Disruptive Technology UNB

A balanced search for a sustainable MOOC business model: "The reality is that online solutions are still underused by higher education, but we are left to wait for genuine innovation that is capable to provide alternatives in line with academic rigour, quality assurance and student needs in higher education. Students cannot be engaged by simple conversions of boring lectures into online videos that are even more boring, affected by clunky and poorly designed technological solutions and rigid platforms for discussions and 'forums'."

That's just it: the fundamental problem with disruptive technologies is that leaders often ignore or disregard them at their peril and that of the institutions they lead.

Some of the hot topics debated within Educause.

Special Issue on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) edited by George Siemens

Really interesting perspective - faculty who want to reach the world. 15,000 students completed one of the MOOC's. That is pretty incredible.

Archive of a 2012 MOOC created by George Siemens in D2L about changes being faced in higher education. Use the "Content Browser" (lower left) to scan each week's topics.

"… potential driving research questions to position a MOOC initiative on our campus [i.e. UWM]. One of those was "Can MOOCs be offered within D2L to introduce and orient potential students to our online programs?"

"… students ... are concerned with getting the courses they need in the formats that fit their lifestyles … . The Sloan Foundation has dubbed this concept "localness," meaning that student access to education is always local to them, even if they do so through online learning.

"Ebooks are a sustaining technology that are being mismanaged into devaluing an entire industry (that mismanagement is a subject worthy of a series blog posts) while the true disruptors get to work in peace. (In the long run, Google is the real winner here.)"

5 minute video

George Siemens slide show

Very thought provoking, in a good way. Interesting that he cited two Maritimers, Stephen Downes of Moncton and Dave Cormier of UPEI.

Very thought provoking, in a good way. Interesting that he cited two Maritimers, Stephen Downes of Moncton and Dave Cormier of UPEI.

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