In search of 'swag'

To me, it meant stolen goods; but what did it mean to my teen son?

By Robert Klose / February 28, 2013

How rich American slang has become. I feel as if I am hanging on for dear life as the language shifts and morphs around me, leaving me at sea in an increasingly unfamiliar vernacular. Such are the wages of the passing years.

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The latest fragment to arrive on the shores of my ignorance is "swag." When my 16-year-old son first uttered it, I was caught off guard. Here's what he said in reference to one of his friends: "Jesse's got swag." Now, in my experience, swag has two meanings: It refers to either stolen goods or a collection of goodies, such as the boxes of toiletries that colleges distribute to students at the beginning of the school year. But when I said to my son, "Where did Jesse get it?" he regarded me with a pained expression and asked, incredulously, "What are you talking about?"

When I explained what I understood "swag" to mean, Anton laughed ? laughed! ? at me. Then he shook his head. "OK," I said. "Then what does 'swag' mean?" His answer: "If you had it, you'd know."

There it was: I had to first have swag in order to know what it meant. A perfect Catch-22. So I sought another route to enlightenment ? the seventh-grader I mentor in the local middle school. During one of our sessions, as we pored over his Spanish homework, I broached the delicate topic. "Do you know what swag is?" I asked him. "Sure," he said. "It means that you're cool."

Ah, so simple, but yet so proprietary that my own son couldn't admit me to the cabala of its meaning. Pressing my luck, I swallowed my dignity and quietly asked my mentee, "Do you think I have it?" Without taking his eyes from his work, he shrugged, "Yeah, you've got a lot of it."

Glowing, I communicated this intelligence to Anton at my first opportunity. "Ricky said I have swag," I announced as he hovered in front of the open fridge. "A lot of it."

Anton shook his head, as if he didn't know what he was going to do with me. "How old is Ricky?" he asked.

"Twelve."

Anton let out a deprecating breath. "Twelve?" he echoed. "What does he know!"

Hmm ? swag was clearly in the eye of the beholder, and seemingly difficult to earn or get credit for. The next day, as I was chatting with my students in the college biology class I teach, I was moved to ask them about this word. They were, of course, familiar with it. Then one of them asked why I wanted to know. I didn't feel it appropriate to tell them how haunted I was by the realization that I might not possess swag, so I dodged the inquiry and commenced the lesson.

Well, no matter, I told myself. I had lived in blissful ignorance of my swaglessness until now, so I was sure I could continue on intact. But some perceptive, caring soul in my class must have detected my note of despondency in mentioning the elusive quality. The next day, when I came to school, there was a multicolored sticker affixed to my office door: I'VE GOT SWAG.

Need I mention that when I returned home I lay in anxious wait for Anton? As he came through the door, I accosted him with, "Someone put a sticker on my office door. It says, I'VE GOT SWAG." What I didn't add by way of emphasis was, "So take that!"

"It doesn't matter," said Anton as he headed for the fridge.

"Doesn't matter?" I already felt my heart sinking.

"No," he said offhandedly. "Swag is out. There's a new word now."

"A new word?" I echoed. "What is it?"

Turning to me, Anton's eyes were once again filled with pity. "You mean you don't know?"

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/8W1UikBBU_0/In-search-of-swag

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ASUS MeMo Pad Smart 10 review

ASUS is looking to bring down the cost of owning a full-featured 10-inch tablet, but can it overcome the inherent issues with the form factor?

When it comes to 10-inch Android tablets, there's no doubt that ASUS has been leading the pack when it comes to features, build quality and choice of form factors. From the Google-sanctioned Nexus 7 to the highest end Transformer Pad Infinity, the manufacturer surely knows it's stuff. While other manufacturers seem to make Android tablets as an afterthought, ASUS puts a lot of weight behind its entire tablet lineup.

With this, the MeMo Pad Smart 10 (and smaller brother the 7-inch MeMo Pad), ASUS is hoping to offer the same appealing package of quality specs and build of its high-end devices, but cut back in just a few areas to make it more affordable. The MeMo Pad Smart 10 is retailing at just $299, which certainly sounds like a great deal, so stick around after the break and see how it holds up.

