Associations, Digital Learning, Presentations, Research

Another ESAI Digital Learning Research Symposium

This year we were delighted to continue our strategic partnership with the Education Studies Association of Ireland (EASI) to support another Digital Learning Research Symposium as part of the annual conference in Cork (20-22 April, 2017). The conference theme was “Changing Research: Working the Spaces between Education Policy and Practice”.

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The Research Symposium was designed in accordance with this theme to explore a number of big questions confronting researchers in the area of digital learning. It built on ‘The Next Generation Digital Learning Research Symposium’ jointly hosted by ESAI in November 2016 at Dublin City University (DCU) in partnership with the Irish Learning Technology Association (ILTA) and National Institute for Digital Learning (NIDL). The intention of this follow up event was to discuss some of the contemporary issues, opportunities and challenges facing the field with a critical eye on the future. More specifically the Symposium was structured to explore the following questions:

  • What research in the area of Digital Learning is currently being conducted in the Irish context?
  • How is the Openness movement reshaping the nature of formal education?
  • What are the implications of the Unbundling movement for the future of formal education?
  • What are some of the issues and challenges arising from the emergence of analytics and big data in formal education?
  • What is the role and potential of coding in the school curriculum?

In exploring these questions, the aim was to critically reflect on the impact of the digital era on formal education set against the context of wider societal changes—for better and worse. Additionally the above framing questions were designed to help participants identify, discuss and debate some of the current gaps in the literature as digital learning continues to evolve nationally and internationally.

The opening slide-deck setting the background to the symposium appears below along with one of the presentations on the issue of unbundling of higher education.

Development, Digital Learning, Learning Futures, Policy and Strategy

Success of DCU-Fuse in Reimagining the Future

DCU-Fuse was a unique 24 hour online envisioning and collaborative brainstorming experience, which took place over 30th & 31st March 2017, in partnership with students to engage stakeholders in development of a new 5-year Strategic Plan (2017-2022). FuseThis innovative project, first of its kind in Europe, was framed by Dublin City University’s (DCU) mission of ‘transforming lives and societies’ and strongly anchored in five core principles of ethical leadership: inclusion, openness, collaboration, sustainability and transformation for better futures. The objective was to canvas the community for ideas using an innovative online platform during World Open Education Week to shape and reimagine the next phase of the University’s development.

The unique DCU-Fuse platform was structured to support 32 separate online conversations over 24-hours across four channels, covering a variety of themes, which engaged the DCU community in meaningful dialogue related to the University’s future. NIDL staff was actively involved in leading and contributing to these conversations. Almost 6000 separate online posts and contributions and over 7000 likes were shared, along with around 80,000 page views, over 24-hours. Importantly, the DCU-Fuse experience also established thriving physical hubs on each academic campus supported by students throughout the 24 hours.

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A distinctive feature of the DCU-Fuse experience was the underlying conceptual framework designed to reflect the University’s mission, core principles of ethical leadership, and contemporary models of open, inclusive and transformative online learning. More specifically. DCU-Fuse integrated key elements from three seminal theories on learning technology innovation. Twitter Fuse

Firstly, Laurillard’s (2013) Conversational Framework informed the platform design and engagement model by ensuring rich feedback loops. Secondly, Garrison, Anderson and Archer’s (2000) Community of Inquiry Framework was influential in fostering a strong sense of presence and community amongst participants, augmented by rich interactive content. Notably, each conversation was facilitated by a member of the University community, with support from a team of moderators who participated in relevant training. Thirdly, Hattie’s (2015) concept of Visible Learning based on a synthesis of over 1200 meta-analyses informed the platform usability and structure of conversations to enhance the flow of activities over the 24 hour period.

The DCU-Fuse experience was also invaluable in leveraging the University’s wider digitalisation agenda. Put simply, DCU “walked the talk” by infusing technology throughout our institutional culture in a truly open, inclusive and transformative experience. As Niall Behan, the new incoming Students’ Union President, comments:

“DCUFuse brought large-scale town hall meetings to the 21st Century online environment. This level of commitment to ensuring all opinions are heard, is part of a holistic model everyone at DCU is proud of. By being self-reflective and inquisitive in this manner, all aspects of the student experience can be improved, creating an even better institution”.

The following presentation on DCU-Fuse experience was later presented in June by Professor Mark Brown at the annual European Distance and e-Learnng Network (EDEN) conference.