Blind Monks and the Elephant - ICTs and Higher Education Futures

BLIND MONKS AND THE ELEPHANT

BLIND MONKS AND THE ELEPHANT

The shape of the emerging teaching and learning

environmentLaura Czerniewicz

14 October 2014

INTRODUCTION

PRINCIPLES OF TECHNOLOGY

• Division of labour• Specialisation• Economies of scale• Machines and ICTs

Adam Smith 1723 -1790

sirjohn.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/.../1400120OntarioRed.ppt

THE LANGUAGE OF TECHNOLOGY

Numerical representation

Modularity

Automation

Variability

Transcoding

New media objects exist as data

The different elements of new media exist independently

The logic of the computer influences how we understand & represent ourselves

New media objects exist in multiple versions

Manovich, L (2001) The Language of New Media

New media objects can be created & modified automatically

Teaching & learning interactionAssessment & certification

Content

TRADITIONALLY: A SINGLE PACKAGE

Time Space

DISAGGREGATION

Content

Teaching & learning interaction

Certification

Time Platform

DISAGGREGATION

Content

Teaching & learning interaction

Assessment & certification

Time Platform

ACCESS TO CONTENT

Legal

Digital

Analogue

Illegal

TextbooksSome

photocopying

E-TextbooksOpen

Education Resources

Photocopying

Pirate sitesFile sharing

DISAGGREGATION

Content

Teaching & learning interaction

Certification

Time Place

DISAGGREGATION

Content

Teaching & learning interaction

Certification

Time Platform

LEARNING PLATFORMS

Hill, P (6 Feb 2014) http://mfeldstein.com/resilient-higher-ed-lms-canvas/

http://www.edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2014/02/comparison-five-free-mooc-platforms-educators

Free content

Pay to access platform

CHANGES IN TEACHING & LEARNING

Content

Teaching & learning interaction

Certification

Time Place

On campus Remote

Internet supported

Fully online

F2F only

Form

s of

pro

visi

on

Location of students

Internet dependent

Online-intensive

Blended(mixed

mode): combines

F2F and online

DISAGGREGATION

Content

Teaching & learning interaction

Certification

Time Platform

CERTIFICATION: NON UNIVERSITY PROVIDERS

CERTIFICATION: NEW FORMSo Badges- micro, granular certificationo A form of formal(ised) recognition

• for informal learning processes• for chunks of

content• for competencies

CERTIFICATION: NEW FORMS & PROVIDERS

o “Degreed is a community of college students, professionals, and lifelong learners dedicated to advancing their education. When you join Degreed, you get tools to help you track, organize, share, and validate everything you learn. “

o Degreed – launched 2013

CERTIFICATION: NEW FORMS

CERTIFICATION: NEW FORMS

CERTIFICATION: NEW FORMS

£ 119Pearson Vue Test Centre

£ 24

CHANGING MONETISATION MODELS

TraditionalComplete package (fees)

Emergent models Individual elements

Fees Yes No

Content May be free/included in fees/paid for May be paid

Support Free/included in fees May be paid

Assessment Free/included in fees May be paid

Certification Free/included in fees Paid

Platform May be licensed or free (student does not pay)

May be licensed or free

MOOCS

On campus Remote

Internet supported

Fully online

F2F only

Form

s of

pro

visi

on

Location of students

Internet dependent

Online-intensive

Blended(mixed

mode): combines

F2F and online

MOOCs

Online course MOOCFees Cost to user No fees

Maybe certificates &/or support

Yes, as per all formal courses Entrance requirements

None

Limited. Capped by resources available for support &

assessmentScale

Thousands Savings due to limited support

Responsible for curriculum alignment, QA, support

Lecturer role Flexible role re curriculumLimited individual support

Largely proprietary, some openCopyright

Content may be proprietary or open, user generated content often © MOOC provider

Distance education providersProviders

Traditional residential research universities partnered with private companies

No, not usually Analytics Yes, one of the promises

Conventional Certification Non conventional

Aligned with the usual formal courses QA processes

Quality assurance As per non formal offerings

MOOCS DID NOT JUST APPEAR

Long historyo Open educationo Distance educationo Online educationo Continuing education

