<html>
<body>
I'm ready to jump in with two thoughts to stir the pot that George has
just put on the fire. I know - poor form to put in two thoughts in one
email, but expediency wins today!<br><br>
#1 <b>Think Beyond Institutionalized Higher Educatio</b>n<br>
The first is to say coming from OUTSIDE of higher education, I have
repeatedly had the chance to go back for an advanced degree. Instead I
chose the "school of life in the networked world" over the
formalized degree because I can get what I want and need, I can get
critical feedback and critique, and I can get it at a price I can afford
--> my time and attention. The cost for a degree for me, someone
working mostly with non profits, could not be recouped. I have too much
income to get a scholarship. And I have the savvy to figure out how to do
this.<br><br>
My learning lives beyond formal institutions. My learning has been
globalized since 1996. Between my options as a solo learner, as
part of a defined cohort/group/community or out across the networks I
connect to, I am living it. I don't have to wait for any university to
catch up. What are the implications?<br><br>
I don't think I am unique, nor do I think my uniqueness is restricted to
North America or Europe. While the contexts vary widely, the full set of
"costs" of going to university or for graduate degrees are
significant. <br><br>
So why do we want to continue a model that amplifies these problems? And
why do we assume a formalized degree is the "right and proper"
path for our learning trajectory? What about informal and life long
learning? How can we create contexts where this adds the kind of value
that a) gets people in jobs b) provides them with the learning they
want/crave/need and c) is scalable? <br><br>
It is interesting that the 2010 EFQUEL meeting in Portugal this year will
revolve around the theme of
inclusion.(<a href="http://www.efquel.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=88&Itemid=113&lang=en" eudora="autourl">
http://www.efquel.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=88&Itemid=113&lang=en</a>
)<br><br>
So the question is, learning FOR WHAT? For whose interest? For keeping
universities in business? I hope not. ;-) I hope I can contribute
from the "outsider" perspective. ;-)<br><br>
<br>
<b>#2 Duality Everywhere<br>
</b>The second bit I want to throw in comes from facilitating a number of
meetings around "e-learning in Africa" where I hear things that
both excite and scare the *&$&%*&$ out of me. For every
"solution" there is the flip side that I believe we should
include in our explorations. Things like
<ul>
<li>the "massification of learning" a term that also worries me
which I heard from university administrators from a number of Africa
countries-- the duality of providing wide scale access, and the challenge
of resisting reinforcing the "factory" model of education and
concerns about quality (and what that means!).
<li>The adoption and rejection of technology as an enabler (computer,
mobile - everything,) See Karyn Romais' recent posts from E-Learn Africa
and my notes from IST Africa. Links:
<a href="http://karynromeis.blogspot.com/2010/06/corporate-learning-at-elearning-africa.html" eudora="autourl">
http://karynromeis.blogspot.com/2010/06/corporate-learning-at-elearning-africa.html</a>
,
<a href="http://karynromeis.blogspot.com/2010/05/jumbled-early-reflections-of-elearning.html" eudora="autourl">
http://karynromeis.blogspot.com/2010/05/jumbled-early-reflections-of-elearning.html</a>
and
<a href="http://www.fullcirc.com/2010/05/27/graphic-notetaking-at-ist-africa/" eudora="autourl">
http://www.fullcirc.com/2010/05/27/graphic-notetaking-at-ist-africa/</a>
(the actual notes, not the process info about how I made them!)
</ul><br>
While I am at heart an optimist, exploring the dark with the light is
crucial in examining our choices for education going forward. <br><br>
So there are two big elephants in the room, right off the bat! <br><br>
Waving from Seattle, Washington<br><br>
Nancy <br><br>
At 04:38 AM 6/8/2010, you wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">Hi all,<br><br>
<br>
A few thoughts to get started:<br><br>
Education has been described as "the last field to globalize".
