Hacking Education

The term "hacking" has a sorted history in that it often referred to the actions of people who were technologically astute but often had criminal motives when it came to computer systems that were not their own. However, in 21st century slang in the computer world, the term has taken on a new and more interesting meaning. This new meaning basically states that "hacking" refers to a procedure or a way of doing something that:

• Demonstrates cleverness or ingenuity
• Solves a meaningful problem
• Is not a common or well known solution to the problem
• May not be the most straightforward or appropriate solution

MIT hacker, Phil Agre states that:

"In fact, hack has only one meaning, an extremely subtle and profound one which defies articulation. Which connotation is implied by a given use of the word depends in similarly profound ways on the context."

So, if we apply the above definition to bringing about change in the monolithic institution of education, rather than being a negative thing, hacking education is exactly what needs to happen. As Phil Agre points out, in order for this to happen in an effective manner, we have to ask the following question:

" In what context do we hack education?"

"How can we apply change to education that demonstrates cleverness or ingenuity, solves meaningful problems, that involves uncommon or should we say creative and innovative solutions to problems and that mentors students in the attitude that the most straightforward or seemingly appropriate solution may not be in the end the solution that yields the greatest possibilities for further development?"

Hacking Curriculum Organization

The compartmentalization  or silo organization of subjects has trained students in the mindset that the knowledge of the disciplines are completely separate and not interdependent for the advancement of knowledge. Educators have tried to overcome the mindset in ways that show the importance of other subjects to the furtherance of knowledge in their discipline by presenting students with the problems that involve the need of the knowledge of other disciplines but still receive the same type of question from students regularly:

"Why do I have to do Math when this subject is History or why do I have to know Science to do this problem when the subject is English?" 

For students, they do not see the reality of the interdependence of knowledge to solve problems because the silo organization of knowledge is what they base their reality on. As long as we maintain this type of silo organization of curriculum, students' ability to solve real world complex problems, an important skillset that in the 21st century they need to master in order to become effective agents of change, will elude us.

Therefore, if we want to hack the curriculum in order to bring about change what ideas must be brought forward that:

 

• Demonstrates cleverness or ingenuity?
• Solves a meaningful problem?
• Is not a common or well known solution to the problem?
• May not be the most straightforward or appropriate solution?

There are good signs both in the university communities and in some education organizations globally that the need to move away from the silo concept of education to one that recognizes the cross disciplinary nature of knowledge is happening. Unfortunately, it is happening only in one grouping of disciplines that being the Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Maths. The writing of S.TE.M. curriculum is an important step and the proposal of extending STEM to include the Arts is an even better step forward but if it remains within a "silo-based system" without a configuration change, it will be only "band-aid" solutions that neglects a larger problem. There are still other disciplines which should recognize that they have complementary traits with each other and need to seek cross curricular harmonization.

In this "hack" of curriculum, solving a meaningful problem means that applications within a curriculum that are superficially, contrived problems that don't go beyond the classroom are out and the identification of complex real world problems that emphasizes meaningful collaboration among the students as well as with stakeholders outside the school are in. This means that the role of the educator takes on a new dimension which replaces roles that are no longer in sync with the needs of 21st century society. This means a renewed emphasis on and real world application of critical thinking skills.

One thing to understand clearly is that hacking education will lead to a cascading effect of changes that will bring learning and teaching in sync with the real needs of 21st century society and the creative and innovative skillsets that need to be nurtured in learners will finally be able to overcome the penchant drive of the "command and control" mindset that is entrenched in education.
Hacking the curriculum has implications for the way that we design irresistibly engaging learning experiences and also how we assess learning in the desired context of life long-learning.

Next --Hacking Teaching in Brick and Mortar Schools and E-Learning

The Spectre of Social Engineering in E-Learning: Part II--Curriculum and Trojan Horses

Making sure that educators teach learners how to think and not what to think is important in the "brick and mortar" school but it is even more important in E-Learning because of the power of social media and the reach of the web, it is very easy for learners to be manipulated into one way of thinking about things. One interesting detail concerning this is that this is counter-productive because it in fact stifles innovative thinking and open collaboration.

