the future of online stronglearningstrong - downes.ca.pptVIP

The Future of Online Learning Stephen Downes Assiniboine Community College Brandon, Manitoba, Canada Future Technology Bandwidth will be unlimited Processing power will be unlimited Computers will become more specialized Operating systems will fade, software will become task based Keyword: simplicity New Technology in Education Personal Access Device (the PAD) means that education will be personal and portable Presentation software - eg., Director, virtual reality, etc. - will come to the fore Instructors less and less likely to produce their own online materials Interaction and Conferencing Synchronous conferencing systems will become cheap and easy to use - a platform into which tools (eg whiteboard) are plugged Asynchronous conferencing will evolve into full multimedia Standards will develop for a wide range of conferencing modes Personalized Education Learning topics will be selected according to students’ needs, not predefined structures Groups will be formed dynamically, as needed (the Quest model) Materials will be presented automatically, as needed Learning systems will adapt to individual students’ learning styles Time and Place Independence Time will cease to be an objective standard Not self-paced; dynamically paced Instruction of the future will encourage mobility Schools of the future will consist of meeting places, not classrooms On and off campus learning will converge Learning Communities Learning is a social activity Interest based communities will exist online - these communities need to be fostered Peer based learning communities will form around schools, churches, community centres, etc. The Triad Model Consists of student, instructor, facilitator The instructor does not deliver instruction, but rather, acts as an expert and resource The facilitator is community based, and is an advocate for students The host/provider framework describes the institutional model (especially as traditional boundries become fuzzy or disappear) Accreditation Alr