5. Canadian Curriculum for the Gulf Region
“The College’s perennial challenge lies in
maintaining the academic integrity and rigor
of a Canadian curriculum while revising the
content of the curriculum itself to align with a
different social, cultural, educational and
academic context.”
Contemporary Issues Conference EDU8719
8. Today’s students
Web 2.0
reliance on platform over application
harnessing collective intelligence of web users
blogging
cooperation and collaboration among users
O’Reilly (2005)
“crowdsourcing”
O’Reilly and Battelle, 2009, p. 2
Contemporary Issues Conference EDU8719
9. Today’s students
Utilizing existing literacies and
tapping into the current literacies
or skills that students have or are
exposed to could make curriculum
more relevant and interesting for
students of today’s technologically
proficient society.
Contemporary Issues Conference EDU8719
11. Today’s students
Web 2.0 technologies draw on the students’
natural tendency to utilize new technologies
in their personal lives and personal
communication which can be applied to their
programs.
“the five C’s of participation: community,
collaboration, creativity, conversation and
control”
Hicks and Graber, 2010, p. 627
Contemporary Issues Conference EDU8719
15. Stakeholder needs
Accreditation
and
Certification
Bodies
Industry and
Government
College
Headquarters
Students and
Faculty
Contemporary Issues Conference EDU8719
19. Today’s workplace
horizontal relations of teamwork as opposed to
hierarchical structure
“multiskilling” – employees with ever increasing skills
sets of various types
rounded and flexible worker
communication strategies Cope & Kalantzis, 2009
Contemporary Issues Conference EDU8719
20. Web 2.0 and Today’s Workplace
http://www.google.com.qa/imgres?q=web+2.0&hl=en&rlz=1R2ADBF_enQA364&biw=1280&bih=520&tbm=isch&tbnid=s-FSgJ2QOxxG7M:&imgrefurl=http://www.web20screenshots.com/tag/web-2-
0/&docid=sXU2hf5c8OmIRM&imgurl=http://www.web20screenshots.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Web2.0-
logos.jpg&w=500&h=418&ei=658lT53tHcXYrQeAnbiXCA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=688&vpy=137&dur=2485&hovh=205&hovw=246&tx=132&ty=137&sig=112961953862526864330&page=14&tbnh=133&tbnw=159&start=161&ndsp=11&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:161
Contemporary Issues Conference EDU8719
21. Multiliteracies
Students will require:
ability to shift between both open and closed modes
of course delivery
social bookmarking
blogosphere
social networking
the utilization of Web 2.0 microcontent
navigating within an online course management
system as part of their coursework.
Alexander (2008)
Contemporary Issues Conference EDU8719
23. Digital Literacies
Siemens (2005) has defined an innovative
theory of learning called connectivism. He
suggests that the channels for learning are
much more important than the content itself.
In the new connectivist pedagogy, “Learning is
building networks of information, contacts and
resources that are applied to real problems”
Anderson, 2010, p. 33
Contemporary Issues Conference EDU8719
24. Traditional Literacies
Associated with the industrial age
script literacy skills only one way to access and
manipulate information or data
alphabetical focus in a single mode (print)
may not be enough for the knowledge
economy
page vs. pixel – fundamental unit of the literacy
Contemporary Issues Conference EDU8719
26. Based on proposed paper
Digital Literacies and Multiliteracies:
Solutions for College Curriculum
Challenges
by Derrick C. Hann
Contemporary Issues Conference EDU8719
Editor's Notes
Background to the project and the College’s presence in the country5 key challenges for curriculum development and curriculum revision
The first challenge for College of the North Atlantic - Qatar
Content of curricula is criticalCurricula first transplanted in original format, style, learning objectives, course outlines and program structureHowever, many problems with content in its existing form – many topics, objectives, outcomes simply not relevant or appropriate for Qatar contextEnglish language levels of students pose significant challenges in accomplishing lesson plans, course objectives, and program outcomesAnswerable to Canadian headquartersMust follow Canadian policies and procedures for review and revision
Arguably the greatest curriculum challenge facing the College in QatarAt first it was assumed that students being sponsored into programs had adequate levels of English out of high schoolLead to creation of the School of Language Studies and Academics (preparatory school)Today School of Language Studies is the largest school in the College with the largest number of instructors at the CollegePrograms reviewed and revised in alignment with English skills of students English for Specific Purposes (ESP) program in Language Studies specifically prepares students for success in their chosen discipline
The second challenge Inhabit the digital worldMasters of technology Nature of today’s students – technologically literate Easily adapt to the use of technology for various purposes Collaboration onlineSocial media, blogging
Web 2.0 and today’s students Ubiquitous application of technologyMany users responsible for the creation of internet content ex. wikipedia
Identifying literacies that today’s students have from their interactions with technology may assist in the transfer of knowledge in their programs and may help schools/faculties within colleges to meet the course and program outcomes and competencies.
