Master of Urban Design programme available from University of Sydney, Australia has won in our online poll about the best offline programme in Urban Design.
The other entries in the poll were:
Update: BOA added 10 free video tutorials offered by The Futur
For those considering their study options, university rankings might seem to be the best way to find the course that gives them the highest chance at a bright professional and personal future. Whether it’s international university rankings like THE – World University Rankings by Times Higher Education, ARWU – Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai University, QS Rankings by TopUniversities, or local ones, these lists of the most prestigious institutions have their place in the education world, but they have their limitations as well.
If you take some top universities and see how they score on various rankings, you will be surprised. The difference can be huge, the rank given to the same university in different lists can vary between the 25th place and a 100-something. Who are you supposed to trust?
The truth is that each university ranking uses its own criteria. If you know how to interpret them, you can really benefit from the significantly differing outcomes of these tops.
Among the aspects considered by the major rankings to come up with the final score of a university there are academic reputation, graduation rates, research citations and papers published, internationality of faculty and students, and employer reputation. Student to faculty ratio, industry income, award winners among academia and alumni and funding offered to students also count. However, no ranking includes all the markers mentioned above. This suggests some rankings may be more appropriate for certain types of students. Based on the categories each ranking prefers, you can find out if what you are interested in is better represented by a certain ranking.
ARWU, also known as the Shanghai ranking, originated in 2003 with Chinese government backing to provide a global benchmark against which Chinese universities could assess their progress. As the ranking relies on long-term factors such as the number of staff affiliated with an institution who have won Nobel Prizes, number of highly cited researchers, as well as number of articles published in influential Nature and Science journals, it is a rather stable list. High-achievers and Ph.D. students may find the ranking useful, given the emphasis it puts on institution reputation and “raw research power.”
Those interested in teaching quality, however, could benefit more from the THE and QS rankings that have their peculiarities too. Before THE broke away to form its own table, the two ranking were one and the same. The reason for the separation lies in the preferred methodology and the ways the two metrics collect their data. Although both target students interested in an international environment, QS ranking is largely based on a global survey of academics, who are asked to identify the leading institutions in their field, while THE ‘stand up to more academic scrutiny’.
“We produce high-end rankings which are used by governments around the world,” says THE rankings editor Phil Baty. “And we’re the only global rankings that take teaching seriously.” All in all, THE has five different measures of teaching quality – a reputation survey, staff-to-student ratio, doctorate-to-bachelor’s ratio, doctorates-awarded-to-academic-staff ratio, and institutional income.
According to the Telegraph, both rankings use surveys to collect data, but while THE does some reputation surveying, sending invitation-only questionnaires to a limited number of institutions around the world, QS opts for quantity to achieve reliability, mass-mailing some 46,000 academics before weighting the results to preclude regional bias.
Reputation factors can be rather subjective, as academics participating in the surveys the rankings are derived from are asked to identify what university they consider being leading in their field. The answers they give may just reflect what institutions are already considered famous. Moreover, differences between ranked universities are not always obvious. In rankings, many universities have very similar scores, with only minor differences. That is why institutions that are ranked lower shouldn’t be immediately dismissed, for the difference is more likely just a perceived one.
However, higher education is not only about the best reputation, research, salaries, and internationality. Some important factors appear not to be taken into consideration by the major rankings, and some of them cannot even be measured. For rankings to be meaningful, it should incorporate factors like student experience, says the University of British Columbia’s professor Michelle Stack, who does not believe rankings to be the best barometer to use selecting a university. She points it out that many of the rankings are owned by businesses, thus their aim is on profits, not education. Stack finds methodology behind such rankings as THE, QS and ARWU problematic as well – in her opinion, the way they collect data changes too frequently.
Stack explains that most university leaders agree that the rankings are flawed, however, they know they need to be visible in order to attract international students, which the institutions need to make up for the state funds that have been on the decline for years. They cannot afford to lose international students.
Still, more and more international students set aside rankings to look and rely on more representative indicators instead. A survey by student recruitment company Hobsons shows they are now placing top priority on teaching quality, staff qualification and student satisfaction instead of rankings.
The experiences you gather during your study years, finding and connecting with people you share passions with, peers and academics who inspire you to continue on the path you have chosen, emotional support and campus diversity – all this results in a mix that is very personal, and often unique for each prospective student. An all these subtle elements are impossible for any ranking to capture.
“It really depends on what the student wants, and what kind of experience they want. That’s more important than a ranking,” Stack adds.
This is echoed by educators Richard Ashford, Shampa Biswas and Mohan J. Dutta. They point out that the popularity of alternative rankings such as Forbes’s America’s Best Value Colleges or the existence of metrics such as Princeton Review’s “Happiest College Students List” suggest that such tables operate like market signals. In a context of rising tuition fees, they communicate to potential customers – parents and prospective students – within an increasingly corporatized academy a very different vision of a higher education.
