Chris O'Hagan (C.M.Ohagan@derby.ac.uk)
Wed, 16 Sep 1998 12:00:09 +0000
>Received: from mail.gmd.de (postix) by zeus.gmd.de with SMTP id AA19322 (5.67b8/IDA-1.5 for <ifetsarc@zeus.gmd.de>); Thu, 1 Oct 1998 10:44:47 +0200
>Received: from mail.gmd.de (postix) by zeus.gmd.de with SMTP id AA05562 (5.67b8/IDA-1.5 for <rashev@zeus.gmd.de>); Wed, 16 Sep 1998 13:16:49 +0200
From: "Chris O'Hagan" <C.M.Ohagan@derby.ac.uk> Date: Wed, 16 Sep 1998 12:00:09 +0000 Subject: [ifets] 'global' education
** Digest version of list available -> more information ->
http://ifets.gmd.de/maillist.html
---------------------------------------------------------
With regard to Mary Harrsch's comments, I was not arguing against
global education, but pointing to some of the problems to counter the
euphoria. I am an internationalist and believe in multiculturalism in
education. Indeed, it is a poor course within a campus university
that does not seek to consider critiques and comparisons from
different cultural as well as the historical, social etc - and I
include science and technology courses in this. Indeed, history and
social studies of science was once one of my teaching fields.
The definition of 'regional' will depend on where you are.
California might be a region, the West Coast, or the Southern States,
for example. A lot will depend on transport infrastructure, and
other conditions which might enable or hinder *some* element of
attendance. It might also be influenced by the opportunities to offer
accommodation to those coming some distance.
The 'Cheshire Cat' university is on a spectrum from full real campus
to full virtuality - and indeed that is how Derby is developing
itself. As well as seeing itself as a normal campus institution -
with campuses and study centres spread over Derbyshire, it also sees
itself as a regional university, where region is a changing concept
(Derbyshire, East Midlands, Midlands, and even wider, as
flexible-learning opportunities are developed), but also as an
international institution with students in other countries supported
locally, or, for example, the 'full' distance operation on five MSc
programmes, four of which are delivered entirely on CDROM with some
cmc support.
So we cover the full spectrum of the Cat. Some students only see the
grin - or rather, I hope, a more welcoming smile! But regionality is
fundamental to the way we see the use of the 'plant' developing, and
thus to the 'physicality' of the university. It is interesting to
note that in conversation with some representatives of the 'open'
universities in various countries, they have commented on a move for
some of these 'total distance' learning institutions to seek to
develop campus operations to establish a more 'solid' identity,
particularly to attract the more image-conscious under-thirties. And
of course, introduce more opportunites for attendance modes for those
who want/are able to travel. But maybe, ironically, as I argue in the
paper, it is the campus-based institutions which are in the best
position to capitalise on the new modes of learning, rather than the
'traditional' non-campus institutions.
Chris O'Hagan
---------------------------------------------------------
Forum website: http://ifets.gmd.de/
Email address for sending message to everyone on the list ifets@gmd.de
Forum's contact person ifets-info@gmd.de
---------------------------------------------------------
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b3 on Thu 01 Oct 1998 - 11:13:13 MET DST