staying relevant

Reflections on “U.S. teams up with operator of online courses to plan a global network” [Lewin]

On 11/01/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, accreditation, Asia, Australia, blended learning, budgets, business side of he, career development, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, distance education, education technology, elearning, entrepreneurship, Europe, experimentation, face-to-face, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, hybrid learning, ideas, informal learning, innovation, internet, lifelong learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, online learning, participation, professional development, reinvent, social learning / networks, staying relevant, STEAM-related, streams of content, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, training / L&D, UK, United States, virtual field trips, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, webinars, workplace, by Daniel Christian

U.S. teams up with operator of 0nline courses to plan a global network — from nytimes.com by Tamar Lewin

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Coursera, a California-based venture that has enrolled five million students in its free online courses, announced on Thursday a partnership with the United States government to create “learning hubs” around the world where students can go to get Internet access to free courses supplemented by weekly in-person class discussions with local teachers or facilitators.

The learning hubs represent a new stage in the evolution of “massive open online courses,” or MOOCs, and address two issues: the lack of reliable Internet access in some countries, and the growing conviction that students do better if they can discuss course materials, and meet at least occasionally with a teacher or facilitator.

“Our mission is education for everyone, and we’ve seen that when we can bring a community of learners together with a facilitator or teacher who can engage the students, it enhances the learning experience and increases the completion rate,” said Lila Ibrahim, the president of Coursera. “It will vary with the location and the organization we’re working with, but we want to bring in some teacher or facilitator who can be the glue for the class.”

From DSC:
Some thoughts here:

1) When institutions of higher education cling to the status quo and disregard the disturbing trajectories at play*…when we don’t respond, people — and governments it seems — will find other options/alternatives.

* Such as middle class incomes that continue to decline
while the price of higher education continues to escalate

2) I wonder if this type of setup might predominate in some countries.
i.e. blended learning types of setups in learning centers around the world where people can come in at any time to learn with a relevant Community of Practice, aided by faculty, teachers, trainers, coaches, etc. Some of the content is “beamed in” and shared electronically, while some of the learning involves face-to-face discussions/work. Will schools become more community centers where we will pool resources and offer them to people 24×7?

Also see:

The New Innovator’s Dilemma — from huffingtonpost.com by Michael Moe and Ben Wallerstein; with thanks to Lisa Duty for the Tweet on this
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
Increasingly, we’re worried that a generation of entrepreneurs is facing a “new innovators dilemma” — where innovation is stymied by regulatory and political environments focused on outdated needs and the wrong set of “customers.” The truth is, Silicon Valley investors and techies will get by just fine without addressing our big, societal problems. But if we encourage our nation’s top entrepreneurs to join search engines and social networks, we will miss the opportunity to apply their genius to solving society’s most pressing problems.
…
This isn’t about the classic political divide of right versus left. This is about policies and regulations written in a different era that are not easily translated to modern technology. It’s no secret that the challenge stems, in part, from the motivations of regulators and the politics of protecting the status quo.
…
Change is difficult. And no one is arguing that the transportation, hospitality, and higher education industries don’t need to be regulated. New approaches, in particular, warrant close scrutiny. But if we are ever going to experience the sort of revolutionary change that technology might afford to virtually every sector of the American economy, we need to be willing to rethink the traditional ways of regulation to make innovation easier and more responsive to the consumers and students these regulations were originally enacted to protect.

Addendum 11/1/13:

MOOCs are about to shake up the corporate and non-profit world — from corporatelearningnetwork.com by Inge de Waard

“The program is neither ‘massive’ nor ‘open.’ It is, however, the future.” [Ferreira]

On 10/22/2013, in 21st century, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, online learning, reinvent, staying relevant, using teams, by Daniel Christian

Excerpt from A Direction for Online Courses from LinkedIn.com by Jose Ferreira, Founder at Knewton (emphasis DSC)

The Non-MOOC Landscape
The improvements — such as high quality textbooks, materials, and supporting services —needed to turn MOOCs from lectures into fully developed courses cost money. In response, some MOOC facilitators are beginning to offer non-MOOCs, sometimes called SPOCs — “small, private online courses.” Udacity partnered with Georgia Tech to offer a Masters in Computer Science priced around $7,000.

