Connexions - Sharing Knowledge and Building Communities Skulls with mix of Neandertal and primitive traits illuminate human evolution -- ScienceDaily Researchers studying a collection of skulls in a Spanish cave identified both Neandertal-derived features and features associated with more primitive humans in these bones. This "mosaic pattern" supports a theory of Neandertal evolution that suggests Neandertals developed their defining features separately, and at different times -- not all at once. Having this new data from the Sima de los Huesos site, as the Spanish cave is called, has allowed scientists to better understand hominin evolution during the Middle Pleistocene, a period in which the path of hominin evolution has been controversial. "The Middle Pleistocene was a long period of about half a million years during which hominin evolution didn't proceed through a slow process of change with just one kind of hominin quietly evolving towards the classic Neandertal," said lead author Juan-Luis Arsuaga, Professor of Paleontology at the Complutense University of Madrid. Arsuaga and his team were delighted to work on this effort.
What does an innovation strategist do? The opportunity to become an “Innovation Strategist” catches people’s attention. Since our initial posting for the role in Toronto, we’ve received over 120 resumes from dynamic, brilliant young individuals all interested in joining the Idea Couture team. From the outside looking in, innovation strategy sounds incredibly sexy (and it certainly looks good on a business card). But if you ask a typical applicant what exactly they think an innovation strategist does, what usually follows is blank stares, buzz words, or my favorite, “They strategize innovation”. None of those are good answers. There’s nothing worse than expecting one thing and getting another. So here are a few of the tasks, activities, and responsibilities of your typical innovation strategist. Project DesignInnovation strategist as the planner Business Strategy Innovation strategist as the box builder Design Research Innovation strategist as design researcher Workshop Innovation strategist as a facilitator Design Development
videolectures.net - videolectures.net 9 Great Online Libraries for Educators Libraries are significant resources for written text and educational materials. It is true that the surge in blogs, search engines, ebooks catalogues, and document sharing communities has tremendously weakened the online presence of libraries but still often times libraries provide a treasure trove of information and rare documents that you can hardly find elsewhere. As educators, we should at least know about two or three library resources where to look for and find precious documentations. Please if you have other suggestions to add to the list then don't hesitate to share with us below : 1- Internet Public Library Internet Public Library ( IPL ) is a great resouce for educators. 2- Awesome Library This is another great online library that provides directories, text books, documents and many more. 3- Library of Congress This is an awesome library. 4- Public Libraries This is like a search engine desgined to help users find the public library they are looking for. 5- Free Classic Reader
Download Free, Open-source Textbooks from OpenStax College A Brief History of Open Data Data is currently in the spotlight, be it open data or big data. It is important to consider these two types separately, even if they share a common object: data. Big data focuses primarily on the possibilities offered by exploiting a volume of data in exponential growth. Whereas with open data, the creation of value depends on the ability to share data, to make it available to third parties, rather than on sheer volume. The term open data appeared for the first time in 1995, in a document from an American scientific agency. The idea of common good applied to knowledge had already been theorized, well before the invention of the Internet. Information technologies have also given a new breath to this philosophy of commons. Long before being a technical object or political movement, open data was rooted in the praxis of the scientific community. But it is the encounter between this scientific idea and the ideals of free software and open source that shaped open data as we know it today.
LitReactor LitReactor offers a unique approach to a writing education: You study what you want, when you want, at your own pace. We bring in veteran authors and industry professionals to host classes covering a wide range of topics in an online environment that’s interactive and flexible. You get detailed feedback on your work and take part in discussions in a judgement-free zone. It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or an experienced writer, our workshops are about working together to achieve your writing goals. Where do classes take place? Are there certain times when the whole class needs to "meet" online? What does a typical class consist of? How much experience do you need to take a class? Got more questions? And click here to explore a sample class that shows our layout and features. "Tremendous insight into the fundamentals of storytelling, the often complex foundations upon which stories either succeed or are forgotten. " - Jim M., on Fundamentals of Short Fiction
Guide to Free, Quality Higher Education Culture Digital Tools Teaching Strategies By Katrina Schwartz As the current generation of college graduates wrangles with an unprecedented amount of debt, a sea change is underway in higher education. More and more elite universities are offering free online courses that might characterize the next iteration of the college experience for the forthcoming generation of students. Will students be able to receive the equivalent of a bachelors degree for free? At the moment, students of these online courses receive certificates of completion, but no university credit. Last fall, a group of Stanford professors decided to offer a few courses online free of charge and were overwhelmed when hundreds of thousands of students signed up for their courses. COURSERA. Explore: Coursera, Harvard, Higher Education, Minerva, MIT, MITx, MOOC, Open Source, Stanford, Udacity
The Public Domain Review | Online journal dedicated to showcasing the most interesting and unusual out-of-copyright works available on the web Khan Academy