Blended Learning (entry 2 of 3): Next Generation Learning Challenges

Webinar: Technology’s Role in the College Completion Agenda: An Introduction to Next Generation Learning Challenges http://www.educause.edu/Resources/TechnologysRoleintheCollegeCom/219203

Continuing with the second of my three-part blog entry concerning blended learning, inspired by information provided through Educause (http://www.educause.edu/Resources/Browse/HybridorBlendedLearning/33312), I engaged in a webinar in which Educause discussed the next generation of learning challenges, or NGLC.  According to the information provided, current employers are increasingly interested in hiring candidates who have completed a four-year post-secondary degree (which, quite honestly, should come as no surprise, given the steadily climbing significance placed on education in today’s society).  Surveyed employers also cited communication, as the most essential skill to bring to the workplace, adding that traits such as creativity, critical thinking, info literacy and teamwork were also highly applicable.  Based on this knowledge, the webinar went on to explain how current students and educational practices can be altered to meet these goals. 

Though many students are likely to start college nowadays, not all will graduate with a four-year degree; an increasingly prominent concern.  Although the webinar didn’t cover this issue in as much detail as I had hoped for, it did stress the importance of college preparedness, explaining that teachers of secondary schools need to do what they can to ensure students will be ready for the changes and challenges created by the college experience. One way this could be addressed, the webinar offered, is through the incorporation of online college prep classes, which, in my opinion, definitely has the potential to be a useful resource for prospective college students in future. 

Through its own efforts, Educause’s NGLC intends to focus their attention on the areas of college readiness & completion, which they hope they to improve through increased funding.  This funding will be distributed in “waves,” the first of which will be given to support technology-enabled solutions for post-secondary education.  Additionally, the webinar identified four key areas that are important when considering the future of learning:

1) Blended Learning allows students to have flexibility, and to complete work at the same pace as traditional students (or in some cases faster) through the online component

2) Learning Analytics is useful for risk assessment, allowing profs and planners to predict student successes or trouble areas and work to tailor learning to meet these factors

3) Deeper Learning & Engagement allows students to retain more of what is being taught and to teach practical skills (ie – technology-related initiatives such as interactive videos, etc. work well here & are becoming more advanced/popular)

4) Open Core Courseware makes it easy for the sharing of information to exist – convenient both for students (allowing them to have access to tutorials and study materials any time/place) and profs (allowing them to share information with students, or other schools or educators).   

Overall, I found this topic interesting, but wished that the webinar would’ve delved a bit deeper and provided specific examples and references to the goals that have been set out.  Have these initiatives been incorporated into schools? If so, where?  How?  What was the response of the students? The teachers?  Although I would’ve appreciated a bit more detail, I will have to remember that some of these projects are still in their early stages…on the bright side, all of this talk about new ways of learning did get me thinking…what will schools be like 10 years from now? Or 25 years from now?  Will we rely on physical school buildings the way we do today?  Guess I will have to wait and see.