The document discusses embracing change and daring to think differently in education through new technologies and pedagogical approaches. It outlines the context of evolving technologies like mobile devices and cloud computing. It discusses paradoxes created by digital technologies, educational dilemmas, and the gap between the promise and reality of new approaches. It proposes designing for learning through representing pedagogy, guiding practice, discussing and sharing. Representation tools like task swimlines, outcomes maps, and course maps are presented for different levels of design.

1. Embracing change, where might daring to think differently take us? Gráinne Conole, Open University, UK The Blended Learning Event Massey University, 10 th - 14 th December 2009 More info, slides and references: http://cloudworks.ac.uk/

2. Outline Context Recent key reports and research Convergence of technology and pedagogy? Paradoxes created by ‘digital’ and educational dilemmas The gap between the promise and the reality Daring to think differently Designing for learning Representing and guiding design Discussing and sharing Drawing on related research A framework for intervention Research evidence Policy direction The learner voice Academic practice Grand challenges The landscape of the web 2.0 world…. Exploring new digital territories

3. The broader context

4. Technologies: changing, evolving… Ubiquitous & networked Context and location aware Mobile technologies Cloud computing

5. On the horizon: Learning in the Cloud Sclater, N. (2009) Clouds are a large pool of easily usable and accessible virtualized resources (such as hardware, development platforms and/or services). These resources can be dynamically re-configured to adjust to a variable load (scale), allowing also for an optimum resource utilization. This pool of resources is typically exploited by a pay-per-use model in which guarantees are offered by the Infrastructure Provider by means of customized SLAs.

6. Virtual learning

7. Redefining content Content, tools & designs free New tools for sense-making & dialogue Barriers to sharing & reuse

8. Education for free: CCK08 & discourse ltc.umanitoba.ca/blogs/futurecourse/

9. Did we change the world? No. Not yet. But we (and I mean all course participants, not just Stephen and I) managed to explore what is possible online. People self-organized in their preferred spaces. They etched away at the hallowed plaque of “what it means to be an expert”. They learned in transparent environments, and in the process, became teachers to others. Those that observed (or lurked as is the more common term), hopefully found value in the course as well. Perhaps life circumstances, personal schedule, motivation for participating, confidence, familiarity with the online environment, or numerous other factors, impacted their ability to contribute. While we can’t “measure them” the way I’ve tried to do with blog and moodle participants, their continued subscription to The Daily and the comments encountered in F2F conferences suggest they also found some value in the course.

10. The learner voice Technologically immersed Learning processes Task orientated, experiential, cummulative Attitudes and approaches group orientated, experiential, able to multi-task, just in time mindset, comfortable with multiple representations Disconnect between student & institutional approaches Caution re: net gen claims, importance of taking account of student differences Do seem to be age related changes taking place and these are strongly linked to social networking and the use of a range of new Netgeneration, Digital Natives.... (Oblinger, Prensky, etc.), Ecar reports, Kennedy survey, Chris Jones, Mary Thorpe, JISC LEX projects, Sharpe and Beetham (forthcoming)

11. Personalised and mobile Individualised Personal Learning Environment Synchronised information across devices Location and context aware Have we crossed a threshold? The i-phone as truly transformative … .but what’s next?

12. Reflection: e-portfolios

13. New learning spaces Combining the affordances of new technologies with good pedagogy Taking account of context, location and time SKG: Learning Spaces project, Australia

14. Inspire by Pea &Wallis, 2008 We can now interact at a distance, accessing complex & useful resources in ways unimaginable in early eras What’s the next stage of the co-evolution? Phases of development Tool-user co-evolution 1 2 3 b a c + Internet Mobile devices TV Radio Smart tools Phone

15. Converging practices Modern technologies Modern pedagogy Web 2.0 practices Location aware technologies Adaptation & customisation Second life/ immersive worlds Google it! “ Expert badges” , World of warcraft User- generated content Blogging, peer critiquing Cloud computing From individual to social Contextualised and situated learning Personalised learning Experiential learning Inquiry learning Peer learning Open Educational Resources Reflection Distributed cognition

