In Response to Ian Juke's Paper

Dear Ian
I found your paper very enlightening with respect to its ability to laconically address what is without a doubt some of the major challenges facing educators in the 21st century – What do we teach? Where do we teach? How do we teach it? Why do we teach it? I believe that the main focus of education, in the 21st century, needs to be on a new skill acquisition – critical thinking skills. And coupled with this, in order to address what you have touched upon we need to deal with the legacy, left over from the 'Industrial Revolution', that of authority.

When individuals moved away from an agrarian, cottage based industry, to one of an industrial based society there would have been an expectation on those engaged in society to undertake their daily tasks so that those tasks reflected the dominate view within society. That dominate view was later promulgated, within the education system, to ensure that all members of that society maintained their status within their respective positions. Hence, children were seen and not heard, the man was the head of the household etc. all of these viewpoints emphasized how each individual was to conduct themselves within society and thereby, ensure the smooth running of that society. Individuals acquired skills to survive in this new world and the most seminal skill was the one of 'follow orders and don't question those in authority'. It has been this skill that for the past 200 years has had a major influence on the way in which we teach. The concept of authority, for example, implies that one needs to have someone who has the answers, so that we in the sub – servant role can be assured that for every situation there is an appropriate response – the right answer but not quite possibly the correct one.

However, that response was articulated by the authority figure who was in the eyes of those under them omnipotent. Hence, all knowledge, understanding and most importantly the evaluator of information was the authority. Teachers have, like the authority that created their working environment, attempted to maintained and in some cases substantiate this view for nearly 200 years. However, with the decline of authority we have also witnessed the decline of teachers because their role has under gone a metamorphosis but instead of reinventing itself teaching has become more of a catalysts attempting to engage in the change but unfortunately in doing so has failed to undergo change itself. As a consequence the survival skill, of follow orders and don't question authority, that was developed within the Industrial Revolution no longer has a place in the 21st century Information Age society. Why is that the case? Well I believe it is because of technology. Technology that allows for
1.
the rapid acquisition of information without the need to have to be constrained by the barriers that confronted the workers of the Industrial Revolution – a building.

The Industrial Revolution created cities and therefore, the buildings that housed the individuals who worked in the factories that helped to man the factories that created the cities that built the buildings that housed the individuals who worked in the factories, and so it goes on. The problem for us is that we have this fixation with buildings – Why? Because it is a legacy of the Industrial Revolution. Schools by their construction, a big bunch of buildings, are therefore apart of that legacy and are viewed as a continuation of authority. The 'White House', Parliament House' these are two buildings that represent, by the very nature of their appellations, a extension of authority that is present in those who occupy each building based on the previous occupants. Which in some cases, like the White House, could extend back 300 years. Schools are not dis – similar 'The High Grove Academy for Young Women' or 'The Geelong Boy's Grammar School' all reflect this notion of authority. Whilst the names indicate who attends these institutions the buildings, associated with these institutions, represent a long tradition of success and continued development. The problem that we encounter here is, 'How do we mesh the long and very successful history of institutions, that have over the centuries delivered, via the assembly line, their graduates with a 21st century society?' Clearly, we need to look at, 'How we teach' and 'What we teach'.

What we need to teach is critical thinking skills. The key areas of literacy and numeracy are directly linked to the acquisition of critical thinking. Critical thinking entails looking at the world from all types of perspectives and then attempting to make sense of what you have learnt. Its about asking 'why?' and not just simply accepting the first answer that you get but rather exploring and investigating further. Once we start moving in to this realm we begin to encroach on authority; to question without thought is not really questioning it is simply a way in which individuals approach authority. The 1960s highlighted this when people began to question authority. Whilst they may have undertaken to encourage change, with respect to authority, we still find that, for example, governments continued to spread false information. By simply asking 'Why?' to a question does not guarantee that you will get the correct answer.

Finally, how we teach needs to, as I've outlined previously, reflect a movement away from
2.

the lecture style that many teachers employ. To assist in the development of critical thinking skills we need to move towards a teacher facilitator approach with a view to eventually one that is totally student centered. The development of a student centered approach will culminate in creating an environment that will in effect be the point at which the Industrial Revolution's legacy of authority will no longer exist, in the form that it originally took 200 years ago. Without the ability to undertake critical thinking individuals will continue to be trapped in the lock step approach to education and the constraints that such an narrow approach as on society.

Regards,
Tony

There is no 'm' in virtual.

In the race to the Moon both the Soviets and the Americans engaged in developing technology that would allow one nation to claim the mantel of 'Placing the first human on the Moon'. As the world watched, in 1969, Neil Armstong articulated that laconic phrase, 'One small step for man, one great leap for mankind' and so the United States of America became the first country, in the history of the world, to put a human – man – on the Moon. However, we know from history that whilst the Soviets may not have put a man on the Moon they certainly had plenty of artificial humans wondering around the surface of the Moon well before, during and after Armstrong's sojourn. The Soviets moved away from manned space flight, to the Moon, and concentrated instead on robots, machines designed to take the place of man. Hence, like as in Soviet Moon exploration, virtual teaching tools have no 'm' no man. No one knows, or for that matter probably even cares, about the name of the first robot that the Soviets placed on the Moon but Neil Armstong's name will be for ever contained in the pages of History.

The only way to ensure the credibility of any virtual teaching tool, for the future, is to develop now a symbiotic relationship between it and man so that in the future its application will be accepted and universally implemented. No present application of technology will be successfully applied, within institutions; primary or secondary, if those institutions responsible for the education of future educationalists, do not undertake to re – invent their pedagogies surrounding the delivery of curriculum. Hence, changes to the current model of Education will only occur if Universities, where the future educators of the world are to be taught, imbibe this approach. One way, in which this process could take place would be through the development of ITM – Integrated Teaching Model. The development of ITM will focus on three key areas – ICT, Pedagogy and Educational Links.

ICT's must play a seminal role in the development of education in the 21st century and beyond and from ICT's there will develop the nexus that exists between Pedagogy and Educational Links. Clearly, the works of a number of writers, for example, Cetron and Cetron (2003) and Colon and Simpson (2003) have all articulated the important role that ICT's will play in any future developments of Education. However, juxtaposed to that is the problem faced by institutions in implementing ICT's
within the current model of Education. As highlighted by Jukes (2002), Education has not changed in
1.
50 years, whilst business' have changed yesterday. Hence, in order to address this situation Universities need to commence introducing courses that will encourage students to experiment with and also implement ICT's within their course work. But those same institutions must develop and encourage the use of those skills within primary and secondary schools. The change that will take place cannot exist in a vacuum but must be interconnected via a symbiotic relationship – the University and the student – man. The Universities must develop the necessary cyber links that will create educational opportunities for their graduates. Clearly, those educational opportunities need to encompass the application of ICT's within not only their course work but also the 'real world'. Once, this link has been established the focus must then turn to the application of ICT's within The Classroom of the Future – The Virtual Teacher. By undertaking such an approach the corollary that exists between each facet of the ITM process can be implemented and thus allow for the transitional change that will need to occur from the current Educational model to the Virtual Educational model.

Technology is advancing at an ever increasing rate, information is being obtained by individuals at a faster rate and with more complexity than at any time previously in history (Jukes, 2002). This situation has culminated in impacting on the Education system by forcing it to engage in the creation of tools that reflect a 21st century application. Yet, within many classrooms, in the developing world, the way in which students are being taught has not changed in the past 50 years (Jukes, 2002). Therefore, what has occurred is a convergence of the old and the new, and unfortunately for Education the new is sometimes hard to imbibe. Consequently, changes and developments within Education have been stymied by the inability of the system to find a way to adequately come up with a solution to move thousands of individuals through change. A change that for nearly 200 years has focused on a teacher/lecturing philosophy. In order for there to be a smooth transition from this environment to the cyber environment Education must undergo the transition from a lecturing, teaching model to one focusing on student management followed by eventually student self - management. We cannot jump from our current 19th century educational model to one encapsulating a 21st century philosophy without first creating the necessary environment that will allow for a smooth transition. We all know that modern aircraft can take off, fly and land without the assistance of humans but no one will at present, get in to a plane without a pilot firmly ensconced in the driving seat. Why?
2.

Simply because people are not ready, yet. The pilot unions are not ready, the traveling public are not ready and the airline companies are not ready. Possibly in 50 years time they will be but unless something is done to placate the concerns of all those involved no one will be getting in to a pilot less aircraft for many years to come. So why should Education be any different? There needs to be a transition stage between the current model of Education and that associated with the virtual delivery of Education. Without such a process, Education will never truly develop, with the assistance of ICT's, in to a vibrant, evolving virtual entity devoid of teacher influence and specifically student focused. This Middle Phase of Education, the transitional phase, is what I refer to as – Teacher Facilitator; where the teacher acts as a facilitator and a manager of knowledge responding to the individual needs of their clients in a world linked by cyber technology encompassing a curriculum that is focused on ensuring that those engaged in its application are not left behind. It is the phase in the Education process where Universities, responsible for teacher education, move away from the 19th model of Education and commence the transition to the 21st century and beyond. Gathering with them the technology, and creating the confidence in that technology, that will bring all humanity together. In this way, the Education system will be able to integrate the community, business and government. The Teacher Facilitator emphasizes the need for changing the way in which we 'teach'. By undertaking such a stance the Teacher Facilitator creates the necessary transitional pedagogical approach to the delivery of Education in the 21st century. Without such a development the implementation of a student centered self managed pedagogy focusing on the inclusion of the virtual (math) teacher will still be a long way off.

