Course Reflection

Evolution of Learning

The evolution or learning over the past 7 weeks has been tremendous. Going into this class I was optimistic about the content we might cover. Although heavily resistant to creating yet another form of social media with the blog it turned out to be an exciting experience. I dabbled with a new presentation format that makes PowerPoint seem dull and boring. I stated in one assignment “[a]ttending an online degree program has certainly opened my eyes to the possibilities that technology offers for added educational value. My son’s school posts grades, shares notes, and other relevant information weekly through progress e-mails that keep us informed about most everything. Each day I grow in my knowledge, skills, and abilities and completely embrace technology to enhance my capabilities in the teaching world. Being tech savvy and having an aptitude for computers helps increase my confidence.” This is still true and further enhanced by this class. The three topics that were significant to me during this class are; disruptive innovation, digital native/immigrant, and college accreditation.

Disruptive Innovation

Studying disruptive innovation within the higher education landscape piqued my interest and how it applies to my business and looking at trends in other business models. Living in a free market society allows for any industry, especially education to be disrupted and enhanced with free ideas and new technologies. Online learning has disrupted the status quo of education and as Christensen, et al. (2011) stated, “A disruptive innovation has a couple key elements or enablers that are particularly salient to the future of higher education. The first is a technology enabler. This allows the innovation, which starts in a simple application and competes first against nonconsummation—by serving people who were not able to be served or were not desirable to serve—to be “upwardly scalable” and improve year over year without replicating the cost structure of the old products and services it gradually replaces” (para. 7). Additionally, after researching this topic it became clearer than ever that while technology can be a disruptive innovation it does not always replace the learning that happens face-to-face.

Digital Native/Digital Immigrant

The term digital native and digital immigrant was new to me this term and expanded my understanding of how different it is to teach a digital native that has grown up with technology all around them. According to Presnsky (2012), “[t]oday’s average college grads have spent less than 5,000 hours of their lives reading, but over 10,000 hours playing video games (not to mention 20,000 hours watching TV). Computer games, email, the Internet, cell phones, and instant messaging are integral parts of their lives” (p. 68). This versus a digital immigrant that does not possess the same fast-paced multitasking skills and thus are more reliant on step-by-step instruction and prefer to complete tasks one at a time. Additionally, these terms have enhanced my understanding of my own son who would be classified as a digital native. He is far better at multitasking than either my wife or myself at the same age and continues to expand his learning with games, apps, and his own educational journey. Lastly, on the professional side, I encounter patients of all ages and when I introduce the digital native to the technology in my practice they embrace it, however, the digital immigrant is reluctant to take part in the online forms, or even log into their records via the internet.

College Accreditation

Accreditation is an important factor in higher education and was established to ensure there are basic guidelines for colleges and universities to follow when granting degrees. There is a thought however, that accreditation stifles innovation and this poses a problem for new models of higher education that fall outside of the norm. Based on Manning (2014) and her “chicken or the egg” stance there is a reason to believe accreditation does stifle innovation. A school cannot get accredited without students and cannot qualify for student loans. Students that cannot afford school without loans will likely not attend a non-accredited school. “If you want to start a new college or university, you may have an insurmountable problem: You have enough capital to cover startup costs, but once you begin enrolling students, they will have to pay tuition. There is no business plan that can manage without that source of revenue. The tuition will be fair, but it will also be beyond what most students can afford unless they have access to federal student grants and loans” (para. 11).

Having witnessed a chiropractic college lose its accreditation, which is required by every state licensing board, it is critical to follow the guidelines of the accrediting bodies and take the necessary steps to petition them to allow for more innovative teaching techniques and technology. Professionally my desire to become the president of my alma matter places this topic square on my shoulders and will garner more attention from me in the years to come.

References

Christensen, C. M., Horn, M. B., Caldera, L., & Soares, L. (2011). Disrupting college: How disruptive innovation can deliver quality and affordability to postsecondary education. Washington, DC and Mountain View, CA: Center for American Progress and Innosight Institute.

