Folklore: MIT course FREE-Anglo-American Folkmusic

Subject: Folklore: MIT course FREE
From: beardedbruce
Date: 03 Jul 07 - 01:22 PM

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Literature/21L-423Introduction-to-Anglo-American-FolkmusicFall2002/CourseHome/index.htm

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE
From: katlaughing
Date: 03 Jul 07 - 01:25 PM

Um, it's dated for "Fall, 2002."

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE
From: jeffp
Date: 03 Jul 07 - 01:28 PM

The class was taught in 2002, but all the materials are available for download, for free.

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE
From: katlaughing
Date: 03 Jul 07 - 01:29 PM

Ah, that's good to know. Thanks!

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE
From: Joe Offer
Date: 03 Jul 07 - 01:57 PM

It's tempting to suggest that we should use this thread for people who'd like to take the course together. I tend to be a bit more religious about my participation in a class, if other people are participating with me. Maybe we could start September 1, when people get back to a more normal life schedule?
-Joe-

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE-Anglo-American Folkmusic
From: jeffp
Date: 03 Jul 07 - 03:00 PM

That sounds like it could be a lot of fun. An international study group, as it were.

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE-Anglo-American Folkm
From: Haruo
Date: 03 Jul 07 - 03:08 PM

You might want to copy the materials now. Things that are archived for free, even on *.edu sites, tend to have a way of disappearing.

Haruo

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE-Anglo-American Folkmusic
From: beardedbruce
Date: 03 Jul 07 - 03:25 PM

Readings
Bronson, Bertrand. "Folk-Song and the Modes," "Habits of the Ballad as Song," and "Words and Music in Child Ballads." In The Ballad as Song. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1969, pp. 79-132.
Buchan, David. "The Agricultural Society," "The Border Region," "The Clannit Society," (pp. 7-51); "Balladry and Oral Poetry," "The Oral Ballads of Mrs. Brown," "The Substance of Ballads," (pp. 51-86), and "Conclusion" (pp. 271-77). In The Ballad and the Folk. East Linton: Tuckwell Press, 1997.

Child, Francis James. The English and Scottish Popular Ballads. 5 vols. New York: Dover, 1965, Vol. I. The Introduction.

Dugaw, Dianne, ed. "Addison" (pp. 3-11), "Percy" (pp. 13-21), "Ritson" (pp. 23-31), "Scott" (pp. 33-43), and "Motherwell" (pp. 45-56), and pp. 57-67. In The Anglo-American Ballad: a folklore casebook. New York; London: Garland, 1995.

Dugaw, Dianne. "The Popular Marketing of 'Old Ballads': The Ballad Revival and Eighteenth-Century Antiquarianism Reconsidered." Eighteenth-Century Studies 21, no. 1 (1987): 71-90.

Dundes, Alan. "What is Folklore?" In The Study of Folklore. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1965.

Dundes, Alan. "Who Are the Folk?" In Interpreting Folklore. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1980.

Harker, Dave. "Introduction" (pp. ix-xvii), "The Early Mediators" (pp. 3-14), "From Thomas Percy to Joseph Ritson," and "From Walter Scott to Robert Chambers" (pp. 15-77), pp. 101-37, and on Cecil Sharp (pp. 172-197). In Fakesong: The Manufacture of British "Folksong" 1700 to the Present Day. Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 1985.

Lloyd, A. L. "The Foundations of Folk Song." In Folk Song in England. New York: International Publishers, 1967, pp. 11-90. (Skim pp. 36-53, which is Lloyd's account of the special musical qualities of folkmusic)

MacDowell, Paula. The Women of Grub Street: Press, Politics and Gender in the London Literary Marketplace 1678-1730. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998, pp. 58-62, 81-92.

Muir, Willa. "Children's Singing Games," and "Singing and Listening to Oral Poetry" (pp. 9-53);"Ballad Background II," "The Northern Scottish Background," and "Story Material" (pp. 71-107). In Living with Ballads. New York: Oxford University Press, 1965.

