Free-Range Learning in the Digital Age

By Sheilah Kast,

Published September 19, 2018 at 10:39 AM EDT

For millions of Americans, higher education just doesn’t work. Of all those who start college each fall, barely more than half graduate with a degree or certificate in six years. And many leave campus saddled with huge debts.

Peter Smith, who has started several innovative colleges and now teaches at University of Maryland University College, says the system ignores the persistent, purposeful learning people do on their own, or at work. His new book is 'Free-Range Learning in the Digital Age: the Emerging Revolution in College, Career and Education".

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Sheilah Kast

Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.

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Melissa Gerr

Melissa Gerr is a Senior Producer for On the Record. She started in public media at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minn., where she is from, and then worked as a field producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland. She made the jump to audio-lover in Baltimore as a digital media editor at Mid-Atlantic Media and Laureate Education, Inc. and as a field producer for "Out of the Blocks." Her beat is typically the off-beat with an emphasis on science, culture and things that make you say, 'Wait, what?'

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