o But new business models

2012

MAPPING THE COURSE LANDSCAPE

conventional flexible

FORMAL

SEMI-FORMAL

NON-FORMAL

Lectures & tutorials Block release Online courses

Short courses Professional developmentcourses

Summer school

MOOCS AS A CATALYSTo To the acceptance and take up of

online open and distance learning by traditional universities

o New forms of certificationo New partnershipso New varieties of provision

TYPES OF MOOCSVarieties in the landscape

TeachingFocus

Categories of MOOCs

Showcase teaching and introduce topics with high-profile ‘rockstar’ presenters

CATEGORY 1: TEACHING FOCUS

o General interest high profile course o Showcases the institution by means of an

engaging subject or personality ledo Global interest o Matches a popular understanding of high profile

MOOCs o High production costs o High enrollment o Loose curriculum ties o May attract external funding

CATEGORY 1 EXAMPLES

http://edulearning2.blogspot.com/2014/05/statistics-for-2014-coursera.html

CATEGORY 1: EXAMPLES

Researchshowcase

Categories of MOOCs

Showcase research and special interest topics of interest to postgraduate level

o Showcase research or more specialised topics of interest

o Offered at postgraduate level and assume some background in the topic. Still geared towards general or leisure learning

o Likely to have global appealo Moderate/high production costso Medium/high enrollment o Loose curriculum ties

CATEGORY 5: RESEARCH SHOWCASE

CATEGORY 5: RESEARCH SHOWCASE

MOOC PROVIDERS

http://edutechnica.com/moocmap October 2013

PARTICIPANTS

http://globalhighered.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/courseramapoct2013.jpg

REPRESENTATION MATTERSo Shapes what is known and what can be

knowno Makes some knowledge visible and

legitimate and other invisible and illegitimateo Consolidates power through normalisationo Influences how knowledge is produced and

reproducedo Online representation augments, echoes and

refracts physical representation

MOOCS AS NEO-COLONIALISM

o “any device that enlarges one’s environment and makes the rest of the world one’s neighbours is an efficient mechanical missionary of civilisation and helps to save the world from insularity where barbarism hides”

Dolbear, an inventor of the telephone, quoted in Graham (2011)

Gatewayskills

Categories of MOOCs

Introduce fields and support students in undergraduate study

CATEGORY 2: GATEWAY SKILLS

o Provides foundational, bridging or enhancement skills for pre HE entry or during undergraduate pathways towards specialisation

o Local interest, either within the institution or at a country-wide setting

o Moderate production costs o Low enrollment o Close curriculum ties o May attract external funding

CATEGORY 2: GATEWAY SKILLS

Graduateliteracies

Categories of MOOCs

Develop skills and introduce topics for postgraduate study.

CATEGORY 3: GRADUATE LITERACIES

o Post-graduate level courses to support application or programmes of study

o Focussed on building postgraduate literacies

o Likely to be of local or national interesto Moderate production costs

Low enrollment o Close curriculum ties o May attract external funding

CATEGORY 3: GRADUATE LITERACIES

Professionalshowcase

Categories of MOOCs

Showcase professional careers for continuing education and

qualifications

CATEGORY 4: PROFESSIONAL FOCUSo Geared towards vocational skills development, re-

tooling and professional developmento Could be offered in conjunction with professional bodieso Likely to be of local interest, although some specialised

topics may be globally relevanto Moderate to high production costs |medium to high

enrollment o Close curriculum tieso May attract organisational fundingo High potential for pathway to credit or revenue

generation

PROFESSIONAL FOCUS: EXAMPLES

ioelondonblog.wordpress.com/2014/05/14/what-is-the-problem-for-which-moocs-are-the-solution/

http://www.afr.com/p/national/education/top_mooc_provider_edx_no_longer_FooMSmV3LdSQHYGKND4LoI

X-SERIES PROGRAMME

o Let’s compare

£2140.00 (38,252.00 ZAR)

X 3R114 756

R3000

Teachingshowcase

Researchshowcase Gateway

skills

Professionalshowcase Graduate

literacies

Categories of MOOCs

Showcase teaching and introduce topics with high-profile ‘rockstar’ presenters

Introduce fields and support students in undergraduate study

Develop skills and introduce topics for postgraduate study.