Area of Concern #2: Curriculum Initiatives or Trojan Horses?

  

According to the story of the fall of the ancient city of Troy taken from Virgil's epic poem called "The Aeneid", the covert strategy employed by the Greeks was for the Greeks to present the Trojans with a gift of submission that looked intriguing enough to raise their curiosity. As the story goes, the  hollow Trojan Horse was brought within the city gates as a prize of victory over the Greeks but what they didn't know of  was the 9 Greek warriors who were hiding inside waiting to strike. The rest is history.

Credit: PBS

 Many curriculum initiatives that have been adopted by the education sector in many countries looked good on the outside but critical thinking on the part of stake holders in education was absent. Important questions that needed to be asked were not asked of these curriculum initiatives. Some of the important questions that should have been asked were:

• Who is driving this change?
• Do the motives that they claim in public for the change match up with what they have said in the past? Do they represent one facet of society and its interests or do they represent all people regardless of their socioeconomic status and political affiliations?
• Who stands to gain from its adoption and who loses out?
• What research is it based on and has the research been vetted by a cross section of stakeholders in education rather than one specialized group?
• Who funded the research, the public test trials and if funded by private corporations, what are their goals and mission as a business organization?

In 2016, there are a number of controversial curriculum change initiatives in North America that need to be looked at in terms of the questions above. In Ontario, Canada, two such initiatives deal with: sex education curriculum changes in the Elementary level and Discovery Math. In the United States, the Common Core curriculum and the No Child left Behind initiatives are two in which a divide has formed. If you apply even some of the questions above to these initiatives some interesting patterns take shape. The education "closet" is full of education initiatives that failed the people but enriched the people pushing the initiatives in many ways.

What Do These Social Engineering Exploits Look Like?

 Obviously, if we feel that the education of young people is being used to manipulate their thinking and discourages critical thought on their part, then we need to know what to look for and more importantly we need to educate them to recognize these techniques of persuasion and counter them. Here are some warnings or red flags that learners should be engaged to watch out for and challenge:

1. Use of Emotional Trigger Words: In our societies, words have impact on the behaviour of others. With the use of social media, a whole new level or dimension is added to communication between people. However, one of the social engineering techniques designed to dismiss another person's point of view and discourage open and honest debate is to use emotional trigger words that essentially says that the speaker does not need to hear any arguments that might provide evidence to get them to think about their point of view. All they have to do is use the trigger word and debate is shut down. Trigger words in education that have been used uncritically and frequently erroneously are words such as: bullying, misogynist, racist, and a variety of terms based on the concept of the psychological term "phobia". It is not the fact that people who exhibit what these terms describe do exist. They most certainly do! What is contended is the validity with which they are used and the fact that rather than provide compelling, verifiable evidence to support a point of view, the label is thrown out at the opposing individual in order to silence and censor healthy debate on the issue.
2. Manipulation Through Selection Bias: When learners are presented with information to read in regards to an issue, is there an equitable balance of information supporting both sides of the issue or is it skewed towards one side only? If it is skewed to only one side only then it becomes quite apparent that an attempt is being made to uncritically accept one point of view on an issue BUT this may not be apparent to the learner unless he or she has had guided  opportunities to identify it for what it is. This type of manipulation through selection bias can even give the appearance of being legitimate by presenting and exaggerating the claims of information on the opposing side to make this point of view seem absurd when compared to the manipulator's point of view.
3. Lying With Statistics: Statistics when presented in a powerful way can cause the learner to have an emotional response which leads to action. However, statistics can also be used to lie to the learner. Very often statistics are used to imply cause and effect relationships when in reality the relationship is correlational in nature. As a simple example, if you see a dramatic ad on television that shows someone in a white lab coat and a stethoscope around his or her neck  telling you: "9 out of 10 doctors choose Anacin for fast pain relief!" A learner might be convinced that this medication must be the best since 9 out 10 doctors choose it. There is much that is left up to the learner to assume that may not be a valid assumption at all about this ad.