Manning, S. (2014, October).Launching new institutions: Solving the chicken-or-egg problem in American higher education. [PDF file]. American Enterprise Institute. Retrieved from http://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Launching-New-Institutions-3.pdf

Prensky, M. (2012). From digital natives to digital wisdom: Hopeful Essays for 21st-century learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Pedagogy for Digital Natives

The implications for instructional methods and strategies used in higher education start with digital natives having a vast amount of information at their fingertips and exposure to many different teaching methods. Fact checking is faster mostly more accurate and certainly faster than going to a library and having to look up information “the old way.” Some students are extremely visual and learn better through video, others are auditory and can now “read” a book with Audible and other book reading applications. According to Christensen and Eyring (2011) “[t]he changes are rapid and offer more to our students than was previously available to older generations” (p. 326). Further, technological and social change threatens to destabilize the old-style university’s dominance.

Students will be enticed away from traditional pedagogical learning with the advent of technology and will have additional options and paths that were never offered before. For example, every semester a student can choose to study at home or at a campus, they can take a semester off to explore internships. Additionally, they can customize their courses to fit their preferred learning style, they can choose fully face-to-face, fully online, or a mix of the two.

There is a collaborative side for faculty that allows them to reach across borders and engage with other faculty at any university in the world to gain new perspectives and enhance their teaching. Bowen (2013) poised the thought that with the age of technology a university faculty could devote more time to promoting “active learning,” more timely feedback, less time grading and giving the same lecture countless times. Additionally, diversity is increased with easier access from more students around the globe and finally slower tuition rate hikes as costs are stabilized (Bowen, 2013, p. 44). Instructional methods are evolving and for the better.

Bowen (2013) stated that “we found no statistically significant differences in standard measures of learning outcomes (pass or completion rates, scores on common final exam questions, and results of a national test of statistical literacy) between students in the traditional classes and students in the hybrid-online format classes” (p. 48). Further, student diversity blew the idea that only exceptionally well-prepared, high-achieving students can succeed in online classes. Most students in the study he referenced came from families with less than $50,000 family incomes, half were first-generation college students and fewer than half were white (Bowen, 2013, p. 49). This information suggests that the changes that need to be made in our instructional practice can and will increase effectiveness.

Prensky (2012) stated digital technology can be used to make us smarter and wiser. Further, he stated “[d]igital wisdom is a two-fold concept, referring both to wisdom arising from the use of digital technology to access cognitive power beyond our usual capacity and to wisdom in the use of technology to enhance our innate capabilities” (p. 202). The amount of available information to enhance our instructional practice is never-ending and is being added to on a daily, even an hourly basis. The changes that can be made are simple, integrate the old with the new, enhance our understanding of how digital natives brains are being trained and taught differently so we can meet them on their level and enhance learning for all.

References

Bowen, W. G. (2013). Higher education in the digital age. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Christensen, C. M., & Eyring, H. J. (2011). The innovative university: Changing the DNA of higher education from the inside out. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Prensky, M. (2012). From digital natives to digital wisdom: Hopeful Essays for 21st-century learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Future Forward Exemplars

Georgia State University (GSU) is at the forefront of higher education in innovation and ranks second according to U.S. News & World Report (Most Innovative Schools, n.d.). The university is home to six campuses spread throughout downtown Atlanta and because of the dozens of Fortune 500 companies, GSU students and faculty get urban labs that let them draw creative inspiration (Most Innovative Schools, n.d.). Additionally, a remarkable system has been put into place that tracks students and alert student advisers of issues, so they can intercede before students get off track and drop out.

GSU’s web page demonstrates a university that is adapting to digital natives and includes a virtual tour that exceeds expectations. They offer an honors college within the college and are home to the oldest business college in the state. Partnered with Delta Airlines, the business college offers many high-tech solutions to their business students and bridges the gap between business education and the business world. The Helen M. Aderhold learning center is equipped with the latest audio-visual and distance learning and instructional technology. Additionally, the Collaborative University Research and Visualization Environment (CURVE) within the library is a “technology-rich discovery space supporting the research and digital scholarship of GSU students, faculty, and staff” (CURVE, n.d., para. 1). The library also houses the InteractWall a 24-foot touch-enabled video wall that can render complex models and respond to multiple touch users at the same time. Students can also sync the wall to their mobile devices.