Our Singing Country: Folk songs and Ballads. Collected and Compiled by John A. Lomax and Alan Lomax. New York: Macmillan, 1941. Introduction, Preface, and Musical Preface (xiii-xxxv) and pp. 149-177.
Compare "Old Bangum" to Child 18 (Sir Lionel) and "Sweet William" to Child 7 (Earl Brand) both musically and literally. Look at "John Riley" and "John Henry" in the Lomaxes' Our Singing Country.

Ritchie, Jean. Singing Family of the Cumberlands. Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky, 1988, pp. 1-49, 95-178, 224-256.
N. B. There is a cut of "Lord Bateman" on the CD.

Southern, Eileen J. Readings in Black American Music. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 1983, pp. 4-26, 91-121.

Thoms, William. "Folklore." The Atheneum (22 August 1846). Reprinted in Journal of Folklore Research 33, no. 3 (September-December 1996).

Whisnant, David. "Hindman Settlement School" (pp. 19-101), "Olive Dame Campbell" (pp. 105-179), and "The White Top Festival" (pp. 181-252). In All That is Native and Fine: The Politics of Culture in an American Region (The Fred W. Morrison Series in Southern Studies). Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1986.

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE-Anglo-American Folkmusic
From: beardedbruce
Date: 03 Jul 07 - 03:26 PM

Study Materials
Recordings
Note: These documents list the recordings used in the class, but are not audio files.

Fiddle Music (PDF)
Rounder Clips (PDF)

Modes in Anglo Folk Tradition
The four modes that we meet up with both in Anglo-American folk song and fiddle tunes are the Ionian (major scale), Mixolydian, Dorian, and Aeolian (natural minor scale). The first two are called "major" because the basic tonic chord is major, and the second two are "minor" for the same reason. The Phrygian mode, as well as the Lydian (and the theoretical Lochrian), are very rarely encountered. The tritone, occurs in each scale in a different place. In the Ionian mode it is seen between fa and ti (the fourth and the seventh), and in the Dorian it is between mi and la (3rd and 6th), etc. Because of the half steps around this tritone, it was considered hard to sing--diabolis in musica--and sometimes altered by raising or lowering notes in its pair. Hence, in Ionian mode F# and Bb, are common altered tones, the former going upward in melodies, and the latter coming down. Sometimes one or both notes of the tritone will be omitted from the scale altogether, which creates a hexatonic or pentatonic scale.

The common pentatonic scales can be derived in this manner, as shown below. For convenience, the modes have been written out from C. The tritones are bracketed, and the derivative pentatonic scale written alongside.

What is Celtic Music?
The term 'celtic music' is a rather loose one; for the purpose of Ceolas, it covers the traditional music of the celtic countries--Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany (in France), Galicia (in Spain) and areas which have come under their influence, such as the US and the maritime provinces of Canada, as well as some newer music based on the tradition from these countries.

The term is sometimes controversial. For starters, the Celts as an identifiable race are long gone, there are strong differences between traditional music in the different countries, and many of the similarities are due to more recent influences. There is also the notion that 'celtic' implies celtic mysticism and a particular influence in new-age music which has little to do with traditional music. In general, the strongest connections are between Irish and Scottish tradition and it is on these that Ceolas concentrates. Breton musicians frequently play in Irish or Scottish music and at least one modern Galician group (Milladoiro) sounds quite Irish. In Canada and the US, the traditions are much more mixed, and it is there that the term 'celtic' is most used, though it is also true that many groups from particular celtic regions play the music of another region too.

It is also worth remembering that even a term such as 'Irish traditional music' is a lumping together of many different styles, from the raw, Scottish-tinged music of Donegal to the lyrical, easy-going style of Clare and many other regional styles that are only partly compatible.

Thus, in the absence of a better term ('folk' or 'world' music are sometimes used but are much vaguer), and with the realization of its shortcomings, 'celtic' is what we use for Ceolas.

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE-Anglo-American Folkm
From: beardedbruce
Date: 03 Jul 07 - 03:26 PM

course is a zip file for downloading.

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE-Anglo-American Folkmusic
From: GUEST,Lighter
Date: 03 Jul 07 - 06:28 PM

Mudcatters may also be interested in this FREE MIT course on the Legend of King Arthur:

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Literature/21L-707Spring-2005/CourseHome/index.htm

In fact, go there, click "Literature" at the top of the page, and see a whole bunch of FREE courses on literature.

