How Emerging Technologies are Transforming Education and Training – How To Capitalize on It

Stephen Murgatroyd, PhD

Contact North | Contact NordOntario’s Education & Training Network

FAST FORWARD FOR A DIFFERENT FUTURE

Presentation to ILC, November 2010

THIS PRESENTATION…..

• Set a challenge context for this discussion….

• What is happening with technology?

• How is this having an impact on education, learning and training?

• What are the “design, development and deployment” (3D) implications for organizations?

• What are the challenges this gives rise to?

UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXTsocial context – economic context – technology landscape – competitive learning environment

SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TAKING PLACE

• Demographics

• Low birth rates and dependency on immigration

• Fast growth of aboriginal communities

• Literacy

• Economics

• Low productivity

• Declining competitiveness

• Major industry sector transitions – manufacturing, forestry, agriulcture

• Social Change

• New forms of social meaning and networks

• New globalized relationships – “glocal”

SHIFTS IN POST SECONDARY EDUCATION

• Focus on competitiveness and productivity

• More skills, more often and in less time

• Nimbleness in response to shifting conditions

• Strong focus on essential skills

• Literacy is the key to unlocking productivity

• 21st century skills focus on problem solving, teamwork/relationship and critical capacities

• Education as an economic driver

• Colleges focused on adding value to economic and community development

• Universities focused on real innovation that creates wealth

• Lower funding with higher outcome expectations

• As governments balance budgets, post-secondary funding is reduced per capita and student fees increased per capita

• Funding for innovation is “tight”

DEMAND FOR SKILLS OVER TIME(OECD DATA BASE)

21ST CENTURY SKILLS FRAMEWORKSOURCE: METERI GROUP AND THE NORTH CENTRAL REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LABORATORY (USA)

Digital Age Literacy• Basic Scientific, Economic and Technological

Literacies• Visual and Information Literacies• Multicultural Literacies and Global Awareness

Inventive Thinking• Adaptability, Managing Complexity & Self

Direction• Curiosity, Creativity and Risk Taking• Higher Order Thinking and Sound Reasoning

Effective Communication• Teaming, Collaboration & Interpersonal Skills• Personal, social and civic responsibility• Interactive communication

High Productivity• Prioritizing, planning and managing for results• Effective use of real world tools• Ability to produce relevant, high quality products• Ability to innovate through continuous

improvement

Engaged, Informed and Skilled Citizens

IN ONTARIO• Clear commitment to post-secondary education as a driver of the “new”

Ontario – cultural communities and economy

• Critical importance of skills and highly qualified workforce for productivity and competitiveness

• Seeking to expand affordable access to post-secondary, especially for first nations and first generation learners

• Seeking to have a major impact on essential skills

• Seeking to leverage online learning to achieve these goals – hence the Ontario Online Institute proposition – already a leading global player

• Dedicated educators who are passionate about making a difference…

THE KEY TECHNOLOGY COMPONENTS OF A “NEW” LEARNING SOLUTION

• Low cost (relative to capacity) hand held digital devices – the iPad, Smartphone, Playbook (RIM), Livescribe, GPS….

• Broadband access at a low cost – free Wi-Fi, cellular bandwidth (4G), new ways to access broadband

• Increasing graphical capacity and speed of digital devices

• Developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning

• Developments in robotics, miniaturizing of components and in visual capacities of digital devices

• 3D television and the imminent arrival of 3D video conferencing

TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS / TIME

LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY FOR LEARNING & TRAINING

Top Ten Opportunities to Leverage Technology for Learning

Stephen’s Top Ten List

#1 Advanced Blended Learning• Designed learning experience which

• Reduce the time taken to complete a course / program of study

• Use online for knowledge and in class for experience

• Engage students in learning through projects and activity based problem-solving

• Leverage social networks

#2 Mobile Learning• Designed learning experiences which

leverage hand-held devices to:

• Enable anywhere / anytime learning

• Facilitate peer and social network support for learning

• Leverage audio-video capacity of hand-held devices

• Support digital textbooks

TOP TEN LIST: TECHNOLOGIES THAT WILL IMPACT LEARNING AND TRAINING

#4 Self – Paced Study

• Leveraging the power of technology to enable a learner to:

• Start a program or course anytime, anywhere

• Study the course using online text, simulations, challenges

• Receive academic support from a coach or academic mentor

• Connect with peers

• Call the exam when the student is ready

#5 Cloud Based Learning

• In an outcome based program where credit is awarded following a demonstration of outcome competences:

