[IFETS] Flexible Learning: Can we really please everyone?

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Alan Holzl (a.holzl@mailbox.uq.edu.au)
Tue, 5 Oct 1999 11:27:05 +1300 

From: Alan Holzl <a.holzl@mailbox.uq.edu.au>
Subject: [IFETS] Flexible Learning: Can we really please everyone?
Date: Tue, 5 Oct 1999 11:27:05 +1300

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Dear Colleagues,
I have been asked to provide some additional comments to my discussion paper
about flexible learning in advance of the discussion period from 4 to 15
October and try to identify specific issues for the discussion to focus on.
The main theme of my paper was to question the way that flexible learning
has been marketed as a "magic bullet" which can solve all the problems currenly
facing the higher education and vocational training sectors in Australia. I get
the impression this is happening around the world. Because of the worldwide
distribution of this list I would be interested to hear from other countries
about how representative the Australian experience is and how flexible
learning is being "sold" to them. I would be very interested in hearing from
those Asian countries which have been targeted as potential consumers of the
online education programs which we are going to design for our own culture and
then deliver to them. Do they feel it is a form of cultural imperialism or do
they welcome the additional opportunities they provide to improve the quality
and quantity of educational programs available to their citizens?

In my paper I feel that I raised a lot of problems but not many solutions. I
would like to see some suggestions as to how the problems I identified could be
addressed so that the special powers of flexible learning could be used for
good (i.e. enhancing the quality and improving access to, higher education)
instead of evil (the globalisation and marketing of education as just another
commodity)

Regards
Alan Holzl

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