Free #Horizon2020 report out @educause good inspiration #learning #education

The Horizon 2020 report (58 pages) has been released by @educause on 2 March 2020 and it is an inspiring read for those of us looking at emerging learning designs and techniques. The report covers trends in the social, economical, political, technological and of course higher education realm and new in this report is a nice contextualization of all the different trends and technologies using visual supports. Educause is Northern America based, so most of the examples and projects they refer to are also North-America based.

This report is also more consciously covering multiple scenarios resulting from the interactions between all the different realms of society, which makes it a nuanced reflection of where learning can go in the near future. The report also links to additional reading and complementary material, e.g. articles on micro-credentials and experiential learning, [High on the higher ed agenda: alternative learning and ongoing increase of online education. High on the economic agenda: climate change and the green economy]

Download it now! Why, because it has tons of interesting links with a great synopsis for each subject. See below to get an idea of only a handful of information.

Emphasized learning technologies and practices this year:

• Adaptive Learning Technologies 
• AI/Machine Learning Education Applications 
• Analytics for Student Success 
• Elevation of Instructional Design, Learning Engineering, and UX Design in Pedagogy 
• Open Educational Resources 
• XR (AR/VR/MR/Haptic) Technologies 

Adaptive learning technologies are still hot news, as the search for effective personalized learning is still looking for practical outcomes. One of these listed in the report is the Alchemy tool by UBC (University of British Colombia, Vancouver, Canada). It is described as "Alchemy is a multi-featured online tool that supports teaching and learning in any circumstance that benefits from flexible, scalable, and feedback-rich learning alongside growing learning analytics capabilities." which basically shows where learning/teaching is moving towards in this ever more specialized-topic driven learning world.
Another adaptive example I like is from Deakin University, called the professional literacy suite, where I especially like their focus on digital skills in the first year. Which fits with the demand on data and AI savviness, communication skills.... teach those early on in higher ed curricula.

AI and Machine learning in practice still focus a lot on chatbots (which is basically turn a FAQ into feedback offered by bots). The most interesting option mentioned is the Responsible Operations positioning paper by the worldwide library cooperative (38 pages, great insights) that looks at how AI and ML are embedded in society, and how this changes all parts of society and which research agenda might address these challenges.
And the University of Oklahoma has set up PAIR (a global directory of AI projects in Higher education) ... nice!

The Analytics for Student Success are fairly similar, but the report on Ethics in Learning Analytics (16 pages) by the International Council for open and distance education is a good reference document to keep at close hand.

Elevation of learning design - pedagogy is always of interest to me. In a way, the learning design changes feel as small changes, but with big impact as a growing number of teachers and learning-related professionals are picking up digital learning tools and embedding them into their curriculum to address multiple learning challenges.
Carnegie Melon has an open learning toolbox called OpenSimon (part of the Simon initiative), a great spot to explore tools, techniques, research projects and so on (e.g. the Tetrad project which is an easy visualisation tool for data).

OER: we need more OER, but for those looking for new material, Mason OER metafinder is a great starting point.

XR technologies (extended reality) are increasingly on the rise as just-in-time workplace learning is higher on the agenda of our rapidly changing world. It builds upon prior realizations and needs to simulate emergency actions for students, e.g. augmented reality use for medical students by the University of Leiden, Netherlands.

It is a great read, good to get a fresh perspective on where we are all going.

#MOOC free report, event MOOC for refugees (w travel fund options) and #CfP eMOOC2019

Two interesting MOOC events coming up one focused on MOOCs for refugees, and one for all you out there involved in researching or experiencing MOOCs (the eMOOC2019 conference). 

Free MOOC report

Linked to the MOONLITE event, there is a free MOOC report (130 pages) on : “Exploiting MOOCs for Access and Progression into Higher Education Institutions and Employment Market”

The report gives an overview of the goals of the project, the methodology, and finishes with the practical recommendations for using online courses to enhance access and progression into higher education and the employment market (for refugees). 

MOONLITE multiplier event (part of a EU Erasmus+ project)

The MOONLITE event supports learning without borders, practically it harnesses the potential of MOOCs for refugees and migrants to build their language competences and entrepreneurial skills for employent, higher education, and social inclusion. 

There are bursaries to help cover your travel expenses which you can apply for at the venue!

23-24 November, UNED (Madrid, Spain).

Friday November 23

15:20. Welcome (Timothy Read & Elena Barcena, UNED, Spain)

15:30-16:30. Presentation of the MOONLITE project and its outputs (Jorge Arús-Hita, UCM, Spain & Beatriz Sedano, UNED, Spain)

16:30-17:30. Open Education Passports and Micro Credentials for refugees and migrants (Ildiko Mazar, Knowledge Innovation Centre, Malta)

17:30-18:00 Coffee

18:00-19:00 Kiron Educational Model and Quality Assurance for MOOC-based curricula (María Bloecher, Kiron, Germany)

Saturday November 24

10:00-11:00:  Inclusive by design: how MOOCs have the potential to reach people in ways other online courses do not (Kate Borthwick, University of Southampton, UK)

11:00-12:00: A tool for institutions for quantifying the costs & benefits of Open Education (Anthony Camilleri, Knowledge Innovation Centre, Malta)

12:00-12:30 Coffee

12:30-13:30: Workshop on how to design a socially inclusive MOOC (Elena Martín- Monje & Timothy Read, UNED, Spain)

13:30. Farewell (Timothy Read & Elena Barcena, UNED, Spain)

See travel details, online registration and more info here. No attendance fee. Limited places. 

➢ Sign up here: https://goo.gl/forms/RXYWS8MiQgYqfLkC2 (to obtain attendance certificate, materials, coffee).

➢ Venue: C/ Juan del Rosal, 16 - 28040 Madrid. How to get there: Metro until the stop: “Ciudad Universitaria” + Bus “U” until

the stop: UNED-Juan del Rosal: http://www.ia.uned.es/llegar-etsii

Call for papers eMOOC2019

Dates: 20 - 22 May 2019 

Venue: University of Naples, Federico II in Italy

Important Dates:
16 Jan 2017: Paper submissions for Research Track.
24 Feb 2017: Notification of acceptance/rejection
20 Mar 2017: Camera-ready versions for Springer LNCS Proceedings and copyright form.