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/bhTLTtt7gLo/story01.htm

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Pope gives final Sunday blessing before resigning

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing during his last Angelus noon prayer, from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. Benedict XVI gave his pontificate's final Sunday blessing from his studio window to the cheers of tens of thousands of people packing St. Peter's Square, but sought to reassure the faithful that he wasn't abandoning the church by retiring to spend his final years in prayer. The 85-year-old Benedict is stepping down on Thursday evening, the first pope to do so in 600 years, after saying he no longer has the mental or physical strength to vigorously lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, ho)

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing during his last Angelus noon prayer, from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. Benedict XVI gave his pontificate's final Sunday blessing from his studio window to the cheers of tens of thousands of people packing St. Peter's Square, but sought to reassure the faithful that he wasn't abandoning the church by retiring to spend his final years in prayer. The 85-year-old Benedict is stepping down on Thursday evening, the first pope to do so in 600 years, after saying he no longer has the mental or physical strength to vigorously lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, ho)

Faithful hold up a banner with pictures of Pope Benedict XVI and writing reading in Italian "Thank you" as they attend Benedict's last Angelus prayer, in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. Benedict XVI gave his pontificate's final Sunday blessing from his studio window to the cheers of tens of thousands of people packing St. Peter's Square, but sought to reassure the faithful that he wasn't abandoning the church by retiring to spend his final years in prayer. The 85-year-old Benedict is stepping down on Thursday evening, the first pope to do so in 600 years, after saying he no longer has the mental or physical strength to vigorously lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)

Faithful attend Pope Benedict XVI's last Angelus prayer, in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. Benedict XVI gave his pontificate's final Sunday blessing from his studio window to the cheers of tens of thousands of people packing St. Peter's Square, but sought to reassure the faithful that he wasn't abandoning the church by retiring to spend his final years in prayer. The 85-year-old Benedict is stepping down on Thursday evening, the first pope to do so in 600 years, after saying he no longer has the mental or physical strength to vigorously lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)

Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing during his last Angelus noon prayer, from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. Benedict XVI gave his pontificate's final Sunday blessing from his studio window to the cheers of tens of thousands of people packing St. Peter's Square, but sought to reassure the faithful that he wasn't abandoning the church by retiring to spend his final years in prayer. The 85-year-old Benedict is stepping down on Thursday evening, the first pope to do so in 600 years, after saying he no longer has the mental or physical strength to vigorously lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Nuns pray as they wait for Pope Benedict XVI's last Angelus prayer, in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. Benedict XVI gave his pontificate's final Sunday blessing from his studio window to the cheers of tens of thousands of people packing St. Peter's Square, but sought to reassure the faithful that he wasn't abandoning the church by retiring to spend his final years in prayer. The 85-year-old Benedict is stepping down on Thursday evening, the first pope to do so in 600 years, after saying he no longer has the mental or physical strength to vigorously lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

VATICAN CITY (AP) ? Pope Benedict XVI bestowed his final Sunday blessing of his pontificate on a cheering crowd in St. Peter's Square, explaining that his waning years and energy made him better suited to the life of private prayer he soon will spend in a secluded monastery than as leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

On Thursday evening, the 85-year-old German-born theologian will become the first pope to have resigned from the papacy in 600 years.

Sunday's noon appearance from his studio window overlooking the vast square was his next-to-last appointment with the public of his nearly eight-year papacy. Tens of thousands of faithful and other admirers have already asked the Vatican for a seat in the square for his last general audience Wednesday.

Perhaps emotionally buoyed by the warm welcome, thunderous applause and the many banners reading "Grazie" (Thanks) held up in the crowd estimated by police to number 100,000, Benedict looked relaxed and sounded energized, in sharp contrast to his apparent frailty and weariness of recent months.

