Thursday, December 6, 2012

The Roots of Competency-Based Education and Prior Learning Assessment



The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”

Alan Kay


The best source that I've come across on this subject and the one that Chancellor Brahm referred to in his State of the University message today was posted by CAEL (Council for Adult and Experiential Learning) in this online report – http://www.cael.org/pdfs/2012_CompetencyBasedPrograms .






It is noteworthy that both Brandman University with the great work that Laurie Dodge has done and Marylhurst University where I was Academic Dean a few years back were highlighted as best practices institutions.



Two other leaders in competency-based degree completion are Western Governor's University http://www.wgu.edu/why_WGU/competency_based_approach and Excelsior College [formerly Regents College in Albany, NY] www.excelsior.edu .

Both Western Governors' and Excelsior's approaches, however, evolved from pre-new media paradigms.

A qualitatively effective model does not exist yet, but I believe Brandman is in an ideal position to develop one to complement its other innovative, student learning outcomes-based programming.





John Freed, Ph.D
freed@brandman.edu 
Associate Professor of Humanities/Liberal Studies
Brandman University
a member of the Chapman University System







Saturday, December 1, 2012

New New Media's Prospects




New New Media's Prospects: The Once and Future Tablets


Everything old is new again.”

from All That Jazz




First Writing [Static] Medium
Cuneiform Clay Tablet circa 2500 BCE from Sumeria






Current Writing [Dynamic] Medium
Kindle Fire HD Tablet circa 2012 ACE from the globe



Two New New Media Visionaries that you should follow are Michael Saylor and Paul Levinson.

1. Michael Saylor's book in Kindle e-book format is The Mobile Wave: How Mobile Intelligence Will Change Everything


*Here is a YouTube video in which Michael Saylor explains his educational vision behind the Saylor Foundation's open-access university courses http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DmoYA3oGTU . The free courses themselves can be accessed here www.saylor.org.



Michael Saylor – The Saylor Foundation






*Here is a YouTube video in which Paul Levinson explains his position: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvujlNfSeuA .



Paul Levinson -- New New Media




John Freed, Ph.D
freed@brandman.edu 
Associate Professor of Humanities/Liberal Studies
Brandman University
a member of the Chapman University System