elearningWatchFebruary2024

G’day

An Happy New Year to one and all. It promises to be a very interesting year in New Zealand as the new government is set to ‘review’ the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. It’s controversial and not a very popular move, as Maori don’t think it necessary . Maybe  there will be protests, large demonstrations and Hui (meetings) to challenge the government? One would hope that common sense will prevail [might be a bit late, see the odd one out below].

The conversation begins and one should expect lots of challenges.  A Guy on the radio thought there might be  fireworks!

However, hopefully an amicable and acceptable outcome for ALL New Zealanders will result from the deliberations.

The school year has begun [Universities another month] so time to review the year ahead and how to manage the students, the curriculum, the workload and never ending and evolving technology.[not a lot really!:-)] AI seems to be on everyone’s lips and how it will influence the future of education and life in general.

There is continuing development and enhancement of Microcredentials which are gaining more acceptance by employers.

Hey Google, predict the future of education for me….

Haven’t mentioned the garden. Well, have had enough spring onions, cucumbers and beans to feed half the world, methinks. Loads of tomatoes , once they have been saved from the marauding birds!. The rest of the garden is a bit of a jungle as the weather has provided a reasonable amount of sun and rain. The 100 metres of hedging has become like the Forth bridge to manage. Hi Ho

This posting has links to AI, Microcredentials, An autobiography, digital transformation, publications and the odd one(s) out

Back to the garden….. Dog walk first

1. The A-Z Guide to Al in Education 2023: Almost Everything You Need to Know. You can download the entire guide as well as peruse the vast amount of information on the Web site. It could take you a very long time to go through it all. The information is clear , well constructed and comprehensive ; you probably don’t need anything more as an introduction to AI. Have fun reading it all

https://www.classpoint.io/blog/ai-in-education-guide#ai-quiz-makers

2. What is AI? Another primer to add to the above, useful for improving your knowledge

http://tinyurl.com/387j83hb

3. Digital transformation in higher education. Another one of those’ must have’ guides from the JISC stable. Very useful and informative as the education world continues to evaluate the effective and efficient use of digital tools, from a student, tutor and administration perspective.

https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/digital-transformation-in-higher-education

4. EDUCAUSE and WCET QuickPoll Results: Current Trends in Microcredential Design and Delivery Authors:Jenay Robert. Published: Monday, May 22, 2023

An interesting report/evaluation of the current trends associated with micro credentials. A useful report providing some insights into where micro credentials are going and what the disadvantages are plus challenges to overcome.

http://tinyurl.com/bdcrsym4

5.Tony Bates is one of those living legends and pioneers in the world of education technology, e-learning and the like. He has been around for as long as I can remember and has made many valuable contributions over the years to the field of technology in education and education in general. His wisdom has helped many on the path to success with their endeavours.

Tony has embarked on his autobiography and it’s a fascinating journey and read [I think he got paid too much at his first job at the Open University and it went to his head! :-). The link below takes you to the first of his posts on his personal history of open learning and ed-tech. Other posts can be found on his webpage. Take the time to read , absorb, learn and wonder at the pace of change and what came and went plus the undoubted influence Tony had (and still does) over the years. He thinks he will retire one day; methinks not! :-)Old learning Technologist don’t retire, they only go into storage!

http://tinyurl.com/yc3djrw3

Publications

1. A maturity model for micro-credentialing and shorter forms of learning practice in Australasian universities
Ratna Malar Selvaratnam ORCID Icon, Steven Warburton, Dominique Parrish & Suzanne Crew
Published online: 18 Jan 2024

Cite this article https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2023.2299150

Extract from the paper:
“This study sought to develop a maturity model that could assist higher education providers in distinguishing their stage of development for delivering micro-credentials and provide guidance on activities to advance micro-credential maturity”

If you are interested in the development of micro credentials , this is worth reading.

2. A Strategic Institutional Response to Micro-Credentials: Key Questions for Educational Leaders Authors: Mark BrownEmail Mark Brown,Rory McGreal,Mitchell Peters
Read in conjunction with (4) above to get some other perspectives on the development, growth , challenges and use of Microcredentials

https://jime.open.ac.uk/articles/10.5334/jime.801

3. ACODE white papers

An issue has been published:

Governance of artificial intelligence and data in Australasian higher education: A snapshot of policy and practice. Ratna Selvaratnam, Lynnae Venaruzzo

Link: https://publications.ascilite.org/index.php/APUB/issue/current

Odd one out

1. Obituary for common sense. Printed in the London Times. I doubt there will be a resurrection:-(

https://rotarynunawading.com.au/stories/an-obituary-printed-in-the-london-times

2. Some Quote to ponder and the truth behind them Lots here to challenge the way we think?

Everyone Talks About Leaving A Better Planet….

“I wasn’t sure what to make for dinner, so I opened a bottle of wine & now I don’t care. A lesson for us all there I think”.

Read more here: http://tinyurl.com/y7ta77nn

That’s it for now. Enjoy the year ahead and make notes for your Autobiography

Regards

Richard

Richard Elliott
The Eternal Macademic
Auckland
New Zealand

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