J-OMDE+606

=OMDE 606 Costs and Economics of Distance Education Fall 2009 =

I Have Major Posts Listed Here on Topics From The OMDE 606 Class
Towards Self-Directed Learners Author: Stuart AdamsCreated: 11/18/2009

As a further understanding of the learning process, etc.I am now recognizing that the vision of a self-directed learner IS a key goal of education.The question is "at what pace and at what levels should we expect students to gain control of their learning rather than being dependant.An elementary student who is learning to read and write and work with numbers is wholly dependant.That's the basis for my disdain for Montessori-style elementary schools.By the end of high school, the tools and skills of self-directed learning should begin to be taught and required.

The beginning of post-secondary school represents a bit of a point of divergence.If the student goes into a vocationally-oriented program or path, the need is for very content-oriented "teach me what I need to know" type of program.If the student enters a more academically-oriented path, the student must go from a foundations-focused period in the first 2-3 semesters to a more autonomous learning mode.By the Masters level, the student must really take control of his/her learning.

The approach to life-long learners likely should take parallel paths as well. Some returning learners are interested in expanding or adding skills and understanding for purely economic reasons. Perhaps advancement depends on increasing skills. Or the learner may have had 'the shop close down,' having been laid off from his/her work. This student needs a cost-effective 'shortest route' solution to his/her educational needs. Here the education will tend to be content/objectivist oriented.On the other hand, a life-long learner may have decided to enter what is, again, a more academically oriented path.In this case, a more constructivist, autonomous learner model is appropriate.

I come to this perspective within the context of the 'visioning' discussion with Professor Tony Bates.

Economic Analysis & K-12 Author: Stuart AdamsCreated: 9/21/2009 Isthere economic analysis appropriate to implementing DE in the public primary/secondary (K-12) realm?It seems that the analysis would focus on efficiency considerations.The 'access' issue should not matter in a public school setting. Why did "expanding the system led to lock-step escalating costs"?Coombs points to this; does he explain why he thinksthe lack of a "hierarchy of functions and responsibilities" prevents teachers from implementing approaches that would make their work easier of more effective.(Coombs 1985: 147) A ditch-digger would put down his/her shovel and try using a backhoe if he/she had the choice. Why didn't the cost per student decline when implementing the "most industrialized form of education"? There should have been economies of scale. Does the fact that teaching has no "corresponding financial rewards based on each individual's demonstrated level of professional competence"? And what would be a reasonable way to demonstrate professional competence? Coombs, P. H. (1985). The world crisis in education: the view from the eighties. New York Oxford: Oxford University Press.From Huelsmann, T.

Commentary on Prof Rumble's post Author: Stuart AdamsCreated: 9/21/2009 The book that you discuss sounds interesting and provocative. I'm persuaded that correlation between income disparities and well-being is strong.But, recognizing that correlation doesn't prove causality, I am inclined to wonder if there isn't a third factor that drives both phenomena. The Anglo-American preferences for individuality and a wide range of choice (in employment,roles, life-styles, relationships, etc.)can lead to a high level of personal stress.It is these same cultural preferences that allow as well as facilitate higher income disparities.Perhaps this explains the authors' findings. The outlier in this is Portugal.I have no idea what cultural drivers are at work there. Still, a correlation well worth pondering. BTW, the quote 'greed is good' is from the fictional character Gordon Gecko in Tom Wolfe's The Bonfire of the Vanities. Gecko was not a sympathetic character. Correction: Gordon Gecko was a character iin the 1987 film Wall Street