Digital LiteraciesIncorporating digital literacies into the curriculum as a whole is critical in curriculum development and program delivery allowing for curriculum objectives and learning outcomes to be effectively met.Many of today’s students more comfortable usiing technology Many students morfe comfortable accessing information in an online environment as opposed to print media
Web 2.0 and College of the North Atlantic – Qatar
Finding the Right Balance in any program is crucial Industrial Age – being aware of the literacies is importantDigital age brings new types of literacies and adds significantly to new and existing technical programs
Finding the Right Balance Personal Web Technologies (PWT), which can be used to make a personal learning environment (PLE) and a personal learning network (PLN). “PLE is the sum of websites and technologies that an individual makes use of to learn” (McElvaney & Berge, 2009, p. 2). These may include social bookmarking tools, personal publishing platforms, search engines, social networks, aggregators (sites that bring together the parts of a whole search) (p. 8). “Using freely available personal web technologies, employees can create a personal learning environment to manage their own learning resources, whether these are wikis, news feeds, podcasts or people” (McElvaney & Berge, 2009, p. 2). College programs should focus on assisting students with the appropriate use of PWTs and in helping them to build PLEs and PLNs to support their learning.
The third challenge for CNA-QatarInternal and external stakeholders in the curriculum development and revision processCNA-Qatar programs must satisfy the needs of a variety of different stakeholders
Main challengesIncorporating digital literacies can ensure meets of diverse stakeholders are met in variable environments
Fourth challenge for CNA-Qatar is credentialling – offering the CNA-Qatar parchment while maintaining academic standards and rigor
articulation Mapping to other programs Importance of degree for students and industry transferability International accreditation, certification and recognition of programs in an international context is becoming more and more criticalNorth American, European, South East Asian and AustralianDigital Literacies and mutliliteracies can assist in making curriculum modularized which may assist in making it more easily articulated to the programs, certification and accreditation bodiesCredential Transferability and Portability
Fifth challenge posed to the College is the nature and makeup of today’s workplace
Today’s Workplace
Possible solution
Combining the literacies of the industrial age with those of the digital age may present a possible solution
Focus on the ability to utilize various challenges and focus on the networks Curriculum should focus on networks of informationAssociated with the digital age, the knowledge economy and with technology
Changing perspectives on literacy and multiple literacies or ‘multiliteracies’ need to be considered as a possible solution to curriculum development and revision challenges in the development of post-secondary curricula at technical colleges. The challenge for curriculum developers is to identify which literacies and which aspects of literacy should be incorporated into the program development or revision, and incorporate these aspects in the most appropriate manner possible. This paper has outlined how a reconceptualization of literacies in relation to curriculum development can assist in overcoming challenges currently facing technical colleges. The implications for incorporating digital literacies and multiliteracies needs further exploration as each institution will have its own challenges in implementing these across its curriculaTechnologies should be identified that may be used to achieve outcomes and technology itself should become part of the overall curriculum of the programs themselves
