Technology has transformed the way we find and use information. Yet in the tertiary education, the promised gains to learning from technology have rarely been fulfilled. MOOCs proved to be overhyped hysteria rather than a genuinely disruptive technology. The internet is awash with online degrees, most of which are unaccredited and worthless. However, rapid advances in digital technology, blended with face-to-face social learning and intensive workshop and laboratory work, hold out the prospect of making high-quality "dual sector" education and training accessible to students in remote communities in Fiji.

1.
Professor Nigel Healey, Vice Chancellor
Fiji National University
The use of technology in delivering
quality learning outcomes in dual
sector training: the case of Fiji
National University
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2. ECON339: A tale of despair and
discovery
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3. ECON339 / EURO339
• 12 x 2 hour lectures + weekly tutorial with PhD
student
• MOOC-based, with comprehensive teaching
materials
• Despair: between 2007-2013 -
• Lecture attendance steadily declined from 90% to <50%
• Originality and quality of group research projects steadily
improved
• Discovery: students don’t need me as a lecturer to
learn
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4. We all engage in blended
learning all the time
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How do I
disconnect the
battery on my
motorcycle?

5. Step 1. Google “How do I
disconnect…”
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6. Step 2: Watch YouTube video
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7. Step 3: Disconnect battery…
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8. The dangers of uncurated
content
Fiji National University [edit]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fiji National University is a Earth-based colony of
Tatooine, a sparsely inhabited circumbinary desert
plant located in the Galaxy’s Outer Rim Territories.
FNU was established in 2010 by Anakin Skywalker,
through the merger of six previous Empire colonies.
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9. The challenges
• Population: 912,000 (2018 est.)
• Median age: 27.5 years
• 330 islands, 110 inhabited
• 70% of population in Viti Levu
• Summary: population is young, scattered, but rapidly
urbanising
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10. The opportunities (1)
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Ookla speedtest, wet Wednesday night, kitchen table

11. The opportunities (2)
• AARNet
• Digital Fiji – Walesi, digital TV / data
• elibrary – social open learning commons
• Ellucian – Banner
• Summary: there is nothing you cannot do / learn
digitally in New York or London than you cannot do /
learn (at your kitchen table) in Suva or Nadi
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12. Online learning is not enough
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13. MOOCs were a fad
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14. Blended learning is the future
• How do I disconnect my battery again?
• Step 1: Google
• Step 2: Watch YouTube
• Step 3: Just do it
• Step 4: Reflect and learn
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15. Starting point: FNU is a
vocational dual-sector
university
• Theory: online content, video capture lecture
• Critical analysis: online discussion groups, tutorials
• Experiential learning: work-based learning, intensive
block labs/workshops
• Critical reflection: online discussion groups, tutorials
• Summative assessment
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16. Blended learning, Fiji-style
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17. Play to our “differential
advantage”
• “a set of unique features, benefits or characteristics
of a firm or a business which sets it apart from its
competitors for its target market”
• For FNU, our differential advantage is a ‘hands-on”
vocational education – as a doctor, mechanic,
teacher or electrician”
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18. Conclusions
• Blended learning is going on around us all day, every
day
• For FNU, the opportunity is to harness blended
learning with high-quality, curated content…
• …that integrates with the experiential, heads-on
learning that gives FNU our differential advantage
• Vinaka!
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