These are the slides of an invited talk I gave at ICEM 2012. The session was described as follows: What will we observe if we take a long pause and examine the practice of online education today? What do emerging technologies, openness, Massive Open Online Courses, and digital scholarship tell us about the future that we are creating for learners, faculty members, and learning institutions? And what does entrepreneurial activity worldwide surrounding online education mean for the future of education and design? In this talk, I will discuss a number of emerging practices relating to online learning and online participation in a rapidly changing world and explain their implications for design practice. Emerging practices (e.g., open courses, researchers who blog, students who use social media to self-organize) can shape our teaching/learning practice and teaching/learning practice can shape these innovations. By examining, critiquing, and understanding these practices we will be able to understand potential futures for online learning and be better informed on how we can design effective and engaging online learning experiences. This talk will draw from my experiences and research on online learning, openness, and digital scholarship, and will present recent evidence detailing how researchers, learners, educators are creating, sharing, and negotiating knowledge and education online.

1. What
does
the
future
of
design
for
online
learning
look
like?
Emerging
Technologies,
Openness,
MOOCs,
and
Digital
Scholarship
George
Veletsianos,
PhD
Assistant
Professor
of
Learning
Technologies
hCp://www.veletsianos.com

2. #icemcy12

3. My
research:
Students’,
Instructors’,
and
Scholars’
experiences
and
pracPces
in
digital
learning
environments.
To
design
engaging
and
effecPve
learning
environments.

4. Emerging
Technologies
•
May
or
may
not
be
new
technologies
•
Evolving,
“coming
into
being”
•
Go
through
“hype
cycles”
•
Not
yet
fully
understood
•
Not
yet
fully
researched
•
PotenPally
disrupPve
(but
potenPal
is
unfulfilled)
•
NegoPated
relaPonship
between
tech
&
pedagogy
(Veletsianos,
2010)

5. Myths & Assumptions
Myth #1: Face-to-face education is more effective/
engaging than online education.
Myth #2: Effective teaching and learning only occur
within universities/institutions.

7. Actual
&
potenPal
insPtuPonal
reacPons
to
MOOCs:
• Join
them
because
they
can
be
a
•
worthwhile
markePng
effort
•
a
way
to
provide
free
educaPon
•
Build
upon
emerging
business
models:
•
Accredit
MOOC
learning
•
Provide
mentoring
services
•
Reject
them
as
not
applicable
(e.g.,
different
focus)

8. 1.
Online
EducaPon.
Check.
BUT…
I
am
concerned.

9. Two
Dominant
NarraPves
(that
remain
relaPvely
unquesPoned)

10. Dominant
NarraPves
(that
remain
unquesPoned)
1.
The
latest
technology
as
a
panacea

11. Dominant
NarraPves
(that
remain
unquesPoned)
2.
Online
educaPon
=
efficient
mode
of
delivery
to
large
numbers
of
students

12. “Strong
pressures
to
produce
mediocre
instrucPonal
products
based
on
templates
and
preexis3ng
content.”
Wilson,
Parrish,
&
Veletsianos,
2008

13. “Strong
pressures
to
produce
mediocre
instrucPonal
products
based
on
templates
and
preexis3ng
content.”
Wilson,
Parrish,
&
Veletsianos,
2008

16. “Examples
of
outstanding
[online]
instrucPon
are
hard
to
find.”
Wilson, Parrish, & Veletsianos, 2008

17. 1. Online
EducaPon
2.
Delivery
Designing
Learning
Experiences

20. Our Challenge
To design learning experiences and
opportunities that can be fulfilling,
meaningful, and inspiring.

21. How?

22. CharacterisPcs
of
engagement,
meaningful
interacPon,
(&
tension)
when
parPcipaPng
online:
The
case
of
“digital
scholars”

23. From
digital/open
scholarship
to Networked Participatory Scholarship
The practice of scholars’ use of participatory technologies and
online social networks to share, reflect upon, critique, improve,
validate, and further their scholarship (Veletsianos & Kimmons,
2012)