The Higher Education landscape is changing. As the information economy progresses, demand for a more highly, and differently, qualified workforce increases, and HE Institutions face the challenge of reskilling and upskilling people throughout their lives. The corporate and NGO sectors are themselves exploring the benefits of a more qualified online approach to training, and are entering the education market in collaboration with HE Institutions, but also autonomously or via new certifying agencies. Technology is the other significant player in this scenario. It allows for new, data-driven ways of measuring learning outcomes, new curriculum structures and alternative forms of recruitment strategy via people analytics.

MOOCs represent the crossroads where the three converge. Come to EMOOCs 2019 and explore the impact and future direction of open, online education on a social, political and institutional level.

The eMOOC summit has four tracks: research, business, policy and experience track.

At the MOOC crossroads: where academia and business converge

The Higher Education landscape is changing. As the information economy progresses, demand for a more highly, and differently, qualified workforce and citizens increases, and HE Institutions face the challenge of training, reskilling and upskilling people throughout their lives, rather than providing a one-time in-depth education. The corporate and NGO sectors are themselves exploring the benefits of a more qualified online approach to training, and are entering the education market in collaboration with HE Institutions, but also autonomously or via new certifying agencies. Technology is the other significant player in this fast-changing scenario. It allows for new, data-driven ways of measuring learning outcomes, new forms of curriculum definition and compilation, and alternative forms of recruitment strategy via people analytics.

At the MOOC crossroads where the three converge, we ask ourselves whether university degrees are still the major currency in the job market, or whether a broader portfolio of qualifications and micro-credentials may be emerging as an alternative. What implications does this have for educational practice? What policy decisions are required? And as online access eliminates geographical barriers to learning, but the growing MOOC market is increasingly dominated by the big American platforms, what strategic policy do European HE Institutions wish to adopt in terms of branding, language and culture?

The EMOOCs 2019 MOOC stakeholders summit comprises the consolidated four-track format of Research and Experience, Policy and Business. And will feature keynote speakers, round table and panel sessions as well as individual presentations in each track. The aim is for decision-makers and practitioners to explore innovative and emerging trends in online education delivery, and the strategic policy that supports them. Original contributions that share knowledge and carry forward the debate around MOOCs are very welcome.The number of HE institutions involved in MOOCs, and the numbers of courses and enrolled students, has increased exponentially in recent years both in Europe and beyond. One of the results of this growing MOOC movement is an increasing body of research evidence that positions itself within the established research communities in technology enhanced learning, open education and distance learning. Key trends that are accelerating HE technology adoption are blended learning design and collaborative learning as well as a growing focus on measuring learning and redesigning learning spaces, and, in the long-term, deeper learning approaches and cultures of innovation.

This track welcomes high-level papers supported by empirical evidence to provide a rigorous theoretical backdrop to the more practical approaches described in the experience track, and particularly invites contributions in the area of these key trends.

• Learning Designs – blended learning, collaborative learning, learner-generated content, open textbooks, immersive learning, relating course and content to learning outcomes
• Defining and Measuring learning – learning analytics, educational data mining, user behaviour studies, adaptive and personalisation studies, cognitive theories and deep learning
• Technology – infrastructure and interface, tools and methods to provide learning at scale; tools and methods for assessment; tools and methods for data collection and processing; blockchain technology; AI + automated feedback

Submission of Papers
This is a one-step process, via direct submission of abstract and full paper.

Full paper: up to 10 pages including references

There will be official conference proceedings for this track and submissions will be handled through EasyChair.

The use of the supplied Springer template is mandatory: https://www.springer.com/it/computer-science/lncs/conference-proceedings-guidelines

Please remember to indicate the relevant Track when you submit your paper.

Proceedings

The Proceedings of the Research Track will be published by Springer in the Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) Series.
Submission of Work-in-Progress Short Papers

Short papers (up to 6 pages) are also accepted in this track, reflecting work in progress, for publication in Online proceedings with ISBN.

The use of the Springer template is mandatory:
https://www.springer.com/it/computer-science/lncs/conference-proceedings-guidelines

When submitting your paper, please indicate type of paper and track in the submission process.

Proceedings

The Work-in-Progress proceedings will be submitted to CEUR-WS.org for online publication. Outstanding short papers may be included in the Springer Proceedings.

Important dates:
25 February 2019: Short Paper submissions for Research Track.
25 March 2019: Notification of acceptance/rejection
29 April 2019: Camera-ready versions for online Proceedings with ISBN and copyright form

2 Free & useful #TELearning in Higher Ed reports #elearning #education

These two reports give a status of TELearning in 2016: one analysing the Technology Enhanced Learning for Higher Education in the UK (233 pages, with appendixes starting at page 78) and case studies of Technology Enhanced Learning (48 pages, with nice examples). I give a brief summary below.

The reports were produced by UCISA (Oxford univesity based network) representing many major UK universities and higher education colleges and it states to have a growing membership among further education colleges, other educational institutions and commercial organisations interested in information systems and technology in UK education.

The used definition of TELearning is: "Any online facility or system that directly supports learning and teaching. This may include a formal VLE (virtual learning environment), e-assessment or e-portfolio software, or lecture capture system, mobile app or collaborative tool that supports student learning. This includes any system that has been developed in-house, as well as commercial or open source tools."

Both reports provide an interesting (though UK-oriented) read. Here is a short overview of what you can find in them:

The report focusing on the TELearning for HE in UK (based on the TELearning survey), I have put the main conclusions next to the main chapters:

Top 5 challenges facing institutions: Staff Development is the most commonly cited challenge, Electronic Management of Assessment, lecture capture/recording continues to move up, technical infrastructure, legal/policy issues.