I've never seen anything quite like this FREE course business. Could be awesome.

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE-Anglo-American Folkmusic
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 03 Jul 07 - 07:37 PM

The miracle is anything from MIT that doesn't require calculus.

And I'm sure we can help Joe O once he demonstrates he's seriously started to study:

Henceforth, all correspondence with Joe O, anywhere on the site, should end with "Now shut up and go do your homework." (?) Those also participating may say "I'm at (step appropriate), where are you, you slacker?"

For those interested, the home site for the free courseware is at:

MIT's OpenCourseWare: a free and open educational resource (OER) for educators, students, and self-learners around the world.

MIT OCW:

Is a publication of MIT course materials
Does not require any registration
Is not a degree-granting or certificate-granting activity
Does not provide access to MIT faculty

This has been an expanding program for several years, and now has offerings in about 35 separate fields (see the sidebar). Note that the "fields" are somewhat generic, and it's not always easy to find which of them contains the stuff you may be interested in. There's a link to a complete list of courses that may be of interest.

It must be noted that some courses may require "independent acquisition" of resources such as books/materials, and of course not all subjects are "math depleted," although I'd expect the two mentioned above to be. Mathematics has always been the "primary foreign language" required there.

As there is no "access to faculty," a successful completion will likely be very much enhanced by comparing notes between participating students - as proposed above.

I'd suggest, tentatively, that this thread continue for discussion of what is available, and that each "course" should have a separate thread (probably an editable permathread?) for discussion of course progress.

Once serious and commited interest is found, each course probably should have an "editor" to manage the permathread if that method is chosen.

John

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE-Anglo-American Folkmusic
From:
Date: 03 Jul 07 - 09:06 PM

BTW, MIT is NOT the only institution with OpenCourseWare. Check out OpenCourseWare Finder

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE-Anglo-American Folkmusic
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 03 Jul 07 - 11:07 PM

But GeorgeS, if you look at the listing at that site:

Courses offered:

Tufts: 1
Sofia: 1
USU: 1
Johns Hopkins: 2
MIT: 94

The results are somewhat biased by the use of the software "selected" by MIT for interagency listings, when they proposed that this was "something good to do."

As a result, this site is unlikely to find the numerous free course offerings that come from "independent" sources, but does indicate that a few other instituitions (who initially said "it can't be done") are beginning to stick a toe in the water.

I do look for lots more within "this system."

There are other places that offer something similar, but many others don't follow the systematic "rules" you should find here, to make sure that what's posted actually offers a coherent and relatively complete display of the courses.

Some of the others could be expected to expand what they now offer, but there's been some quibbling about "damn it's a lot of work" to get a GOOD course description, that's actually useful for independent study, posted.

John

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE-Anglo-American Folkmusic
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 03 Jul 07 - 11:34 PM

If one looks at the Utah State listing, a number of courses in several fields are available. The (1) refers to the sole free course in Theatre Arts.

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE-Anglo-American Folkmusic
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 04 Jul 07 - 12:46 AM

It appears then that the "finder" site may not be current. The Utah State website also lists more participating institutions than are shown at the originally linked site.

The "finder" site lists only 6 participants.

Utah State recognizes 10-1/2 institutions (MIT listed once, reappears for "Portuguese/Spanish")

Johns Hopkins, Tufts, and Carnegie Mellon don't admit they're not the only ones doing this on their front pages, but there may be more info somewhere within.
Sophia points back to MIT as a "precursor," but not to any others.

Interestingly, Carnegie allows you to register and receive credit using their open course postings (if you're already a student there).

So far as I've seen the others don't make quite the same offer, although the information posted should be the same one would receive "in class" if registered.

The listing of other participating institutions at Utah State appears to be due to their assuming the role of fostering the development of Open Course materials within the education community, rather than concentrating on the conversion and posting of material from their own curricula as others are doing. They have posted some of their own courses, but appear to devote most of their effort to spreading the effort - i.e. to recruiting other institutions to offer a consistent "product."