Credit: www.jeffweintraub.blogspot.com

 Social Engineering and E-Learning

When it comes to E-Learning, we are faced with a much higher potential for social engineering to be used to manipulate what people should learn and think. The problems that arise are largely due to the nature of the Internet and the World Wide Web. The Internet has some of these characteristics:

• The Internet is open to anyone who has a computer and access to an online service. This means that regardless of whether a person has expertise in a particular field or not, if they feel strongly enough about an issue, they can publish what may look like compelling and knowledgeable arguments in support of one side when in fact there is no valid foundation for what they are saying. They can use multimedia to make what they publish look official and flashy but the whole thing could be a mirage of falsehoods causing people to make decisions that are premature or faulty.
• Due to the fact of the global reach of the Internet and the fact that every day millions of people are on the web, something can be published, then tweeted, re-tweeted and shared on Facebook that could be a serious collection of misinformation. What you have is the "telephone game" except on a global scale.
• If we use E-Learning, then because of this environment, there is a repertoire  of new skillsets that learners must be mentored on that revolve around how we learn how to learn in an online environment. Critical thinking skills take on a whole new priority when working in an online environment where bodily "tells" indicating an attempt to manipulate are not visible except perhaps in Skype or Google Hangout sessions. Even then, such tells could be explained away as transmission anomalies. 

Most educators would say that we address this type of manipulation with our classes BUT the question that needs to be asked is:

"Are you as an educator aware of your own biases and how they can be implied to learners in the way that you present ideas and in instruction? Do you separate your personal biases out of what you teach and proceed in an objective and equitable manner?"

For example, if you are for freely available abortion, are you able to with integrity in place to objectively select strong argumentation for both sides and mentor students on how to objectively using critical thinking tools, evaluate and draw conclusions for both sides of the issue?

 E-Learning is becoming a center stage means for life long learning but it is not without its pitfalls. Most of the pitfalls are more about human nature than the technology that is used. Educators and trainers in the learning culture of business organizations need to take the time to educate learners how to learn in a new environment such as the online world. It is one of  the "basics" that needs to be a priority if we want to have learning that enriches the quality of life for all people.

The Spectre of Social Engineering in E-Learning: Part I--The Problem

When we hear the term "social engineering", we will often think about the type of criminal behaviour demonstrated by "hackers" and "crackers" to obtain information illegally from a computer system often belonging to a company. A "hacker", by the way, is a person who breaks into other computers out of curiosity and usually not with a malicious intent whereas a "cracker" breaks in to computers either to profit by it, to destroy the reputations of others or to create a cyber terrorist attack for the purpose of maximum damage to the greatest number of people.

Credit: www.stayuptodatewithus.blogspot.com

The process of social engineering to covertly obtain marketable data usually involves the exploitation of the weakest link in the company chain of personnel.

Credit: www.washingtonpost.com

We often think of such legendary "crackers" as Kevin D. Mitnick who made a habit of breaking into presumably secure computing networks and taking valuable intelligence from government computers. The recent revelations in regards to "Wikileaks" and the political fallout that occurred has made such exploits on human vulnerabilities front page news and front and center in the public conscience.

However, we need to ask this question:

"What if a more insidious form of social engineering was being designed and used on our most vulnerable every day and yet these most vulnerable people were the key to how our future takes shape? What if it was our children and the context of the social engineering exploits was their schooling?"

I am not a fan of outlandish conspiracy theories but I have been an observer of education on many levels, first in the "brick and mortar schools" and now in the world of E-Learning. When you can step back and view what is happening in education on multiple levels and then look at the state of our societies, it would be quite naive not to believe that what has been happening in education has not had the effect of changing the fabric of our societies and especially in regards to the way in which life is conducted by people in relation to other people. Education has become a maze that has many serious dead-ends with consequences.

