DIY U (eBook)

Edupunks, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education

Anya Kamenetz (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2010
208 Seiten
Chelsea Green Publishing (Verlag)
978-1-60358-276-6 (ISBN)

Infos

The price of college tuition has increased more than any other major good or service for the last twenty years. Nine out of ten American high school seniors aspire to go to college, yet the United States has fallen from world leader to only the tenth most educated nation. Almost half of college students don't graduate; those who do have unprecedented levels of federal and private student loan debt, which constitutes a credit bubble similar to the mortgage crisis.The system particularly fails the first-generation, the low-income, and students of color who predominate in coming generations. What we need to know is changing more quickly than ever, and a rising tide of information threatens to swamp knowledge and wisdom. America cannot regain its economic and cultural leadership with an increasingly ignorant population. Our choice is clear: Radically change the way higher education is delivered, or resign ourselves to never having enough of it.The roots of the words "e;university"e; and "e;college"e; both mean community. In the age of constant connectedness and social media, it's time for the monolithic, millennium-old, ivy-covered walls to undergo a phase change into something much lighter, more permeable, and fluid.The future lies in personal learning networks and paths, learning that blends experiential and digital approaches, and free and open-source educational models. Increasingly, you will decide what, when, where, and with whom you want to learn, and you will learn by doing. The university is the cathedral of modernity and rationality, and with our whole civilization in crisis, we are poised on the brink of Reformation.

Inhalt

1. History : how college-for-all became part of the American dream

2. Sociology : human capital and meritocracy, race and class--can we build a system that works for everybody?

3. Economics : why college tuition is caught in a cost spiral, and how to stop it

4. Computer science : open content, virtual-reality and smartphone classrooms, serious games, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and robotic telescopes

5. Independent study : free and open-source education; vocational, experiential, and self-learning

6. Commencement : what the transformation of the university might mean for the future of humanity

7. Resource guide for a do-it-yourself education : a four part guide for the student who wants to hack her own education; includes a listing of web sites of organizations mentioned in the text.

Rezensionen

lt;p>Publisher's Weekly, Starred Review-

Kamenetz, author of the alarming personal finance expose Generation Debt, drops another bombshell on the emerging cohort of young Americans, this time regarding higher education. While she mounts a standard (though illuminating) attack on spiraling tuition and the bottomless pit of student loans, Kamenetz also questions the fundamental assumptions of modern American education culture: the twin, contradictory ideas that college must be universally accessible, and that the smallest accepted denomination of educational currency is a bachelor's degree from a four-year, liberal arts institution. Kamenetz explores those ideas' fallacies as they play out daily in American classrooms, as well as students' myriad alternatives, from community colleges to online learning collectives. In great detail, Kamenetz explains the flawed economic models that underpin higher education, the faulty premises they maintain and the government's failures to address them. Kamenetz's approach is methodical and balanced, showcasing extensive research and thoughtfulness, while acknowledging one of the chief problems with reform: no one wants to experiment on their own child. This volume merits consideration from high school students and their parents, as well as educators preparing a generation for uncertain job prospects, an information economy still in its infancy, and the steady erosion of geographical barriers.

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 1.4.2010
• Verlagsort: White River Junction
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Schulbuch / Wörterbuch ► Lernhilfen ► Sekundarstufe I
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Pädagogik ► Erwachsenenbildung
• Schlagworte: Community • debt • Do it yourself • Educational • High School • Internet • Loan • Loans • online education • Online Learning • Sustainable • Technology
• ISBN-10: 1-60358-276-2 / 1603582762
• ISBN-13: 978-1-60358-276-6 / 9781603582766