In a strong and clear voice, Benedict told the pilgrims, tourists and Romans in the square that God had called him to dedicate himself "even more to prayer and meditation," which he will do in a monastery being renovated for him on the grounds behind Vatican City's ancient walls.

"But this doesn't mean abandoning the church," he said, as many in the crowd looked sad at his approaching departure. "On the contrary, if God asks me, this is because I can continue to serve it (the church) with the same dedication and the same love which I have tried to do so until now, but in a way more suitable to my age and to my strength."

The phrase "tried to" was the pope's adlibbed addition to his prepared text.

Benedict smiled in pleasure at the crowd after an aide parted the white curtain at his window and he gazed at the people packing the square, craning their head for a look at him. Giving greetings in several languages, he gratefully acknowledged what he said was an outpouring of "gratitude, affection and closeness in prayer" since he stunned the church and its 1.2 billion members on Feb. 11 with his decision to renounce his papacy and retreat into a world of contemplation.

"Prayer is not isolating oneself from the world and its contradictions," Benedict told the crowd. He said he had heard God's call to prayer, "which gives breath to our spiritual life" in a special way "at this moment of my life."

Heavy rain had been forecast for Rome, and some drizzle dampened the square earlier in the morning. But when Benedict appeared, to the peal of church bells as the clock struck noon, blue sky crept through the clouds.

"We thank God for the sun he has given us," the pope said.

Even as the cheering continued and shouts of "Long live the pope" went up in Italian and Spanish, the pontiff simply turned away from his window and stepped back down into the apartment, which he will leave Thursday, taking a helicopter to the Vatican summer residence in the hills outside Rome while he waits for the monastery to be ready.

A child in the crowd held up a sign on a yellow placard, written in Italian, "You are not alone, I'm with you."

No date has yet been set for the start of the conclave of cardinals, who will vote in secret to elect Benedict's successor.

"Now there will be two popes," said the Rev. Vilmar Pavesi, a Portuguese priest who was among the throngs in the square. "There will be the pope of Rome, the elected pope, and there will be the bishop emeritus of Rome, who will live the life of a monk inside the Vatican walls."

One Italian in the crowd seemed to be doing a little campaigning, hoisting a sign which mentioned the names of two Italian cardinals considered by observers to be potential contenders in the selection of the next pontiff.

Flags in the crowd represented many nations, with a large number from Brazil.

The cardinals in the conclave will have to decide whether it's time to look outside of Europe for a pope. The papacy was considered the realm of Italian prelates for centuries, until a Pole, John Paul II, was elected as pontiff in 1978, to be followed in 2005 by the German-born Benedict.

Crucially, Italian prelates have continued to run the behind-the-scenes machinery of the church's governance, and cardinals will likely be deciding what role the Italians might have played in a series of scandals clouding the central bureaucracy, including allegations of corruption and power-grabbing.

Benedict has not made any direct comment on details of the scandals.

In one of his last papal tweets, Benedict wrote Sunday in English: "In these momentous days, I ask you to pray for me and for the church, trusting as always in divine providence."

___

AP reporter Paolo Santalucia contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-24-EU-Vatican-Pope/id-15e56d15320841a498784a0eae2833d3

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Iraq War Veteran Creates Controversial Job Portal Mister Headhunter

Salary negotiations will never be the same again

Hackensack, New Jersey (PRWEB) February 25, 2013

Anyone that has ever searched for a job knows how uncomfortable it is to get to the bottom of a cover letter and write about salary expectations. As soon as the job seeker decides to play this different version of the Price is Right game, the chance of getting the job with a good salary package is gone.

Entering into a working agreement between an employer and an employee should be equally beneficial to both parties; it should be balanced and fair to all. Robert Reyes, the founder of Mister Headhunter, believes this will be the case when the script is flipped and employers are the ones being forced to talk salary first.

Every job is not the same just like every employee is very different from the next. Some jobs are more demanding than others and some employees are more capable and experienced than their peers. So why have them bid for the job by having them state their salary expectations?

Answer: Because the employer always win!

