E-Learning-Inclusivo (Mashup)

Academic librarians are helping both students and instructors navigate the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence.

Via Peter Mellow, Bhushan Thapliyal

Generative AI (GAI) has quickly gained a significant foothold in academia, and is now used widely for teaching, learning, and research purposes.[1] While national trends in student and faculty adoption are unclear, surveys conducted by individual institutions have found that approximately 50 percent to 65 percent of both students and faculty have used ChatGPT or one of its commercial competitors.[2] If current trends continue, in the near future GAI use will be ubiquitous, fully integrated into the core mission of colleges and universities.

Understanding the value of individual products in a now-crowded marketplace is a major challenge for end users and for university CIOs, IT departments, and others involved in decision-making.

While the full effects of this transformation are, at best, clear only in outline, 2023 saw both well-established vendors and start-ups racing to bring GAI applications optimized for use in educational contexts to market. As we write this brief, new products are appearing so rapidly that just keeping up with them is difficult, and understanding the value of individual products in a now-crowded marketplace is a major challenge for end users and for university CIOs, IT departments, and others involved in decision making about which products will be supported and/or licensed for campus users.

Since last fall, Ithaka S+R has been partnering with 19 colleges and universities from the US and Canada to assess GAI’s impact on higher education and make evidence-based, proactive decisions about how to manage the far-ranging effects of GAI.[3] As part of this project, Ithaka S+R has been cataloging GAI applications geared towards teaching, learning, and research in the higher education context. Today, we are excited to make our Product Tracking tool (https://sr.ithaka.org/our-work/generative-ai-product-tracker/) publicly available.

The Product Tracker includes a basic description of each tool, as well as information about the pricing model, key features, and other relevant details such as the large language model (LLM) or datasets behind the tool or background on the vendor. As it would be impossible to track every GAI application that might conceivably be used in higher education contexts, we have limited the Tracker to a) products marketed specifically towards faculty or student use, and b) products that appear to be in active use in teaching, learning, or research activities. At present, the Product Tracker contains data on over 100 GAI tools and applications. While we make no claims to including every relevant or potentially relevant product, the Tracker includes data on the most visible individual products on the market and is comprehensive enough to provide a landscape perspective on the market itself. The Tracker is also a living document which we update regularly to include new products or add new data about existing products. We will continue to do so for at least the remainder of 2024 if the tool retains value to the community.

This issue brief is designed to enrich the descriptive data captured in the Product Tracker. In the brief’s first section, we provide a typology of existing products and value propositions. In the second, we offer observations about what the product landscape suggests about the future of teaching, learning, and research practices, and speculations on the near-term future of the academic GAI market.

Via Canadian Vocational Association / Association canadienne de la formation professionnelle

"Many adults seeking to upskill themselves face challenges of digital incompetence and limited access to advanced AI tools, hindering their success..."

Via Leona Ungerer

Talent management is considered a new organizational priority in managing people that both academicians and practitioners discuss. The purpose of this research was to examine the role of talent management (TM), knowledge management (KM), university transformation (UT), and academic climate (AC) in increasing the performance of private higher education institutions (PHEIs). This research applied a quantitative approach by collecting data from 382 lecturers who worked at various private universities in Indonesia. Online questionnaires were used to collect the data using a stratified random sampling method. Then these data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling–Partial Least Square. The findings indicated that systematic application of talent management and knowledge management, university transformation, and academic climate in PHEIs improves organizational performance. Developing a plan to transform their talent and the business process is the key to emphasizing its importance in shaping the character and quality of PHEIs. The practical implication, PHEIs must offer a conducive academic climate for talented lecturers. The study offers a value-add to the resource-based view theory, managing talent and knowledge as essential resources for organizational transformation to maximize organizational performance.

Via Canadian Vocational Association / Association canadienne de la formation professionnelle

The article moves from a theorisation of the global scale in higher education and knowledge to a critical review of actual global imaginings and practices. Geo-cognitive scales such ‘the global’ or ‘the national’ are constituted by three elements: pre-given material structures, the imaginings and interpretations of agents, and the social practices of agents. Synchronous networks, time/space compression and travel have materially expanded the scope for relationality, including world-spanning systems such as science, cross-border connections, and global diffusion of ideas and models. Potentials for multi-scalar understanding and ‘thinking through the world’ have been enhanced. However, these imaginaries are not dominant. More prevalent are methodological globalism, in which the global displaces the national, or methodological nationalism, which blocks one-world potentials from view. In a Hobbesian global space without relational ethics, global higher education is ordered by an Anglo-American hegemony, manifest in neo-liberal economics, cultural and linguistic homogeneity, and White Supremacy in continuity with colonialism. Methodological globalism facilitates the neo-imperial claim to intervene anywhere, while methodological nationalism justifies claims to cultural superiority without obligation to engage with the other. However, no relations of power are fixed or wholly homogeneous and in global higher education there is continuing potential for multiple positionality, mutual respect and unity-in-diversity.

