We Are Not Agreed
noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Downes), Half an Hour, 2017/02/15

A few days ago University Ventures authored a piece in response to a post from the New America Foundation comparing Republicans who defend for-profit colleges to climate change deniers. The unattributed University Ventures article argues "this piece re-fights yesterday’s war... the many challenges and opportunities facing higher education lend themselves to bipartisan consensus – perhaps more than any other area of public policy."

Bipartisanship is of course a U.S. phenomenon. But it is worth noting that there are many things U.S. lawmakers agree upon that are opposed in corners around the world. I find myself frequently occupying those corners, and today is no exception. So, setting aside the for-profit colleges debate for another day, I'd like to take the time to point to the points where I disagree with what is taken to the the emerging consensus.

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Ellucian Stops Support for Brainstorm, its CBE platform
Phil Hill, e-Literate, 2017/02/15

"Winter is here," writes Phil Hill as Ellucian ends support for Brainstorm, the competency-based education platform it acquired two years ago. This signals a permanent shift in the market, he says. "The business of Ed Tech is changing, and more decisions will be based on whether product lines have a real chance to become self-sustaining based on near-term revenue." We also reasd that " Ellucian is also putting Banner 8 into sustaining support mode and that customers need to be off that version by the end of 2018."

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How Google Chromebooks conquered schools
Anick Jesdanum, Associated Press, 2017/02/15

This is an interesting statistic: "Chromebook's share of the U.S. education market was 49 percent last year, up from 40 percent in 2015 and 9 percent in 2013, according to IDC figures released this week." Who would have thought it? But the Chromebook has several advantages: it's cheap, it's lightweight, and it provides access to a full set of tools. That said, "Macs and Windows laptops are still dominant on college campuses." But will this change? And could it go international? The answer to the latter question might be "no" - for example, "Chromebooks are useless in China because the device depends on Google services that aren't available there." But the concept would work, wouldn't it?

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European MOOC Platform Expands to 5 U.S. Universities
Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology, 2017/02/15

I can think of all sorts of policical questions that might be asked in the U.S. following this announcement (especially if the British import succeeds where the US-based alternatives failed). On the other hand, there is the global trade argument: "The partnership with FutureLearn will allow the universities to extend their reach internationally and tap into new communities of potential learners, according to a statement from the company."

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