The digital_university

My random thought today is about higher education.

In the United States, there is a rather diverse approach to university learning. There is pretty much something for everyone.

But a new bread of colleges have emerged that are profit-driven, and they do not hide the fact that their primary responsibility is to the stock holders. But, profit verses non-profit is often just a matter of tax-status, book-keeping, and type of incorporation. In some regard, all institutions of higher learning perceive their students as customers, and those customers are most often reliant on Title IV funding to purchase their education. Purchasing a home, car, or college education on borrowed funds has become one of the staples of the great American dream. I'm not disputing that.

But what do you get for your money, and are you buying the real deal or an illusion or dream? It's a murky area.

A few colleges seem to take the approach that their product is "theatre." Everything about their campus is designed to provide an illusion of the prototypical educational experience: clean classrooms, a library, and actors for program chairs, deans, and faculty. Merchandise, such as sweatshirts with the university logo exist to reinforce and support the brand identity. Even the graduation ceremony is part of the Disneyland-inspired illusion.

College is a booming business, and the cost of higher education has risen at an alarming rate relative to GDP. However, the tangible result of a 2 or 4 year degree in many instances is unclear, especially when the "theatre" aspect of an education outweighs the results-oriented approach of traditional learning. At some schools you can attend college without actually doing any real work to improve your mind. Student-customers are sometimes coaxed into purchasing a hefty college experience package - and in some cases it's a pretty darn good simulation for the real thing.

The fact that the public has trouble understanding what is real and what is theatre is part of the charm. Frankly, there are more than a few profit-driven, shady institutions out there. They skillfully use confusion about "what is college" to their advantage, often tout their non-traditional modes of engagement as a new wave in higher education. But in reality their product is simply a cost-effective delivery of a degree.

And if the university as theatre issue was not complex enough, higher education is going through a transformation regarding online access and the granting of degrees. Many believe that the digital_university is the future. It represents a paradigm shift in how a rapidly growing number of Americans will interact with college.

In my view, the best way to offer online studies is to simulate the real classroom setting. In other words, your teacher would have an Avatar, as would you and your fellow classmates. You'd have to raise your hand to ask a question, the the teacher would "see" your Avatar on the screen and respond accordingly. It would bring all of the social aspects of classroom learning back into the equation again. True, it's education as video game, but the paradigm has many advantages too. In reality you could be sitting at home in your pajamas on a cold and snowy day while attending class.

I believe that the Avatar is the future of online programs. The technology is already here, but it still needs to be developed and deployed.

What does this mean for teachers? Well, at some brick-and-mortar colleges teachers seem to be hired purely for their acting skills. They are required to look the part and present the aura of a stereotypical "Professor." Yet, in practice they are merely working on contract as one of many actors in the grand educational pageant show. At some business-run schools, instructors are asked to dress for the part and run through the motions of what people expect college to look like - otherwise they wouldn't have have invested in the illusion.

I guess it's time that we all sat down with our Avatars and had a long talk. The future is coming faster than we realize.

Pretty soon real-world teaching jobs (in a brick-and-mortar classrooms) will become "unreal" - like acting in a performance. On the other hand, the online classroom will become a true reality, with our Avatars leading the charge.

The digital_university is our future.

Embrace it, or become a Thespian.

---------------------

Hip Hop Academe

Aspects of Hip Hop culture has long been a popular dissertation topic for doctoral candidates at the university. Academics like to climb down into the trenches and analyse new and emerging musical trends and patterns. It's a great source of unexplored raw material for contemporary musicologists.

Now Hip Hop music is finding its way into the formal classrooms of traditional conservatory programs. The once radical art form is becoming institutionalized, codified, and presumably formalized into mainstream text-books. Hip Hop music can be studied for college credit, and is approved for Title IV funding from Federally guaranteed financial-aid programs. The antiestablishmentarianism of Rap is history as the academe fully embraces the Hip Hop genre.

The McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul, Minnesota is now the first school in the nation to offer an accredited diploma program with a focus on the performance of Hip Hop music. It's the brainchild of their college President, Harry Chalmiers (who happens to be a former classmate of mine at Berklee and the New England Conservatory).

Chalmiers recently held a press conference for CNN and made the point, "This is a very important art form that is not going away." Chalmiers then went on to stress...

There are people who might say, 'If you have hip hop in a college, isn't that almost a contradiction in terms? It's a street music, it grew up in the neighborhoods, how can you have it in the college?'

When we look at hip hop closely, we see that we can study its impact on people's lives, on society. Where does this music come from? When it's angry, when it's sometimes vicious, vile or rude, why is that? What are people trying to say? These are important questions to ask.

I have to give credit to Harry - my old classmate - for keeping up with the times and staying current. Back in the days of our undergraduate and graduate training as composers, we explored a very different world of music. I recall Harry's excitement after hearing Spanish guitar master Andrés Segovia (right) perform at Boston's Symphony Hall. Harry once also confided in me how a a particular recording Schubert's piano sonatas transformed his musical thinking.

Now, three and a half decades later, Harry is leaving me in the dust with his ambitious foray into the cutting-edge of sound. I'm a classicist at heart - a hopelessly traditional musician with old fashioned values and archaic musical aesthetics.

I guess I would not be well equipped to teach music in academia today. I wouldn't know where to begin when it comes to explaining, performing, or analysing the structure, form, and functional mechanics of these new art forms. It's new music for a new generation, one that I regrettably don't belong to.

Links:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/11/03/hip.hop.diploma/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiestablishmentarianism

----------------

IESO 2009 in Taiwan

My 17 year-old son Joseph will be missing seven days of school, but it’s all for a good cause.

