Leeds keynote

Delivering higher education in a digital ageHelen Beetham

RSC YH Conference 2011: Towards a new horizon

The Rosebowl, Leeds

The future is digital??

Towards a new horizon

Digital forms of communication and information will dominate

Individuals will be associated with a personal 'cloud' of information and networks (links to organisations will weaken)

Communication and information will be global in reach

Many if not most organisations will (aspire to) global reach

Most graduates will work in the knowledge economy

UK graduates will be in a competitive position

UK HE is about providing higher level skills for the global knowledge economy – mass participation up to 50% young people

Some assumptions...


Global reach vs local aspirations

geography is likely to continue to play a role in shaping the level of access that individuals and groups will have to digital networks...

people will still continue to use ‘place’ and physical location as a marker for identity, however ‘virtual’ their interactions...

Physical proximity is also important in creating cultures of innovation and development

New trends towards partnerships/franchises rather than mergers → a new 'localism' in educational provision?

Troubling the assumptions...


Knowledge economy as utopian future

Highly competitive R&D activities and knowledge work will continue to be needed, but the capacity for digital technologies to enable businesses to ‘offshore’ all forms of work to the lowest cost environment, to produce many products and services at ever decreasing cost and by ever fewer people, and to standardise and manage diverse workforces, leads to the suggestion that highly rewarded, creative and autonomous work is likely to be restricted over the coming two decades to ever smaller global elites.



UK Graduates will be competitively placed

A global mass market in unskilled labour is being quickly succeeded by a market in middle-class work... As supply increases, employers inevitably go to the cheapest source. ... Even teaching is not immune: last year a north London primary school hired mathematicians in India to provide one-to-one tutoring over the internet. Microsoft, Siemens, General Motors and Philips are among big firms that now do at least some of their research in China... Asia now produces more scientists and engineers than the EU and the US put together.

Education Guardian, 28.02.11



A degree will always be worth having

Students are paying more and more for the privilege (up to £9k pa)

More young people are deciding against traditional 3-yr degree

In the US, which introduced mass higher education long before Britain, the average graduate's purchasing power has barely risen in 30 years.

We shall see, in all probability, a permanent reduction in British living standards that can't be arrested by educational reform.

Education Guardian, 28.02.11



Digital forms of communication and information will dominate

Individuals will be associated with a personal 'cloud' of information and networks (links to organisations will weaken)

Communication and information will be global in reach

Intense competition for middle class jobs

More diverse career paths, 'portfolio' careers

Education for lifelong learning, continuous adaptation, 'resilience', diversity of HE routes and types of provision

Personal and professional identities increasingly bound up with technology access and use (→ new digital divide??)

Institutions poorer, more dependent on diverse student markets; students having more contractual relationship with institution??

What are we left with?


What are the challenges for learners?

Financial constraints/funding models

Student expectations

New govt priorities


Fitting learning around work and other responsibilities

Staying motivated and engaged ('is it worth it?')

Step-up to independent study, especially around:

information skills, critical information literacy use of technologies for learning (mobile vs located) plagiarism, originality and authority using feedback and understanding assessment requirements confidence and graduate identity

Need for consistency and clarity around access to information including course content use of technologies (personal and course-related) tutor skills and confidence with technology/teaching expectations about study practice

Challenges for learners


What technologies should I use?


What do I want my college/university to provide?


Three stepping stones into the future

1. Whole-curriculum transformation

www.jisc.ac.uk/curriculumdesignwww.jisc.ac.uk/curriculumdelivery

2. Open learning www.jisc.ac.uk/oer

3. Digital literacy caledonianacademy.net/spaces/LLiDA


http://www.jisc.ac.uk/curriculumdesign

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/curriculumdelivery

1. Transforming Curriculum Delivery: challenges addressed


1. Transforming Curriculum Delivery: challenges addressed

Changing student demographics and diverse modes of studye.g. using e-portfolios to evidence diverse skills and achievements; improving experience of feedback and assessment; online writing lab.

Building student learning communitiese.g. peer feedback; pre-induction mentoring; online CoPs; social networks

Employabilitye.g. supporting students on work placements; digital CPD; engaging employers in dialogue around a negotiated curriculum

Practising skills in authentic situationse.g. virtual patient, oil rig in Second Life, Atelier experience

Flexible/responsive curriculume.g. dynamic learning maps; learner-centred curriculum representations

Business processes and organisational efficienciese.g. improving efficiency and interoperability of information systems such as timetabling, enrolment, assignment handling, production of learning materials


Towards a more open(negotiated, flexible)

curriculum

1. Transforming Curriculum Delivery: technologies used


Springboard TV www.springboardtv.com


Creating an identity and branding has been a very powerful agent: learners now respond as professionals, working in a 'real life' production company. 88% of learners felt that being able to publish their work was a benefit, they saw it as a valuable motivational tool and said that it made them work harder and more effectively. 97% of learners valued the opportunities provided by the work experience.There is a significant increase in the attainment of Level 3 learners completing their programme. The percentage of students progressing to university has increased from 37% in 2009 to 77% in 2010. Springboard TV enabled us to reverse the decline in applications and enrolments, improve the engagement, retention, achievement and attainment of students in the media area. [It] has re-invigorated the department. Staff and students have embraced the changes it has offered. Senior management are engaged and are keen to develop the use of Springboard in other areas of the college.’

http://www.springboardtv.com/

2. Open Learning


2. Open Learning


Towards an expectation that content will be open= free, unattached to aninstitution, available...