The Teacher Facilitator pedagogy emphasizes an approach to Education that requires the teacher, who will have the role of a facilitator and manager of knowledge, as opposed to a giver of knowledge, to respond to individual student needs via computer assisted technology. The teacher will use technology, with the assistance of pedagogy to steer and guide students. Within this framework Certon and Certon (2003) argued that teachers will become mentors, facilitators, whose job it is not to lecture to students but instead help students to learn via the collection, evaluation, analyzing and synthesizing of information. This framework will culminate in, as outlined by Lawson and Comber (2000), the blurring of the traditional roles of teacher/pupil and a shift in power relationships that are a direct result of the different styles of teaching associated with ICT's. In this way, for example, the
3.
marking of term papers, end of term reports a student's inability to read etc should become anachronistic as data, collected, analyzed and responded to on a daily basis, with the assistance of technology, by TF circumvents the old 19th century education model. No longer will students flounder in the classroom due to a lack of understanding or be bored, and thereby become disengaged with Education because of the simplicity of concepts. The TF will, via technology, be able to meet the individual learning needs of their clients and consequently, address a number of perplexing problems confronting educationalists in the 21st century. The center piece to this transitional change will be the development and implementation of a Rapid Delivery, Collection, Analysis and Response Tool – (RDCAR – T) – WORM's. These tools are designed to be used, in conjunction with the TF, to individual address the learning needs of students and to facilitate outcomes that reflect a facilitator/management style approach to knowledge acquisition.

The center point of ITM will be facilitating the transition of a teacher centered Educational philosophy to one exhibiting a virtual student self centered approach, via the an Educational philosophy, that reflects a growing awareness of society's understanding of the benefits derived by a movement away from a teacher centered to a student self centered approach. One of the key elements of this development will be, through the implementation of WORM's, the capacity of TF to engage large cohorts of students in the educational process. WORM's will be designed to meet the plethora of needs students will be required to undertake in the Educational process of the 21st century and beyond. By linking the development and application of these WORM's to the course work of future educators the educational acumen of those educators will increase and will culminate in their, and society's, increased interest in the use of ICT's. The benefits derived by the use of this type of approach, to education, will substantially impact on those directly involved in Education and therefore, both promulgate and propagate the use of ICT's within the Educational environment. Hence, WORM's will represent the vehicle by which student centered learning will be facilitated. As Universities, Society and Governments become more acquainted and accustomed to the the application of ICT's so will Society become more comfortable with a virtual tool designed to encourage student centered learning. In order to encourage this development there needs to be a greater emphasis placed on Education, within Universities, and that emphasis should relate to the application of this process in addressing the needs of students now. Clearly, that focus needs to be on literacy and numeracy.
4.
If one looks at the products developed by Kurzweil, for example Kurzweil 3000 . . .' the Premier reading, writing and learning software for struggling students – dyslexia, learning difficulties...' such products are designed to assist students with learning difficulties. Clearly, these products could have a much greater influence or impact on Society if their application was undertaken within the framework of ITM. Imagine the following scenario -
'A teacher, primary school, is teaching 40 students, in year 5, to read. The school has developed a system which incorporates the use of both computer generated and hard cover reading material. All of the reading material has been graded with respect the degree of difficulty that each piece has in relation to the year of the student. The school has determined that by year 5 students should be able to read books of level F at the commencement of year 5
and level H at the completion of year 5. The teacher uses the Kurzweil 3000 to assist in teaching the students to read but they will still be required to individually assess each student to ascertain their reading level. That could take hours, days or even weeks. All that time the students could be falling behind in their reading because no one has actually assessed their acquisition. If the Kurzweil 3000 had attached to it a WORM – Reading Assessment Tool then the application of that tool would compliment the reading tool. Each student could at the end of the lesson be asked to deliver a presentation, via a platform linked to the WORM – Reading Assessment Tool and depending upon what assessment items the WORM reviews the teacher could before the end of the lesson know at what level each student is, the names of students successfully achieving the desired outcomes, the names of students who are not etc. Such a simple tool, as WORM – Reading Assessment Tool will have an immediate impact on the learning of the students. The ability of the WORM to rapidly analyze and respond to the data presented to it will influence those who use the tool as an assessment tool, the teacher, the student who used it as an assessment item, and parents via immediate feed back, on the daily performance of their child. This development would culminate in creating an atmosphere where eventually there will be a more effective use of ICT's, within the classroom, paving the way for the implementation of virtual teaching.'
Similar tools could also be created for numeracy, implemented and developed around the same application.

5.
In order to help establish the necessary Educational link, with future educationalists, this application must also focus on ensuring that the technology is being associated with the course work of future Teacher Facilitators (fTF). By creating this link the application for the technology can be applied to the current Educational environment and therefore ensure its continued application This linkage is crucial because hastening teachers in to the cyber world (Colon and Simpson, 2003) will have very little impact, unless there is a clear educational vision articulated as to why this change to the cyber world is happening. The linkage, that will occur within the fTF program will undoubtedly substantiate the implementation of ICT's and therefore, articulate not only a clear educational vision but also a clear educational outcome. Hence, part of the course work of a fTF would be associated with working directly with the Primary school teacher in assessing the data derived from the WORM and then reviewing that data to help manage the learning of the students in the class.

By applying this approach the fTF can see the benefits derived from ICT's and have a direct influence on the future direction of both the class' learning and the development of the WORM. This application would placate one of the major concerns for the future use of ICT's in the cyber classroom, as highlighted by Dooley (1999), in that innovations are not put in to practice because they conflict with deeply held internal images of how the world works and that those images often limit individuals to think in a familiar way. Whilst simultaneously addressing Colon and Simpson's (2003) concerns that a number of obstacles impact on the use of ICT's in schools; the heavy demands made of teachers, infrastructure deficiencies, the lack of ICT skills for teachers and by citing Cuban's work, in California, where Cuban expressed the opinion that teachers themselves are traditionally slow to change and that if policy reforms, for example ICT, are not imbibed by teachers then the end result will be that there will only be a superficial impact.

A transition from a 19th to 21st pedagogy will be necessary as the process of change, quite clearly evident in the explosion of the internet, for example, has created for Education a paradox. In order to change, Education must accept 21st century technology but at the same time that technology, in many cases, is being shunned by the very individuals who must apply it. One of the major problems confronting the smooth introduction of technology is that at present it application within Education is convoluted. There does not yet appear to be any noticeable link between the companies developing
6.
these 'teaching' products and the Universities who are the main suppliers of the user market. Coupled with this Universities have not really geared their students, the future educators, for the use of those 'teaching' products. There is also no noticeable links with respect the application,again, of those 'teaching' products with the virtual classroom as a combined movement. Rather the development appears to be driven by a desire to have the technology, because you know that it works, as opposed to creating an understanding amongst the entire school community of the application of technology in conjunction with human intervention. This seminal point was clearly highlighted with respect to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The CIA had spent billions of dollars investing in virtual agents only to discover that they had lost the human factor, with respect to intelligence. This situation culminated in information not being obtained and acted upon. As a society we must continue to move ahead as quickly and as decisively as possible. However, that decisive action must not be at the loss of human involvement in the Education process, at this stage. Ray Kurzweil's belief that, the world is entering a new era that he calls 'the Singularity' does not negate the inclusion of human facilitation in Education as a means of transitioning the world. I would, and no doubt many others, agree with Kurzweil's view, To contemplate stopping that — to think human beings are fine the way they are — is a misplaced fond remembrance of what human beings used to be. What human beings are is a species that has undergone a cultural and technological evolution, and it's the nature of evolution that it accelerates, and that its powers grow exponentially, and that's what we're talking about. The next stage of this will be to amplify our own intellectual powers with the results of our technology. (Kurzweil, 2001)

However, it is important not to forget history, as those that do a are condemned to repeat it. The 'Industrial Revolution' must also be considered as '. . . a merger between human intelligence and machine intelligence (and) in doing so create(d) something bigger than itself.' Kurzweil (2001) The impact of the Industrial Revolution on society, and the implications associated with its rapid development in today's society are a direct result of a non existent transitional period. The merger between human intelligence and machine intelligence needs to evolve so that the acceptability of virtual teachers, in the next 30 to 40 years, will in effect culminate in achieving outcomes that will benefit all of humanity. I believe that the human element associated with Education, within the transitional phase of 'the Singularity' revolution, will help and not hinder the cultural and technological advances highlighted by Kurzweil. Humans respond better to change when they are fully cognizant of
7.
the outcomes that change will impact on them. The only way in which that can be successfully enacted is to engage individuals at the point of direct entry to technology – Educational Institutions. Therefore, before any transitional developments can take place there needs to be change happening within those institutions. By addressing this humanity will be able to see and understand the benefits that a 'Singularity' society will be able to enjoy. A failure to undertake such action could culminate in further alienating society and therefore, continue to retard the application of ICT's within the Educational setting.























8.