Showcase research and special interest topics of interest to postgraduate level

Showcase professional careers for continuing education and

qualifications

conventional flexible

FORMAL

SEMI-FORMAL

NON-FORMAL

Lectures

Short courses

Summer school

Blended courses Online courses

Professional developmentcourses

MOOC related variants

EMERGING MODELS FROM MOOCS

MOCMassive Online Course: formal course with “MOOC pedagogy”

Wrapped MOOCStudents in a course taking a MOOC with added local support and additional material

MOOCMassive Open Online Course

CourseFormal course with lectures and support.

EXAMPLE: WRAPPED MOOCSo UCT 1st semester

• Critical Thinking in Global Challengeshttps://www.coursera.org/course/criticalthinking

• Principles of Written English – Part 2https://www.edx.org/course/uc-berkeleyx/uc-berkeleyx-colwri2-2x-principles-1348

• Understanding Research: An Overview for Health Professionalshttps://www.coursera.org/course/researchforhealth

• Model Thinkinghttps://www.coursera.org/course/modelthinking

• Design and Interpretation of Clinical Trials• https://www.coursera.org/course/clintrials• Data Analysis and Statistical Inference• https://www.coursera.org/course/statistics• New Models of Business in Society 

https://www.coursera.org/course/bizsociety• The Data Scientist’s Toolbox • https://www.coursera.org/course/datascitoolbox• English Composition I: Achieving Expertise

https://www.coursera.org/course/composition• Getting and Cleaning Data 

https://www.coursera.org/course/getdata• Understanding Research Methods

EMERGING MODELS FROM MOOCS

Open Boundary courseCourse offered simultaneously as a formal and as a open course

MOCMassive Online Course: formal course with “MOOC pedagogy”

Wrapped MOOCStudents in a course taking a MOOC with added local support and additional material

MOOCMassive Open Online Course

CourseFormal course with lectures and support.

EXAMPLE: OPEN BOUNDARY COURSE

o The 1st MOOC (2008)

o 25 fee-paying students on campus

o 2 300 general public students who took the online class free of charge

EXAMPLE: OPEN BOUNDARY COURSE http://www.m

rowe.co.za/blog/2013/08/pht402-online-course-accreditation/ 3 August 2013

EMERGING MODELS FROM MOOCS

Open Boundary courseCourse offered simultaneously as a formal and as a open course.

SPOCSmall private online course

MOCMassive Online Course: formal course with “MOOC pedagogy”

Wrapped MOOCStudents in a course taking a MOOC with added local support and additional material

MOOCMassive Open Online Course

CourseFormal course with lectures and support.

EXAMPLE: VARIATIONS - SPOC

FORMAL SEMI-FORMAL NON-FORMAL

CONVENTIONAL

curriculum innovation

FORMS OF PROVISIONo Multiple forms of provision

conceptualised • Ad hoc• Up front• Within/ across levels

o Implications for coherence across provision types• Quality oversight in different places

PARALLEL OFFERINGSo Credibility and legitimacy of parallel

offeringso Rise of acceptance of emerging

forms of certificationo Quality control of new forms of

offerings and of certification

EMERGING PROVIDERSo Flexible providers

THE RISE OF THE ONLINEo The major shift is to growing interest

in online education• The rise of the online in the semi-formal

and informal arenas• The rise of the online in the formal arenas

Daniels, J 2012

o Online education is in the hand of the private sector

• “In the US the for-profit sector has a much higher proportion of the total online market (32%) than its share of the overall higher education market (7%).

• Seven of the 10 US institutions with the highest online enrolments are for-profits.

• For-profits seem better placed to expand online because they do not have to worry about resistance from academic staff, nor about exploiting their earlier investment in campus facilities.”

