(Teaching) Maths + Online + Context = x3
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This document is the text of a presentation given by Paul Prinsloo at the Master Maths Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa on February 9, 2019. The presentation discusses the use of technology in education, particularly in South African mathematics education. It notes that South African education, especially in mathematics, is currently dismal and ineffective. It acknowledges that while technology is often proposed as a solution, technology alone cannot solve all the challenges and its use must be carefully considered. The presentation outlines several factors that should be taken into account when designing online teaching and learning experiences, such as student needs, costs, pedagogy, and interaction. It also discusses balancing quality, accessibility and cost-effectiveness of online education.
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(Teaching) Maths + Online + Context = x3
- 1. Paul Prinsloo University of South Africa (Unisa) @14prinsp (Teaching) Maths + Online + Context = x3 Plenary Address, Master Maths Conference, Indaba Hotel, Johannesburg, 9 February 2019 Imagecredit:https://pixabay.com/en/pay-digit-number-fill-count-mass-2446670/
- 2. Acknowledgement I do not own the copyright of any of the images in this presentation. I therefore acknowledge the original copyright and licensing regime of every image used. This presentation (excluding the images) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
- 3. Overview of the presentation 1. Setting the context 2. Technology as solution: the hype, the reality, the snake- oil and the potential 3. The collection, measurement, analysis and use of student data for informing the effective and ethical use of technology 4. Technology and the worlds and humans to come 5. Technology and education – between hype and definitions 6. Six pointers for consideration 7. Concluding remarks
- 4. Evidence suggests that South African education, and public Mathematics education in particular, is mostly dismal, ineffective, often unethical, immoral and unjust.
- 7. Image credit: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13587160-to-save-everything-click-here Context: Education is ‘broken’ Problem: Dismal state of (Mathematics) education in South Africa Solution: Just add technology Outcome: Problem solved
- 10. Image credit: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13587160-to-save-everything-click-here • Education is NOT broken and even if there are challenges, technology on its own, cannot and will not solve all of these challenges • We cannot (and should not) underestimate how technology can enrich education, make it more effective, more informative, more fun, and expand our life-worlds and the life- worlds of our students • There are some things technology cannot do • There are some things that technology should not be allowed to do
- 11. • To use technology to duplicate what is happening in a classroom is a very poor use of the potential of technology • Ask rather: What does technology allow us to do that we cannot do otherwise? How can technology allow us to explain concepts better, to create interactive and immersive experiences, to provide immediate feedback, multiple opportunities for self-assessment (with feedback), link to additional, personalised resources and supplemental learning experiences just-in-time? Image credit: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13587160-to-save-everything-click-here
- 12. Image credit: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13587160-to-save-everything-click-here Morozov, E. (2013). To save everything, click here: The folly of technological solutionism. Public Affairs “We must not fixate on what this new arsenal of digital technologies allows us to do without first inquiring what is worth doing.” #technosolutionism
- 13. Key to optimising technology in educational contexts is collecting, measuring, analysing and using student data Imagecredit:http://blog.ceo.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/oil-rigs.jpg
- 14. Sourcecredit:https://tekri.athabascau.ca/analytics/ “Learning analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimising learning and the environments in which it occurs”.
- 15. We know, take into account and we measure: age, gender, race, street address and zip code, occupation, pre-enrolment educational data, registration data, engagement data, academic data, library data, financial aid data, behavioural data, location data, who-are-in-their-networks- data, their chances of failing, dropping out, stopping out… Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/side-profile-black-male-student-1440176/ And we use this data to… Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/girl-library-education-student-1721436/
- 16. Source credit: http://timoelliott.com/blog/2013/02/gartnerbi-emea-2013-part-1-analytics-moves-to-the-core.html Uses of student data
- 17. 1. As students engage with digital resources in online environments, what data do we collect, for what purposes? 2. What data do we have/need to create more effective, more appropriate and more ethical online learning environments? 3. Do students know what data we have, what data we collect, who has access to their data for what purposes, and can they provide input in our analyses and, correct some of our assumptions and beliefs about their learning? 4. What data do they have/need to learn more effectively, make more appropriate and ethical decisions in online learning environments?