The program is neither “massive” nor “open.” It is, however, the future. Within a decade, virtually every large university in the United States, and many elsewhere as well, will offer online courses — for credit and for fee. These courses will be particularly useful to students who don’t already have access to comparable courses.

…

The for-profit universities have just a few years — until there is widespread market awareness that these not-for-profit degree programs exist — to improve and in some cases reinvent their operations.

…

It will be these high-production value, for-credit online courses that will play the central role in the ongoing educational revolution. It will be the institutions themselves who are the great disruptors.

50+ Percent Off! The Walmart of Education [Christian & Grush]

On 10/17/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, changing business models, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, disruption, education reform, education technology, experimentation, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, ideas, innovation, internet, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, online learning, reinvent, social learning / networks, staying relevant, strategy, surviving, trends, universities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
This piece is from a recent interview I did with Mary Grush (Campus Technology; @Campus_Tech) re: The Walmart of Education. Though this vision dates back to 2008, we are most assuredly seeing signs of this vision taking place today. Thanks Mary for your time!

It’s important to note that this vision also aligns with what I’ve been saying about Learning from the Living [Class] Room. Videos regarding this vision have been designed, shot, edited — and they are forthcoming. I’d like to thank Mr. Steven Niedzielski (@marketing4pt0) here at Calvin College and also Mr. Sam Beckett (@samjohnbeck) for their help and assistance with those videos.

Vice Provost of Experimentation [at Harvard University; by Carl Straumsheim]

On 09/23/2013, in dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, experimentation, future of higher education, game-changing environment, innovation, internet, reinvent, staying relevant, student-related, surviving, by Daniel Christian

Vice Provost of Experimentation — from insidehighered.com by Carl Straumsheim

Excerpt:

Harvard University on Monday became the latest elite institution that will seek to organize its online education offerings with the creation of a high-ranking administrative position. Although not a widespread practice, early adopters say institutions should consider following suit sooner rather than later.

Bookless public library opens in Texas — from npr.org by Bill Chappell with thanks to Laura Goodrich/Don Tapscott for this resource

Excerpt:

.

An artist's rendering shows computer stations at the new BiblioTech bookless public library in Bexar County, Texas. The library is holding its grand opening Saturday.

.

From DSC:
If this is successful and takes off, can this also be achieved/made available from our living rooms…?

Addendums on 9/18/13:

Some serious 50,000-foot level thinking and debates occurring tomorrow in NYC!

On 09/16/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, changing business models, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education reform, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, innovation, leadership, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, personalized/customized learning, reinvent, social learning / networks, staying relevant, strategy, student-related, surviving, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

Check out the agenda:

7:00 a.m.

REGISTRATION

7:45 – 8:45 a.m. The Hall

BREAKFAST PANEL: BRIDGING THE KNOWLEDGE GAP
Technology is giving educators and students more tools to promote the exchange of ideas and expertise. That exchange is key to improved knowledge and empowerment, but without a level playing field, equal access and the right tools, we will never take full advantage of the opportunity to connect. Panelists will discuss the knowledge gap and how new technologies and motivated citizens are bridging that gap to support formal education as well as lifelong learning.
Sponsored by Bank of America

Aditya Bhasin, consumer marketing, analytics and digital banking executive, Bank of America
Gov. Jack Markell, Governor of Delaware
Ted Mitchell, President and C.E.O., NewSchools Venture Fund
Jennifer Tescher, President and C.E.O., The Center for Financial Services Innovation
Joanne Weiss, Former Chief of Staff to the Secretary, U.S. Department of Education

Moderated by John Merrow, Education Correspondent, PBS NewsHour

9 – 9:10 a.m.

WELCOME
Arthur Sulzberger Jr., publisher, The New York Times

9:10 – 9:45 a.m.

KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Sal Khan, founder of the Khan Academy

including 9:30-9:45 audience questions

9:45 – 10:30 a.m.

DEBATE: HAS THE UNIVERSITY AS AN INSTITUTION HAD ITS DAY?
Higher education has always been an array of autonomous institutions, each with their own courses, their own faculty, and their own requirements for their own degrees. But online education is starting to break down those lines in ways that are likely to lead to a lot more shared courses, consortia and credit transfers. In addition, there are a growing number of companies (not schools) providing higher education courses outside of the traditional higher education institutions. As we move towards the possibility of a multi-institution, multicredit qualification, is the traditional higher education institution in danger of losing applicants, income and identity?