References
Cetron, M. & Cetron, K. (2003). A Forecast for schools. Educational Leadership, 61 (4), 22 – 30.
Cetron, M., & Davies, O. (2003). Trends Shaping the Future. Futurist, 37 92), 30 – 44.
The Classroom of the Future. (2001). Newsweek, 138, 60 – 65.
Conlon, T., & Simpson, M. (2003). Silicon Valley versus Silicon glen: the impact of computers upon teaching and learning: a comparative study. British Journal of Educational Technology, 34 (2), 137.
Davies, T. (2004). Changing schools of thought: back to the future. Research in Education, 71, 9 – 16.
Dooley, K. (1999). Towards a Holistic Model for the Diffusion of Educational Technologies: An Integrative Review of Educational Innovation Studies. Educational Technology & Society, 2 (4).
Jukes, Ian (2002). The Digital Disconnect from the Pew Internet and American Life Project http://www.edtechnot.com/notarticle1002a.html
Kurzweil,Ray.(2001) TheSingular http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/kurzweil_singularity/kurzweil_singularity_index.html
Lawson, T., & Comber, C. (2000). Introducing Information and Communication Technologies in to Schools: blurring the boundaries. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 21 (3), 419 – 433.
Leigh, G. (2000). Key markers in Victoria's information journey in to the knowledge age. Australian Educational Computing, 15 91), 7 – 12.
Nichol, J., & Watson, K. (2003). Rhetoric and reality – the past and the future of ICT in Education. British Journal of Educational Technology, 34 (2), 131.
Reynolds, D., Treharne, D., Tripp, H. (2003). ICT – The hopes and the Reality. British Journal of Educational Technology, 34 (2), 151 – 167.
Snyder, D. P. (2004). A Look at the Future. American School Board Journal, 191 (1), 1.
Willms, J. D., & Corbett, B. (2003). Tech and teens: Access and use. Statistics Canada, 11(8), 15 – 20.

Self Managed Learnin Centers

1.0 The Philosophy

The philosophy of Self Managed Learning Centers – SMLC – reflects a belief that there will be an inevitable shift by society to developing a greater dependence on technology and that such a dependence will have a direct impact on educational organizational structure. Coupled with this belief, there is also the view that the present educational organizational structure is unsustainable and that if governments continue to reflect a 19th approach to a 21st challenge society runs the risk of becoming less egalitarian. This situation will branch from an inability of education to adequately cater to the needs of society because of the dependence of society on technology and the inability of government world wide, through education, to adequately implement or facilitate learning. These developments will stem from the parsimonious actions of governments, as they will be required to grapple with the ever-increasing burden of peak infrastructure. Peak Infrastructure is a term that reflects the same condition as peak oil when society finally realizes ‘that there is no more oil to find and that from here on in it’s all down hill’. Similarly, peak infrastructure relates to the time when governments realize that they will need to choose between infrastructure and taxes, in that the continued burden of governments on education, roads, health etc will become unsustainable without massive amounts of capital.

When peak infrastructure is reached, it will be too late for society to look for alternatives, for its delivery of a number of key elements: Education and Health. SMLC are developed around the need to undertake the re – construction of educational organizational structure via the implementation of a curriculum that reflects an entrepreneurial approach to the delivery of education in the 21st century and beyond that will ameliorate the shock of peak infrastructure. The eventuality of the movement of society to a more technology dependent structure, noted by the term ‘the singularity’, will also culminate in creating within society a greater division between ‘rich and poor’ as technology will play a more seminal role in employment.

One of the seminal elements of the development of SMLC is based around the implementation of a structured educational curriculum focusing on the student’s acquisition of self-managed learning skills. Self – managed learning skills (SMLS)
1.
is a developmental process that students undertake during the course of their education. It commences at the early stages of introduction to education in the K – 5 areas and continues to expand through the 6 – 12 areas. The application of SMLS revolves around a holistic approach (HA) to the delivery of education. An HA to education incorporates the university, school and family with each working in a symbiotic relationship. This relationship acknowledges the link that needs to exist between the three areas in order to ensure the development of a SMLC’s.
The development of SMLC’s will therefore incorporate the establishment of educational links with university to school and a continued development of those links via the family. In this way the nexuses that will be created ensures that SMLS become a seminal aspect in the early thinking skill development of students. Consequently, students in K – 5 will be introduced to the teacher facilitator(TF) philosophy whereby teachers within the K – 5 areas will deliver a curriculum that concentrates on ensuring that students acquire a mastering of numeracy and literacy skills. The acquisition of those skills will stem from the introduction and implementation of technology that will facilitate the learning of students by encouraging them to move towards self – managed learning. Self – managed learning will ultimately be the vehicle by which governments will be able to implement an educational system devoid of the constraints that are currently plaguing it. It will be through self – managed learning that an entrepreneurial approach to education will be introduced and successfully implemented. This introduction will culminate in the creation of self – managed learning centers.

The focus of SMLC’s will be three fold. Firstly, they will facilitate the introduction of technology within education to ensure that there will be equal access to all members of society. Secondly, SMLC’s should build the necessary infrastructure, within education, to ensure the development of an organizational network capable of delivering education on a number of sustainable and flexible levels. Finally, SMLC’s will be the vehicle by which the transition from the current delivery of education, a teacher-centered model, to a model more conjunctive to ‘the singularity’ will take place. This transition will be the result of a change in the focus of a educational model that encourages the development of critical thinking skills coalesced with student self – managed learning. SMLC’s therefore, are the culmination of the implementation of an holistic approach to education emphasizing a teacher facilitator pedagogy coupled with an emphasis on student self – managed leaning. A holistic approach to education emphasizes the development of links between university, school and
2.
family. It focuses on a need to ensure the establishment of a safety net designed to ensure that students in the K – 5 areas are adequately catered for with respect their numeracy and literacy skills. The central development of this safety net will be aided through the use of technology designed and developed to work in conjunction with the school and family to facilitate the managed learning of students, with an emphasis on self – managed learning.

Educational skill acquisition will be based on outcomes, specific to each year. Those outcomes will be reflected through both numeracy and literacy. The facilitation of the student’s learning will be undertaken through the development of a teacher facilitator philosophy designed to utilize technology so as to rapidly acquire and assess the learning of individual students. The development and implementation of this technology will incorporate a three - pronged approach to the learning of students. This approach will center on the developing a reading module focusing on ensuring that each student’s literacy acquisition is carefully monitored. However, a mathematical module will be developed to similarly address the numeracy area. Both of these modules will rely heavily on the inclusion of technology in monitoring the learning of students. It will be through this monitoring that teachers will be able to facilitate and manage the learning of individual students, through K – 5.

The K – 5 learning environment will represent the focus on the initial development of both the student centered self – managed learning and teacher facilitator. A concerted effort will be undertaken in the K – 5 learning environment to create the development of Self – Managed Learning Centers. Hence, SMLC will have their inchoate development in the foundations of a multi – tasked learning environment that encourages the use of technology to manage the learning of students via a teacher facilitator. Within the K – 5 learning environment there will be an emphasis on establishing the foundations for the student self – management philosophy. The teacher, in conjunction with both the university and family, will facilitate this development. A vertical curriculum will be introduced within the school’s learning environment emphasizing a multi – tasking teaching environment focusing on multi – level facilitating teaching. A multi – level teaching environment MLTE will see the introduction of content that will move the student through a sliding content that focuses on encouraging the development of self – managed learning. As a student moves through the K – 5 learning environment their work is assessed via technology. When a student begins to exhibit qualities
3.
that reflect an increasing level of self-managed learning there is a commensurate decrease in the input of the facilitating teacher. Hence, as the student progressively acquires a more self – managed approach there exists the opportunity to create Self – Managed Learning Centers that are created to facilitate the learning of students as they enter years 6 – 12. These Centers would represent the vehicle by which an egalitarian society can be developed. Such a society would see the implementation of educational organizational structures developed around a philosophy espousing a belief that focuses on the establishment of multi – layered view to education. This view would see the development of private and government educational facilities responding to the needs of individuals via technology. A development that would reflect a divergence from the year 6 – 12 educational format. Such a divergence would represent the establishment of Learning Centers based not on the academic ability of the student but rather their capacity to exhibit self – managed learning. A capacity to exhibit self managed learning would be reflected in the student's ability to interact with technology with little facilitation from a teacher. However, the greater dependence on the teacher, facilitator, the less the dependence on technology. It would be envisaged that under this structure individuals who exhibit self management learning traits would be engaged in a non – government structure whilst students who are less self managed would be aligned to a government structure. In this way a more entrepreneurial approach to education could be implemented and developed.

2. The foundations of Self Managed Learning Centers.

The basic tenet surrounding Self Managed Learning Centers is that their genesis is dependent upon the establishment of the introduction of the Integrated Teaching Model – ITM, in to universities. ITM focuses on linking education within a holistic framework whereby the university, school and family are all directly linked to the education of the student. The underpinning element of ITM is the introduction of the teacher facilitator pedagogy which espouses a view to education that encourages students towards attaining self managed learning. Within the development of the teacher facilitator model an emphasis is placed on the introduction and application of technology, that encourages an educational environment that is focused on managing student learning. Consequently, the focus for students will be not just simply academic success but also an ability to move towards a self managed learning environment were the student is able to interact with technology on a virtual level. As students move through the educational matrix
4.
from K – 5 their education will focus on ensuring that the basic skills of literacy and numeracy are addressed, with an emphasis on encouraging and developing a self manged learning approach to schooling. It will be within the K – 5 area that an emphasis will be placed on the teacher facilitator model whereby, the teacher will focus on managing the learning of the student. Hence, as the student moves beyond year 5 to 6 – 12 their interaction with technology will increase as their self manged learning skills also develop. Eventually, in the upper years 8 – 12 students should become fully imbibed with the self managed learning approach and therefore, at this stage are able to interact with technology on a virtual level.

