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The Rise of the ‘Edupunk’

On 11/05/2010, in adjunct faculty, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, faculty, future of higher education, game-changing environment, online learning, organizational change, staying relevant, strategy, student-related, universities, by Daniel Christian

The Rise of the ‘Edupunk’ — from InsideHigherEd.com by Jack Stripling

NEW YORK — The “Edupunks” will inherit the Earth … or at least some attention.

Those in higher education who continue hand-wringing over the relative merits of online learning and other technology-driven platforms will soon find themselves left in the dust of an up-and-coming generation of students who are seeking knowledge outside academe. Such was an emerging consensus view here Monday, as college leaders gathered for the TIAA-CREF Institute’s 2010 Higher Education Leadership Conference.

“We’re still trying to fit the Web into our educational paradigm.… I just don’t think that’s going to work,” said Mary Spilde, president of Lane Community College, in Eugene, Ore.

Today’s students are “pretty bored with what we do,” she added.

In a notable acknowledgment of the tail wagging the dog, several panelists alluded here to the possibility that if colleges don’t change the way they do business, then students will change the way colleges do business.

College leaders don’t yet know how to credential the knowledge students are gaining on their own, but they may soon have to, said Mark David Milliron, deputy director for postsecondary improvement at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We are not far from the day when a student, finding unsatisfactory reviews of a faculty member on ratemyprofessors.com, will choose to take a class through open courseware online and then ask his home institution to assess him, Milliron said. Colleges need to prepare for that reality, he said.

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Staying Relevant

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The university lacks capacity to change education (George Siemens)

On 10/23/2010, in business side of he, change, changing business models, higher education, leadership, new business models, organizational change, staying relevant, strategy, traditional / tradition, by Daniel Christian

The university lacks capacity to change education — from George Siemens

Make no mistake, dramatic changes are occurring in education. These changes, due to the reluctance of the academy to map activities to the reality of the external world, are driven by external innovation. Quite simply, higher education is not in control of its fate as it has failed to develop the capacity to be self-reliant in times of change. I’ve seen universities (such as University of Manitoba) reach out to consulting and accounting firms to provide structural and funding change recommendations. I’ve seen universities begin to partner with online course providers such as StraighterLine to extend course offerings because they (the university) are simply not capable of fulfilling these roles themselves – they lack capacity to participate in this new space of learning. I used to think that higher education and open access would do away with the dominant role of traditional publishers. It looks like I was wrong. Publishers are now offering full course content packages that blend textbooks with faculty-produced materials (i.e. McGraw-Hill’s purchase of Tegrity – a lecture capture software). The university’s reliance on external offerings to fill their capacity gaps is a growing trend. For some (traditional liberal education advocates) it’s a concern. For others (entrepreneurs) it’s a blessing. And for still others (traditional publishers and content creators), it’s a way to stay relevant and perhaps even become more integrated with educational institutions than was possible with a textbook publishing model.

From DSC:
Sorry George, but I just have to post this in its entirety, as I think that you are right on the mark here!

From behind my “lenses” the way I “see” this is that:

  • Higher ed must become more nimble, willing to change, and work to address our shortcomings.
  • We must be responsive to changes outside of our control (which is the majority)
  • We must experiment with things and be willing to fail. Because…

…we are not nearly as in control of things as we suppose.


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What’s going to happen when your leaders start retiring in the next five to 10 years?

On 10/21/2010, in leadership, organizational change, strategy, workplace, by Daniel Christian

What’s going to happen when your leaders start retiring in the next five to 10 years? — from ASTD.org by Tora Estep

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Think about it: 78 million baby boomers are set to turn 65 over the next two decades, and they will crowd the doors as they start walking out. Think about your organization: What’s going to happen when Bob, the CFO, decides he’s done plenty in his career and is ready to move on and start a vineyard? What happens when Mary, the CEO, announces her retirement to sail around the world on a catamaran? What happens when your directors of training, marketing, production, R&D, and so forth leave? What will the day-to-day functioning of your organization look like, let alone your strategy? Is your organization ready to fill the gaps that those people are going to leave?

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CIOs are change agents for a more collaborative, virtual workplace

On 10/20/2010, in business, change, collaboration, game-changing environment, innovation, leadership, organizational change, strategy, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

CIOs are change agents for a more collaborative, virtual workplace — ASTD.org

(From PRNewswire) — Cognizant, a leading provider of consulting, technology, and business process outsourcing services, announced today the results of a research report, “Next-Generation CIOs: Change Agents for the Global Virtual Workplace.” The Economist Intelligence Unit conducted the research across Europe and North America and wrote the report, in cooperation with the Cognizant Business Consulting practice.

The report reveals the CIO’s role in restructuring how work is done throughout the organization.  Among the more than 400 survey respondents, mostly CIO, CEO, vice president, and director-level, those who are moving toward more virtual, collaborative teams are benefitting from increased innovation, more effective talent recruitment and retention, and higher productivity. One in six said their companies are already seeing these results, and another one-fifth expect to garner benefits within a year.

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Ken Robinson: Changing Education Paradigms with RSA Animate

On 10/14/2010, in change, creativity, education, education reform, K-12 related, organizational change, presentations, social learning / networks, by Daniel Christian

RSA Comment with Sir Ken Robinson - October 2010

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EDUCAUSE 2010 Day 2: Hamel, Gates, lecture capture, and tough publishers

On 10/14/2010, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adult learning, change, changing business models, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, education reform, education technology, emerging technologies, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, leadership, online learning, organizational change, pace of change, publishing, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

EDUCAUSE 2010 Day 2: Hamel, Gates, lecture capture, and tough publishers — from InsideHigherEd.com by Joshua Kim

From DSC:
Especially of interest here to me was the item about TechSmith and Sonic Foundry…veerrry interesting. Also, administrators, deans, and department chairpersons NEED to hear Hamel’s presentation/thoughts. To me, it held some of the most lasting value from any presentation that was offered online yesterday.

Gary emphasized the need for us to keep reinventing ourselves — and I would add, given the pace of change, this is just as true of each of us as individuals as our collective organizations.  He noted the accelerating pace of change, that knowledge itself is changing…and that most organizations today were never built to handle this kind of change. He stressed the need to be more nimble.

The web:

  • Dematerializes
  • Disintegrates
  • Disintermedites
  • Democratizes

Too often organizational change is episodic, convulsive — reacting to a time of crisis. (From DSC: Read…when the organization has been broadsided.)

We are broadsided not because we couldn’t see things coming down the pike, but because those things were not pallatable to us….hmmm…sounds of online learning and web-based collaboration are ringing in my ears…

Try to imagine the unimaginable.




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