“Associations Now”… a group new to me, but that Liz Brown has sent links to…and which has a magazine along with a “membership model”… has a story on the general applicability of online learning DLE to various educational niches in US. Also kind of new to me to call non profits in this arena “Associations” although apparently common enough.
Maybe PSA is an “Association”? Would that be a good thing if it was? =^)
The term “association” might apply to trade unions that have long provided competency based training for members. Competency based training is driven by performance…solving real world problems with the assistance of mentors.
Once again, the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) is up for reauthorization . Perhaps Obama’s State of the Union speech on bridging skill gaps will play a part in the use of “associations” in building real world skills for the 21st century. The approach supports community colleges to design curriculum suited to the skills that require less then a four year degree, but do require the process skills needed to solve problems.
If “associations” are already designing curriculum for workers in specific fields, perhaps community colleges could learn something related to approaches for teaching real world problem solving.
Thanks Kris for that reference to trade unions. As the article mentions, there’s a lot of resources in associations that could become “distributed” online in more efficient formats, and more affordable access.
Costs are going to continue to be a huge factor in changes. Have said before that Professional Development fees are a “disruption waiting to happen”. As the lady says:
“”If MOOC providers such as Coursera turn education into a fundamental right that can be consumed at any time day or night, for example, “How are you going to charge $190 for a 90 minute session and a lunch?” she asked.””