Factors encouraging the development of TELearning: Enhancing the quality of learning and teaching, meeting student expectations, improving student satisfaction are most common driver for institutional TEL provision. Availability of TEL support staff, encourages the development of TEL, feedback from students, availability and access to tools, school/departmental senior management support. In terms of barriers for TELearning: lack of time, development & consolidating, culture continues to be a key barrier, with Departmental\school culture, and Institutional culture, internal funding, and lack of internal sources of funding to support development.

Strategic questions to ask when considering or implementing TELearning: with Teaching, Learning and Assessment consolidating, the rise of the Student learning experience/student engagement strategy, corporate strategy and library and Learning Resources.

TELearning currently in use: main institutional VLE remains Blackboard and Moodle.
Moodle remains the most commonly used platform across the sector, but rising alternative systems such as Canvas by Instructure, and new platforms eg. Joule by Moodlerooms. SharePoint has rapidly declined. An increase in the number of institutions using open learning platforms such as FutureLearn and Blackboard’s Open Education system. Evaluation activity in reviewing VLE provision: conducting reviews over the last two years. TEL services such as lecture capture is the second most commonly reviewed service by all over the last two years.

Support for TELearning tools: e-submission tools are the most common centrally supported
software, ahead of text matching tools such as Turnitin, SafeAssign and Urkund. Formative and summative e-assessment tools both feature in the Top 5, along with asynchronous communication
tools. Adoption of document sharing tools across the sector and the steady rise in the use of lecture
capture tools. Podcasting tools continue to decline in popularity and the new response items electronic exams and learning analytics appear not to be well established at all as institutional services, with only a handful of institutions currently supporting services in these areas.
Social networking, document sharing and blog tools are the common non-centrally supported tools. TEL tools are being used to support module delivery. Blended learning delivery based on the provision of supplementary learning resources remains the most common use of TEL. Only a small number of institutions actually require students to engage in active learning online across all of their programmes of study. Increasing institutional engagement in the delivery of fully online courses, with over half of 2016 respondents now involved. Growing adoption of MOOC platforms by institutions, but less than half of respondents are pursuing open course delivery.
Little change in the range of online services that higher education institutions are optimising for access by mobile devices. Access to course announcements, email services and course materials and learning resources remain the three leading services optimised for mobile devices. Library services, are being optimised. Optimising lecture recordings at the same level as 2014. The most common ways in which institutions are promoting the use of mobile devices are through the establishment of a bring your own device (BYOD) policy and by loaning out devices to staff and students. Funding for mobile learning projects has reduced in scale.
Outsourcing of institutional services grows: student email, e-Portfolio systems, VLEs and staff email. The type of outsourcing model is dependent on the platform being outsourced: Software as a Service (SaaS) cloud-based model for email services, and to use an institutionally managed, externally hosted model for TEL related tools, such as e-Portfolios and the VLE for blended and fully online courses.
National conferences/seminars and internal staff development all remain as key development activities. Increase in the promotion of accreditation activities, in particular for HEA and CMALT
accreditation.
Electronic Management of Assessment (EMA) making the most demand on TEL support teams. Lecture capture and Mobile technologies as well. The demand from Learning Analytics and from distance learning/fully online courses continues to increase. A new entry which might be expected to make more demands in the future is Accessibility; in particular, demands made by changes to the Disabled Students’ Allowance in the English higher education sector.

A number of appendixes: full data, a longitudinal analysis of TELearning over the past years (going back to 2001), questions that were used for the longitudinal analysis.

The report focusing on the case studies from TELearning:
These case studies are a companion to the earlier report mentioned above. The idea is that the case studies enable to probe themes in the data and shed light on TEL trends through the eyes of representative institutions, offering context to the findings of the overall report.
In each of the case studies, the institutions provide answers to the following TELearning sections: used TELearning strategy, TEL drivers, TEL provision, TEL governance and structures, TEL-specific policies, Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) strategy, Teaching Excellence Framework, Distance Learning and Open Learning, and Future challenges. The diversity of institutes interviewed give a good perspective of the TEL landscape within Higher Education in the UK. 

Free report & toolkit on MOOCs for development #MOOCs4dev #itcilo @alessiames

The International Training Centre for International Labour Organisation (ITCILO) has always been a forerunner in innovation for development purposes. When I met Alessia Messuti two weeks ago, she mentioned that ITCILO just published a free report and toolkit on MOOCs for development. The report is 29 pages and gives a brief, yet well-founded description of the past 5 MOOCs which were implemented since 2015 in which the ITC was involved with (including a MOOC on 'Crowdsourcing for Development'), and the report also highlights the challenges (business model, quality assurance, access barriers, and facilitation & teaching support quality). The pedagogical MOOC design they used is also mentioned and what I really liked was their non-video approach, as this enabled much more learners in developing settings to engage with the MOOC material.

If you read the report and are interested in more information, Alessia also made a toolkit available for those who want to learn more than just the basics mentioned in the report. You can ask for a copy of the more expanded MOOCs4Dev toolkit by emailing delta@itcilo.org .

It is a good read for all those in valuing the concept of education for all and what that means for MOOCs. 

Commenting & sharing free 5th innovating pedagogy report #pedagogy #EdTech #OU

While I was reading the latest innovative pedagogies report, some comments came to mind, which I will gladly share a bit further down this blogpost after a quick description of the report itself. Researchers from the Instituteof Educational Technology located at The Open University (UK) together with academics from the Learning Sciences Lab at the National Institute of Education in Singapore recently published the fifth Innovative pedagogy report. A full-text PDF version of this 47 page report is available to download from www.open.ac.uk/innovating. In the report they provide an overview of emerging innovative pedagogies. This report covers: learning through social media, the concept of productive failure as a pedagogical option, teachback, design thinking, learning from the crowd, learning through video games, formative analytics, learning for the future, translanguaging, and the blockchain for learning. The aim of the report is to explore new forms of teaching, learning and assessment for an interactive world, to guide teachers and policy makers in productive innovation. This fifth report proposes ten innovations that are already in currency but have not yet had a profound influence on education.

