As a result of an extensive curriculum review a new multi-disciplinary degree programme in education and information studies was developed to uniquely facilitate educators’ capacity to be responsive to the demands
of a digitally connected world. Charles Sturt University’s Master of Education (Knowledge Networks and Digital Innovation) aims to develop agile leaders in new cultures of digital formal and informal learning. By examining key features and influences of global connectedness,
information organisation, communication and participatory cultures of learning, students are provided with the opportunity to reflect on their professional practice in a networked learning community, and to improve learning and teaching in digital environments.
Digital Learning Environments: A multidisciplinary focus on 21st century learning
1.
2. The Web at 25
Overall verdict:
The internet has been a plus for society and an
especially good thing for individual users
http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/02/27/the-web-at-25-in-the-u-s/
3. Digital Life in 2025 - the 2014 survey
http://www.elon.edu/e-web/imagining/surveys/2014_survey/default.xhtml
4. It is no longer far-fetched to envision a world
where all objects and devices are connected to
act in concert. NMC Horizon Report: 2014 K-12 Edition
creative commons licensed (BY-NC-SA) flickr photo by the waving cat: http://flickr.com/photos/thewavingcat/9510533164
5. We have a digital knowledge
ecosystem which demands a new
knowledge flow between content and connections.
creative commons licensed (BY-NC-SA) flickr photo by kassemmounhem: http://flickr.com/photos/122638947@N08/13889171653
6. REMIX
Technology, devices, data repositories,
information access & retrieval,
information sharing, networks and
communication.
7. “The current learning landscape is constantly changing in terms of what is
learned, the context in which learning takes place, and who is learning.”(Paas,
2011, p. 2)
The following aspects impact on the learner or his/her learning:
oEvolving needs of learners
oDeveloping knowledge building environments
oFocusing on personalisation
oEvolving spaces for learning
oEvolving learning devices or hardware
oEvolving pedagogy
Paas, F Van Merrienboer, J and Van Gog, T 2011, ‘Designing instruction for the contemporary learning landscape’, in K R Harris, S Graham
& T Urdan (eds.), APA Educational Psychology Handbook: Vol. 3. Application to Learning and
Teaching, Washington: American Psychological Association, pp. 335-357, viewed 14 May 2012, http://ro.uow.edu.au/edupapers/374/
8. “Information absorption is a
cultural and social process of
engaging with the constantly
changing world around us”. p47
Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of
constant change (Vol. 219). Lexington, KY: CreateSpace.
9. Thinking in networks!
• connect and collaborate with others beyond a
constrained physical environment.
• knowledge created created through media, networks,
connections and collaborations.
• think critically and evaluate processes and emerging
ideas, and the ability to evaluate the validity and value
of information accessed is essential.
Starkey, L. (2011). Evaluating learning in the 21st century: A digital age learning matrix. Technology, Pedagogy and
Education, 20(1), 19-39.
10. The digital age student who can
think critically, learn through
connections, create knowledge
and understand concepts should
be able to actively participate in
a digitally enhanced society.
11. Digital information
ecology
creative commons licensed (BY) flickr photo by Marc_Smith: http://flickr.com/photos/marc_smith/4311427445
12. More content, streams of data,
topic structures, (theoretically)
better quality - all of these in
online environments
require an equivalent shift in
our online capabilities.
13. Davies, A., Fidler, D., & Gorbis, M. (2011). Future work skills 2020.
http://www.iftf.org/our-work/global-landscape/work/future-work-skills-2020/
14. Evolving Learning Landscape
Current thinking about 21st century skills, and the learning
experiences that support their development, are essential
starting points for capacity building. A list of the workforce
skills presented by Davies, et al (2011, pp. 8-12) include:
• Sense-making
• Social intelligence
• Novel and adaptive thinking
• Cross-cultural competency
• Computational thinking
• New-media literacy
• Transdisciplinarity
• Design mindset
• Cognitive load management
• Virtual collaboration
http://www.iftf.org/our-work/global-landscape/work/future-work-skills-2020/
15. Mackey, T P and Jacobson, T E 2011, ‘Reframing information literacy as a metaliteracy’, College & Research
Libraries, vol. 72, no. 1, pp. 62–78.
Sustainable learning involves
a pedagogic fusion between
environments, tools, formats
and meta-literacy capabilities.
