Some 'Ed-Tech' Thoughts

I’ve been reading allot lately about the role of technology in Higher Education..... have to say from the outset that I never really liked the term ‘Ed-Tech’ for me it seems to sell short something really important and appears to be a flippant response to technology and Higher Education...and most likely coined by education technology suppliers.

I am as you would expect fascinated by technology and where that technology may lead (transhumanism anyone?), but I'm also interested in technology of earlier centuries and the impact that was made by these technologies within a contextual time frame, i.e. the use of early book production.

I do get irritated with colleagues who evangelise the role of technology in Higher Education. Pedagaogy must lead the technology that may enhance the enablement of learning not the other way round. I agree that technology is here to support Higher Education (as its always been...from ledgers to punch cards to complex student record systems) but technology cannot be used to drive a learning process that is driven by enabling learning.

My experience as a student in the late 1970's was of course completely different to the type of experience the students have today. What was most valuable to me about my student experience is still the most valuable element of today's student experience which is the opportunity to explore, to challenge, to learn, to question and perhaps come up with useful questions and a few answers. 

I think there’s something of a welcome pushback currently happening within Higher Education in regards to certain uses of technology. I disagree in the way in which some are evangelising about the use of technology (often those with a vested interest) and driving the way in which students engage with learning.

Learning takes all types of forms it is not necessarily about the recipet of information and returning the information in a modified form and it is also clearly not about how many times you may enter the classroom, login to your email, use the virtual learning environment or buy coffee in the cafe, these items to me have no relevance in regards to learning experience.

I do think it’s really important to form a community and work to make a community as powerful as possible while at the same time continuing to be fair, open and able to debate sometimes controversial subjects. I believe what drives the success of an institution isn’t about the technology or hitting certain targets its about how the students evolve within a specific alignment and within a specific time period.

Clearly staff and students need to believe that change is positive and will be supported and celebrated. You have to also recognise that things rarely go according to plan and incremental change is really (in Higher Education) the only demonstrably achievable process.

I've also often heard the term technology road maps ....there is an inherent danger of road maps in this context......trying to fit a progressive set of changes within some kind of road map isn't really going to work, the best road map you can have is trying to understand how the use of technology is evolving and not by setting a specific course that is often ill-informed.

So where do we leave this? 

Clearly the role of technology in Higher Education is one  that is forever evolving I think  the way in which students learn within the classroom is about enablement and not a familiarity with the various forms of technology. The same applies to academic staff, their role is to enable and not simply use technology as a means to an end.

Reflecting on the role I have to play in all of this is to try to moderate and reach agreement with a specific focus on learning and teaching. I can’t as yet see the full value in having items such as a technological roadmap or indeed a specific digital strategy since after all a digital strategy is (in my world) all about business as usual, its all tricky since my job is to ensure that clear consideration is given when thinking about the application of technology in Higher Education. Allowing some kind of trusted trickle down does work as does mandatory use of certain platforms...it depends on what works best for the institution, and its equally important that those in positions of influence are able to modify views and learn about new experiences in order to change with an institution, change after all in Higher Education is the only constant.

Who then do we look towards for guidance in navigating how technology is best used in learning teaching? I believe there are many strong voices who both advocate a fully integrated use of technology and 'AI' type interventions and those equally strong voices who do not say exactly the opposite but offer council upon the use of technology and whether or not the true value is within the enablement of learning or being guided by technology to make the right decisions.

Is it best to advocate a slow step-by-step process or do we use technology to bypass these processes and arrive almost pre-boooked at a point of knowledge that somehow by the measures we use today represents a learning experience.

My own summary views on technology in Higher Education is.......it depends!... on the type institution the types student and the way in which those institutions are ultimately governed. I have an inclination towards learning taking place in a moment, at any time and in a way in which insight about a subject matter can only be supported by technology but so, so much cannot be....