Cappuccino U

Open Yale Courses

Have you always wanted a Yale education? Open Yale Courses now offers access to some courses to anyone with a computer and an internet connection.

Open Yale Courses provides free and open access to seven introductory courses taught by distinguished teachers and scholars at Yale University. The aim of the project is to expand access to educational materials for all who wish to learn.

Find a comfortable spot, connect to Yale (or various other fine Universities through iTunes University) and enjoy learning.

Cappuccino Culture in High Schools

My friend Steve Cavrak from the University of Vermont sent me a fascinating article describing how 'In some schools classrooms are being designed to resemble cyber cafés.'
The article, from The Independent, is entitled Secondary teaching: Cappuccino culture for teenagers.

'At Colne Community School in Brightlingsea, Essex, the ICT Learning Centre – despite its 60 or so matt black, flat-screen computers – is designed to look more like a coffee bar than a secondary school, according to Mark Thomson, assistant principal.
Yet despite the significant increases in GCSE grades, the better coursework presentation and what he calls "rising engagement levels among less motivated pupils" that have followed a £3m investment in technology, Colne's cyber café is just the start of things.'

In the article Virginia Matthews describes how some British schools are using technology and new classroom design to engage students and to help them learn.
Traditional classrooms in schools and other educational institutions are dreadful places in which to spend the majority of one's youth. The are poorly designed and uncomfortable – and they haven't changed appreciably in 200 years. I'm pleased to see that some schools are making significant changes.

Free Courses Online

Helge Scherlund reminds us in his latest blog entry that The Open University in the UK has a significant number of free courses available. I've browsed some of the free arts and history courses and am very tempted to try one or several.
Find a summer resort with free wi-fi and take a free course while you're sitting in the shade enjoying a cool drink – or, of course, a cappuccino.

A Moveable Office

One of the pleasures of working independently is that I can take my office, my work, and my learning to coffee shops, hotels and various other environments. At this time of year I often take my office outside.
The Ikea folding table and chairs can be moved easily to shady spots, then back in the house each evening. Since I have wireless in my home office I can use my laptop in my outdoor office, provided I work in the shade.

Stop by if you're in town: there's an extra chair. We'll have coffee and a chat. Or, if you're reading this from your own Cappuccino U location send me a note.

Steam Café at MIT

"Steam Café at MIT is a spatial experiment, both physical and virtual, that serves up great food and community interaction. The café arose as a collaborative venture of students from the School of Architecture and Planning in partnership with MIT Dining and the Sodexho Corporation. Steam uses "open source" problem solving to bring people together to discuss and improve the venture – an ongoing creation of food and space that reflects and inspires a community."
Steam Café is designed to provide a space for interaction, work, informal learning, and, of course, food. I hope that other institutions follow MIT's example.
Thanks to Steve Cavrak of the University of Vermont for telling me about Steam.