(Mackey & Jacobson 2011)
16. Redecker C, Leis M, Leendertse M, Punie Y, Gijsbers G, Kirschner P, Stoyanov S & Hoogerveld B 2011, The future of
learning: preparing for change, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, JRC European Commission.
Establish lifelong and
life-wide learning as the
central paradigm for the
future. (Redecker et al, 2011, p.10).
17. 2014 K-12 Horizon Report
Wicked challenge -
keep credentialed education relevant!
Significant challenges in technology adoption:
Creating authentic learning opportunities
Integrating personalised learning
Complex thinking and communication
Safety of student data
Competition from new models of education
Keeping formal education relevant
http://cdn.nmc.org/media/2014-nmc-horizon-report-k12-EN.pdf
18. 2014 Higher Ed Horizon Report
Wicked challenge -
keep credentialed education relevant!
Significant challenges in technology adoption:
Low digital fluency of faculty
Relative lack of rewards for teaching
Competition of new models of education
Scaling teaching innovations
Expanding access
Keeping education relevant
http://cdn.nmc.org/media/2014-nmc-horizon-report-he-EN-SC.pdf
19. Incorporating two disciplines:
information science and education
education informatics
Aquire, share, discuss, create, critique information
Collins, John W., and Sharon A. Weiner. 2010. Proposal for the creation of a subdiscipline: Education informatics. Teachers
College Record 112, no. 10: 2523–2536.
School of Informaton Studies: LEADING INFORMATION EDUCATION AND RESEARCH – EMPOWERING SOCIETY
20. Drawing from the information science discipline, Bawden (2008) provides the
key facets of digital literacy upon which the program is built:
• “Knowledge assembly,” building a “reliable information hoard”
from diverse sources;
• Retrieval skills, plus “critical thinking” for making informed
judgements about retrieved information, with wariness about the
validity and completeness of internet sources;
• Reading and understanding non-sequential and dynamic
material;
• Awareness of the value of traditional tools in conjunction with
networked media;
• Awareness of “people networks” as sources of advice and help;
• Using filters and agents to manage incoming information; and
• Being comfortable with publishing and communicating information
as well as accessing it.
Bawden, D. (2008). Chapter One: Origins and concepts of digital literacy. In Digital literacies: concepts, policies & practices
(pp. 17–32). Peter Lang Publishing, Inc.
School of Informaton Studies: LEADING INFORMATION EDUCATION AND RESEARCH – EMPOWERING SOCIETY
21. Respond to the the underlying
epistemological gap
• Knowledge-based models are implicitly more ‘top
down’
• Praxis based - more ‘bottom up’……
SCHOOL OF INFORMATION STUDIES : LEADING INFORMATION EDUCATION AND RESEARCH – EMPOWERING SOCIETY
22. Agile approaches to connected
learning
embrace change
welcome innovation
meet the challenges of our global connected future
creative commons licensed (BY) flickr photo by AlicePopkorn: http://flickr.com/photos/alicepopkorn/225039522
5
23. 21c Curriculum alignment = digital information ecology
creative commons licensed (BY-NC) flickr photo by Telstar Logistics: http://flickr.com/photos/telstar/4857942142
25. Master of Education
(Knowledge Networks
And Digital Innovation)
Commenced with 42 students
http://www.csu.edu.au/digital
SCHOOL OF INFORMATION STUDIES : LEADING INFORMATION EDUCATION AND RESEARCH – EMPOWERING SOCIETY
26. Master of Education
(Knowledge Networks and Digital Innovation)
• Focussing on innovative and emerging educational trends to develop
expertise in global and community networked knowledge environments.
• Become an agile leader in digital formal and informal learning, with
expertise in navigating diverse information pathways, creative learning
environments, and socially connected global networks.
This degree program offers professional development for those working or seeking employment as:
leaders in curriculum
innovation in digital environments
digital project managers
social media leaders
information services managers and technology integrators
leaders in e-learning
strategic leaders in digital policy and education developments.