OUTSOURCINGIT departments may be skeptical about MOOCs, but colleges are forging a digital future by creating online programs. And they’re enlisting help: Nearly a third (29 percent) of respondents said their colleges were outsourcing online-program development to third-party providers. Those “enablers,” such as Pearson Embanet, offer marketing services and technology support in exchange for payment.

Over all, 43 percent of IT officers said they believe outsourcing “offers a viable instructional strategy for their institution’s online efforts,” but among those at private universities, 67 percent do. A third (34 percent) think outsourcing will provide a solid revenue strategy, but among those at private universities, 59 percent do.

http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/optimism-about-moocs-fades-in-campus-it-offices-survey-finds/54705 1 October 2014

SA ONLINE

http%3A%2F%2Fwww.unisa.ac.za%2Fcontents%2Fstudy2012%2Fdocs%2FmyStudies-Unisa-2014.pdf

THE IRON TRIANGLE IN THE POST TRADITIONAL LANDSCAPE

o The central challenge • Breaking the insidious link between quality

and exclusivity (John Daniel)• The hope of the

emerginglandscape

Cost

Quality

Access

ACCESS

GROWING THE PIE?o New forms of provision reaching

those who are not can not access traditional formal education?

o But concerns about keeping students within the system (US)

o Effect on global system & developing countries

http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/higher-ed-leaders-worry-most-about-declining-enrollment-survey-finds/86223 17 /9/14

THE GLOBAL MARKET PLACEo The developing

world as the new market to solve crises at northern universities

ACCESS: THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE

o Diversified offerings for different groups

o MOOCs reached more non-US students than any other form

• Students lost or gained?o Analysis of 875k students on 9

Wharton Business School MOOCs• Higher % of foreign born US

students• Higher % of unemployed

students• Higher % of US under-

represented minorities• Fewer women

MOOCs Won’t Replace Business Schools — They’ll Diversify ThemJune 3, 2014 http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/06/moocs-wont-replace-business-schools-theyll-diversify-them/

o Northern hegemony• Northern curriculum

Northern knowledgeo US students in

formal courses

WHEN IS ONLINE SUITABLE?o Surveyed 40 000 students in

nearly 500 000 courseso Findings

• …While all types of students in the study suffered decrements in performance in online courses, some struggled more than others to adapt: males, younger students, Black students, and students with lower grade point averages

Xu & Jaggar 2013 Adaptability to Online Learning: Differences Across Types of Students and Academic Subject Areas

ACCESS AND SUCCESSo Completion rates lowo Absolute numbers high

o MOOC students largely educated and working

o Suitable for professional and continuing education

o Change in completion as certification improves and becomes more credible?

DIGITAL LITERACIES“A consistent diagnosis is made in the literature of a potential lack of, or poor distribution of, the particular networking, reputational and learning skills that MOOC environments require for successful learning. Online autonomy, group formation and inclusion/exclusion feelings among learners, are a vital dynamic in MOOC learning, and are probably insufficiently understood. “

BIS 2013 Literature Review of Massive Open Online Courses and Other Forms of Online Distance Learning

COST

o Cost savingso New forms of revenue generation

COSTSo Typical ratio of

course production & presentation costs• Production- fixed cost• Tuition- recurring

costs

Tuition-Paying people to support learners

Generic student support

Weller 2013, The Cost of Supporthttp://nogoodreason.typepad.co.uk/no_good_reason/2013/

06/the-cost-of-support.html

TURNING TUITION INTO A FIXED COST

o Turning the tuition support costs partially or fully into fixed costs through:• Peer assessment • Machine marking• Outsourcing tuition costs• Adaptive learning, intelligent tutoring

systems, computer-based learning

OUTSOURCING TUITION

o We believe that embedded within the MOOC is a more focused technology, which we will call SuperText. This technology is characterized by:

• Content authored by a recognized expert and delivered primarily via short video segments.

• Chunking of content so that a specific instance of a course can be customized to particular learning objectives.

• Within an instance of a course, semi-synchronous pacing in which a batch of new content and assignments are released by a course administrator periodically (usually weekly). Between releases, students consume the content when and how they wish.

