technology
With over 3 million students worldwide taking part in MOOCs, the educational opportunities for those students disadvantaged by geographic, financial or social factors are undeniable.
it is contextual, it could be argued that it has more meaning and relevance to the end user. At the forefront of the potential revolution, there are likely to be changes in postgraduate courses, where students are already established learners and motivated to study for professional development.
Imagining the future of education delivery is an ambitious task. The Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia is committed to taking a leadership role in this debate. Our concern, as always, is with quality – we see the quality of learning outcomes as key to the success or failure of MOOCs. We are collaborating with education providers to create the best possible model for business and accounting education. It’ s clear that the digital age must be embraced in order to remain relevant and sustainable. There are significant benefits to be gained if – and this is a big if – the education content of business and accounting courses is constructed and delivered effectively.
The keys are deciding how to make best use of the changes evolving technologies bring on and determining which models of innovation to adopt. Whilst we embrace the opportunities MOOCs provide in terms of equity and access, we also believe that these concepts are meaningful only when underpinned by quality.
There is a plausible future for higher education in an online world. The virtual university provides many opportunities for the accounting profession to work with educators on the quality of both the online and on-campus experience for students. Other important issues include opening up the profession to a more diverse range of students and candidates, anywhere / anytime continuous professional development, and the accreditation of future business professionals.
For educators of present and future members of the profession, a new era is emerging in which accounting is influencing the education of its future practitioners with the aim of creating the best learning experiences.
Ideally the education of the future will be a blend of technology and face-to-face learning that will benefit practitioners, graduate students and academics and, ultimately, preserve the legitimacy of professions in society – including accounting.
More insights into this changing era in education are available in the publication The Virtual University: Impact on Australian Accounting and Business Education, co-produced by the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and the University of South Australia’ s Centre for Accounting, Governance and Sustainability. It explores the concept of the virtual university from the perspective of a range of contributors, from industries such as IT and publishing and from professional bodies, industry groups and the higher education sector. It is available online at www. charteredaccountants. com. au / academic n
Professor James Guthrie is head of academic relations at the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia.
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