Mister Headhunter, the free job portal, disrupts this practice. Employers must first bid on the potential employee and take things from there. If an organization is interested in any individual profile within the job portal they must send a message that includes a preliminary salary offer. If this individual finds this offer fair, he can accept the massage and the job portal will release his contact details to the employer so that they may take things further.

But this is just one tiny feature of Mister Headhunter. Every profile has a worth, which is the current salary from that particular individual. The employers can only send offers that are higher than the salary figure displayed on member profiles.

Another key feature that benefits employers is the ability the job portal has in prescreening applicants. Not just anyone can apply for a job posted on Mister Headhunter; the applicant must be a match in certain criteria such as skills and location. This will save HR staff countless hours since they will only be viewing suitable matches for their vacancies.

Robert, the founder of Mister Headhunter, is an Iraq War Veteran that was wounded in the battle for Karbala on May 2004 when a grenade exploded beside him. He is determined to build the world?s most efficient free job portal, http://www.mistereadhunter.com.

There is an ongoing crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to help support future developments of Mister Headhunter.

Robert Reyes
Mister Headhunter Inc.
+1 201 535 4405
Email Information

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iraq-war-veteran-creates-controversial-job-portal-mister-081018642.html

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Target's key Jan. revenue metric tops Wall Street

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ? Discount retailer Target Corp. said Thursday that a key revenue measure rose 3.1 percent in January as shoppers bought holiday clearance merchandise.

The gain topped Wall Street expectations, and Target shares edged up 31 cents to $63 in premarket trading.

Gregg Steinhafel, chairman, president and CEO of Target, said its customers "continue to shop with discipline in the face of a slow economic recovery and new pressures, including recent payroll tax increases."

As a result, he said Target remains "focused on providing unbeatable value combined with a superior guest experience in both our stores and digital channels."

Analysts had expected a 1.7 percent increase for the four weeks ended Jan. 26, according to Thomson Reuters.

The figure is based on revenue at stores opened at least a year and is considered an indicator of a retailer's health because it excludes results from stores recently opened or closed.

For the quarter to date, revenue at stores open at least a year rose 0.4 percent.. The figure is up 2.7 percent for the year to date.

Total revenue for the five weeks ended Feb. 2 were $5.97 billion, up 29.6 percent from a year ago.

For the quarter to date, total revenue was up 6.8 percent to $22.37 billion. For the year to date, revenue rose 5.1 percent to $71.96 billion.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/targets-key-jan-revenue-metric-tops-wall-street-141816916--finance.html

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Should you invest in Target Date Funds? - Retire By 40

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Let?s face it ? many of us are not comfortable with investing in the stock market. This is especially true for young folks who just started their first job and are still trying to pay down their student loans.? To make it easier for new investors, the financial institutions came up with ?target date funds.? These funds make retirement investing very simple because you just have to pick your retirement date and keep investing into that fund.

How do Target Date Funds work?

The main idea behind these funds is that they will adjust your investment asset allocation as you age. When you are young, the majority of the portfolio will be invested in the stock market. As you get older, the fund will shift more and more money to safer investments (usually bonds).

Let?s look at Vanguard?s Target Date Funds

*This table was made on February 2013.

As you can see, the fund gets more conservative as you approach the target retirement date. You?ll need more stability as you near retirement, so the fund will shift more assets toward bonds.

Vanguard?s 2040 Target Date Fund ? VFORX

The 2040 Target Date fund is designed for investors planning to retire between 2038 and 2042. That?s right in the range of my full retirement target. Here is a more detailed look at VFORX.

One important thing to note is that the target date funds usually invest in their own family of funds. If the underlying funds aren?t any good, then the target date fund will reflect that. VFORX is quite simple. It just has 3 underlying low cost index funds. I did a little math and it looks like you?ll pay the same expense ratio if you try to duplicate VFORX with the same underlying funds. I like Vanguard because their expense ratio is very low compared to other funds. It is also nice to have some exposure to international stocks when you invest in VFORX.

Should you invest in Target Date Funds?

