Xmas bcn eadtu2016_presentation_share

Future Scenarios for Digital Learners
Sociotechnological and sociocultural trends will
transform the current educational ecosystem
The Online, Open and Flexible Higher Education Conference
Rome 19, 20, 21 October 2016
By Xavier Mas, Phd

EADTU 2016. The Online, Open and Flexible Higher Education Conference. Rome 19, 20, 21 October 2016
Changes won’t come from institutions and
educational systems but from culture, society,
economy, technology and daily life transformation

#? #..!
#Digital learners
#Approach and
Methodology
#Future
#10 main results and
factors of change on
education

#?
#Approach and
Methodology

#Approach and methodology
Sociocutural and
sociotechnological view
Ethnographic and desk
research approach

Why is this approach useful?
Because it leads us to think
outside the confines of
education

Because it puts the attention on digital
learners daily lives and characteristics
They are the protagonists of education
Why is this approach useful?

#Approach and methodology
PHASE 1. NEEDS PHASE 2. TRENDS PHASE 3. EXPLORATION
Methodology Ethnography
Desk Research
Interview with experts
Workshop experts
Source of the
data
· Diary of experiences and
semi-structured interview to
24 participants.
· Ages: 13-18 / 19-25 / 26-35
· More than 60 secondary
sources*.
· Semi-structured interviews
with 5 international experts.
· 13 participants from the
UOC staff.
Anticipated
results
· Characteristics and profiles of
digital learners (use of
technology in everyday life
and in online education).
· Sociocultural and
sociotechnological trends.
· Future scenarios for UOC,
education and digital
learners.
*Gardner Reports, BBC Research, Horizon Reports,
European Commission, articles from scientific journals and
other sources of diverseorigin.

#..!
#Digital learners

Some data about generations Y & Z
#Digital learners
More than 50% of our students at UOC belong to Y & Z gen
GEN Y: age 2020 = 30 / 40
GEN Z: age 2020= >30
In 2020, 50% of the labour market will also be Y & Z gen
and 40% of consumers will be Z gen

#Digital learners
2 profiles of digital learners
“Tourists”
“Travellers”

#?
#10 main results and
factors of change on
education

The boom in software-driven businesses
#10 main results and factors of change on education
# In a digital world, is training seen as goods and
services to be bought by costumers?
# What can/should universities learn form how digital
businesses work?
1
 Customers habits become digital. They have
changed the way they access goods and services.
 Traditional companies become digital too and
they adopt new strategies.

Skills gap and the second digital divide
# Where is the problem?
# In the curriculum of degrees? The In regulation of
HE? In the relationship between educational
institutions, employers, society and administration?
Or in the way universities organize and work?
2
40%
not tech-savvy
90%
jobs will require it
 In Europe…

Automation vs. Creativity
# Creativity, social skills, solving problems, innovation
and entrepreneurship will be more important than
technical abilities. Curriculum and learning
methodologies should be adapted.
3
 We are at the beginning of a second
“Machine Age” in which technology is
displacing human labour.
 Only creative jobs are resistant to
computerisation.

Ubiquity and hybridisation
# The challenge of online education is not to take
learning activity at home by mean of apps and
devices.
# The real challenge is to filter it into the fabric of
daily life.
4
 Boundaries between different
spheres of human activity blur.
 We are living in a totally
ubiquitous environment in which
human activity can be relocated,
and carried out at anytime and
anywhere.

The sharing economy
# If it is happening in all human activities, could it
happens on education and training too?
# If it can, is it a threat or an opportunity for
universities.
5
 The sharing of goods, services and knowledge between peers is now
consolidated and takes the form of business models.

Democratisation of education
# In digital economy the cost of goods have decreased
exponentially. Is it also happening in education?
# If it, witch models have educational institutions
adopt?
6
 MOOCs, open educational resources, platforms of short-
format courses and other free or low-cost training
opportunities are proliferating.
 Informal learning, based on social media and internet
resources, is a general practice on personal and
professional life.
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Infoxication
# Training is no about creating good content but to
curate the best one for each learning situation.
# Digital competence in information management is
key both for teachers and learners.
7
Users’ capacity
to process them
Amount of data,
information and
content available
on the web >

The experience economy
# Learning can be a great experience. Why don’t
make it pleasant and amazing?
# Is it possible to think training activity in these
terms? What universities should change?
8
 Objects are no longer the focus of
consumption but the experience
that they provide.

From “just-in-case education” to
“just-in-time education”
# Tailored programs for digital lifelong learners.
# Is necessary to think beyond degrees and create
new educational modalities.
9
 Rigid and the long educational
programmes are not useful to
provide skills for the labour
market.
 Flexibility, agility and
personalisation are required.

Open micro-credentials
# What if an open badges system evolve and get
recognition from employers and society?
# Might formal educational system lose the exclusivity
of accreditation?
10
 The opportunity to create a globally transferable recognition system for
training outside the formal systems is emerging.

#..!
#Future

#Future
10
965
4
321
7 8
Convenient Critical
① The boom in software-driven
businesses
② Skills gap and the second
digital divide
③ Automation vs. Creativity
④ Ubiquity and hybridisation
⑦ Infoxication
⑧ The experience economy
⑤ The sharing economy
⑥ Democratisation of education
⑨ From “just-in-case education”
to “just-in-time education”
⑩ Open micro-credentials

#Future
SCENARIO 1:
 Open micro-credentials are
a widely accepted standard
used to recognize skills and
knowledge.
 The skills gap in the labour
market is very wide.
OPEN MICRO-CREDENTIALS
Low
SKILLS GAP
High
OPEN MICRO-CREDENTIALS
High
SKILLS GAP
Low
SCENARIO 2:
 Occasional use of open
micro-credentials, which are
not accepted as a system for
recognition of skills and
knowledge.
 The skills gap in the labour
market is very wide.
SCENARIO 3:
 Occasional use of open
micro-credentials, which are
not accepted as a system for
recognition of skills and
knowledge.
 The digital divide of skills is
small or non-existent.
SCENARIO 4:
 Open micro-credentials are
a widely accepted standard
used to recognize skills and
knowledge.
 The digital divide of skills is
small or non-existent.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION
Xavier Mas, Phd
xmas@uoc.edu
@xmasbcn
You can find me at:

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