From George’s great open letter:
I propose that the top 10 Canadian universities convene a meeting to plan a MOOC response that helps us to build our competence in this space. We already have universities devoted to online learning such as Athabasca University (disclaimer: that’s where I hang out) and Thompson Rivers. Partner with those systems as design and delivery partners as they have developed the technical infrastructure and pedagogical expertise for online learning. Even a small allocation of $5-10 million by assembled universities would produce a significant impact and increase the profile of Canadian higher education.
We’ve been laggards for too long, acquiescing international students to more visionary countries (such as Australia). Now is a great time to plant the Canadian flag in the emerging education landscape. All we need is a bit of vision and a willingness to experiment.
George Siemens – Open Letter to Canadian Universities
I agree. This stuff is important, and we must work together on this. The technology is going to be, by far, the easiest part of it. The institutional cultures need to be adjusted, to allow and encourage collaboration at this level. It’s not a technology project (where collaboration often occurs already), it’s a curriculum and teaching project. That’s where collaboration gets sticky. Perhaps if it’s crafted as a partial response to the Access Copyright protection racket fiasco…