Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ This Time is Different. Part 1.

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

George Siemens (we assume, though the article isn't attributed to an author) offers three separate 'core assertions' that add up to the idea that while society is changing, as evidenced by the changing ways we use information, educational institutions have not been adapting, because they are embedded in their own systems and networks that resist change. "This time is different" refers to AI, which Siemens asserts is much more than just a fad. I wouldn't disagree, though if I were making the same point I would be less inclined to use the term 'information' and also less inclined to emphasize and credit managers and "leaders in universities, big tech, startups, and non-profits." But there's going to be pushback. Here's Tony Hirst: "I am starting to realise how many people are digitally excluded, don't have ready internet access, can't buy things online, and don't discover things online. And I would rather spend my time in their world than this digital one." I would respond, though, that these same people were excluded before digital technology; we just didn't see, hear, or care about them. Well, most of us.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
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