Via Canadian Vocational Association / Association canadienne de la formation professionnelle

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson says students should expect in-person teaching for new term.

Via Peter Mellow

A free course covering key introductory learning and teaching concepts and strategies for those in their first few years of university teaching.

Via Peter Mellow

Via ESR_Info, LGA

Transforming Universities with Digital Distance Education explores the ways in which higher education stakeholders can apply and leverage the benefits of online learning. Systems-wide access, scale and quality are achievable goals but require forms of teamwork and financial modelling beyond those at the instructor or programme level. This book’s organisational view tackles the systems and practices that will help senior managers and decision-makers guide an entire institution away from dysfunc

Via Peter Mellow

Indian students have an almost 134-year documented history of obtaining a foreign degree from Western nations and they constitute one of the world’s largest groups of mobile post-secondary students, especially in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

Via Canadian Vocational Association / Association canadienne de la formation professionnelle

The higher education industry is evolving rapidly, requiring colleges and universities to adopt new approaches to serve a shifting audience. The traditional market of 18-year-old high school graduates isn’t disappearing. But this market alone will not sustain the majority of colleges and universities operating in this space. In this interview, Kim Scalzo reflects on the changing postsecondary landscape and shares her thoughts on how continuing and professional education (CE) divisions can take the reins to drive this transformation on their campuses.

Via Canadian Vocational Association / Association canadienne de la formation professionnelle

By Professor Grainne Conole.

 

I recently attended a HEA Future-focus Forum on Digital Transformation and Empowering Technologies in Higher Education. Prior to the meeting a paper was circulated setting the scene for the meeting. This contextualized the topic by referencing various Irish and EU relevant documents, including the Irish Future Jobs Initiative, the Digital Agenda for Europe, the European Digital Education Action Plan, the European Higher Education Area in 2018, etc.

 

The paper argued that digital transformation is pervasive and can be understood as the changes that digital technology causes or influences in all aspects of human life. In addition, Higher Education will change significantly over the coming years due to digital transformation. Critical questions include: how can higher education Institutions (HEI) provide leadership in ensuring an ethical and responsible use of technology and data? How do we empower people to build a data-first culture and future proof our digital infrastructure? What are the challenges and how do we prepare for them? What international best practice exists to inform a national approach to digital transformation in Higher Education?

Via Elizabeth E Charles

In this series of posts for teachonline, we explore the possible, probable and preferred futures of higher education in Canada. In this post we examine the key issues that must be addressed, focusing attention on the need for a comprehensive rethink of the eco-system. Just dealing with one issue (such as funding or curricula) without dealing with the others would have unintended consequences for any institution. Colleges, universities and Indigenous institutes are actively exploring options and are beginning to address these complex, important issues.
 

These 15 challenges will shape the future of higher education in Canada:

