technology for liberal education: the state of the art
TRANSCRIPT
Technology for liberal Technology for liberal educationeducation
Technology for liberal education:
the state of the artAAC&U annual conference
January 2016
Today’s plan1.Introductions
2.Technology overview
3.Tools
4.Approaches
5.Next steps
Who are you?
•Your name, institution, and role concerning technology
Who is this very hairy person?
•Researcher, writer, professor, consultant, speaker, futurist
nitle.orgnitle.org
Communities of practice
Research
Joint projects
Outreach
Network platform: events f2f/online
Partnerships Translation
Ground rules for today
• Comments and questions gleefully welcomed.
• Social media use celebrated and possibly exploited.
• Please avoid technobabble.
Ground rules for today
• Chinese restaurant menu metaphor
• If we go too fast, stomp on the brakes.
Technology trendsTechnology trends
Rise of the stacks
Post-Snowden
Hardware + networks: multiple ecosystems
Digitization
Technology trendsTechnology trends
digital video
cloud wars
augmented reality
automation and artificial intelligence
Technology trendsTechnology trendssocial media triumphing
Technology ecosystemTechnology ecosystem
Design for mobile *first *
PCs getting crowded out
Mouse and keyboard declining
3d printing mainstreaming
3d tv dying
2. Tools for learning
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikecogh/15984700386/
The LMSUses•Copyright control (TEACH Act)•Content hosting (lead use)•Basic pedagogies •Safe space for student and instructor expression
The LMSFunctions• Hosts course materials (instructor’s, e-
reserves)• Class information• Discussion boards• Quizzes• Other optional functions
The LMSThe state of play •% with 1+ LMSes (Casey)•Blackboard dominates, barely•Open source options (Moodle)•Modern web version (Canvas)
The ePortfolio
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cogdog/163592587/
The ePortfolioAdvantages• Evidence of learning and growth• Metacognition through longitudinal reflection
• Deepens audience understanding of learner
• Don’t talk to me - go to AAEEBL!
Video
• Consumption
• Production
• Videoconference
Robotics• Students building• Career paths
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikecogh/22982166705/
Telepresence bots
Big data and data analytics Big data and data analytics
Improve student outcomes
Adaptive learning Integration
w/assessment
Uses of social media
•Student work•Faculty work•Staff development•Research
New learning spaces• Smart classrooms• Reconfigurable classes• Learner-centered “• The commons• http://learningspacetoolkit.org
3d printing in higher education
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cogdog/7729488378/
Reasons to do 3dvisualization• teaching• also research and creative work
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:3D_printed_Spinosaurus_skulls.jpg
Reasons to do 3dmaking stuff• Prototyping• Design thinking• Sheer creativity• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2MSXho_KlU
Save $$ in object purchasing and replacement
Which academic fields?• Classical studies and archaeology• History (ex: http://
digital.vpr.net/post/students-recreate-historic-buildings-3d-printers)
• Creative arts (i.e., fashion, studio art, theater)
• Engineering• Robotics
Which academic fields?• Math• Geography and geology• Life sciences, allied health fields• Media studies ("critical
making")• Business (study impact; new
opportunities)
Strategic questions• What type of institution? (research
vs engineering vs CC vs LAC)• Which disciplines show interest?• Is interest aimed at research or
teaching?• Will you partner with off-campus
interest and/or support?
Campus sites• Library• Makerspace (Abilene
Christian University, http://go.nmc.org/rema)
• 3d lab• Professor’s office
Campus sites• Departmental office• Multiple sites (Northeastern:
https://soundcloud.com/educause/cni-podcast-patrick-yott-on-3d-printing-services-at-northeastern-university-libraries)
• Other…?
Operational questions
• Who owns the printing ecosystem?
• Do you charge users? (intra-preneurial possibility)
3. Approaches
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikecogh/14160813606/
blended/flipped classroomblended/flipped classroom
Technologies: video, audio
Pedagogies: shift to discussion, other interactive learning forms
distance learning growsdistance learning grows
numbers keep building
pedagogies improve LACs experiment
MOOCsMOOCs
Credit for MOOCs STEM vs humanities Sustainability? pedagogical
exploration
The open revolutionThe open revolution
Open education Open access
scholarship Mandates (Trinity U
example)
MobileIn class?• Clickers pedagogy• Scribes• Response index• Variable use
Mobile
Out of class• Immense increase in access• Changed socialization• Media capture, use, sharing pedagogy
rise of the net.generations Greater outreach Collaborative pedagogy Constructivist “ Teach away from bad
habits
On to digital literacy-
2015
Selected principlesYes, technical skills are required.
