Keynote at the Emergent Technologies for the Future 2013 conference Open University - UK Institutions of learning adapt and change over time. The emergence of certain technologies, social behaviors, cultural expectations, and political and economic pressures influence what institutions do and what they look like. We live at a time when education features prominently in the global press and discussions focusing on improving the ways we design education are a daily occurrence. A central tenet of this discussion is the notion that technology is transforming education. Yet, the assumption that technology changes education often goes unchallenged. In this talk, I will highlight how learning and education are and are not changing as we are faced with new ideas about learning, increased (market-driven) interest in education, decreased state funding for education, and cultures of participation and sharing. Together, we will explore the research on online learning, the opportunities that exist for meaningful change, and the future educational systems that we are creating.

1. Dr. George Veletsianos
Assistant Professor of Learning Technologies
Curriculum & Instruction – College of Education
University of Texas at Austin
Keynote at the Emergent Technologies for the Future 2013 conference
Open University - UK
Emerging Technologies, Emerging
Perspectives on Education, and Cultures
of Sharing and Openness

2. September 2013
Canada Research Chair in Innovative Learning & Technology
School of Education and Technology
http://bit.ly/11Q04Ve

3. Change and transition are emanating
from techno-pedagogical advances as
well as from a neoliberal assault on
education.

4. What do we want our students’ learning
experiences to be like?

5. Our challenge/imperative
To design [online] learning experiences
and opportunities that are effective,
fulfilling, inspiring, meaningful, caring,
empowering, and democratic.

6. Sense of urgency. And tension.

8. “the most important experiment in Higher
Education”
The Atlantic
“the beginning of the end for traditional
higher education”
Forbes

9. Economic
Socio-cultural
Political
Pressures and challenges

10. “Strong pressures to produce
mediocre instructional products
based on templates and preexisting
content.”
Wilson, Parrish, & Veletsianos, 2008

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

14. Big Data and
Analytics
Technologies to note
Online Networks
Delivery platforms
& apps
- Facebook
- Amazon
- Pearson
- Blackboard
- Coursera?

15. Do
learning
outcomes
differ
between
online
and
face-­‐to-­‐face
educa6on?

16. No
The research says:
The mode of delivery does not
correlate with learning outcomes
Media comparison studies  “No
significant difference” phenomenon

17. In other words
Online education can be as good
as face-to-face education

18. OR
Online education can be as bad
as face-to-face education

19. Design is what matters.
Pedagogy is what matters.

20. Increased interest in education has
unintended positive outcomes. Namely:
Conversations about how to improve
education & the learning experience
= Perhaps the greatest innovation in recent years

21. - Experiential learning
- Inquiry-driven learning
- Open Online learning
- Informal online communities as legitimate
learning spaces
- Outdoor learning experiences

24. YoTeach! is designed to introduce first-year sociology students to
the practices of sociologists. Promotes student inquiry, discussions
and analysis of real-world data, and the creation of multimodal
projects that demonstrate student findings.

26. The messy realities of MOOC Learning/
Participation

27. Competency-based models

29. Disaggregation & Unbundling

30. “Whether the practice is called
outsourcing, contracting out, or
privatizing, the impact is the
same. Food services, health
care, the bookstore…endless
array of activities that
universities used to manage…”
Kirp,
.L
(2003).
Shakespeare,
Einstein,
and
the
Bo3om
Line:
The
Marke9ng
of
Higher
Educa9on.
Cambridge,
MA:
Harvard
University
Press

31. “Online program management services”

32. Are there institutional core functions that should
be safeguarded?

34. The role of the tutor

35. Online learning will render instructors obsolete *
The myth
* That’s not to say that the profession isn’t under attack…

37. Efficiency. Automation. And robots.

42. Increased collaboration?

44. Openness (Open Scholarship)
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)
Veletsianos, G. & Kimmons, R. (2012). Networked Participatory Scholarship:
Emergent Techno-Cultural Pressures Toward Open and Digital Scholarship in
Online Networks. Computers & Education, 58(2), 766-774.

