Good morning and happy Monday! Today we are going to travel around the world – in way less than 80 days. Come with us in our hot-air balloon, bring your coffee too! Take a short a break from your Monday Morning routine and explore the world of ed. tech.

We begin in the U.K., England to be exact. Many recently surveyed British Academics have stated that they still prefer peer-reviewed journals to the social media and blogs. Institutional resources also serve as the favored resource for practicing research and creating courses.  The survey was conducted by Ithaka S + R, the research arm of a non-profit consulting firm, in conjunction with a similar organization, JISC. JISC highly “supports the use of digital tools in higher education.”  In spite of a variation in surveyed teaching methodology among different disciplines, these results are in tandem with a general trend in academe towards tradition, and conservatism.
Survey Examines British Academics’ Use of Digital Tools in Research and Teaching (Chronicle of Higher Ed.)

UNESCO and China join hands for Africa (Ed., UNESCO)
Next up, beginning in June, UNESCO and China are teaming up to help African students in higher ed. through the use of ICT and mobile technology. This is the start of a 4-year initiative to “boost national capacity in ministries and key teacher training institutions in eight African countries.”

U.S. Colleges Expand Connections in Latin America (Chronicle of Higher Ed.)
After having covered countries from Europe, Asia and Africa, we now move onto Latin America and the U.S. President Obama’s recent announcement of a bilateral agreement with Mexico pertaining to science education is just one of many  relationships between the U.S. and its southern neighbors that have been established in the name of education.

In blurring of online courses, traditional, Georgia Tech to offer full open online master’s (Washington Post)
We’re gonna stay in the U.S. for a moment longer now as we make a stop at Georgia Tech. Made possible through Udacity, these free course can provide students to an accredited Master’s Degree in Computer Science for just $7,000!

Should university students use Wikipedia? (the Guardian)
We now return to England where a British blogger is curiously wondering whether or not Wikipedia can be trusted in students’ research. Although he admits that politicians and other public figures have changed their own articles to hide unfavorable events, the blogger also stated that the motive behind the site’s openness is that it will only drive people to contribute about that which interests them. Even though this makes the contributors theoretically qualified, educators caution that students should use this source with a “critical eye” and be sure to refer to its footnotes for stronger information.

And look at that it’s only a few minutes later and we have effectively circumnavigated the globe? Well? How was your trip? Got any other news you want to add? Please feel free to let us know by commenting below! We’d love to hear from you!

Happy travels and have a great week! In other news…
‘The Daily Show’ urges kids to stay out of college (Desert News)
Mobile Apps Make Field Trips More Interactive (Ed. Week)
Opinion: Human psychology (with emphasis on the human) (Times Higher Ed.)

Photo Credit: hira3 via photopin by NC 2.0 CC