The past week has been a week of learning and sharing. I am not sure where to start with this post as so much has happened. Although I only spent two days in the office, I think I am starting to make some progress with my projects, as I have produced some draft documents for comment, a social media strategy and a scoping paper for my project brief.
This morning I have learnt a new acronym: ‘MOOC’ – Massvie Open Online Courses. In previous blogs I have explored some of the free educational offerings online, particularly from the US. I found this article by Andrew McGettigan in The Guardian exploring this growing phenomenon. The article, titled Q. Will ‘Moocs’ be the scourge or saviour or higher education?, which underlines both the opportunities and the challenges of this growing educational format.
Another article by Claire Shaw focuses on the United Kingdom’s increasing investment in Moocs. FutureLearn is UK’s chance to ‘fight back’, says OU vice-chancellor
Nancy Groves provides a detailed discussion about online education in Online learning: pedagogy, technology and opening up higher education She rightly asserts that online education is not a new concept and states that:
Of course, the provision of off-campus higher education is not a recent development. The Open University has championed open and distance learning since 1969 – from its original correspondence courses and late-night TV broadcasts to the latest research and development conducted by its Institute of Educational Technology.
Returning to Gettigan’s article, a number of questions are put forward regarding the returns of investment for universities:
With no clear business models in place – and a reliance at this stage on volunteer labour – it is not clear how the returns on investment will materialise. Will Moocs be a new form of social media? Marketing tasters for established, paying courses? An alternative form of continuing education or outreach? An alternative to textbooks or course materials?
I must admit I wonder how universities can make money out of MOOCs. As a consumer I think it is great that I can study online for free, even getting a piece of paper for my efforts. As a long standing sessional (casual) academic I am concerned. Over the years, I have seen less and less opportunities for employment, particularly to transition to more permanent arrangements. I have also witnessed an erosion of working conditions for tenured and causal academic staff, which was a key motivator for me to jump from academia into government.
It is worth monitoring where MOOCs will go in the next few years and the impact on tertiary institutions. If people can access quality education for cheap or free then that is fantastic. If academics are working even longer for less remuneration then there is good reason to be concerned.
This weekend I am heading to Shepparton to participate in a six week secondment through work, brokered through Jawun (www.jawun.org).
I am really excited and humbled by the opportunity that my work has given me to participate and work with Aboriginal people and organisations in Shepparton. I will be seconded to the Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation, helping them to scope an Intranet (internal communications solution) and to develop a social media engagement strategy.
While on my way back from New York, for some odd reason I started playing around with Foursquare and plotting my check-in data using a handful of apps. Very quickly I realized two things: the amount of time I spend in airplanes has doubled every year since 2009, and when I am in San Francisco, I lead a very predictable life and go to only a handful of places -- a lot.
Just saw this great workshop as part of ISEA2013. So disappointed that I won’t be able to participate.
If you are interested in the connected themes of art, education, technology and sustainability, try to get to this event.
I can vouch for the great energy and ideas of Nina Czegledy, Ian Clothier and Nigel Helyer and the other workshop leaders look fantastic too.
Here’s the blurb:
ISEA 2013: THE ROLE OF ART EDUCATION IN AN AGE OF ECOLOGICAL CRISIS AND THE GLOBALISATION OF KNOWLEDGE
A workshop presented by ISEA2013 with Leonardo Education & Arts Forum (LEAF) in collaboration with ISEA2013 Education Workshop and in partnership with the MCA and the National Institute for Experimental Arts (NIEA) at COFA, UNSW.
Location: Creative Studios, the NCCL (National Centre for Creative Learning), Level 3
Museum of Contemporary Art
140 George St Sydney, NSW.
Date: 14 Jun Friday.
Time: 2-5pm
What is the role of art education in an age of ecological crisis and the globalisation of knowledge? This workshop positions transdisciplinary approach as the key to sustainable, meaningful solutions. It will address the development of an art and science cloud curriculum, based on cross-disciplinary initiatives in North America and Europe in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM) and Science, Engineering Art and Design education (SEAD).
About Leonardo Education & Arts Forum (LEAF)
The Leonardo Education and Art Forum (LEAF) promotes the advancement of artistic research and academic scholarship at the intersections of art, science, and technology.
Workshop Structure:
1. Presentation by workshop leaders and theme moderators – 1 hour
2. Breakout discussions – 3 groups – 1 hour
The role of the art institution in developing sustainable cloud curriculum that address the STEAM/SEAD vision (globalisation of education).
The shift needed to take place in art education in order to explore the new realities of evolving reorganisation of practice, research and knowledge.
Current thinking on the role of education in the age of ecological crisis, and sustainability of art and science’s mobilisation of collective group learning methodologies.
3. Summary of groups and general discussion – 1 hour
Workshop Leaders:
Nina Czegledy
Paul Thomas
Theme Moderators:
Jane Prophet
Mike Philips
Andrea Polli
Ian Clothier
Nigel Helyer
Joanna Hoffmann
LEAF, a working group of Leonardo ® /ISAST
Dorkbot CBR is very happy to announce the program for 2013 - Taranaki Tales.
This year will focus on a series of Skype conversations with artists who participated in the SCANZ2013 3rd Nature residency, symposium and exhibition, which was located at New Plymouth, in the Taranaki region of New Zealand.
The overarching theme of SCANZ2013 3rd Nature was 'integrated systems' and focused on three key intersecting topics:
Thanks peeps from INC!
Hope the Unlike Us conference went well 
