Ten With Ken (audio)

For more than a thousand years, students have been gathering in lecture halls to listen to the "sage on the stage." But shorter attention spans, new technologies, and empirical testing of learning outcomes have led us to question the tried and true historical "transmission" model of education. In this episode, Ken Steele gives a brief lecture on "the Death of Lecture." Check out how familiar a 14th-century lecture hall at the Universite di Bologne looks. Former Quest University president David Helfand explains how the human brain is wired for two-way communication - and the lecture is the opposite of that. https://youtu.be/-J8PcPC7l5U fMRI studies have demonstrated the impact of curiosity on the brain's ability to soak up new information. Gen Y and Z have significantly decreased attention spans. They don't have the patience for a 60-minute lecture, and the Columbia University TEDx organizers worry that they don't have the focus for a 16-minute TED talk either. https://youtu.be/wRwPoR707UI Hundreds of studies

This year, we distill the best moments from 76 holiday greeting videos that were published by colleges and universities across Canada in December 2015, and select a few as “Best in Class” for their categories. Please “take twenty” with us, and enjoy! If you’re creating your own holiday greeting video, be sure to animate your logo with snowflakes and sleighbells. Your task is to convey best wishes on behalf of the campus community, most often featuring the president as spokesperson. A snowy Canadian winter is a natural, non-denominational symbol of winter break, and so many holiday greeting videos feature footage of campus wrapped in a blanket of snow. Perhaps last year was particularly green, since quite a few videos faked the snow – from Royal Roads to Western (which got Best in Class for this category.) The simplest way to incorporate the many voices on campus is to feature a collage of photographs, either taken throughout the year, or staged using holiday props. More popular is the “Holiday Shout-Out”, a c

In this week's Ten with Ken, we sum up some recent higher ed social media trends and memes, from the #MannequinChallenge to MUN's reality TV webcast, "The New Class," and much more! #MannequinChallenge: After the Pokémon Go craze of July and August, the next viral sensation to hit the inter webs was the #MannequinChallenge. It was apparently started by high school students in Jacksonville FLA in early October. Within a month it was being replicated by college football teams, NFL teams, leading political candidates, pop music stars and the US First Lady. The first Canadian PSE campus to upload a #MannequinChallenge video to their official YouTube channel appears to be La Cité Collègiale. Their culinary students were featured in a video on Nov 9. MSVU students jumped on the bandwagon a day later. A Collège Boréal student association video followed a week later. But by far the biggest, most ambitious #MannequinChallenge we've seen involved 750 staff and students at Brock University. The #Mannequin videos we feat

This week, Ken talks to leaders from 14 Ontario universities about the latest new construction and renovations on campus, and extrapolates some major trends in campus construction, which reflect institutional priorities and new trends in student services. Major Facelifts: Laurentian University has just completed a $34 M campus renewal program, renovating 9 buildings and virtually every classroom. The University of Windsor has closed campus roads to traffic, and replaced parking lots and dilapidated buildings with green space, pedestrian pathways and outdoor furniture. OCAD University is undertaking the renewal and expansion of 150,000 sq ft at its downtown “Creative City Campus”. Downtown Satellites: The University of Windsor has renovated the Windsor Armouries to house its School of Creative Arts and Music faculties, the former Greyhound Bus Depot to hold its Film program, and the former Windsor Star building to house the Centre for Professional and Executive Education and the Social Work program. OCAD will

This week, Ken Steele speaks with 10 university presidents and 2 senior administrators about the ways in which universities are evolving to meet the needs of 21st Century Learners. While it's certainly fair to argue that the core principles of a university education are timeless, in general university programs, services and campuses are evolving in a time of labour market uncertainty, interdisciplinarity, active learning classrooms, experiential and work-integrated learning, and new technology. Institutions are trying to be responsive to student expectations, employer demands, and government requirements. Preparing today's students for careers can also involve entrepreneurial training, since 40% of jobs are projected to be freelance by 2020. Interviewed for this episode: Algoma U: Craig Chamberlin, President & Vice-Chancellor Brock U: Brian Hutchings, Acting President Carleton U: Suzanne Blanchard, Vice-President, Students & Enrolment Lakehead U: Brian Stevenson, President & Vice-Chancellor Lau

Ken Steele sums up recent trends in new university programs, from interdisciplinary degrees to college-university collaborations, based on Ontario-wide data and on interviews with university presidents and recruiters at the 2016 Ontario Universities' Fair. North American youth are increasingly focusing on STEM subjects and the traditionally high-paying professions, from accounting and law to medicine and engineering. Many universities are launching new programs at the undergraduate and graduate level to appeal to these students, and even partnering with international law schools when they don't have one of their own. Increasingly research is being directed towards interdisciplinary subject areas, and interdisciplinary programs are on the rise, from broad-spectrum human, animal, plant and planet health, to programs combining business and the humanities, or entrepreneurship and biomedical engineering. Many universities also report that programs related to sports and kinesiology, social work or child and youth s

