This comment relates to your citation of my comment on George’s blog, that we already have the radicals. For me personally, I refer to Chompsky, McLuhan, Illich, Postman and Friere for ideological inspiration. I think they are popular enough to enable a reasonably shared experience with enough people to gain a conversation and even collaboration around their ideas. I’m still looking for that in the education sector

Learning is a life-long thing. Empowering the learner as well as the mentor at the same level can result in neumerous possiblities and opportunities for learners and mentors to come together. OERs are a good starting point agreed.

The reason I say its so timely is because many universities are not #gonegoogle #goneMS #gonecloud, this has empowered the learner and the academics at the same level by using cloud learning environment (CLEs), examples include Google Apps Education edition but not limited to, its not quite “deschooling society” but its certainly de-institutionalising the learning environment. Google Apps designed for end user in mind not the Institution.

Usng a CLE a learner can continue their journey as a lifelong learner even after they have graduated, using the same set of tools the CLE offered when they were at their institution. To achieve the Lifelong learning aim, what lacks here is the “peer-matching network” buts its not impossible to get that going. So, you come in an institution, use the CLE, that may be the same as what they were using at a previous institution/generally, make your peer network, continue after graduation using the same CLE, expand your network and be a lifelong learning.

Now for the Personal Learning Network and complete deschooling – I do not think we need a personal learning network as that would be unsustainable, a peer-matching network in and around an institutional model of education would do just as well. I say this as complete deschooling is also unsustainable.

Also PLNs will also be prone to the race and class divide. I do not know what will over come this divide. Technological empowerment will not relieve us from societal structures (similar to what D Boyd quote says).

Learning is a quest, a challenge and to quite someone “a bit like a gym membership”. Openness seems to suggest that anyone can join in, even those who are gonna take up the membership but not be motivated to engage. I know your post is not about this, but its a risk that this happens.

Empowering users of academic institutions (staff and students) with technological means to form and expand peer-networks and looking at learning as a combination of formal as well as informal learning and a lifelong process are key IMHO. Learning never stops, why should a learning environment be like a walled garden? Learning is not just formal or just informal so why go de-schooling? Education system should engulf learning where it happens…

I will be interested to see where your thinking goes with this, especially in light of the work that I and @josswinn are undertaking on Resilient Education [http://www.learnex.dmu.ac.uk/?p=1924 and http://joss.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/2009/12/11/energy-the-economy-and-resilience/

Be good.

Richard.