1. “Think Bigger!”
Digital Transformation and New Models
of Higher Education
Brian Mulligan
Head of Online Learning Strategic Projects,
ATU, Sligo
EdTech 2022
6. Atlantic
Technological
University
• Does education have to be this expensive?
• Does Quality Assurance work?
• Do we need lectures?
• Do students have to go to college?
• Can most students learn self-efficacy?
• Do we need Labs?
• Is 40% really a "pass"?
• Should a degree be compressed into 4 years?
• Do we need degrees?
• Does research activity really help teaching?
• Is higher education really just a sorting mechanism for employers?
• Do you really need a Leaving Certificate to enter Higher Ed?
• Do subsidies stifle innovation?
13. Atlantic
Technological
University
Does QA work?
• Is the evidence really there?
• Determinism vs. Continuous Improvement
• Measure outputs not inputs
• Inhibits innovation and agility
• Can we measure our outputs
• Validity, Reliability
• Is “excellence” really worth it?
• Bureaucratic overhead
• Lack of trust
14. Atlantic
Technological
University
Is 40% really a pass?
• Does it indicate competence?
• Which is better:
• Knowing some content well
• Knowing a little about a lot.
• What about differing abilities?
• Technology can help
• Self-paced
• Individualised
• Monitored
• Do we need “stages” / “years”
• Why 4 years?
• Do we need lectures?
• Can we teach self-
efficacy?
15. Atlantic
Technological
University
Do kids really need to go to college?
• They can learn remotely.
• Can they learn better while working?
• What does campus really offer?
• Can we prove it adds anything?
• Can we add this in other ways?
•Do they even need degrees?
• Alternative credentials
• Work-based training
19. Atlantic
Technological
University
Competency Based Education
• Defined by:
• What you know!
• What you can do!
• Agnostic on the learning experience
• Assessment is crucial
• Quizzes for knowledge
• Authentic assessment for skills
• Unleashes our potential for innovation
• Western Governors - $6k per year
27. Atlantic
Technological
University
Why I might be wrong!
•Subsidy stifles innovation.
•Industrial Relations
•Higher Ed as a sorting Mechanism
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC
I’m not going to say that higher education is wonderful or that you are all wonderful and I’m sure many of you will breath a sigh of relief to hear that as you don’t like being patronised.
However, most of us are constrained in what we can do and are trying to do our best.
Perhaps there is a lot of wishful thinking in this presentation but I believe that it is worth looking at what we do with a critical eye, questioning many of the assumptions we have about higher education and thinking bigger about what we can achieve and discussing what emerges openly and honestly.
So to encapsulate this I had to search for a quote – and of course Albert Einstein seems to have said everything.
And found this profound one too.
Scepticism is at the heart of higher education.
It seems it was EA Games that said this – no doubt they nicked it from someone else.
It seems it was EA Games that said this – no doubt they nicked it from someone else.
Does education have to be this expensive? Are there cheaper ways? Do we have to make compromises?
Does Quality Assurance work? Is it worth it? Would Continuous Improvement work better? Would trusting lecturers work better? Is excellence the enemy of the good? - centres of fucking adequacy
Do students have to go to college?Do we need lectures?
Is 40% really a "pass"? Should we be letting students progress who have not mastered ideas?
Can most students learn self-efficacy?
Should a degree be compressed into 4 years?
Do we need degrees? (MCs - Does Higher Education lead to prosperity or the other way around)
Do we need staff training? Just in Time or Just in Case
Is Instructional Design worth it?
Is teaching really more a craft than a science? Too many variables to be deterministic. Continuous improvement.
Are we prone to myths? Particularly "motherhood and apple pie".
Does research activity help or hinder teaching?
Is subject matter knowledge more important than we realised?
Is higher education really just a sorting mechanism for employers? Signalling
Do subsidies stifle innovation?
Tesla, Apple, google, Netflix – do not require degrees – will others follow.
Innovation Prevention Unit
Tesla, Apple, google, Netflix – do not require degrees – will others follow.