I enjoyed Kimberly’s review of Learning Networks, but the following leaped off the screen at me:
“The goal of making it possible for anyone, anywhere, at any time, at any age to engage in the learning process”
How do issues of cost play into this ubiquitous goal of distance education? Isn’t the goal of distance education (and learning networks as described in the book) really ‘making it possible for anyone (who can afford to pay for the credits), anywhere, and anytime, at any age…’? The goal of anyone, anywhere, at any time, &c., is just begging to be problematized… I’m sure others already have, but it occurred to me today that this might be worth pursuing.
I don’t know that there is any single goal that can be attributed to distance education as an enterprise. Certainly institutional programs are likely to have continued viability as part of their goals and that most often will include the enrollment and other processes that lead to recognized credits.
But in terms of open ed, as I’ve recently ruminated on in my blog, our entry into the field has as *one* of its goals, meeting precisely the need that Kimberly mentions and definitely NOT the expanded, with-cost version you ask about.
Sadly, not a lot of open ed material actually seems geared towards independent learners seeking full, rich experiences on their own, without paying for the benefit of an instructor, guide, or evaluator.
I know that there are some efforts, but they are hard to find, not very complete and mostly in the works. Hopefully that will change, but rather than sit around and wait, I’m doing something about it.