of the demonstrations for the 99 percent. But I certainly wouldn't oppose making college free." In Michigan, Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer, whose district includes Michigan State University, introduced the "Michigan 2020 Plan," which would offer free or near-free tuition to state universities or community colleges for any Michigan high school graduate. The bill would award about $9,500—the median cost at a public university in the state—to all students who complete kindergarten through high school in Michigan public schools. Students who moved to the state partway through their academic careers or transferred from private schools would earn a portion of that sum. Advocates say the entire program could be funded by closing tax loopholes with no effect on individual taxpayers. http://www.good.is/post/could-college-be-free/

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"Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales is helping a UK government bid to make the results of Government funded research available freely online. The move taps into a popular protest at the restrictions which academic publishers place on the availability of research. From the article: 'Almost 11,000 researchers have signed up to a boycott of journals owned by the huge academic publisher Elsevier. Subscriptions to the thousands of research journals can cost a big university library millions of pounds each year – costs that have started to bite as budgets are squeezed. Harvard University, frustrated by the rising costs of journal subscriptions, recently encouraged its faculty members to make their research freely available through open access journals and to resign from publications that keep articles behind paywalls.'" http://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/05...e-academic-data

Can there be free education for all?