Over the past two years I’ve been noticing a lot of commentary, articles, and conversation lamenting how out of step traditional institutions are with contemporary students and forecasting the demise of the university. Here are a few examples:
End the University as We Know It
The Impending Demise of the University
DIY U: Edupunks, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education
Why Free Online Lectures will Destroy Universities Unless They Get Their Act Together Fast
I read all of these with great interest and have considerable empathy for much of the disenchantment I hear expressed. However, my interest isn’t around the doomsday portent but in unearthing substantive descriptions of alternatives.
I’ve been playing around with some alternatives in my own mind and thought I’d work one of them out here in public. The alternative I’m imagining recasts the traditional “open university” in contemporary terms. It synthesizes multiple related “open” initiatives into a common core operating principle that defines the university and the education it provides.
I’ve started imagining a University of Open.
Learning Change 