With globalization, people, goods, and thoughts move without limitations of time, place, and people. Because information technology and the internetworking advancements have already made global communications possible, it is now possible to make anything come into reality. On the other hand, there should be another point to think about, that is to say, there must be people to make the things happen, which will be closely related with higher education. This chapter explores the present situations of education and knowledge and researches the problems that may not make them happen. By using these results of the studies, this chapter introduces a future direction of the capital on the next generation’s higher education by showing a fundamental principle of “fusion between dry knowledge and wet brain.”
TopPresent Situations Of Capitals On Education And Knowledge
We have now so many universities in the world. And it is said that the most successful universities in education and research are in Europe and USA. The methods that are used in general are simply to educate a student and to research with a student under consulting by teachers. Although it is true to say that the most of universities in the world have the same thoughts and do the same sorts of the activities in educations and researches, there may have appeared some differences in results of a higher education.
Under these considerations just mentioned above, there brought up a new wave in education. That is to say, there suddenly came up the idea of Open Course Ware (a new Capital), which opens contents of lectures at a university to anybody at anytime from anywhere in the world on the Webs. This is an open idea that will offer a wisdom, a knowledge, and an information in the fields to anybody who needs to learn at any time and place by offering a lecture with a lecture note or with a lecture video on Web.
So, nowadays as the results of these facts, we have the following ways to get a university level of information and knowledge.
Capital 1: By Open Course Ware (as mentioned above).
Capital 2: By books at a library and a bookshop.
Capital 3: By E-learning through TV, Radio, and Internetworking (including a correspondence course).
Capital 4: By a private lesson (including educations and trainings at a company).
Capital 5: By a university lecture (as we have today).
Next, the chapter talks about the above Capitals in higher education more in detail.
Capital 1: By Open Course Ware (OCW)
From a university, Open Course Ware (OCW) is being offered on Web through the Internetworking. Different university is offering a different system of OCW including lectures’ contents. There is the “Open Course Ware Consortium” whose current members are in all over the world. And there is one in Japan too that is the same sort of consortium, which is “Japan Open Course Ware Consortium”. Usually we cannot get degrees through these courses.
The aim is, generally speaking, described as follows.
“The OpenCourseWare (OCW) Consortium is a collaboration of higher education institutions and associated organizations from around the world creating a broad and deep body of open educational content using a shared model” (from the Web about OCW Consortium).
No degrees are awarded through this method.
Generally speaking, we can think about the merits of OCW as follows:
- 1.
It is possible to take a lecture at any time, at any place, and for anybody in the world if one is able to use the Internetworking.
- 2.
It is possible to get a course by a minimum amount of money (for the Internetworking and laptop computer facilities).
- 3.
It is possible to expand one’s own knowledge with free to use atmospheres, free to expand surroundings, and free to accumulate intentions.
- 4.
It is possible to make an individual course only for yourself through the Webs of the various OCWs in the world.
- 5.
It will be possible to make friends under same interests of a field in the world in order to promote own progress.
- 6.
It will be possible to have an extension as a research in a seamless manner through the Internetworking.
- 7.
It might be possible to contact with lecturers at a university on a certain matter on Web.