Post-FUSION Reflections: D2L Conference Inspires

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