For those students who are unable to develop specific levels of self manged learning they will continue to move through the educational matrix, constantly being engaged by the teacher facilitator and having their educational content directed towards attaining self manged learning along with numeracy and literacy skills. In this way, the development of the educational organizational structure is one that will facilitate the learning of individuals within a framework that encourages students to move out of the mainstream educational environment, teacher facilitator, to one of self manged learning espousing a virtual paradigm. Therefore, within this model funding can be directed towards the efforts of improving all individuals involved in the educational process. This will be achieved because self managed students, by virtue of this skill acquisition, will be able to interact with technology on a virtual level. Whilst, students who have not acquired the necessary self manged learning skills can still have their needs attended to and as they progress through the organization, and acquire a greater degree of self manged learning they are able to move away in to the main stream.

In this way every student will be able to acquire various levels of self manged learning and skill acquisition. Consequently, the introduction of technology will not have an adverse effect on individuals due to the 'smooth transition' created by the implementation of the model.

3. Development of Self Managed Learning Centers.

The development of Self Managed Learning Centers will focus on four seminal points. Integrated Teaching Model, Technology, Teacher Facilitator Pedagogy and Entrepreneurial Education. Before, the establishment of any of the other three areas there needs to be an integration of university, school and family.
5.
This integration will need to be established via the Integrated Teaching Model or ITM. ITM highlights the need to ensure that educational links are established between university, school and family so that the education process is undertaken via a holistic approach. This focus is seminal to the development of Self Managed Learning Centers (SMLC) because the key skill area of literacy, encompassing computer literacy, is interwoven within a holistic framework. It is through the holistic approach that technology and its attributes can be imbibed by society. The emphasis is on establishing a need, and a credible link, for the application of technology and the benefits that can be derived from that technology. Hence, the outcomes for all in society are moving towards an 'egalitarian' structure as opposed to the current 'hit and miss' structure.

Universities, within the ITM framework, must acknowledge that they are responsible for the education of the whole of society and not just the select few. This development will take place, not by allowing all individuals access to universities, but rather universities undertaking to develop a more entrepreneurial approach to the delivery of education. Under this development universities, particularly faculties of Education, must actively seek to develop future markets for educators of the 21st century and beyond. Those markets will encourage the introduction and application of technology so that technology and the educational establishment are able to maintain a sustainable and credible link. Consequently, under this model education will be dispersed throughout society. Coupled with this universities, must encourage the establishment of 'Think Tanks' focusing on the development, application and implementation of technology, in conjunction with educators, to facilitate the next generation of tools designed to facilitate the managed learning of students. These 'Think Tanks' need to be interconnected, on a world wide stage, and engaged in the active creation of concepts that are focused on delivering education to society in the 21st century and beyond. Those same 'Think Tanks' also need to be linked with 'cluster schools' whereby, concepts can be discussed and expanded upon through teacher, student and parent involvement. In this way the advances that occur in the application of technology can be derived by not only large businesses but also the interaction that can occur between universities and those same businesses. The development of the application of the technology can therefore, be the product of a number of principle players who can, in some ways, link ownership to the creation of that technology. Hence, the technology is no longer deemed as a threat or something that is foreign.

6.
Once the ITM concept has been imbibed by the university the faculty of Education, needs to establish links with ICT distributors and suppliers, with a view to driving the development of future ICT's. Within the framework of the university those links could also include the ICT faculty at the university. The establishment of this type of link will help to create the necessary vehicle by which further research and development, at the university, can take place in conjunction with society, school and family, and further enhance the capacity to undertake an entrepreneurial approach to the delivery of education. This will be created via the educational organizational structure.

Educational Organization structure will need to undertake a metamorphosis in that the development of that structure and should focus on three areas – pedagogy, content and self manged learning. At university the emphasis will be on educating teachers to undertake an approach to teaching education, in the K – 7 area, that focuses on a teacher facilitator pedagogy. This pedagogy will emphasize the need to manage student learning, and to encourage students to undertake a more self managed or self directed approach to education. The emphasis here is on creating an educational environment, in the 8 – 12 years that will help students to become more technology centered, virtual teacher, and less teacher facilitator centered. Consequently, there will be an emphasis, in the K – 7 area of maximizing student learning, via the introduction of technology that will be facilitated by the teacher. Hence, in this period the student's learning will be augmented by the teacher facilitator engaged in managing the student's learning via technology.

Content will emphasize the need to establish literacy and numeracy skills in the foundation years of education, in particular computer literacy skills. Consequently, there will be an emphasis on developing the literacy and numeracy skills of all students in the K – 7 area plus ensuring that those skill acquisitions are related to individualization via technology. Couple with this the individualization of those skills will reflect a 'family' involvement in cementing those skills within the home environment. This will not be undertaken within a homework type philosophy but rather a integrated approach whereby, the family will review material through reinforcement at home. By undertaking this approach technology will facilitate learning through focusing on raising user satisfaction by broaden participation and support.

A primary school teacher has 45 students that have just entered their class
7.
for the first time. The students are in grade 1 and are of mixed ability. There are two key areas that the teacher will need to assess very quickly – literacy and numeracy. How will the teacher undertake that activity?

This will be accomplished with the assistance of the 'Literacy Evaluation Tool'. A tool developed to facilitate learning through focusing on raising user satisfaction by broaden participation and support. The school which the students will be attending has developed a reading program that focuses on skill acquisition, with a clear emphasis on critical thinking. This reading program commences with the establishment of very clear outcomes for students, in grade 1, with respect their reading, writing, speaking and listening. Those skill acquisitions are focused on technology and the ability of technology to support relationships and activities that enrich the uses experience that are in harmony with the user. This content will focus on three areas. Firstly, word recognition both visual and oral, secondly, word contextual (meaning) and finally, word application. Word visual and oral has an emphasis on students being able to recite the word correctly and to locate the word within a given context. Contextual, refers to the use of the word in a given application, whilst word application relates to connecting a number of words, together to form sentences. Sub planted within this content are also aspects of grammar and punctuation.

The student will undertake managed learning via the tool and that learning would involve the following. Firstly, the outcomes for the grade 1 students would be developed and the content specific material would have been formulated. For example, all of the reading material relating to student outcomes would have been obtained via the online process. This would entail the 100 books that are related to the outcomes. For example, by the end of year 1 students should be able to read these level of books. From this the student's individual spelling list would be developed. All of the words that are related to all of the reading material, that is related to all of the outcomes. Secondly, the use of data acquisition tools that have been developed to enable the teacher to achieve their goals rapidly and gracefully in an atmosphere of trust and responsibility. And that these tools are specifically related to the human needs of the teacher so that in future they could help guide the design for information and communication technologies. Finally, the application of this format is linked directly to the university that has instigated a link with this implementation of technology and it's course structure. Hence, student teachers engaged in pre – service activities associated with this
8.
class are directly exposed to the use of technology to assist in the management of student learning. Further more the data obtained from the tool can be accessed by the Principal of the school, the parents/caregivers and follow the student throughout their school lives as it could be passed from one class to the next one school to the next.

New computing must be innovative, focus on raising user satisfaction broaden participation and support meaningful accomplishments. Education is the only organization that takes on new groups of people every year and assumes that those students have acquired specific skills. Unfortunately, it can take weeks before we find out if a student has actually grasped a skill or not and by then in some cases it will be too late. The tool outlined will attempt to address this situation via implementing a computing tool that is innovative and that focuses on raising user satisfaction, broaden participation and support meaningful accomplishments. This will be achieved by the following. Firstly, the tool that will be developed will have an assessment, evaluation and teaching application. This application will engage teacher, student, university, technology, undergraduate, caregivers and society. The tool's application will focus on the development of a Literacy Evaluation Tool that can perform tasks, within hours, that would have usually taken the teacher weeks to undertake. Those tasks would involve using technology to acquire data rapidly on individual students so that the information on those students can be promulgated and therefore, disseminated to all those involved in the learning process.

Hence, via this tool the teacher will be able to learn more about the student's skill acquisition and then develop strategies that could either enhance those skills or undertake tasks that will address possible short falls. That information about student skill acquisition can be forwarded directly to care givers, with possible strategies to further assist student's skill acquisition. Clearly, there are a number of groups in society that could benefit from this information. Secondly, the application of the tool would be linked directly to the course work of the undergraduate thereby, linking their course work inextricably to that of the class. In this way the implementation of this tool will also address the learning skills of the undergraduate and move away from the view that most users of the internet are not interested in technology they are focused on their own information needs and relationships. This will occur because a direct relationship will exist between the information needs of the undergraduate and
9.
their relationship with the students, university and teacher mentors. They same can be said for the care givers as their information too is now linked to the relationship that will be developed between the school, teacher and themselves. Finally, as the application of this technology begins to take effect its development will become more a symbiotic relationship between the universities and the developers of the technology. Coupled with this, as the development begins to expand out the four circles of relationships (that are interconnected via the ITM process) are further enhanced and this will culminate in the acceleration of technological innovations. Why? Because technology within this application will have a immediate and far reaching impact on the school's community. How will this occur? Through the application of aspects of the various forms of technology.

First off, there will need to be a tool that can research the net to locate reading material that relates to the outcomes associated with grade 1. Then that same tool needs to be able to selectively create lists of spelling that are directly related to those reading material. Those lists will need to be extensive and repetitive. Coupled with this this will also need to be a tool that can undertake the task of both the oral and listening component. This tool will need to be able to read the word to the student and also listen to the student's response, rating the student's response against a master. A tool will also need to be developed that can rate the student's reading against a master that is specific to the outcomes of the grade 1 student. A lot of this technology is currently available and is being used like most software . . . for individual use. What is being advocated here is the integration of this technology. Finally, all of this needs to be linked to data capsule that is able to analyze the information for the teacher to interpret.