The target date fund is great for new investors who are having a difficult time picking the right fund in their 401k plan. The most important thing when you are starting out is to simply start investing as soon as possible. The choice of investment won?t make a big difference until your portfolio is more substantial. For new investors, I would recommend just plowing money into either a total market index fund or a target date fund. Once a new investor learns more about stock market investing, he can reallocate the investment elsewhere.

Check these before investing in Target Date Funds

Fees

Target date funds can have higher fees. Putnam RetirementReady 2040 A (PRRZX) for example, has a gross expense ratio of 1.32%. This is more than 7 times as much as the Vanguard funds and it will zap your return.

Compare long term performance

One way to quickly check your target date fund is to compare it to VFORX on Yahoo! Finance. Just follow the link, then click on COMPARE and enter your target date fund symbol. This will give you a comparison over the last 5 years. Your target date fund should be comparable to VFORX. If it?s much worse, then perhaps it might be better to go with another fund in your 401k.

See if the asset allocation ratio makes sense for you

You need to check the asset allocation to see if you are comfortable with it. Let?s look at the Vanguard 2040 Target Date fund again. The bond allocation is only 10% of the portfolio. Most folks who choose the 2040 Target Date fund are close to 40 and may not be able to tolerate such a low bond allocation. One old rule of thumb is to use your age as the percent to own bonds and invest the rest in stocks. With this old rule of thumb, an investor should have 40% in bonds. This is up to you, though. I have a high risk tolerance and don?t mind the volatility because I still have over 25 years left until full retirement. 10% in bonds is fine with me.

Read the prospectus at least once a year

You should check the prospectus at least once a year to see the asset allocation ratio. You might be comfortable with the asset allocation now, but the manager might change their strategy suddenly. In the past, we have seen Vanguard reduce the percentage of bonds and they may do so again. You just need to check on it once a year to make sure your fund is still doing what you expected.

Target Date Funds simplify investing

All in all, I like the target date fund. It makes investing very simple and encourage more workers to save. Mrs. RB40 has been investing in the 2040 Target Date fund in her 401k plan for many years and it is paying off for her. Her fund is very low cost and its performance is in line with VFORX. She kept investing through the downturn and her 401k is doing very well. She?doesn?t?have to worry about rebalancing and she likes it that way.

Target date funds can be a good investment for investors who are in the accumulation phase. Once an investor approach retirement and have more assets, then a better option would be?working with a financial adviser to come up with a personalize plan.

Disclosure: I am not a financial adviser. I am writing from my experience and research. You might want to talk to a financial adviser before making a big move in your investment portfolio. Sign up with Personal Capital and you can get a free financial analysis and it can be a good first step.

?

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Source: http://retireby40.org/2013/02/invest-target-date-funds/

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The Massive Effect of MOOCs on Higher Education | EdTech ...

Rebecca Griffiths leads Ithaka S+R?s online learning program. She is exploring how interactive learning programs can improve student outcomes and reduce costs within public institutions. Credit: Mary F. Calvert

Ask any observer to name one of the most important education stories of 2012, and a likely response will be massive open online courses.

MOOCs, if they haven't yet fully disrupted American higher education, certainly are giving academic leaders pause when it comes to mapping new ? and viable ? business models or determining the means by which students can earn degrees in the very near future.

The giants ? Udacity, edX, Coursera ? dominate the headlines and offer free instruction online, true to their MOOC moniker. They have found willing partners in companies such as ?VMware, which in October made copies of ?VMware Fusion and VMware Workstation 9 free to all students enrolled in an edX introduction to computer science course.

Many respected and reputable schools are rushing to take part in popular MOOC networks. Others are developing alternative online and distance learning models that could be considered hybrid MOOCs, but by definition aren't truly MOOCs, of course.

"Different people have different objectives for MOOCs, and what we find in informal learning generally is that people are successful through informal learning, insofar as it enables them to do what it is that they wanted to do," says ?Stephen Downes, a connectivism scholar and senior ?research officer at the National Research Council of Canada.