Obviously the listings mentioned thus far here don't even make a scratch on the surface of what's available. At About the MIT program:

"With 1,550 courses published as of November 1, 2006, we are still in a learning stage of this MIT initiative and we will benefit enormously from your feedback, as we strive to make MIT OCW as rich and useful as possible for our users."

If one wants details of the history of the courses, the best sources probably would be the two principal sponsor foundations. They seem to be cited by all the institutions involved.

John

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE-Anglo-American Folkmusic
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 05 Jul 07 - 12:22 AM

So who started the sign-up list?

John

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE-Anglo-American Folkm
From: Joe Offer
Date: 05 Jul 07 - 01:29 AM

Well, John, you mentioned HOMEWORK....

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE-Anglo-American Folkmusic
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 05 Jul 07 - 06:08 AM

Scared ya' didn't we Joe?

What's really needed is someone interested enough to look at what's actually provided, and also at what "external references" each student (or the group, to share) might have to dig up, and come to a decision about whether the specific course can - in a practical sense - be pursued by a group of "highly motivated bottom feeders" as at Mudcat, or whether it's best left to the interested individuals.

The "survey" of what the course entails, if intended for group participation, should be done by someone truly interested in participating, I should think.

Assuming that sufficient of the outside readings (not included in the download) are reasonably obtainable, a study group may work quite well. If there are things found only in MIT libraries, there may be problems, although the group may be able to come up with "comparables" that can be substituted. (We have lots of potentially substitutable stuff withing our membership, don't we?)

An estimate of listening time for all the music, and reading time for all the text would be helpful, I suppose, but probably will be difficult to come up with at an early stage.

It may be possible to consult a current catalog of courses (probably online) to find the same or a closely comparable course. MIT has used, and I presume still does, a slightly different "course weighting" than other schools. Rather than a single number of "credit hours" courses were - and likely still are - given a three digit weight (x - y - z).

x = class hours per week, lectures and/or smaller class group meetings.
y = lab hours per week (separately listed largely because it's often very difficult to "make up" a missed lab, so it impacts the schedule differently.
z = estimated outside study hours for a typical student (typical MIT student) to get an "average" (MIT average) grade.

A common freshman course like general physics might be about a 3-0-9 (no lab). An introductory chemistry class perhaps 3-1-9 with a 3 or 4 hour lab once per month averaged in. BS thesis work might be 0-0-12, perhaps. Normal full time "load" would sum all the digits to at least 42 - 48, with a few carrying up to 60 (usually requiring "faculty approval")

If a "course weight" value can be found, it should be pretty accurate.

(Marquette U in Milwaukee also used this system, but I don't know of any others. There probably are some.)

Of course, working up the possibles won't do those in the herd a lot of good if we don't get a report back from someone - hence a need for a continuing discussion. Perhaps a volunteer from among the enthusiastic should offer to receive PMs from the serious potential students to begin organizing things? (Hint: the first volunteer sometimes gets to delegate tasks to those less eager(?), or at least has a foot in to be elected BMFWIC to gain the privilege.)

John

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE-Anglo-American Folkmusic
From: karen k
Date: 05 Jul 07 - 09:08 PM

Sounds interesting. Will have to read it all carefully but I am interested.

karen

Subject: Downloadable MIT course on folk music
From: SouthernCelt
Date: 25 Jul 07 - 07:03 PM

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has a free internet service in which a variety of coursework taught in previous school years is available by download. Their latest newsletter lists the following course from on-campus instruction: Introduction to Anglo-American Folk Music, Fall 2005.

If interested you can read about the course here .

You can subscribe to the e-mail newsletter on all new course offerings here .

I don't know how comprehensive the intro to... course would be or whether some on here might be better instructors for the course than those who did teach it ;-). I'll probably look at it in more detail when I have some time to surf around the info; might find some song lyrics that I can use although I think I already know most of the basics about the Anglo-American development of folk music.

SC

---

New and old threads combined.

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE-Anglo-American Folkmusic
From: Lighter
Date: 26 Jul 07 - 11:38 AM

Having some limited experience with three similar courses taught at two other major American universities, I can say that the syllabus posted at the MIT site is far superior. The course appears to be rather intense. That means those who stick with it will learn a great deal. One big advantage is that with no imposed academic schedule, you'll have plenty of time to read and listen to everything.