The final stage of this development will be the movement towards self manged learning. Here the emphasis will be on the acquisition of skills that are associated with not only academic performance but also the student's ability to interact with technology in a self manged way. In this way, the student will be able to interact with technology in a virtual format devoid of the current constraints that exit within our present day educational structure. The outcomes for this development will be that as the student requires less human interaction, teacher facilitator input, they are acquiring more virtual learning skills that will enable them to move in to the mainstream educational organization environment. This educational environment will be driven by a government and non – government
10.
educational sector comprised of Self Managed Learning Centers. Those learning centers will be developed around an environment that encompasses a number of educational outcomes. Therefore, the focus of these centers will be to undertake activities in conjunction with other private providers within the community. In this way, for example, each school would not require it own sport's field or swimming pool etc. rather there will be an integration of these facilities and that integration will be shared by a number of Self Managed Learning establishments. In this way the focus of the Self Learning Centers is focused on the acquisition of skills in a number of areas and those skill acquisitions are based around the involvement of the community at various levels.

By developing these centers there are a number of areas that can be addressed and ameliorated. Firstly, students who enter the education system in their formative years are focused on acquiring skills that will be essential for the 21st century and beyond. Secondly, society via the model will also benefit from the application of these centers as their development, with respect their holistic approach will impact directly on the family. Thirdly, by developing this type of approach the education process can allow for the integration of technology and thereby, enhance its development as opposed to retard it. Fourthly, avenues are created for the creation of a number of markets whereby, future educationalists will have the opportunities to within the educational area so that the impact of 'the singularity' is not seen as a threat to educationalists but rather as an opportunity to engage in a educational environment that is truly reflective of the 21st century. And finally, in this model all students are catered to, in that the the role of education, within the framework of 'the singularity' is developed through a virtual world. This undertaking is established through the nexus that will exist within the K – 7 development and the movement of students beyond that educational environment. Within the K – 7 area the emphasis will be on creating an environment that focuses on literacy and numeracy, in an environment that is technology based and the teacher engages the students in facilitator role.

Within this role the teacher will manage the learning of students and focus on ensuring that technology is used to create a learning environment that focuses on the needs of the student and in doing so will 'catch' those how fall through the net. In that students who are at risk will be 'found' much sooner than later in the process. Consequently, the emphasis will be on students to move out of the K – 7 structure and in to the self manged learning environment.
11.
However, if students are unable to achieve this goal by the year 7 stage efforts will be undertaken to focus on helping those students achieve that outcomes. Hence, in this way as students move through the educational system funding can be directed towards those students who need the most help, the teacher facilitator areas. Yet, those students who have moved beyond the year 7 area, and have exhibited self manged learning skills they to can be further assisted, via technology, to advance their education. In this way the needs of society are meet and addressed.

One of the key elements of this development will be the undertaking by the university to engage both the pre – service teacher and the teacher facilitator in the education of the family. Clearly, in order for there to be a sustainable and stable relationship between technology, school and home there needs to be a direct link with those engaged in the delivery of education along with those receiving it. Hence, the development of an holistic approach to the delivery of education will ultimately culminate in creating the necessary environment whereby, a smooth transition can take place leading on to the singularity. Coupled with this an emphasis on encouraging self manged learning will undoubtedly result in a break down of the current educational organization structure and see a more entrepreneurial approach to the delivery of education. Where the education system is no longer represented by large buildings, structures, that are economically unsound but rather small cluster schools interacting with the local community and businesses. In this way educational funding can be delivered and applied to all and so ensure, via the implementation of technology focusing on self managed learning, that society remains egalitarian.

Dual-Credit 'A Key To The Future'

In today’s world, nearly every one interacts with time via a linear application. As a result, students enter education’s linear process at early childhood and move through to junior school, then middle school, followed by senior school, off to college and finally, university. This process is very clean, very tidy and of course very linear. Each step is a reflection of the importance and grandeur of the next, which is revealed through the processes that students must undergo to gain access to the various levels. At the base of this hierarchical pyramid is early childhood while at the apex is the university. The whole focus is about moving up through the system to ensure that as many students as possible can gain access to the holy grail of education: a college or university qualification. Unfortunately, this lock step approach to education, as noted by Spender, “. . . (is) basically a 19 th-century model intended to train willing workers for . . . the industrial era.” (1) Workers trained under this model were, reliable, dependable and diligent and who have been inculcated with a work ethic encouraging them to take orders and fit into a repetitive work environment. (2) However, the order and repetition that was required in the 19 th-century economy has been usurped by the individual creativity and job flexibility of the 21 st-century economy. (3) The 21 st-century economy calls for individuals to take charge, to be creative with ideas and information and these concepts would be considered an anathema to the industrialists of the 19 th-century. What the economy of the 21 st-century requires of individuals is higher order cognitive thinking skills; like critical thinking, evaluation, assessment and not just simply recall. Consequently, it is becoming increasingly evident that this 19 th-century industrial model for education is no longer capable of addressing the needs of students in the 21 st-century. Thankfully, this concern has been recognized by governments and attempts to ameliorate it have commenced.

In the United States, for example, there is now a push in high schools to address the aspirations of gifted and educationally mature students wanting access to a college or university degree course; via an extended high school curriculum. While in Australia elite schools, for students who are of a similar penchant to those described in the US, have been constructed to meet their needs. Hence, education and its impact on the lives of students is fast becoming the focus of concern for a number of academics looking at ways in which to address this predicament. Clearly, government institutions will attempt to deal with this issue constrained by the parameters of their own cultural and economic capabilities. However, no matter what action they select to take, there are two very important issues that must be addressed. First, to maintain the credibility of the educational system and the integrity of the courses through quality control and second, that the projects undertaken are sustainable; in that there is enough capital to facilitate their implementation. Clearly, the parsimonious nature of government and the clear lack of importance placed on education will no doubt ensure that funding will not bountiful. Therefore, it is imperative that any developments must be able to either self fund or facilitate economic savings for both government and individuals. Dr Hans A Andrews in his book The Dual-Credit Phenomenon! - Challenging Secondary School Students Across 50 States (4) examines these two issues by highlighting how institutions can maintain the credibility of their programs and governments are able to sustain the implementation of an education process designed to focus on addressing the needs of their 21 st-century clientele. Andrews’ focus is on moving away from the lock step approach of the current model for education, which is tied to a 19 th-century industrial economic view, to one espousing a much more flexible and creative approach that encourages higher order thinking skills.

Andrews cites Botstein, McCarthy and Conley (5) who noted that the majority of college bound students found their last year of high school was a waste of time. In Andrews’ opinion the,

. . . state of affairs has dramatically changed for high school students during the last years of the 20th Century and leading in to the 21st Century. Enlightened secondary school administrators, community college leaders, and some innovative university people have developed a new and challenging program entitled dual-credit or concurrent enrollments . . . (6)

Andrews emphasized that some confusion existed with respect to a definition of dual-credit or concurrent enrolment as many people interchange the words. However, dual-credit is where a secondary school student enrolls in a college class so that both college credit and credit toward high school graduation are earned. The Dual-Credit Phenomenon deals with fairly concise and tangible issues that are pertinent to high school youth and expresses sound, logical solutions. For example, Time-to-Degree where Andrews argued, “One of the prevailing concerns at the beginning of the 21st Century has been the length of time it takes students to arrive at a baccalaureate degree.”(7) According to Andrews ‘. . . many full-time college students take between 4.5 to 5.5 years to complete their degrees.’ (8) In Illinois, for example, ‘. . . the Affordability Study Committee pushed for options . . . in the secondary schools. . .’ (9) that looked at dual-accreditation programs for students who were academically ready; thereby reducing their time-to-degree. Similarly in other states, like Minnesota and Iowa, students have graduated with College qualifications while at the same time receiving a high school diploma. (10) Coupled with its ability to meet the needs of students the dual-accreditation process also represents a saving for government and individuals. For example,

The state of Washington has analyzed the state’s appropriation saving to be 38 million dollars or more a year in their dual-credit program titled Running Start. This figure increases to 50 million a year saved when the 12 million saved in tuition by parents and students is added to the formula. (11)

With returns like this, it is no wonder that 50 states have introduced dual-credit programs and that across all sections of American society, according to Andrews, individuals are demanding programs that challenge students in a cost effective way. (12) Quite clearly, dual-credit has been a success and the author believes that this success can be linked to four processes that are associated with application of the program.

First, its ability to lock in on students who are either academically gifted or exhibiting an attitude towards education that reflects a maturity level commensurate with a desire to undertake alternative study, so that they can succeed at that level. As Andrews noted,

The importance of this program (dual - credit) is being documented in states where it has existed for several years. It provides exceptional options to secondary schools wanting to offer challenging programs to their honor students as well as to students who need to explore career options and obtain technical and vocational background for the work force. (13)

Second, the rigorous selection processes that students are required to under go before their acceptance into the program. The Tallahassee Community College, for example, did not find it surprising that its high school students were successful in the dual-accreditation program because they had previously been required to pass a college placement test and be recommended by the high school principal before they could be enrolled in a dual-credit class. (14)

Third, the understanding reflected in the dual-credit format that all students are indeed different and they each learn at different levels and that those levels can indicate a significant advancement in the academic acumen of each individual student. Hence, students who are enrolled in the eleventh grade could quite possibly be able to tackle college or university course material due to their higher intellect. Therefore, those student’s attributes are acknowledged, via a process that does not restrict their learning by ensuring that they are challenged at a higher cogitative level. By introducing this approach students who would normally be disengaged are now being challenged and as a result value their education.

