The Content Debacle

The question of what content is being delivered can sometimes supersede the question of appropriate mode of delivery. And in many instances it can actually determine which learning style and mode of delivery is more appropriate.

So what is content? Is it the 'How' part of learning or is it the 'What' part of learning? Is it explanation or experience? Has the learner truly learned anything if they are told how something works rather than actually being shown what the process is? Is describing the process of making a cup of coffee from scratch the same as showing someone the process and having them make one for themselves?

So what is content? And before we consider the mode of delivery of this content, shouldn't we at least consider what educational content truly is? Do we sometimes limit learning to fit our delivery mechanisms rather than expand our modes of delivery to encompass all that learning truly is?

It is a unique human capability that we are able to learn  from instruction as well as from personal experience. And the nature of what needs to be learned as well as the mode in which it is delivered both equally determine the effectiveness of learning.

So when we are unable to fit it all in, what do we do? Do we cut out the parts that don't fit? Or do we look for a better way to teach it? (If it can easily be measured then it is certainly not it!) [quote required]

There are many issues to consider here. The first one is the role of the teacher in technology-enhanced learning. The next one is: what real reasons do we have for assuming that with technology-enhanced learning the teacher will have an enhanced rather than a diminished role?

 

However, considering the fact that throughout man's history, with or without technology, formal learning has always involved a teacher, mentor, coach, instructor or master. The face-to-face and other social aspects of formal education have always existed and have always been crucial to mastery of the learned subject or content. As Dreyfus said, technology-based teaching without the accompaniment of the teacher 'will produce only competence, while expertise and practical wisdom will be out of reach' (Dreyfus 2001, p. 49)

The argument is that learning at any level is essentially a 'human process enhanced by human beings' (Volungeviciene and Leduc 2006, p. 26), and the teacher plays a major part in it.

At the moment it seems that without the teacher, educational technologies can enhance information navigation, data gathering and knowledge implementation. But in the presence of an experienced and subject-practiced teacher or mentor, the learner has a chance to become an expert in that field with practical experience and internalized mastery of that specific subject area.

References:
Dreyfus, Hubert L. 2001. Thinking in action: On the Internet. New York and London: Routledge
Volungeviciene, A. and Leduc, L. (2006) 'Variations in transnational tutoring in distance learning' International Journal of Technologies in Higher Education, 3, 2, pp. 19-27

Multifunctional Mobile Models for Teachers and Learners Alike

Designs for an integrated system of learning and teaching are also to be considered in the development of models for learning using mobile technology. One significant reason for resistance on the part of teachers to the use of digital technologies for teaching is that in some cases these technologies seem to add to the daily responsibilities teachers already have.



The 'job' of the teacher includes so much more than just teaching - it also involves discipline, assessment, classroom control, as well as several targets that must be met, all with time constraints and deadlines. Any tech that does not deliberately make any of this easier, quicker or better is more likely to be seen as a problem rather than a useful tool or device. This has been cited as one of the main reasons why many teachers have refused to adopt several new digital technologies in their teaching.

An idea therefore, for the design of models for learning, would be one that integrates teaching tools with other aspects of the teacher's daily routine, making it so much easier for the teacher to organize lessons, assess students progress, provide feedback, and still build reports, lesson plans, correspondence (letters or emails) to stakeholders, and anything else that forms part of their regular duties.
A system that is all-inclusive and multifunctional is more likely to garner interest, exploration, and finally adoption from teachers than one which does not.

ICT4D and Personalised Learning

I started considering the preponderance of mobile devices in Africa a few years ago, and decided that I needed to contribute to the development of ICT projects there. While thinking about developmental projects in education and how mobile learning can truly change the world, I came across a counter argument from Neil Selwyn in his book Education and Technology - Key issues and Debates.

My focus had always been on equality and the level playing field that educational technology provides, as well as a clear and objective view of the costs involved and possible risks to anyone attempting to venture into this seldom traveled road. But upon closer examination, there had been several arguments against it.

