Future of Learning Top Reads for week of May 25 2020
If you missed yesterday’s post, “What Do We Teach Our Kids When We Stay Silent?” please start there.
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“Don’t Play Russian Roulette With Student Lives: Colleges Should Be Online In The Fall,” by Lucie Lapovsky, in Forbes
“As the pandemic rages on, some institutions will not survive. While some may hope that the Federal government will step in and help, in the end, each administrator has to look in the mirror and ask: ‘if I open the campus in the fall, am I doing it because it’s the best thing for the students and society as a whole, or am I doing it because the institution and its teaching modalities must not be interfered with, even for a semester or a year?’ I opt for letting go of the old, keeping the campus closed and deploying resources toward an improved online experience that maintains health and safety. Or as Michael Sorrell, President of Paul Quinn College said, ‘The damage caused by a contagion on a campus is far greater than the damage caused by virtual teaching. The range of choices colleges have lies, regrettably, between bad and horrific.’ It is not worth playing Russian Roulette with the lives of our college communities.”
Why does this matter to the future of learning?
My only quibble with this article is the title: it should really be “Don’t Play Russian Roulette With Lives,” given that adults are also at risk.
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“How the pandemic is sending universities back to school,” by Simon Kuper, in the Financial Times
“Blended teaching could help more students enter higher education, argues Chris Stone of Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government. He proposes a model in which some students spend a month on campus, then months studying from home, before returning to campus for the final weeks. That would allow universities to teach multiple cohorts a year, cutting tuition costs.
“Stone believes this model could give students all seven elements of university education: knowledge (what is quantum physics?), skills (doing a case study at business school), content, a credential, networks (with fellow students, faculty or alumni), an institutional affiliation (‘I’m a Duke alum’) and, in some cases, entry into elite society (‘my college roommate is a senator’).”
Why does this matter to the future of learning?
The global, extended experiment with virtual learning means that the “container” for education has been permanently reshaped. If hybrid is part of the Next Normal, then how might we find the hidden opportunities?
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“School Challenges,” by John Faig, on LinkedIn
“Schools face a number of challenges when they open in the fall. I thought it would be helpful to provide a list of I've been thinking about lately:
How much learning can be accomplished in a hybrid environment?
What lessons must be taught on-campus?
What is the relative time required for students to learn the same concept via an on-campus and off-campus learning environment?
How will existing pedagogies be modified or replaced to better support distance learning?”
Why does this matter to the future of learning?
If you’re looking to jump start your questionstorming about what re-opening school will look like, Faig’s post include 16 more questions in addition to the 4 above.
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