Innovation in Action: New Learning Environments for the 21st Century

Dr. Julie K. Little

EDUCAUSE

E-Learning Excellence Forum • 3 February 2010

EDUCAUSEAdvance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technologywww.educause.edu

LearnersLearning Principles & PracticesLearning Technologies

Foci

EDUCAUSE Learning InitiativeAdvance learning through IT innovationwww.educause.edu/eli

EDUCAUSE Top Teaching and Learning Challenges, 2009

Creating learning environments that promote active learning, critical thinking, collaborative learning, and knowledge creation.  

Developing 21st-century literacies among students and faculty (information, digital, and visual).

Reaching and engaging today's learner. Encouraging faculty adoption and innovation in teaching

and learning with IT. Advancing innovation in teaching and learning

(with technology) in an era of budget cuts.

www.educause.edu/eli/Challenges

Today’s LearnerAlways on. Social content creators.

Image: 21stcenturylearning.typepad.com

“Unlike all previous generations, generation Y is probably the largest and only truly global generation.”

- FADI ABDUL KHALEK, CEO UNIVERSAL KNOWLEDGE SOLUTIONS, UAE

Creating a Vision for Learning based on Learner Needs

Characteristics Digital (growing up in

constant contact with digital media)

Connected

Action-oriented

Experiential

Immediate

Social

Learning Preferences Teams, peer-to-peer

Engagement & experience

Visual & kinesthetic

Things that matter

- Educating the Net Generation (2005)www.educause.edu/educatingthenetgen

Creating a Vision for Learning based on Learner Needs

Characteristics Digital (growing up in

constant contact with digital media)

Connected

Action-oriented

Experiential

Immediate

Social

Learning Preferences Teams, peer-to-peer

Engagement & experience

Visual & kinesthetic

Things that matter

Educating the Net Generation (2005)www.educause.edu/educatingthenetgen

Interactive and Social:

The way these students prefer to

think and work.

Life and Work 2.0

Image: 21stcenturylearning.wikispaces.com

Employers Seeking Skills

Skill% wanting

more emphasis

Concepts in science & technology 82%

Teamwork & collaboration 76%

Applying knowledge to real world situation

73%

Effective oral & communication 73%

Critical thinking & analytic reasoning 73%

Understanding global issues 72%

Ability to think innovatively & creatively

70%- Hart (2006). National Employer Skills Survey (US)

Skill Differentiators for Work 2.0

Expert thinking Identifying and solving problems for which

there is no routine solution Complex communication

Persuading, explaining and interpreting information

Negotiating, gaining and managing trust Teaching and building understanding

- Levy & Murnane (2005)

Life and Work 2.0 will be:

Global Social Negotiated Collaborative Immersive

And it will require knowing how to ask a good question rather

than knowing the right answer.- Van Eck (2007)

Active. Participatory. Experiential.

New Learning Environments

http://www.heinlaerialphotography.com/about.htm

Designed on learner-centeredness

Focused on content-creation

Available any time, any place

Foster engagement

Next Generation of Courses

Create “messy” problems

Thrive on experiential, learning by doing

Foster creative thinking

Encourage collaboration

Shift the Locus of Learning

Problem/thinking skills-based Group/team/community-based Learning-by-doing/authentic/real-world-based Web-supported/virtual/immersive Redesign of physical spaces Visual and social

- ELI Discovery Tools: The Net Generationwww.educause.edu/NetGenTool

- ELI Discovery Tools: Learning Spacewww.educause.edu/learningspaceworkshopguide

Web 2.0 Tools- Markus Angermeier (2005)

Building New Learning Environments

Web 2.0 ToolsBlogs Journaling, post research,

promote dialogue in and across disciplines

Wikis Promotes non-linear thinking,

Collective encyclopedia, all-purpose courseware, E-portfolio tool, project mgmt/planning

Podcasts Content distribution, recording

guest speakers, language learning

Video blogs (vlog): Recording lectures and special

events, digital storytelling, E-portfolios, student presentations

Social Bookmarking Simplifies distribution of reference

lists & bibliographies among peers or students

7 Things You Should Know About… Technology briefs

www.educause.edu/eli/resources

Top 100 Tools for Learning, 2009

1. Twitter (micro-blog)

2. Delicious (social bookmarking)

3. You Tube (video hosting/sharing)

4. Google Reader (rss reader)

5. Google Docs (collaboration suite)

6. WordPress (blogging)

7. Slide Share (presentation sharing)

8. Google Search (web searching)

9. Audacity (audio/podcasting)

10.Firefox (web browser)