On the down side, though, most people without easy access to a university library will have to order up most of the readings through the Interlibrary Loan Service of their local public library. This could be somewhat time consuming, but if you're really interested in the subject (I mean "really"), it should be worth it.

Just how many of the sound recordings are downloadable online I don't know. Aside from an apparent absence of sea shanties, they seem to me to be very well chosen.

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE-Anglo-American Folkmusic
From: Joe Offer
Date: 02 Dec 12 - 08:55 PM

Well, I really meant to take this course, but never got around to it. In the meantime, the URL for the course material went dormant. I found it at a new location, though: http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/literature/21l-423j-introduction-to-anglo-american-folk-music-fall-2005/.

Here's another one: Issues of Representation: Women, Representation, and Music in Selected Folk Traditions of the British Isles and North America

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE-Anglo-American Folkmusic
From: Joe_F
Date: 03 Dec 12 - 06:27 PM

The MIT URLs don't work any more.

---

I know, Joe - that's why I posted new ones in the message above. -Joe Offer, Mudcat Archivist-

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE-Anglo-American Folkmusic
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 03 Dec 12 - 10:25 PM

There has been a more recent thread about the Open Course progress. Note that the bulk of this thread is about 5 years old.

MIT and (I believe it is) Harvard have recently reached an agreement to work together on presenting "free" courses with "homework," online testing and in some cases "group internet sessions" to provide feedback both between students and instructors and student-to-student. Test results will give those who participate an indication of whether they have actually "learned" the subject matter, but no degree credits will be given so far as I've seen.

Unlike prior offerings, there are "schedules" for the new courses, although they appear to be fairly flexible.

Several other schools are either participating now or "intend to join" this more organized approach. The "new" setup is somewhat similar to what was being done previously, but with some fairly significant - and likely valuable/helpful - changes.

John

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE-Anglo-American Folkmusic
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 03 Dec 12 - 10:54 PM

Longish, but maybe worth it since it summarizes the most recent changes. Received May 2012 via email:

[quote]

Contact
Kimberly Allen, MIT News Office
[e-mail]
617-253-2702

John Longbrake, Harvard University
[e-mail]
617-495-1585

MIT and Harvard announce edX

Joint venture builds on MITx and Harvard distance learning; aims to benefit campus-based education and beyond.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard University and MIT today announced edX, a transformational new partnership in online education. Through edX, the two institutions will collaborate to enhance campus-based teaching and learning and build a global community of online learners.

EdX will build on both universities' experience in offering online instructional content. The technological platform recently established by MITx, which will serve as the foundation for the new learning system, was designed to offer online versions of MIT courses featuring video lesson segments, embedded quizzes, immediate feedback, student-ranked questions and answers, online laboratories and student-paced learning. Certificates of mastery will be available for those who are motivated and able to demonstrate their knowledge of the course material.

MIT and Harvard expect that over time other universities will join them in offering courses on the edX platform. The gathering of many universities' educational content together on one site will enable learners worldwide to access the course content of any participating university from a single website, and to use a set of online educational tools shared by all participating universities.

EdX will release its learning platform as open-source software so it can be used by other universities and organizations that wish to host the platform themselves. Because the learning technology will be available as open-source software, other universities and individuals will be able to help edX improve and add features to the technology.

MIT and Harvard will use the jointly operated edX platform to research how students learn and how technologies can facilitate effective teaching both on campus and online. The edX platform will enable the study of which teaching methods and tools are most successful. The findings of this research will be used to inform how faculty use technology in their teaching, which will enhance the experience for students on campus and for the millions expected to take advantage of these new online offerings.

"EdX represents a unique opportunity to improve education on our own campuses through online learning, while simultaneously creating a bold new educational path for millions of learners worldwide," MIT President Susan Hockfield said.

Harvard President Drew Faust said, "EdX gives Harvard and MIT an unprecedented opportunity to dramatically extend our collective reach by conducting groundbreaking research into effective education and by extending online access to quality higher education."

