Visiting Speakers – Page 8 – Digital Learning Dispatches

At the beginning of October 2016 Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO gave a talk on DCU’s St Patrick’s Campus on the future of learning. Prior to hearing from the CEO the audience of over 500 guests heard Mark Pollock share his personal story about challenging conventional thinking.

Microsoft

During a fireside chat with Professor Deirdre Butler of DCU Institute of Education and Associate Member of the NIDL, the Microsoft chief spoke about inspiring the next generation of teachers to engage and embrace new learning technologies. Thanking Mr Nadella for his insights, Professor Butler said,

“From one lifelong learner to another, I am excited that we share many of the same values and principles. I look forward to designing meaningful learning environments that harness technology in creative and innovative ways to empower our students to ‘be the difference in the world’ in order to create a just and equitable society for all.”

On the 30th September 2016, the NIDL hosted Professor Mike Keppell, Pro Vice-Chancellor Learning Transformations, Swinburne University, Australia. As part of our regular visiting scholar series Mike gave a presentation entitled, “New Designs for New Times: 21st Century Learning Spaces”.

Mike

The presentation explored distributed and personal learning environments across the increasingly seamless spectrum of physical, blended and virtual learning spaces. It argued that higher education in the 21st Century is no longer defined by tangible boundaries of a ‘physical campus’ but by the entire student experience, whether that involves the physical corridors of the campus, attending face-to-face classes, or participating in fully or partially online courses. In addition, the student experience may also involve connecting to virtual environments from home, a local cafe, on the bus or participating in professional practice away from the physical campus. Professor Keppell’s talk explored the diverse range of spaces that can be used to enrich the learning and teaching experience for both academics and students and raised the importance of the need to recognise and purposefully design for the changing nature of learning spaces in higher education.