community colleges

Aurora Institute: Create Learning Ecosystems & Competency-Based Pathways Aligned Across K-12, Higher Education, Career & Technical Education, & the Workforce

On 07/25/2022, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, active learning, adult learning, Alternatives, assessment, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), budgets, career development, change, changing business models, collaboration, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, competency-based learning/education, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Design Thinking, education, education reform, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, ideas, innovation, instructional design, K-12 related, leadership, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, legislatures / government / legal, lifelong learning, love of learning, more voice more choice more control, motivation, participation, passions, personalized/customized learning, policy, real-world assignments, reinvent, skills, society, staying relevant, strategy, student-related, surviving, teachers, teaching & learning, training / L&D, United States, user experience (UX), vision/possibilities, vocational / trades, workplace, youth, by Daniel Christian

“We must invest in building the new policies, practices, and infrastructure that drive transformational
change toward aligned, lifelong learning ecosystems w/personalized + #CBE pathways. In learning ecosystems, learning is organized around individuals…” https://t.co/xWCIngcEV5

— Emily Liebtag, Ed.D. (@EmilyLiebtag) July 21, 2022

Aurora Institute: Federal Policy Priorities and Recommendations 2022 — from aurora-institute.org

Introduction:

It is critically important for our country to reimagine education and focus on investing in our future, not our past. The current K-12 education system has not produced equitable outcomes for all students. We must change policies and invest in innovation to transform our education systems. Student-centered policies are needed for true systems change and innovations for equity. We must challenge frames and investments that perpetuate tinkering with the existing system, rather than reimagining it. The time is ripe to redesign education to align with future needs and purposes to achieve human flourishing.

To ensure all learners are prepared for life’s uncertainties, as well as a more knowledge-driven workforce and economy, we must restructure the education system to universally recognize anytime, anywhere learning. Many states and districts have taken steps to move in new and improved directions, but more work must be done to meet students where they are and accelerate them to successful futures and prosperity. We must question the fundamental purposes of our education system, align our goals to that purpose, and expand learning to anytime and anyplace, with greater opportunities for next generation learning.

Aurora Institute’s latest Federal Policy Priorities represent an equity-oriented and future-focused set of recommendations designed to ensure that the nation’s education system moves from its current state to a system capable of preparing all learners with the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve lifelong success.

From DSC:
I post this because I like the design thinking exhibited herein. I love the idea of greater collaboration between K-12, higher education, vocational training, and the workforce/workplace. We should consider eliminating — or at least building much better bridges between the — existing silos. These silos seem to be easier to put up than they are to take down.

An interesting question: “What happens to a college’s online programs if the company operating them changes hands?” [Swaak]

On 07/25/2022, in change, colleges, community colleges, education technology, future of higher education, higher education, ideas, India, instructional design, leadership, learning ecosystem, online learning, online media, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

An Overseas Ed-Tech Firm Wants to Buy 2U. What Could That Mean for Colleges? — from chronicle.com by Taylor Swaak

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

What happens to a college’s online programs if the company operating them changes hands? It’s a question on the minds of higher-ed leaders as an overseas ed-tech company attempts to buy 2U.

Byju’s, an ed-tech behemoth based in India, has put more than $1 billion on the table to acquire the online program manager, Bloomberg first reported late last month. 2U is one of the largest online-program managers, or OPMs, in the United States, known for scaling up online-degree programs and teaming up with more than 130 American colleges, including large institutions such as Arizona State, New York, and Syracuse Universities. It’s also the parent company of the online-course provider edX.

These Professors Were Thinking About Quitting. So They Turned to Social Media. [Myskow]

On 07/24/2022, in business side of he, career development, change, colleges, community colleges, higher education, social media, United States, universities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

These Professors Were Thinking About Quitting. So They Turned to Social Media. — from chronicle.com by Wyatt Myskow

Excerpts:

One pointed him to a Facebook group, “The Professor Is Out,” dedicated to academics who are quitting. It helped him realize that “it’s not impossible for me to shift out of this thing.”

“The Professor Is Out” allows people to post anonymously, an important feature for academics who are still on the fence about quitting. When Kelsky created the group, she expected around 1,000 people to join. Now it has more than 24,000 members.
…
Another popular forum for maybe-quitters is the subreddit r/Professors, which has more than 100,000 members — dubbed “Guardians of Academe.”

