EDUCATION BLOG

In a world where training-teaching-learning never ends, we’re continually inundated by a flood of information and innovations which threaten to overwhelm us. When something as stimulating as The Horizon Report: 2010 Edition comes our way, I’m completely willing to dive in without thinking about whether I’ll ever come back up for air.

This annual collaborative report produced by the New Media Consortium and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative uses conversations with “hundreds of technology professionals, campus technologists, faculty leaders from colleges and universities, and representatives of leading corporations” and the work of an advisory board to identify those technology tools and trends most likely to have an impact on education over a five-year horizon. The results are as much a road map as they are an e-learning experience in and of themselves.

For those who work diligently to follow tech trends, some of what appears in the report—mobile computing, open content, and electronic books–may seem already to be old news, while other concepts—simple augmented reality, gesture-based computing, and visual data analysis—may be somewhat or entirely new. But exploring the report offers new twists even to the most familiar of information as the writers document what they call “the particular relevance of [each] topic to education, creativity, or research.” The results are worth whatever time it takes us to absorb them.

One of the many impressive elements of the annual reports is the way the authors (Laurence Johnson, Alan Levine, Rachel Smith, and Sonja Stone) use what they describe. The 2010 report, for example, describes the growth of visual data analysis as an educational tool; the New Media Consortium then, on its own website and with little fanfare, provides an example of visual data analysis using Wordle: “a word cloud, which gives a visual representation” of the themes which have been most prominently featured in all seven of the annual [Horizon] reports. Those of us who are immersed in reading and producing blogs are obviously familiar with tag clouds, but what our New Media Consortium colleagues have produced here as a supplement to a free online “boxed set” of all seven Horizon reports adds a stunningly beautiful and inspirational twist to what has become commonplace for us.

Another impressive element is the often overlooked e-learning potential of the hyperlinks—provided within the report—to other learning resources. Having called attention recently to the potential for online learning provided via innovative websites such Smarthistory and even through well organized archives on blogs such as one created and maintained by Lori Reed, I was particularly ready to pursue the opportunities provided by the “in practice” and “for further reading” sections following each description of the six horizon technologies explored in the 2010 report. Like any good online bibliography, these sections serve as rudimentary knowledge management systems that lead us to additional information when we are ready to pursue it—just-in-time learning at its best.

What better way to control that flood so that we as trainer-teacher-learners have a chance to swim rather than to sink?

Next: Horizon 2010 Technologies

I was watching the astonishing Keynes Vs. Hayek music video a few days ago, and the rapper Keynes mentions the problem of sticky wages.

I had to remind myself about sticky wages — I vaguely remembered the term from economics in business school — and I ended up reading quite a few interesting articles on the topic.

The essential principle of sticky wages is that employers rarely lower wages for existing workers, so wage adjustment is not a common response to economic recession. But why don’t they lower wages? The phenomenon is actually the result of quite complex microeconomic psychology.

The responses that a business makes to a revenue downturn are few in number, but complex in origin. Of course, if they have cash on hand, they can always pour money into drumming up sales (through advertising, sales channels, expansion, etc) and into process improvements to reduce costs. If their business already had high profit margins, they can reduce re-investment or dividends as an austerity measure.

But if they do not have enough cash on hand, or if they try those options and the situation doesn’t improve sufficiently, they have to deal with day-to-day operations costs. Essentially, the firm’s options boil down to:

(1) Lower wages.

(2) Reduce time worked.

(3) Eliminate workers.

All three options are bound up with the psychological concept of equity. Equity is the sense that you are being treated fairly, that you’re getting what you deserve, you’re not being singled out for punishment, others are not getting unearned rewards, etc. The emotion is so fundamental to human society that I personally think humans are hardwired to recognize equitable and inequitable arrangements, much the same way bats use an implicit scoring system to share food, or the way that some mammalian infants instinctively share nursing time when there are too many pups for one mother.

The most effective immediate means to repair profit margins is to reduce wages. With the same number of workers, productivity can be maintained and prices can be lowered to spur demand. That’s the quick path to recovery, it leads to the quickest recovery of the economy, and will allow the company to rebuild its finances so it can return to its original wages when the time is right.

The problem is that workers won’t tolerate it. Workers find the whole concept of lower wages inequitable, because it allows the firm to maintain its profit margin while the workers suffer. Unless the economic downturn is profound, the best workers — the few who lead their peers and are responsible for enhanced productivity all-around — will immediately seek positions with other firms. That loss will take some time, but it may be very difficult to make up, as prospective replacements may also find the firm’s choice suspicious, especially if the firm’s hiring wages are still anomalously low.

The middle road is work furlough: require workers to take unpaid days off, or lay down a rule eliminating overtime work. Workers find this solution less offensive, because the firm suffers just as much as the workers. Productivity drops, and the workers get a little something in return: time off which can be used for whatever they need. But with the same number of workers, and reduced productivity, the cost benefit to the company is much less. In addition, the fixed costs of employment (health care contributions, etc.) won’t go down if the firm keeps all its workers, and the firm may still lose its best people.

The last option is releasing workers, either temporarily (a layoff) or permanently.  The advantage is that the company enjoys a certain amount of latitude in selecting the workers to release — the “problem” workers are easier to let go when the economy is in the toilet. Of course, union rules may complicate matters, and if only junior employees can be released, that means that only the senior, higher-paid employees stay on. Seniority is only slightly correlated to productivity, with the result that the company must release many junior employees to save money, and take a large productivity hit.

More importantly, the workers who feel most betrayed by the decision are no longer present in the workplace, eliminating most concerns about inequitable treatment. The workers who are kept are likely to view the process as equitable, as they continue to enjoy full work weeks and their original wages.