Anant Agarwal, president, edX
Sal Khan, founder, The Khan Academy
Biddy Martin, president, Amherst College
Nancy Zimpher, Chancellor, SUNY

Moderated by David Leonhardt, Washington bureau chief, The New York Times

including 10:15 – 10:30 audience questions

10:30 – 11 a.m.

COFFEE BREAK

11 – 11:45 a.m.

THE DEALBOOK PANEL: WHAT’S THE NEW ERA BUSINESS MODEL FOR HIGHER EDUCATION?
The traditional idea that education is something the government provides, free, for the public good, is coming under assault from an increasing assortment of new ventures offering for-profit schools, for-profit online courses, tests, curricula, interactive whiteboard, learning management systems, paid-for verified certificates of achievement, e-books, e-tutoring, e-study groups and more. Which areas have the most potential growth — and where is the smart investment going?

Donn Davis, co-founder, Revolution
Tony Florence, general partner, NEA
Deborah Quazzo, founder and managing partner, GSV Advisors

Moderated by Andrew Ross Sorkin, columnist/editor DealBook, The New York Times

Including 11:30 – 11:45 audience questions

11:45 a.m. – 12:10 p.m.

CONVERSATION: THE DISRUPTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Michael Horn, co-founder, The Clayton Christenen Institute for Disruptive Innovation
In conversation with David Leonhardt, Washington bureau chief, The New York Times

12:10 – 12:45 p.m.

AUDIENCE DISCUSSION: INCREASING STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
Student attrition is as high as 90 percent for some of the biggest online courses, and remains a problem even
in smaller-scale courses when compared with traditional face-to-face classes. The problem is exacerbated for
community college students who enroll in online courses, or for low-performing students. How can we increase student engagement in online classes, particularly among students who lack competence or confidence?

Yvonne Chan, principal, Vaughn Next Century Learning Center
John Palfrey Jr, head of school, Phillips Academy, Andover
Diane Tavenner, founder and C.E.O., Summit Public Schools

Moderated by Bill Keller, Op-Ed columnist, The New York Times

12:45 – 1:15 p.m.

COLUMNIST CONVERSATION

Senator Bob Kerrey, executive chairman, Minerva Institute

in conversation with Bill Keller, Op-Ed columnist, The New York Times

1:15 – 3:00 p.m.

LUNCH PANEL A: INCREASING HIGHER EDUCATION AFFORDABILTY AND COMPLETION THROUGH ONLINE INNOVATIONS
A thoughtful conversation about innovative online models that are lowering the cost of degrees and increasing degree completion. How do these models work – and where are they going?
Sponsored by Capella

(Held in The Hall)

Mark Becker, President, Georgia State University
Scott Kinney, President, Capella University
Jamie Merisotis, President and C.E.O., Lumina Foundation
Burck Smith, Founder and C.E.O., StraighterLine

Moderated by Melody Barnes, C.E.O., Melody Barnes Solutions (former Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council)

1:15 – 3:00 p.m.

LUNCH PANEL B: A MATHEMATICIAN, SCIENTIST, DOCTOR, AND SOCIOLOGIST WALK INTO A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE…WHO SURVIVES?
What skills give you the best shot at surviving a zombie apocalypse? Can you do anything to increase your odds of survival? Get an extended preview of UC Irvine’s MOOC “Society, Science, Survival: Lessons from AMC’s The Walking Dead” as we explore what math, science, public health, and sociology have to do with a zombie apocalypse and, in particular, survival. At the end of the panel, the audience will vote on who stands the best chance of survival: mathematician, scientist, doctor, or sociologist.
Sponsored by Instructure

(Held on 15th Floor)

Joanne Christopherson, Associate Director of the Demographic and Social Analysis M.A. Program, University of California, Irvine
Michael Dennin, Professor of physics and astronomy, University of California, Irvine
Sarah Eichhorn, Assistant Vice Chair for undergraduate studies in the mathematics department, University of California, Irvine
Melissa Loble, Associate Dean of distance learning, University of California, Irvine

Moderated by Josh Coates, CEO, Instructure

3 – 3:30 p.m.

