e-language

Course: E-learning
Hong Kong, 30 June – 5 July 2009

I’ve just finished teaching a Master’s level unit on e-learning in Hong Kong for third year running.  There can’t be a better place to talk about digital technologies in education, with such a technologically wired population inhabiting such a technologically wired urban landscape. Of course, I’m continually reminded that using technology for social and entertainment purposes in everyday life is not the same as using it for pedagogical and professional purposes, so that there’s still always a lot of ground to cover in such courses.  But what really struck me this year, looking back to the first course I taught here two years ago, is that around 50% of my teaching material is different now from what it it was then.  That in turn is a reminder both of how fast the technology is developing, as well as how fast our understanding of the technology is having to develop to keep pace with it.  Perhaps more than any other courses, e-learning courses can necessarily only provide a base level of understanding and familiarity with key tools, on which participants can continue to build as technology, and our underrstanding of it, keeps evolving at breakneck speed.

Digital Education Revolution Symposium
The Duxton Hotel, Perth, 12 June 2008

This symposium, organised by ACER, education.au and supported by DEEWR, was a chance for teachers to explore the potential inherent in the Australian Federal Government’s Digital Education Revolution, which will receive AUS $1.2 billion in funding over the coming 5 years. The programme, PowerPoint presentations and podcasts are all available online.

In both the plenary talks and the breakout sessions the message came through that new technologies are leading to major social and cultural shifts, which educators are in a good position to capitalise on. As at most academic conferences these days, presenters stressed the need to focus on the pedagogy and for teachers to work in partership with their students, with the teachers bringing the pedagogical expertise and the students much of the tehcnological expertise. In short, rather than shying away from the technology and the uncertainties it may represent, teachers need to engage with it more fully – and be inspired by the new possibilities it opens up.