Related postings:

Over half of higher ed employees likely to seek another job, survey finds — from highereddive.com by Jeremy Bauer-Wolf

Dive Brief:

More than half of college employees reported they are likely to leave their jobs in the next year in a new survey from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, CUPA-HR.
The most common reason workers gave for seeking new employment was the prospect of higher pay, followed by an opportunity to work remotely, and more flexible work hours.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents reported they’re working mostly or completely on campus, but almost 70% wanted to work remotely at least part time.

More Than Half of Campus Staff Members Are Thinking About Quitting, Survey Finds — from chronicle.com by Megan Zahneis

Excerpt:

Results of a new survey paint a grim picture for higher ed’s hopes of retaining staff members: More than half of them are considering leaving their job in the next year.

That’s according to staff members polled in May by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources; initial results of the survey were released this month.

Survey: More Than Half of Higher Ed Workers Plan to Leave — from insidehighered.com by Josh Moody

Excerpt:

Many higher education employees are headed for the exits, according to a new survey from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, which found that more than half of respondents said they were likely to look for other employment within the next 12 months.

7 Amazing Ways Technology Is Changing Higher Education for the Better [Newton]

On 07/21/2022, in assessment, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, creativity, engagement / engaging students, higher education, innovation, learning ecosystem, personalized/customized learning, technology (general), tools, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

7 Amazing Ways Technology Is Changing Higher Education for the Better — from innotechtoday.com by Emily Newton

Excerpt:

As society has stepped decidedly into the digital age, there’s been a lot of debate about how technology is changing higher education. Some people believe there are benefits of technology in education, while others are concerned about tech’s impact on learning and motivation. Technology in higher education can be a major distraction or an incredibly helpful resource.

Technology is only as good or as bad as what you do with it. In education, AI, coding, and media creation are tools that teachers can use to motivate their students and help them grasp new ideas. Keeping pace with everyday tech is important for modern students. Here are seven amazing ways technology is changing higher education for the better.

Forget long screen recordings. These tools automate your company’s how-tos. — from protocol.com by Lizzy Lawrence
Scribe and Tango take screen recordings and automatically turn them into step-by-step lists.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

If only there were a better way of transferring this knowledge, Smith thought at the time. Later, she worked in venture capital and kept hearing the same thing: How do we efficiently spread the company wisdom that’s trapped inside people’s heads? Without the thick binder or the 45-minute screen recording? Thus began Scribe.

To use Scribe, you record your screen as you go through a standard workplace process. When you finish recording, Scribe automatically generates a step-by-step written guide with screenshots that you can edit and share with whomever you want. It’s a browser extension and a desktop app, meant to be as easy as possible for both the sender and recipient of information.

Reflections on “Higher Ed Is Looking to Refill Jobs. But It’s Finding a ‘Shallow and Weak’ Candidate Pool.” [Zahneis]

On 07/20/2022, in business side of he, career development, change, colleges, community colleges, Daniel S. Christian, funding / grants, higher education, organizational change, teaching & learning, United States, universities, using teams, by Daniel Christian

Higher Ed Is Looking to Refill Jobs. But It’s Finding a ‘Shallow and Weak’ Candidate Pool. — from chronicle.com by Megan Zahneis

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

While higher education has largely recovered nearly all of its pandemic-associated job losses, the task of recruiting and hiring administrators and staff members has become a daunting one, according to a Chronicle survey of college leaders, hiring managers, and administrators that was conducted with support from the Huron Consulting Group.

Nearly 80 percent of the 720 respondents said their campus has more open positions this year than last, and 84 percent said that hiring for administrative and staff jobs has been more difficult in the last year.

Those positions are harder than ever to fill, too: 78 percent of leaders said their campus had received fewer applications for open jobs in the last year, and 82 percent agreed that they’d fielded fewer applications from qualified candidates. Said one person who took the survey: “The pools have been shallow and weak.”