COLUMNIST CONVERSATION
In an increasingly connected world, how do we ensure our students are being prepared to compete in a knowledge-based, global economy? What role does technology play in education, and what does the future of learning look like?

Arne Duncan, US Secretary of Education

interviewed by David Leonhardt, Washington bureau chief, The New York Times

3:30 – 4:15 p.m.

IS ONLINE THE GREAT EQUALIZER?
There is no doubt that we are in the middle of an online education revolution, which offers huge potential to broaden access to education and therefore, in theory, level the playing field for students from lower-income, lower-privileged backgrounds. But evidence to date shows that the increasing number of poorly designed courses could actually have the reverse effect and put vulnerable students at an even bigger disadvantage.

Karen Cator, C.E.O., Digital Promise
Dean Florez, president, 20 Million Minds Foundation
Candace Thille, director of the Open Learning Initiative (OLI) and assistant professor of education, Stanford University
David Wiley, founder, Lumen Learning

Moderated by Tina Rosenberg, Op-Ed Columnist, The New York Times

Including 4:00 – 4:15 p.m. audience questions

4:15 – 4:45 p.m.

COFFEE BREAK

4:45 – 5 p.m.

COLUMNIST CONVERSATION

Daphne Koller, co-founder, Coursera

in conversation with Ethan Bronner, Deputy National Editor, The New York Times

5 – 5:45 p.m

GAMECHANGERS: HOW WILL ONLINE EDUCATION REVOLUTIONIZE WHAT WE KNOW AND UNDERSTAND ABOUT LEARNING?
Traditionally, pedagogical research has been done in tiny groups; but new-generation classes of 60,000 students make it possible to do large scale testing and provide potentially game-changing research on how students learn best. Using the Big Data from online courses, we have access to new information about what pedagogical approaches work best. MOOCs, and many more traditional online classes, can track every keystroke, every homework assignment and every test answer a student provides. This can produce a huge amount of data on how long students pay attention to a lecture, where they get stuck in a problem set, what they do to get unstuck, what format and pacing of lectures, demonstrations, labs and quizzes lead to the best outcomes, and so on. How can we use Big Data for the good of the education profession, and not for “Big Brother”?

Daphne Koller, co-founder, Coursera
Alec Ross, senior advisor on innovation and former senior advisor to Secretary Hillary Clinton at the U.S. State Department
Paula Singer, C.E.O. Global Products and Services, Laureate Education

Moderated by Ethan Bronner, Deputy National Editor, The New York Times

including 5:30 – 5:45 p.m. audience questions

5:45 – 6 p.m.

COLUMNIST CONVERSATION

Amol Bhave, student, MIT

in conversation with Tina Rosenberg, Op-Ed Columnist, The New York Times

6 p.m.

CLOSING REMARKS

Gerald Marzorati, editorial director and general manager, conferences, The New York Times

Will it take joining a consortium to survive/thrive in the new world of higher education? (Will it even be called higher education?)

On 09/11/2013, in business, business side of he, consortiums, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, education reform, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, experimentation, future of higher education, game-changing environment, Google, higher education, innovation, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, online learning, open courseware and systems, platforms, staying relevant, surviving, trends, using teams, by Daniel Christian

EdX announces partnership with Google — from web.mit.edu; w/ thanks to Mr. John Shank for the Scoop on this
Google and edX to collaborate on an open-source learning platform and research, among other things.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

As part of the collaboration with Google, edX plans to build out and operate MOOC.org, a new website that will help educational institutions, businesses and teachers build and host online courses for a global audience. The site — slated to go live next year — will be powered by Open edX and built on Google infrastructure.
…
EdX, founded in 2012 and headquartered in Cambridge, is a nonprofit organization comprised of 28 leading global institutions, called the xConsortium. According to EdX, its aims are to transform online and on-campus learning through novel methodologies, gamelike experiences and research, among other things.

Also see:

.

Excerpt:

Today, Google will begin working with edX as a contributor to the open source platform, Open edX. We are taking our learnings from Course Builder and applying them to Open edX to further innovate on an open source MOOC platform. We look forward to contributing to edX’s new site, MOOC.org, a new service for online learning which will allow any academic institution, business and individual to create and host online courses.

