OLDaily

Presentation
The Future of Learning Technology: 10 Key Tools and Methods
Stephen Downes, Sept 21, 2022, Webinar, Online, via Zoom

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the education system in Canada and around the world received an unexpected shock as schools, colleges and universities closed and people began working and learning from home. As faculty, instructors, students, administrators, policy-makers and funders, we learned a lot. But what can we expect in the future? In this webinar, Contact North I Contact Nord Research Associate Stephen Downes discusses the 10 major educational technology tools, methods and developments that are expected to be more widely adopted within two to three years and will likely be mainstream by 2030.

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We need to deal with data privacy in our classrooms
Bonnie Stewart, University Affairs, 2022/09/21

"In the rapidly changing educational technology landscape," writes Bonnie Stewart, "I can't promise data safety." And this means that not only personal data but also student data becomes grist for the corporate data mill. Stewart argues that educators should push back. " We could use our collective voices and procurement power – on postsecondary campuses and in K-12 – to demand that educational technology platforms post clear, plain language, and pedagogically-focused data privacy assurances." But, she says, "This would take a culture shift." And that's the real challenge.

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Connection over content: A new era for education technology
Julia Freeland Fisher, Christensen Institute, 2022/09/21

The Christensen Institute has discovered, um, connectivism? "Alongside delivering content, a small minority of edtech companies offer students something different: deeper connections and new social networks. In my research, we have dubbed this species of tools 'edtech that connects.'" And I won't say I disageree with this: "edtech that connects has the potential to disrupt the social — not just academic — gaps that have long perpetuated opportunity gaps in our country. It can make a dent where affluent students remain at a particularly steep advantage today: access to social capital."

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Price and prize in the community of philosophical enquiry
Graeme Tiffany, British Educational Research Association, 2022/09/21

What I noticed here was the similarity between this article and the 'Community of Inquiry' model proposed by Archer, Anderson and Garrison. "The community of enquiry is a way of learning, a process, a social practice. It demands working in 'uncertainty-appreciative' ways, wherein communities determine their own ends." This approach, writes Graeme Tiffany, is "the very antithesis of instrumentalisation." That is, it is not about analytics, it's about relationships - or as the CoI authors would say, 'presence'.

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The future of diversity and inclusion training
Janet Ahn, Chief Learning Officer, 2022/09/21

"Traditional DEI efforts are failing," writes Janet Ahn. Instead, "If you're looking for a scientific solution to DEI, you must start with identity. If we are to persuade anyone to behave more inclusively, we must look for ways to help them feel good about themselves and protect their dignity. While it is about 'me' and my uniqueness, it is also about 'we' and where I fit in."

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