2. Open Learning and UK OER


Open Educational Resources: “digitised materials offered freely and openly for educators, students and self-learners to use and reuse for teaching, learning and research” (OECD, 2007)

UK OER resources must be released under an open licence e.g. CC by/nc/sa that permits educational reuse and repurposing

Implied aspects of Open Educational Resources:RepurposableReusableAccessibleDesigned for learningOf repute (trustworthy, quality assured)...

2. UK OER programme aims


Release a significant body of high quality resources and collections

Effect a change in culture towards open practices of content development, production and management

Develop and support communities of practice including subject and special interest communities

Build – and then cascade – capacity and expertise

Explore alternatives to hosting and discoverability e.g. open repositories, community repositories, web 2.0.

Raise global profile of institutions and of UK education generally

2. Why is OER (potentially) a game-changer?


An alternative model for learning and accreditation (OER University)

Changed relationships between learners, teachers and institutions

Pressing the borders of the institution outwards (who are our students now?)

New models of content production and distribution – from produce-publish to share-repurpose?

Links with other 'open' agendas – open research, open institutions, open data, open source...?

Return on investment and publicly funded assets

Risks of a 'global curriculum' and 'cultural imperialism' by dominant, English-speaking global institutions

...

2. SPACE project www.space.fusedworks.com


3D interactive learning environment to support teaching and study of performing arts: all resources openly available

Co-development with learners (graphic design and models for library)

FE (6) and HE (9) institutions partnered with SSC

Community repository model along lines of HumBox, building on lessons that:

Release is part of a larger lifecycle of open content: ideally materialsare produced with open sharing in mind

Design of OERs is technically and educationally challenging when so little is known about users, their motivations and contexts

OER projects have greatest impact where institutions and communities are already collaborating on content

3. Digital Literacy


3. What demands does 'open' make on learners?


3. What demands does 'open' make on learners?


critical thinkingproblem solvingreflectionacademic writingnote-takingconcept mappingtime managementanalysis, synthesisevaluationcreativity, innovationself-directed learningcollaborative learning...

searching and retrievinganalysing, interpreting critiquingevaluatingmanaging resourcesnavigating info spacescontent creationediting, repurposingenriching resourcesreferencingsharing content...

ICT skillsweb skillssocial networkingusing CMCusing TELEusing digital devicesword processingusing databasesanalysis toolsassistive techpersonalisationinformed choice…

academic and learning

capabilities

information and media capabilities

technical capabilities

Learners' ICT skills are less advanced than educators and learners think (Nicholas et al. 2008, JISC 2008-09)

Characterisation of young people as 'digital natives' hides many contradictions in their experiences (Luckin et al. 2009)

Learners' engagement with digital media is complex and differentiated (Bennet et al 2008, Hargittai 2009).

Learners experience many difficulties transposing practices from social contexts into formal learning (Cranmer 2006)

Active knowledge building and sharing, e.g. writing wikis, tagging, reviewing, recommending, repurposing, are minority activities to which most learners are introduced by educators (Selwyn 2009).

Some aspects of learners' everyday practice with technology are at odds with practices valued in traditional academic teaching (Beetham 2009)

3. Against the 'digital natives' case


It's harder for learners(even) than we think

3. Developing digital literacy


EntitlementFoundational experiences without which individuals are significantly disadvantaged Ensuring all learners have functional access to core technologies, services and devices Developing core capabilities on which specialist/personal expertise can be grounded

Beetham and Sharpe 2010

access

skills

practices

attributes



Beetham and Sharpe 2010

access

skills

practices

attributes

EnhancementSpecialised, situated experiences which qualify an individual in particular practicesEnabling learners to choose, judge, personalise and integrate technologiesSupporting self-development and self-expressionEnabling learners to use ICT to achieve personal goals and ambitions

access

skills

practices

attributes

EnhancementSpecialised, situated experiences which qualify an individual in particular practicesEnabling learners to choose, judge, personalise and integrate technologiesSupporting self-development and self-expressionEnabling learners to use ICT to achieve personal goals and ambitions



Supporting learners in a digital age


10 extended case studies on the SLIDA wiki, e.g. Abingdon and Witney college:

7-section Digital and Learning Literacy Induction (DALLI) process with online materials, for all arriving students

3 hr mandatory e-learning development for all staff, linked to appraisal

New integrated learning space (LINK) for students and staff to work together: access to a range of technologies, e-learning champions, library infrastructure, access to student services, social areas and quiet areas.

Mentors offer students get 'just in time' help with research and writing skills

We wanted to test with the students…whether or not we were investing…money in the right places in relation to how they would use e-Learning because our perception may not be the same as theirs. Principal

What do learners really need?


What do learners really need?

Towards a new horizonWhat horizons do we aspire to for our colleges and for our learners?

Learning, living and working are understood to take place in a digital society: there is no separate space of learning which is 'digital'

Learners are blending their own learning environments and finding their own learning resources

There is an entitlement to access and basic skills of learning in a digital age, plus a recognition of diverse personal goals and needs

Literacies for learning are continually assessed and supported: the emphasis is on producing digitally capable lifelong learners

The focus is on what higher education uniquely offers in a digital age

Resources

www.springboardtv.com

space.fusedworks.com

SLIDA case studies including Abingdon and Witneyhttps://wiki.brookes.ac.uk/display/slidacases/Case+Studies

LLiDA best practice exemplars http://www.caledonianacademy.net/spaces/LLiDA/index.php?n=Main.AccessExamples

jiscdesignstudio.pbworks.com

UK OER: www.jisc.ac.uk/oer

Documents

Leeds keynote