A great way to recognise non-formal learning through open padges

Chicago is incorporating learning into summer youth programming through partnerships with youth-serving organizations, museums and cultural institutions, philanthropists, businesses and citizens by exploring the themes of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) learning. This represents the first-ever citywide implementation of a badge ecosystem.

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Hypecycle and MOOCs

A good article on the hype around MOOCs

“It would be a tragedy if you substituted MOOCs in their current form for regular courses,” she said in an interview. “But it would be a creative breakthrough if you take advantage of MOOCs and other forms of online coverage to make more space and more time for students to apply concepts and methods appropriate to their field to real problems.”

Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/09/higher-ed-leaders-urge-slow-down-mooc-train#ixzz2YpGqlReW
Inside Higher Ed

A MIT course certificate from a "fully automated" course

This is an interesting development of MOOCs - a "fully automated course"!

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the world's top-rated universities, has announced its first free course which can be studied and assessed completely online.

There are already online degree courses, but the MIT proposal is unusual in that it is inviting students anywhere in the world, without charge or prior entrance requirements, to study for a certificate carrying the MIT brand.

...the MITx version has been designed for online students, with a virtual laboratory, e-textbooks, online discussions and videos that are the equivalent of a lecture. It is expected to take 10 hours per week and will run until June.
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When I first read it, I thought that there won't be any teaching or assessment work required from the teacher, but I guess it wasn't that automated after all.