"Educational projects form a large part of what has come to be known as ICT4D - The ICTs for Development movement where digital technologies are used as potential solutions to the challenges of community development (see Colle and Roman 2003).

Many of the challenges that ICT4D seeks to address are relatively basic. For instance, with only 15 per cent of rural households in sub-Saharan Africa having access to electricity, issues of power are of paramount importance. Another issue is the provision of low-cost and robust technological devices that are capable of working in poor and under-resourced communities where fundamental necessities such as teachers, books, shelter, water and food are still sparse.

Yet despite all these issues, technology is still seen as a major means of overcoming entrenched educational inequalities across the developing world. In particular, digital technology is being heralded as a key part of achieving some of the basic goals of providing access to free universal primary education of good quality, and the development of life-skills and vocational skills in later life.

Michelle Sellinger reasons:
ICTs can indeed hold the key to a step change towards improvement in the world's education systems. ICT is certainly not a panacea for education, but it is a powerful tool that when implemented appropriately can catalyze and accelerate education reform and development. (Sellinger 2009, p. 206)

Computer aid (charity work) p.104:
A range of non-governmental organizations like the Scandinavian Fair Allocation of Info Tech Resources project and the UK Computer Aid International charity all work to supply developing countries with refurbished and recycled computers that have been donated from firms and individuals in developed nations."*

Personalised Learning Ideas:
Ideas for personalised learning can be sought from special schools that cater for children with special needs, and inadvertently buck the trend in schools. Their attention to detail and unique approaches to helping these children achieve and excel means that the methods and systems they employ as successful and lead to exceptional achievements for the individual and for the school.

*(Culled directly from: Education and Technology - Key issues and Debates by Neil Selwyn, 2011, London. Chapter 5)

References:
Unwin, T. (ed.) (2009) ICT4D, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
The ICT4D Collective: http://www.ict4d.org.uk 

Styles of Teaching and Modes of Delivery

"Digital technologies are seen to provide a range of pedagogical support inside the classroom. For instance classroom-based technologies such as the interactive whiteboard are now widely felt to provide teachers with opportunities to alter their styles of teaching and modes of delivery.

It is argued, for example, that digital technologies allow a teacher to switch from individualized, communal and communicative forms of pedagogy. This allows the teacher to move from being an organiser of learning activities to being a shaper of quality learning experiences. In this sense, most educational technologists are careful to emphasize the continuation of the role of the teacher at the centre of the digitally enhanced pedagogical process.

As David Guile argues, most technologically enhanced gains in learning and achievement 'occur primarily because teachers have designed new contexts as well as new learning processes to support learning with [digital technology]' (cited in Reynolds et al. 2003, p.152). In this sense, the teacher is seen to be assisted and empowered by digital technologies."

- Neil Selwyn (Education and Technology - Key issues and debates, 2011, Continuum books, London. Chap.6, p.119)

Notes:
The case has clearly been made by several educators against the omnipotence of digital technology on its own to magically equalize the social conditions that have always resulted in a gap in opportunities and access to education. But at the same time, the case has also been made that the 'facilitator' role of the teacher cannot stay the same as we launch into the era of social media technologies and active, creative and self-directed learning in the 21st century.

Any change that occurs in education must always be a social or cultural one rather than a technological one.

Therefore the changes that will occur in classrooms that will eventually lead to widespread adoption of digital technologies and possible improvements in learning and access to education will be led by changing methods and strategies by teachers.
Simply circulating technology and legislating usage (on the part of institutional governance) will not lead to change or adoption (on the part of teachers and/or learners). Change will only come from the adoption of a new style of teaching (a new approach to teaching) and then digital technologies will provide the corresponding new modes of delivery.

The positive effects of digital technologies on education may not be known until the role of the teacher changes from facilitator to guide, from instructor to knowledge assistant - from Teacher to Learning Mentor.