In 2008, Downes and fellow social network researcher George Siemens created and launched an open online course, "Connectivism and Connective Knowledge," for which 2,300 students enrolled. Dave Cormier, manager of Web Communication and Innovations at the University of Prince Edward Island, and Bryan Alexander, senior research fellow with the ?National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education, coined the term "MOOC" in response to that course, Downes says.

Downes wrote an RSS aggregator that served as the initial platform. Since its release in the 1990s, it has undergone several iterations, the latest known as "gRSShopper."

When they started, Downes and Siemens' goal was simple: "We were interested in the model, and wanted to offer a course that followed the connectivist model."

What they offered was a course that was available across several dimensions. Not only was the course itself open to students webwide, its syllabus and curricula were posted on a wiki prior to its start, and students were invited to offer feedback on the course's ultimate direction. Course resources also were open, and Downes says more reading materials were made available than anyone possibly could have viewed or listened to. Even success was openly defined.

It is that ever-changing, or student-centric, definition that will inform MOOCs' development and that of all future online learning platforms, Downes says.

"People typically take informal learning, or use or interact with informal learning, if they have some specific objective in mind and completing that objective ? as opposed to, say, completing the course ? is what defines success," Downes says.

Despite the fact that a strong commercial element has grown up around the online education movement, he doesn't believe that a revenue stream will be the ultimate driver of online learning development.

"One overarching trend is toward openness," he says.

Rethinking Cost Structures

$30 million

The amount kicked in by both Harvard and MIT to launch the new edX, nonprofit open source platform in May 2012.

SOURCE: Inside Higher Ed

Rebecca Griffiths, program director of online learning at Ithaka S+R, is interested in how new online tools can save colleges money and "bend the cost curve" by restructuring the ways in which parts of instruction are provided, particularly quantitative courses that have a fairly common curriculum across institutions.

Ithaka S+R is embarking on a Gates Foundation?supported study within the University of Maryland system, "Informing Innovation in Higher Education: Evidence from Implementing the Latest Online Learning Technologies in a Public University System," to better understand professors' implementation challenges when using materials from a MOOC with traditional, enrolled students and also to gauge the learning outcomes from such hybrid instruction methods.

MOOCs were not originally designed for the purpose of providing high-quality, highly interactive online courses for common curricula across institutions, Griffiths says, "but some are moving in that direction, and they're attracting all the attention."

A tremendous amount of data and feedback is being gathered on student performance, and online learning tools generally are providing useful interfaces for the instructors who use them.

"This very well could be one of those winner-take-all games, where one or two dominant platforms emerge," Griffiths says. "We wouldn't want to see student data privatized in the way that Google and Facebook have ownership over such a massive amount of user data or individual behavior online."

Although the future of MOOCs is not yet clearly defined, Griffiths is confident they will have a role in most college learning infrastructures. "If I were in charge of an IT system on campus right now, and these MOOCs were on the horizon," she says, "I might hold off making a transition to a new learning management system, just to see how this is going to play out."

Direct-to-Student

At least one San Francisco company is banking its business on a content-focused model.

Dennis Yang, COO of Udemy (founded in 2011), says his company offers more than 5,000 free classes, while others are available for a nominal fee. Udemy's distinction from other university-affiliated online systems is that it brings industry thought leaders' lessons to students.

"We have an open marketplace model, meaning any expert or passionate content owner can create a course on our platform," Yang says. "As a result, part of our core mission is really to find the world's experts and get them to teach the maxims."

From a technology standpoint, Udemy is working to improve its interface, to ensure the curation and merchandising of its massive amounts of content can be narrowed appropriately for online learners. That may mean creating individual, interactive learning pathways that offer a variety of course options to someone whose goal, for example, is to become a developer.

"We can say, 'Here's a set of front-end courses, here's a set of database courses,' making that as simple as possible," Yang says. "When you have a gazillion courses, people can get lost."

Source: http://www.edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2013/01/massive-affect-moocs-higher-education

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