Robin Mason

This book examines the educational and socio-cultural issues arising from the globalization of education.

Trends and Applications

Globalising Education

Frank Rennie

There is a mistyeyed vision of Bhutan which has popularized it as ‘the last Shangrila’, the hidden Himalayan jewel, the travel destination of celebrities and uniqueexperiencehunters. We are not entirely comfortable with this image. Bhutan has undoubtedly become the focus of considerable media attention in the last few years. Articles appear regularly on its substitution of happiness for money as the indicator of the country’s wealth. Television programs, books, visits by personalities – all have served to bring Bhutan to global awareness. This attention only serves to increase pressure on the culture to become like any other. How has Bhutan resisted the impact of globalisation which has had such a homogenizing affect on most other countries in the world? A practice, until recently, of selfimposed isolation from the rest of the world, the Buddhist tradition, and the lack of any successful foreign invader have combined to produce a living culture that is as unique as it is fragile. This fragility suggested the need to document a context that seemed on the verge of change. Our second visit in 2008 confirmed our sense of immanent change, as we could see for ourselves the ways in which ‘international culture’ was beginning to appear: the first escalator in the country, widening the main road from single track to dual carriageway, the first democratic election, the availability of satellite television, and internet expansion... Nevertheless, we continue to feel that in Bhutan there is a different ‘way of knowing.’ We have worked with staff at the University to try to capture something of this in three different forms: • chapters written by Bhutanese individuals about the culture, landscape, education and folklore • extracts from interviews with university staff and associates to draw out particular characteristics of Bhutan which would be of interest to Western readers • photographs of Bhutan which provide a different ‘view’ of the country to complement the text. The subject matter has been chosen by Bhutanese staff at the Royal University of Bhutan as an expression of their understanding of their own land. There are conventional travel books about Bhutan available and we have not attempted to contribute to this literature. Bhutan: Ways of Knowing is a book which reflects Bhutanese understanding of their country. We hope that you will find these contributions as interesting and thoughtprovoking as we do, and that you, too, will find a different way of knowing about Bhutan.

Ways of Knowing

Bhutan

Student engagement with digital learning resources and online social networking are strong forces in education today. How can these resources best be utilized by educators and course designers in higher education? This book aims to provide the reader with enough background information to appreciate the value of social networking, especially for distributed education. Through highlighting the most relevant, interesting, and challenging aspects of e-learning the book provides practical advice for using social networking tools in course design. This volume covers the following issues of course design using social networking: key issues of social networking as an educational technique designing for a distributed environment strengths and weaknesses of delivering content in various formats: text, audio and video specific media: blogging, wikis, podcasting, webcasting constraints on course design implementation, evaluation, induction and training Illustrated by short descriptive case studies, it also highlights contact addresses, websites, and further reading to help readers find resources and enhance their design. This practical guide will help all those involved in the design and delivery of online learning in higher education make the best choices when preparing courses for distributed learning. Robin Mason is Professor of Educational Technology at the Open University where she is a specialist in the design and practice of online teaching and learning. Frank Rennie is Professor of Sustainable Rural Development at the UHI Millennium Institute in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Please visit the authors’ wiki at: www.socialnetworking.wetpaint.com

Robin Mason

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