As I stated in each of the previous articles, there are five activities leaders do daily that are required to make their business grow, this is the fifth and last of the five. These actions are proven to be essential to the building and flourishing of any successful enterprise. There is no substitute for any one of them and they must be done daily.

The subject of this article is cultivating the expectation of leadership. Upon first considering this topic I must admit I was a little puzzled with what was meant. I finally went to the dictionary to better understand the statement. The word cultivate means to develop or improve by education or training; to train; or to refine. Expectation is defined as the act or state of looking forward or anticipating. And leadership is the act or instance of leading; guidance; direction. As I defined each word the meaning became clearer yet I knew I was missing something. The meaning I immediately got was: to develop, improve or refine the anticipation of leading, guiding or directing others. That sounds good but what does it mean to me in my business and how do I apply it?

Continuing to consider the above statements I realized how unprepared and ill-equipped people are to lead others. No matter how knowledgeable we are in our field or profession we still lack the ability to lead. By the observation above we are compelled to increase our abilities to lead others, being done through instruction and practice, not knowing when the expertise will be required yet knowing it shall. This capability comes upon all who advance to having others subordinate to them. Being subordinate does not imply they are inferior or less than another, only that their position in the scheme of operation is not overly contributory at this instance. When our businesses expand and associates are added we become leaders by the fact of necessity. We teach, train and explain procedures and processes to new people and they in turn look to us for help.

The inquiry now is how to prepare for this responsibility. We know there are schools of supervisory training but most supervisor aren’t leaders. They are normally considered bosses or managers who only give direction and orders to be completed. Leaders on the other hand possess a different mindset and thought process. They guide and give direction by example, showing their followers how to perform without driving them. They usually care about others more and reflect that with a coaching attitude. The traits of leadership are learned but they must become implanted in their characters as second nature, realizing they were once in a similar position themselves.

Acquiring these skills can come from various locations and influences. Most leaders have had leadership modeled for them; the best teaching is achieved through example, only be sure your following a good example. Next it’s received through training, from reading and listening to or communicating with other leaders and experienced businessmen. The third position is from within, each must have the self-discipline to understand and use the principles they have gained. Again the driving force comes from each person individually.

In summation, we all should prepare to be leaders because sooner or later we will be put in that position. Now is the time so we will be educated and trained to take our place with the great ones. As we learn to lead, opportunities will arise to use our new found skills, permitting us to perfect the ability and proficiency not only for us to lead but to create future leaders.

Read my other articles http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Duane_Hatfield

MUST University? Since this blog is about Online Education, it is only appropriate to start off with a review of a university that is among the top few search engine results when you enter “Online” Education”. Having never heard the name before, I visited their website and came across some warning signs that prompted me to investigate further before I reached a conclusion about its authenticity. I was left with no choice but to conclude that this so-called university is nothing but a scam!

1. Warning sign # 1: No address listed. For a university that calls itself the leading choice of students worldwide, isn’t it surprising that the website lists no address? Enter “Where is MUST University” on Google and you come up with millions of pages harping on about how the university is “Online”, and so does not require an address. The first question an interested student needs to ask is why? Surely there have to be some address for their administrative offices?
2. Warning sign # 2: a .com, instead of an .edu domain. Isn’t that self explanatory?A university, or any other educational institution for that matter, needs to have a .edu domain. A .com domain for a university is a sure-fire indication of foul play.
3. Warning sign # 3: Accrediting organization also does not list a physical address. MUST University is accredited by International Accreditaiton Organization (IAO), which calls itself one of the leading organizations for global/international/online education. They too only list a phone number and email and no address. For an organization with the alleged stature of IAO, which invites  other prominent universities to apply for accreditation, there should definitely be an address. A university would not want to send secure and confidential documents over the Internet now, would it?
4. Warning Sign # 4: No info on faculty. No information is available regarding the faculty and their qualifications. While there are words like “renowned” faculty, this is all the information you may obtain from their website.

Some more interesting facts about MUST University and IAO:

1. The IAO domain name was not registered until 2008:

Domain ID:D153467873-LROR

Domain Name: INTERNATIONALACCREDITATION.ORG

Created On:28-Jul-2008 16:47:43 UTC

Last Updated On:27-Sep-2008 03:51:21 UTC

Expiration Date:28-Jul-2009 16:47:43 UTC

2. IAO claims to be “accredited” by IEAC - International Education Accreditation Commission and GESFWA – Global education support forum for working adults, whose domain names were registered in 2006 and 2008 respectively. Interestingly enough, the link for IEAC listed on IAO’s webpage does not work. However, entering “International Education Accreditation Commission” on Google gives the following location: http://www.eduaccreditation.org

3. Both IEAC and GESFWA do not have physical addresses, only websites, contact numbers and email addresses.

4. In support of its operations, MUST University has come up with URL’s like www.acceptmustuniversity.com and www.mustuniversityfake.com. A website by the name of www.mustuniversityreviews.com also exists. Another interesting URL is www.mustuniversityscam.com. Let’s see you catch a genuine university coming up with promo URLs like this.

5. MUST University, IAO, IAEC and GESFWA are not listed in the  list of schools and accrediting agencies that have been recognized by the Secretary of Education which can be accessed here http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation. You should also check out the Council for Higher Education Accreditation here: http://www.chea.org. An additional check list can be found here: http://www.chea.org/degreemills/default.htm

MUST University is very well known for its wide range of accredited online programs. There are many factors which contribute in order to make MUST University as the best choice of students interested to pursue their education online. Read the rest of this entry »