Ivory Tower to concrete jungle: Will LCDs light the way?

1. Ivory Tower to concrete jungle: Will LCDs light the way? Philip C Candy National Director of ETD NHS Connecting for Health philip.candy@nhs.net

2. A cautionary tale about the promise... Far away in the heavenly abode of the great god Indra, there is a wonderful net which has been hung by some cunning artificer in such a manner that it stretches out indefinitely in all directions. In accordance with the extravagant tastes of deities, the artificer has hung a single glittering jewel at the net's every node, and since the net itself is infinite in dimension, the jewels are infinite in number. There hang the jewels, glittering like stars of the first magnitude, a wonderful sight to behold. If we now arbitrarily select one of these jewels for inspection and look closely at it, we will discover that in its polished surface there are reflected all the other jewels in the net, infinite in number. Not only that, but each of the jewels reflected in this one jewel is also reflecting all the other jewels, so that the process of reflection is infinite. Cook, F H (1977). The Avatamsaka Sutra. In Hua-yen Buddhism: The jewel net of Indra. University Park and London: Pennsylvania State University

3. … and the performance • Error 404 File Not Found • Connection Refused • Connection Terminated • Connection Failed • Enter Login Name and Password • and, on one memorable occasion, • Congratulations, you've broken the Internet

4. Overview of presentation • Background • Some assumptions about learning and about elearning • Some pedagogical challenges and their elearning ‘solutions’ • Conclusion

5. Background to the title of the presentation • In 1991, Candy and Crebert undertook a study of the learning skills required of the new graduate. In their paper 'Ivory tower to concrete jungle: The difficult transition from the academy to the workplace as learning environments' (Journal of Higher Education, vol. 62, no. 5, pp. 570-92), they identified a number of radical discontinuities between the workplace and the academy as learning environments. These were then explored in terms of the skills required to navigate the shift.

6. Ivory Tower to Concrete Jungle • This was followed a few years later by a major study on behalf of the Australian Government into the development of skills for self-directed learning through undergraduate education (Candy, P. C., Crebert, G., & O'Leary, J. (1994). Developing lifelong learners through undergraduate education. (Commissioned Report 28). Canberra: National Board of Employment, Education and Training Australian Government Publishing Service). • Has the advent of the World Wide Web changed either the challenge or the way of approaching it?

7. Looking backwards to move forwards: Implications of fifty years of elearning research and development We need to avoid the narrow pedagogies that are predisposed by available technologies, such as those dictated by currently available VLEs, and instead impose broader and more sophisticated pedagogies that address the necessary relationships between community, communication and cognition. Or, putting this another way, if we want to ‘put the learning into e-learning’ then we have to treat technology as a mediator of what are, essentially, social learning processes. (Ravenscroft, 2002)

8. A few starting assumptions • Learning is a conversational act: how can we support various kinds of conversations? • Learning is an individual act which may not be caused by teaching and may not coincide with a teaching event • Campus and ‘beyond the campus’ – the challenge (imperative) of supporting lifelong learning • Elearning is not the same as e-training, e-tutoring or e-mentoring. The focus of elearning should be directly and unambiguously on learning and in particular on self-directed or autonomous learning • Our focus should be on solving enduring pedagogical problems: not just ‘e-mimicking’ (or, worse still, on ‘e-shovelling’)

9. So, what are some of these enduring pedagogical problems? • The time- and place-bound nature of most formal education • The fact that learning involves qualitative changes in meaning not quantitative accretions to a stock of information • Developing an anticipatory or futures-oriented frame of reference • Understanding whole systems, models and possibilities • The artificial divide between the classroom or lecture theatre and ‘real world’ situations and applications

10. And their solutions… • The time- and place-bound nature of most formal education: Open learning and distance education • The fact that learning involves qualitative changes in meaning not quantitative accretions to a stock of information: Constructivist – not instructivist - approaches to learning and assessment • Developing an anticipatory or futures-oriented frame of reference: Learning for about the future – possible, probable and preferable futures • Understanding whole systems, models and possibilities: Games, simulations and experiential learning • The artificial divide between the classroom or lecture theatre and ‘real world’ situations and applications: Learning from real life settings, practitioners and resources

11. Learning beyond the Campus Open learning and distance education Constructivist – not instructivist - approaches to learning and assessment Learning from real life settings, practitioners and resources Learning for and about the future Games, simulations and experiential learning

