12/05/07
The Power of Extraordinary Students

I spoke with two students yesterday, Russell and Boris. They are very bright and energetic students and will try and get students to comment on the 10 big ideas. They worked in a class and wrote market research surveys so they have some experience. It will be interesting to see student comments on Learning 2.0 aka, the Paradigm shift in education. They will use social networks to try and spread the word about this blog.

A number of my students are interested in alternative reading sources for business students. I will post information on the website, paradigmshifteducation.com, about outstanding business books and articles. Trade books about business seem so much more interesting than business textbooks. I am figuring out books to take for my upcomming trip. I will take the "Culture Shock" and "Passport" books on Japan, India and China. I have a number of ten hour flights in the next fifteen days! The "passport" series is from World Trade Press. WTP publishes very interesting books about practical international business.

I leave Friday for a trip to Japan, China and India. I am most interested in getting a global discussion going about Learning 2.0. There is a separate blog set up for global comments.

I like the idea of "born global" projects. Instead of starting where you are (Santa Ana California) and then expanding out, you begin your business or project with an international focus.

Best
Glenn Doolittle

Here are some important points from the Distinguished Faculty Lecture presented on November 26th at Santa Ana College. I invite you to post you comments by clicking here:
your comments here
I am genuinely interested in what you have to say and look forward to adding my thoughts to your comments. This blog is for the Santa Ana College community. If you are a global visitor please add your comments to the Global blog.

10 big ideas
1. Apply learning to real world problems – input from employers, develop practical skills
2. Learn from students – interactive, fast, learner focused
3. Broaden student perspectives and creative abilities – open-minded, innovative, strategic
4. Use cutting-edge technology – smarter about new sources of information
5. Engaged curiosity – the desire to question and continue to learn
6. Create open curriculum – interdisciplinary
7. Form partnerships – collaborate
8. Form global networks – know about the world
9. Develop individual excellence – courage
10. Develop organizational skills – team skills, people skills, operational skills

Blueprint for Institutional Success
1. Management Commitment. Prioritize. Get the right people, give them what they need to be successful (money and resources) and keep the bureaucracy out of their way.
2. Instructional Design Team. Eight to ten people in a high tech media lab to assist with learning. Teachers have ideas and go to the lab to make the pedagogy work.
3. Intellectual Property. Creativity with faculty on developing innovative content. Co-ownership of IP rights, CCSA licenses, think entrepreneurially.
4. Global. Commit to connecting classrooms with other classrooms around the world. Less resources for travel abroad.
5. Innovation. Institutional entrepreneurship. Businesses no longer have the category “intrapreneurship”. Entrepreneurship applies equally to large and small institutions.
6. Hiring. Think outside the box - younger faculty, incentives for retirement, advertise openings more expansively, hire people who don’t look like the people they are replacing, let younger faculty control hiring committees.
7. Counseling. Reorient counselors from only assisting with the efficient attainment of degrees, to telling students that they need degrees, but that they also need skills to make them unique.
8. Interdisciplinary. Make sure the campus encourages physical interactions between faculty from diverse areas, for example, a faculty lounge. Incentivize collaboration across disciplines.
9. Practical. Collaboration between Universities, Community Colleges and Executive Education programs.
10. Textbooks. Shorter, less expensive, targeted content.