New Charter University

I was sent an interesting article in the Chronicle of Higher Education today about a company called UniversityNow.  They are taking a different approach to education and it will be interesting to see how it develops.  Their first venture is New Charter University which has some very interesting aspects to it.  In just a few minutes I applied and had my account all ready to go.  It was no more complicated than setting up a Facebook account, and in fact I could have used my Facebook account instead of setting up a new profile.  I can take any class for free and only have to pay for it if I want the credit. All courses are self-paced and they require an initial assessment to determine if I'm ready for that class.

Obviously the lack of regional accreditation will be an issue right now for some potential students, but how long will it be before this kind of student-focused approach is the norm?

CCCApply Workshop in Santa Ana

Today I was privileged to do a presentation at the CCCApply Workshop held at Santa Ana College.  I really enjoyed my time with them and I used Prezi for the first time.  It's an alternative to PowerPoint and I've been wanting to use it for quite a while.  It was a lot of work to re-create my "Edison to Jobs" presentation but I was interested to see how the more fluid style of Prezi would work to tell a story.  As always I made a shameless plug for this blog so if you were at the session and are reading this, let me know what you thought about Prezi.  Did it help tell the story, or did it get in the way?

Higher Education Monopoly Ending?

Have you ever heard of the U.S. Leather Company?  How about American Cotton Oil?  Charles Dow created an index of the 12 leading industrial companies at the end of the 19th century and those two were on the list.  Almost none of the companies he identified exist today. 

Is higher education next in line for a disruptive innovation that will radically alter the way people learn and receive credentials?  There is a terrific article in the New Republic that I think succinctly summarizes the changes that are coming to higher education. Check it out.

Khan Academy

60 Minutes did a great story this week on the Khan Academy.  If you want to see the future of education, watch this video:

CMC3 South Conference

Yesterday I had the great privilege to speak at the CMC3 South Conference which is a group of CA community college math professors in southern California.  It was a great group, but I was very disappointed that they all looked so normal.  I told them that I was expecting the day would be like an extended episode of The Big Bang Theory!

I talked about the decentralizing trend of technology and the very real threat our current system of higher education is facing.  I encouraged them to make a difference in their students' lives because the one area we will never be able to automate is the magical connection that can occur between a teacher and a student.  I had some great conversations afterward and really enjoyed my time with them.