Also see:

From DSC:
Creating media-rich, professionally-done, well-designed, interactive materials can be expensive — especially if back-end analytics, programming, AI, etc. are called for. Such capital-intensive work may require the use of teams…of partnerships…of alliances…of consortia.

Once created though, such materials could be made available at a low cost, as the costs would be spread out on a large number of people/institutions — i.e. The Walmart of Education.

If the corporate world starts going further down this path…

On 09/09/2013, in 21st century, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, professional development, reinvent, staying relevant, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Udacity teams up with Google, AT&T and other tech giants for Open Education Alliance— from gigaom.com by Ki Mae Heussner

Summary:

Online education startup Udacity says it’s partnering with a group of leading technology companies to better prepare students for work in the 21st century.

From DSC:
If the corporate world starts going further down this path — opting for alternatives to the historical means of filtering job candidates and for preparing their future hires — the only thing that I will be able to say with certainty is that the record will show that those of us working within higher ed didn’t learn a thing from/about:

The Internet’s affect on other industries
The disruptive power of technologies
The need to reinvent oneself — and to innovate and adapt

.

About the program (emphasis DSC):

Thanks to digital media, the Internet and new advances in understanding how students learn, educators are beginning to appreciate the importance of breaking out of the classroom and into the wider world. There’s a growing understanding that learning should not just be preparation for life, but is actually “life itself.”

Is School Enough? documents vivid examples of where new modes of learning and engagement are taking hold and flourishing. Featuring nationally recognized educators and researchers, Stephen Brown’s powerful stories show that when students have the opportunity to explore real interests and problems, they step up and perform at the highest level. This new approach reaches motivated students as well as kids that educators call “the bright and bored,” helping these learners tune in rather than drop out.

Is School Enough? introduces parents, educators, and everyone passionate about learning to:

• Students in Maine who work with veterinary experts and digital apps to prepare a new home for a retired circus elephant.
• Young people worldwide who use the online Harry Potter Alliance to launch meaningful social justice initiatives.
• A curious and creative teen who crafts her own educational experience based on her passion for natural healing and yoga.
• A young man in Oakland who produces state-of-the-art music videos to engage his community—and himself.

Through the voices of these inspired students and America’s foremost education thought leaders, Is School Enough? provides insight into an essential new understanding of what education can be in the 21st century. Is School Enough? is the second in a series of programs about kids, digital media and education. The first program, Digital Media: New Learners of the 21st Century explores students claiming digital media as a means of connecting, communicating, creating, and learning, while interpreting its importance and providing a window into 21st-century education.

Accreditation and only doing what one’s peers do in higher ed: Not serving society well

On 08/30/2013, in accreditation, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, education reform, experimentation, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, innovation, new business models, staying relevant, surviving, United States, by Daniel Christian

Issue #1: Accreditation

OPINION: How to make college better & more affordable — from edsurge.com by Paul Freedman
One powerful answer: Reform the accreditation process

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

How can our diverse, 4,300 two- and four-year schools collectively be failing to produce the outcomes we need, at the scale we need them, all at the same time?

How can this be?
…
…why have these solutions not yet driven the fundamental change the system needs? Innovators that could bring costs down and help our system stay on the leading-edge are being stifled by little-known organizations that possess tremendous unregulated power in higher education: accreditors. As a result, our system is sick–plagued by an institutionalized lack of adaptation.

…

If they are indeed stewards of the public trust responsible for ensuring the quality of our higher education system, then they are also responsible for its outcomes and therefore share a large portion of the blame for the failures in higher education that we see today. Accreditation is the one constant across all US higher education institutions.

…

The problem? Ivy Bridge wanted to change the status quo.

Also see:

A relevant side note from DSC:
The following statement in Downgrading Elite Colleges (InsideHigherEd.com) shows the impact of this straitjacketing, status quo situation (emphasis mine):

“We do see pressure on small private colleges as a group and that’s primarily because they don’t have a lot of different things they can do, so they are primarily dependent on tuition revenue,” said a Moody’s analyst, Edie Behr.

Moody’s advises institutions to try to diversify their revenue streams.

That is not an easy task, said Oberlin’s vice president for finance, Ronald Watts.

.
…they don’t have a lot of different things they can do…
…that is not an easy task…

.

From DSC:
Are these statements true? If so, why?
Is accreditation part of the issue/solution?
Who should be on the accrediting bodies? Whose agenda(s) do they represent?