SCHOOL OF INFORMATION STUDIES : LEADING INFORMATION EDUCATION AND RESEARCH – EMPOWERING SOCIETY
27. Master of Education
(Knowledge Networks and Digital Innovation)
Core Subjects:
INF530 Concepts and Practices for a Digital Age
INF537 Digital Futures Colloquium
Restricted Elective Subjects:
Students are required to successfully complete six (6) electives:
INF532 Knowledge Networking for Educators
ETL523 Digital Citizenship in Schools
ETL402 Literature in Education
INF533 Literature in Digital Environments
INF535 Information Flow and Advanced Search
INF536 Designing Spaces for Learning
INF541 Game Based Learning
INF506 Social Networking for Information Professionals
INF443 Digital Preservation
EER500 Introduction to Educational Research
ESC515 Classroom Technologies
Other Limited Entry subjects include:
ETL401 Introduction to Teacher Librarianship
ETL504 Teacher Librarian as Leader
School of Informaton Studies: LEADING INFORMATION EDUCATION AND RESEARCH – EMPOWERING SOCIETY
28. The evidence is that technologies and
social media platforms are driving an
unprecedented re-organisation of the
learning environment.
cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by Ward.: http://flickr.com/photos/wards/521247814/
School of Information Studies Faculty of Education
29. Redecker C, et al. (2011). The future of learning: preparing for change, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, JRC European Commission. p.12.
30. Blueprint for participatory learning
Knowing the trends in knowledge
construction and participatory culture.
Knowing how to leverage social media
and new media channels of
communication.
Using a diversity of content materials.
creative commons licensed (BY-SA) flickr photo by Atos International: http://flickr.com/photos/atosorigin/11116578645
31. Blueprint for participatory learning
An immediacy in interactions within the
cohort to improve learning and
understanding in the formation of
knowledge
Embedded in a multi-disciplinary ecology
creative commons licensed (BY-SA) flickr photo by Atos International: http://flickr.com/photos/atosorigin/11116578645
32. Connected learning is a real-world
activity. We are together - and alone!
creative commons licensed (BY) flickr photo by miss karen: http://flickr.com/photos/misbehave/2352753067
33. Seek Follow
cc licensed flickr photo by assbach: http://flickr.com/photos/assbach/253218488/
Gather
Explore
Cultivating scholarly inquisitive mindsets
34. • Peer critiquing
• User-generated content
• Collective aggregation
• Community formation
• Digital personas
• Digital Citizenship
adding interactivity and connectivity to assessments!
35. Microlearning: hungry for knowledge nuggets
Micro-learning ticks all the teaching boxes: bite-sized
nuggets of content are easy to digest, understand and
remember. Often mobile-friendly, visual and sharable,
the short bursts of information leave you sufficiently
satisfied and likely to come back for more.
At the BI Norwegian School of Business, through a number of pilot programmes, they have
been adapting fragmented content to mobile devices, finding that the right mix of mobile
learning makes courses more engaging and also helps part-time students stay up-to-date.
http://www.online-educa.com/OEB_Newsportal/microlearning-hungry-for-knowledge-nuggets/
38. The reflective journal is especially useful for assessing ILOs (intended
learning outcomes) in relation to the application of content knowledge,
professional judgment and reflection on past decisions and problem solving
with a view to improving them.
Biggs, J., & Tang, C. (2011). Teaching for quality learning at university. Open university press.
School of Informaton Studies: LEADING INFORMATION EDUCATION AND RESEARCH – EMPOWERING SOCIETY
39. Flipboard
Diigo
Youtube
Soundcloud
Google+
Facebook
Twitter
Flickr
Evernote
RSS
Google Docs
School of Informaton Studies: LEADING INFORMATION EDUCATION AND RESEARCH – EMPOWERING SOCIETY
40. Digital
flexibility
creative commons licensed (BY) flickr photo by mikebaird: http://flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/2678304391
School of Informaton Studies: LEADING INFORMATION EDUCATION AND RESEARCH – EMPOWERING SOCIETY
41. Scholarly book review .....
A quite wide opportunity for following your own interests (in the assessments)
Collection: INF530 Concept & Prac tices in a Digital Age
http://amzn.com/w/37FSRQBVI5C5W
42.
43. Multimodal essay .....
The collaborative nature of the subject was highlighted by the public sharing
via Twitter hashtag #INF530, and the bottom-up praxis was emphasised by a
willingness of students to post a link to their assessments, via their reflective
blog or relevant platform - even before the assessment was marked!
44.
45.
46. “I have experienced the participatory
culture that is at the foundation of 21st
century learning.”
