Where is education going?

The New Media Consortium’s report identified to long-term trends in education:

  1. flexible, innovative learning environments, and
  2. increased collaboration between higher education institutions (2015, p.1).

In my personal experience, I can attest to the increasing collaboration amongst higher education institutions. As a frequent attendee of the Educational Technology User’s Group (ETUG) which is funded by BC Ministry of Advanced Education and supported by BCcampus, I have noticed people are making connections. This collaboration is occurring organically, without any formal agenda or mandates. I think when it comes down to it, people really do like to share and cooperate. I can appreciate the value of “adopting a human-centric approach to education” (New Media Consortium, 2015, p.9), and I’ve heard that discourse within the ETUG community.

As far as flexible, innovative learning environments, this is proving to be more challenging. I think there is only so much flexibility within the constraints of an LMS, and privacy concerns, and the need to track student data. Personally, in the courses I have worked on, I have not seen any personalized learning, other than questions an instructor, or facilitator may pose, or if they are brining in current “real world” examples. Again, this is primarily instructor driven, not embedded into the course design. I think there is great opportunities to develop personalized learning. I am “wowed” by the idea of personalized learning because I think that is one way to making learning more engaging and meaningful for students. I watched an interview with Dr. John Medina, the author of Brain Rules, who said that children (and adults) learn best when they are interested in a subject. I love the idea of students being able to select a topic to explore and personalize their learning experiences in that way as well.

The NMC Horizon Report 2015: Higher ed edition., refers to the print industry’s successful transition in the “in the past decade from print to digital to keep pace with the rapidly changing technology landscape” (2015,p.8). One concern I have with that transition, is that many publishers are now in the business of creating companion educational resources, and companion educational sites, which are basically online courses, in to which institutions can “plug -in” their instructors, and students. (See Jones & Bartlett Navigate 2. ) These training resources, while not open like MOOCs are (for the most part) as there is a cost associated with access, still have some similar issues when it comes to learning which requires critical thought. Another similarity is due to the “importance of instructor presence for successful for-credit online learning (Bates, 2104). In the publisher created courses, the instructor presence is very structured, and sometimes may require the use of an LMS to increase and improve the opportunities for instructors to interact with students. And when it comes right down to it, my biggest concern with MOOCs and publisher resources, is the risk of them facilitating the “diploma mills” concept.

Click on image to see an example of an Edx Honour Code Certificate which can be displayed in LinkedIn.

Click on image to see an example of an Edx Honour Code Certificate which can be displayed in LinkedIn.

I have registered in several MOOCs and I h ave completed only one. I am impressed with the “free” access to knowledge. Of course, as pointed out by Bates (2014)  there is still some room for improving the digital divide, and other practical concerns in order to truly democratized education. As Bates mentions, MOOCs are still relatively new, but I do think as the world becomes globalized, MOOC’s will play a role. If not in through educational credits (immediately) , then at least in a way to increase work opportunities for individuals. For example LinkedIn, not only allows users to display certificates of completion through Lynda.com, but ones for Edx courses as well. Students who complete and Edx course do not have to purchase a certificate, in order to display the certificate in LinkedIn. I think this is a great way for individuals to engage and demonstrate engagement in life-long learning and well as blending the trend of formal and informal learning (New Media Consortium, 2015, p.22).

 

 

References

Bates, T. (2014). MOOCs. In Teaching in digital age. Retrieved from: http://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/part/chapter-7-moocs/ (Chapter 5)

New Media Consortium. (2015). NMC Horizon Report 2015: Higher ed edition. Retrieved from: http://cdn.nmc.org/media/2015-nmc-horizon-report-HE-EN.pdf

6 comments

  1. Hi Parm,

    What are your thoughts on how employers should consider job applicants who have a number of documented completed online courses through ‘informal’ academic institutes (such as Udemy, edX, Lynda)? Should they be encouraged to treat them equally compared to an applicant who have in-person or online education from a more recognized academic institute? If not, do you see this trend changing as more online courses grow their reputation and standards become established?