- 18. Technology and the worlds and humans to come… Source credit: https://pixabay.com/en/artificial-intelligence-brain-think-3382507/
- 19. Source: Twitter, 30 May 2017 1966
- 21. Page credit: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/the-computer-revolution-is-just-beginning-and-most-of-us-are-unprepared- 20170529-gwfafm “The concern is that the cultural and political ramifications of what's taking place are not understood. Instead, confusion reigns. Most worryingly, these issues are not even being probed by the politicians who will need to deal with the fallout.” 2017
- 23. Source credit: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-and-how-to-respond/ 2016 There has never been a time of greater promise, or one of greater potential peril
- 26. Technology and education Source credit: https://pixabay.com/en/snail-shell-figure-keyboard-slowly-3901655/
- 32. Imagecredit:https://pixabay.com/en/binary-code-man-display-dummy-face-1327512/ Disruptive innovation as weasel word Image credit: https://www.amazon.com/Watsons-Dictionary-Contemporary-Cliches-Management/dp/1740513215 “Weasel words are words that have been sucked dry of meaning, they are mere ‘shells of words: words from which life has gone, facsimiles, frauds, corpses. Weasel words are the words of the powerful, the treacherous and the unfaithful, spies, assassins and thieves. Bureaucrats and ideologues love them. Tyrants cannot do without them” (Watson, 2004, pp. 1-2)
- 36. Image credit: http://www.newzimbabwe.com/news-17034-Miracle+oil+a+hit+in+bleak+Zimbabwe/news.aspx
- 37. Page credit: http://hackeducation.com/2017/05/24/new-normal “I fear that new normal, what it might really mean for teaching, for learning, for scholarship”.
- 38. Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/town-sign-road-useful-use-822236/ We need to think beyond thinking in binaries, or just accepting the usefulness of educational technologies or going online
- 39. The question is therefore not whether we should use technology, but under what conditions and for what purposes will online learning be appropriate, effective, and ethical?
- 40. Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/definition-word-dictionary-text-390785/ Defining online learning
- 41. Distance education courses Online courses A/Synchronous online courses Online programs Blended/hybrid courses [Not-for]Credit courses Online contract training MOOCs and all its varieties Imagecredit:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PikiWiki_Israel_35547_Birds_on_a_Wire_2.JPG So how do we define online [teaching and learning]?
- 42. Page credit: https://www.tonybates.ca/2017/04/25/what-is-online-learning-seeking-definition/ 25 April 2017
- 43. Distance education courses. Distance education courses are those where no classes are held on campus – all instruction is conducted at a distance. Distance education courses may use a variety of delivery methods, such as print-based, video/audio- conferencing, as well as internet-based. Online courses. A form of distance education where the primary delivery mechanism is via the internet. These could be delivered synchronously or asynchronously. All instruction is conducted at a distance. Synchronous online courses. Courses where students need to participate at the same time as an instructor, but at a separate location other than an institutional campus. These courses may be delivered by video conferencing, web conferencing, audio conferencing, etc.
- 44. Asynchronous courses. Courses where students are not required to participate in any sessions at the same time as the instructor. These may be print-based courses, or online courses using a learning management system, for instance Online programs. A for-credit program that can be completed entirely by taking online courses, without the need for any on- campus classes. These could be delivered synchronously or asynchronously. Blended/hybrid courses. These are courses designed to combine both online and face-to-face teaching in any combination. For the purposes of this questionnaire, we are interested in those courses where some, but not all, of the face-to-face teaching has been replaced by online study.
- 45. Credit courses. These are courses that lead to institutional credits (degrees, diplomas, etc.). Online contract training. These are online training programs that may or may not be for credit recognition but are designed to meet a particular industry or training need. MOOCs. These are massive, open, online courses. The key features are: • No fee (except possibly for an end of course certificate), • The courses are open to anyone: there is no requirement for prior academic qualifications in order to take the course, • The courses are (mostly) not for credit.
- 46. The problem with definitions What is already clear … is that we are trying to describe a very dynamic and fast changing phenomenon, and the terminology often struggles to keep up with the reality of what is happening.
- 47. Department of Higher Education and Training. (2014). Policy for the provision of distance education in South African universities in the context of an integrated post-school system. Retrieved from https://www.gov.za/ss/documents/higher-education-act-policy-provision-distance-education- south-african-universities
- 48. OfflineOnline Fully online Fully offline Digitally supported Internet supported Internet dependent Campus-based Blended/hybrid Remote A BC
- 49. Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/architectural-industrial-design-482687/ What factors should we consider when designing [online]* teaching and learning experiences?