From DSC:
Ask any ***staff*** member who has been working within higher education these last 10-20 years if this development is surprising to them, and they would tell you, “No, this is not a surprise to me at all.” Working within higher education has lost much of its value and appeal:

Budgets have been shrinking for years — so important/engaging new projects get taken off the plate (or indefinitely postponed). So opportunities for personal growth and new knowledge for staff members have been majorly curtailed. Also, members of administrations may decide to outsource those exciting projects that do survive to external consultants.
Oftentimes, salaries don’t match inflation — and they were never stellar to begin with.
Staff are second-class citizens within the world of higher education
- They aren’t part of the governing bodies (i.e., the Faculty Senates out there don’t include staff). Faculty members have much more say, control, and governance over things and get the opportunities to travel, learn, present, grow, share their knowledge, etc. much more so than staff members.
- There are few — if any — sabbaticals for staff members.
- Even those working within teaching and learning centers and instructional designers don’t have their hands on many steering wheels out there. Many faculty members prefer to hold their own steering wheels and they won’t listen to others who aren’t people they consider their “peers” (i.e., essentially other faculty members).
- They often don’t get the chance to do research and to make money off that research, like faculty members do
Staffing levels are inadequate, so one takes on an ever-increasing amount of work for the same pay.

And others could add more items to this list. So no, this is not a surprise to me at all. In a potential future where team-based content creation may thrive, it appears that some team members are dropping out.

Now 2,627+ OPM, Bootcamp and Pathways Partnerships with Universities globally [HolonIQ]

On 07/20/2022, in business side of he, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, global / globalization, higher education, marketplaces, online learning, online media, United States, universities, using teams, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Now 2,627+ OPM, Bootcamp and Pathways Partnerships with Universities globally — from holoniq.com
Slower partnership growth for the first half of 2022 with 186 new OPM, Bootcamp or Pathways partnerships. Another ‘post-COVID’ transition?

Reflecting on identities in educational development [Mihai]

On 07/20/2022, in adjunct faculty, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, education technology, Europe, faculty, higher education, instructional design, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, pedagogy, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

Reflecting on identities in educational development — from educationalist.substack.com by Alexandra Mihai

Introduction:

Welcome to a new issue of “The Educationalist”! In the past weeks I had the chance to reflect a lot on my identity as an educational developer, through inspiring conversations with colleagues and peers from my global personal learning network passionate about the topic. For me this is one of the professional identities, alongside being a scholar and an educator. Believe it or not, I think I found a way to combine them that works well and helps me stay enthusiastic about my work. In the past years I’ve been fortunate to hear so many interesting stories from faculty developers around the world, and I am always fascinated by them. It is a complex space, a diverse space and what I’m bringing to you this week are only some initial reflections, by no means a comprehensive account of what being an educational developer (or faculty developer, will use the terms interchangeably here) means. I hope that, even if this is more like an essay than a curated collection of practical tips and resources, it will still resonate with some of you, whether you are working as Faculty, educational developers, in university administration or leadership roles. I added some articles for those of you who would like to dive deeper into the topic, I can guarantee they make very thought-provoking reads. As usual, I welcome your ideas and comments. Have a nice week!

In Fight Against Ableism, Disabled Students Build Centers of Their Own [Lu]

On 07/19/2022, in accessibility / UDL, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), collaboration, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, higher education, leadership, learning ecosystem, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, neurodivergent/special needs, relationships, social learning / networks, student-related, United States, universities, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

In Fight Against Ableism, Disabled Students Build Centers of Their Own — from chronicle.com by Adrienne Lu

Excerpt:

Thanks to student advocates, including Sullivan and Lockwood, the university recently became the latest in a growing number with disability cultural centers, which aim to shine light on the perspectives and experiences of disabled people, foster a sense of community, and promote activism and disability justice. Altogether, at least 12 disability cultural centers now exist nationwide; in addition, students are working to create new centers on about a dozen other campuses.

Quiet People in Meetings Are Incredible [Denning]

On 07/17/2022, in Australia, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, corporate / business world, education, higher education, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, leadership, participation, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, relationships, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Quiet People in Meetings Are Incredible — from medium.com by Tim Denning
Knowing when not to talk is an art.

Excerpts:

But it’s not all bad. Meetings have taught me one valuable lesson: watch the quiet people.

Job titles make people do stupid things. One of those misdemeanors is talking too much. You can have a title today and have it gone tomorrow.