(Related) Issue #2: Only doing what one’s peer groups are doing.

From DSC:
If the entire boat is sinking, does it matter what your peers are doing?!? Isn’t it time for bigger thinking? Bolder thinking? More (and careful/well-thought-through) experimentation?

Paul Freedman states this as well in his article:

I have heard people in the industry compare the current state of higher education to a sinking ship. If that is accurate, then accreditors should be viewed as the ones who are literally nailing down the deck chairs to the Titanic. We need to keep the students we are all dedicated to serving from going down with the ship. We, as the education industry and as US citizens, need to fight for accreditation reform.

I ask these questions and pose the above picture not to promote panic — but rather to strongly encourage change. Institutions of higher education need to adapt in order to stay relevant, survive, and to properly equip future generations for the world they will be entering.

If not, students will find other ways to be successful — and so will corporations.

Addendum on 9/3/13:

Higher Ed Accrediting Commissions: Transparency for thee, not for me — from mfeldstein.com by Phil Hill
Excerpt:
Why do I keep covering accreditation issues on e-Literate, a blog nominally about online learning and educational technology? The reason is that accrediting commissions have enormous influence on higher education institutions, particularly as the industry wrestles with questions of which changes are necessary, which changes are worth trying but might not work, and which changes should be avoided. If there really is a shift in the DOE’s views on accreditation or in the accrediting commissions’ interpretation of standards, then that could have fairly profound cascade effects on competency-based learning programs, private online colleges, MOOCs, and online service providers.That is also why the lack of transparency from the accrediting commissions is so troubling. They are making decisions that have profound effects on many institutions, not just the specific schools under review.

Turn education into a lifelong experience — from clomedia.com by Caroline Mol and Nick Van Dam
MOOCs ensure development remains relevant. The future of work depends on people’s ability to build intellectual capital.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Most of the discussions about MOOCs focus on the experience and potential impact on higher education, which we will not discuss here. Rather, we will talk about their impact on the 21st century workforce and corporations. It is very exciting that, according to edX, more than 50 percent of enrollments in such courses are professionals from all over the world.

Looking at market dynamics, increasing globalization, rapid advancements in technology and the continuously changing business environment, it becomes increasingly important that people up their game and continue to invest in their development to stay relevant in the workforce.

…

In addition to employing people with the right skills, corporations are looking more and more for specialized expertise in the so-called human cloud — the virtual, on-demand workforce. Success for a 21st century workforce is leaders’ ability to predict which competencies will be valued in the future and to accelerate mastery of those competencies.

.

From DSC:
While I might take some different viewpoints on a couple of things in the article, the importance of reinventing oneself — i.e. staying relevant — is key; and what MOOCs morph into might be a key ingredient for the corporate world.

StayingRelevantDanielChristian-August2013

The MOOC Business Plan — from campustechnology.com by David Raths
With millions of students taking high-quality MOOCs for free, schools and course providers are now searching for a viable business model.

Excerpt:

Name a product sold in stores for thousands of dollars that can be obtained for free online. If you’re struggling for an answer, don’t be surprised–no company would last very long under those circumstances. Yet that’s exactly the predicament in which higher education finds itself as MOOCs begin to disrupt the traditional post-secondary model. Schools are giving away what was once their most valued treasure–the intellectual property of their faculty–for nothing.

Obviously, it’s not a sustainable business model, so what’s next? Where will the money come from? While it may seem surprising, no one really seems to know. For many colleges and universities, the current environment more closely resembles a high-stakes game of musical chairs–everyone is terrified of being left without a chair when the music stops. But the game is being played by more than just schools. From a business standpoint, higher education is ripe for reinvention, and it has attracted a slew of companies–both old and new–that smell significant profit.

…

For Coursera, this task is already under way. “Some business models are becoming clear,” says Andrew Ng, cofounder of the for-profit company. “Some we are confident will work; others we are still experimenting with.”

“You could have a certificate of a course completed at Duke University [NC]–that could be a valuable credential,” adds Ng. “We have projected that this alone will lead us to sustainability. In the first quarter of the signature track, we brought in $220,000, and in the second quarter, which hasn’t ended yet, we roughly doubled that amount. So we project that by itself that will make us sustainable.”