Credit: www.saveourschoolsnz.com

Area of Concern #1: Teaching Learners What to Think Vs. How To Think?

If we think about how the definition for social engineering might be interpreted within the context of education, there is reason to be alarmed of the reality it presents. This reality has been with us for many decades and as stakeholders in education, we have surrendered our vigilance and our willingness to be astute critical thinkers to the large cabal of expertise made up of educrats, administrators and power brokers at high levels of governments. As we carry on our day to day lives, we essentially say to these groups that we are relying on their integrity to educate our most vulnerable citizens in ways that will enable them to be effective agents of change dedicated to the enrichment of the quality of life for all people.

Then, we stop, step back and look carefully at our societies to see the fruit of that trust.

We really have to ask those people whether they truly want and are working towards educating learners to be effective critical thinkers in our societies or are they working towards shaping learners to become citizens who do not take the time to learn, to think, to weigh evidence on all sides of issues and are citizens who can be socially engineered to meet goals which are not their own.

" Do governments really want critical thinkers for citizens who can look at issues, weigh evidence, question candidates in intelligent, well thought out, ways and then make a thoughtful ballot cast or do they want citizens who are too busy in trying to raise their families have a decent life to really care about thoughtful voting?"

The type of learners I want to see in our societies are those who:

• see the importance of looking beyond the hype, spectacular multimedia presentations, emotional trigger words and rhetoric and ask what are all the sides to the issues being presented, what is the legitimate, verifiable evidence that supports the sides of the issue and when and if I choose, will my choice honestly represent my concern for improving the quality of life for all people and not just loud, special interest groups in my society.
• will not allow the censorship of open and free debate on issues that affect the lives of all people.
• will work to develop effective critical thinking skills and problem solving skills and as citizens, denounce attempts by special interest groups to silence free and open debate on issues that affect us all.

As citizens, in which ever society we are part of, how we educate our most vulnerable should reflect what Cicero said so long ago:

"Salus populi suprema lex esto"

Translated it means: "The Good of the people should be the supreme law." Do you see this reflected in your own society or do you see something else at work leading to a growing cynicism and a paralysis of the will?

There are many ways to influence people into thinking the way another person wants people to think and our learners need to be aware of all these techniques and use them as a database to critically evaluate how they are being used in important life events such as elections which have serious effects on how the future unfolds or in some cases, unravels to our despair. This skill is one of the new "basic skills" in our societies that needs to be mastered because to not do so will have a profound on how we are able to live our lives in the future. With respect to E-Learning, which I will go into more detail on in Part II, this skill is absolutely a first level, must have skill for all learners.

Credit: www.pinterest.com

Even statements as the above that seem to appeal to a life principle, needs to examined using effective critical thinking skills.

Next.... Part II: Essential Curriculum or Trojan Horses?

Transformation: "So, You Want to Be a 21st Century E-Learning Teacher?" : Part II

In the previous post, I mentioned that there are three essential ingredients that should not change in education and especially in E-Learning education which are:

1. Reason for entering the profession of teaching is driven by the desire to make a positive difference in the life of the learner.
2. Building a relationship of trust and respect between learner and educator which in today's moral climate is a "counter-cultural" thing to do and yet is vital to healing our societies.
3. Emphasis on the idea of the educator being a co-learner with his or her students in an environment where pursuing life long learning is no longer just a phrase in mission statements of education institutions but has become a survival imperative in a world where knowledge and technology are advancing exponentially.

Things That Must and Are Changing

The Model and Purpose of Education:  I wish that I had a dollar for every time that I have mentioned this in posts and in responses to articles. Simply put: 

"We need to stop educating learners to take their place in a world that no longer exists."

In the past, learners were educated to become efficient workers for industry and life long consumers of products being mass produced. We still see the consequences of this consumer focused mindset in the 21st century where people are told that they must have the latest and the best whether they need the item or not. We need to stop making life-changing decisions based on nostalgia.

