Dublin is a city undergoing rapid technological transformation as Ireland strives to become a tech-hub of Europe, including educational technology.
I recently presented a paper at the World Conference for Online Learning in Dublin, Ireland. The theme for the conference was “Transforming Lives and Societies,” and the best part of the conference was listening to critical voices seeking to understand how lives and societies are being transformed, why, and what are the long-term implications of these transformations? Perhaps my favourite was closing plenary speaker Dr. George Siemens; Dr. Siemens was my research methods instructor at Athabasca University and one of the reasons I chose the Athabasca program. In a fairly popular blog post from 2015 entitled “Adios Ed Tech. Hola something else,” Dr. Siemens announced a personal transformation:
It’s time for a change. A curious disconnect has been emerging in my thinking, one that has been made clear with the hype-oriented buzzwords of today’s edtech companies. I no longer want to be affiliated with the tool-fetish of edtech. It’s time to say adios to technosolutionism that recreates people as agents within a programmed infrastructure.
In his plenary, Dr. Siemens asked if technology is helping us to become what we want to become?
It certainly is for Ireland. Ireland’s Minister of State for Higher Education, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, clearly stated Ireland’s aspirations to become the “tech capital of Europe, and that includes educational technology.” In many respects, Ireland already is a tech-hub with headquarters for Google, Ancestry.com, LinkedIn, Facebook, and the National Institute for Digital Learning. And, as it is with most online learning conferences, this one was also full of optimism and excitement for the future of educational technology.
Here are, in no particular order, snippets of key takeaways that I jotted down in my learning journal from the many dialogues of transformation taking place at the World Conference for Online Learning (I wish I would have done a better job of writing down names):
Students have to be at the epicenter of all decisions about online education. This includes synchronous support – live calls because relationships with students are important.
It may also include a “regulatory environment” that supports the use of technology to supplement and strengthen the intrinsically interactive nature of teaching and learning. Courses and programs must consistently incorporate the frequent and substantive personal interaction that is central to the learning process.
Online education requires a redefinition of our understanding of teaching and learning. It is neither Sage on the Stage nor Guide on the Side. “Universities must evolve their paradigm, from student to learner, from teaching to designing and managing learning experiences, from degree based to continuous learning.”
Everyone is striving to think beyond the 18-24 year old demographic and beginning to think into genuine lifelong learning. Upskilling is the future of education; 30-50% of adult learners will need to be reskilled during their careers.
Credentials are the core business of education. Alternative digital credentials potentially mean less time to spend, and less bills to pay. "Universities and colleges that fail to adopt the Alternative Digital Credential movement will experience a slow decline in relevance and market position.”
"It is a precious thing to have a job. After all, we all have jobs, whether you think that's the primary role of education or not."
There are a lot of quality assurance frameworks in online education, but all are little used – institutions have to use a credible framework, modify an existing one, or develop their own.
Our current assessment system (grades) undermines all attempts at learning.
“We need to put forth collective effort to better understand and address the challenging conflicts in online higher education contexts to make openness and innovation authentic dialogues rather than just rhetoric.”
Dr. Siemens, in his closing remarks, admitted he was less interested in what is changing and how it is changing. Instead, he is increasingly interested in whether technology is helping us become what we want to become. And to become what we want to become, we have to stop creating problems that only new technology can solve. We will also have to acknowledge systemic problems and resolve those, not with technology, but with human morals, values, and principles.