Pass the SoLT

Here is a link to a brief article in the latest issue of Educause Quarterly about the use of social booking tools for learning and teaching. Ruffini (2011) provides a comparison of the main features and distinctions between conventional web browsers, Diigo and Delicious (I assume before changes made by the new owners to Delicious and week's backlash to them) and goes on to discuss how Diigo can be used to enhance teaching and learning.

The paper walks you through the different features and illustrates how Diigo can be used to foster research-sharing and student collaboration in ways not possible through more conventional technologies. I personally find Diigo one of the more useful apps on my iPad as it supports thinking and knowledge creation for mobile learners. It offers a practical example of the value and potential of cloud computing.

At the end of July, I presented a discussion paper at the joint University Council/Senior Leadership Team retreat. My brief was to look over the technology horizon and consider the implications for Massey University.

In preparing the paper, I drew on a number of seminal reports, including the Australia and New Zealand edition of the Horizon Report. I was also grateful for the assistance received from two groups of staff: (i) an expert group with strong interests in the use of new technologies in higher education, and (ii) recently formed Think Tank of Massey teaching award winners (TE@M).

The paper had two parts. Part one provided a brief review of progress on implementing Stream (Moodle) at Massey and described a number of forthcoming initiatives. To keep the paper manageable, the second part identified five major technology developments on the horizon with important implications for Massey. The five major trends are summarised below:

• Open Educational Resources - a new paradigm of open content is emerging (e.g., Wikieducator) which may erode the status and value of traditional study materials.

• Personal Learning Environments - universities have embraced Learning Management Systems (LMS) but a major gap exists between institutional spaces and online social places.

• Mobile Learning – although campuses are awash with mobile technologies they remain hidden in students’ pockets or reinforce conservative and regressive pedagogies.

• eBook Readers – a dynamic market of new digital reading technology is rapidly emerging with potential to transform the way students receive and interact with learning resources.

• Cloud Computing and New Cloudscapes – using cloud-computing efforts are underway to build systems that adapt to the learner providing ‘just in time’, ‘just enough’, ‘just in case’ and ‘just for me’ learning.

The list of major trends is not exhaustive but they collectively pose a number of critical challenges. One such challenge is managing the tension between supporting innovations in technology-enhanced learning at the same time as expecting staff to improve their research productivity.

After describing a number of additional challenges, I concluded by identifying three enduring principles: (i) the fluid nature of the technology landscape, (ii) there is no single super-technology that has all the answers, and (iii) the need to maintain focus on the end user, especially your learners’ needs and what you want them to learn—however unpopular that stance may become.

My central thesis and the key message for the SLT/Council was that a world-class centre of tertiary learning requires great people and great technology. This point acknowledges that the real value of technology is highly dependent on people and the instructional context. In this regard, we need to ask some of the following questions:

• Does our technology support the type of pedagogy and curriculum we want to promote?
• What pedagogical assumptions underpin the technology?
• What conditions are required for technology to augment an exceptional and distinctive learning experience—for all students?
• How easy is it for staff and students to use? Will staff be able to innovate more effectively? Is it scaleable and cost effective?
• Does it make us more responsive to our students?
• Does the technology allow us to grow? Are we able to achieve core functions more effectively?

Such questions recognise that universities will stand out for their quality of blended learning and distance education not because of the technology they have available, but the way they use it. Importantly, there are multiple uses of etools and Sfard (1998) shows no single pedagogy or ‘one size fits all’ model of learning exists. The key thing is to engage staff in serious and ongoing ‘quality conversations’ about the best learning designs and delivery blends for specific courses and programmes.

Finally, any prediction of the future requires a word of caution. The lesson from the past is that we should expect the unexpected and yet to be invented. When it comes to technology there are many forks, twists and potentially blind alleys.