"Harvard and MIT will use these new technologies and the research they will make possible to lead the direction of online learning in a way that benefits our students, our peers, and people across the nation and the globe," Faust continued.

Jointly owned not-for-profit structure

The initiative will be overseen by a not-for-profit organization based in Cambridge, Mass., to be owned and governed equally by the two universities. MIT and Harvard have committed to a combined $60 million ($30 million each) in institutional support, grants and philanthropy to launch the collaboration.

Anant Agarwal, director of MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, who has led the development of the MITx platform under the leadership of MIT Provost L. Rafael Reif, will serve as the first president of edX.

At Harvard, Provost Alan Garber will direct the Harvardx effort and Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Michael D. Smith will play a leading role in working with faculty to develop and deliver courses.

It is anticipated that near-term course offerings from a range of Harvard and MIT schools will be included on the edX platform.

Research to enhance residential model

EdX will enhance the traditional residential model of undergraduate education on both campuses by supporting an unlimited number of experimental online approaches to teaching that can be used by Harvard and MIT faculty to benefit their students. It will also provide global access to some of the world-class instruction that already occurs at both institutions, but which is only one aspect of the full Harvard College and MIT experience.

"The campus environment offers opportunities and experiences that cannot be replicated online," Hockfield said. "EdX is designed to improve, not replace, the campus experience."

EdX will be separate from ongoing distance-learning initiatives at both institutions, including MIT OpenCourseWare and courses offered by schools at Harvard such as the Harvard Extension School, Harvard Business School and Harvard Medical School.

First courses by fall 2012

The universities will work to develop further the online learning platform already begun with MITx and to populate the edX website with courses from the MIT and Harvard faculty. During the early stages, the two universities will work cooperatively to offer as broad an initial set of courses as possible. A first set of courses is scheduled to be announced in early summer and to start in fall 2012.

"We are already moving forward quickly," Agarwal said. "There's a lot of energy in the air, and the teams at Harvard and MIT can't wait to collaborate."

[end quote]

Brief reports since indicate that at least a couple of "semesters" of online courses have been completed using the "new ideas" both in the older MITx setup and in the new edX context, and are considered quite successful. The transition from the earlier MITx setup to the new edX appears to involve a fairly substantial change, more suitable to effective learning by students although quite possibly requiring somewhat more "effort" and commitment. Participation by those less committed appears to be accepted and formal completion with intent to obtain the "Certificate of Mastery" is encouraged but not absolutely required, at least according to my last look at the programs. The intent is that on-campus regular students are to be included in the programs, so some "competition" between/among participants may be evident.

John

Subject: RE: Folklore: MIT course FREE-Anglo-American Folkmusic
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 03 Apr 13 - 09:38 PM

Recent further news on "online education" that might be of interest here:

Internet takes education to new level: Will universities make the grade?

**********

By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

More and more universities have made a place for the Internet in today's educational offerings, but will universities still have a place in tomorrow's educational environment?
"We're about to undergo a tectonic transformation in education," Caltech astrophysicist George Djorgovski, a pioneer in scientific applications for virtual worlds, told me on Wednesday. "This is the start of an 'S' curve, and universities will be unrecognizable in a decade or two."

...

**********

The article is rather long, and tends somewhat to glowing adspeak, but the interesting part may be links to about two dozen "podcasts" on a variety of subjects, along with links to where one might get future such stuff, including SecondLife, Twitter, and IRC.

I'm sure we have some here who will want to hear what they say about:

Sean Carroll and Matt Strassler on physics' X Files

and maybe:

Ig Nobel's Marc Abrahams on weird science in 2012

or:

SETI Institute's Seth Shostak about aliens and UFOs

I'm not sure anyone here will care about:

Shawn Lawrence Otto on science and politics

but there's also:

Ig Nobel impresario Marc Abrahams on silly science in 2011

and quite a bunch more.

Some of the other stuff in current links might actually teach you something if you have more narrow interests, but you'll have to take a look at the top link to see all of what's offered, and a few might just want to look at one way somebody's trying to do this kind of educating.

Note that the links I included here are a bit variable in how directly the get to something. Be scientific, and find the solutions where necessary.

John