Indigenization – There are three issues at play here. 
What higher education can do to promote and embed the idea that we are all treaty people (Truth and Reconciliation)
How more Indigenous learners can succeed in higher education (there is a strong link between these issues and that of decolonialization of the curriculum)
Whether established, dedicated Indigenous institutions are adequately supported and enabled to thrive 
Funding and support for teaching and learning and assessment – Without a change in funding and support for teaching, learning and assessment, the work of colleges and universities is fiscally unsustainable. Many institutions are currently vulnerable to modest reductions in the enrolment of international students. This may require a rethink at a fundamental level of funding models and shared services.
Precarity of the instructor class – The number of tenured and tenure-track (university) or permanent instructor (college) positions has been steadily declining. About 60% of all teaching in higher education in Canada is undertaken by sessional instructors (gig workers) and that number is rising. This links to issues of quality and training as well as to the underfunding of Canada’s higher education system. The situation is similar for non-academic staff at our institutions.
Growing demand raises issues of capacity – It’s uncertain how each province will cope with a significant increase in demand from domestic students between now and 2028. 
Adding new institutions – If new institutions are created, it’s unclear what the implicit design for learning assumptions will be.
Growth funding for existing institutions – If growth funding occurs, it’ll be vital to figure out the design for learning assumptions and how sustainable the funding will be. Some of the smaller institutions, often located in rural or northern communities, would benefit from investment and growth if this funding was sustainable — otherwise, growth may make them more vulnerable.
The role of the private sector (both private colleges and private universities) – Peering into the future means exploring what kind of public-private partnerships might be created.
The role of hybrid and online and distance learning in designs for growth – It is yet to be determined whether growth will be based on a significant expansion of hybrid and online and distance learning or on expanding classroom-based learning.
The role of AI in the expansion of access – It’s possible that some jurisdictions may experiment with an AI-based institution offering courses and programs leading to certificates, Red Seal certification, diplomas and/or degrees.
Purpose and plans – Governments have been shifting the purpose and focus of the work of colleges, Indigenous institutes and universities toward meeting labour market pressures and demands. Although some modest impact can be seen in very specific areas, the skills gap is now worse than it was when this pressure began, which may add new purpose and pressures on higher education.
Work-integrated learning – 40% of university students and 60% of college students in Canada currently undertake work-integrated learning in some form during their studies. How this develops and grows is vital.
New curricula – Given the changes taking place in the nature of work, the deployment of technology and new fields of work (e.g., new forms of construction, new approaches to health through genetics) institutions face new curricular challenges. What’s unclear is whether new programs of study will displace existing ones, and how fast institutions can respond to emerging opportunities given declining funding and increasing government control.
Lack of faculty development and professional learning – As became clear in the pandemic, faculty skills in instructional design, reimagining assessment and the effective design of engaged and authentic learning need upgrading. 
Imagineering and innovation – In highly unionized environments, an important consideration is how creative institutions and leadership can be. It’s also important to examine how much appetite exists for significant change.
Risk management – Willingness to take risks and preparedness for adverse events (e.g., forest fires, floods, natural disasters) are vital considerations for leaders and institutions. 
In responding to these issues, institutions will need to refocus their purpose, core activities, business processes and relationships within and beyond their communities. It is a challenging task but an important one. 

Tools and Trends
Insights Into the Future and Promise of Online Learning

Via Canadian Vocational Association / Association canadienne de la formation professionnelle

The latest wave of AI tools like ChatGPT seem certain to disrupt the workplace in the years ahead — and the most-disrupted professions may be ones that require college degrees. That presents an unprecedented challenge for colleges already struggling to prove their value.

Via Canadian Vocational Association / Association canadienne de la formation professionnelle

"Here's how bisynchronous classes offer engaging learning experiences for students in Higher Ed with a blend of real-time interaction and self-paced instruction ...

Via Leona Ungerer

"The quiet rollout of Sidechat, a new anonymous-posting platform, is being met with skepticism from college students, many of whom are all too familiar with the pitfalls of similar apps like Yik Yak ..."

Via Leona Ungerer, Ricard Lloria

In this article, you will learn about hybrid and blended learning in higher education, as well as their advantages and disadvantages!

Via Elizabeth E Charles, Gilbert C FAURE

Higher education officials are bombarded with pitches for how the latest emerging technologies are going to upend their students’ learning experiences and professors’ instructional methods. From online courses to learning management systems to autograders to AI-enabled “tutors,” schools have no shortage of products claiming to offer transformative change.

Via Elizabeth E Charles

The Higher Education Digital Capability framework identifies four core dimensions along the learner lifecycle: Demand & Discovery (DD), Learning Design (LD), Learner Experience (LX) and Work & Lifelong Learning (WL). Within these are sixteen capability groups or ‘domains’, with more than 70 capability blocks adding a further level of detail. Overall, the framework is designed to allow flexibility and interpretation in context; some institutions will find almost every capability block relevant to their organisational structure, activities and aspirations, whilst others will focus on a more specific set of capabilities applicable to their individual context.

Via Elizabeth E Charles

Better aligning higher education and the labour market will ensure people have the skills they need to succeed in the increasingly competetive market.

Via Canadian Vocational Association / Association canadienne de la formation professionnelle

Via Peter Mellow

In economics classes, relentless growth is an unquestioned dogma. Yet this same economic growth is rapidly ripping apart the ecological foundations of our world..."

Via Leona Ungerer

In his important 2007 publication ‘Learning spaces for the 21st century’, Paul Temple made the observation that the interactions between higher education, the built environment and the activities of teaching, learning and research taking place within and around it are poorly understood. Historically, noted Temple, in UK HE, space issues had typically been considered either in the context of space planning (the utilisation and optimisation of physical space) or as part of campus planning and building design. There has been steady growth in space-related research in the intervening decade since Temple’s work; however, a review of the available contemporary evidence reveals a dispersed and fragmented literature relating to understanding connections between learning spaces and student learning (see Ellis and Goodyear, 2016). Furthermore, a more recent sector-wide shift in emphasis from an ‘instruction paradigm’ to a ‘learning paradigm’, has meant universities must now think seriously about what it means to be a learner in these spaces.

Via Carlos Fosca, Dennis Swender