Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ Online learning responsible for 10% of the UK economy – it is claimed

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

Tony Bates reviews a Demos study called The Learning Curve: How the UK is Harnessing the Potential of Online Learning (44 page PDF). It's a pretty positive report, and it argues that "learning can now happen anytime, any place and is no longer confined to the classroom." Which is true, but Tony Bates cautions, "this study is so bad I hardly know where to start... Its methodology is unbelievably flawed, and its conclusions trite." In particular, he is concerned with "the pseudo-quantitative claim that informal online learning contributes 10% to the British economy that is unsustainable. The methodology they used to support this claim is completely bogus." I have to agree with Bates. The study is pretty light. And yet, as he says, "there is surely a really good story to tell about the value of informal online learning."

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
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Last Updated: Apr 25, 2024 03:23 a.m.

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