digital skills gap peer learning activity - supporting educators for innovative, open and digital...

Supporting Educators for Innovative, Open

and Digital Education: Challenges and Opportunities

Professor Mark Brown

Director, National Institute for Digital Learning

Zagreb, Croatia

7th December 2017

@mbrownz

@mbrownz

National Institute for Digital Learning

National Institute for Digital Learning

2019 Conference

Dublin

Tele-mind poll…

What single word best

encapsulates the current

state of innovative, open

and digital education in your

Country?

3 x premises



3 x premises

3 x paradoxes



3 x premises

3 x paradoxes

3 x propositions



Key question: How to support educators for innovative, open and digital education?

Key question: How to support educators for innovative, open and digital education?

Professional Collaboration

MICRO

MACROMESO



https://www.slideshare.net/AirinaVolungeviciene/recognition-of-open-and-nonformal-learning

MICRO

MACROMESO




NANO

Institutional

GlobalNational



Individua

l


“All generalizations are dangerous,

even this one”

(Alexandre Dumas)

1. Global/National Level

Innovative, open and digital

education is booming but

major structural barriers limit

transformative impact

Paradox 1…

1. Global/National Level

“It will not be possible to satisfy the rising

demand for Higher Education, especially

in developing countries, by relying on

traditional approaches.”

(Sir John Daniel, 2013)

Past President,

Commonwealth of Learning;

Previous Vice-Chancellor,

UK Open University

UK Open University

OECD (2017) Education at a Glance

Ireland

“There is also almost no understanding of the

private and social [public] benefits of distance and

online education in comparison with those of face-to-

face education” (Rumble, 2014, p.208).

Rumble, G. (2014). The costs and economics of online distance education (pp. 197-216). In O. Zawacki-Richter & T. Anderson

(Eds.). Online distance education: Towards a research agenda. Athabasca: AU Press.

Proposition 1…

We need to frame debates

about new innovative models of

open and digital education in terms of the

wider benefits they offer for the

“good society”

2. Institutional Level


education has the potential to

transform traditional business

models but most efforts merely

tame new technologies

Paradox 2…

2. Institutional Level

The Language

of Disruptive

Innovation

Off Campus

in Class

Off Campus

out of Class

On Campus

in Class

Acquisition

Participation

On Campus

out of Class

Physical VirtualLeakage

Tame vs. Transform

JRC (2016). Opening up education in Europe: A support framework for higher education institutions

Infused Through Whole Ecology

We need to develop

a culture of innovation where

open and digital education is core to

a transformative institutional mission

Proposition 2…

3. Teacher Level

3. Teacher Level


education can transform learning

but workload, pedagogical beliefs

and assessment requirements

strongly influence practice

Paradox 3…

Learning by sharing

(Connectivist)

Learning by listening

(Instructionist)

Learning by doing

(Constructivist)

Learning by making

(Constructionist)

Pedagogical

Compass

…the old ‘pump, pump, dump’model of teaching still dominates practice

The uncomfortable reality is…

"Using new digital technology to improve

education is not rocket science... it is

much, much harder than that”

(Diana Laurillard, 2009).

“Good educators are not just workers to be

digitally up-skilled! They should be valued as

important change agents and trusted

professionals willing to go “off the rails” to

challenge practices which reproduce

inequitable distribution of power, knowledge and

resources”

Brown, 2017

We need to develop teachers with critical

mindsets capable of using innovative,

open and digital education to

shape better futures

for all

Proposition 3…

Conclusion…

Conclusion…

9 s

“Innovative,

open and digital

education should be in the service

of big ideas, not as a big idea

in itself” (adapted from Barnett, 2011)

Critical

Consumers

Critical

Citizens

RECONCEPTUALIST

FRAMEWORK FOR THE FUTURE

(Delors Report, 1972)

LEARNING

TO BELEARNING

TO KNOW

LEARNING

TO DO

LEARNING

TO LIVE

TOGETHER

Critical

Thinkers

“A prudent question is one-half of wisdom”

Francis Bacon

@mbrownz

Go raibh maith

agaibh!

Thank you