From Malcolm Knowles: Apostle of Andragogy

the greatest danger to the survival of civilization today is not atomic warfare, not environmental pollution, not the population explosion, not the depletion of natural resources, and not any of the other contemporary crises, but the underlying cause of them all–the accelerating obsolescence of man (sic)… The only hope now seems to be a crash program to retool the present generation of adults with the competencies required to function adequately in a condition of perpetual change. This is the deep need–the awesome challenge–presented to the adult educator by modern society.

-Malcolm Knowles

How does Knowles idea of andragogy apply to the growing industry of for-profit online higher education? Are online schools leveraging technology to equip adults with lifelong skills that will help them succeed in an environment of “perpetual change”?

It seems many in the K-12 community are making a similar argument for today’s generation of children. How do we switch from the predominantly pedagogical model to a more learner-center, andragogical model? To what extent should technology play a role in this?