This is not for lack of trying. Attempts by universities to develop a
global presence result more frequently in failure than in success (such
as Johns Hopkins failed move into Singapore). For-profit entities such as
Apollo Group and Laureate Education (who recently announced Bill Clinton
as an honorary chancellor) have had more succes, growing to multi-billion
dollar internationally distributed university systems. In contrast, some
investors are predicting a large scale implosion of the for-profit sector
(<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-27/eisman-of-big-short-says-sell-education-stocks-update2-.html">
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-27/eisman-of-big-short-says-sell-education-stocks-update2-.html</a>
)<br><br>
Enrolment in higher education is growing rapidly, from 29 million in 1970
to 153 million in 2007. Growth has occurred in all regions - sub-Saharan
Africa, Pacific, Asia, Latin America, etc (
<a href="http://www.uis.unesco.org/template/pdf/ged/2009/GED_2009_EN.pdf">
http://www.uis.unesco.org/template/pdf/ged/2009/GED_2009_EN.pdf</a> ). At
the same time, governments are turning to education as a saviour of sorts
in economic innovation and transformation
(<a href="http://www.rockinst.org/newsroom/news_releases/2010/03-15-new_paradigm_for_economic_development.aspx">
http://www.rockinst.org/newsroom/news_releases/2010/03-15-new_paradigm_for_economic_development.aspx</a>
). If we focus on enrolment numbers and the role governments turn to
higher education to fulfill, this does not look like an industry in
decline. Add irritating terms like massification and education for all,
particularly light of globalization, and we have what looks like a
healthy system (oh, and throw in a dose of student mobility).<br><br>
Universities that have traditionally relied on equities-based growth now
need to find alternative revenue sources
(<a href="http://www.educationalpolicy.org/pub/pubpdf/0902_recession.pdf">
http://www.educationalpolicy.org/pub/pubpdf/0902_recession.pdf</a>).
"Knowledge commercialization" has not yet provided a suitable
replacement. International students is a more promising approach. For
example, in Australia, education is one of the largest export earner
(<a href="http://www.idp.com/research/statistics/education_export_statistics.aspx">
http://www.idp.com/research/statistics/education_export_statistics.aspx</a>
). However, recent change in immigration laws has significantly impacted
this sector with fears of 20-40% drop in international students.
<br><br>
Costs of education continue to increase, with a greater portion of the
tuition falling on the learners. Government support, as a percentage of
total tuition, shows a long line of decline. Learners are forced to pick
up the slack. The connection between a university degree and economic
gain is being questioned
(<a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2010/06/03/larson">
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2010/06/03/larson</a>).
<br><br>
Many developing regions of the world - eager to play an active role in
the so-called "knowledge economy" - face significant
constraints. Once educated, citizens often leave their home country,
choosing to remain in countries with better research or academic
opportunities. Faculty often take on part-time work to compliment their
poor earnings in the university. The gaps in equity produced by the
industrial economy may be more pronounced in the knowledge economy (see
this report for a more detailed analysis:
<a href="http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001830/183071E.pdf">
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001830/183071E.pdf</a>). <br><br>
The theme that will frame our discussions over the next few weeks -
equity or utility in the future of learning - occurs against this
backdrop of increased enrolment, increased state reliance on the
education sector as a competitive advantage, reduced public support for
education, and a systemic groping for revenue not based on equities.
<br><br>
We see and hear of the <i>changing higher education</i> sector. What we
really need is some sense of what the <i>higher education sector is
becoming. <br>
</i><br>
George</blockquote></body>
<br>
<body>
<font size=3><br>
</font><font face="Verdana" size=1 color="#999999">Nancy White | Full
Circle Associates | Connecting communities online<br>
nancyw@fullcirc.com | +1 206 517 4754 | GMT - 8 |skype - choconancy |
Twitter NancyWhite<br>
<a href="http://www.fullcirc.com/" eudora="autourl">
http://www.fullcirc.com/<br>
</a></font></body>
</html>