    Looking forward to hearing your perspectives.

    Edwin

  2. Hi Edwin,

    Thanks for your questions, you really made me think more about this.

    I think placing the same value on “informal” academic or technical study as more traditional (college or university education) will create controversy for sure. However, in time, the thinking around “informal” education will (and I believe it should) change, as it has for online education. As online course design and facilitation has improved over the years, students are increasingly finding the learning experiences to be engaging and interactive, whereas, previously engaging and interactive learning was primarily associated with face-to-face learning. I think most people now regard online and face-to-face education from recognized academic institutions to be equally valuable.

    I’m sure you’ve heard the saying that the bachelor’s degree is new high school diploma. I think this expectation for more educated workers combined with the sky-rocking costs of education, will definitely impact education and hiring trends for the future.

    I think most of us I have worked with people with high credentials from reputable institutions, who simply are not able to work at their education level. The opposite is true as well, where people lacking formal education excel in their work. I’ve also read somewhere, that after receiving their degrees; a significant portion of the population never reads a book. There definitely is the mentality that a piece of paper is the ticket to a secure future. I think that has fed into the diploma mill approach to education.

    So are MOOC’s and ‘informal’ academic institutes (such as Udemy, edX, Lynda) part of the diploma mill phenomenon? I don’t think so. I think a key driver for MOOC’s and edX is to democratize education. And while Lynda.com and Udemy are for profit, the training is still more accessible than a university degree, it too serves, in some capacity, to make knowledge and skills more accessible. I think often people with degrees fall into the incorrectly thinking that their academic education is superior, and that their (our) successes are due to merit and their (our) special abilities, and that everyone has an equal opportunity for success. We often forget that that not everyone in society has the same starting point. Many people simply can’t afford education, or come from family backgrounds that were not able or did not place value on formal education, or had other life challenges. There are numerous reasons in society for inequality, and our social institutions (including education) are based on systems designed with an inherent bias to perpetuate that inequality. For example, consider residential schools in Canada.

    I think in the business world may be faster to change when compared to tradition institutions like education. That is why I mentioned LinkedIn’s attention to non-traditional, informal education. The business world’s focus on education is not exclusively academic. There are many jobs, which require a demonstration of skills, or a portfolio of accomplishments, such as in the design, or technology industries. I think with those types of positions which emphasis informal education and life-long learning is already in place – mostly because those fields are rapidly changing. A computer science degree from 1996 may be of little or no value if the individual cannot demonstrate up-to-date knowledge and skills.

    My personal belief, and maybe I am being idealistic, is that I envision a future where employers will consider not just what certificate a person has obtained, but what obstacles he or she has overcome. If two job candidates have the same degree, I think it’s important to consider, did one of them work part-time in order to pay for their education, did one of them need to provide for a family, was their education paid for by their parents, what other challenges did they face? I think that would show grit, time management and ambition, and skills that are not necessarily a part of formal education.

    What are your thoughts on this?

    1. Hi Parm,

      Thanks for your insightful response! I find this topic is quite interesting. I think online training will definitely carve its place in the market place as it already has. I think many employers likely are shifting their interview approach and there is a much greater emphasis on creating a personal portfolio. Interview questions will be more scenario based to see how you can problem solve and think on your feet. Based on your responses I think it will matter less where you did your education to gain those types of ‘thinking’ skills. Names of reputation academic institutions will always hold some weight when considering candidates but depends on how open minded the organization is. If the organization is more progressive then online training certificates etc will become more widely accepted and they may be more willing to ‘take a chance’ on someone. With everyone’s lives progressively getting busier the flexibility of online education will only make it more popular and learners who are creative in how they sell the skillset that they offer will find ways to succeed.

  3. I just had another thought about this relating to the type of informal education. I don’t think I would ever see a dentist or a doctor, who has completed their education through MOOC’s only. Maybe there will be some hybrid approach developed in the future to value informal education, but assess knowledge and skills better? Your thoughts?

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