16. Paradoxes created by the digital Expansive knowledge domain Hierarchy & control less meaningful Increasingly complex digital landscape Content distributed, everything is miscellaneous Collective intelligence Free content & tools, open APIs and mash ups Death of expertise / everyone an expert Multiple pathways / lost in cyberspace Beyond ‘digital space’/ New metaphors Multiple (co-)locations / loss of content integrity Social collective/digital individualism Issues re: ownership , value, business models

17. Educational dilemmas Expansive knowledge domain Hierarchy & control less meaningful Increasingly complex digital landscape Content distributed, everything is miscellaneous Collective intelligence Free content & tools, open APIs and mash ups Challenges the role of the teacher Need for new learner pathways Widening skills gap between ‘tech savy’/others Need to rethink the design process Potential for new forms of learning Lack of uptake

18. Digital literacies Jenkins twelve skills for participatory culture Play – experimentation/problem solving Performance – alternative identities Simulation – construct models of real-world processes Appropriation – sample and remix of media content Multitasking – scanning and then focusing on salient details Distributed cognition – interaction to expand mental capacities Collective intelligence - to pool knowledge with others Judgment – evaluation reliability of different information Transmedia navigation – follow the flow of stories across modalities Networking – search for, synthesize and dissemination information Negotiation – travel diverse communities, multiple perspectives Visualisation – different data representations for ideas, patterns, trends Digital literacies Seely Brown Jenkins Lea and Goodfellow Lankshear

19. The gap between promise & reality Common reactions: “ I haven’t got time ” “ My research is more important” “ What’s in it for me ?” “ Where is my reward ?” “ I don’t have the skills to do this” “ I don’t believe in this, it won’t work” Common resistance strategies: I’ll say yes (and do nothing ) Undermine the initiative Undermine the person involved Do it badly Classic mistakes : Emphasis on the technologies , not the people and processes Funding for technology developments but not use and support Free resources Little reuse Array of technologies Not fully exploited

20. Daring to think differently Can we develop new technology-enabled approaches to support ‘core’ learning and teaching? Finding (resources, information, tools, expertise) Creating and adapting (resources) Designing/aggregating (learning activities or pathways) Communicating (peer-peer, learner-teacher) Reflectio n (assessment, professional development)

21. Designing for learning Representing pedagogy and designs Guiding practice Discussing and sharing Empirical evidence: Interviews, surveys, web stats, workshops

22. OULDI…. Design methods: schema & patterns Tools: Visualisation & guidance Events: Cloudworks: sharing & discussing

23. Representation and guidance Seeing curriculum differently Not content focused Different views to foreground different aspects Recognising design at different levels – from activity to whole course Levels Micro : Individual learning activity (Task swim line) Meso: A ‘block of learning’ (mapping outcomes to assessment/activities etc.) Macro: Whole course level (Course map and Pedagogy profile)

24. Micro: Task swim line Based on: Roles – student, tutor, etc. Tasks – read, discuss, etc. Tools and resources Outputs Using CompendiumLD Advantages Makes design explicit Maps out design Sharable with others Good at activity level

25. CompendiumLD Visual maps with icons + connections The method is an important as the tool Multiple layers, maps within maps Drag and drop different file formats (images, videos etc.) In-situ design help

26. Meso: Outcomes map Based on: Can map learning outcomes to activities, assessment or content Can use connections to describe Using Cmap Advantages Makes design explicit Highlights any gaps Gives an overview of the block

27. Cmap Concept mapping tool Concepts with links Links called propositions Can add resources to concepts Can export in a variety of formats

28. Macro: Course map & Pedagogy profile Course map Gives an ‘at a glance’ view Based on 5 mains aspects of a course Can differentiate ‘real’ & digital Pedagogy profile Maps to types of activities the students do Can look at different timeframes Advantages Profiles pedagogical overview Can compare with other courses

29. Guidance & support Evidence & demonstration Information & experience Communication & interaction Thinking & reflection Course map Gives an “at a glance view” Five components to any course Uses: Represent a course Compare Design

30. Course map/At a glance representation Guidance and support “ Learning pathway” Course structure and timetable Course calendar, study guide, tutorials Information and experience “ Content and activities” Could include course materials, prior experience or student generated content Readings, DVDs, podcasts, lab or field work, placements Communication and interaction “ Dialogue” Social dimensions of the course, interaction with other students and tutors Course forum, email Thinking and reflection “ Meta-cognition” Internalisation and reflection on learning In-text questions, notebook, blog, e-portfolio, Evidence and demonstration “ Assessment” Diagnostic, formative and summative Multiple choice quizzes, TMAs, ECA

