Visitors and Residents: What Motivates Engagement with the Digital Information Environment? Building on research of individuals’ modes of engagement with the web (Visitors and Residents4), and the JISC-funded Digital Information Seeker report5, this project is exploring what motivates different types of engagement with the digital environment for learning. The investigation focuses on the sources learners turn to in order to gather information, and which ‘spaces’ (on and offline) they choose to interact in as part of the learning process. It is using the Visitors and Residents6 framework to map learner’s modes of engagement in both personal and institutional contexts. The project is assessing whether individual’s approaches shift according to the learners’ educational stage or whether they develop practices/literacies in early stages that remain largely unchanged as they progress through their educational career.
Educating The East End: ‘This will change the perception of London teenagers' Frederick Bremer is a school in limbo. In assembly, pupils are being treated to a gigantic projection of the weeks remaining until their GCSEs as, just beyond the warm, silent corridors, a long, educationless summer stretches out before them. But there’s another reason why the air here hangs heavy with anticipation.
Why disruptive innovation matters to education There is a common tendency at this time of year to reflect and refocus on what matters most and then use that renewed focus to chart into the year ahead. In that spirit of reflection, I want to share some thoughts on why the theory of disruptive innovation, which guides our work here at the Clayton Christensen Institute, is so important to education. If you are not familiar with the theory of disruptive innovation, a brief explanation is available here on our website.
The History of the Future of Education 6 min read (This was delivered at Ryerson University's ChangSchoolTalks.) It's a refrain throughout my work: we are suffering from an amnesia of sorts, whereby we seem to have forgotten much of the history of technology. As such, we now tell these stories about the past, present, and future whereby all innovations emerge from Silicon Valley, all innovations are recent innovations, and there is no force for change other than entrepreneurial genius and/or the inevitability of "disruptive innovation." This amnesia seeps from technology into education and education technology.
joanna m-My ELT rambles What makes a good teacher? One of my last lessons of the year was with two boys who are about 12, and I asked them that same question. It was actually part of a reading task but I thought I should start with a bit of a chit chat about teachers and hear their views. A digital ‘Arab Spring’ for higher education? The phrase “Digital Life and Mobile Learning” is intended to summarise the tensions and paradox between two powerful and significant ideas. These ideas are, on the one hand, the attempts in schools, colleges and universities around the world to use personal mobile devices to finally deliver learning ‘anywhere, anytime’, as promised 20 years ago by the e-learning missionaries and visionaries, and, on the other hand, the reality of people outside these institutions, using the same mobile technologies to create, transform, discuss, discard, share, store and transmit ideas, opinions, images and information. These attempts at exploiting mobile devices within schools, colleges and universities have succeeded in demonstrating: A different way of learning Meanwhile, outside these universities, schools and colleges people are using podcasts, websites, blogs, YouTube and Wikipedia to education each other, to learn from each other.
The 8 Skills Students Must Have For The Future Editor’s note: This is a revised version of an article written by Katie Lepi that originally appeared on June 7th, 2014. We believe this information is still highly relevant, but we wanted to update it with the latest thinking. To do that, we invited writer Michael Sledd to take the reins. Education has traditionally focused on the basic “3Rs” of reading, writing and arithmetic. How to help autistic students succeed at university About one in 100 people are on the autism spectrum, so the chances are that some of your students have been, or will be, diagnosed as autistic. The condition can have a considerable effect on how well a student is able to cope at university, which involves decisions about what to study and whether to leave the familiarity of home; navigating a new campus; and relating to teaching staff and fellow students. And that’s just the start of it. Typical academic situations such as group work and taking notes in lectures can present real challenges for those who have difficulty understanding unwritten social rules. Of course, many students experience these challenges. But while most can adapt reasonably quickly, autistic students can have higher levels of anxiety, and, without support, may disengage, or even drop out, despite being academically competent.
Strategic Planning in e-Learning As spring descends upon us, thoughts of innovation and new ideas start to burst forth. My thoughts are carefully concentrated on strategic planning, which my current university undertakes every five years or so. Most corporations take on the task more frequently, and those of us on the front lines recognize it is being done constantly. Most planners now agree that online learning, MOOCs, and other blended options are absolute necessities for both higher education and corporate training. Additionally more and more K-12 schools are beginning to realize, with the advent of significant penetration of online cybercharter schooling into their market, they also need to think carefully about how to strategically employ online and blended learning options for their students. Online learning can call into question our institutions' beliefs, structures, policies, and, even more, the fundamental mission of the organization.
Turning the tables – how do copyright laws measure up for libraries? Every April, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) issues the "Special 301 Report", an annual review of the state of intellectual property (IP) rights with US trading partners around the world. Countries deemed to have inadequate IP protection and enforcement are graded into categories - priority watch list and watch list - in the report that is usually hailed by industry and assailed by public interest groups who complain about one-sidedness and lack of balance in its findings. What if library advocates had a handy way to measure the aspects of copyright law most important to them? Like the provisions that allow libraries to develop their collections, provide robust support to education and research, preserve our cultural heritage not just for tomorrow but for the long term future, and to serve all persons with disabilities equally. Copyright laws fit for purpose
In an era of knowledge abundance – Part 2 – Small Blog On Networked Learning “What does a pedagogy of abundance look like?”, I asked in part one of this little series of blog posts following in the footsteps of Martin Weller’s article “A pedagogy of abundance” (2011). I suggested that rhizomatic learning might be such a pedagogy of abundance, a pedagogy based on a multiplicity of theories of learning: social constructivism, connectivism, and communities of practice that are combined into a situative and social learning approach. ‘Community’ and ‘networks’ are equally important to Dave Cormier’s conception of rhizomatic learning, and this is my continuing investigation of how rhizomatic learning can be evaluated as a pedagogy of abundance.
5 innovations that transformed education (and one that hasn’t happened yet) Teachers and learners are finding new ways to use modern technology in the field of education. What are some of the innovations that changed the way we learn? What's the next big innovation? 1. First millennium BC – Alphabetization It made knowledge accessible and durable.