Hi all,

I found this brief documentary <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.youtube.com_watch-3Fv-3DNDZ8Eu335Sg&d=DwIBaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=1ru1D1zEVx6Qwfp4e3lOF5hyySaK2ksj1ax_lr_jxlg&s=N-9VGpLH3a3flcwA15kVuaKrZcoNfyuuIwmG4C79QEQ&e= >
on Joe Rogan really fascinating, and thought I'd share here. I was aware of
some of his past history, but seeing it all summarized and laid out from
his beginnings in construction and martial arts to being "the most powerful
podcast interviewer in the world" was really interesting to watch.

It sparks off a lot of ideas in my head about the power of technology in
this digital age. Specifically, how the ability to transfer information
online globally is such a new phenomenon that the traditional methods of
sharing interesting information are quickly becoming dully outdated. This
affords the opportunity to develop individual identity through online
branding and content creation. Joe Rogan is really one of, if not the,
pioneer of generating revenue through idea exchange online.

I'm wondering if anyone has thoughts on the implications of this for the
modern academic space? My university is facing a $292 million budget
deficit for the upcoming fiscal year, resulting in severe budget cuts,
salary reductions, and more. And they claim that they're "not sure they
implications that this has on students' decisions moving forward". What I'm
seeing at the student level is a widespread unrest with the notion of
paying the tuition required to fund the universities, when clearly the
institutions themselves may not be an integral aspect to the process of
education. Further, several courses deemed required may pose no actual
utility to the student's desired goals, resulting in payment for
unnescessary information and a painstaking, and potentially harmful,
student experience. Does this catalyze a shift toward a world in which
information exchange is distributed online, and the high cost of tuition to
sustain universities as centralized locations for information exchange
becomes unnecessary? Why not quantify learned information differently
(e.g., online credits from multiple platforms, online
certificates/degrees), and use that as a basis for evaluation of job
readiness/fitness? I believe we are already seeing the beginnings of this
shift, and I'm interested to see where this all leads us. It certainly has
me seriously reconsidering the idea of investing tens of thousands of
dollars of borrowed money into a formal graduate education, or relying on
stipends and grant funding to barely scrape by in a MS/PhD program for 6
years...

I know several (most?) of you on this list have graduate degrees, and some
of you are specialists in education, so I'd be quite interested to hear
your thoughts on this.

My best,

Cole Butler
Faculty Specialist
Project Coordinator: Treating Parents with ADHD and their Children (TPAC
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__umdadhd.org_ongoing-2Dprojects-2Dand-2Dfunding&d=DwIBaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=1ru1D1zEVx6Qwfp4e3lOF5hyySaK2ksj1ax_lr_jxlg&s=Y52ceKydDc23KDzNpTGZBsF5MvAbSolltMPwRtQR9lA&e= >)
University of Maryland
UMD ADHD Lab <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.umdadhd.org_cole&d=DwIBaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=1ru1D1zEVx6Qwfp4e3lOF5hyySaK2ksj1ax_lr_jxlg&s=zzsxMmY6k6R7bQqXUdXaUS34GDBp7AF_rlVLk7Velp8&e= >
2103W, Cole Field House | College Park, MD 20742
tel 301.405.6163

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