Steve Wheeler hosts the panel debate
Live notes from the panel debate . . .
Speakers
Donald Clark (DC)
Chair – Steve Wheeler
Andrew Jacobs (AJ)
Denise Hudson-Lawson (DHL)
Panel asked for their general views on tech
DC There are a great deal of misconceptions about what technology is for. Google changed our lives pedagogically forever.
DHL You should not be forced to any type of tech to learn. The BYOD philosophy is great.
AJ Tech cannot be innovative until we see it in practice. The tech is made and then seeks a purpose. We fix people to our tech and our rules. We need to be more flexible.
DC I dislike the word innovation. We have to be careful – innovation needs to be sustainable. Criticises Mitra and is challenged from the floor. Goes on to criticise self organised learning – Rousseau was wrong and subsequent theories on self organised learning have not worked.
AJ IN L&D we don’t treat adults as adults. We treat them as school children and put them in classrooms. We need to trust people to learn for themselves.
MOOCs
AJ MOOCS hekp shift L&D from pusher to provider. It is self organised.Completion rates don’t wok. We count the wring stuff in L&D. What matters is a change in performance, that could come soon after starting one.
DHL Like the concept of being open to all. My problem is that they put the classroom online. MOOCs have evolved away from learning anywhere and anytime.
DC I’ve waited all my life to see millions of peole going through free education. Some of the MOOCs are extraordinarily high quality. Give the MOOCs some time to breathe. It is still early days.
DC MOOCs are demand driven. Self learning in adult world i=s a real thing and MOOCs satisfy that need.
Artificial intelligence
DH AI will do basic tasks not take over the world.
AJ Already happening. I can talk to my phone and get answers.
DC Invested in a AI learning company. Adaptive learning uses algorithms to personalise learning. Have to get out of mindset of click through elearning. We’ll see a big rise in adaptive learning in 2015.
DC If your job is decision making you may well find a machine taking over your job.
From the floor – we don’t know the impact and speed for adoption
DC AI is here and it is shaping our intelligence.
Touch surfaces
DHL Touch screens bring learning to life.
AJ But what if you can’t afford them? We need to be clear about who this is for and who has access.
DC Research shows that there are problems with touch screens. No student in their right mind would have only a tablet if they had to write essays and code.
Wearables
AJ I can see value in personal fitness. If you use Google glass to record their work
DHL They are not new – we are talking about portable and connected wearables
DC Tech can be about status. This is very true with wearables.
Presence
DC Simulations are the past and present. But presence is coming to the consumer market in Occulus Rift. We create a social care home, create avatars and then people go in and train. Lot of competencies can be taught in VR. You also get to experience flight sims for real word tasks.
Immersives
AJ Cost issues, Also what do we need to teach in situ vs an immersive environment.
DHL I can see this being used in military, hostage training for execs. It can reduce cost and spread it out.
DC There will be millions of these sold. Vocational training is horrendously expensive. This is one of the tools to make it cheap, efficient and quick.
