Author: Douglas McLennan

Is “Personalized Learning” Just Another Big Tech Con?

Advocates of personalized learning say that the approach has been unfairly conflated with teacherless, online-only education. They invoke Dewey and Freire and Montessori as guiding lights and take pains to emphasize, in almost liturgical unison, that personalized learning is not about tech—and that “tech is just a tool.” But skeptics warn that underneath the language of “student-centered” pedagogy is a tech-intensive model that undermines communal values, accelerates privatization, and turns public schools into big-data siphons. – The New Yorker

Is This Self-Taught South African Uber Drive The Next Star Tenor?

Menzi Mngoma is a self-taught tenor who likes to belt out arias for his passengers. One of his customers, Kim Davey, liked his singing so much that she posted a video on Facebook. That, in turn, attracted media attention and the 27-year-old Mngoma’s career was launched. He is said to be auditioning for Cape Town Opera. A stadium tour will no doubt follow. – The Guardian

Sale Of Sotheby’s Will Change The Art Market In Some Fundamental Ways

Once the deal clears, Sotheby’s can provide cover for consignors who previously would have gone to Christie’s for hush-hush services—protected details surrounding guarantees and the complete discretion of a single-person owner, among others. And this “more flexible private environment” also means that decisions about hefty guarantees and costly talent acquisitions no longer have to be justified to shareholders, some of whom might be perturbed by big-ticket spending. – Artsy

Giant Ancient City Is Being Uncovered, Changing What We Know About Greek Civilization

Dating back 4,600 years, the site may also have been part of the inspiration for a key aspect of Greek religion – the idea that mountain tops were the dwelling places of the gods. The complex – on a mountain peak-shaped islet off the coast of the Aegean island of Keros (part of the Cyclades archipelago) – is totally changing archaeologists’ understanding of prehistoric Greece. – The Independent (UK)

Will Millennials Kill Opera?

“We’re not known for our attention spans, our patience, or our respect for tradition, and we have been subsequently accused of killing avocado, cheese, home ownership, marriage, and the retail industry. Behind these allegations is, of course, the world’s deeply troubled economy, which has effectively made it unlikely that most of us will be able to afford what our parents could.” – Vogue

Baltimore Symphony’s Finances Are So Bad Tapping Its Endowment Is Problematic

The BSO’s finances arguably are so unstable that members of the endowment trust supporting the symphony balk at lending or giving it even one penny more than the $6 million it has received this fiscal year. Some trustees worry that releasing more funds to an organization they say is in dire financial straits would be tantamount to pouring money down a drain. – Baltimore Sun

Improbable Intersection: When Joni Mitchell Met Charles Mingus

While Mitchell’s associations with jazz had been criticised in the mainstream rock press by writers who found her experimental, category-defying streak somewhat conceited, it was Mingus himself who instigated the project. Dying from ALS, Mingus was fixed on the idea of a final project, an epitaph of sorts, but he knew he needed a guiding light to see it through to fruition. – Jazz Journal

A Push To Create Immersive Virtual Reality Experiences In The Arts

UK digital minister Margot James described the initiative’s vision in an opening event. “Imagine being inside the world of a Shakespeare play, or in a video game as professional players battle it out for millions of dollars, or immersed in a national museum, solving a detective narrative involving dinosaurs and robots with fellow virtual museum-goers.” – Ludwig Van