12. Open education and distancelearning • The long tradition of correspondence education • Advances in open education and distance learning • Increased use of multimedia and eventually of telecommunications • But beware of pedagogic trajectories from the past – transmission-based approaches

13. Digital developments in open education and distance learning • Convergence of various modalities: words, pictures, video and audio-streaming • Synchronous and asynchronous communications with tutors and with other learners • Increased use of forums, blogs, wikis and other user generated content • Advances in the sophistication and functionality of Managed Learning Environments • Rapid elearning; content authoring • Leicester’s ‘Media Zoo’

14. Constructivist – not instructivist - approaches to learning and assessment • Constructivist approaches – how people make sense of their realities • Personal constructs and socio-grids • Diaries, journals and reflective essays • Tracking learning journeys over time • Drafts, revisions and final versions • Concept maps and schemata

15. Digital developments in constructivist approaches to learning and assessment • All of the above plus: • Video diaries • Software that tracks and reflects changes over time • Software that allows users to reflect and test their mental models of phenomena • Software applications that allow for varying some parameters and testing ‘hypotheses’ or ‘hunches’ • Software that prompts reflection and internal conversations

16. Learning about events that haven’t happened yet In a broadcast on the BBC in 1932, H G Wells stated: It seems an odd thing to me that though we have thousands and thousands of professors and hundreds of thousands of students of history working upon the records of the past, there is not a single person anywhere who makes a whole-time job of estimating the future consequences of new inventions and new devices. There is not a single Professor of Foresight in the world.

17. Learning about events that haven’t happened yet – possible, probable and preferable futures • Futures studies are about possibilities, not predictions • …Not in Utopia, subterranean Fields, Or some secreted Island, heaven knows where! But in the very world, which is the world Of all of us,-- the place where in the end We find our happiness, or not at all! (William Wordsworth, 1805, The French Revolution as It Appeared to Enthusiasts at Its Commencement)

18. Learning about events that haven’t happened yet • As Toffler observed, essentially all education is about the future. Resources include: • Artists’ impressions; paintings and drawings • Art installations; ‘Found objects’ from the future • Imaginative literature; sci-fi; alternative or conjectural histories • ‘What if…’ scenarios (e.g., the Mont Fleur Scenarios) • Moderated discussions • Films, videos and ‘mocumentaries’

19. Digital developments in learning about events that haven’t happened yet • All the above, available instantly and conveniently • Online forums and summits • Blogs and online discussion forums • Web-based ‘Open space’ forums • Websites devoted to all kinds of futures discussions and tracking projections (e.g., Long Now Foundation) • Access to authors, thinkers, dreamers • The availability of radically different views and visions can be a stimulus to forming personal values about desirable futures

20. Games, simulations and experiential learning • Flight and other simulators • Role-playing and role-taking • War Games; TEWTs • Model offices; atelier studios; moot courts • Games and simulations (e.g., Tango – Sveiby) • Standardised patients and OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examinations) • Microteaching • Practice interviews (clinicians; social workers) • … in fact any simulation for any career, occupation or job

21. Digital developments in games, simulations and experiential learning • MUDs, MOOs and Dungeons • Digital simulations of any environment, context or setting • Virtual reality (e.g, Wii; THOTH) • Second Life: "Real Learning in a Virtual World“ • Eilif Trondsen (2006) Virtual Worlds for Learning and Training • (see: http://www.sric-bi.com/LoD/summaries/2006-12virtualworlds.shtml)

22. Improving the ‘real world’ relevance of formal education • Apprenticeships; atelier methods • Sites visits, field trips, observational studies • Sandwich courses • Internships, placements, practicums • Visiting lecturers, adjunct appointments • Industry mentors • Resource Based Learning

23. Digital developments inimproving the ‘real world’ relevance of formal education • The university's value, we claim, lies in the complex relationship it creates between knowledge, communities, and credentials. Changes contemplated in either the institutional structure or technological infrastructure of the university should recognize this relationship. In particular, any change should seek to improve the ability of students to work directly with knowledge-creating communities. • Universities in the Digital Age (John Seeley Brown and Paul Duguid, PARC Xerox)