Finally, the important role that effective communication plays in facilitating the dual-credit process. Placating the challenges relating to communication helps to establish foundations, within and between institutions, to ensure that the quality of the curriculum can be upheld and therefore, maintained. From Andrews’ perspective effective communication was based not just simply on educational links but rather links designed to facilitate quality control over the dual-credit program. Andrews emphasized that the only way for dual-credit to survive was when students were given a high level of instruction in each and every course that they were enrolled in. (15) Clearly, Andrews emphasis was on quality teaching so that the content and the associated assessment, being delivered, was of a standard commensurate with the desired outcomes of the course. Hence, communication was about ensuring that the processes being employed in the delivery of the content and the associated assessment were acknowledged by all stake holders as acceptable. Added to this, was also the need to ensure that the content and assessment tasks not only reflected the difficulty of this advanced curriculum but that students were assessed with the appropriate level of academic acumen. Without this type of quality control, essentially driven by effective communication, the entire dual-credit process could not confidently validate its outcomes.

It is due to these four processes that when a student is accepted into the dual-credit program invariably they succeed because the concept has been designed,

. . . to deliver high-quality college experiences to high-performing school students; and to enrich and extend the high school curriculum, provide introductory college coursework, and avoid un-necessary duplication in coursework as students move from high school to college. (16)

However, while dual-credit has been a proven success it only focuses on a small clique of students who clearly are, by virtue of their selection, academically ready for their placement. Yet, by examining dual-credit and the processes associated with it, there is a window of opportunity to explore the elements that contribute to its success so that further applications could be developed and promulgated.

Dual-accreditation recognizes that students are indeed all individuals and that they learn at different rates and at different levels. Hence, acknowledging that students in the eleventh grade, for example, are capable of undertaking college or university courses sends a clear message to all stake holders that the current model may well be retarding the education of a number of gifted or mature students. This recognition of individualism highlights that within the education system there needs to be a greater emphasis placed on flexibility, with respect to content, assessment etc. Obviously, from Andrews’ research, there are a number of students who are currently studying in high schools that find their class work unchallenging and therefore, uninteresting. If all students learn at different rates by locking those students into, for example, a set content and forcing them all to learn at the same level will ultimately result in the disengagement of some students. This is becoming abundantly clear, as Andrews noted on numerous occasions within the context of his work. Yet, one of the main strengths of dual-credit is it ability to address this situation. Therefore, when high school students, as viewed by Andrews, are able to avoid duplication in their high school curriculum and at the same time are handed the opportunity to move ahead with their college work (17) dual-credit is recognizing the fluidity of knowledge and the flexibility associated with a 21 st-century economy.

By encouraging the college or university to direct their attention back to the high school dual-credit breaks from the traditional view, associated with the 19 th-century industrial thinking, of “. . . follow(ing) instructions so that everything that went out the factory door – be it soap or sofas – was exactly the same.” (18) Quality control within this economy advocated only one standard for all whereas in the 21 st-century this is clearly not the case.

Dual-credit by linking high school students to either college or university overtly sends a message to the policy makers that the 21 st-century is an ideas economy and as such simply receiving information is no longer acceptable. The focus now is on creating information and this requires highly skilled and highly educated workers. (19) In order to create this information, the right information, calls for not just simply being creative but rather relies heavily on critical analysis, assessment, experimentation and evaluation skills. (20) Dual-credit facilitates this by challenging students at a higher cognitive level, via college or university, and by ensuring that their development is commensurate with the standards and outcomes needed to graduate at that level. In this way dual-credit students are actively participating in developing their critical analysis, assessment, experimentation and evaluation skills at a time when it is most needed.

By continuing to develop education along the same lines of the industrial model, and therefore failing to acknowledge its shortfalls, educationalists run the risk of not only making the “. . . senior year . . . as a lost cause” but ultimately K-16. (21) History is quite clear about this because the developments that have occurred within the past 200 years have invariably impacted, both in a positive and negative way, upon all levels of society. The economic success of any nation is inextricable linked to its standard of education. Hence curriculum, educational pedagogy and organizational structure mirrored the views of industry because it is at the industrial level that the application, of 12 or 16 years of education, is implemented. Consequently when executives like Jack Welch, boss of General Electric, expressed the view, as noted by Spender, that his employees had “to leave their brains in the car park” (22) when they arrived at work indicated that GE’s work environment did not cater to individuality or creativity. Within this work environment performance was rigidly controlled and supervised. Quite clearly, this expectation was also reflected within the educational environment.

Dual-credit offers educators the opportunity to look at the current model for education and to explore ways in which that model can be molded to adapt to the needs of not just simply a small cohort of students but eventually the entire student body. The lessons that can be learnt from dual-accreditation are very simple, yet they are seminal to well being of society.

First, the present model for education is obviously unsustainable in its current form. Society cannot continue to simply throw money at education without there being both qualitative and quantitative outcomes. While dual-credit does address the needs of students in the 21 st-century, and it is able to deliver cost savings, it fails to meet the needs of all students. This must be the priority for policy makers in the 21 st-century and beyond.

Second, the disengagement of students is occurring not simply at high school level but also at all levels of the education system. The American public is becoming increasingly annoyed at the “absolute failure of public education” (23) and if this situation is left unabated then obviously the public’s resentment towards public education will increase. There is no doubt that this resentment will culminate in action via the ballot box or through the closure of public schools as whole communities disengage. Dual-credit shows us how an education process can reengage students and this must be seen as a positive. However, to prevent a mass exodus from public education more needs to be done to meet the needs of the community, as a whole.

Third, recognizing the individual and their needs is fast becoming the focal point of any education system. The 21 st-century is about instantaneous communication hence, students who interact in this world are more ethnocentrically focused than any other group before in the history of this planet. Students want an education that acknowledges their needs and can also find ways in which to address those needs quickly and accurately. While dual-credit attempts to undertake this on a small scale it is restricted by a teaching “model that is 40 years old”. (24) The limitations that are placed on students via an educator centered model, for example; one teacher to thirty student ratio, has no place in the curriculum of the 21 st-century. Technology has always been seen as a possible panacea however, educationalist need to find ways in which 21 st-century, and not 19 th-century, thinking can be aligned with 21 st –century technology in ameliorating these shortfalls in education.

Finally, dual-credit is laconically telling the policy makers that what they are doing is not working and that changes need to occur. The problem of course is that policy makers tend to address educational issues via a band-aid approach, thereby not really solving the problem. By undertaking this approach there is a great deal of ambiguity because society believes that the policy makers, through their actions are solving the problem, but only to find out later that they had not. What dual-credit highlights is that the best way to deal with this dilemma is for policy makers to ask society what it wants. Then using that as a base from which to work from, development an educational process that fulfills society’s requirements. That development should incorporate all of the stake holders involved, for example, families, educational institutions and finally, students. One of the strengths of dual-credit, and Andrews acknowledged this, was the importance placed on quality control. The level of quality control attributed to dual-accreditation would not have been possible without effective communication. This effective communication was not just simply telling people what they had to do but rather listening to them, and then people working together to solve the problem. Dual-accreditation could not have attained it success if only one person or group or organization had been in total control and therefore, only one-way communication. The effective communication network that was established, via dual-credit, clearly espoused the virtues of a 21 st-century economy. Within this economy individuals are not just simply told what to do but are expected to think for themselves; through thinking analytically, experimenting, assessing and evaluating to find solutions for the problems which they encounter. The disengagement of gifted high school students, for example, was not just the concern of the high school but also ultimately the colleges and universities. In attempting to placate this problem, as dual-credit highlighted, it could not be solved by one, but instead by many.

The message that gifted and educationally mature students are conveying is, ‘Don’t tell me what to do, give me the information so that I can think for myself and then let’s work together to find a solution.’ When this message was listened to, and then applied through the dual-credit program the results have been outstanding. It is now up to the policy makers to adapt the elements of the dual-credit program to ensure that the whole of society can ultimately benefit from its success.







References

Spender, D., 2007, smh.com.au, February, Letters, p. 38
ibid.
ibid.
Dr Hans A Andrews Dual Credit Phenomenon! Challenging Secondary School Students Across 50 States, 2001, New Forums Press, U.S.A.
Andrews, H.A., 2001, 2001, Dual Credit Phenomenon! Challenging Secondary School Students Across 50 States, p.1., New Forums Press, U.S.A.
ibid, p.2.
ibid, pp.7 & 8
ibid, p.8.
ibid, p.8.
ibid.
ibid, taken from ‘About the Book’.
Quality teaching is also mentioned within the context of Andrews’ work and was therefore outlined as a definition of a high level of instruction by the author.
Andrews, H.A., 2001, 2001, Dual Credit Phenomenon! Challenging Secondary School Students Across 50 States, p.73., New Forums Press, U.S.A.
ibid.
ibid.
ibid, p. 43.
ibid.
Spender, D., 2007, smh.com.au, February, Letters, p. 38
ibid.
ibid.
Andrews, H.A., 2001, 2001, Dual Credit Phenomenon! Challenging Secondary School Students Across 50 States, p.1., New Forums Press, U.S.A.
Spender, D., 2007, smh.com.au, February, Letters, p. 38
Redden, E., 2007, Higher Education and the High Schools, January, 23rd
http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/01/23/summit (At the end of the article readers were able to comment on the content. This response was one of those comments – C. Bigsby, at 9.55am EST, January 23, 2007. The author acknowledges that this is only one comment. However, the old adage ‘Where there is smoke there is fire’ must surly apply.
Jaschik, S., 2007, A Curricular Debate: Classic or Retro? January, 22nd.
http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/01/22/aacu - This comment was made by Professor Jeremy Bell, a philosophy professor and Academic Senate president at the college of San Mateo.