31. Course map Information & experience PDF resources Links to e-journal articles and other websites Evidence & demonstration 6 TMAs – submitted online (505 of overall score) 3hr examination (50% of overall score) Thinking & reflection Activities throughout learning guides (4-7 per guide) 5 website ‘interactives’ Journal space in MyStuff Core questions, thinking points and summaries in course books Communication & interaction Course-wide Café forum Tutor group forums with sub-forums for each block F2F tutorials near beginning, middle and end of course (some regional variation) Guidance & support Study planner 20 Learning guides General assessment guidance TMA questions Course guide Study calendar KE312 Working Together for Children 60pt course over 32 weeks 3 blocks/20 learning guides Whole weeks devoted to TMAs Consolidation week (week 22) Practice related Aligned to latest prof framework for mult-agency working Rich case studies Read – relate to practice – reflect – write 3 co-published course books (21 chapters/ 960pp) DVD – videos of 3 practice settings + interviews (XXmin) Plus own experience and practice Tutor support – 1:20; 21 contact hrs; band 7 Mick Jones, Associate Dean, HSC, OU

32. Pedagogy profile Map of student tasks to time periods (weeks, semesters, etc) Six types of student tasks + assessment Each cell indicates the amount of time spent in that period on each type of task Widget provides graphical view

33. Cloudworks: the dialogic element Issues Lack of uptake of technologies for learning and teaching New skills needed for engaging in a participatory digital landscape Teachers say they want examples /want to share/discuss Aim To bridge the gap between the potential of technologies and their actual use in an educational context Research question Can we harness web 2.0 practices to foster better sharing and discussing of learning and teaching ideas and designs?

35. Key concepts Clouds: core objects in Cloudworks Cloudscapes: collections of clouds Activity streams: dynamic filters of new activity Follow and be followed: Personal activity stream and peer recognition

36. Putting it all together The learning design toolbox Pick and mix of tools, resources, activities, methods and templates Tailored workshops and events Working with new MBA programme at OU Brunel Blended Learning Design Challenge Reading and Southbank events in development Educational Technology User Group (Canada) Workshops Integration with other research

37. Building on other research…. Guiding the design process Range of representations Dialogue around designs Free resources Inherent designs Student view Abstracted best practice Solutions to a problem Language as related problems Design for learning Open Educational Resources Pedagogical patterns

38. OLnet: Open Learning network Network Research Fellowships From producing open resources to use of open resources Build capacity Find evidence Refine the issues

39. Process design Prior designs & resources New designs Visualisation (CompendiumLD) Sharing (Cloudworks) Content (OER repositories, etc) Methods (Pedagogical Patterns) New OER & designs

40. A framework for intervention Policy Research & development Teacher practice The learner’s experience Institutional & national funding Embedding in strategy Aligning to technology trends Changing user behaviour Drivers and challenges Actual use in practice What’s in it for me? Evidence of impact

41. Final thoughts Students increasingly digital – demands on institutions? Students and teachers - personalised environment of tools vs. institutional tools? What new forms of blended learning spaces are needed? How do we support new approaches to design and delivery of courses to make more effective use of technologies and lead to an enhance student learning experience? How do we take account of a digital divide that is ever narrower but deeper? What new digital literacy skills will learners and teachers need ? What new pedagogical models are needed to marry the affordances of personalisation with the best affordances of technologies? How do we account for blurring boundaries (real/virtual, formal/informal, etc)?

42. Grand challenges Digital divide is ever increasing. How do we deal with this? Are we seeing Jenkin’s 12 digital literacies skills? How can we help those in education develop these more? How can we study these complex, fast evolving technological systems ? New methodologies ? What theoretical insights should we draw on? Is there evidence of new pedagogies emerging? Are we capable (and willing) to rise to the challenge?

43. Flickr images Treasure island 1 http://www.flickr.com/photos/tontoncopt/2075310775/ Web 2.0 city http://www.flickr.com/photos/4everyoung/313308360/ Grand challenges http://www.kamaelia.org/GrandChallengesCover.png