Higher Ed is still playing catch-up – will it ever be on par?
In the article I link to below, Diana G Oblinger, the President of EDUCAUSE offers the Higher Ed community some insights such as this one: we’ve moved on from the Information Age and are now in the Connected Age. Such a statement will come as quite a shock for many Higher Education Institutions and policy makers in Governments around the world. In the article, Diana highlights the areas in which the educational setting is widely connected – learners, faculty, institutions and to that extent, I think the article is right on the money. But here’s the scary thing – if this is news to many in HigherEd (and alas it is for far TOO many) then not only are they playing catch-up, they’re already going to be missing the ALREADY EMERGING step that is BEYOND ‘Connected’
And that step is ‘Context’.
Being connected is becoming increasingly irrelevant. There’s reams of data available to almost anyone who wants it, extending (though not wholly) to almost every part of the globe. Data is said to be ‘everywhere’. We carry devices that can connect us ‘anywhere’ – we can access whomever and whatever pretty well 24 hours a day, 7 days a week consistently around the world.
Beyond Connected is Context. We are already seeing user groups ask about data and being connected in CONTEXT to their personal situations, to what they are witnessing, to what they are doing, to what they need THERE and THEN. The emerging skill set is around ‘what does this mean?’ and ‘how can this be useful?’ or ‘dangerous?’ or ‘important to share?’
If Higher Education Institutions focus on ‘Connected’ they’re already missing the point. That boat has sailed. What they need to do, ought to do, must do in my opinion, is shift focus to Context – ‘in what way can what we do be relevant and useful to the immediate contextual needs of the individual?’ That is the thinking behind MOOCs that started some five or so years ago with the likes of Stephen Downes – long before other well know institutions discovered them.
From Connected to Contextual. Can HgherEd make the leap? Here’s the EDUCAUSE Article on ‘Connected’
In around a week’s time there’ll be a version 2 of a Trump Presidency in the United States. One thing I’d expect to see is a much less bridled Trump presidency. The first time around a number of long standing and experienced people were around to temper and guide some of the thinking. This time…
Read More >Looking Up Feeling Good are delighted with our involvement with Steel Chicks and this session with Dr Kim Hazendonk was another great example of bringing immediately useful insights to the attendees. Dr Hazendonk spoke about ways to use your brain more effectively, how to overcome the distractions both in the workplace and beyond – brilliant…
Read More >Or so it may seem. This quarter has seen me interstate facilitating some strategic planning workshops; overseas working with an established Government client, working with CGD, SELLEN, and Hilton Manufacturing among others here in Oz, a couple of weeks holiday down in Tasmania, and also the occasional radio interview looking at the ‘Future of…’. And…
Read More >Some thoughts flowing from my session discussing challenges in Futures Consulting posted by James Balzer: I’d explained to the group that what I do is engage employees in thinking about their own and their organisation’s future potential. My strong view over twenty years of work in this space is that employee engagement is DIRECTLY driven…
Read More >Tomorrow morning (Friday the 12th) I’ll be joining Elizabeth Kulas on Disrupt Radio discussing the Future Of Workplaces. There’ll be a particular focus on why most organisations choose to struggle because they rely on outdated models of employee management. A 7.15am kick-off where, in about 7 minutes or so, I’ll try to distill 20 years…
Read More >It’s extremely rare that I post to a specific article and say ‘go read this’, which is what I’m doing today. This article on goal directed intelligence at a micro level is a challenge to read. And I do recommend you read it because it pushes forward our understanding of how our biology and arguably…
Read More >If you followed my numerous posts over the years you know I like jumping in early on new products or services – not all have been successful, especially on Kickstarter and Indiegogo, but you roll the dice sometimes and see what happens. Over the years Looking Up Feeling Good was an early community investor in…
Read More >In the 1760s Josiah Wedgwood changed forever the nature of workplaces. He expanded his pottery business and constructed a new large scale factory that required two critical elements: a) Systemisation of processes to ensure consistent high-quality outcomes b) Skilled workers on site The systemisation required experimentation, observation, trials, failures and recording of data – what…
Read More >We’re delighted to announce that Neuro-Psychologist Dr. Kim Hazendonk of Positive Brain has accepted our offer to join our elite speaker’s group. We’re looking forward to bringing her to more groups across Australasia as she discusses effective workplaces, positive mind management, and managing busy lives. If you have a need for an engaging and passionate…
Read More >I flag my bias towards the need for a vastly improved approach to managing staff in the work environments. V A S T L Y improved. I’m still surprised at how clunky, disorganised or naive some senior managers are when it comes to that part of the business that considers ‘people’. And rather than cover…
Read More >