“#INF530 has been invigorating, exciting, lots of hard work, overwhelming
at times, but above all fun. I have loved connecting with the cohort, it’s
been amazing. People have said to me “isn’t online study very impersonal
and isolating” but I couldn’t disagree more. I feel infinitely more connected
with my classmates than I ever did while studying in the traditional way.”
48. What they did!
Presenting at conferences
Promoting the program
Publishing professional papers
Writing proposals and reports for the workplace
Gaining promotions!
49. The creation of a multi-disciplinary program, built on
a digital information ecology and student-focussed
praxis, has created both a curriculum and learning
approach that has facilitated understanding and
knowledge construction in more dynamic ways,
connecting experiences, reflective practices and
online participatory experiences that epitomise a
‘new culture of learning’.
School of Informaton Studies: LEADING INFORMATION EDUCATION AND RESEARCH – EMPOWERING SOCIETY
The World Wide Web turns 25 on March 12, 2014. Wide-ranging impacts on everything from: the way people get, share, and create news; the way they take care of their health; the way they perform their jobs; the way they learn; the nature of their political activity; their interactions with government; the style and scope of their communications with friends and family; and the way they organize in communities. In a further 10 years In ten years, finding and sharing information through the Internet will be so ingrained in our lives that we'll take it for granted.
Researchers at Elon University and the Pew Internet Project canvassed technology innovators, entrepreneurs and analysts, digital professionals, and the highly engaged public, asking them to assess today's trends and imagine what may evolve. They were offered a series of questions and encouraged to elaborate in written responses.
The links lead to seven 2014 reports based on a survey fielded from late November 2013 through early January 2014.
Internet of Things (IoT) (sometimes call Web 3.)is an integrated part of Future Internet including existing and evolving Internet and network developments and could be conceptually defined as a dynamic global network infrastructure with self configuring capabilities based on standard and interoperable communication protocols where physical and virtual “things” have identities, physical attributes, and virtual personalities, use intelligent interfaces, and are seamlessly integrated into the information network.
Ceaseless inventory control would become ubiquitous.[9] A person's ability to interact with objects
BUT ITS MUCH MORE THAN THAT
Capabilities such as self-awareness, context awareness and inter-machine communication are considered a high priority for the IoT.
According to Gartner, there will be nearly 26 billion devices on the Internet of Things by 2020 Internet of Things Installed Base Will Grow to 26 Billion Units By 2020". http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2636073
Thomas and Brown (2011), ‘culture of learning’, explained how much the internet has changed the way we think about both technology and information. In this new culture of learning, information technology has become a participatory medium, giving rise to an environment that is constantly being changed and reshaped by the participation within information spaces. A major challenge for education is to enable and facilitate the generation of new knowledge via an appropriate information environment, to facilitate integration of new concepts within each person’s existing knowledge structure. This is described as an ‘information ecology’.
By creating curriculum and subject delivery which can be reshaped and reconstructed in a dynamic manner in response to changing environmental conditions or the personal professional needs of students, a digital information ecology provides the opportunity to work with information in the construction of knowledge in more dynamic ways, connecting learning experiences across the contexts of location, time, devices and platforms.
Reach and impact of new and emerging technology - how many ways have things changed?
“Information ecology examines the contexts of information behaviour by analogy with ecological habitats and niches, identifying behaviours in biological terms such as ‘foraging’ “(Bawden & Robinson, 2012. p.199).
In this context of adaptive and responsive co-construction of knowledge, we can facilitate a viable praxis in digital environments, influenced by concepts of rhizomatic learning. “Seen as a model for the construction of knowledge, rhizomatic processes hint at the interconnectedness of ideas as well as boundless exploration across many fronts from many different starting points” (Sharples, et al. 2012 p.33).
demands more than a ‘flipped classroom’ if we adopt a pedagogical stance to the co-construction of knowledge in digital environments.
This paper from the Institute of the Future provides an explanatory discussion of 10 skills for the future workforce, in response to the six drivers of change identified.
It is clear that we cannot know exactly how technology will continue to drive the changes that are impacting on the learning experiences of students, but that we must be prepared to provide an agile response to their needs. However, as educators we also know that the purpose of education is to prepare our students to become active participants in the workforce of the future. This provides us with another direction for framing our investigations of education in a digital world.