The singularity and the human interface - the middle ground

The Singularity and Human Interface
“The Middle Ground”
By 2035, if the pundits are correct, the world will see a new paradigm in the development of technology. No longer will there be teachers, doctors or even politicians only 'the singularity'. Humans will interact with computers through a symbiotic relationship with computers engaged in helping humans to develop and establish a society no longer ravaged by hunger, poverty or disease. Such a utopian view of society could indeed be possible but how do we get there?

Dr Ben Shneiderman, in this latest publication – Leonardo's Laptop – explores in detail the relationship between humans and computers. Dr Shneiderman argued that:
Ray Kurzweil...does have a visionary concept in his singularity, but I find it too machine centered and lacking in thoughtfulness about . . . human- centered issues . . . His simplistic model of human relationships, emotions (for example his trivialization of love), trust, and empathy make me feel that his theories don't address the way I think of learning. I believe that educators should stress more effective human-human relationships, such as teamwork among students, rather than a symbiotic relationship with computers.

Clearly, Kurzweil and Shneiderman's views about the use of technology are at odds with respect to 'How individual's learn'. Kurzweil's developments of technology focus on the creation of a computer that can 'take the place of the teacher'. Whilst, Shneiderman's focuses on ensuring that the development of technology addresses the needs of society. Consequently, we need to ensure that there is a cogent human factor associated with the interaction between computer and human and that this development should not be symbiotic but rather human needs based. Hence, Kurzweil and others are developing computer systems that are viewed within the framework of virtual, virtual teachers, for example. However, there is no development addressing the needs of the individual who will be required to interact with the technology. The focus is on the 'stand alone' philosophy where the individual works with the technology on a one – to – one level. This would allow for the development of, for example, an educational process that would be devoid of the constraints associated with the current model. Yet, such an approach would be viewed by Shneiderman as anathema because it does not allow
1.
for the relationships that need to develop between humans that would encourage, for example, team work. Hence, Shneiderman's focus is on developing research that
looks at key aspects of the technology, via the view of ensuring that the technology is developed to cater to the needs of the user, for example, research engines, screen development etc. Therefore, one focus is on developing technology that can think like a human, whilst the other developing technology that encourages greater human participation in the relationship.

The development of these two views and the technology that has been created has culminated in the application of technology within a plethora of areas – speaking, translating, reading tools to name just a few. However, it is within the framework of education that the development of this technology has been undertaken with a view to focus on everything else expecting the educator. Clearly, the development of tools such as Webct and Blackboard have been created to assist educators in the delivery of, for example their course content, but it has failed to adequately address the issues associated with developing an Holistic Approach to the introduction of technology within society. A Holistic Approach to technology, with respect to education, views the introduction of technology on three levels – university, school and home. This approach espouses the view that for technology to be implemented, and to be successful in schools, there must be a focus on changing the teaching philosophy, within universities, so that technology can be directly associated with educational courses designed by universities. Those educational courses need to reflect a direct link between current technology and application. And that the development of the technology should be clearly focusing on areas of concern within society. Undertaking this approach will have a direct impact on both the school and home. The permeation that is the end product of this nexus will culminate in an enhanced degree of acquiescence, by society, with regards the use of technology. How would this be achieved?

When all of the technology that is currently available for use by educators is placed in a single box the main attributes of that technology are that it allows educators to undertake a number of tasks. Usually, those tasks can be categorized in to 6 areas - content, assessment, access, diversification, drilling and location. Content highlights the capacity of technology that allows the teacher to plan lessons and to give student's content that is specific to their task. This information can be delivered to individual students and each student can act upon this information within the framework of the course. In many ways this could be
2.
akin to the placing of the text book on the net. Assessment relates to tasks that the educator could give to the student with the intention of the student completing the task on line and possibly the use of data to reflect on the overall position of students with their understanding of the content. Assessment focus could be multiple choice responses where student's work can be reviewed via a platform, for example Webct or Blackboard. These assessment tasks are normally reflective of the educator's acumen associated with technology. Access focuses on the ability of technology to link both the educator and student to a number of portals whereby giving them an enhanced access to information about topics relating to their content which is more than likely linked to assessment. Numerous search engines, associated with platforms can usually facilitate this access. Diversification emphasizes the capacity of technology to diversify the pedagogy of the educator to suite the needs of the student. The technology is able to be used by both the educator and the student simultaneously or in conjunction with others simultaneously. Diversification is enhanced via access which in turn links both content and assessment. The establishment of networks or partnerships would be a very clear extension of the diversification capacity of technology. Drilling demonstrates the capacity of technology to undertake tasks that the educator would be required to undertake in a group environment. Drilling would focus on the individual application of technology, by the educator, in delivering content associated with, in particular skill acquisition. Drilling focuses on the one-to-one application of technology. This type of development would be found in the application of technology designed for student's use in listening for understanding of words. In this application the emphasis is on the student being drilled by the technology to facilitate learning. Devices of technology, which are emphasized by drilling, are developed by companies for application by schools. The understanding of the use of that technology is undertaken by the educator. Finally, location indicates the ubiquitous nature of technology whereby through the use of a wireless system, for example, the ability to deliver course material is only hampered by the inefficiency of the technology available to the student and the educator. In many respects the forces of the mark can and will dictate the outcomes associated with location.

There are educationalists who are very skilled in the use of 'Webct and Blackboard' and juxtaposed to them there are those educationalists who are not. Equally, there are a number of schools that use drilling technology and again there are many that do not. Clearly, an inequality exists within the application of
3.
technology not because it is unavailable but rather its application, within education, has not reached the levels of acceptance that has occurred in other environments. The work of Conlon and Simpson (2003) reflected a view by the authors that there are a number of obstacles impacting on the use of ICT's within schools. Conlon highlighted that heavy demands made on teachers, infrastructure deficiencies and the lack of ICT skills all played a seminal role in the implementation of ICT
within the curriculum framework. Colon (2003) expanded on this by citing Cuban's work, in California, where Cuban expressed the opinion that teachers' themselves are traditionally slow to change and that if policy reforms, for example ICT, are not imbibed by teachers then the end result will be that there will only be superficial effect. Consequently, to hasten teachers in to the cyber world will have very little impact unless there is a clear educational vision articulated as to why that is happening. Hence, Ben Shneiderman's focus on ensuring the development of a relationship between technology and humans must play a seminal role in an enhanced acceptance of technology within society. Without the development of this relationship there will always be the reluctance, on the part of the educator, to accept technology. Consequently, technology needs to be developed, as outlined by Shneiderman that must support relationships and activities that enrich the uses experience and that are in harmony with the user. However, this will not be achieved by developing technology that is implemented with a view to either replacing educators or be used as a stand alone tool created by a manufacture to function within the institution as a learning tool that does not augment the capacity of the educators to manage and facilitate the learning of students.

This view point was enforced by Professor Dooley (1999), of Texas A & M University, who expressed the view that computer technologies are changing the way in which educators interact with their students and that this interaction was changing from one of information giver to facilitator. Hence, educators argued Nichol and Watson (2203) must radically change pedagogies and approaches to learning, if they are to integrate ICT in to their classrooms in a meaningful way. The application of technology, in a meaningful way, will exhibit qualities that will have a direct impact on education through universities, schools and families culminating in facilitating a commensurate change within society. Consequently, as Leigh (2000) argued, a possible future educational structure will be one that has been interwoven with community, home and school. This change will be the result of, as highlighted by Ben Shneiderman, a focus by technology that raises user
4
satisfaction, broadens participation and supports meaningful accomplishments. Hence, the change that will be initiated within schools will be the catalyst for change within society. Educators, along with students and their families will through the implementation of technology begin to grasp the relevance and importance of the application of technology within the school, thereby broadening participation. However, it will be necessary for educators to view the application of this technology as a meaningful support mechanism to ensure that there is continued satisfaction in the application of that technology. Shneiderman advocated that developers should design information and communication technologies that enable users to achieve their goals rapidly and gracefully in an atmosphere of trust and responsibility. Clearly, the establishment of a technology base reflecting the developments of developers is within itself counterproductive, with respect to ensuring that any technology will be viewed by educators as supporting meaningful accomplishments. The only avenue that should be viewed here would be the development of technology based 'Think Tanks', within universities, that are linked via their education courses to technology and pedagogy. There needs to be a direct link between the Faculty of Education's course assessment, course content and undergraduate. In this way the development of technology will truly reflect the achievements associated with the implementation and application of those developments thereby, ensuring that human needs will guide the design for any future undertakings.

By establishing links with schools to undertake the implementation of Faculty of Education course material directly through the application of technology the development of any future undertakings are guaranteed to meet with success. Undergraduates will through their application of technology see the benefits of its implementation. Educators, through their involvement, directly associated with the undergraduate and university will also see the benefits of technology whilst the student and their family will benefit from the way in which technology will have a direct and positive impact on their lives. The technology will not become a burden rather a tool, whereby all those engaged in its use will benefit and share in the overall success of the application of the technology. In this way the implementation of technology, within the education system, will assist in creating for society a greater awareness of the attributes of technology and therefore, the view that, as articulated by Lewis Mumford, “ . . . to serve human needs.” Within the education system there are two great needs at present – literacy and numeracy. Those needs are reflected in the outcomes of all countries and will continue to
5.
grow if technology is not used to retard the growing number of individuals who are illiterate or lacking in mathematical skills. Whilst every effort has been made by Governments, world wide, to address this appalling situation there are still many thousands of students who fall through the 'net'. If left unchecked the outcome for many individuals will be further alienation in a world that is very quickly moving towards a technologically advanced structure that has an emphasis now on computer literacy. How can this situation be averted?

