George Veletsianos: Emerging Academic Practices in Open Online Learning Environments

Open SUNY Center for Online Teaching Excellence Summitt, Feb. 2015

Emerging practices in digital (often open) learning environments

George Veletsianos, PhD Canada Research Chair in Innovative Learning & Technology

Associate Professor School of Education and Technology

Royal Roads University: Universities reflect the societies that house them

Emerging practices and technologies

Online and open learning: Emerging

Finding #1

1. Openness in the absence of institutional incentives

What open practices do faculty at institution X enact? The majority are •  publishing manuscripts in open ways, •  creating (and reusing?) open educational resources, •  offering opportunities for open learning.

1. Openness in the absence of institutional incentives

In the words of Weller (2014): “Openness won” (but, beware of openwashing à Wiley’s talk) Implications from this research: •  Individual rather than systemic motivators appear to be

significant drivers •  Some practices are more privileged than others •  The tyranny of default settings (à free vs. open)

1. Openness in the absence of institutional incentives

Finding #2

2. Research into online learning is becoming more interdisciplinary

How confident are we in this result? 10,000 repetitions.

A positive trend, but it presents both an opportunity and a challenge.

Finding #3

“By collecting every click, homework submission, quiz and forum note from tens of thousands of

students, Coursera [a MOOC platform] is a data mine that offers a new way to study learning” (May,

2012)

3. Data, data, everywhere

“By collecting every click, homework submission, quiz and forum note from tens of thousands of

students, Coursera [a MOOC platform] is a data mine that offers a new way to study learning” (May,

2012)

Thille: To design learning activities to collect data to make learning visible

3. Data, data, everywhere

3. Data, data, everywhere

3. Data, data, everywhere

3. Data, data, everywhere

3. Data, data, everywhere

3. Data, data, everywhere

Can online learning be fully understood and improved using data trails & data science?

… Are there practices that will remain invisible?

Powerful! But also consider this perspective

Yes, parts of it can refined. Other parts need different strategies…

Finding #4

4. Life’s daily realities shaping learning and participation

Finding #5

5. Notetaking – on paper

5. Notetaking – digital

Thank you!

www.veletsianos.com

@veletsianos on Twitter

veletsianos@gmail.com

slideshare.com/veletsianos

Image attribution •  Royal Roads University, Hatley Caste

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatley_Park_National_Historic_Site#mediaviewer/File:Hatley_Castle_BC.jpg

•  Life emerges from the dark https://flic.kr/p/7LxQTe •  Taking notes https://flic.kr/p/oyYv6M •  Typing I https://flic.kr/p/drswmN •  Day [009] Schedule https://flic.kr/p/8XbPUw •  My new old pants https://flic.kr/p/GyggV •  Abstract fluid

http://th08.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2012/227/a/e/abstract_fluid_painting_65_by_mark_chadwick-d5b6u21.jpg