I never thought I would enjoy the for profit blog as much as I have! I am again taking some liberties with this blog in an effort consider the exact opposite - higher education FOR FREE.
With recent criticism of higher education as over priced and not producing "workers" some alternative thinking has cropped up around FREE higher education. And, I'm sort of intrigued. GOOD published an article in April 2011 titled: Skipping School: A Look at Free Higher Education Alternatives. In the spirit of full disclosure I discovered that GOODs' education articles are sponsored by the University of Phoenix - this could be a whole blog topic unto itself! So, it's worth keeping in mind who sponosored the article but I'm still intrigued. The article suggests several ways in which students might find alternatives to a pricey higher education.
(1) KNEXT - "At KNEXT, we’re about leveraging your past to shape your future. If you have existing college credits, we’ll help you harness them for tomorrow. If you have work experience, we’ll help you turn it into college credit. KNEXT could help you save time and money." Advisors help students, through, a portfolio process gain credit for prior learning. The idea, if you listen to the opening video, is that students should get credit for work experience and other life experience that can be applied to their college degrees - perhaps saving them money because they won't be paying for a full degree. Again, it is worth disclosing that the major sponsors of this are themselves for-profit institutions.
(2) iTunesU - iTunesU boasts more than 350,000 lectures, videos and films from institutions all over the world. SIDE NOTE - I'm currently listening to a FREE lecture by MIT Psychology instructor Jeremy Wolf! In fact, one could skip iTunesU and go straight to MITs FREE OpenCourseWare site.
(3) P2PU (Peer 2 Peer University) - P2PUs Mission:
The Peer 2 Peer University is a grassroots open education project that organizes learning outside of institutional walls and gives learners recognition for their achievements. P2PU creates a model for lifelong learning alongside traditional formal higher education. Leveraging the internet and educational materials openly available online, P2PU enables high-quality low-cost education opportunities. P2PU - learning for everyone, by everyone about almost anything.
Unlike KNEXT which seems to be fueled by for-profits P2PU seems to have a great deal of support from non-profits such as University of California Irvine, the Hewlett Foundation and the Shuttleworth Foundation along with countless volunteers.
P2PU is working on "badges" that people can take to employers that essentially say this person participated in a certain number of learning opportunities and is therefore "qualified" for employment.
(4) TED (Technology, Engineering and Design) - TED is a non-profit committed to it's tagline "Ideas Worth Spreading". The annual TED conference takes place every year in Long Beach, California and brings together some of the most creative, influential and innovative minds - for a price. TED takes the best of these and puts them online for FREE! The talks are generally 10 - 18 minutes long.
An article written in September 2010 titled: How TED Connects the Idea Hungry Elite essentially argues that TED could be the next Harvard - for FREE!
As I mentioned, I am intrigued. I have spent many evenings listening to TED talks and will now probably start checking out what MITs OpenCourseWare and iTunesU have to offer. All of this does beg the question about learning - where does it/should it happen? what kind of delivery mode best promotes learning? should people be given credit for prior life and work experience in pursuit of an education?
The argument I've read about concepts such as TED becoming the next Harvard are the lack of interaction between learner and teacher/peers and that no work is required of the person listening to TED or iTunesU.
Still, I am intrigued. At this point I see many of these as jumping of points or catalysts for greater classroom discussion. I see these as opportunities for people to truly engage in life long learning. The concept of putting a price on knowledge seems in my mind to put it out of the reach of many - programs like iTunesU, P2PU and TED seem to bring education and knowledge into the realm of reality for so many who are otherwise unable to afford it.
I really enjoyed your insights and enthusiasms in this blog, Libby. I imagine the jury will be out regarding the merits of "free" education for a long time to come, but alternatives to any traditional industry can serve to both help marginalized populations and perhaps spur mainstream organizations to consider and actually implement inspired innovations.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it is not actually free, there is a very successful competency-based (i.e. a degree program rewarding you for what you already know) higher educational program existent named the Western Governor's University (see: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/septemberoctober_2011/features/the_college_forprofits_should031640.php ). As the name implies, this for-profit receives official state encouragement from several Governors of states based in the west, but has to stand on its own in terms of financial self- sufficiency. Average tuition is about $6,000 a year (compared to some $15,600 on average for other non-profits), and bachelor degrees are earned on average in 2.5 years instead of 4 to 6+ years.
The reasons Western Governor's does so well in many respects is because the learning is self-paced, flexible, and based on what the given student already knows. Of course, the problems with this approach include the challenge of awarding credit for career-related skill competencies to a fresh high school graduate (for example) who may have actually learned & mastered zero such competencies, and providing competency-based legitimacy to a given student who has decided they would rather work in a different industry altogether.
In any case, I applaud Libby's brazen willingness to research and try out alternative educational perspectives...maybe she'll uncover the "next big thing".
Interesting post Libby! I am intrigued myself. I am a firm believer that learning happens everywhere. I learn from everyone in my life - degree or no degree. There is much we can learn from each other and these mediums you mentioned are a great way to provide learning everywhere for everyone. This could be a great way to provide universal higher education without stressing our current residential systems. These mediums provide ways for those who cannot afford or desire to learn only about a specific interest area a way to gain information and learning without the formal university.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have not used any of these mediums I believe this is a medium I will consider in expanding my learning when not in a formal classroom and share with my students as a way to provide learning using a familiar social medium.