What ruins business is people that don’t listen. They think they know the market but actually they don’t know anything at all.

The brightest spark in the room says nothing at all. They are there taking notes and paying attention to what is going on. They watch the duel of egos and see no room to interrupt.

Dead Malls and Future Campuses — from insidehighered.com by Joshua Kim
Thoughts on Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall.

Excerpt:

Can we learn anything about the future of the university from the history of the shopping mall?

If any lessons connecting malls to colleges are to be found, the starting place is Meet Me by the Fountain. It is hard to imagine a more complete social, architectural, cultural, economic or cross-national comparison of shopping malls than this book provides.

For some, all the detail, theorizing and analysis of the mall’s history, relevancy and meaning might be a bit too much. For those looking for clues about how the university might evolve post-pandemic, the deep dive into malls that Meet Me by the Fountain provides is helpful.

Reflections on “Hypercompetition Is Harming Higher Ed” [Reuben]

On 07/15/2022, in colleges, community colleges, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, economics, higher education, leadership, society, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

Hypercompetition Is Harming Higher Ed — from chronicle.com by Julie A. Reuben
Colleges should ease off the branding and remember their shared values.

Excerpt:

Competition has long been viewed as a key to the greatness of the American college. But developments over the last half century have knocked the balance between competition and cooperation out of whack. These changes include rising tuition; the use of merit aid and other discounts to drive enrollment; the increased importance of rankings; soaring student debt; a surge in revenue-seeking activities, such as patenting and corporate partnerships; increases in revenue-containment strategies, such as the use of contingent faculty; and uneven or declining support at the state and federal levels. Researchers have used terms such “privatization,” “market-oriented,” or “neoliberal” to characterize this larger transformation. The pursuit of institutional advantage at the expense of the health of the larger sector is both a consequence and a driver of these changes.

The excessive competition may be bringing the whole system down. As that happens, even the institutions with the strongest brands will suffer.

Leaders are more interested in defining the distinctive qualities of their institutions than in debating what higher education writ large should be.

From DSC:
I like what Julie’s saying, and I agree with much of it. That said, I’m very skeptical that we can achieve this. From the earliest ages, we introduce a great deal of competition to our youth. How fast can you run the 50 or 100 yard dash? What violin chair are you in the school orchestra? What’s your GPA? Where are you on the Bell Curve?

Capitalism — our basic economic system here in the U.S. — further compounds these dynamics.

We focus more on ourselves as individuals than we focus on our communities.

So while I hope we can achieve what Julie’s saying, I’m not optimistic here.

Somewhat related items:

People from elite backgrounds increasingly dominate academia, data shows — from washingtonpost.com by Andrew Van Dam
First-generation academics were always rare. Now they’re vanishing.
The College-Affordability Conundrum — from chronicle.com by Audrey Williams June

Along the lines of competition, the following item was added on 7/16/22:

Does Our Academic System Unnecessarily Pit People Against Each Other? — from edsurge.com by Jeffrey R. Young

The new labor market: No bachelor’s required? [Lanahan]

On 07/14/2022, in 21st century, Alternatives, business, career development, change, colleges, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, higher education, skills, society, United States, universities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

The new labor market: No bachelor’s required? — from hechingerreport.org by Lawrence Lanahan
More workers without degrees are landing jobs they’d have been shut out of before. Will it last?

Excerpt:

Thanks to a tight labor market, more good jobs are opening up to workers who lack a bachelor’s degree. A month after Maryland’s announcement, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis directed government agencies in his state to embrace hiring workers for skills, not degrees. Private sector employers have been rolling back B.A. requirements too.

12 Learning Myths Exposed [IvyPanda]

On 07/14/2022, in adjunct faculty, adult learning, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate universities / corporate training, education, faculty, higher education, instructional design, K-12 related, learning, Learning Experience Design, learning theories, pedagogy, teachers, teaching & learning, universities, by Daniel Christian

12 Learning Myths Exposed — from ivypanda.com by IvyPanda; with thanks to Irene Fenswick for this resource

Excerpt:

Many people come to us searching for the answer to the question, “What’s the right way to learn?” First of all, we want to clarify: there is no right or wrong way to study. Still, we can list quite a few misconceptions regarding how the human brain works and what methods can help you memorize material. These are so widespread that it takes time and effort to recognize how unjustified and misguided they are.