He was selected as one of four student participants to represent the United States at the 2009 International Earth Science Olympiad (IESO) in Taiwan.

The conference began on September 14th and will conclude on September 22nd. High school contestants from 15 participating countries will work in teams to solve the world's environmental problems, do field science work, and experience the culture of Taiwan. Other countries participating this year include Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Nepal, Nigeria, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Thailand.

Joseph (in photo with microphone above) was selected earlier this summer by scoring amongst the top four in an exam administered at the UVM/GIV Engineering Institute held at the UVM College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences (CEMS) in Burlington Vermont. The purpose of the UMV/GIV Institute is to help students gain an understanding of how research can work to solve societal problems through creative engineering. Students focus on how technology impacts humans, do hands-on engineering projects, participate in tours and engage in presentations by professors, computer scientists and mathematicians. The award ceremony from the UMV/GIV Institute is shown in the YouTube video below...

The IESO 2009 conference in Taipei Taiwan will focus on sustainability issues such as climate change. Now in its third year, the international event has seen a sharp increase in the number of participating countries from six to 15, with the United Kingdom and Italy joining the competition for the first time. It marks the first time Taiwan has hosted the annual event aimed at enhancing young students' interest in and understanding of the natural environment, climatic changes and the relationship between humans and nature.

IESO contestants will travel to the 921 Earthquake Museum in central Taiwan's Nantou County for inspection. They will conduct field surveys in the 921 earthquake memorial park and then present their briefings to a jury of experts to vie for the "best teamwork" and "best field survey" awards. All the contestants will be taken to Taiwan's northern coastline known for its complicated geological formations.

The IESO American Team is chaperoned by Tom and Beth Tailer, co-directors of the UVM/GIV Engineering Institute. They have been providing online mentoring for Joseph and his American teammates all summer. Joseph had crammed for much of his summer vacation in preparation for the highly-competitive event, which includes team sequestering and lengthy written exams. Upon the US team’s arrival in Taipei, Beth Tailor emailed the parents indicating, “The students did a wonderful job at the opening ceremony, and their presentation and skit were well received.” She added, “The food is plentiful, and we already have many stories to tell.”

The first IESO competition was held in South Korea in 2007, followed by a second event in the Philippines the following year. This marks the first time Taiwan has hosted the annual IESO event, which is aimed at enhancing young students' interest in and understanding of the natural environment, climatic changes and the relationship between humans and nature.

The 2009 IESO will conclude on September 21st with an award presentation ceremony where it is anticipated that gifts will be given to the foreign contestants by the host country to help them better understand Taiwan's culture and lifestyle.

Here is the American team during a visit to the National Palace Museum...


Link: http://www.ieso2009.tw/home/home.htm

-----------------

Before the Music Dies

Branford Marsalis (b. 1960), is a American post-bop and new music composer, and saxophonist. He performs frequently as a soloist with classical ensembles, his own Branford Marsalis Quintet, and with his older brother Wynton Marsalis. Branford studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and played with Sting during the 1980s. He was the music director of television's Tonight Show from 1992 to 1994.

Branford's 2001 album Creation places an emphasis on "classical music" and he is in demand performing with symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles worldwide. He is also active in music education.

The following YouTube clip comes from his documentary"Before the Music Dies." It is an enlightened and candid perspective on music education in America at the college level. Hear what he has to say...

Links:

http://www.beforethemusicdies.com/

-----------

My Vision for a School

Having just lost my teaching job because I didn't have a PhD has made we wonder about what's going on in higher education. Education in America has become a money machine, and I don't think it is necessarily worth the investment.


There are many kinds of schools, many kinds of students, and many different things to learn, but my ideal school is almost diametrically opposed to what currently exists in the mainstream.

While my idea of a school would be highly selective, the selection process would be qualitative and based on interviews and in-person evaluations conducted by the staff and students rather than by exam. Current students would have input into which new students are selected.

My ideal school is not structured at all. Students could come and go whenever they feel like it, and stay for as many years as they wish - as long as the "community" feels they are learning and contributing in some way. There are no grades or degrees, but lazy and disruptive students would be asked to leave by the head Guru. Classrooms are essentially meeting rooms to be used by whoever needs them. It would almost be like a large family (or even a cult) as faculty and students study together, research together, and live on "campus" together. But time spent alone in solitude will be available for anyone who desires it.

If you put a lot of smart people in one place, and give them an inspiring environment to thrive in, wonderful things will happen. My school would be situated in some beautiful part of the country (such as in the Rocky mountains or on a beach), and have a great library and great facilities (such as grand pianos, fast computers, and fantastic food). It could even be situated on a private cruise ship.

The key will be be allow specialists to aggregate in their little micro-communities, but also encourage inter-disciplinary encounters between different areas of study. Bio-scientists will have the opportunity to mingle with poets and computer programmers. Field trips would be spontaneous, and to anywhere in the world. Want to learn Italian? Go to Italy.

When you think about it, this kind of school would not be outrageously expensive to run. There is no need for school administrators, a rigid curriculum, government accreditation or advertising. The curriculum would be whatever people feel like talking about or learning that day. By definition it would stay current and relevant.

The word "Think Tank" comes to mind. I don't like that term because it implies that you lock a bunch of brainiacs into a small hot room and expect them to be ejected within 48 hours with a solution to a problem such as global warming. Learning, education, and ideas need more time and fertile ground to grow in. It needs a unique mixture of individuals, diverse talents, and an infusion of charisma, inspiration, and energy. A school is a society of intelligent people who are willing to learn form others and make discoveries, nothing more.


Of course, if there were such a school, I would like to be a student or teach there. But I can't find it anywhere.

---------------