 

 

  

 In developed countries consumer debt load has been on a steady rise to points where the next generation are already deep in debt when they are born. To make matters worse, our education institutions place such a heavy burden on the very people who could make a difference in the world by forcing them to focus more on the basics of life instead of enabling them to focus on being the creators of a better quality of life for all people in society.

 



The distribution of wealth on a global scale creates a great divide in which the majority of people in poorer countries become vulnerable to abject poverty, illness, unemployment, civil war and the growth of terrorism.

It really does not take a great visionary to see where this present scenario is leading our societies if we continue to support an industrial economy mindset in which a few achieve lavish lifestyles on the backs of a majority of people in society. Our societies are now facing the backlash of people who can no longer ensure the health and safety of their families and loved ones. We see people who are angry with the disintegration of their quality of life while others in powerful places in government serve themselves first but to the majority they metaphorically speaking say, "Let them eat cake:)".

A new paradigm for the purpose for education needs to be put in place to change the tide for people who feel that they have been robbed of a future for themselves and their families.

The new model and purpose of education should now focus on educating learners to become agents of change within their societies who will use the technology to collaborate with others on a global scale to help solve complex real world problems which the past model and purpose of education failed to resolve. These new learners will also become creators of new knowledge and skillsets with a focus on cross disciplinary collaboration with the purpose of improving the quality of life for all people.

 


Strategic Systems Thinking and Design: The structure of learning experiences will take advantage of new opportunities presented by access to cross disciplinary networks on the web which will reform and re-shape pedagogy so that the new pedagogy is agile, dynamic and fluid. Unlike in the past, creativity and innovation will be nurtured and encouraged through the learning experiences of the learners. Design thinking involving real world simulations and scenarios will not remain as a contrived classroom exercises but will involve using the professional networks on the web as an audience for the innovative real world ideas of the learners.
Learners will receive real world feedback from those who are on the cutting edge of their disciplines. This will provide greater engagement on the part of the learners as well as allowing them to be part of a global learning community.

  

Mentoring Networks: One of the necessary changes to E-Learning is the needed development of global online professional mentoring networks. As was pointed out in discussing learning for the business organization, life long learning has to be more than a nice phrase used in the organizational mission to impress stakeholders. In a knowledge and learning age, developing effective mentoring relationships is an essential. The learning process in an online environment must have as its first mission to teach critical thinking skills to learners when confronted with exponentially growing amounts of information. Not all information is bona fide knowledge on the web and learners need to be able to know how to authenticate what they find. To support the process of learning how to learn in an online environment, developing a mentoring relationship with professional mentoring networks is an essential. The goals of these mentoring networks would be:

1. Provide an audience for the innovative and creative ideas of the learner.
2. Provide personal encouragement of the learner in order for him or her to continue to grow in their learning.
3. Provide up to date opportunities to collaborate with other learners on global projects.

The elephant in the room in all of this talk about change is the question:

" How will the role of the educator change in order to meet the challenge of these changes?" 

Look for the answer to this question in an upcoming post titled:

 "The Dawn of AI(Artificial Intelligence) and the Transformation of the Role of the Educator"

Transformation: "So, You Want to Be a 21st Century E-Learning Teacher?":Part I

As we move more and more into the evolution of E-Learning as a means of educating learners both in the corporate and formal education worlds, people who are already educators or trainers need to do some personal introspection dealing with questions such as:

1. "What do I have to do to make the transformation from the brick and mortar school  or business organization where most of my experience and training has been to the entirely new environment of the online world?"
2.  "Do the skillsets that I have developed in the brick and mortar school system or business culture still apply in the online environment?"
3.  "What will I have to sacrifice in order to adapt and be successful in this new environment?"