- 50. How do we design for effective, appropriate, ethical online learning experiences? 1
- 51. The SECTIONS Model • Students: what do we know about them? How appropriate is our design for them? • Ease of use and reliability: How easy/reliable is the technology for both students and faculty? • Costs: what are the cost implications? [Also think scale – student: facilitator ratio] • Teaching and learning: what kind of learning is needed? What design/approach will serve us (teachers and students) best? What technologies are appropriate? Disciplinary context? • Interactivity: what [level of] interactivity is required? • Organisational issues: Support? Barriers? Requirements? Buy-in? • Novelty: How new is this technology? • Speed: what are the affordances of adopting this technology? Frequent updates to content/software?
- 52. How do balance cost, quality and access? 2
- 54. Quality Access Cost • The moment you increase access, what happens to quality and cost? • When you commit to quality learning experiences, what happens to cost and access? • Aiming to keep our costs as low as possible, how does this impact on access and quality?
- 56. Quality Access Cost “[D]istance education can achieve any two of the following: flexible access, quality learning experience and cost-effectiveness – but not all three at once” Kanuka & Brooks, 2010, in Power and Gould-Morven, 2011, p. 23)
- 57. Quality Accessibility Cost- effectiveness Considering three stakeholder groups – students, faculty and administrators – who values which aspect the most and how does this impact on other stakeholders?
- 58. So what happens when ensuring quality costs more and limits access? What happens when costs are cut or student numbers increased to ensure economies of scale? And what happens when students demand high quality at low/no cost? Quality Accessibility Cost- effectiveness Faculty AdministrationStudents
- 60. Student TeacherContent Student - Student Teacher - TeacherContent - Content Content - Teacher Deep and meaningful learning Anderson, T., & Garrison, D. R. (1998). Learning in a networked world: New roles and responsibilties. In Distance Learners in Higher Education: Institutional responses for quality outcomes. Madison, Wi.: Atwood. 1998
- 61. How much interaction is effective/necessary? How much face-to-face engagement? 3
- 62. How much interaction is (really) needed for effective (online*) learning? How does the amount of interaction impact on the quality and cost? 2003
- 63. Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Low.cost.carrier.easyjet.arp.jpg Image credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirates_(airline) Flying low cost but getting to your destination or flying first class with all the bells and whistles?
- 65. How do we optimise human- algorithmic decision-making ? 4
- 66. (1) Humans perform the task (2) Task is shared with algorithms (3) Algorithms perform task: human supervision (4) Algorithms perform task: no human input Seeing Yes or No? Yes or No? Yes or No? Yes or No? Processing Yes or No? Yes or No? Yes or No? Yes or No? Acting Yes or No? Yes or No? Yes or No? Yes or No? Learning Yes or No? Yes or No? Yes or No? Yes or No? Danaher, J. (2015). How might algorithms rule our lives? Mapping the logical space of algocracy. [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://philosophicaldisquisitions.blogspot.com/2015/06/how-might-algorithms-rule-our-lives.html Human-algorithm interaction in the collection, analysis and use of student data
- 69. How do we use technology to guide students into the worlds of Mathematics and Science? 5
- 70. Four types of transition (Phelan, Davidson & Cao, 1991) Congruent worlds A smooth transition Different worlds Transition to be managed Diverse worlds Hazardous transitions Discordant worlds Transition is virtually impossible Phelan,P.,Davidson,A.,&Cao,H.(1991).Students'multiplewords: Negotiatingtheboundariesoffamily,peer,andschoolcultures. AnthropologyandEducationQuarterly,22(2),224-250.
- 71. Inside outsiders: worlds of family and friends are irreconcilable with the world of higher education, but potentially compatible with the world of science The world of science Potential scientists: worlds of family and friends are congruent with the worlds of higher education and science Other smart kinds: worlds of family and friends are congruent with the worlds of higher education but inconsistent with the world of science “I don’t know” students: worlds of family and friends are inconsistent with the worlds of higher education and of science Outsiders: worlds of family and friends are discordant with the worlds of higher education and of science Costa,V.B.(1995).Whenscienceis'anotherworld':Relationshipsbetween worldsoffamily,friends,school,andscience.ScienceEducation,79(3),313 333.
