Future_Scenarios_Life_2.0
A blueprint for the future
As we learn more about the types of learning environments that engage today’s learners and the skills needed to compete in a global economy, the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative is embarking on a collaborative project to create a blueprint for the “classroom” of the future -- realizing, of course, that it may not be a classroom at all.
With wikis as our workplace, we’re asking the EDUCAUSE community to share their ideas and expertise to help us, as a community, a vision of what the ideal learning environment might look like. Comments will be used to construct simulated course environments, starting with easy-to-implement solutions for rethinking the traditional lecture format and scaling to “blue sky” initiatives that include global collaboration and opportunities to “learn by doing.” We hope you’ll also take this opportunity to share the unique and innovative ways that your campus is already transforming learning in the classroom, on campus, and in virtual worlds.
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Learning for Life 2.0
Students say authentic learning or learning by doing, is the best way to learn, allowing them to be active constructors of knowledge and participants in the tools and processes of their discipline. Employers say there are skills that students need to learn before entering the workforce, particularly group collaboration and global citizenship. But how do we build authentic tasks into the course, while creating opportunities to interact and collaborate in a global setting? How can technology create a course that has no boundaries and promotes participatory, experiential learning while rejecting the notion that learning should be “one-size-fits-all”?
What would the learning environment look like?Take a moment to think about the physical space and the virtual environment. What components would it include? How would content be delivered? How would assessment be done?
- Dismissing "one-size-fits-all" might be as easy as creating opportunities for students to choose their own direction in the course. Instead of requiring a research paper as the course capstone, students might select from a list of options: writing a paper, creating a digital story, producing a video or building a content-rich Web site. The difficulty may be in ensuring each piece requires the same level of work and critical thinking. And how do you assess these different opportunities?
- I second the idea of coursework options, but it would also mean that students would work in a variety of places, labs designed for various types of content creation. I can see these new environments stretching faculty thin, and this argues for a new vision of collaborative instruction where teams of faculty, whether from one discipline or several, more freely work with students and their projects. Faculty have talked about and experimented with team-teaching for years, but it rarely moved beyond the traditional classroom setting. If we are calling for flexible learning spaces and flexible teaching models, can assessment also be flexible?
- Another approach might be to engage students from different disciplines/subject areas to encourage true collaborative learning. So, for example, if Health students are required to produce a digital media artefact for assessment (say a video case study or web site) could we engage students from Digital Media courses to support the development in a client/consultation role - true team working, where the process is as important as the product? Would this sort of partnership/teamwork based approach offer an authentic experience for students? The environments (both physical and virtual) we provide to support this would be key - how can we create physical spaces to promote cross-collaboration, and balance informality with professional working environments?
What technologies exist to achieve these design objectives?
Are there particular tools or software programs that can facilitate the course design? Are there noteworthy open-source programs that institutions could use?
Are there examples at your institution?
Is your institution already designing or employing solutions to the challenge? Share your specific projects here and, if possible, include links for further exploration.
- At Portland State University, a collaborative learning model is applied throughout the undergraduate student experience. Additionally, portfolios have long been a central component to the university studies curriculum. Rather than use the portfolio purely for assessment, a significant emphasis is placed on using the portfolio as a learning tool. Unfortunately, most of the e-portfolio tools seem to lock students in to a prescribed design. Ideally, the portfolio tool should be easy enough that anyone can use it without copious training (for students and faculty) yet flexible enough to allow for individual expression as part of the learning process. Many solutions are being being evaluated.
- At Sheffield Hallam University (UK), we started with the question 'What should we be doing now to prepare our students for living and working in an increasingly digital world'? How do we prepare them to become 'active constructors of knowledge' in a digital age? The challenge to answer this question gave rise to the Digital Fluency Initiative. The key aim of this initiative is to raise the profile of digital fluency (IT confidence, Information literacy, on line interaction and critical thinking ability) and to embed this as a core graduate attribute and an essential element of professional development for all staff. By giving a clear institutional message that digital fluency is an essential characteristic of a modern university experience and a pre-requisite for lifelong learning and employability we will build a firm foundation for moving forward. This, of course, is dependent on staff being able to engage with the issues and opportunities, so an important element of this work will be to ensure that staff are supported by infrastructure, environments, resources and time that enable them to gain confidence and keep refreshed their related competencies.
Share links to any related readings or resources on the Web or on your campus.
Bickford, D.J. & Wright, D.J. (2006) Community: the hidden context for learning. In D. Oblinger (ed) Learning Spaces. Available online at url: http://www.educause.edu/Chapter4.Community%3ATheHiddenContextforLearning/11902
*Note: Please submit all content before moving to another wiki page. Any unsaved content will be lost.
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