Enter a second post(3-5 paragraphs) in your blog that connects what you found most meaningful in your reading. Connect it to your values or job. Remember to cite your source so you can find it again (and to practice citation/reference skills).
While reading Bonk, the content really hit close to home for me. Much of what he wrote about emulated my thoughts and feelings about the current state of society relative to teaching, learning and technology. We have reached a time where technology has become low cost or even free, and it is providing many people with the opportunity to learn, that otherwise would not have the financial resources to do so. Tools that Bonk discussed, including social networking, digitized books, streaming tools and the like have all become important parts of the learning process at higher ed institutions like Lehigh. As Bonk discussed (pp. 35-41), these tools and new ones on the horizon will become more important as they become more readily available on a global level.
As a technology employee at a University, I have vested interest in this because these technologies will most likely have a direct impact on the recruiting and selection of future students. In a time where budget cuts are the norm, it is important for people like me to identify technology tools that are low cost and provided needed resources to effectively teach and learn. Many open source initiatives such as Moodle, Mahara, Google Scholar, and more are providing schools with an advantage at low costs. Such tools are widening the selection pool for students, but it is also increasing the competition among institutions. Offering a variety of course attendance options opens the doors to invite students from around the world to join in the learning experience.
This summer, I had the opportunity to attend the Sloan-C/Merlot/Moodle conference in California. Many of the facilitators of this conference are leaders in the remote learner realm, and strive to achieve many if not all of the same ideals that encompass "WE-ALL-LEARN"(Bonk, p. 51). The general feeling I got from the conference is that while some may still be skeptical about the authenticity of e-learning, the technologies and tools that Google, Microsoft, and other players bring to the world of learning have the ability to make the learning experience better than face to face learning. Granted, e-learning is not for everyone, but having the ability to offer a student a way to learn that fits best with their learning and life styles breaks down barriers to learning that once existed.
The one concern that I have in my current position is identifying ways to quantify the total cost of ownership for such technology with the state of things; financially, technologically, and educationally. Although open source tools like Moodle do not have a cost associated with the software or its use, the cost of hardware and management do not go away. It has become an educational experience to explain to students, staff and administration alike that there is still an associated cost for such tools. One speaker at the conference said it best when he stated, "Its more like getting a free puppy than getting a free beer".
Bonk, Curtis J. (2009) The world is open: How web technology is revolutionizing education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
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