This is definitely an interesting report, as it offers a quick overview of emerging pedagogies. There have been prior reports that I found inspiring as well (previous reports can be found here). The introduction situates the current learning science and puts it within the increasingly interdisciplinary realm of learning and teaching, both formal and informal. While most introductions are merely synthesis of what can be expected, the introduction of this report offers a truly rich – yet brief – background to the report, adding what went before it and providing a state of the art overview of EdTech.

As an educational technologist, some of the innovative pedagogies seem familiar, e.g. learning through social media is a topic most of us are familiar with, but indeed, it is not always implemented as a recognised pedagogical policy. The report also emphasizes the need for educators/facilitators to be part of the learning process to allow truthful curation of content. The examples given of crowdsourced and facilitator driven social media accounts are really inspiring (@realtimeWOII and pepysdiary.com both using direct quotes from the past to bring it back to life).

The productive failure option fits with the flipped classroom/lecture approach, as it allows learners to first try out finding a solution on their own, possible failing at it, after which a teacher/instructor steps in. Giving the students room to creatively work around a problem they cannot solve at first, and discussing it. I like this approach. I would also like to see deliberate flawed research presentations, I mean giving faulty presentations first, asking the audience to indicate where they thought a faulty research method/deduction… had taken place and then rectify it as a presenter. I guess that would make a conference audience more attentive and make the whole process more inspiring. … Yes, I will use this in an upcoming presentation. Maybe even a classroom or lecture option.

The teachback approach is slightly related to the productive failure, in that it tries to limit failure in communicating. This approach comes from the medical world, and I remember doctors in training having to learn to listen to patients in order to really grasp the medical condition as it is portrayed by the patient. Teachback asks one person (usually an expert or teacher) to explain something they know about a topic to another person (usually someone new to the topic). Then the novice tries to teach their new understanding back to the expert. If the learner gives a good response, the expert goes on to explain some more about the topic.

Massive peer learning, or learning from the crowd fits the next level of networked learning, in its nicest form is the citizen learning, where people share what they learn in their contexts/locations with others. This is used in http://www.NQuire-it.org

Formative analytics, based on learning analytics but giving the learners tools to visualize their learning and possibly adjust their learning is an upcoming trend. But then again, I do wonder what are the chosen indicators for visualizing learning (is it the learner who decides or others that decides what matters in terms of learning?).

The translanguaging is something that is in need for accepting. Most of us global citizens speak at least two languages. Mixing languages to deepen understanding is something most of us have been doing, but is now growing interest in formalized learning and I am truly happy to see that, ik ben er echt blij om, vraiment ça me donne de l’énergie! Or to use my native dialect: doar zenn’k na ne kier echt blaai oem! 

Blockchain learning becomes interesting (a blockchain stores digital events securely on every user’s computer rather than in a central database). It is of interest, especially when we will be able to keep our learning trajectories openly accessible for personal use. Creating our own learning across formal and informal learning environments.

Anyhow the report provides new ideas, and new ways of creating learning opportunities. But … pedagogy is only one part of the learning equation and recently, I wonder whether we as educational technologists are not loosing serious learning/teaching ground. Education for all is slipping through our fingers as we dig deeper into pedagogies, yet deny current filter bubbles as results of algorithms. For people do indeed learn from social media, but this learning increasingly happens in isolated information islands… only rehashing what you like. This means that what I get to see through social media is increasingly what fits my views… this means the learning is decreasingly Socratic, for I am not provided with discussion food the way I (or dare I include we) I used to.

If we learn increasingly with the use of social media, we are increasingly learning from results that are filtered by non-transparent algorithms. Numerous algorithms that we are unaware off. Are we slowly being brainwashed, now more than ever before?

Free report Continued Professional Development for teachers & #MOOC #CPD

Dianne Laurillard edited a report on "the Anatomy of a MOOC for teacher CPD" which can be downloaded here. In this 34 page report she looks at a MOOC that was provided by UNESCO and partners to enhance CPD of teachers by using a particular MOOC aimed at that subject.

The report provides an executive summary, describing the set-up, demographics, evaluation, lessons learned, and the pedagogical as well as financial value. It also provides a look into the approach to teaching and learning, design and development processes, various measures of success (more quantitative view and branding).

Quckly sharing the 10 take aways highlighted by the report:
1.The certification provided by these courses for professionals does have value (8.2). 2. The provision of collaborative learning functionality on the MOOC platform is an urgent requirement, via both the grouping function and the shared production activity (7.2). 3. Peer review is highly valued for activity of doing the review, rather than for receiving a review (8.3) 4. A pedagogic approach that orchestrates a default sequence of linked and focused collaborative learning activities is highly valued (8.3). 5. To maintain the value of peer review and collaboration within an on-demand environment it will be important to help academics continue orchestrating this process so that it continues to work (8.4). 6. We need flexible pricing to assist participants from emerging economies (8.4) 7. We need a less problematic technical authentication process to increase both reach and revenue significantly (8.4). 8. The term ‘registration’ is not equivalent to ‘enrolment’ in a normal university course; instead ‘engagement in week 1’ should be used as the only reasonable equivalent (8.5). 9. Fee-paying undergraduates are subsidizing free education for highly qualified professionals, and we need ways of ameliorating that situation (8.5). 10. We need further technical development to create learning analytics that will support automated or semi-automated assessment for non-scientific subjects (8.5)

And the report concludes with: "The overall experience of both course team and participants on this CPD course was overwhelmingly positive. The course team had the opportunity to learn a lot more about online teaching and learning in this new environment, and also learned a great deal from the participants. Their contributions on the Padlet wall, the Diigo site, and Scoop-It, for example, will be valuable additional resources for later runs of the MOOC. It has proved to be a true experience of the coconstruction of knowledge, as such courses should be."

Practical, free report on #mobile pedagogy for English #language teaching and learning

The 46 page research report on 'Mobile pedagogy for English language teaching and learning: a guide for teachers' is a practical and informative report. The report was written by experts (Agnes Kukulska-Hulme, Lucy Norris and Jim Donohue) in the field that combine a strong theoretical background with experienced practical projects, this combination clearly adds to the relevance of the report.

