The shift is accelerating

The highlights at Online Educa Berlin today included an inspiring presentation by futurist Simon Nelson, a session on the state and future of MOOCs, and a panel session on diffusion of online learning for vocation education in developing countries.

A common theme of the day was how to respond to the rapid changes in educational technology (where denial is no longer an option). David Price called for increased personal responsibility required in an open world of work and learning, including application of the 6 “Do-Its”:

• Do it yourself (Autonomy)

• Do it now (Immediacy)

• Do it with friends (Collegiality)

• Do it for fun (Playfulness)

• Do unto others (Generosity)

• Do it for the world to see (Visibility)

"Any lecturer that can be replaced by a YouTube video will be." Photo by June M. Brevik

Price also advocated for taking a hacker ethic (don't ask permission, do it yourself), and a Jugaad attitude (reuse what you have, make it good enough) in finding solutions. He advises us to cultivate innovation with the enthusiasts, to protect innovation as a precious asset, and to just allow those who are roadblocks to step aside. Also interesting was his reference to the fact that Google has decided to compete in the market for talented staff by no longer hiring on the basis of a college degree, but only on skills and competencies. It has been proven in a double blind study that this policy has had no impact on performance. Other companies are following this practice as well.

In a session titled, “MOOCs: Here to stay,” 5 managers in institutions offering MOOCs provided reasons for offering them and their strategies.  The conversation never hovered long around the question of “Are MOOCs effective?,” but quickly assumed that MOOCs are a powerful innovation and we simply need to make them work better. The way to do that is to move forward, try them out and do continuous improvements—and not try to imitate the classroom. The key area for improvement is in learning activities—getting people doing relevant and authentic tasks. MOOCs have a business stance, as well as a pedagogical one. Pierre Dillenbourg of EPFL, Lausanne said that MOOCs have doubled the reach of the school in 2 years. The CEO of FutureLearn, Simon Nelson, pointed out that they are making the criteria for offerings more stringent. Tens of thousands of students have given FutureLearn MOOCs the highest marks in satisfaction, and they are unwilling to compromise that. Dillenbourg offered that “if universities are not prepared to take risks (like offering MOOCs), they don’t deserve to be called universities.”

Finally, in a session on “Using technology to reduce the learning divide in vocational education,” representatives of UNESCO shared that in the UN sustainable development plan, it is directly stated that for human capacity development there is a need to leverage ICT as a critical ally. Donald Clark offered that fighting online learning infusion in education is futile, because the current costs of education are unsustainable, the demand too high, and because learners are using it already—via tools like Wikipedia and YouTube, at minimum. EVERYONE with a computer uses Wikipedia, even teachers who disallow their students to use it, because is it one of the most incredible innovations to come about in this century.

Note: Future Learn will be offering a MOOC on Blended Learning starting 1 February, 2016.

Patrick Parrish (WMO) and Maja Kuna (EUMETSAT)