New educational models....
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liam.soccerfit Gmail
May 5, 2018, 6:01:11 AM5/5/18
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The education sector is centuries old and, give or take the normal human challenges and difficulties, has served the global community reasonably well - hard to say I suppose, there aren't really any other planets that we can compare with - howsoever...I think there is a sense that changes, many due to digital Innovation, loom in the next decade or two that may change the delivery model significantly. In Oz I saw 2 stories this weekend that I think herald some reinvention in our glorious pocket of the world...
Firstly the amazing Country Universities Centre getting fast results - https://www.facebook.com/CountryUniversitiesCentre/videos/1951034578253566/
And, while I know Gonski is a bit of a political football (and I make no comment on that aspect...so ranters please desist)...some new ideas about tailored education at scale have been aired :-
In terms of the Bega Valley and moves towards greater numbers of high skill jobs being available...education is, I feel, the primary lever that can be pulled...but gosh it is such tricky territory to navigate and get wins on the board from the tech/coding side of things...suggestions always welcome :-)
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liam.soccerfit Gmail
May 16, 2018, 7:39:04 AM5/16/18
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And more on this changing educational landscape...a venture fund that encourages kids to drop out of Uni...the head of the fund, Danielle Strachman, pulls no punches in her views of third level education...
Personally I hear this more and more from people about what the future of education will be...here is the clip :-
Mal Lee
May 16, 2018, 6:10:30 PM5/16/18
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Further to Liam’s post I thought folk might like to reflect on the implications that have emerged from our research into the digital education of the world’s young - 1993 - 2016, in and out of the schools.
The findings can probably most succinctly be expressed in our identification of the concept of 'being digital' - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/being-digital-mal-lee/?published=t
And the recognition that capability grows naturally from the day a child is born into a digitally connected family, and that by the age of three those young have in place the key elements to 'being digital', and will use that approach to learning with the digital lifelong - regardless of what governments or schools desire
In brief the pattern - like learning to speak - is largely in place before governments and educators come into the play
The ITU estimates that more than 60% of the world’s young are digitally connected - on trend to be more than 70% by 2022 - rapidly on the path to near universal connectivity
This uptake has been achieved by the digitally connected families of the world - who provided the funds and support, and who vitally have been willing to trust and empower their children to use the digital astutely
Governments and schools globally have played no part
And now find themselves having little or no sway over the world’s young’s learning with the digital
Even while spending billions on the schools and believing they are in complete control!
Appreciate this wee note might on first glance appear a little radical
But am happy to discuss further
Or folk can have a look at fuller detail at - www.digitalevolutionofschooling.net
The key - that every one on this group will appreciate - is we are living in rapidly evolving and digitally connected world where we all learn in different ways 24/7/365, from birth to death
That reality is not understood by governments and educators who still maintain the only meaningful learning must be site based, provided and assessed by professional teachers
Cheers
Mal Lee
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Author/educational consultant/publisher JP
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Dan Tarasenko
May 17, 2018, 1:16:26 AM5/17/18
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You are less polite than I would be Mal.
Couldn’t agree more.
Expecting Gov to try and be across something like this that moves faster than tech people can keep up with is nonsense. Parents will either take matters into their own hands or have children that are simply not capable. Even the major tech giants in the US are looking to more specialised online education graduates.
If my child(ren) want to go to uni they will have their inheritance spent.
I have worked with freelancers around the world for 15 years, smart people just getting things done. The latest guy was helping me on a feasibility project, had his account banned on Upwork due to using a false ID, the reason, he was 16 yrs old! Knew everything just desperate for projects for his brain to think about. Most kids his age use fake ID’s to try buy alcohol. He just wants to build tech.
Contrast that with having 19yr old school leavers apply for jobs here on the farm without a bloody driver’s license.
That’s your kids’ competition folks…you can start them on basic php courses for $15 on Udemy…
Jennifer Wonson
May 17, 2018, 2:36:09 AM5/17/18
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Hi Mal,
Interesting that you would say that children as young as three have key elements of 'being digital'.
As a mum of a toddler, I know that current research indicates that there should be no screen time for babies and toddlers under 18 months to 2 years and limited to no more than an hour for children over 2.