The report addresses the challenges of English teachers, a framework is offered which points towards all the dynamics and interactions that are part of the overall language interactions between teachers and learners, once the framework is described a practical example of the application of the framework in a real lesson.
Because the report offers a range of practical activities with clear links to learning goals that are addressed by these activities as well as suggestions for implementation, the report enables a clear and immediate understanding of the mobile opportunities that are suggested (e.g. actions: feeding back after task or class (Learning-Oriented Assessment), or  another activity: the ‘ideal self’ language user; reflecting on learning and motivation - which encourages learners to be more active and reflect on real language performance).

A great and practical read. 

Free booklet on #Teaching with #Technology

The 35 page report (or booklet) on Teaching with Technology was just released by the Inside Higher Ed magazine and written with support from Blackboard (the LMS). This means that a certain LMS-focus can be felt, nevertheless, the report does highlight some ideas and EdTech initiatives in a transparent way. The report is free, and can be downloaded (after providing name, email, and job title to Inside Higher Ed) at this virtual location. And you may sign up here for a free webinar on Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. Eastern about the themes of the booklet.

The booklet starts off with some figures regarding educational change: 98% of college & university presidents think that change is needed in education a and 67% think the change needs to be disruptive (Chronicle of Higher Ed study from 2014). The definition of student success is broadening with a necessary focus on learner-­‐desired outcomes beyond our traditional institutional success measures of progress and completion.
A brief look, which topics are covered:

• modularization: this Higher Ed option is increasingly being rolled out as an option for students to either build their own curriculum (or part of it). Now major universities are also interchanging topics, e.g. Yale will be streaming Harvard's course on computer science CS50 to its students in the fall 2015. (personal note: interesting adaptation of the Payed Educational Resources option, and it offers a view into Future modularization where different universities develop different modules that can be part of a full curriculum. This might also result in universities that focus on specific fields, rather than full options. A bit like the changes happening in certain countries with k12 options: a language school, a STEM-school, a business school...).
• License to teach online: another oldie that is now getting formalized: demanding faculty to take a 'Digital Driver's License' course in order to be eligible to teach online. As an incentive a small stipend is given to the teachers who are willing to take the course (case of Saint Mary's college of California). 
• Blended approach for liberal arts: nice option to embrace both face-to-face and online learning opportunities that allow faculty as well as students to keep the benefits of both and engage in meaningful actions in both worlds. 
• Connecting to international classrooms: also an old option (learning experiences in other countries), which is now gaining interest due to technological solutions. By connecting classes with students from different countries (but who are able to all talk the same language in order to communicate), all students learn from the experiment (e.g. connecting college classrooms from Morocco, Pakistan, US). This type of learning has multiple names: COIL, online intercultural exchange, virtual exchange, globally networked learning, telecollaboration... but the course aim is always the same: to facilitate class discussions and do collaborative course assignments across national borders and time zones. The course exchanges can be synchronous or asynchronous, or involve a combination of both.
• A MOOC-like master degree: the full option of online learning, which in all honesty has been tested and done by all Open Universities everywhere. This change from residential to online learning does have an effect on teacher and teaching assistants profiles and numbers. 
• And of course a brief focus on the flipped classroom, as well as a focus on the success of Purdue's Signals - stoplights for student success. 

Brief report, with known topics that are explained in a short and sweat way, and in between a bit of Blackboard advertisements with links to other reports. 

Free report on #innovative #pedagogy, practices and use

The Open University of the UK has just published a new report on innovative pedagogy (37 pages). This is a yearly report (compare it to NMC Horizon report, but with a pure pedagogical focus). In this report they look at ten innovations in teaching, learning and assessment that are gaining influence.

I find the focus on social learning of interest, as the report states that "Education can be dramatically enhanced by social networks, a report from The Open University claims. Massive open social learning brings the power of social networks to people taking online courses, by recommending, liking and following the best content created by other learners. The so-called 'network effect' comes from many thousands of people learning from each other, but it needs careful management to reach its full potential. " In a way this is supporting the Utopian vision of the web when it first reached a multitude of people. So an old idea is now grounded, and I must say I like this idea of social learning. 

The report focuses on each topic and elaborates on it briefly (approx 3 pages), giving a description, some important issues related to the topic and resources. Nice.

Which innovations are described in the report:

• Massive Open Social Learning (a social learning view on mooc)
• Learning design informed by analytics (a productive cycle linking learning analytics to effective learning - Yeah Bart!)
• The Flipped classroom (inside and outside classroom learning, flipping homework and class interactions)
• Bring Your Own Devices (learners bring their own devices - smartphones, cameras - into the classroom)
• Learning to learn (a good focus on learning how to become an effective learner)
• Dynamic assessment (I like this one as it offers ideas on personalized assessment for learners)
• Event based learning (time-bounded learning moments)
• Learning through storytelling (ancient, and very effective learning format, now with new options)
• Bricolage (tinkering with all kinds of resources, kind of a mash-up for learning)

The lead author of this report is Mike Sharples, and he sees the social learning shift that is happening now as an educational parallel of the art shift that happened when file sharing became more prevalent. But if you look at the co-authors (Anne Adams, Rebecca Ferguson, Mark Gaved, Patrick McAndrew, Bart Rienties, Martin Weller, Denise Whitelock), you can see how all these great researchers ensure a good and well researched read.

Linking #k12 to #mLearning, networked learning, cloud computing

As the New Media Consortium report is out looking at the upcoming trends for k12 and online learning, I was pleasantly surprised by the emerging combinations which clearly embrace new educational technologies and student-centered focus.
The almost 50 pages report is a source of interest for any teacher, school, or elearning expert. It provides a nice overview of new options and trends for young students, as well as interesting assumptions. One of the assumptions is: mobile acceptance in schools, teacher proficiency in a variety of digital skills, and even the contemporary classroom (filled with ICT and edtech options). This is the ideal setting and for many schools not (yet) achievable. Nevertheless the points raised in the report are interesting.

