Comments on: Some Ways Universities Will Change Over Ten Years http://www.masmithers.com/2009/08/03/some-ways-universities-will-change-over-ten-years/ Learning and Educational Technology in Higher Education Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:32:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Karly http://www.masmithers.com/2009/08/03/some-ways-universities-will-change-over-ten-years/comment-page-1/#comment-1155 Karly Wed, 23 Feb 2011 21:20:18 +0000 http://www.masmithers.com/?p=83#comment-1155 Hi Mark I am interested to hear your view on what this means for printed materials used for teaching and learning? Will there ever come a time where the demand (or need) for printed course material etc will no longer exist? Hi Mark

I am interested to hear your view on what this means for printed materials used for teaching and learning? Will there ever come a time where the demand (or need) for printed course material etc will no longer exist?

]]> By: Matt Crosslin http://www.masmithers.com/2009/08/03/some-ways-universities-will-change-over-ten-years/comment-page-1/#comment-57 Matt Crosslin Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:34:53 +0000 http://www.masmithers.com/?p=83#comment-57 I remember about 10 years ago there were predictions that every major college in America would have a larger number of courses offered through America Online. My, how things change. We've been considering assessment in the LMS at EduGeek Journal. We're trying to come up with a new vision for the LMS, which you can read all about on the blog if you haven't already. But, the big idea is to make it so that the LMS is smaller and flexible enough to move with educational trends, rather than react to them after it is too late. I think aggregation is the key to moving forward with assessment - have the students do their projects where they choose, and then aggregate that back into a grading area. I remember about 10 years ago there were predictions that every major college in America would have a larger number of courses offered through America Online. My, how things change.

We’ve been considering assessment in the LMS at EduGeek Journal. We’re trying to come up with a new vision for the LMS, which you can read all about on the blog if you haven’t already. But, the big idea is to make it so that the LMS is smaller and flexible enough to move with educational trends, rather than react to them after it is too late. I think aggregation is the key to moving forward with assessment – have the students do their projects where they choose, and then aggregate that back into a grading area.

]]> By: Mark Smithers http://www.masmithers.com/2009/08/03/some-ways-universities-will-change-over-ten-years/comment-page-1/#comment-40 Mark Smithers Sun, 30 Aug 2009 04:10:05 +0000 http://www.masmithers.com/?p=83#comment-40 Hi Mark, Thanks for taking the time to comment on the use of ePortfolios. It still an area that I find difficult to define my thoughts about although I am coming to be of the opinion universities should not be in the business of running eportfolios and that in doing so they are attempting to maintain an institution centric model of learning that is rapidly changing in this era of personal learning networks and social learning. We'll see how it goes :-) Cheers Mark Hi Mark,
Thanks for taking the time to comment on the use of ePortfolios. It still an area that I find difficult to define my thoughts about although I am coming to be of the opinion universities should not be in the business of running eportfolios and that in doing so they are attempting to maintain an institution centric model of learning that is rapidly changing in this era of personal learning networks and social learning. We’ll see how it goes :-)
Cheers

Mark

]]> By: Mark Drechsler http://www.masmithers.com/2009/08/03/some-ways-universities-will-change-over-ten-years/comment-page-1/#comment-39 Mark Drechsler Mon, 24 Aug 2009 02:19:52 +0000 http://www.masmithers.com/?p=83#comment-39 Hi Mark, Thanks for the thouht provoking post. Just to throw my two cents in from a vendor's point of view, one of the shifts I've seen in the last twelve months has been the increasing interest in ePortfolios, and the quetions being raised about ePortfolios being something that exist as an ongoing service for alumni. One Uni has gone one step further and removed themselves from the loop almost altogether, saying to students that they need to set up an ePortfolio separate to te Uni hosted environment and use that as a part of their learning environment. Of course this is still talking about a 'formal' ePortfolio environment rather than the unstructured ePortfolios of work learners (me included) keep all over the place, but it does seem like a step in the direction you've indicated in terms of open contnt - even if the content is being created by the learners themselves :) Look forward to reading the next instalment, Mark. Hi Mark,

Thanks for the thouht provoking post. Just to throw my two cents in from a vendor’s point of view, one of the shifts I’ve seen in the last twelve months has been the increasing interest in ePortfolios, and the quetions being raised about ePortfolios being something that exist as an ongoing service for alumni. One Uni has gone one step further and removed themselves from the loop almost altogether, saying to students that they need to set up an ePortfolio separate to te Uni hosted environment and use that as a part of their learning environment. Of course this is still talking about a ‘formal’ ePortfolio environment rather than the unstructured ePortfolios of work learners (me included) keep all over the place, but it does seem like a step in the direction you’ve indicated in terms of open contnt – even if the content is being created by the learners themselves :)

Look forward to reading the next instalment,

Mark.