The university is nationally recognized as a leader in creating innovative approaches that foster the success of students from all academic, socio-economic, racial and ethnic backgrounds. GSU is also one of only a few large universities using technology to track students from the moment they arrive on campus through graduation. The early warning system gets students the intervention needed to stay on track and has aided in increasing GSU’s graduation rate to 54% from 32%. One student adviser starts his morning checking to see if any of the undergraduates have tripped one of the 800 alerts that could signal potential academic trouble (Fausset, 2018).

GSU has become a beacon of hope for undeserved populations and is being sought after for its innovative approach to student success and management. They changed their model and mission to not just take underprivileged students but to actually work to see them graduate and succeed. More and more colleges and universities could take a page or two from GSU’s success in their students and the massive increase in graduation rates.

References

CURVE. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://library.gsu.edu/services-and-spaces/spaces-and-technology/curve/

Fausset, R. (2018, May 15). Georgia State, Leading U.S. in Black Graduates, Is Engine of Social Mobility. Retrieved from https://www-nytimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.nytimes.com/2018/05/15/us/georgia-state-african-americans.amp.html

Georgia State University. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.gsu.edu/

Most Innovative Schools. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/innovative

Learning from MOOC’s

How do MOOCs fit into the general higher education landscape? Or are they more suited to the “fringe?”

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) fit into general higher education by expanding and broadening the learning environment to include the non-traditional student. Society has ingrained in ourselves the belief that education without a degree is not an education. This could not be further from the truth. Selingo (2014) stated that many educators feel as though MOOC’s have failed to meet their promises based on the fact that they lack completion rates and the prestige of attending a traditional college. What they fail to see is the business owner that needs to learn how to prepare a business plan for financing, or the mechanic that wants to learn more about diesel engines, or any number of topics. The non-traditional student is not necessarily worried about hanging a diploma on a wall or walking across a stage. MOOC’s offer real tangible education that can be applied directly to one’s field tomorrow.

Expanding on MOOC’s and integrating them into degree-seeking students is something that is gaining steam and appeals to working professionals and others. It has always interested me that society seems to be bellowing for diversity and equity within the walls of higher education and yet has the question been asked whether many of the disadvantaged people or lower socioeconomic people want to attain a degree? We have the most open an available higher education system in the world and yet our diversity numbers remain about the same. Population sizes of each group must also be factored into the possible lack of diversity. It is not for the fringe, MOOC’s are here and only going to grow in breadth and depth of knowledge.

What can traditional higher education institutions learn from MOOCs to use them effectively as a learning tool?

Traditional higher education institutions can learn from the way MOOC’s focus more on content than time, on benchmarks/mastery more than checking boxes on a to-do list, increasing quality of education, and decreasing cost according to Christensen, et al. (2011). Further, there is an untapped potential for meeting continuing education requirements, professional training, and module-specific tracks that appeal to a broader student base.

How can institutions measure the quality of MOOC design, delivery, and outcomes such that they can be included in a student’s transcript and graduation requirements? Discuss the likelihood of that occurrence.

The measurement of quality in an MOOC would have to show some standard that must be met and demonstrate the content to meet that standard. This would be like attempting to transfer credit hours from one university to another. The course content is evaluated to see if it meets the same standard for credit. Additionally, there would have to be an examination or proficiency test to ensure students actually learned the material. Lastly, there would need to be a way to discourage cheating, for example having someone else take the test for you. Biometrics could help solve this dilemma and offer credibility to an MOOC. The likelihood of this occurring is great and attainable. National standards are already making their way through our education system.

References

Christensen, C. M., Horn, M. B., Caldera, L., & Soares, L. (2011). Disrupting college: How disruptive innovation can deliver quality and affordability to postsecondary education. Washington, DC and Mountain View, CA: Center for American Progress and Innosight Institute.

Selingo, J. J. (2014, October 29). Demystifying the MOOC. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/02/education/edlife/demystifying-the-mooc.html