For those with little time a quick read through the 9 page preview report will already raise interest, but for those having more time, I do recommend reading the full report as it narrates not only what is to come, but also why the authors of the report think so, and what importance it can have. The NMC reports always have the same structure providing a nice overview of which technologies are already adopted, which to watch out for and what lies in the (5 years) future.
The emphasis on the importance of networked learning, open content (open educational resources or OER), cloud computing and the allround student (and teacher) mobility is nice to read.

Quickly sharing the table of content here:
I. Key Trends Accelerating K-12 Ed Tech Adoption 
Fast Trends: Driving Ed Tech adoption in schools over the next one to two years
! Rethinking the Roles of Teachers..........
! Shift to Deep Learning Approaches...........
Mid-Range Trends: Driving Ed Tech adoption in schools within three to five years
! Increasing Focus on Open Content..............
! Increasing Use of Hybrid Learning Designs ......
Long-Range Trends: Driving Ed Tech adoption in schools in five or more years
! Rapid Acceleration of Intuitive Technology .....
! Rethinking How Schools Work ........

II. Significant Challenges Impeding K-12 Ed Tech Adoption 
Solvable Challenges: Those that we understand and know how to solve
! Creating Authentic Learning Opportunities.
! Integrating Personalized Learning ..
Difficult Challenges: Those that we understand but for which solutions are elusive
! Complex Thinking and Communication ..
! Increased Privacy Concerns .
Wicked Challenges: Those that are complex to even define, much less address
! Competition from New Models of Education...
! Keeping Formal Education Relevant....

III. Important Developments in Technology for K-12 Education
Time-to-Adoption Horizon: One Year or Less
! BYOD.....
! Cloud Computing .............
Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Two to Three Years
! Games and Gamification ....
! Learning Analytics .........
Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Four to Five Years
! The Internet of Things........
! Wearable Technology.........

#free report on learner at the center of a #networked world

The US based Aspen Institute, together with the MacArthur Foundation just released on useful report entitled The learner at the center of a networked world. The 115 p. report offers insight in the strategies that are put forward by an intelligent task force of experts in the field of Technology Enhanced Learning (experts from Google, UN, public libraries, national council of education, Microsoft, School districts, creative commons, Voto Latino, to name a few). The focus on open learning environments to benefit all is also a nice motivation to read. Bring Your Own Technology, digital literacy, connected learning, educators as guides supporting the student... all of the keywords of late are mentioned and put into a nice, useful overall framework.

The report focuses on young students, but also puts forward pointers on getting the complete family and communities to which those families belong involved, raising their knowledge and digital skills as well. I like this more holistic approach, as education and specifically learning and knowing how to acquire new knowledge is increasingly important.
The report is an easy read, and offers practical strategies and visions for implementing a more learner centered set up for both schools, as well as external (non school related) approaches.

The report starts with indicating that US youngsters have an increased literacy gap, concretely with Hispanic and
African American fourth graders being two and a half years behind white students. For this reason the task group has experts who understand the difficulties faced by these groups, and who have successfully tackled some of the challenges faced by those student groups.

The five core strategies are:

Learners need to be at the center of new 
learning networks.
We first make recommendations for actions that will truly put learners at the center of the networks that can enhance and accelerate their learning. Parents and teachers need support to help them integrate new methods of learning into and outside the classroom. Community organizations, including libraries, museums and other civic and cultural institutions must become full-fledged participants in learning networks.

Every student should have access to learning networks.
We recommend steps that are needed to ensure equity of access so that all young people can pursue their learning goals. This includes every student having adequate connectivity—including reliable broadband connections—as well as access to the hardware, applications, digital age literacy and high-quality content necessary to support their learning.

Learning networks need to be interoperable. 
We believe that learning networks need to be maximally interoperable to ensure that valuable educational resources are not isolated in separate silos and that innovations can be shared across networks. Interoperability is also important to allow students to move freely across networks to assemble their learning objectives and to receive credit for all learning accomplishments, wherever they occur

Learners should have the literacies necessary to utilize media as well as safeguard themselves in the digital age.
We also believe that all learners and educators need a sufficient degree of digital age literacy, where media, digital and emotional literacies are present,  to be able to use these learning resources to learn through multiple media confidently, effectively and safely. Every student must have a chance to learn these vital skills.

Students should have safe and trusted environments for learning. 
We focus on steps needed to create a trusted environment that will protect children’s safety and privacy online without compromising their ability to learn. Parents should be able to trust that their children’s personally identifiable information is safe, secure and won’t be used in ways other than to help their academic progress. We argue for a shift from a negative, fear-based approach that attempts to insulate children from all harm (and may also create barriers to valuable resources) to a positive approach that will enable students to pursue learning experiences online without fearing for their safety or privacy.

The report additionally offers links to great projects and innovations. 

Flexible #pedagogies for Technology Enhanced Learning

A new report is published from UK Higher Ed Academy, this one focusing on flexible pedagogies for Technology Enhanced Learning. You can download the 23 page report written by Neil Gordon from the University of Hull, UK here. The report takes a look at potential pedagogical changes needed with the changing online learning landscape (ranging from classroom ICT based courses, to blended to fully online). The report focuses on how e-learning, also known as technology-enhanced-learning, may support flexible pedagogies, and so encompasses a range of topics where technology can enable new choices for learners. Flexible learning focuses on giving students choice in the pace, place and mode of their learning, and all three aspects can be assisted and promoted through appropriate pedagogical practice, practice that can itself be supported and enhanced through e-learning. e-Learning is concerned with using computer technologies to support learning, whether that learning is local (on campus) or remote (at home or in the workplace).

The conclusion section provided some interesting future research actions:

In terms of the three main stakeholders, future short-to-medium-term implications include: 

• learners: taking more responsibility for their own learning, choosing and taking advantage of technologies that can improve their own learning, with advice from their teachers; 
• teachers: identifying opportunities for flexibility in delivery, with a growing emphasis on managing the learning process rather than being the primary provider of learning material; 
• institutions: allowing for flexible systems, where students can enrol and select learning. The role of institutions becomes that of providing systems and frameworks, as well as providing the quality checks to award credits and degrees. 