]]> By: Mark Smithers http://www.masmithers.com/2009/08/03/some-ways-universities-will-change-over-ten-years/comment-page-1/#comment-31 Mark Smithers Sun, 09 Aug 2009 06:46:41 +0000 http://www.masmithers.com/?p=83#comment-31 <a href="#comment-29" rel="nofollow">@Howard </a> Thanks for the comments Howard. <br /> I think there is a movement at the moment towards more 'authentic assessment' but like many such movements I do not see it extending away from the educationalists to main stream academic staff for whom assessment will remain a hurdle that the students have to pass. I have to say I was staggered by my experience at one university where what were known as 'hurdle assessments' where actually encouraged. These activities contributed nothing to the summative assessment of the student but had to be passed in order to complete the unit of study. The actual summative assessment was focused largely on essay writing even though it was a highly vocational course. Getting the academic staff to think in a different was was very challenging. <br /> I agree with your thoughts on life long learning. I've been thinking today about how that might happen in future. For the professions it may be the accrediting bodies that do that. Not sure about the arts and humanities. @Howard
Thanks for the comments Howard.

I think there is a movement at the moment towards more ‘authentic assessment’ but like many such movements I do not see it extending away from the educationalists to main stream academic staff for whom assessment will remain a hurdle that the students have to pass. I have to say I was staggered by my experience at one university where what were known as ‘hurdle assessments’ where actually encouraged. These activities contributed nothing to the summative assessment of the student but had to be passed in order to complete the unit of study. The actual summative assessment was focused largely on essay writing even though it was a highly vocational course. Getting the academic staff to think in a different was was very challenging.

I agree with your thoughts on life long learning. I’ve been thinking today about how that might happen in future. For the professions it may be the accrediting bodies that do that. Not sure about the arts and humanities.

]]> By: New Players in Higher Education – Challenges for Universities | Mark Smithers http://www.masmithers.com/2009/08/03/some-ways-universities-will-change-over-ten-years/comment-page-1/#comment-30 New Players in Higher Education – Challenges for Universities | Mark Smithers Sun, 09 Aug 2009 03:48:37 +0000 http://www.masmithers.com/?p=83#comment-30 [...] few days ago I wrote a post about some the future challenges facing higher education over the next ten years. In that post I covered some of my initial thoughts about the challenges of open content and that I [...] [...] few days ago I wrote a post about some the future challenges facing higher education over the next ten years. In that post I covered some of my initial thoughts about the challenges of open content and that I [...]

]]> By: Howard http://www.masmithers.com/2009/08/03/some-ways-universities-will-change-over-ten-years/comment-page-1/#comment-29 Howard Fri, 07 Aug 2009 17:01:58 +0000 http://www.masmithers.com/?p=83#comment-29 Mark; Thanks for your thought provoking post Your perspective on Open Source Content are interesting, new to me, and I'll be thinking about for a while. I agree with David Jones who blogged about faculty resistance on this, but I do believe students will appreciate more and better content at no or low cost and may be the primary drivers. I also agree with Colin about the possibility and the benefits of a move toward relationships over content in teaching. I have been thinking (and blogging) on the subject of boundary crossing especially regarding time. I believe that students (of all stripes) see assessment as hoop jumping, from the 101 courses quiz to the dissertation defense. What might catch peoples attention more are post-graduate assessments that show real world success and . . . could be facilitated by pedagogical relationships (possibly facilitated through social media type tools) that extend the university resources to students well past the date of graduation. This would require different pedagogical forms and I'm not sure what that would be, but I bet it would be a collaboration between pedagogy and technology. While this might seem most relevant to vocational oriented courses, I think that even the liberal arts might be able to rise to such a challenge. I also believe that this is part of serious lifelong learning, which today is little more than a slogan. The baccalaureate degree is rooted to a time when the entire knowledge of a discipline could be conveyed in 4 years. Learning needs have changed since that time, much more so than pedagogy. Mark;
Thanks for your thought provoking post
Your perspective on Open Source Content are interesting, new to me, and I’ll be thinking about for a while. I agree with David Jones who blogged about faculty resistance on this, but I do believe students will appreciate more and better content at no or low cost and may be the primary drivers. I also agree with Colin about the possibility and the benefits of a move toward relationships over content in teaching.
I have been thinking (and blogging) on the subject of boundary crossing especially regarding time. I believe that students (of all stripes) see assessment as hoop jumping, from the 101 courses quiz to the dissertation defense. What might catch peoples attention more are post-graduate assessments that show real world success and . . . could be facilitated by pedagogical relationships (possibly facilitated through social media type tools) that extend the university resources to students well past the date of graduation. This would require different pedagogical forms and I’m not sure what that would be, but I bet it would be a collaboration between pedagogy and technology. While this might seem most relevant to vocational oriented courses, I think that even the liberal arts might be able to rise to such a challenge. I also believe that this is part of serious lifelong learning, which today is little more than a slogan. The baccalaureate degree is rooted to a time when the entire knowledge of a discipline could be conveyed in 4 years. Learning needs have changed since that time, much more so than pedagogy.

