Take Two

At http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/970479.stm the BBC reported on the "Blueprint for the E-University". And if you look behind the laudable statements the cracks (with 2020 hindsight) are obvious from the outset.

Fault Line No 1: "to make the UK a leading player in the booming market for "virtual" learning over the web", says David Blunkett. This is a strategic government announcement. Another lurch of money to show that "we are doing things". That bodes well, for some.

Fault Line No 2: "The e-University offers a way of harnessing that energy and expertise in a way that all can benefit from." so says a leading University, in this case York. What is really going on is that Universities need money so any new bandwagon that carries a fat cheque is welcome news, especially if you are at the epicentre. The statements from that quarter wholly justify the status-quo. It could be rephrased, "We have been doing it since the 12th-century, so we know best, and we are going to show these new upstarts a thing or two." Well, you sure did.

Fault Line No 3: "Cost-Effective." Well, you sure proved yourselves experts in that field!

Fault Line No 4: "We start from an excellent base. We have world-class technology infrastructure, outstanding skills in our universities and colleges, and some global technology-related companies to collaborate with. ", says Hefce's leader Sir Brian Fender. Market-speak of the first order. They are suggesting the work with the market leaders. This is the Internet for pity's sake. Are yesterday's market leaders ever going to come up with anything innovative that propels us forward? No they are going to ply their existing wares - necause that is where their investment lies. To promote anything at all innovative is counter-productive to their own profit margins. The absolute classic of this thinking was when IBM suggested the worldwide market for the single-user computer was 40,000 at absolute most. And a small unknown company called Microsoft was born.