In the opinions of both Kurzweil and Shneiderman the situation should be solved through the use of technology. Yet, as we advance in to the 21st century why is it that instead of creating a technologically advanced society of computer literate humans we are still struggling with the introduction of technology within the classroom? Clearly, there is enough research evidence to indicate that organizational structure, educator resistance and application are the seminal areas of concern. Without doubt, educator resistance would be a major factor as it would have an adverse effect on the introduction of technology within institutions. Consequently, if one was to address this area then quite clearly some of the issues that are currently restricting the implementation of technology, within the classroom, should be ameliorated. In order to address the impact of this situation it will be necessary to establish a clear vision, for the use of technology, and the positive effects that it can have when dealing with student outcomes. Coupled with this, there will also be a need for an emphasis to be placed on dealing with both literacy and numeracy within K – 5. Again, research has indicated that the years K – 5 play a major role in the cogitative development of students. By undertaking the ITM approach; integrating university, school and home, in the K – 5 area, literacy and numeracy concerns will be addressed and acted upon before they become major issues. An undertaking at this level will facilitate the managed learning of students by ensuring that lapses in skill acquisition can be highlighted and acted upon without delay. In this way strategies can be developed and implemented to assist educators, students and parents along with preparing individuals for the transition from what is a 'teacher centered' pedagogy to one encouraging a 'student focused' learning environment.

Hence, by delivering education within this format an organizational structure can be developed and implemented so that a transition, within that structure, will encourage the use of technology in a non – threatening manner. Consequently, students will move through a sliding curriculum designed to
6.
facilitate and manage their learning from, in the early stages of cognitive development, a teacher facilitator to eventually a student centered learning focus that has a greater emphasis on student self management facilitated by the educator. Clearly, as individuals fall behind a greater emphasis can be placed on assisting those who are struggling with the technology or the content. In this way resources can be directed to deal with concerns at an early intervention stage and ensure that those concerns are placated well before they become major issues for society. This emphasis will encourage the application of technology so that educators, students and families will all interact in collectively managing the learning process. The application of this process will focus on the implementation of the Integrated Teaching Model via the development of a pedagogical philosophy espousing a Teacher Facilitator outlook. By introducing these two concepts it is
envisaged that educational organization structure will undergo re – development and that within that re – development a focus will be attributed to establishing a pedagogical philosophy firstly, in the K – 5 years, developing a teacher facilitator approach to curriculum and then, as the student moves through the education system, a greater emphasis is then placed on a student self - managed learning style. Within this structure, an equal emphasis is placed on both addressing the short falls of students coupled with implementing strategies that will enhance the learning of others. The center point of this approach, to education, concentrates on the integration of technology via a nexus linking universities, schools and families.

Students will need to be taught to interact with technology through a medium that engages the student with technology but that engagement does not represent the stand alone application. Under the 'stand alone' application the computer is viewed as an extension of the teacher, making the teacher ubiquitous via the interface. However, the software that is associated with the technology represents the 'intelligence' of the teacher. Consequently, within this framework each computer represents an extension of the teacher, whilst the software highlights the interaction between the student and teacher on a one – to – one basis. Hence, the technology is designed to focus on individualization via the computer interface. The establishment of this type of operation, within the philosophy of ITM, represents the basis for the challenges facing education in the 21st century and beyond. Until there is the capacity to deliver software that can replace teachers, via the virtual portal, then to expect success with technology that is used in the current mode will not lead to a successful transition to 'the
7.
singularity'. In fact, such an approach will further compound the already complex challenges facing society today with regards to the seminal areas of numeracy and literacy. Areas that appear to be growing increasingly in size because of the failure of education to adequately deal with society's ever burgeoning hunger for advancement at the cost of individuals.

The above situation is one that has plagued humanity since the Industrial Revolution when individuals moved from a cottage based society to an industrial based one. As individuals moved from the farm to the city they were required to acquire skills that gave them employment. Those who were unable to do this found themselves unemployed and a burden on a society that could not accommodate their needs. This situation has been exacerbated with the advent of the 'Information Age' and the extensive use of technology. Clearly, if the transition to 'the singularity', the next stage in human development, is not handled appropriately
then the challenges facing humanity will be further exacerbated by the inability of technology to adequately address the continued shortfalls in both literacy and numeracy. Educators, in order to placate this situation, need to instigate an approach that reflects a Transitional Phase or Middle Ground. It is this phase that will initiate the links between technology and humans that will establish the foundations by which eventually acceptance of technology will occur within education. That acceptance will be due to the introduction of technology that has been implemented to cater to the individual needs of all members of society and not just the select few. In this way, the problems associated with the advent of the 'Information Age' will not haunt those in the age of 'the singularity'.

The Middle Ground therefore, represents the establishment and implementation of technology that works in conjunction with an education system that is linked to a curriculum, focusing on the acquisition of both numeracy and literacy skills. The curriculum emphasizes a pedagogical philosophy that encourages the implementation of a teacher facilitator outlook to managing the learning of students via the Integrated Teaching Model. This outlook espouses a view that an emphasis needs to be placed on facilitating learning, through managing student's learning, via the implementation of educational tools designed to rapidly acquire information on students so that teacher facilitators can introduce strategies, that incorporates the home, to deal specifically with the individual needs of students; K – 5. As the curriculum evolves it develops, within a catalytic environment whereby, technology is applied to the educational structure
8.
to meet the individual needs of the student. Hence, as the student progresses through the curriculum their needs are met by technology at the level required for its intervention. The over arching desire is for students to become self directed and therefore, be totally integrated with technology. However, it may be necessary for other students to require teacher facilitator assistance for much lengthier time frames. The application of this approach to educational organization will culminate in creating institutions that are reflective of the needs of the individual student and also the needs of society. Under this development students from years K – 5 will interact with technology so that the technology will eventually, as they move through to year 6 – 13, create an environment that will facilitate learning via a number of different avenues all undertaken with different levels of technological assistance. Consequently, educational organization will be based around developing institutions that are reflective of the skills that the individual student has acquired. These skills would be reflected at their peak a student's ability to undertake their education via a self directed outlook. These students would require very little input from society. This would be reflected in facilities, human resources etc as these types of students would not require the current applications that are present in today's educational organizational structure. However, students who lack the necessary skills to undertake total self management will continue to interact with the teacher facilitator and technology so as to ensure that their individual needs are addressed.

In this way technology will be implemented in such a way that its application will culminate in there being less students engaged in the organizational structure currently in use today. This will occur because as more students move through the curriculum and exhibit self managed learning behavior alternative structures can be developed and implemented to facilitate the learning of those students. Eventually, that organizational structure could be represented within a free enterprise model espousing an entrepreneurial approach to the delivery of curriculum. Such an approach could be reflected in the construction of small Cluster Schools developed around communities. Hence, the current expenditure associated with education could be re – dressed via this development as technology could be used to categorize students and thereby ensure that funds can be distributed to areas of most need. Consequently, State governments could focus on the delivery of curriculum to K – 5 and then direct their attention to high need students. Whilst, students who have exhibited a propensity towards self managed learning could, via technology, interact with the virtual teacher within an
9.
educational organizational structure that is reflective of a small business model linked to communities. The advantages of such a model are reflected in the way in which technology has been absorbed within the business community when compared to education.

With Universities actively engaged in connecting with the K – 5 schools, via linkages from their undergraduates a greater emphasis on the ensuring that young students are adequately catered for can be facilitated. Linking the educational requirements of undergraduates to the K – 5 environment will ensure that graduates will be exposed to the learning environment of students. By undertaking this approach, and utilizing technology to manage student learning through a facilitating philosophy in the K – 5 years the foundations to creating the Middle Ground are laid. The first 6 years of cogitative development are crucial for students and by impacting directly on their literacy and numeracy skills at this early stage educationalists will be capable of ensuring that the necessary processes are put in place to ensure that future generations are not saddled with the same challenges that faced society during the 'Industrial Revolution' and the 'Information Age'. The introduction of the ITM concept incorporates the visions of both Kurzweil and Shneiderman by utilizing technology so as to ensure that it does as Mumford highlighted, ' . . . to serve human needs.'
ITM looks at establishing links with universities, schools and homes so that technology can be applied, within an educational organizational structure that will undertake the necessary changes to bring about the transition of education in to the 21st century and beyond.













10.

References

Conlon, T., & Simpson, M. (2003). Silicon Valley versus Silicon Glen: the
impact of computers upon teaching and learning: a comparative study.
British Journal of Educational Technology, 34 (2), 137.

Dooley, K. (1999). Towards a Holistic Model for the Diffusion of Educational Technologies: An Integrated Review of Educational Innovation Studies. Educational Technology & Society, 2 (4)

Nichol, J., & Watson, K. (2003). Rhetoric and reality – the past and future of ICT in Education. British Journal of Educational Technology, 34 (2), 131 – 136.

Leigh, G. (2000). Key Markers in Victoria's information technology
journey into the knowledge age. Australian Educational Computing, 15 (1),7 – 12.