]]> By: Mark Smithers http://www.masmithers.com/2009/08/03/some-ways-universities-will-change-over-ten-years/comment-page-1/#comment-25 Mark Smithers Tue, 04 Aug 2009 23:42:29 +0000 http://www.masmithers.com/?p=83#comment-25 <a href="#comment-23" rel="nofollow">@Colin </a> Thanks for the comments Colin. I agree that undoubtedly there is and will be a place for high quality interaction between learners and academic facilitators (I won't use the word teachers in this situation) at universities. Having said that, I don't think that this will necessarily be the only way in which the capabilities of students are recognised. There is so much learning happening all over the place that it seems a bit presumtious of universities to think that it can only happen within the confines of their courses or programs. Why shouldn't I be able to provide evidence of my capability to an assessing institution in order to be credentialled regardless of whether I have attended a course or program with that institution? That is, of course, assuming that the notion of a degree qualification continues to be the measure by which capability is recognised. Who is to say that other measures may not arise in future? I was mulling on the fact that I have no educational qualifications and no IT qualifications and yet I am in a reasonably senior position supporting educational technology at one of the largest universities in Australia. A friend of mine is the IT manager for a large organisation and his degree is in Aquaculture. So some other measures of capability are already at work. I have some more thoughts on this but I'll leave them for another post. @Colin
Thanks for the comments Colin.

I agree that undoubtedly there is and will be a place for high quality interaction between learners and academic facilitators (I won’t use the word teachers in this situation) at universities.

Having said that, I don’t think that this will necessarily be the only way in which the capabilities of students are recognised. There is so much learning happening all over the place that it seems a bit presumtious of universities to think that it can only happen within the confines of their courses or programs.

Why shouldn’t I be able to provide evidence of my capability to an assessing institution in order to be credentialled regardless of whether I have attended a course or program with that institution?

That is, of course, assuming that the notion of a degree qualification continues to be the measure by which capability is recognised. Who is to say that other measures may not arise in future?

I was mulling on the fact that I have no educational qualifications and no IT qualifications and yet I am in a reasonably senior position supporting educational technology at one of the largest universities in Australia. A friend of mine is the IT manager for a large organisation and his degree is in Aquaculture. So some other measures of capability are already at work.

I have some more thoughts on this but I’ll leave them for another post.

]]> By: Colin http://www.masmithers.com/2009/08/03/some-ways-universities-will-change-over-ten-years/comment-page-1/#comment-23 Colin Tue, 04 Aug 2009 08:51:53 +0000 http://www.masmithers.com/?p=83#comment-23 Thanks Mark, enjoyed your post, and that it started me thinking about this whole education thing. The idea of open content is something we all need to come to grips with, the sooner the better (I'm not going to address assessment here). Information is out there and while some contribute new knowledge to canon (via a commercial means), there is more than enough that is freely available. Many more people blogging about their research, online journals, and the ubiquitous Wikipedia. So, while we can make judgements about the quality of material used in university courses, I think there's another factor that needs to be acknowledged. So, if we agree that (quality) content is available (and fairly freely), what's left? Doesn't it come down to the relationship between teacher & learner (not that I'm all that comfortable with making distinctions - we're all learning) and how learning (or awakening) can be facilitated? I believe that capital (or competitive edge, if that's what you need) will be in how well you can engage people and develop their interest in learning. It's about the process and the tools you use to approach and examine the content/material, this leads to an experience (& hopefully a good one), and I reckon that's what students will be looking for. Maybe this is what you mean by Quality of Teaching, so looking forward to more of your ideas on that. Thanks Mark, enjoyed your post, and that it started me thinking about this whole education thing.

The idea of open content is something we all need to come to grips with, the sooner the better (I’m not going to address assessment here). Information is out there and while some contribute new knowledge to canon (via a commercial means), there is more than enough that is freely available. Many more people blogging about their research, online journals, and the ubiquitous Wikipedia. So, while we can make judgements about the quality of material used in university courses, I think there’s another factor that needs to be acknowledged.

So, if we agree that (quality) content is available (and fairly freely), what’s left? Doesn’t it come down to the relationship between teacher & learner (not that I’m all that comfortable with making distinctions – we’re all learning) and how learning (or awakening) can be facilitated? I believe that capital (or competitive edge, if that’s what you need) will be in how well you can engage people and develop their interest in learning. It’s about the process and the tools you use to approach and examine the content/material, this leads to an experience (& hopefully a good one), and I reckon that’s what students will be looking for. Maybe this is what you mean by Quality of Teaching, so looking forward to more of your ideas on that.

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