p { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; }

I may have not got this exactly right as a recount - but this is my live blog from the opening Keynote at DeHub 2011, in Sydney.

Higher Education largely seen outside the productivity of nations. The knowledge of citizens provides a competitive advantage for nations which is resulting in greater interest by government and that society sees qualification levels as critical for success. However there are also concerns about the public costs of maintaining research competitiveness. Concerns – of the nation – is about the quality of provision, support and outcomes and globalised participation increases. Additionally pubic concerns (real of feigned) are around social inclusion and participation by all, not just middle-class. Governments balance individual contributions verses public contributions to a sector that is often not inclusive, for example the Brown report in the U.K. Funding is more tightly tied to performance measures – in all areas of public policy (Health, Welfare etc.,) One outcome of this is that ICT is naively seen as a 'cost-effective', perhaps lower-cost method of delivering learning.

Shifting 'lifei' costs are reducing full-time on campus study, where students are preferences for part-time off and on campus. Students as customers want high-tech, high-touch flexible options – which is largely not the dominant 'view' of what student semblance. This leads to debate that University is now an individual good, not a public good – in countries where governments 'see' higher education as 'individual good' is resulting in growth of private institutions. This raises questions of whether educational experience is a single-band (at school, on campus) or duel band (virtual and real choice). This results in status gulf between teaching and research practiced by those in physical spaces and virtual ones. This is reinforced by the way institutions are 'labled' – distance, open etc., which supports false belief in the status hierarchies of both those employed by institutions and the quality of the qualification. It full-time on campus vs part-time off campus attainment.

This favours a distortion in cost. What is fair expenditure for physical location based education, and what is fair for virtualised – perhaps regionally disadvantaged areas. ICT is often seen as a convenient 'cost adjustment' justification for lack on emphasis and funding towards virtualised learning. For example, the vast expenditure on physical schools and the almost zero investment in a high quality – virtual school. The problem lies in cultural belief and protectionism – and personal belief about the individuals 'role' in the hierarchy – which relates strongly to status.

Where we currently put resources – how we use technology to disseminate knowledge tends to see online as a political tool, rather than an opportunity to better scale, share and invest in quality education and research (My Schools, My University etc.,). In many ways, governments attempt to use ICT to manage public perception as well as justify their ideology towards what is publically funded – and what is marginalised.

Compound this with individual belief among decision makers – and the public policy response (which is implemented by funded structures) is to continue to deny access to high quality education – online, or even employ those teachers best able to do it. Virtual High School for example, could be decentralised, yet massively accessible to students – who should be able to choose High School, TAFE or University learning – regardless of space and time.

A blunt answer is that that public policy towards distance educational funding and delivery is malformed – and often poorly strategised by delivery systems who fundamentally wish to protect or build physical learning spaces – and at this moment, education is a casualty of governmental public deficit – and not educating the kind of people who can argue for diverse investment in society – community leaders, diverse groups – we tend to internalise and complain – which doesn't result in any greater connectedness, choice or improvement in either the kind learning provided online – or the quality of those providing it.