Tech Note: Support for College Readiness and Completion

Proposals forms are not available yet, but EDUCAUSE, the Gates Foundation, and a couple of other partners promise to support "islands of innovation" in the goal to utilize technology for college success—in terms of college readiness and college completion. That's the goal of the Next Gen Learning Challenges. Projects that demonstrate promise will then be "scaled," and presumably help to address the core challenge: producing more college graduates to meet the next decade's workforce needs.

As anyone connected to higher ed today will testify, the current budget cuts on campuses both public and private would suggest that larger student bodies are not likely. The planners behind Next Gen see technology as the answer, with four challenges for focus: open core courseware, web 2.0 engagement, blended learning, and learning analytics.

What caught my eye in the background materials: The League for Innovation in the Community Colleges is a partner. That bodes well for the project. Belle Wheelan, president of SACS, serves on the Advisory Panel. And a representative from Creative Commons, Joi Ito, also serves. There are plenty more participants, of course. But I liked seeing these especially.

© 2010 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. Email contact: bold[AT]marybold.com. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (http://www.marybold.com/, http://www.boldproductions.com/, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as legal or professional advice. Bold is the co-author of Reflections: Preparing for your Practicum or Internship, geared to college interns in the child, education, and family fields. She is a consultant and speaker on assessment, distance learning, and technology.