• Learners use social networks, peer networks and expert clouds to secure their learning

• Learners access knowledge through digital resource libraries

• Using the powers of machine learning, robotics and mobility to provide learners with:

• Patient remedial learning for skills and knowledge they find problematic

• Using global networks to provide 24x7 coaching help

• Using peer networks and social networks for remediation

• Leveraging digital devices (especially 3D capacities) for:

• Simulating experiments in science

• Simulating trades tasks – e.g. rebuilding an engine

• Simulating medical procedures

• Leveraging the power of artificial intelligence / machine learning to use simulations as a competency based diagnostic tool

#6 Simulation #7 Remediation

• Using teams of learners, supported by an academic coach and mentor, to tackle problems that matter (e.g. water, literacy, financial literacy):

• Connecting to “non” academic solutions organizations

• Leveraging peer networks and social networks – using the cloud

• Serious research and serious games

• Community based assessment – impacts, competencies and outcomes

• Leveraging the power of technology and coopetition to:

• Developing glocal texts (standard texts with local components) for glocal courses

• Using the publishing consortia to accelerate the arrival of new knowledge into texts

• Using online libraries and resource centres for text, audio, video and other resources..

#8 Digital Textbooks and Libraries #9 Wicked Problem Based Learning

• Linking learning activities to location enables

• Environmental studies to be glocal

• Supports real time biodiversity information being integrated into projects and courses

• Leverages global knowledge bases around species and environmental genomics

• Provides rich access to local expertise

• Modularised curriculum linked to 24x7 help desk support for:

• Work based skills

• Essential skills

• Trades skills – the next building code skills, next biorefining process, the next robitic maintenance process….

#10 Just in Time Training Bonus: Location Supported Learning

INNOVATION IN ACTION

FOUR EXAMPLES

• The European Union Bologna Process

• Requires modular structure for all programs

• Requires transfer credit across 27 countries

• Enables online learning across 27 countries

• Increasingly outcome based

• Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS)

• Multiple start dates – students call exam when they are ready

• Courses are 3,5,6 and 8 weeks duration depending on outcomes

• Challenge exams and work-based learning credit commonplace

• Digital textbooks and online learning resources in use system wide

• National Glass Association (USA)

• 54 certification courses (trades) for glass installation and repair (including automotive)

• Public: Private partnership for improving standards, productivity and competitiveness in the sector

• $1 billion to train more than 660,000 workers in over 60,000 California companies. The program is funded by the Employment Training Tax paid by California employers, and targets firms threatened by out-of-state and international competition.

• University of Greenwich (UK) Accelerated BSc (Hons)

• 3 year undergraduate degree in 2 years (adds a month each year)

• Intense blended learning with options to accelerate further (20 months)

LOOKING GLOBALLY AT TRENDS:

• More project based work, less instruction

• More peer learning, less instruction

• More outcome based learning, less focus on process (especially time in class)

• More work based learning credits and less instructional credits

• More transferable credits and less colonialism

• More routes to Certificates, Degrees and Diplomas – less the one lane highway..

…less teaching, more learning…

BARRIERS TO CHANGE

SYSTEM WIDE

• FTE funding is problematic and no longer reflects the basis of activity in post-secondary systems

• Quality Assurance is based on models of learning which are 19 th century and institutional practices which are 20th century

• Faculty agreements inhibit innovation – especially if it relates to the use of time, focus of professional work and the nature of pedagogy

• Capital investments in technology small relative to capital investments in physical infrastructure

• Professional development of faculty requires substantial investments

AT THE COLLEGE / UNIVERSITY LEVEL

• Faculty

• Faculty adoption levels “stuck” at early stage – 18-25% of faculty

• Faculty defense of “classroom” over online

• Faculty agreements

• Design Capacities

• Instructional design capacities low and creation capacities low

• Transformative capacity of technology not being realized

• Students• Not all want to be engaged learners – many are tactically engaged or compliant

• Strategic Intent

• Commitment to online is “and also..” commitment

THE OPPORTUNITY…..

THE NEW COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY….• Will have individual work spaces and some rooms for team work..

• Will have grand challenge based courses and programs

• Will have a requirement for peer, social and networked learning

• Will have few residency requirements

• Will focus on outcomes, not time

• Will be wired to work, community and non profits

• Will have very high levels of student engagement and few tactical compliant learners

• Will have very satisfied faculty who coach, guide and mentor and support learning

• Will be truly learning focused

• Will be nimble…