Megabucks Education Contractor in a War Zone- June 25, 2003 Several months ago, a very specialized education service provider was awarded a $62M contract to rebuild Iraq's educational system. The project is known as the Revitalization of Iraqi Schools and Stabilization of Education (RISE) program and it could be extended for two more years into a $157M deal. The war is over, and the winners have decreed universal enrollment by next Fall. If anyone canhttp://transnationaled.blogspot.com/2003/06/megabucks-education-contractor-in-war.html UN's GVU Opens With Little Fanfare- June 22, 2003 The United Nations University announced the opening of the Global Virtual University this week. The new online university will specialize in programs related to sustainable development with a "particular objective to meet the educational needs of the developing world." A UN press release called the GVU a "pioneering, online global university", and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan was confidenthttp://transnationaled.blogspot.com/2003/06/uns-gvu-opens-with-little-fanfare.html 50 Metric Tons of Learning, Part III- June 20, 2003 In its request for bids, USAID said the educational system in a post-war Iraq must "lay a foundation for democratic practices and attitudes among children and educators." Creative Associates International. Inc. (CAII), which was the sole bidder (please see Part I) and will thus be laying that foundation, (please see Part II). This is what CAII does -- stabilization of post-conflicthttp://transnationaled.blogspot.com/2003/06/50-metric-tons-of-learning-part-iii.html 50 Metric Tons of Learning, Part II- June 20, 2003 Charito Kruvant gets things done in the most difficult venues imaginable. She is the founder and President of Creative Associates International, which is about the take on the task of rebuilding Iraq's educational system, (please see yesterday's post on TNE Blog). This is in addition to getting Afghanistan's up and running. In a recent Washington Post interview, she calmly described herhttp://transnationaled.blogspot.com/2003/06/50-metric-tons-of-learning-part-ii.html New Blogger Joins TransnationalEd- June 17, 2003 The day has come for my first post, and I don't know why I've been dragging my feet. I guess I've just enjoyed reading Tom's posts so much and wondered what I could bring to the table that would measure up. I'm new at this. I'll say it upfront. The words 'transnational education' were completely foreign (no pun intended) less than a few months ago. But I take courage at something Tom told me ahttp://transnationaled.blogspot.com/2003/06/new-blogger-joins-transnationaled.html 50 Metric Tons of Learning- June 16, 2003 The main Iraq Educational Repair contract was awarded on April 17, 2003 to the tune of $62.7M -- with options for two one-year extensions which could raise the value to as much as $157M. It is formally referred to as the Revitalization of Iraqi Schools and Stabilization of Education (RISE) program, and the recipient was a for-profit, woman-owned business named Creative Associates International,http://transnationaled.blogspot.com/2003/06/50-metric-tons-of-learning.html Five Good Things About Transnational Ed- June 12, 2003 A recent column in The Tribune of India stated the prevailing bias against transnational education clearly and unequivocally: " ... hardly any top ranking university of the USA, the UK, Australia or New Zealand has shown interest in India. Only those universities with very low rankings in their own country and those which are badly in need of foreign students have made inroads into developinghttp://transnationaled.blogspot.com/2003/06/five-good-things-about-transnational.html Too Much Technology for Western Governors University -- Or Not Enough- June 11, 2003 They say all publicity is good publicity. So, once again, it's good news for e-learning under the headline: Online U Programs Under Fire. This time the beneficiary of the good publicity is Western Governors University (WGU), a target of online learning critics since its inception. For years, WGU was prominent in the e-learning Field of Dreams derby: What if you build it and no one comeshttp://transnationaled.blogspot.com/2003/06/too-much-technology-for-western.html U21 Global: A Few Easy Questions- June 10, 2003 This wouldn't be much of a Transnational Ed blog without some mention of the Universitas 21 international consortium of universities, with Thomson Learning as the commercial partner, finally opening its virtual doors. It happened the week before last, but I don't feel that it's too late to make a comment since the whole affair has been strangely under-reported, or under-analyzed anyway. Maybehttp://transnationaled.blogspot.com/2003/06/u21-global-few-easy-questions.html Exporting Higher Education: A Four Dimensional Teaching Model- June 9, 2003 Commercial Presence through Franchising is a one-dimensional approach. The university provides a syllabus and lesson plans to be delivered by the local partner. It may be possible to extend a university's learning environment by combining multiple dimensions, including, but not limited to, local stand-ins. No one method can adequately reproduce the experience. Organizing several approaches,http://transnationaled.blogspot.com/2003/06/exporting-higher-education-four.html |