OLDaily

Higher Ed reimagined: navigating the three Rs to build agility and resilience
Thomas King, Microsoft Education, 2021/04/15

The three Rs in this article are: respond, recover and reimagine. They are of course post-pandemic Rs (because that's all we talk about now). And they're for (Australian) universities, not individuals (though, hey, maybe that would be a good plan for people too - especially the 'reimagine' part). The article asks, "Can you offer researchers and academics easy access to emerging technologies such as Internet of Things, AI, blockchain, augmented reality and in the very near future quantum computing?" I don't think these are the real needs right now. Sure, they're useful and we should be looking at them, but institutions need better access to online resources, better ways to share data, and more open learning environments, and a broader understanding of what can be done in education with digital technology.

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Closing the Guidance Gap with Xello
Rachelle Dene Poth, Tom Vander Ark, Getting Smart, 2021/04/15

I have always thought of 'Guidance' in schools as being about more than just getting into college or finding a career, but maybe I was a bit starry-eyed. I know that when I was in school (the idealistic 70s, where they tried radical concepts like electives, open concept, and small class sizes) they were concerned about how I saw the world and what I thought my place in it could be. But they also measured by skills and gave me a career aptitude test (which said I should enroll in the military - true story!). Anyhow, this article looks at Guidance this way: "The goal is to help learners create successful futures," said Xello CEO Matt McQuillen. "Learners need to have a plan and the skills and knowledge to adapt that plan." Plan? I didn't have a plan until my 40s.

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Many Americans don’t support journalistic values, study says
Mathew Ingram, Columbia Journalism Review, 2021/04/15

As usual, many of the lessons here for journalism could also apply to education. Today we're looking at the role of journalism. There is no direct analogy between 'journalist as watchdog' and 'educator as whatever' but nonetheless the values we presume apply to education might no longer be relevant to the community at large. So this is an interesting approach: " The API study recommends they (journalists) consider reworking stories in order to broaden their appeal to people who belong to multiple groups - those who prefer order and have respect for leaders, those who feel the powerless deserve a voice, and so on." I won't say I totally agree with the outcome, but the thinking behind it seems solid.

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What’s the purpose of schooling?
Michael B. Horn, Christensen Institute, 2021/04/15

Almost 20 years ago I really agonized over this question, or one very much like it, as I sought to put a purpose to the work I was doing. I ended up with something like "I want each person to be able to live their lives and express themselves as fully as possible..." But of course there's no end to the list of people and institutions who view education as something we do to someone else that turns out to be for our benefit. And I just can't abide that sort of definition. But that's how we get purposes like "to prepare everyone for vocations" and "keeping the country competitive" and even "unlock opportunity." And that's how we get to definitions of the purpose of education that include things like 'content knowledge' and 'skills' and 'habits of success' and the rest.

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