These questions are all quite valid and important to resolve before under going the transformation. The reality that many brick and mortar classroom teachers and traditional trainers may have to face is that they might not be able to adapt to the demands of the online world of education even though they may have been excellent in their previous capacities as educators and trainers. Not all educators and trainers can manage change at the level that may be required in an online environment. If dealing with new technology comes intuitively to you then you see ways of harnessing technology to effective online pedagogy and can move "flexibly" in the online world . The opposite end of the spectrum has individuals who feel threatened by technology and as a result build personal defenses to help resist it. They are individuals who are quite happy to maintain the status quo regardless of whether or not learners are in sync with the digital world they live in. It is in these circumstances that we see the rise of disconnect of learners from their education.

What Things Stay the Same?

Reason for Entering the Profession of Teaching: If you ask most educators why they entered education, most would respond that they wanted to make a positive difference in the lives of learners. They would also say that they truly love young people with all of the different stages of life that they go through and how they cherish the moments when a young person finally understands something that they have been struggling with. The reward for the educator is to see the learner's face light up as they have that "Eureka" moment. As an educator, you are willing to do almost anything to help a young learner succeed. All of the above should remain the same in the transformation from the one world to another.

Building a Relationship of Trust and Respect: The relationship between the educator and learner must be one of mutual trust and respect. In the moral climate of today's world, building this type of relationship has sadly become a "counter-cultural" thing to do. The simple truth is that in this world, there is enough hypocrisy to go around from the leaders of our nations down to the simple man or woman on the street. In the brick and mortar classroom when you are face to face with the learners, you can pick up emotional clues from the learners which gives you an indication of the state of your relationship. In the online or virtual education world, these clues take the form of abbreviations and emoticons.

"In order to make a difference in a young person's life, you have to be that one difference that stands out when they look at their world and their life!"

Partners in Life Long Learning: For centuries, regardless of which culture you focus on, the educator has always been that "sage on the stage" and the fountain of all knowledge in the relationship between the learner and educator. It was considered true arrogance for a student to presume that they possessed the necessary knowledge to correct their teacher. It was also perceived by the student that the teacher now knew everything and that the teacher didn't need to learn. During the 1990's with the introduction of the Internet to the main stream, access to knowledge became more widely available and the amount of information, thanks to advancing technology, grew exponentially. All of a sudden, the sage on the stage and the fountain of all knowledge became an anachronism and more importantly, the learners knew it too. The transformation that the educator had to make was from overseer of knowledge to partnership with the learners on the journey of life long learning. In present online world of education,  the role of the educator as the " guide on the side", as a life long learner is something that is an essential and should not change.

These are three main aspects that should remain the same in the transformation from brick and mortar educator to online educator or trainer.

Next: "So, You Want to Be a 21st Century E-Learning Teacher?" : Part II--Things That Must Change"

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The Race to Develop the Future of E-Learning Communities--Part VIII

In a movie titled : "A Few Good Men", there is an intense courtroom scene in which Tom Cruise as a prosecuting attorney confronts Jack Nicholson, a Marine base commander in which the following interchange takes place:

Cruise: "I want the truth!"
Nicholson: "You can't handle the truth!"

There are certain truths about our present education systems in our many societies that if we were honest with ourselves, we would admit to how much Jack Nicholson's really applies to us. Rather than face these truths, we make excuses, shift blame to others or deny that the truths even exist. Some, unfortunately, take a more cynical, fatalistic point of view that we just have to accept these truths and move on to a different topic.

We, by choice as educators, trainers, parents, CEO's, CLO's, have become part of the problem instead of the solution. So, the most obvious questions that you should be asking are:

" What are these formidable truths that I am referring to and why do they matter?"

Truth #1: We have educated this generation and ones before it to love marks or grades more than they love learning. This is one of the products of the Industrial mindset and unfortunately, it is reflected in the attitudes of not only today's young learners but also in the attitudes of education faculties as they clone more and more new educators with this very mindset. It is reflected in how students approach the tasks that they are assigned. To dislodge this type of mindset means taking on a billion dollar assessment industry in North America alone.