24. Digital developments inimproving the ‘real world’ relevance of formal education • Increasing use of the same software and even the same platforms by students and practitioners • Shared access to the same learning resources and modules (e.g., Doctors.net; Clinical Knowledge Summaries) • Seamless linkages between work and learning (e.g., MOCOMP in Canada) • Discussion forums and online mentoring • Ability for learners to access experts directly and in real time

25. Some (provisional) conclusions • Elearning should not be used to substitute for methods and approaches that are demonstrably better in face-to-face mode • Elearning should not be used simply to replicate existing pedagogical approaches or assumptions • Elearning should be utilised for its potential to meet learning challenges and solve problems not addressed by other approaches • Elearning is quintessentially about learning, and this provides some important insights into what we should be doing as educators

26. But the biggest challenge of all • is trying to support self-directed learning and build capacity for it…

27. Learning beyond the Campus Open education and distance learning Constructivist – not instructivist - approaches to learning and assessment Learning from real life settings, practitioners and and resources Building the capacity and infrastructure for self-directed learning Learning for and about the future Games, simulations and experiential learning

28. Some possible lessons… • … for software design AND for facilitating learning (and, by the way e-literacy) • Based on a study of self-directed learning • “What people do when no-one is telling them what to do”

29. www.dest.gov.au/research/publications/linking_thinking/

30. Why choose self-directed learning? • self-directed learning occurs without the ideological or pedagogical overlay of teaching in formal education and training settings, and may accordingly provide a more direct route to understanding the relationship(s) between learning and technologies; • self-directed learning is the prototype of all learning and, since it has been extensively researched and documented in the pre-digital offline world it should be possible to make some claims about whether and how digital technologies are affecting learning;

31. Why choose self-directed learning? • there is a close and growing relationship between self-directed learning and that which occurs in formal education and training settings, in the sense that self-directed learning is commonly a precursor to, and even more often a consequence of participation in formal courses of study.

32. Why self-directed learning? (continued) • in the context of lifelong learning, self-directed learning is a principal way in which people keep up with change, and since we are currently experiencing unprecedented change on a global scale, the demands of a changing world are likely to impact on the nature and extent of self-directed learning that people engage in; and, finally, • evidence suggests that at least some forms of self-directed learning are particularly suited to the online environment and there is merit in exploring the linkage.

33. A timeless insight about self-direction The truth is that even those who enjoy to the greatest extent the advantages of what is called a regular education must be their own instructors as to the greater portion of what they acquire, if they are ever to advance beyond the elements of learning. What they learn at schools and colleges is comparatively of small value, unless their own after reading and study improve those advantages. Craik, G (1830). The Pursuit of Knowledge Under Difficulties. London: Charles Knight and SDUK.

34. Towards a model based on studying self-directed learners • Engaging with the technology for learning • Locating, retrieving and utilising resources • Evaluating sources and resources • Assimilating new information and insights • Reconceptualising - transforming understandings • Networking - contributing to the community of learners • For each: Claim and Counter-claim

35. Engaging with the technology: Claims • Convenience - available 24*7 • Suits a range of learning styles • Fewer (or different) impediments to participation • User anonymity or protected identity • “On the Internet, no one knows you’re a dog” • Inexhaustible patience of the technology • Possible to exit from difficult or awkward situations • Opportunity to contribute to others’ learning • Highly addictive - engages curiosity-driven inquirers • Requires high degree of self-discipline • 4Es:Effectiveness, Ease of Use; Engagement; Environment

36. Engaging with the technology: Counter-claims • Costs and connectivity may preclude some • There is an overwhelming amount of information • Some sources too complex or require high levels of literacy • Impatience with breakdowns/slow connections • Learners may not believe in the technology • Phenomenon of ‘computerphobia’ (gender?) • Many people have a fear of looking stupid • People may lack awareness of ‘netiquette’ • Concerns about the ‘presentation of self’ • Lack of feedback or context to contributions • Search engines may militate against serendipity

37. Locating, retrieving and utilising resources: Claims • Search engines facilitate plain language inquiries • Not all located resources will be digital • Not all finding aids will be digital either • Portals and specialised search engines can facilitate the identification of relevant sources • ‘Push’ technologies (including personal web watchers) can customise searching • Being part of a community of learners can increase a learner’s ‘reach’ (but not his or her ‘grasp’?)