• Assessment that can be adapted to the learning objectives set by the course administrator.

• Students interact with a course administrator and with each other but not typically with the expert content author.

MOOCs Won’t Replace Business Schools — They’ll Diversify Them - Christensen, Alcorn and Emanuel - Harvard Business Review, 3 June 2014

o SuperText as the New Frontier• The technology combines the adaptive nature of office hours, the

charisma of the best educators, the convenience of “anywhere and anytime,” and economies of scale in production

MOOCs Won’t Replace Business Schools — They’ll Diversify Them - Christensen, Alcorn and Emanuel - Harvard Business Review, 3 June 2014

ISSUESo Changing roles of academic staff

• Divisions of labour- viable?• Casualisation of academic labour

o Students’ datao Business models determining

learning needso The holy grail

• Can the fundamentals of learning be met• Can disciplinary knowledge be taught?

ROLES

ETHICSo Big data & student rights

o Versions of courses lead to 2nd tier provision and income • QA through 1st tier credit courses• Widens access• Who are these courses for?

o Traditional formal provision for the elite

o Monetisation of different aspects

QUALITY

KNOWLEDGE ABOUT GOOD LEARNING

o Good learning requires mediationo We are more likely to get the learning outcomes

we want when the curriculum is aligned o Learning is more likely to happen when students

are actively engaged o Learning is more likely to be successful where the

teaching is cognizant of what students bring with them: prior knowledge, language, experience

o Learning involves some degree of transformation of self

Shay, S 2013Shay, S Good Learning: What we Know. Presentation at Heads of Department Workshop, University of Cape Town, April 2013

QUALITY

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“the course is amazingly, shockingly awful”http://www.angrymath.com/2012/09/udacity-statistics-101.html

STUDIES OF DUAL MODEo The complexity of distance learning in

comparison to face to face delivery – requiring much more advanced planning and integration of services and functions.

o Different ways of teaching and ways of working• the different way distance educators worked

compared to campus provision – in multi professional teams where ‘all are involved in this teaching and learning process’ not just the academics.

Lentell H 2013

o Is the research about learning design informing quality• in traditional • or post traditional education?

o Are current mechanisms of quality assurance adequate and appropriate?

QUALITY ASSURANCE OUTSOURCED

CONCLUSION

TENSIONSo Where are the risks in the emerging

landscape?o How can the tensions be managed

between• A coherent student experience• Flexibility and innovation• Inclusivity and experimentation

POLICIESo Need to map the policies which drive ,

shape and enable the post-traditional landscape• Within education• Beyond education policies (telecom,

privacy, IP etc.)o Consider

• Whose interests do existing policies serve?• Do existing policies adequately address the

emerging terrain?

o What role can policy usefully play • to enable required expertise (eg)

• Learning design• Digital literacies

• Content (eg OERs)• Re-alignment administrative systems• Oversight of public-private partnerships• Innovation and experimentation

o Blended learning will be the norm• Array of “delivery formats” across courses

and programmes• Within courses

o The shift as an opportunity • to re-examine the nature of excellent

learning and teaching• to explore possibilities and exploit new

affordances for an equity agenda

o As universities we need work together to find ways• to prioritise and firmly (re) assert access to

and contribution to knowledge production and dissemination as social and public goods into the very complex emergent landscape and into the discourses which shape it.

THANK YOUo Laura.Czerniewicz@uct.ac.za

@czernie

Acknowledgements to my excellent colleagues at CILT especially Andrew Deacon, Janet Small, Sukaina Walji

READINGo Czerniewicz, L; Deacon, A; Small, J and Walji, S (2014) Developing

world MOOCs: A curriculum view of the MOOC landscape, in Journal of Global Literacies, Technologies, and Emerging Pedagogies (JOGLTEP) Vol. 2, Issue 3, July 2014, Michigan State, available at http://joglep.com/files/7614/0622/4917/2._Developing_world_MOOCs.pdf

o Curation of MOOC resources: http://www.scoop.it/t/moocswatch