Recent studies have shown that screen-time for babies and toddlers can cause developmental delays.
Yes our world and future education systems are becoming more and more digital but there is also a health push (i.e. developmental, mental (bullying and depression) and obesity (physical)) to go in exactly the opposite direction.
I certainly don't plan for my toddler to have 'key elements' of being digital any time soon and know plenty of mums in the same boat.
Thanks,
Jen
Mal Lee
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Author/educational consultant/publisher JPPO Box 5010 BrouleeNSW 2537 Australia
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Lachlan Bain
May 17, 2018, 2:44:48 AM5/17/18
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Flipside of this discussion is a narrow focus on study being a means to an end, rather than an end itself. The high cost of degrees in Au and USA would seem to influence this ($$ necessitate it being a means to end).
But what if study was essentially free (eg. germany and other Eu countries)? That changes the dynamic and provides the space for more creativity and lessens the need to connect learning with work/$$ straight away.
Would imagine the competition on coding is becoming a race to the bottom as well given the accessibility and influence of AI? So would think into the future a more well rounded education would be more valuable than highly sepcialised coding (but I am no expert).
Change the fee structure for Uni (essentially free) and what kind of impact does that have on
Danielle Strachman's ideas?
Also - how big is the cohort that is into STEM/IT? And what proportion of children should be?
All interesting food for thought.
Lachlan.
Mal Lee
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Mal Lee
May 17, 2018, 3:36:57 AM5/17/18
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Jen
Fully respect what you are saying
And recognise the balancing act to be done
Couple of things
Look closely what is meant by screen time, and note that research done pre 2007 and the introduction of visual controls bids one, as Neumann notes revisit the early research on passive screen time
Another point to bear in mind is that if ones kids are born into a digitally connected family they will be observing, mimicking and learning from the family’s every use of that is digital in the home - whether the family realises it or not
The indicators point to near all your children’s peers will in their everyday lives and learning will operate in the state of being digital by three and as a cohort will enter school with a digital mindset, set of expectations and a naturally grown suite of capabilities
Children not born into a digitally connected family and denied pre primary access to the touchscreen technology will have none of the above capabilities
In hindsight the advent of the iPhone and the mobile touchscreen technology was a game changer for the worlds pre-primary
That is prompting numerous researchers to rethink aspects of Piaget’s thinking
Kind regards
Mal
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Mal Lee
May 17, 2018, 4:56:44 PM5/17/18
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Jenny
Further to response below is one given by my UK colleague in his reply to the Professor of Educational Technology at the Open University
Thought you might find of interest
Kind regards
Mal
Hi Mark,
Your email that. bounced finally reached me via Mal.
The bit of being digital that is set in stone from age 3 is the absoute awareness that being conneced aids their learning, and that connectedness is highly visual and aural, as well as being textual, and includes connection with people as well as information. They have probably also fully internalised that they can interact creatively with the digital environment and everything in it, to aid their learning.
That is what makes this learning to be digital very similar to learning to speak, it is messy, diverse, involves a lot of trial and error and has concepts built and rebuilt from a multitude of influences.
This I believe means that the potential for learning of kids that are digital is hugely greater than for those of us who grew up pre-digital, with only our parents and limited friends to ask, verbally not visually.
But the large majprity of schools largely ignore digital connectedness and in so doing restrict learning and deny children the possibility of bringing their full learning skillset to bear. What this is doing to childrens’ perceptions of school, and of the adult world that imposes schooling on them, is hard to assess, but is probably a bigger and deeper impact than we imagine.
So the question for schools is whether they are helping children to be agile and adaptive and to use this to make learning stronger, more rigorous and more effective, or whether they are reinforcing the divide between the (non-connected) learning that school wants them to do and how they really learn, connected.
Prof Eric Mazur when studying how his university students were (or weren’t) learning got a great quote from a student when he asked her to explain her understanding of a topic. She asked “Do you want me to explain it to you as you have taught it to us, or do you want me to explain how I really understand it?”
Now that 5 and 6 yr olds can gain their understanding from many teachers and diverse sources, this is likely to prove a shock to the system of many school teachers. But they will probably ignore the childrens’ own webs of understanding and impose their own linear understanding.