Higher ed can find some value in these Bezoz’ comments after purchasing Wash Post [Christian]

On 08/06/2013, in business, digital learning, disruption, experimentation, higher education, innovation, internet, new business models, online learning, online tutoring, reinvent, staying relevant, surviving, by Daniel Christian

Jeff Bezos on Post purchase — from washingtonpost.com

David McNew/Getty Images – The Washington Post Co. has agreed to sell its flagship newspaper
to Amazon.com founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos for $250 million August 5, 2013.

Excerpt of comments:

The Internet is transforming almost every element of the news business: shortening news cycles, eroding long-reliable revenue sources, and enabling new kinds of competition, some of which bear little or no news-gathering costs. There is no map, and charting a path ahead will not be easy. We will need to invent, which means we will need to experiment. Our touchstone will be readers, understanding what they care about – government, local leaders, restaurant openings, scout troops, businesses, charities, governors, sports – and working backwards from there. I’m excited and optimistic about the opportunity for invention.

Summary of Educause Sprint: “Beyond MOOCs: Is IT Creating a New, Connected Age?”

On 08/02/2013, in higher education, IT in HE, learning ecosystem, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, reinvent, staying relevant, by Daniel Christian

Summaries, resources re: EDUCAUSE Sprint 2013 (July 30 – August 1)
Beyond MOOCs: Is IT Creating a New, Connected Age?

‘Shake Up’ for Higher Ed — from insidehighered.com by Scott Jaschik

Excerpt:

President Obama vowed Wednesday that he would soon unveil a plan to promote significant reform in higher education — with an emphasis on controlling what colleges charge students and families.

“[I]n the coming months, I will lay out an aggressive strategy to shake up the system, tackle rising costs, and improve value for middle-class students and their families. It is critical that we make sure that college is affordable for every single American who’s willing to work for it,” said Obama, in a speech at Knox College.

…

“Families and taxpayers can’t just keep paying more and more and more into an undisciplined system where costs just keep on going up and up and up. We’ll never have enough loan money, we’ll never have enough grant money, to keep up with costs that are going up 5, 6, 7 percent a year. We’ve got to get more out of what we pay for,” Obama said.

From DSC:
At a $175 billion per year support for postsecondary education, if the Federal Government starts redirecting this flow of $$$…I’ll bet we’ll see some change…and rather quickly I might add.

The Walmart of Education (as predicted back in December 2008) is now here, but I don’t think we’ve seen anything yet. To what will we change? At least one major piece of the answer to that question is that we will see the continued — but increasing — use of teams of specialists that will be commissioned to create low-cost, highly-engaging content. Though expensive to create originally, such teams will more than make their money back because of the massive number of students such “courses” will serve.

From the Walmart of Education page on 4/11/09:

…I wanted to offer another idea that might help fund engaging, multimedia-based, online-based learning materials:
(NOTE: The figures I use are not accurate, but rather, they are used for illustration purposes only.)

Let’s reallocate funds towards course development, and then let’s leverage those learning materials throughout the world!

Reallocate funds to course development, and bring costs WAAAAYYYY down and ACCESS WAAAYYY UP!

.

For students: Bring costs waaaayyyyy down and access waaayyy up!

Plus, no more defaulted loans, students could experience richer content, students wouldn’t have to wait as much on financial aid decisions. There would be fewer financial aid headaches; and the resources devoted to figuring out & processing financial aid could be reduced. The issue will be how an institution can differentiate itself in such a new world…but that issue will have to be dealt with in the future anyway.

Learning Ecosystems

“The program is neither ‘massive’ nor ‘open.’ It is, however, the future.” [Ferreira]

Will it take joining a consortium to survive/thrive in the new world of higher education? (Will it even be called higher education?)

If the corporate world starts going further down this path…

Accreditation and only doing what one’s peers do in higher ed: Not serving society well

Issue #1: Accreditation

(Related) Issue #2: Only doing what one’s peer groups are doing.

Turn education into a lifelong experience [Mol & Van Dam]

The MOOC Business Plan [Raths]

Higher ed can find some value in these Bezoz’ comments after purchasing Wash Post [Christian]

Summary of Educause Sprint: “Beyond MOOCs: Is IT Creating a New, Connected Age?”

Reflections on ‘Shake Up’ for Higher Ed [Jaschik]

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