Truth #2: As long as our education institutions sustain practices that treat learning as a consumer commodity, the idea of creating a global learning community can not be nurtured and the attitudes of self-entitlement on the part of learners will over rule any attempt to have them use their gifts and talents to improve the quality of life for all people.

Another question that needs to be asked is:

"Why should the global business organizations be concerned about this status quo?" 

On the surface, business organizations might applaud this type of mindset because it represents potential marketing opportunities for the products and services that define them. The problem is that when you have potential employees with this mindset, the effective use of collaboration and real engagement of employees in nurturing systemic innovation and problem solving does not reach its potential because of a prevalent attitude among employees which says: "What is in it for me?". This means that employees will only engage in real learning when it suits them and only to a limited degree.

The next question that follows from this for any business organization hoping to carve out a place in the globally collaborative world is:

"How do we eliminate this type of attitude in the learning culture of our businesses?"

The answer to this question speaks to the idea of the ways that we reward competency within our business organizations. If the emphasis in an age of information and learning is to engage employees to be involved in the learning of the organization, then the motivators for employees need to change. We learn from business organizations that are already making the necessary changes and see that they are paying off. Again, we can take some clues from companies such as Google, Apple & Facebook.

With respect to the business organization, the goal is to create a learning culture where the intrinsic motivation of employees becomes more powerful than extrinsic motivators that might be offered. 

"In other words learning becomes like a powerful digital aphrodisiac where employees feel driven to engage, collaborate, solve complex real world problems germane to the health of the organization, and contribute to the realization of a powerful company vision."

This leads us to a very important question that CLO's and CEO's have every right to ask which is:

"How can we achieve what you are suggesting if the education system is continually mass producing both students and educators who still maintain the Industrial economy mindset?"

This brings us back to the need to take this new relationship between education and business into consideration in the design of Global E-Learning Communities.

The Global Higher Education and Teacher Mentoring Network

 

Global Learning Community

 

 [ Note: Change Global E-Learning Hub to "Global E-Learning Portal]

 The purpose of this particular network within the Global E-Learning Community is to address the very problems outlined above. It is essential that a strong collaborative tie be established with higher education and that a mentorship relationship be established with the very university and college faculties that have the responsibility of educating and training educators. The purpose is not to take over what these faculties are tasked to do but instead to provide them the necessary resources that stress the change over from discipline knowledge silos to cross disciplinary, collaborative, globally driven problem solving. Teachers and faculties would have 24/7 access to mentoring in effective online pedagogy with important input from the Cross Disciplinary Research and Mentor Network. Educators would have the opportunity to work collaboratively with business employees and employees would have the opportunity to bring valuable skillsets back into their business organizations with the intent of helping to improve the learning culture of the business.

Potential Drawbacks:

1. Institutional inertia with respect to universities and colleges when it comes to change that will disrupt the status quo. Universities and colleges would rather tweak their programs than give up the model and purposes they were based on. Just adding what worked in a brick and mortar classroom in an uncritical fashion to an online environment will not work. It will lead to a greater detachment by students from their learning because they may be naive about a number of things in life but they are not naive about university and college instructors who try to "pull the digital wool over their eyes" by giving them more of the same, except with a few more technological bells and whistles thrown in.
2. Another potential drawback is having leaders in business and education realize that it is in their best interests to establish  a digital "symbiotic" and purposeful relationship. One group "calling the shots" in dealing with the other group needs to be replaced with a truly collaborative relationship in which they are united in one powerful purpose, that being, working to improve the quality of life for all within the area of their Global E-Learning Community.

Change is something to be mastered by us and not the other way around. The same is true about how we use technology and how we create pedagogy. There are clearly understood reasons why change in business organizations and educational organizations fail.

So, the question still remains: Can you handle the truth about E-Learning and its benefits in the 21st century or does Jack Nicholson still have you pegged when he states:

"Truth? You Can't Handle the Truth!"