Global connectivity, smart machines, and new media are just some of the drivers reshaping how we think about work, what constitutes work, and the skills we will need to be productive contributors in the future. This report analyzes key drivers that will reshape the landscape of work and identifies key work skills needed in the next 10 years. It does not consider what will be the jobs of the future. Many studies have tried to predict specific job categories and labor requirements. Consistently over the years, however, it has been shown that such predictions are difficult and many of the past predictions have been proven wrong. Rather than focusing on future jobs, this report looks at future work skills—proficiencies and abilities required across different jobs and work settings. - See more at: http://www.iftf.org/our-work/global-landscape/work/future-work-skills-2020/#sthash.Ko83vgJQ.dpuf
Collaboration. Professional relationships will increasingly be characterised by an open knowledge exchange, not only between colleagues and peers with similar professional profiles and learning needs, but also between older and younger, experienced and inexperienced workers.
To determine how education and training policy can adequately prepare learners for life in the future society, there is a need to envisage which competences will be relevant and how these will be acquired in 2020-2030. This study aims to identify, understand and map how learning strategies and trajectories are expected to change, given current trends, thus creating a descriptive vision of the future.
Rethinking the roles of teachers. Increasing hybrid learning designs. Rethinking how schools work.
Leadership implications are common to all the challenges described in this section, but two
will require visionary leadership. The first is considered by the expert panel as a crucial need to incorporate
more complex thinking and communication in learning experiences — skills that are vital for success in college and the workforce.
The second opportunity for extraordinary leadership was deemed a wicked challenge by the expert panel. Schools are trying to understand how to keep formal education relevant to meet the needs of a rapidly evolving workforce and global society
Rethinking the roles of teachers. Increasing hybrid learning designs. Rethinking how schools work.
Leadership implications are common to all the challenges described in this section, but two
will require visionary leadership. The first is considered by the expert panel as a crucial need to incorporate
more complex thinking and communication in learning experiences — skills that are vital for success in college and the workforce.
The second opportunity for extraordinary leadership was deemed a wicked challenge by the expert panel. Schools are trying to understand how to keep formal education relevant to meet the needs of a rapidly evolving workforce and global society
Educational informatics systems attempt to combine the best of both worlds by enabling pedagogically mediated access to the vast information universe available via the Web, fusing standards and techniques relating to metadata, ontologies and semantic web-based reasoning approaches. Key conceptual, pedagogical and methodological issues
This digital information ecology demands a new knowledge flow between content and digital connections. Now the learning environment is augmented by the available range of pervasive, immersive, information and communication rich environments. Think of it as a global information ecosystem with nodes of socially connected mobile devices where interaction is key, and where mobile devices are providing visual, text, and sound connections to in evolving conversations.
demands more than a ‘flipped classroom’ if we adopt a pedagogical stance to the co-construction of knowledge in digital environments
The rate of technology change is accelerating as is a teacher’s responsibility for facilitating learning in current and emerging digital environments.
Curriculum innovation depends on integration with digital and multimodal approaches to learning.
Curriculum innovation depends on adopting a teaching and learning approach that is flexible, student-centred, and incorporates a range of tools and devices for digital connectivity.
Evidence-based practice needs to drive the decision-making cycle.
Why doesn’t everyone understand our focus?
nature and scope of knowledge
nature and scope of knowledge
Our interactive knowledge environments are simple, complex and widely diverse. The Digital Dead Sea Scrolls from the Israel Museum http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/ demonstrates how we can connect to our knowledge and cultural past with the tools of the future. Johann Gutenberg’s Bible, the first real book to be printed using the technique of printing which Gutenberg invented in the 1450s is available online from the British Library http://www.bl.uk/treasures/gutenberg/homepage.html. Many other Treasures in Full of rare historic works are available from the British Library. The World Digital Library (WDL) makes available, in multilingual format, significant primary materials from countries and cultures around the world.
Information can be sought, stumbled upon, fetched, found, mashed! In such a context we need to become very savvy in guiding our students, or providing entry points to begin the engagement with information and knowledge sources.
Cultivating scholarly inquisitive mindsets. Beyond knowing facts. The phrase implies a rich learning experience for students that allows them to really dig into a subject and understand it in a way that requires more than just memorizing facts.
The internet has simply changed the way we think of information and technology. Now, all our students are born into a digital era that is constantly changing their literacy and information encounters and the ways they can learn. Participative new media and technology tools are actually altering the shape and experience of learning, and are creating a need for new skills, new tools and new forms of literacy, information exchange and knowledge networking .