45. Veletsianos (in press); Veletsianos & Kimmons 2012, 2013

46. Blogging
• Faculty blog to:
– Explore scholarly ideas (Kirkup, 2010)
– Re-envision their identities as public
intellectuals (Kirkup, 2010)
– Share knowledge (Kjellberg, 2010)
– Connect with other researchers (Kjellberg,
2010)
– Reach multiple audiences (Kjellberg, 2010;
Martindale & Wiley, 2005)

47. Educators & researchers co-opt technologies for
educational and scholarly purposes (Veletsianos,
2012)
• 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
– Provide help and support
– Manage their identities
• Contexts of:
– Personal and professional information sharing
– Social grooming
– Connecting and networking
– Digital presence across multiple platforms
Veletsianos, G. (2012). Higher Education Scholars’ Participation and Practices on
Twitter. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 28(4), 336-349.

48. Veletsianos (in press)
Announcements
Draft papers
Open textbooks
Syllabi + Activities
Live streaming
Live-Blogging
Collaborative authoring
Debates + commentary
Open teaching
Public P&T materials
The doctoral journey (e.g.,
#PhDChat)
Crowdsourcing

49. Announcements
Draft papers
Open textbooks
Syllabi + Activities
Live streaming
Live-Blogging
Collaborative authoring
Debates + commentary
Open teaching
Public P&T materials
Crowdsourcing

50. Residents --------------------------------------------- Visitors
White, D., & Le Cornu, A. (2011). Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online
engagement. First Monday, 16(9). doi:10.5210/fm.v16i9.3171
Serendipity
Diverse audiences
What will I find if I search for you? Your latest
research? An out-of-date university webpage?
Opportunities for meaningful interaction &
collaboration

51. Change and transition are emanating
from a desire to improve education as
well as from a neoliberal assault on
education.

52. Techno-pedagogical advances
Neoliberal assault on education

53. Research referenced in this presentation
is available at http://www.veletsianos/publications
Veletsianos, G. (2010). Emerging Technologies in Distance Education. Edmonton, AB:
Athabasca University Press.
Veletsianos, G. (2010). A Definition of Emerging Technologies for Education. In G.
Veletsianos (Ed.), Emerging Technologies in Distance Education (pp. 3-22). Edmonton,
AB: Athabasca University Press.
Veletsianos, G. & Kimmons, R. (2013). Scholars and Faculty Members Lived Experiences in
Online Social Networks. The Internet and Higher Education,16(1), 43-50.
Veletsianos, G. & Kimmons, R. (2012). Assumptions and Challenges of Open Scholarship.
The International Review Of Research In Open And Distance Learning,13(4), 166-189
Veletsianos, G. (2012). Higher Education Scholars’ Participation and Practices on Twitter.
Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 28(4), 336-349.
Veletsianos, G. & Kimmons, R. (2012). Networked Participatory Scholarship: Emergent
Techno-Cultural Pressures Toward Open and Digital Scholarship in Online Networks.
Computers & Education, 58(2), 766-774.
Veletsianos, G. (2011). Designing Opportunities for Transformation with Emerging
Technologies. Educational Technology, 51(2), 41-46.
Wilson, B., Parrish, P., & Veletsianos, G. (2008). Raising the bar for instructional outcomes:
Towards transformative learning experiences. Educational Technology, 48(3), 39-44.

54. Thank you!
www.veletsianos.com
@veletsianos on Twitter
veletsianos@gmail.com
This presentation:
www.slideshare.com/veletsianos

55. Image attribution
• Open http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthileo/4826783509/
• Ben Stein in “Ferris Bueller's Day Off:”
http://blog.teacherparlor.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/
bueller_stein.jpg
• Crowd http://www.flickr.com/photos/18378655@N00/613445810
• Before NOW then
http://www.flickr.com/photos/muffin9101985/3563796585/
• Unicorn
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Invisible_Pink_Unicorn_black.svg
• Teacher writing on blackboard
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Teacher-writing-on-
blackboard564.jpg
Unless otherwise noted by the original images, content is provided under a CC Attribution Non-
Commercial Share Alike license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/).