This week,
CCCOnline staff share food for thought after having attended FUSION,
Desire2Learn’s annual conference (held this July in San Diego). Enjoy their
contributions below – and we welcome you to join the conversation in the
CCCOnline Community!
“Raif Esquith was a very
inspirational speaker. When asked why his students are so successful in his
class, one of the things he said was that he wasn't concerned with teaching his
students skills that they'll use in class, or skills to pass a test one year
from now; he's concerned with teaching his students skills they'll use 10 years
from now, or for the rest of their lives. That, to me, was an inspirational
point that could have the potential to change a teacher's entire approach to
their class.”
-Sean Renner
“I
enjoyed hearing Sal Khan speaking about changing teaching by creating tools
that motivate students to progress through content at their own pace, and that
building the foundation of skills keeps good students strong in a subject area
but also helps weaker students rise to a higher level than they may have in a
traditional classroom.”
-Karen
Kaemmerling
“The future of online education is heating up and there is a
land grab for students and institutions worldwide.
The keynote speakers impressed me very much. Each
presented several ideas that could be generally called inflection points of
history.
First the creation and then delivery of Online Content is
rapidly vibrating between publicly funded institutions and pure commercial
interests. Already running ahead and staking out territory are the ‘Oklahoma
Sooners’ of the digital education age. The new products and solutions
being introduced are awe inspiring yet at the same time highlight how far
behind non commercial interests are in generating and delivering online
content.
Secondly, the keynote from Sal Kahn who spoke about how
education is not the exclusive territory of ‘old institutions.’ He was
harkening back to days where families, communities and students would shop for
and procure the services of the best tutors and private instructors. Except
that now that private tutor being somehow automated can be played, rewound, or
practiced with again and again until the student actually learns that lesson.
It’s of no use, nor benefit, to move on if the learner didn't understand the
current lesson. Basically the market for education is returning toward the
learner as being the one in charge of his/her intellectual formation and its
pacing. A system or school which offers a menu or track that must be done
within X amount of time or whatnot is no longer the exclusive place to find an
intellectual formation program.
Lastly, in many areas the purpose and intent of online training
is going to be highly focused. The Admiral's (ret) presentation spoke about on-the-job
training and just-in-time training using online as the media as well as the
content was an eye opener. Tactically relevant Virtualization and Simulation
embedded into courses is coming. OJT and JIT training in medical or technician
type fields are no longer about book based learning looking at static pictures.
Students will in the future be presented with a simulation (Graphical, 3d or
otherwise immersive) of the equipment or scenario for which they are training.
In the future it’s not just about reading, looking at diagrams or videos and
taking quizzes. Learners will have to complete a ‘simulation run’ and will then
be evaluated post simulation as ‘proof’ for demonstrating they know how things
are to be done. This type of education delivery is in the space of hours and
days, not weeks and months. He sees a future where learners study, simulate
till proficient, then go into the field just after training finishes and do
tasks well the first time."
-Joseph Foss
“I
was particularly struck by individual conversations with peers at other
institutions. One in particular stuck with me when a representative from
The Ohio State University told me that you’d have a hard time finding the text
books in the campus bookstore. This is no longer a significant business
for them, and the reasons are that students are finding other ways to buy text
books elsewhere or the ebooks and Apple IBooks are changing the model.
So, we are in the midst of a change and this creates opportunities and
challenges. How will CCCS and CCCO deal with this in a beneficial way?”
-David Chatham