There are a number of developments in virtual learning environments and other learning technologies that could aid flexibility, beyond the typical features of current VLEs. The key ones that follow from suggestions in this report are: 

• support for personalised learning pathways within a VLE, so that learning material can be organised into structures that allow the learner to choose their own pathway. Dependencies between material would be identified, with clauses used to potentially control some of the learners’ choices and access; 
• flexi-level and adaptive assessment support in VLE-based assessment tools or available via standardised interfaces, such as the LTI standards; 
• development of learning analytics to support flexible access, eg engagement data to replace attendance data; 
• further research into the effectiveness of online, distance and flexible approaches compared with more traditional ones, with a particular focus on the retention and success data when compared with traditional approaches. The growth of MOOCs and blended learning offer opportunities to develop further work addressing questions such as to what extent engagement and attendance correlate, and whether online provision of resources encourages squirrel-like (collect and store) behaviours, rather than accessing and engaging. Existing VLEs and the new MOOC platforms offer the potential for large data sets of student learning behaviours to enable informed decisions on implementing new learning approaches. 

NMC horizon #report 2014 on #education in #HighEd

The NMC horizon report is ALWAYS an inspiration. Although I do think about latest trends, this 52 page report always brings the most important trends together in a comprehensive and brief overview. The report also addresses some challenges that are still standing in this digital age (scaling teaching innovation, relative lack of rewards for teaching, low digital fluency of faculty, competing educational models - although I like the debates coming from the competition). While reading the challenges I did wonder whether the priorities were complete. I mean, maybe it is not being the best that matters, but getting all on board? Allowing people to grow and reach their own potential, and not necessarily reach the potential society/higher ed is setting out for most of us. Will need to take that up in a more philosophical post later on.

The pdf version is available at http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2014-nmc-horizon-report-he-EN.pdf.

My top 3 topics suggested as upcoming learning trends are:

Learning analytics (time-to-adoption: now): although I will address some of my own doubts on the current trust in the learning analytics overall, I do feel this (together with a lot of other big data) will result in new findings that can (CAN) enhance learning for all of us as well as each of us. As online learning becomes a more frequent reality, data of learners becomes visible. Based on these data assumptions can be deduced, which in turn can be researched and added as best/worst practices. The logic behind learning analytics is simple: learning analytics has the potential to develop or generate early warning systems based on metrics that make predictions using linguistic, social, and behavioral data coming from learners. As such each learner can be supported in a more personalized - and hopefully efficient - manner.

Games and gamification (time-to-adoption 2 years): a learning style that most of us knows and adopts from an early age. And thanks to really nice visuals and algorithms, it becomes a teaching tool that can provide efficient and fun learning. I first saw this in practice in a program designed to teach disaster response in case of epidemics. Serious games are simply wonderful virtual worlds in which death can be revoked, and success follows multiple failures... a nice exercise in persistence as well.

Virtual assistants (time-to-adoption: 4 - 5 years) this is a growing pleasure (if a seamless user experience can be assured). At the centre of virtual assistants are the natural user interfaces (NUIs), which enable me and you to simply voice what we want (or gesture it) and an answer will be provided by our preferred learning machine (tablet, phone...). The most eye catching was the Siri which comes with the iPhone, and some of Android’s Jelly Bean options. The virtual assistants are being deployed for other instruments as well (e.g. smartTV), the key thing is that they can be merged with semantic based algorithms allowing a more tailored information to be sent to the questions users direct to these devices. Me, being lazy at times, I would like answers to come once I think of the question. But of course this means that by the time that option becomes a reality, we will all be drones, connected to the hive (Star Trek Borg)

#MOOC @Edinburgh report on organizing 6 Coursera MOOCs

Last week the University of Edinburgh released their first report on their experiences gained after having organized 6 MOOC courses via Coursera. In this 34 page report they provide insights on organizing a Coursera MOOC, the success rates, their lessons learned, and how they went about in setting up the courses.

This is the summary they provide and it gives a good overview of all the subjects addressed in the report:

In January 2013, the University of Edinburgh launched six MOOCs on the Coursera virtual  learning environment (VLE) platform [www.coursera.org].  These were short fully-online courses, each lasting either 5 or 7 weeks, and they had a total initial enrolment of just over 309,000 learners.

Six different subject areas were chosen, reflecting the University’s diverse spread of  disciplines, with two MOOCs offered by each of the three academic Collegesin the University: Humanities and Social Sciences (Introduction to Philosophy; E-learning and Digital Cultures); Science and Engineering (Artificial Intelligence Planning; Astrobiology and the Search for Life on Other Planets); Medicine and Veterinary Medicine (Equine Nutrition; Critical Thinking in Global Challenges). AI Planning was developed at Master level, the rest were at undergraduate (Bachelor) level.

Each MOOC team chose a course structure best suited for the delivery of their subject matter; as a result, six different course structures were produced, with several teams experimenting with content delivery and collaboration methods outwith the Coursera VLE. Of the 309,628 people who registered on the Edinburgh MOOCs, 123,816 learners accessed the course sites(‘active learners’) during the first week of launch – an average of 40% of those enrolled - of whom 90,120 engaged with content in Week One. In total 165,158
individuals actively engaged with course content during the life span of the courses, and 36,266 learners engaged with week 5 assessments(29% average of initial active learners, with a range of 7-59% across the six courses). The MOOCs had no barriers to entry and exit, and the option existed to study without active engagement with quizzes or social media; this permits behaviour patterns distinct from those of on-campus degree courses.

A pre-launch (Entry) survey was sent to 217,512 unique email accounts one week before the courses began [22.01.13]; 45,182 individuals replied, giving a 21% response rate.  (Note that enrolment continued after this survey was sent out.)  15,351 responses were gathered in the end-of-course evaluation (Exit)surveys.
Of those who responded to the Entry survey, 75% indicated this was their first experience of a MOOC, and 53% were enrolled on only one MOOC offering. 203 countries were represented, with the highest proportion of respondents living in the USA (28%) and UK (11%). 33% were between 25-34 years of age, with ‘Teaching and education’ (17%) and ‘Student (college/university)’ (15%) as the highest represented areas of current employment. Over 70% of respondents indicated completion of degree-level academic achievement; a total of 40% respondents had achieved a postgraduate degree. These demographics were very similar to those of respondents in the combined Exit survey.