Next... how would the establishment of Global E-Learning Communities change how teachers educate students

The Race to Develop the Future of E-Learning Communities--Part VII

In laying out a proposal for the organizational structure for global E-Learning communities, it is essential that we do not forget the changed relationship between business organizations and education. In this age of knowledge, technology and learning, it is how we engage our employees from the CEO to the lowest labourer in life-long learning that will in fact determine the future health of a company and establish its place in the global connected economy. It is no accident that companies such as Google, Apple and Microsoft are where they are in the global economy. These organizations have established learning environments that go beyond "PowerPoint slide presentation days".
 

  Looking at the Google Learning Environment, there are some important points that they incorporate that truly reflects the priority that they place on engaging employees in learning.

Credit: Manpreet Kaur

Credit: Manpreet Kaur

 

 In reading articles on current E-Learning and business organization practices, there are still many who unfortunately still believe in "quick fixes and tweaks" in order to add E-Learning components to their business learning culture. Often, the articles have titles such as "10 Steps to Engaging Employees in E-Learning" or " 3 Easy Steps to Initiating Blended Learning in Your Organization". It is always important to recognize that the motives behind such quick fixes may not be the noble motive of helping you "not waste time by re-creating the wheel". What they don't seem to understand is that such practices really don't cut it because what is required is a whole new mindset that represents a paradigm shift that fits with 21st century realities. It really requires a re-designed environment.

"This is really the point of the need to shift from an entrenched consumerism mindset to one that will nurture and encourage global learning communities with a noted emphasis on "communities". This is what my proposed organizational structure is about!"

Cross Disciplinary Research and Mentor Networks in the Global Learning Community

Global Learning Community

 [Note: Change Global E-Learning Hub to Global E-Learning Portal]

There are two main barriers to making the paradigm shift for the learning cultures of business organizations. First there is a needed shift in how we look at complex real world problems. In our world up to this point, organizations have been driven to create what I would term as "guarded silos of knowledge". This intellectual "protectionism" runs contrary to one of our greatest needs in attempting to effectively come up with solutions to complex real world problems that being to collaborate effectively on a global scale and come up with solutions. 

"In our various disciplines, thanks to technology, knowledge and skillsets have grown and advanced exponentially but what we have not outgrown is a 'sandbox mindset' which basically says that this is mine and I am not going to share with the greater community"

The problems that we now face require that we use our knowledge and skillsets in a collaborative fashion because what we face impacts everybody. The problems require a cross disciplinary collaborative analysis and solution. Secondly,this runs contrary to how the education system has prepared individuals to become contributing members of society because they have been repeatedly trained by sending them from one "subject silo" to another in an assembly line fashion. It is encouraging that the university research communities are starting to recognize the benefits of cross disciplinary research and some education systems, such as Finland's system, are making the necessary paradigm shift.

So, what is different about this network and how does it benefit business? The following would describe it:

• This is the network that is guided by SME's in a role where rather than being the "sage on the stage", they become the "guide on the side". Rather than being the expert that provides content to aid the instructional designer in creating learning experiences, they become mentors who guide employees in developing skillsets involving learning how to think in an online environment. As mentors they help employees establish relationships with organizations on the web that will allow them to be effective problem solvers.
• The SME's also provide a "technology sandbox" where everybody shares and tests out new technology and skillsets. This "sandbox" is accessible 24/7 so that employees can use their time of informal learning in a creative and innovative manner.
• The activities and new research is shared with the learning portal as updates on what is going on. It also shares opportunities for cross disciplinary research.

 

Buckminister Fuller has much to say when it comes to systems thinking, learning and innovation. The following quote is the path I am on and I think that this is the type of thinking that entrepreneurs and innovators need to consider:

 

 

 

 

Credit: www.pinterest.com

 

 In dealing with the last segment of the organization of a global learning community in the next post, an important quote comes to mind for us to think about....

Credit:www.richmerlo.blogspot.com

 

Next...The Global Higher Education and Teacher Mentoring Network