38. Locating, retrieving and utilising resources: Counter-claims • Many useful resources are on the ‘deep web’ • Some resources are ‘pay-per-view’ • ‘If it’s not on the web, it doesn’t count’ • English is the dominant medium • Some material takes too long to download • Mutable resources are impermanent • Problem of non-enduring locators • Evolving nature of each inquiry • The challenges of navigating in hyperspace

39. Evaluating sources and resources: Claims • Potential to evaluate original digitised resources • The lack of ‘rigid canonical thinking’ frees learners to make independent judgements • Many search engines provide a relevance rating • Reputable institutions, publishers and organisations provide a ‘seal of approval’ • Potential to obtain ‘expert’ input from others

40. Evaluating sources and resources (contd.) • Move towards ‘refereed’ sites and electronic publications • Range of useful web evaluation guides • Coverage • Currency • Objectivity • Accuracy • Authority • Audience

41. Evaluating sources and resources: Counter-claims • The overwhelming volume of information • Screen-based nature of the web militates against ‘study’ • The appearance of websites is not always a guide to quality • Lack of comparability between offline and online sources • Links do not always bear the imprimatur of the referring site • Understanding how search engines and portals rate sources • Lack of ‘narrative structure’ leads to decontextualised knowledge claims • The dynamic nature of digital spaces affects evaluation • Information literacy itself is an evolving capability

42. Assimilating new information and insights: Claims • Learning involves more than the accumulation of isolated ‘factoids’ • Learners have access to diverse information sources and forms, and hence to various perspectives • The creation of concept maps that mirror understanding • Software can facilitate the capture and management of large amounts of information (Lynx, Storyspace, e-gems etc) • Dynamic nature of the domain accommodates evolving development of understandings • Considerable potential to request help from others

43. Assimilating new information and insights: Counter-claims • Non-linear nature of hypertext • Sheer number of sources to be integrated (‘Infoglut’ or ‘Data Smog’) • Evolving nature of learner’s understandings • Inconsistencies between sources • Decontextualised nature of many resources • Mutability or volatility of sources

44. Reconceptualising - transforming understandings: Claims • Seeing things from a new perspective lies at the heart of all learning (Piaget) • Technologies can support transformation and visualisation of digital information • The web as a metaphor for cognitive functioning (the ‘interbrain’) • Knowledge can be co-constructed through a learning community • Reconceptualisation through ‘vicarious learning’

45. Reconceptualising - transforming understandings: Counter-claims • Technologies can pre-ordain knowledge structures • High degree of technological proficiency may be needed to use certain software • Possibility of misconstruing important concepts without correctives • Time for reflection may be in short supply in the online world

46. Networking - contributing to the community of learners: Claims • Provides a human aspect to online learning • Essentially a democratic, self-regulatingenvironment • Unprecedented opportunities to ‘publish’ ideas and findings (see, e.g., ornithology; genealogy) • Requests for help have exceptionally wide reach • Information may be shared in a variety of formats (text and non-text) • Communities of learners may be virtual or real (eg companies or communities) • Knowledge can be co-created e.g., through tools such as ‘Answer Garden,’ blogs and wikis

47. Networking - contributing to the community of learners: Counter-claims • Ability to participate is dependent on connectivity (may be controlled by employer) • Lack of quality control over information • In unmoderated lists, ignorance can be amplified • Moderated lists can exert a censoring or silencing of contributions • The willingness to share requires both technical competence and personal confidence

48. Elements of a model of e-learning • Engaging with the technology • Locating, retrieving and utilising resources • Evaluating sources and resources • Assimilating new information and insights • Reconceptualising - transforming understandings • Networking - contributing to the community of learners In the context of: • 6 Cs: Connectivity; Competence; Content; Credibility and confidentiality; Capturing information; and Collaboration

49. Conclusion Higher education is not a factory…a business…or a bureaucracy…. We need to develop more humane and organic analogies and models. The relevant analogies are biological, ecological, organic, psychological, sociological and philosophical. A…university is a habitat, a society, a community, an environment, an ecosystem. It should be judged by the quality of life that it fosters, the opportunities for experience and exploration it provides, the concern for growth, for enrichment and for culture that it exemplifies. The question is not just ‘What does your machine produce?’ but also ‘How does your garden grow?’ Pace, C R (1971). Thoughts on Evaluation in Higher Education.