The authors are concerned that none of the major university lists includes academic freedom considerations in calculations of rankings, while free inquiry, creative practice and innovative thinking that are implied by this important educational aspect are “the hallmarks of sound education on any campus.”
A truly rewarding study experience is difficult to rank. Some lesser-known universities that do not have a budget to promote themselves or do not meet all the criteria set by the major rankings can be equally satisfying as far as the study experience is concerned. Educators warn students not to be misguided by the global rankings, for they are certainly not the only way to choose a university. Comparing study options, checking subject-specific rankings targeting a discipline you are interested in, and asking questions on forums and other platforms can also help.
“Rankings are a useful source of information that wouldn’t otherwise be available – but they don’t make your decision for you,” says Danny Byrne of QS. “It’s about knowing what they do, and applying them intelligently. More is more.
Make Colors Pop! Isolate Colors and Grade Them video offered by SonduckFilm has won in our online pole about the best tutorial in Color Grading. In this Premiere Pro tutorial, learn how to select, isolate specific colors from your footage and grade them. This technique gives you full control over your shot and allows you to separate your talent from the background.
The other contestants in the pole were:
Update: BOA added 6 new online courses in Architecture, 3D Design and Interior Desing offered by EduCBA and EdNext
Blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize the education sector by providing a secure, transparent, and tamperproof platform for storing and sharing academic records. As blockchain adoption continues to grow, we will see new and innovative use cases emerging in the education sector.
Education has undergone tremendous changes, from traditional classroom settings to eLearning, and now we have progressed to blended learning. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital learning, and schools worldwide began using online platforms and Learning Management Systems (LMSs) to teach students. Blockchain technology is also poised to revolutionize the education industry. Blockchain has the potential to transform how academic data is managed, and how teachers and students interact. Let’s look into how blockchain technology might affect education in the future.
Smart contracts on blockchains could also make educators’ jobs easier. A smart contract comprises lines of code that are programmed into a blockchain and executed automatically when certain conditions are met. Smart contracts can also be used to manage course content and distribution. They can automate the delivery of course materials, such as readings, videos, and quizzes, and track student progress and completion of assignments. This can help to reduce administrative workload and improve the overall organization of courses.
The market for fake degrees (certificates) is increasing along with online learning. This is becoming a major concern for many businesses and educational institutions worldwide. So, a blockchain can easily solve this problem with certification management, where the universities can store the certificates on the blocks as immutable entries. Students may readily share these credentials using exact URLs in their email signatures, social media profiles, and resumes. Many blockchain development companies provide such certificate and identity management services. Since blockchain is decentralized, all the documents are stored in the blockchain and are immutable and verifiable since it is transparent.
Transferring documents and having them verified when a student changes schools is a laborious procedure that takes a lot of time for the student, the teacher, and the administration. Blockchain technology can be used to streamline the verification process in schools and universities. We are awarded scholarships, trophies, and rewards for our outstanding performance in extracurricular and academic activities, but blockchain technology also enables us to provide kids with tangible prizes in the form of cryptocurrencies like bitcoins. Teachers can use gamification to reward their students in online learning environments for finishing modules or other assignments. Learning Management Systems’ gamification features aid in tokenizing all rewards as a digital currency.
One of the most important applications of blockchain in eLearning is the creation of secure digital badges and certificates that can be easily verified and displayed on one’s digital portfolios. Smart contracts can be used to incentivize and facilitate peer-to-peer learning and collaboration. They can be programmed to reward students for contributing to online discussions, or for providing feedback on their peers’ work. This can help create a more engaged and interactive learning environment, and help students develop their critical thinking and communication skills.
Blockchain’s distributed ledger technology can enhance transparency and accountability in the educational field. It can create an immutable record of educational data, including transcripts, degrees, and certifications, that is verifiable and tamperproof. This means that academic achievements can be validated with complete accuracy, and employers can be confident in the skills and knowledge of job applicants.
When a student transfers from one school to another, the transfer of documents and their verification is a time-consuming process. The verification process can be streamlined by introducing blockchain technology into schools and colleges. When a student transfers from one institute to another, the student records can be easily transferred to the new institute by granting access to the blockchain. Some blockchain development companies develop and issue certificates that are immutable and non-forgeable, but easily verifiable for authenticity.
This can also be extended to situations in which the grades of students, who travel to other institutes as part of exchange programs, can be easily shared across institutes by providing necessary access, which reduces the administrative costs.
The convergence of the physical world with Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality has accelerated, causing disruptions in various economic sectors worldwide. Blockchains, a newer technology when compared to traditional centralized databases, provide increased efficiency and storage capacity. Cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and metaverse initiatives are already changing the financial industry. Thus, incorporating these into an academic curriculum will not only provide more opportunities to the youth, but will also establish a framework that is effective, economical, and easily serves all strata and provides more outreach for all students. while making learning a pleasant journey. Overall, a blockchain development company can help education institutions streamline their processes, reduce costs, and enhance the quality of education through blockchain technology.
