POSTED ON BEHALF OF DOUG

Many begin on line courses and MOOCs, few ever complete them. Chevy University of Phoenix. Few ever graduate. Long way to go before online university is serious vehicle.

Doug is wrong, or misleading. The university online courses available in Canada by the universities, the vast majority finished their courses. The number one motivator is because the online courses like the non online courses available at the Canadian universities, are not free, and tuition fees must be pay.

In fact, for some university courses - university students have a choice to take the course online with conditions attached or attend the campus lectures. Online courses are more popular than ever, and growth continues every year.

For Phoenix University - “. The University of Phoenix has close to 600,000 graduates, nearly 480,000 current students and 32,000 faculty members, which combine to make an extensive network of potential contacts. “
http://online-education-review.toptenreviews.com/university-of-phoenix-review.html

Watch the short video - on the 2013 graduation class of the Phoenix University - http://www.phoenix.edu/students/graduation/2013.html

Contact North - “Contact North ǀ Contact Nord works in partnership with Ontario’s 24 public colleges, 22 public universities and over 250 public essential skills and training providers to increase and improve online and distance learning opportunities for Ontarians in over 600 small, rural, remote, Aboriginal and Francophone communities across the province.

Students from all walks of life can take the online and distance courses and programs offered by Ontario’s public education and training providers through audio, video and webconferencing platforms available at Contact North | Contact Nord’s 112 online learning centres.”

Doug all for the status-quo and limiting access to learning in its various modes and vehicles. I wonder how many teachers are taking online courses at this very moment?  I wonder what the profits are for the big Ontario teachers’ unions and the online courses offered by the union brass??

It would also be interesting to know how many post-secondary students enroll in colleges & universities and don’t finish or, worse,  drop out before the first term ends.  Trouble is that the institutions NEVER post those numbers nor do the Min. of Colls & U’s make them public.
Kinda like those high school graduation rate numbers, which I suspect they make up out of thin air.

POSTED ON BEHALF OF DOUG

Technological Determinism is a ideology. The chief priest right now is Bill Gates. I guess if you are a carpenter everything looks like a nail. Gates and incresingly a Silicon Valley crew of youthful enthusiasts think they can totally reshape education with technology.

There is not an educator or education professor within a mile of this crew but they believe they know everything about schools. Gates first 2-3 attempts have all failed but it does not even give him pause.

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/tecdet/tdet02.html

I burst out laughing on Doug’s last post. Imagine that, Doug reaching in deep into the education pedagogues, and calling one of them an ideology?  In Wikipedia - Isn’t the technology of Bill Gates great, when it allows such free enterprises such as Wikipedia?  “Social construction of technology (also referred to as SCOT) is a theory within the field of Science and Technology Studies. Advocates of SCOT—that is, social constructivists—argue that technology does not determine human action, but that rather, human action shapes technology. They also argue that the ways a technology is used cannot be understood without understanding how that technology is embedded in its social context. SCOT is a response to technological determinism and is sometimes known as technological constructivism.”  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_construction_of_technology

And here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_determinism

Rather dry stuff, but I could not let Doug’s post stand as is. Bill Gates sure does get a lot of blame by the education establishment, but I guess its not going to stopped the sub-collective group within the public education system, to continued to denied reality, and how 21st century technology are shaping schools. Yikes, can’t have people learning in different environments other than the classroom 24-7 can we now??

POSTED ON BEHALF OF DOUG

Technology will totally revolutionize education here it is;

FILM, well that help but only a little ok then

RADIO it will replace the teacher!! ok then teacher is still here oh well

TELEVISION it will totally replace the teacher, well ok it added a little something but only when video arrived

VIDEO no eh education still looks pretty much the same ok

COMPUTERS no not much?

INTERNET it will totally replace the teacher!!! no eh, they still here?

MOOCs, Khan Academy, It will totally replace the teacher and flip the classroom!!!  No eh?

Hmmmmm what is next?

POSTED ON BEHALF OF DOUG

This is how techies who know zip about education need to stay out of education or at least, consult with real educators.

http://www.alternet.org/education/billionaire-bill-gates-and-his-army-reformers-terrible-idea-bringing-ruthless-corporate?fb_action_ids=10201686260217239&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action;_object_map=[253346154823153]&action;_type_map=[“og.likes”]&action;_ref_map=[]

Doug and company,

Read your link posted on 11/30 at 3:47.  I would like to rebut your sentiments with Ouchi’s “Making Schools Work”.

Sorry it is a book - and I urge you to purchase it.

Bill Gates has it right more than he has it wrong.  Bill Gates and Ouchi are aligned. 

best. Mirka