Cheers
Rog
Carsten Eckelmann
May 17, 2018, 6:59:53 PM5/17/18
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This topic is now more widely discussed as this article from the New York Times shows
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liam.soccerfit Gmail
May 17, 2018, 7:25:08 PM5/17/18
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Yes that article, I think, suggests a degree is really an arbitrary barrier or hoop that people have to jump over to be in the running for the big prize (a well paying job, I guess).
You could say that a lot of professions do this to either maintain some form of status quo or be very selective about who they let join their ranks. Barristers spring to mind...and the taking of silk which seems arbitrary and restrictive. Even, someone said to me the other day, personal trainers have to do a meaningless Cert IV to get insured (their words not mine).
Tech has disrupted many sectors and may be rewriting the rules of education somewhat now too. Is it good or is it bad...I don't know...but certainly in my opinion I am less convinced that formal education for software development careers is necessary and 'learning by doing' plus perhaps some 'micro-degrees' may be a better way. Time will tell one assumes.
Lingering thought however that universities do in part provide blue sky thinking and research on matters that have no seeming link to commerciality...whether Unis are the best place for this or not, who knows but certainly society does appear to benefit from some elements of this. What is the alternative...some form of 'deep thought institutes'...I guess those already do exist but tend to be funded directly or indirectly by large multinational conglomerates informed by long-term commercial goals.
Liam
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isaac liehne
May 17, 2018, 7:50:36 PM5/17/18
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Welcome to the revolution.
In a few of my jobs I am providing supplementary education here in the Bega valley. I use alternative teaching methods namely; self directed learning and the exploiting of interest to increase capacity, I can go into more detail if requested.
I support the learning of a variety of skills mostly centred around digital technologies and am always steering towards coding principles and web development. Core to my philosophy is that 'screen time' can be a creative, expressive and enabling activity.
I am often asked about local sources for tech/coding education from parents and community members, but I feel like I am at capacity and I have often turned people away.
Given that there is an awareness of this need and that there is somewhat of a demand, why would it be worth my time to pursue this? I don't really see a future in taking on more of this work while actually developing software is providing me with a clear career pathway. I love doing this work but I feel like it's the harder path, I would really like to know how to make it work.
Isaac
On Fri, May 18, 2018 at 9:24 AM, liam.soccerfit Gmail <liam.so...@gmail.com> wrote:
Yes that article, I think, suggests a degree is really an arbitrary barrier or hoop that people have to jump over to be in the running for the big prize (a well paying job, I guess).You could say that a lot of professions do this to either maintain some form of status quo or be very selective about who they let join their ranks. Barristers spring to mind...and the taking of silk which seems arbitrary and restrictive. Even, someone said to me the other day, personal trainers have to do a meaningless Cert IV to get insured (their words not mine).Tech has disrupted many sectors and may be rewriting the rules of education somewhat now too. Is it good or is it bad...I don't know...but certainly in my opinion I am less convinced that formal education for software development careers is necessary and 'learning by doing' plus perhaps some 'micro-degrees' may be a better way. Time will tell one assumes.Lingering thought however that universities do in part provide blue sky thinking and research on matters that have no seeming link to commerciality...whether Unis are the best place for this or not, who knows but certainly society does appear to benefit from some elements of this. What is the alternative...some form of 'deep thought institutes'...I guess those already do exist but tend to be funded directly or indirectly by large multinational conglomerates informed by long-term commercial goals.Liam
Sent from my iPhone
This topic is now more widely discussed as this article from the New York Times shows
On Sat, 5 May 2018 at 20:01, liam.soccerfit Gmail <liam.so...@gmail.com> wrote:
--The education sector is centuries old and, give or take the normal human challenges and difficulties, has served the global community reasonably well - hard to say I suppose, there aren't really any other planets that we can compare with - howsoever...I think there is a sense that changes, many due to digital Innovation, loom in the next decade or two that may change the delivery model significantly. In Oz I saw 2 stories this weekend that I think herald some reinvention in our glorious pocket of the world...Firstly the amazing Country Universities Centre getting fast results - https://www.facebook.com/CountryUniversitiesCentre/videos/1951034578253566/And, while I know Gonski is a bit of a political football (and I make no comment on that aspect...so ranters please desist)...some new ideas about tailored education at scale have been aired :-
In terms of the Bega Valley and moves towards greater numbers of high skill jobs being available...education is, I feel, the primary lever that can be pulled...but gosh it is such tricky territory to navigate and get wins on the board from the tech/coding side of things...suggestions always welcome :-)
Sent from my iPhone
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Jennifer Wonson
May 17, 2018, 8:47:33 PM5/17/18
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Ok this will be my last comment on this thread.
