Kaplan Message – It’s your time…to simply remotely listen?

Faculty and students – what is your perspective on the Kaplan message?

The message states educators have failed you and that a new model of learning is in order. The actor and visuals suggest the solution is largely about remote distance learning – on a train, at home and in your jammies. I get that.

From our perspective, this message leaves 2/3 of the required changes off the table.

What changes?

• How about more open learning? Why not let students and faculty learn and share across classes, programs or heaven forbid different schools?
• How about offering students a voice such they can learn new ways to share and collaborate in a semi-private setting across their virtual class?
• Why note give students the means to link industry and external stakeholders to a classroom? This would facilitate alumni mentoring, project exchanges and downstream recruiting for those that reveal their potential in an open, more transparent way.

Many talented teachers are experimenting with all forms of new tools, methods and teaching practices aimed at stimulating creativity, innovation and new forms of learning. Early adopters of WhyHire.me were brave enough to move forward with our learning materials and supporting technology – we are all learning in an open and transparent way. Dave Donaldson, Jim Kyte and Wendy Threader from Algonquin College. Leighann Neilson from Carleton University. David Johnson and Michael Vourakes from Centennial College. Lyle Wetsch from Memorial University. Francis Gunn and David Martin from the Ted Rogers School of Business. All of these people stared down the traditional barriers to changing how students can learn and explore new forms of collaboration and communication using social media. Kudos to you all!

I went back to the Kaplan web site looking for a means to offer feedback on the video. I was fully expecting to read comments and learn other perspectives about learning 2.0. A basic search for the term blog rendered no results. I found all kinds of great looking material and the means to chat online with a recruiter…but no means to share, learn or discuss.

Since there is no venue for such a dialogue, let’s continue it here.

What do you think is missing in education?

How should it change?

What are the barriers to transforming how we learn?

READY, SET…..

We’re on the verge of a new academic term which is very exciting for us.  Within days we will have another 500+ users on the Winter 2010 version of WhyHire.me.  More users, more schools and a lot more changes!  A little daunting at times as we have worked into the wee hours but so incredibly exciting as we see our program grow and develop with the help of our users and their institutions.

Our inaugural term was Fall 2009, when we launched 650 users from Algonquin College, Carleton University and Centennial College onto the system.  We experienced a few bumps with provisioning (we were putting students in the right classes until exam time), interface usability issues (they all want the system to be like Facebook – although I am thrilled that we are being compared to a 350 million user system with thousands of staff, they are big shoes to fill and not the same kind of product), and it was obvious it was time to upgrade the blogging component.

Our students created a group called Facebook vs. Whyhire.me which provided us with feedback as well as the Support group that was set up by us.  In addition to the groups, we have had countless in class and online conversations with users about issues to improve and all of our schools did their own research into the use of WhyHire.me.

Overall, we are thrilled with the results and appreciate the feedback.  The Winter 2010 release will include integration of WordPress (Yeah!), a new Zone that will provide the learning tools in a very dynamic environment for users, and dozens of small changes that will make the usability and experience more enjoyable for everyone.  And of course, we have cleaned up the provisioning and we dramatically simplified our pricing model.

We know that all the students want it for free but as an organization we do not want to develop an advertising based model when the product is being delivered in educational institutions. We just don’t think it’s right and will continue to follow the model of student payment based on institutional, and professor endorsement in a class, similar to the textbook model. Students will receive an account to the social network plus their personal URL, an 80 page eBook and interactive learning modules. The pricing for Winter 2010 is $29 for 12 months or $39 for life. We simplified it for all the different programs and uses.

This term Memorial University will be integrating WhyHire.me into a E-Marketing class and the MBA program. The Ted Rogers School of Business Hospitality and Retail programs (Ryerson University) will be using WHM in two separate HR oriented classes. Algonquin’s PR students will be developing online personal brands and well as the 3rd year Business Marketing students, where we piloted the program last year, and lastly, we will have another gang at Centennial jumping into the world of personal branding.

So, we are on the edge of our seats: uploading, testing, teaching and just on the verge of ………GO.