Monthly Archives: March 2012

New Learning and the Post Apocalyptic Fate of the University

Posted by Les Chambers on March 30, 2012
Education, Quality / No Comments

The uptake of web enabled learning technologies is far too slow in educational institutions. This will inevitably mean extinction for some. If our universities are the dinosaurs then the coming meteor is the “category killer course”. The university course that is so good, so cheap, so universally available, so universally respected and so universally job procuring that it wipes out its traditional competitors. On the brighter side fantastic careers abound for talented educators who embrace a career in teaching with the new media. Continue reading…

On Standards and Art

Posted by Les Chambers on March 06, 2012
Quality, Safety / No Comments

If you comply with a quality standard does this mean you’ve made a quality product? If you comply with a safety standard is your system is safe? Probably not. To produce quality you’ve got to know what people want and that can take a lifetime of experience. To guarantee safety you must have seen a lot of failures and that’s another lifetime of blowing stuff up. Standards are forms not formulas if you want quality and safety you’ll have to add some creativity and experience to the mix. Continue reading…