Takes mum hat off and puts on academic, IT professional and teacher hat on.
I agree that our educational model for Tertiary education is still very rigid and somewhat old fashioned. However education is not in and of it self a means to an end. You need to factor in industry and their need for cookie cutter graduates. While yes at the higher end of the employment field where companies are hiring innovative specialist staff yes they probably do want people who have micro degrees and what not as well as a solid background of a full degree or experience.
However when we talk about young graduates this is not the case. As companies like to know what they are going to get i.e. nationally recognised education programs. They don't want to spend too much money on filling in the gaps. They want a degree qualified Big Mac because big business is about saving money and stability.
On the primary and younger cohort, yes they will be born into more digitally connected familys however I feel this thread of the conversation is overly rose coloured glasses and ignores the pit falls of children without fully developed brains having the keys to the castle.
Access to information is not a new thing. Once upon a time you went to the library, you used a phone book or a trade hand book to find what you needed. Or when we talk about the not so nice elements you went to a pornography store, with an attendant who would ensure that patrons were over a certain age.
Enter the internet, gone are the geographic boundaries and attendants. Mum and dad and to some extent teachers are now the cop on the beat. Yes the internet now contains that library or phone book that was once available but in one place now. It also contains more pornography then most other content and other black market, dark web components from that keyboard. It also contains online games, gambling and social media.
Online games have been linked to addiction, social media 24/7 bullying, and of course I don't need to point out the pitfalls of the more dubious content. Not to mention anti social behaviour, cognitive issues, obesity and the list goes on.
If we talk only about the benefits of access to art galleries and library's we have to remember that this is only a small proportion of the internet and that proper resource gathering for research is not really taught until university and Wikipedia is a certain fail grade.
The internet is 24/7, teachers are not. It's up to parents to weight the pros and cons of an internet age. Responsible, limited use (time and access) is important. The advent of technology was supposed to usher in a time where we all worked less because we could achieve more in the shorter period. But that is not what has happened.
People are working longer hours, work and home life blur with mobile technology, other traditional industries and jobs disappear with no support or industry transition plans from government. People are smarter but they are also more lonely, depressed and over worked.
Is this the future we want for our children?
It's unfair to place the burden on schools and lets be honest they have enough to teach and are failing (look at NAPLAN). Technology integration starts at home and as parents we need to help foster a healthy relationship with technology with our children. In my household that means no screen time before the age of two. No technology in rooms (including for parents), Limited use through the day but a solid knowledge that it does exist. I plan on teaching research skills early and healthy boundaries with social media and games.
While I agree technology can do and be wonderful things we have to remember to temper our enthusiasm with a clear acceptance that it can also be a negative in peoples lives. Balance and teaching our children balance is key.
Warm regards,
Jen
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Monika Ryan
May 20, 2018, 2:09:15 AM5/20/18
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Hi Isaac,
I feel for you! I have been in a similar situation a couple of times. My passion was leading me to an uncertain future, while working for an employer ensured regular income…, and possibly a career path of promotions. After many years of working in jobs, alternating with running a small business and now combined with a family life filled with complex struggles, I am convinced that we should keep following our passions throughout our lives. Please don’t give up on yours! Would you like to have a chat over a cuppa? Maybe this would help a little? Feel free to call me, you know where I am.
Cheers,
Monika
Hey, I am 55 this year, and
From: intoitsap...@googlegroups.com <intoitsap...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of isaac liehne
Sent: Friday, 18 May 2018 9:51 AM
To: intoitsap...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: New educational models....
Welcome to the revolution.
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Cheers,
Carsten Eckelmann
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