- 72. A case study from Mathematics Bohlmann, C. A., & Pretorius, E. J. (2002). Reading skills and mathematics: the practice of higher education. South African Journal of Higher Education, 16(3), 196-206. Reading mathematical texts involve both decoding and comprehension “Decoding involves those aspects of a reading activity whereby written signs and symbols are translated into language. “Comprehension” refers to an overall understanding process whereby meaning is assigned to the whole text. The interaction between decoding and comprehension in skilled readers happen rapidly and simultaneously” (Bohlmann & Pretorius, 2002, p. 196)
- 73. Successful decoding does not, however, imply comprehension. Mathematical texts are also “hierarchical and cumulative, in the sense that understanding each statement or proposition is necessary for understanding subsequent statements” (Bohlmann & Pretorius, 2002, p. 277) Their research results indicate “that the weaker students regularly miss vital clues that aid in constructing and keeping track of a meaning in a text” (Bohlmann & Pretorius, 2002, p. 205)
- 74. If students cannot resolve an anaphor, conditional or constrastive relations, they will miss the point Also see: Pretorius, E. J., & Bohlmann, C. A. (2003). A reading intervention programme for mathematics students: the practice of higher education. South African Journal of Higher Education, 17(2), 226-236. Bohlmann, C. A., & Fletcher, L. (2008). Diagnostic assessment for mathematics in a distance learning context. South African Journal of Higher Education, 22(3), 556-574. Feedback, and timely feedback is crucial in student learning. What data do we have available that they may miss a crucial point? What will it take to notice the ‘miss’, respond and assist in them realising what they (don’t) know
- 75. • If we know what they miss, what alert systems can we build in to alert us and them? • If they don’t know what they don’t know, what does this mean for admission requirements, student support, and the costing of student support?
- 76. What difference can the effective use of technology make in making more students more successful? 6
- 77. Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/side-profile-black-male-student-1440176/ Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/girl-library-education-student-1721436/ Macro-societal factors, e.g. economic, political, social, technological, environmental and legal factors. Institutional/lecturer/student inactions, inefficiencies, or lack of control impacting and shaping students’ behaviour, chances of failing, dropping out, stopping out…
- 78. Processes Inter & intra- personal domains Modalities: • Attribution • Locus of control • Self-efficacy Processes Modalities: • Attribution • Locus of control • Self-efficacy Domains Academic Operational Social TRANSFORMED INSTITUTIONAL IDENTITY & ATTRIBUTES THE STUDENT AS AGENT IDENTITY, ATTRIBUTES, HABITUS Success THE INSTITUTION AS AGENT IDENTITY, ATTRIBUTES, HABITUS SHAPING CONDITIONS: (predictable as well as uncertain) SHAPING CONDITIONS: (predictable as well as uncertain) Choice, Admission Learning activities Course success Gradua- tion THE STUDENT WALK Multiple, mutually constitutive interactions between student, institution & networks F I T FIT F I T FIT Employ- ment/ citizenship TRANSFORMED STUDENT IDENTITY & ATTRIBUTES F I T F I T F I T F I T F I T F I T F I T F I T Retention/Progression/Positive experience (Subotzky & Prinsloo, 2011)
- 79. Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/doors-choices-choose-open-decision-1587329/ Some concluding remarks
- 80. 1. Be critical of the hype, the promises, the assumptions and the beliefs surrounding the use of technology in education 2. Don’t underestimate the potential of carefully designed technological solutions to increase the effectiveness and appropriateness of learning in online and blended learning environments 3. The collection, measurement, analysis and use of student data increasingly forms the backbone of technology use in education. Don’t be evil.
- 81. 4. Effective online learning is much more than drop-off-and-go 5. Accept the reality of compromise when it comes to balancing cost, quality and access 6. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence form the basis for much of new developments in educational technology. Be critical. 7. Use technology to ease students into the world of Mathematics and Science
- 82. 8. Student success remains a puzzle – embrace understanding student learning, be careful in explaining student learning, be critical and wary of predicting student learning, and when you prescribe personalised learning solutions, consider the cost of being wrong
- 83. THANK YOU Paul Prinsloo (Prof) Research Professor in Open Distance Learning (ODL) College of Economic and Management Sciences, Samuel Pauw Building, Office 5-21, P.O. Box 392 Unisa, 0003, Republic of South Africa T: +27 (0) 12 433 4719 (office) prinsp@unisa.ac.za Skype: paul.prinsloo59 Personal blog: http://opendistanceteachingandlearning.wordpress.com Twitter profile: @14prinsp