- Hart, J. (2009), www.c4lpt.co.uk/recommended/index.html

Tools for Enhancing Lectures andAssignments

Twitter

BlogsVideo

Digital Storytelling

Tools for Community Feedback and Critical Reflection

Blogs

Virtual Worlds

Podcasts

Tools for Collaboration, Research, and Content Creation

Digital Storytelling

Wikis

Tools to Solve Messy Problems

Immersive

Real-time data

Simulated

Games and Simulations: Integrative Any Place Any Time

Mobile

Networked

And, don’t forget what our learning management systems offer:

An easy to use interface to facilitate putting course content online.

An online classroom environment where teachers and learners can interact.

The building blocks for creating effective learning environments.

Customization is Key: To engage with others and content

Organize syllabus, calendar,

roster/grade book, learning modules, media library

Distribute post content, quizzes,

surveys, assignments

Communicate announcements, email,

discussion board, chat

Collaborate share whiteboard, group work

spaces

Ability to access wider set of content-creation tools and resources (existing, teacher- and learner-created): Blogs, podcasts, video Wikis and collaboration

environments Games, simulations,

immersive environments

Project ENJOY: 12 Guidelines for Designing Engaging eLearning Environments

1. Personalization

2. Identity

3. Brand

4. Community

5. Surprise

6. Innovation

-Eva de Lera (2008) Universitat Oberta de Catalunyajoyoflearning.blogs.uoc.edu/

www.checkpoint-elearning.com/article/6111.html

7. Zen

8. Search

9. Clarity

10.Situation

11.Aesthetics

12.Recognition

Image: 21stcenturylearning.wikispaces.com

Institutional ResponseTransformative. Disruptive.

Characteristics Education 1.0 Education 2.0

Primary role of professor

Source of knowledge

Guide and source of knowledge

Learning activities

Traditional essays, assignments, tests, some group work within classroom

Traditional approaches transferred to more open technologies; increasing collaboration in learning activities

Institutional arrangements

Campus-based with fixed boundaries between institutions

Increasing collaboration between universities

Student behavior Largely passive and absorptive

Passive to active, emerging sense of ownership of the educational process

- Keats & Schmidt (2007). The Genesis and Emergence of Education 3.0 in Higher Education and it’s Potential for Africa

http://tiny.cc/0sQgf

Characteristics Education 1.0 Education 2.0 Education 3.0

Primary role of professor

Source of knowledge

Guide and source of knowledge

Orchestrator of collaborative knowledge creation

Learning activities

Traditional essays, assignments, tests, some group work within classroom

Traditional approaches transferred to more open technologies; increasing collaboration in learning activities

Open, flexible learning activities focused on creating room for student creativity; social networking outside traditional boundaries

Institutional arrangements

Campus-based with fixed boundaries between institutions

Increasing collaboration between universities

Loose institutional affiliation and relations; regional and institutional boundaries breakdown

Student behavior Largely passive and absorptive

Passive to active, emerging sense of ownership of the educational process

Strong sense of ownership of education, co-creation of resources

Transformation: A marked change, especially one for the better.

Requires:

People ** Processes Skills Environments Curricula

** especially Administrators and Faculty

with purpose and passion- H. Dean (2009)

And, it requires the positive force of disruption.

Experiences may be more important than information

Knowledge is distributed across a community rather than held by an individual

Authentic assessment achieved through experiences and accomplishments rather than tests

As we reach toward Learning 3.0, we must shift (disrupt) the locus of learning.

Lingering questions

How do we facilitate the change that the teachers have to go through in order to be skilled creators of effective learning environments?

What tools do we use to entice learners to contribute to the content-building process?

What changes are required to foster a collaborative learning environment?

www.educause.edu/ELI/2010HorizonReport/195400

Learn morewww.educause.edu/ELI/Challenges

Join the Teaching and Learning Challenges community

tlchallenges09.ning.com

Julie K. Littlejlittle@educause.edu

Explore and share ideaswww.educause.edu/wiki/TLChallenges09

Learn morewww.educause.edu/ELI/Challenges

Join the Teaching and Learning Challenges community

tlchallenges09.ning.com

Create the MEEA T&L Challenges Project and join the dialogue!

Julie K. Littlejlittle@educause.edu

Explore and share ideaswww.educause.edu/wiki/TLChallenges09