24. From
digital/open
scholarship
to Networked Participatory Scholarship
The practice of scholars’ use of participatory technologies and
online social networks to share, reflect upon, critique, improve,
validate, and further their scholarship (Veletsianos & Kimmons,
2012)

26. What
do
scholars
do
on
TwiCer?
Veletsianos (2012) – Constant comparative analysis of 45
scholars’ tweets.
Faculty use these Twitter to:
Share information, resources, and media
“Open” classrooms
Expand opportunities for students’ learning experiences
Request teaching-related and research-related assistance
Manage their identities

28. Crowdsourcing
science

31. Design
consideraPons
#1
-­‐
We
co-­‐opt
technologies
for
educaPonal
and
scholarly
purposes
-­‐ Openness
&
serendipity
(in
sharing
ongoing
work,
in
seeking
to
engage)
-­‐
Value
in
fluid
networks
vs.
staPc
groups
(e.g.,
courses)

32. What
is
the
experience
like?
Veletsianos & Kimmons (in press) – Phenomenological
study of lived experiences in SNSs
• Process of establishing professional and personal
boundaries
• Maintaining appropriate and meaningful
connections
• Structuring participation so that others see me in a
certain light

33. Scholarly
IdenPty
&
ParPcipaPon
“My position [as a professor] is building a community of teachers
that I talk to ... where you can share, and so [participation in these
spaces] makes total sense.”
“I made it [Facebook] this hybrid space ... and sometimes it's
really annoying. … I keep thinking I should be writing or looking at
data, and I'm doing this! … I created the conundrum that I live in
now.”
“All the [expletive] is not really worth it. … I think that it's okay for
students to not know everything about their professor. … [These
practices] add to the complexity of those who struggle with the
home-work balance and the ... technology pull. … I don't have
time for you. “

34. Design
consideraPons
#2
-­‐
We
co-­‐opt
technologies
for
educaPonal
and
scholarly
purposes
-­‐ Openness
&
serendipity
(in
sharing
ongoing
work,
in
seeking
to
engage)
-­‐
Value
in
fluid
networks
vs.
staPc
groups
(e.g.,
courses)
-­‐
ApplicaPons
have
embedded
assumpPons
that
we
adopt.
Are
these
congruent
with
educaPonal
ideals?

35. ConsideraPons
for
engagement
&
inspiraPon:
The
case
of
Adventure
Learning
through
Water
and
MOSS
&
Project
Engage!

36. What
is
Adventure
Learning?
An
approach
to
the
design
of
educaPon
that
provides
learners
with
opportuniPes
to
explore
real-­‐world
issues
though
experienPal,
collaboraPve,
and
inquiry-­‐driven
environments
(Doering
2006,
2007;
Doering
&
Veletsianos,
2008;
Veletsianos
&
Kleanthous,
2009)

37. What
does
it
look
like?
(Doering
&
Miller,
2009)

38. 2009 2006
Nunavut, Canada ANWR, Alaska
2010
Greenland
2007
Chukotka, Russia
2008
Fennoscandia

40. Adventure
Learning
through
Water
and
MOSS
h4p://3nyurl.com/mossadventure

47. Project
Engage!
h4p://3nyurl.com/projectengage

52. What
do
these
projects
have
in
common?

53. Design
Considera3ons
#3
-­‐ NarraPve
&
Storyline
-­‐
Sharing
with
others
-­‐
Design
opportuniPes
that
allow
engagement
beyond
course
acPviPes
(interacPon
with
experts,
authenPc
contribuPons)
-­‐
Design
for
intrigue,
risk-­‐taking,
and
challenge
-­‐
Design
for
reflecPon
(Veletsianos,
2011)

54. Your
gir
for
aCending!
Download
my
book
for
free:
h4p://3nyurl.com/book321
Thank
you!
hCp://www.veletsianos.com/
publicaPons
veletsianos
@
utexas.edu