Educate, educate, organise

Jon Kennard

Freelance

Freelance writer

Educate, educate, organise

By Jon Kennard

On Wednesday, I attended one of the many UWE graduation ceremonies at Bristol cathedral - there are several, what with UWE being the 8th largest university in the UK - to see my mother receiving her PhD. This was an odyssey that she embarked on in the 60s (she got a little sidetracked with work, children and the like) and finished this year, two years after she retired. Professor Steven West, vice chancellor of UWE, gave a wonderful introductory speech that, while it conjured up no illusions to the newly-grads about the current economic climate and the reality of employability, also went to great lengths to instil in these young charges the belief that they are the future and their life is now their own, that it's their duty to make a difference. It all sounded a lot less platitude-laden at the time, promise.

In a heady mixture of irony, fate and careful planning, just yards away were 100 or so kids holding a demonstration against university tuition fees. Instead of three years separating these two opposite ends of the higher education pipeline, a small inner city green space in the form of college green just in front of the Bristol City Council house. On one side, elated people in their early 20s (and the odd sexagenarian) throwing their mortar boards high in the air, and on the other teenagers and undergraduates protesting with the energy of youth. It seemed sad to me that many young people would begin university with an embattled mindset, old beyond their years perhaps.

But then, if Bill Gates's predictions not so long ago about the increasing move online of university and higher courses does manifest itself, maybe this next generation of learners can marry classroom theory and foundation with experience and apprenticeship in a way that closes the skills gap without the expense that everyone's predicting. Only time will tell.

This seems like an opportune time to mention that TrainingZone will be live blogging and filming video interviews here and there at Online Educa, the largest elearning conference for education; so if you're going to be there please contact @trainingzone on Twitter and maybe I'll see you there!

2 Responses

User deleted says:

December 5, 2010 at 4:05 pm

New Bie

I m new on this forum and wants to become regular on it.
shaonawilliams11 says:

October 14, 2016 at 5:55 am

E-learning holds great
E-learning holds great promise for students. Technology in itself is no problem for the great challenges facing traditional education. If technology is used to maintain the teaching and learning, then we will see no great leaps forward in the education race. Technological solutions must be enforced according to the impact they have on improving learning outcomes, and learners’ lives.

person in brown long sleeve shirt covering face with hand, avoiding difficult conversations

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Jon Kennard