ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN 2010 - Themes
Learning Content
In the last century we were told that ‘content is king’ and, in the new millennium it remains a critical area of focus. Topics here are:
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Openness
‘Open’ is the defining term of this decade; but what are the implications for open and free content? What business models would enable that to happen? What evidence is there that open educational resources are being used and with what impact? Can they be repurposed effectively and if so, how is that achieved?
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Standards & Rights
How are issues of digital rights being addressed? And how are standards being maintained in the face of increased openness and user-generated content.
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Content Creation
How is content in this digital age designed and developed? In what ways have input from learners enhanced established content? Have the barriers between academic or training experts and learning novices been broken down with the emergence of user-generated content? In what ways has the Wikipedia ‘model’ been migrated to the learning environment?
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Learning About Learning
The shift towards informal learning, and the necessity to learn how rather than what are becoming more evident as we move into the second decade of the millennium. Within this broad theme are three topics:
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Pedagogy
What are the pedagogies that enable 21st Century learning? What learning approaches have been used that demonstrate an effective response to these changes? What learning skills need to be developed and in what ways have been shown to be successful in achieving them? What pedagogical approaches have been found to support the full learning continuum or is there also a pedagogical continuum? Technology has the potential to take us into a New Age of learning but where is the evidence that we have moved out of the learning Ice Age? Ambient technology is becoming a reality – what does ambient learning look like? How can it be designed, delivered and assessed? How do we learn about leadership? What are the learning approaches that enable competence in leadership skills to be delivered?
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Learning Science
Has our increased insights into neuroscience led to any new leaning approaches? Do the net generation's brains 'learn' differently than those of their parents' generation?
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Learning Approaches
Learning on the go, learning through mobile devices and learning around practical applications are a powerful combination; what evidence is there of how these approaches can be used to best effect? Is blended learning ‘last decade’ or is it still an appropriate way to deliver learning interventions? In what ways has peer or collaborative learning evolved?
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Learning Ecosystems
The technologies we use to enable learning are changing all the time and at a pace that is difficult to keep up with. But they also provide challenges in terms of equitable access, ethical dimensions and the ways our lives are increasingly interlinked with the technology. Topics here are:
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What's Next?
Which technologies or applications will become dominant during this decade? What advantages does cloud computing deliver and why? Social media, social apps and mobile computing are now embedded within our day-to-day life; how do they figure within the learning context or are the distinctions between learning and everyday living diminishing? With rapidly changing technology what tools are there that support rapid development of learning opportunities? How is artificial intelligence being used to support learning?
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Ethical Implications
Does the technology provide improved access to learning opportunities for those often excluded because of physical, mental, economic or social constraints? What ethical issues do the continuing growth of technology present? There has been much talk of a ‘digital divide’; how can that divide be bridged? Digital identity is a dimension of technology; what impact does it have on the learning process? What ethical issues does it present and how might they be overcome? What evidence is there that ICT has a role to play in enabling personal, social and national development?
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Change Happens
Because of the economic crisis of the past 18 months, organisations have had to change in order to survive. What technologies are there, and how are they being used, to support organisations in transition. Are L&D departments changing? If so, how and why? Equally the formal educational sector faces increasing challenges, including the need to do more with less. How are these issues being addressed?
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Learning Environments
As the technology is relentlessly changing, so are the environments within which learning takes place. The dividers that segmented the learning continuum are breaking down; we move from informal to formal and back again and increasingly within a context of self-defined rather than directed learning. Using learning to empower individuals, communities, regions and nations is becoming a reality. However traditional learning environments of classroom, lecture hall and training room seem to continue with learning approaches that have remained unchanged for decades (sometimes centuries) and with an exclusivity based on economic, social or personal advantage – or are they changing? This theme has the following topics:
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Classroom Evolution
How are our educators, whether academic or training orientated, being prepared for the ways in which technology is changing the way we learn? What do learning mash-ups look like? How do they work and what impact do they have? Social media is essentially about individuals telling their stories; but how do we use digital story-telling in improve learning outcomes? And what level of digital literacy or skills is necessary to ensure learners are able to maximise the learning potential of the environments they are using?
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Changing Workplace
In what ways can learning interventions impact on business agility, develop entrepreneurial capability; improve quality of work outputs or increase staff confidence and satisfaction? How can talent be managed? Sustainability is crucial but how can that be delivered? Managing knowledge is a critical skill both in the formal and the informal learning environment. In what ways have we improved our capability to address this? Do employees have the necessary digital literacy and skills needed to enable them to maximise the impact of innovative technology?
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Virtual, Real and On-The-Move
Has ‘virtual’ delivered? Is this the Age of Real Time? What are the instructional design implications of 3D environments, serious games, virtual worlds and the use of avatars? With a growing emphasis on ‘openness’ what does an ‘open internet’ look like? How does it function? What are the advantages of ‘openness’ in terms of supporting the learning continuum? And what evidence do we have of what learners think of the learning environments they are required to use? Are there examples of learners becoming designers of their own learning environments? How far are mobile devices enabling real time learning to take place? Can mobility present learning opportunities denied through the more ‘traditional’ digital routes? Learning in a real world recognises that learning is a right for all; that economic, social, geographical or personal disadvantages need to be overcome in order to ensure equitable access to learning opportunities and that such access can be transformative – of individuals, communities, regions and nations. So in the real world how might eLearning be used in support of every day living skills and competences? Can learning for a better world be delivered through informal channels? In what ways can multigenerational learning be leveraged? What are the barriers e-inclusion seeks to overcome and how?
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Each of these domains should be explored within the context either Institutional Learning, Workplace Learning
or Lifelong Learning or any combination of these three.
Institutional Learning
Those working in education institutions are facing even tougher challenges as budgets are slashed and demands place by governments, individuals and businesses are all increasing. In the future, successful institutions will no longer be defined by their learner outcomes or research programmes alone, but also by the ability to respond effectively to changing needs of society by harness technology to creating new types of learning intervention. How can institutions prepare for change? How can they set the agenda for 21st century learning rather than be victims of the demands of a 21st century society? What practical things can institutions do today to be prepared for tomorrow? What innovative practices can institutions implement as a result of learning from those responsible for workplace learning and lifelong learning? These are the questions that OEB will be addressing within the core themes of OEB 2010.
Workplace Learning
For those delivering learning in the workplace, increased profitability, enhanced service, and improved business agility are the only learning outcomes that really count as the world emerges from recession. Successful learning and development departments will be delivering an improved service but often with reduced resources. The ability to harness technology effectively will be the key to success but so will the ability to create new types of solutions that meet critical business challenges. How can Learning and Development professionals prepare themselves to support the increasing challenges of the workplace? How can they add value when the highest proportion of workplace learning occurs informally and under the radar? How can they shift from being a cost centre to a true business partner? What innovative practices can L&D professionals in the workplace implement as a result of learning from those responsible for institutional and lifelong learning? These are the questions that OEB will be addressing within the core themes of OEB 2010.
Lifelong Learning
Society is changing rapidly, those individuals who are able to adapt and change with society are those that will be more likely to achieve their full potential and inspire others. The challenges for those involved in lifelong learning include breaking down the walls between institutional learning or workplace learning to create a seamless learning continuum where prior experience is acknowledged and potential is realised. This will involve issues of digital literacy so that individuals can live, learn and thrive in an increasingly digital society. How can those involved in lifelong learning support an individual’s learning journey? How can technology be used to break down the existing barriers without becoming a barrier in its own right? What innovative practices can those in lifelong learning sector develop as a result of learning from those responsible for workplace and institutional learning? These are the questions that OEB will be addressing within the core themes of OEB 2010.
