Inside Higher Ed ran an interview with Curtis J. Bonk, a professor of instructional systems technology at Indiana University, and author of the book The World Is Open: How Web Technology is Revolutionizing Education. After discussing the open education movement, and outlining some factors or “openers” that are facilitating this transition in education, Bonk ventured into speculating about what educators would be doing in the future.

“Open education will provide continued access to learning resources before, during, or after graduation… The increased knowledge needs of every citizen of this planet should calm the fears of those who predict fewer educators or institutions of higher learning will be needed. Just the opposite!

The type of instructors needed in higher education will dramatically vary from today. Many will remain in traditional instructor roles. Some will be course and program developers. Others will be online facilitators. Still others will be learning guides who help students make sense of their options. What is more interesting to me is the coming rise of the super e-mentor or e-coach. Such individuals will have a discipline expertise (e.g., theater, journalism, public health, finance, etc.) as well as human development or counseling skills. Third, they will understand the learning opportunities of the Web. They will know how to guide students in their online learning quests. Some will be needed daily, some monthly, and others perhaps just annually or biannually. They will be our learning gurus, in this, what I label, “the learning century.””

I was intrigued by the e-mentor / e-coach idea. Even with unlimited access to education (or perhaps because of this unlimited access), I could clearly imagine motivated students leveraging their time and energy by working with a mentor. I have decided that is what I want to be when I grow up: A Super E-Mentor. Wouldn’t that look great on a business card? No seriously, I think I would love doing that. Great idea.

Tags: coach, collaboration, learning, mentor, online education, open education, teaching

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 at 9:21 pm and is filed under Ann writes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.