OLDaily

Emergency online learning and inequity: developed countries
Tony Bates, Online learning and distance education resources, 2020/04/21

Tony Bates writes that many people have been writing that the sudden shift to online learning has disadvantaged a number of underserved populations. The use of technology, he says, "can easily increase existing inequalities, and this is a real danger of just moving everything online without considering the full implications." Agreed. But the move online was the right one, because completely shutting down all education would have been irresponsible. However, he says, "Institutions and school boards need to develop back-up strategies for students who will have difficulties, either because of where they live or because they are in at risk groups for online learning." Again, agreed. It would have been nice had these back-up strategies been in place long before now, and provision made to ensure everyone in society benefits from education and technology, but I for one applaud our community's newly-renewed concern for the poor, the remote, the disconnected, and the disadvantaged.

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Coursera White Paper Details the Pedagogy Underlying Guided Projects on Coursera
Adam Hodges, Coursera Blog, 2020/04/21

This post introduces a new Coursera product and white paper called Guided Projects on Coursera Facilitate Hands-on Acquisition of Skills. The product is based on a split-screen design, where an expert demonstrates how to do something on one side, and the student tries to do the same on the other side. The white paper explains the pedagogy behind the model; it gives us an alphabet soup history of learning theorists until it finally settles on cognitive load theory and the use of 'worked examples' in direct instruction. There's really no other place Coursera could have landed; they were never going to be able to embrace constructivist or connectivist methods. And I think they'll find their results are similar to what we see with, say, DuoLingo - you can get through the basics, but progress slows and stops once memorization of technique ceases to be sufficient.

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It’s Time To Learn
Scott Berkun, 2020/04/21

This is a response to the Marc Andreesen article I cited here yesterday. "I actually agree that education in America is in a bad place but we’re in a crisis. And even if we weren’t this isn’t a problem of building. It’s a problem of leadership, policy and bureaucracy... It’s a really hard and long term problem that is rarely solved by budgets and technology alone." I would also link to Andrew Yang but it's behind a paywall, so I'll just quote him here: "our biggest problems generally don't have market-based solutions and the true solutions often aren't aligned with profit maximizing activities the way they are currently defined." (Source). This is a problem I've run up against my entire career: you can't get companies to support projects that don't improve their bottom live, even if the project produces a broad social benefit.

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Jaws and the online pivot
Martin Weller, The Ed Techie, 2020/04/21

Martin Weller uses the analogy of Jaws to argue that the current crisis is creating a scenario where only two of an uneasily balanced trio of students, vendors and educators can emerge. In fact, of course, all three may feel the effects - there may be fewer students, educational institutions may collapse, and some vendors may be hurt. But yeah, there may be a point to this. In one scenario, educators "rush to vendors to create online courses." In another, "vendors and learners engage in a form of deprofessionalised, unbundled education market." And in the third, "educators and learners exist in a higher education system which after the pandemic and its reimagining of socialist intervention is based around education as a social and public good. How do we decide? Who best ensures access? Who best ensures equity and access? Who most supports quality?

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Is Edtech the problem or the solution?
Jodie Lopez, lovEdtech, 2020/04/21

After noting the huge increase in ed tech use starting in March, Jodie Lopez looks at the gap that exists between ed tech companies and their users, a gaps she says exists becaiuse (quoted):

1. Edtechs tend to be started by one of two types of people: tech people with no real education background past their own school days; and teachers/ex teachers who have great ideas for the classroom but very little business acumen or experience.
2. In 2010 all funding from the DfE was pulled which was backing a lot of edtech initiatives. Crucially this money was backing the time and money schools had to train staff and make tech any kind of priority.
3. Schools and teachers tend to distrust edtech as they fear the "snake oil" element of business.

This is as good a summary of the gap as any, I think.

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