Ensure a baseline:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/DigitalLiteracy/basiccurriculum.aspx
Selected principlesInformation literacy:
“a set of abilities requiring individuals to ‘recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.’”
-Association of College and Research Libraries
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ergonomic/3402981862/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikecogh/5968799566/
Selected principlesComputational thinking:
“a way of solving problems, designing systems, and understanding human behavior that draws on concepts fundamental to computer science. To flourish in today's world, computational thinking has to be a fundamental part of the way people think and understand the world. “
-Carnegie-Mellon University
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mrsdkrebs/16164384034/
Selected principlesComputational thinking
“Computational thinking means creating and making use of different levels of abstraction, to understand and solve problems more effectively.“
-Carnegie-Mellon University
Selected principlesComputational thinking
“means thinking algorithmically and with the ability to apply mathematical concepts such as induction to develop more efficient, fair, and secure solutions.”
Carnegie-Mellon University
Selected principlesAt least a glancing familiarity with coding
Selected principles
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/85997668/
Selected principlesActive, productive student work
“Education should not be about merely learning how to consume; education should be about becoming an active participant in the major communication functions of society. Just as we not only teach students to read, but we also teach them how to write, how to assemble their writings into forms others will want to read, how to speak publicly, etc., in a digital age we need to teach our students how to author and distribute digital works.”
-Howard Besser, http://tcla.gseis.ucla.edu/divide/politics/besser.html
At a different levelThe best digital literacy is storytelling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6yVCgoBn-I
At a different level• Integrati
ve• Creative• Voice
https://twitter.com/williams_war
Digital literacy is a futures practice
Digital literacy applies to non-digital domains
• Impacts non-digital information flows
• Alters spaces• Makes students - citizens -
harder to manage
Digital literacy is socially and politically insurgent
https://www.flickr.com/photos/77688862@N02/20014884218/
Digital literacy is socially and politically insurgent
• In the classroom• In the community• About policy
Gaming world
Gaming as part of mainstream Gaming as part of mainstream cultureculture
Median age of gamers shoots past 30
Industry size comparable to music
Impacts on hardware, software, interfaces, other industries
Large and growing diversity of platforms, topics, genres, niches, players
Games serious, public, and political
• Oiligarchy, Molle Industries• Jetset, Persuasive Games• The Great Shakeout, California• DimensionM, Tabula Digita
Classroom and coursesCurriculum contentDelivery mechanismCreating games
Peacemaker, Impact GamesRevolution (via Jason Mittell)
Example: Duolingo
•Joost Raessens and Jeffrey Goldstein, eds, Handbook of Computer Game Studies (MIT, 2005)•Frans Mayra, An Introduction to Game Studies (Sage, 2008)•Pat Harrigan and Noah Wardrip-Fruin, eds. Third Person: Authoring and Exploring Vast Narratives (MIT, 2009)
Game studies as academic Game studies as academic fieldfield
How is gaming used now?How is gaming used now?
Use games to impact society
Some impacts on campusesSome impacts on campuses
Changes in hardware, software
Part of undergraduate life Learning content, both
informal and formal Career paths
4. Next steps
• FLICKR PHOTO
The CIO POV1. Information Security 2.Optimizing Educational Technology
“In 2016, higher education IT organizations are divesting themselves of technologies that can be sourced elsewhere and of practices that have become inefficient and are reinvesting to develop the necessary capabilities and resources to use information technology to achieve competitive institutional differentiation in student success, affordability, and teaching and research excellence.”
•http://er.educause.edu/articles/2016/1/top-10-it-issues-2016
Selected challengesSelected challenges
Attracting skilled staffKeeping up w/changesDigital security threats growing
(ex: Rutgers)Changes in library role
Selected challengesSelected challenges
CostsAlways pilotStudent laborOpen sourceInter-institutional collaboration
http://bryanalexander.org
http://twitter.com/bryanalexanderhttp://twitter.com/bryanalexander