98% of Exit survey respondents indicated that “they felt they got out of the course(s) what they wanted”, with the great majority reporting that the length, pacing and level had been about right.  The most common time spent on study per week on the MOOCs was in the range 2-4hrs.

Both Entry and Exit surveys asked respondents for their reasons for enrolling, of which the main options chosen were to learn new subject matter and find out about MOOCs/online learning.  Gaining a certificate or career enhancement were less significant but more localised to specific MOOCs.

34,850 Statements of Accomplishment (SoAs) have been distributed to learners across the six courses – 21% of active learners or 12% of total enrolment, with ranges of 4-44% and 2-36%, respectively, across the individual courses.The whole process from initial partnership discussions with Coursera to completion of all six courses and distribution of SoAs took approximately 10 months. This document provides a summary of the 10-month process, including some comparisons between the six courses and our initial reflections on the data and our experiences in offering the MOOCs.

@eLaconference #ICT4D #eLearning Africa report covers a lot of ground

ICWE people who organize the conferences Online Educa Berlin and eLearning Africa have just published a report on the status of eLearning in Africa (which is organized in Benin this year). The report is published at the beginning of the conference, which I think is a wonderful idea. It is a free report and can be downloaded here. 

The publishers indicate that the eLearning Africa 2012 report is a collaborative endeavor to enrich the conversation on ICT-enhanced learning and training in Africa. It seeks to inform and inspire, providing thought
leadership and shaping policy and practice across the Continent. Now who would not be interested in that?

In short the report covers:

• What technologies are used, and in which context?
• Why do people use ICT and how do they decide what to use?
• What constrains ICT-enhanced learning and training at the country level?
• What determines ICT enhanced learning and training at the organisational level?
• Government - the most important change agent
• The place of radio
• Critical content and communication capabilities: foundational for African education in a digitally-mediated age
• Appropriate and sustainable technology solutions for education in Africa
• Africa’s choice: digitise traditional knowledge or lose culture and development
• How the education sector produces eWaste in Kenya and why it should be responsible for eWaste management
• Why invest in using ICT in education in Africa?
• African youth, identity formation and social media
• How African entrepreneurs are training for new opportunities
• Teaching Cape Flats ex-gangsters and moms how to tweet and blog for change
• Early reading acquisition using mobile learning in Africa: the case of Graphogame adaptations in Kenya
• The challenges faced by Portuguesespeaking universities in Africa
• Financing and sustainability of ICT solutions in higher education in Benin
• Security and technology-assisted learning in Africa
• mLearning: a connection to opportunity

A nice side note of the report is this one "

Whilst noting the positive energy revealed, The eLearning Africa 2012 Report also wants to caution against feeding exaggerated expectations about what is possible with technologies. The Report wishes to encourage more critical and open engagement with the messy complexity that technologies are also instilling within our systems. This requires ongoing exploration of those aspects that are beneficial, of which there are potentially many, and those that are a lot more challenging. In turn, this requires adopting a culture of openness regarding failures, the ways in which systems break down and whether technologies also play a role in precipitating further damage."

The reason I like this critical side note is that all over the world technology is sometimes seen as an instant solution for everything and that simply is not the case. It will still be us humans, becoming more human and empathic that will alleviate the worlds challenges, creating a better world for all of us. Technology is only a tool, not the actor.

As the world is taking about emerging countries China, India and Brazil, I can see how Africa is becoming a strong continent. The diversity is so rich that people and organizations are cross pollinating each other. For when the world is looking in a different direction, the road to innovation and personal creativity is wide open. 

Just take a look at the wide variety of topics covered in this promotional video. It is promotional so skip the first minute, but ... once the speakers share their thoughts it becomes inspiring, you cannot deny the topics shared.

2010 Horizon Report on emerging technologies' impact on education is out

The annual Horizon Report describes the continuing work of the New Media Consortium (NMC)’s Horizon Project in collaboration with Educause, a research-oriented effort that seeks to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have considerable impact on teaching, learning, and creative expression within higher education.

You can download the report here. Or - and this is really cool - you can look at the version in which you can add your comments per paragraph here.

The nice thing about this report is that it focuses on emerging technologies, but that it also puts a time frame on it (time to adoption one, three, up to five years). There is a focus on mobile computing and simple-augmented reality as well (in different time zones). The report is 40 pages in length, and it gives an immediate and clear understanding of some of the technologies one can expect to become a reality in learning soon.

The report also looks at critical challenges (role of the academy and educational institutions, digital media literacy, new scholarly forms of authoring, publishing and researching).

What I liked reading a lot (as it was a concept I had not conscientiously linked to any practical learning possibilities, was the section on gesture-based computing (think Wii), so the machine-human interaction is becoming more embedded in learning as well. These gesture-based computing techniques have been used in medical science for very secure surgery, but I like the learning potential described in the report.

Throughout the report a myriad of examples are given (mostly Northern American), which makes it easier to grasp all the concepts and possibilities for your own implementation.

So, get the report, it is good public transport reading material.

George Siemens has had interesting thoughts on the 'making of' the report. He even suggested two great ideas that can be used by us all for brainstorming on global learning trends (copying from his weekly eLearnspace e-mail news):

"1. Pioneer educational informatics and visualization approaches to expand the report. Given the enormous amounts of data being produced through social media, Department of Education statistics, etc., making sense of data is critical. Targeting a few key data areas would extend the value of report. (for example, have a look at numerous social media monitoring services).
2. Enlarge the pool of participants to build a report. While I can see the logistical value of having an advisory board assist in the final production of the report, I would like to see a broader net cast at the start of trend identification. Why not open it up completely? Yes, it'll produce a mess of views, but that diversity is exactly what prevents calcification of views that occurs when similar groups of individuals are involved in brainstorming."

I agree with George in broadening the pool of participants in addition to looking across disciplines to get the bigger picture and to be of benefit to the larger group of educators, both in educational institutions and in companies.