Ken Steele went to the Ontario Universities' Fair, in September 2016, and asked 45 experts for their best advice for young people trying to choose between universities. And these are people who ought to know: 11 university presidents, 9 recruiters and admissions professionals, and 25 current undergraduate students. In the end, there was consensus on 8 key pieces of advice you should keep in mind: 1) Take Your TIme 2) Do Your Homework 3) Ask Questions 4) Visit Campuses 5) Look Further Afield 6) Find a Comfortable Fit 7) There are No Bad Choices 8) Ultimately, It's Up to You Interviewed for this episode: Algoma U: Craig Chamberlin, President & Vice-Chancellor Brad Lloyd, Admissions Advisor Anna Stilin, Student Ambassador Brock U: Brian Hutchings, Acting President James Mandigo, Vice-Provost, Enrolment Management & International Carleton U: Suzanne Blanchard, Vice-President, Students & Enrolment Lakehead U: Brian Stevenson, President & Vice-Chancellor Adriel Martin, Student Ambassador Kelsey Ag

Ken Steele went to the Ontario Universities' Fair, in September 2016, and asked 45 experts for their best advice for young people trying to choose a program or field of study after high school. And these are people who ought to know: 11 university presidents, 9 recruiters and admissions professionals, and 25 current undergraduate students. In the end, there was consensus on 7 key pieces of advice you should keep in mind, if you're trying to make a decision about your post-secondary path: 1) Don't Panic! 2) Start Early 3) Follow Your Passion 4) It's OK Not to Know Yet 5) Don't Limit Yourself 6) Keep an Open Mind 7) University will Expand Your Horizons Interviewed for this episode: Algoma U: Craig Chamberlin, President & Vice-Chancellor Brad Lloyd, Admissions Advisor Anna Stilin, Student Ambassador Brock U: Brian Hutchings, Acting President James Mandigo, Vice-Provost, Enrolment Management & International Carleton U: Suzanne Blanchard, Vice-President, Students & Enrolment Lakehead U: Brian Stevens

In the second episode from the 2016 Ontario Universities' Fair, Ken Steele surveys the exhibit floor and interviews university representatives to summarize what's new in student recruitment marketing this fall. (See the first, "Why Go to the OUF?" at https://youtu.be/CyXKcQ7fsac ). This podcast includes some flashback photos, video and even some unused interviews from previous years' OUFs, from 2006 to the present. Data Collection: The underlying goal for student recruitment offices at the Fair is to collect contact information for as many prospective students as possible. As Deanna Underwood of OUAC explains, in previous years that meant that prospective students had to enter their contact information in 21 different ways, on paper, iPad, laptop or computer, at all the various booths. That also tended to mean that many universities offered prize incentives to collect data. Last year we interviewed Craig Chipps of Wilfrid Laurier about the branded hoodies they were giving away; Deanna MacQuarrie of uGuelph ab

Ken Steele goes on location at the largest PSE exhibition in North America, the Ontario Universities' Fair in Toronto. Over 2 days he interviewed 11 presidents, 9 front-line staff and 25 student ambassadors. This week, we find out what they like best about the OUF, and why they recommend prospective students attend. It should be interesting to anyone who has ever attended the fair, or is considering it! Algoma U: Craig Chamberlin, President & Vice-Chancellor Brad Lloyd, Admissions Advisor Anna Stilin, Student Ambassador Brock U: Brian Hutchings, Acting President James Mandigo, Vice-Provost, Enrolment Management & International Carleton U: Suzanne Blanchard, Vice-President, Students & Enrolment Lakehead U: Brian Stevenson, President & Vice-Chancellor Adriel Martin, Student Ambassador Kelsey Agnew, Student Ambassador Laurentian U: Dominic Giroux, President & Vice-Chancellor Abegail Villaruel, Student Ambassador Alexander Mayhew, Student Ambassador Nipissing U: Mike DeGagné, President &

This week, Ken reviews this fall’s back-to-school college and university videos, from presidential welcomes to o-week excitement, from bubble gum records to Pokémon Go! We looked at “O-Week Winners & Sinners” in a previous episode. https://youtu.be/imr8-zMyEDg This time, we’re focused on more official videos: UPEI provided vital orientation information in their video. https://youtu.be/xzzWt_xswSY Trinity Western University recaps the excitement of move-in day. https://youtu.be/jMm7Mw1FqNI Ryerson University organized more than 1200 students, staff and faculty to “pop” the Guiness world record for bubble gum blowing. https://youtu.be/AgI0arSkyLI But back-to-school videos also tackle “heavier” issues. In a previous episode we looked at campus and dorm room safety videos. https://youtu.be/NRPY2RSSfK8?t=2m1s Respect and sexual consent campaigns are also widespread at this time of year, and for good reason: The first few weeks of school are when the vast majority of sexual assaults occur. In an effort to keep