FSLT12 was an open and free professional development opportunity for people moving into HE teaching. It was a small course (200 participants registered from 24 countries) which was focused on introducing HE teaching skills, and, uniquely, to deliberately integrate open academic practice as a vital part of professional development for HE teachers. A qualitative, case-study approach was used in the research, based on surveys, interviews, and social media, to provide evidence about how people learned in this course and consider wider implications for teaching and learning in higher education.The evidence shows that participants who completed the course were able to learn autonomously and navigate the distributed platforms and environments. The most challenging issues were acceptance of open academic practice and difficulty in establishing an academic identity in an unpredictable virtual environment. An interesting and significant feature of the course was the support for learners from a number of MOOC 'veterans' who served as role models and guides for less experienced MOOC learners.The research shows that small task-oriented MOOCs can effectively support professional development of open academic practice.

In this chapter, we will explore the potential for employing artificial intelligence and adaptive methods into online learning applications. The existing and newly developing technologies for representing knowledge will be explored and the pedagogic implications for online learning discussed, including examining the roles of intelligent tutoring systems, decision support systems and pedagogic agents. In the wider context, the role of search engines, browsers and virtual learning environments will also be discussed in the context of intelligent systems, and the problems in implementing intelligent web based learning systems in mainstream educational practice.

KIRKPATRICK, M. G. The Rural School from Within. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1917-This adds another to the rapidly growing list of books that deal with the rural school from one angle or another. Its title is unique and suggestive, and its chapter headings include "Living up to Reputation," "Onward Christian Soldiers," "In Loco Parentis," "Bossing One's Employer," "Managing Girls," etc.There is nothing vitally new in the book except the style of presentation, which is autobiographical. The fundamental propositions which it presents are thus embodied in a form that should secure an audience from young people who are preparing for teaching, particularly in rural schools. It recounts incidents and describes customs and practices formerly common in rural communities. It makes these the medium through which to present modes of treatment of boys and girls of school age. To the young rural teacher it suggests ways of getting a better rural community interest. The "suggested improvements" include nothing new, but serve to impress these things on the beginning teacher.On the whole the spirit and tone of the book is sane and helpful and will help to inspire those who sincerely desire to render service to country people. To the mathematician seeking a constructive criticism of his own science from the standpoint of philosophy, and to the philosopher seeking a rational account of the "science of self-evident things" in terms of the broader concepts of philosophy, the book will prove a disappointment. The authors profess to find the keynote of their work in "the distinction we find it necessary to make between quantities, values, and variables on the one hand, and between symbols and the quantities they represent on the other." They especially deplore the confusion they seem to find between symbols and the quantities they represent and the alleged tendency on the part of certain mathematicians to make mathematics entirely a matter of symbolism. GEORGE L. ROBERTS

No abstract