http://generoche.net/blog/2008/03/required-reading-for-turbulent-times/ The Times They Are A-Changin' Sun, 13 May 2012 19:37:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://generoche.net/blog/2008/03/required-reading-for-turbulent-times/comment-page-1/#comment-35354 Gardner Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:11:11 +0000 http://generoche.net/blog/2008/03/17/required-reading-for-turbulent-times/#comment-35354 Thanks for this link, Gene. While I agree that institutions of higher education must seek and embrace transformation, I worry about the assessment-based commodification of higher ed that approaches like these imply (for me, anyway). The PPT slides at http://www.uwstout.edu/bpa/focus2010/guskinpp.pdf make the same case, and look an awful lot like the NCAT strategies I heard at the SCHEV/LTAC/ECVA-sponsored "Learning By Design" conference last fall. Yes, "faculty-based" sounds bad, the old bugaboo "sage on the stage." Yes, "student-centered" sounds great, libertarian even. But the magic of truly transformative education won't fit quite so neatly into these categories, I think. And while technology can and must scale the reach of transformative educational experiences, no technology will matter much unless there are catalytic educational presences--faculty and students alike--within the experience. Thanks for this link, Gene. While I agree that institutions of higher education must seek and embrace transformation, I worry about the assessment-based commodification of higher ed that approaches like these imply (for me, anyway). The PPT slides at http://www.uwstout.edu/bpa/focus2010/guskinpp.pdf make the same case, and look an awful lot like the NCAT strategies I heard at the SCHEV/LTAC/ECVA-sponsored “Learning By Design” conference last fall. Yes, “faculty-based” sounds bad, the old bugaboo “sage on the stage.” Yes, “student-centered” sounds great, libertarian even. But the magic of truly transformative education won’t fit quite so neatly into these categories, I think. And while technology can and must scale the reach of transformative educational experiences, no technology will matter much unless there are catalytic educational presences–faculty and students alike–within the experience.

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