Continuity and Creativity in a Digital Age

Dr Merilyn ChildsAssociate Professor of Digital Futures, Australian Digital

Futures Institute, University of Southern QueenslandBreakfast presentation: Box Hill Institute

Tuesday 19th November 2013, Melbourne.

2

An overview

• Some background

• The ‘old normal’

• The ‘new normal’

• The creative challenge

• Questions

• Some cool links

3

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paloetic/

A bit about me: I began my 35 year career in 1979 and have worked across high schools, TAFEs, the University sector, and in ‘industrial’ settings.

My Phd was about the changing nature of workin the post-compulsory educational sector and it’spotential consequences for pedagogy

4

My old normal

5

http://www.flickr.com/photos/daniandgeorge/

A balancing act, moving towards:

6

http://www.flickr.com/photos/st3f4n/

Participation, interaction,access, inclusion.

7

A timelineabout us all

Slate?

Gestetner?

Photocopier in the front office, had to placeorder 3 days in advance and you weren’t allowed to touch it?

Photocopier in the photocopy room, manual,self help?

Send to photocopier from login to networked computer?

Totally green – started with pdf files and never print?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/st3f4n/ 8

9

The new normal

10

In the ‘infotronics age’ e-learning and blended learning are the new normal

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27271711@N04

/11

2013 Key Findings

• Nearly all institutions have an interest in e-learning

• For success, large scale implementation of e-learning, a centralized model provides more efficiency and seamless integration of e-learning services and is characteristic of more mature institutions

• There is a desire to more than double the number of e-learning staff in central IT

• Institutions in general are most mature in their synergy of e-learning, and least mature in using analytics to assess e-learning outcomes

Bischel (2013) The State of e-Learning in HE (Educause)12

2013 Key Findings

13

2013 Key Findings

14

The creative challenge

15

Read the Report

http://www07.ibm.com/au/pdf/A_Snapshot_of_Australia_s_Digital_Future_to_2050_Exective_Summary.pdf

So while this is the new normal

16

The balancing act… trends enabled by e-learning are not yet the ‘new

normal’

1. Social Learning

2. Any time, anywhere

3. Learner centric

4. Lifelong learning

5. Open learning

6. Virtual worlds and educational gaming

Source: The Three e’s at TAFE E-learning, Pauline Farrell and Julianne Seaman, Blended e-Learning Solutions, Box Hill Institute (date unknown)

17

The E-Learning Maturity Index

https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1298256/E-Learning-Maturity-Index

18

My long view - open classrooms, learner centredness, lifelong learning, and learning ‘webs’ were being talked about by Ivan Illich in 1976. 3 years before I learnt to use the Gestetner.

The 4 problems I faced in 1979, remain the same today.

19

To remind you:

Content ‘manufactured here’Interactions predominately

teacher-student

Teacher centredness Conservative continuity

20

http://www.flickr.com/photos/st3f4n

Only now we have the internet, computers,tablets, mobiles - insteadof the Gestetner

21

Source: Norton (2013), Grattan Institute22

Every occupation is shaped and influenced by the new normal:

And opportunities for interaction enabled by the infotronics age exist at every level of granulation of a course 23

Managing institutional change through distributive leadership approaches: Engaging academics and teaching support staff in blended and flexible learning

Childs, Brown, Keppell, Nicholas, Hunter and HardRead the full reportVisit the case studies

2013 Key Findings

24

1. Innovation (in BFL and DE) needs to be aligned to institution vision, and the institution needs to manage the tensions that can exist between alignment (to vision); and creativity and innovation.

25

2. Good practice in BFL and DE needs to be manifested through sustainable, consistent and supported opportunities.

26

3. Regardless of the strategy or activity, commitment to approaches that enableeducators to take time, collaborate, share, network and connect are the key to innovation in BFL and DE.

27

Questions

28

Some cool things in response toquestions… and other.

Please keep clicking!

29

OH&S: The White Card Gamehttp://www.whitecardgame.com.au/

30

31http://www.oerafrica.org/

32http://www.oerafrica.org/FTPFolder/Website%20Materials/Health/Newsletters/2013/May-2013-edition.html#0

33

http://www.itap.purdue.edu/studio/passport/

What is Passport? Watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O41-BWJ_VE0

34

http://openbadges.org/

35

http://www.educause.edu/library/learning-analytics

http://www.solaresearch.org/

36

Want to know more about Learning Analytics? George Siemens’ MOOC notesand videos are still available. https://learn.canvas.net/courses/33

37

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/08/19/feminist-professors-create-alternative-moocs

38

http://oeruniversity.org/

39https://www.futurelearn.com/

Thanks once again to Stefan for generouslysharing your amazing star wars photographs,May the force be with you!http://www.flickr.com/photos/st3f4n/ 40