That’s exactly how this article will help you.

On this page, we’ve busted all the myths surrounding your learning abilities. Our team has collected all the popular misconceptions about studying and explored why they are inaccurate. Besides, we’ve provided some practical (and time-tested) study tips for you to try out.

Several things that we can do to improve our learning ecosystems [Christian]

On 07/14/2022, in adjunct faculty, adult learning, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, corporate universities / corporate training, culture, Daniel S. Christian, education, education reform, face-to-face, faculty, higher education, ideas, instructional design, K-12 related, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, learning theories, library / librarians, lifelong learning, love of learning, metacognition / metacognitive skills, more voice more choice more control, motivation, online learning, parents/guardians, pedagogy, research, social media, society, strategy, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, traditional / tradition, training / L&D, United States, universities, using teams, vision/possibilities, youth, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Below are several observations re: our learning ecosystems — and some ideas on how we can continue to improve them.

It takes years to build up the knowledge and skills in order to be a solid teacher, faculty member, instructional designer, and/or trainer. It takes a lot of studying to effectively research how the brain works and how we learn. Then we retire…and the knowledge is often lost or not passed along. And the wheel gets reinvented all over again. And again. And again.

Along these lines — and though we’re making progress in this area — too often we separate the research from the practical application of that research. So we have folks working primarily in learning science, neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and related fields. But their research doesn’t always get practically applied within our learning spaces. We have researchers…and then we have practitioners. So I greatly appreciate the likes of Pooja Agarwal and Patrice Bain out at RetrievalPractice.org, Daniel Willingham, Eva Keiffenheim, The Learning Scientists, James Lang, and several others who bridge this gap.

Perhaps more researchers, faculty members, teachers, trainers, instructional designers, principals, provosts, etc. could blog or be active out on social media.

***

Along these lines, we need to spend more time helping people know how best to study and to learn.
If that type of thing is ever to be learned, it seems like it’s often learned or discussed in the mid- to later years of one’s life…often after one’s primary and secondary days are long gone.

Instead, we should consider putting these easy-to-understand posters from the Learning Scientists in every K-12 school, college, and university in the nation — or something like them.

***

To provide the most effective engaging learning experiences, we should consider using more team-based approaches. As appropriate, that could include the students themselves.

***

We put way too much emphasis on grades — which produces gameplayers who seek only to do the minimum amount of work necessary to get the A’s. Doing so creates systems whereby learning is not the goal — getting a 4.0+ is.

***
As we are now required to be lifelong learners, our quality of life as a whole goes waaaay up if we actually enjoy learning. Many people discover later in life that they like to learn…they just didn’t like school. Perhaps we could place greater emphasis within K-16 on whether students enjoyed their learning experiences or not. And if not, what might have made that topic more enjoyable to them? Or what other topics would they like to dive into (that weren’t’ on the original learning menu)?

This could also apply in the corporate training/L&D space as well. Such efforts could go a long way in helping establish stronger learning cultures.

***

We don’t provide enough choice to our students. We need to do a better job of turning over more control to them in their learning journey. We turn students off to learning because we try to cram information that they don’t care about down their throats. So then we have to use the currency of grades to force them into doing the work that they could care less about doing. Their experience with learning/school can easily get soured.

We need to be more responsive with our curricula. And we need to explain how the information we’re trying to relay is relevant in the real world and will be relevant in their futures.

***

So those are some ideas that I wanted to relay. Thanks for your time and for your shared interests here!

Learning Ecosystems

An interesting question: “What happens to a college’s online programs if the company operating them changes hands?” [Swaak]

7 Amazing Ways Technology Is Changing Higher Education for the Better [Newton]

Reflections on “Higher Ed Is Looking to Refill Jobs. But It’s Finding a ‘Shallow and Weak’ Candidate Pool.” [Zahneis]

Now 2,627+ OPM, Bootcamp and Pathways Partnerships with Universities globally [HolonIQ]

Reflecting on identities in educational development [Mihai]

Dead Malls and Future Campuses [Kim]

Reflections on “Hypercompetition Is Harming Higher Ed” [Reuben]

The new labor market: No bachelor’s required? [Lanahan]

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