I’ve been tasked, twice, over the last couple of weeks with re-envisioning new ways of working. When I discuss working at the university, an important part of the conversation must necessarily revolve around teaching and learning – after all, that’s a significant part of the work that we do at university (and it’s a part that I would like to see garner more respect than it currently does). Nevertheless, I’ve chosen to approach these questions from the perspective of a learning designer, because I think that they need creative solutions that are flexible and scale able – and also applicable in a wide range of solutions.
So, then, faced with the challenge of re-envisioning teaching and learning to meet the needs of the 21st century learner, what changes might be made for the university? In particular, how might the model of teaching and learning currently in place be changed? Firstly, I don’t think it’s fair to say, as some have already claimed, that teaching and learning hasn’t changed since medieval times. While there are still lectures in place, these lectures look very different to lectures delivered in the past – mainly through the various affordances provided by technology.
Nevertheless, it remains an important question to consider whether we are making enough use of these new technologies; that is, are we getting enough out of these technologies? Equally, we need to be mindful of the challenges that the new technologies bring to the learning space – not least of which is concerns about a lack of human engagement. Learning is entirely relational – that doesn’t change regardless of the technology platforms that are used – and any new design must provide adequate opportunities for these relationships to take place.
So, a couple of thoughts: one of the key features of new technology is that is scaleable. That is, hosted videos, for example, mean many thousands of people can access a lecture’s content, when in the past that might have been limited to less than 100. Another key consideration is that it is repeatable: you can play a video over, and over, again, as many times as you like – which is certainly an option that’s not available for your real-time, human lectures.
So, how are we making use of these technologies in new forms of learning? And, how are we overcoming the ‘switch-off’ factor that a media saturated generation experiences? After all, there is little doubt that few students have the determination or patience to sit through an hour’s worth of lecturing.