Therefore what we need now are:
1.) New models of the DESIGN of education and learning outcomes
2.) New models of the DELIVERY of education, including:
     - classroom learning delivery models 9teacher physically present); and
     - non-classroom learning delivery models (teacher NOT physically present)

References:
Jackie Gerstein, Ed.D: User Generated Education 

A Social Model of Education Using Digital Technology

 

The collaborative spirit of social media applications such as Wikipedia, Facebook, YouTube and so many others like them has coalesced into a prevailing sense that education will be increasingly based around the networked creation and consumption of content over the next few years.

Knowledge is seen to be no longer held by formal gatekeepers but rather is now accessible to all. And m-Learning can now be seen as a means to help further decrease the barriers to learning for more people.

In addition, with m-Learning there is a perceived increase in each individuals personal control over their own learning. Technology is seen as a way to support and enhance the learner's capacity to build, maintain and grow their connections with various componenets of the education system on their own terms. This way they are personally responsible for curating and managing their own learning.

"Research (e.g. Hardey 2007) has shown that ownership of handheld technologies, particularly mobile phones, sets the trend that defines the youth culture of today. In education, an understanding and embracing of this culture in the classroom could potentially lead to fewer mismatches between the teacher and students in terms of learning engagement with technology, potentially leading to better learning outcomes.
As Kolb(2009, p.4) said: Educators dismiss mobile phones, instant messaging and other popular technology communication tools as 'distracting' to classroom learning. Yet, if educational technology theory, research and pedagogy are reconceptualised to include the tools and knowledge that students already possess, then students will have better opportunities to connect learning inside and outside of school."


The learning environment must be equipped with technologies that can 'talk' to or support one another to provide the necessary information to support the learner. The system must be made up of technologies that allow the learner to move seamlessly through different repositories and different types of information, unhindered and unpredictable. The underlying principle of the model is unfettered access to information by the learner because each node in the system is compatible with, and linked to all others, regardless of data type or staage location. As long as there is an internet connection serving the system, the learner has unlimited access to the knowledge network and is free to choose their own path, determine the pace, and control their own learning through controlled interactions with diverse people and resources.

References:
1.) Education and Technology - Key issues and Debates, Neil Selwyn 2011, Continuum Books, London p.98-99
2.) Mobile Technologies and Handheld Devices for Ubiquitous Learning: Research and Pedagogy, Wan Ng, 2011, University of New South Wales, Australia.

Intelligent System Design

 Cognitivist theory has informed the development and design of technology-based learning since the 1960s, especially in providing the ground work for the development of 'intelligent tutoring systems' and 'cognitive tutors'. This is where computers are used to host a series of teaching exchanges between the learner and an 'intelligent system'.

Cognitivist Theories of Learning and Technology
In contrast to behaviourist theories of learning (which are primarily concerned with observable behaviour and rely heavily on observable changes in behaviour as an indication of what is happening in the learners mind), cognitivist theories of learning seek to describe the mental processes that underpin the act of learning within the human mind. They seek to explain exactly how learning takes place, and how knowledge is constructed within the human mind.

Throughout the later half of the 20th century, cognitive psychologists became increasingly interested in developing computational metaphors of the mind - that is, descriptions of how the mind processes and 'computes' information.

The language of cognitivist theory involves complex descriptions of how stored representations are mentally processed. By describing and modelling how the mind should work, methods can be developed to support individuals in matching this 'ideal' performance.

Existing cognitive structures are called schema. They can be combined, extended or altered to accommodate new information as it is acquired and processed by the mind.

"Educators don't necessarily have to teach, instead they can provide an environment and resources that tease out your natural ability to learn on your own. Self study, self exploration, self empowerment - these are the virtues of a great education." - Shimon Schocken: The self-organising computer course (TED Talks, Jun 2012, posted Oct 2012).


Creative and Innovative ideas