Group items tagged

n the learning technology field there is no shortage of research questions- but there is a shortage of research funding. Learning technology researchers are increasingly being required to address issues of impact in order to attract funding. At the beginning of the project, they must anticipate the potential impact of their research on end users, beyond the realms of scholarly citations, and put in place measures to demonstrate that impact. This is a particular challenge, especially in a field that in its infancy was prone to adopt a non-critical 'evangelical' stance to learning technology. The field is maturing however, both in its methodological and theoretical approaches, and it would seem pertinent (if not imperative!) that learning technology researchers be proactive rather than reactive with regards to mapping out what impact means in the context of learning technology research.

"The use of technology to maximise the student learning experience is a vibrant area of interest across all tiers of global education. Technology enhanced learning (TEL) is often used as a synonym for e-learning but can also be used to refer to technology enhanced classrooms and learning with technology, rather than just through technology."

"The Technology Strategy Board and the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) are to invest up to £1.1m in exploratory studies into the design of technology-based products and services that will improve learning outcomes. This SBRI competition seeks to stimulate business performance in an already vibrant education technology sector by supporting high-quality design of commercially viable products and services that can be delivered at scale while being affordable and easy to use. See the competition brief"

"You might not want to pin your hopes on nanotechnology, genetic engineering, or miracle drugs, says Michael Huesemann, author of Techno-Fix: Why Technology Won't Save Us Or the Environment. As much as we'd like to believe that technological innovation will let us magically continue our lifestyle and prevent social, economic, and environmental collapse, Huesemann shows that most technological solutions are ineffective-and, in the presence of continued economic growth, modern technology does not promote sustainability, but hastens collapse."

"The NMC Horizon Report > 2014 Higher Education Edition is a collaborative effort between the NMC and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI), an EDUCAUSE Program. This eleventh edition describes annual findings from the NMC Horizon Project, an ongoing research project designed to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have an impact on learning, teaching, and creative inquiry in education. Six key trends, six significant challenges, and six emerging technologies are identified across three adoption horizons over the next one to five years, giving campus leaders and practitioners a valuable guide for strategic technology planning. The format of the report is new this year, providing these leaders with more in-depth insight into how the trends and challenges are accelerating and impeding the adoption of educati"

"Digital technologies are pervasive in every aspect of Higher Education, and though their use is undoubtedly common in learning development activities, this field is underreported as an area of expertise.This Special Edition of the JLDHE focuses on ways in which digital technologies are used in the work of learning developers, academic teaching staff or other practitioners seeking to improve student learning. This focus has been chosen because of the large number of technology-related submissions we receive."

"Many learners enter further and higher education lacking the skills needed to apply digital technologies to education. As 90% of new jobs will require excellent digital skills, improving digital literacy is an essential component of developing employable graduates. Courses that embed core digital skills, as well as subject specific use of technology, enable students to gain the skills and confidence they need to use digital technology not only to support their learning but also in the workplace. We're working with colleges and universities to embed core digital skills into the curriculum. By digital literacy we mean those capabilities which fit an individual for living, learning and working in a digital society: for example, the skills to use digital tools to undertake academic research, writing and critical thinking; as part of personal development planning; and as a way of showcasing achievements. "

"FASTECH is designed to use readily available technologies to support the systemic enhancement of assessment and feedback strategies and practices at programme, faculty and institutional levels. A key aim is to provide evidence of, and guidelines for, technological improvements and change processes that can be used to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of assessment and feedback at these levels throughout the sector. By welcoming engagements, developing our work with, and inviting contributions from members of the HE community throughout the project, we aim to build a strong community of practice, focussed upon developing understanding of how to improve assessment and feedback practices and environments."

"In part 1, I looked at the shifting definition of educational (or learning) technology; in the second part, I looked at a brief history of educational technology; part 3 explored the rise of the "new professional"; the fourth part discussed the "bipolarisation" of the "new professional". This is the fifth in a series of short posts concerning the field of educational (or learning) technology and the people who are practitioners and theoreticians within the field."

A one-stop knowledge resource, Emerging Technologies in Distance Education showcases the international work of research scholars and innovative distance education practitioners, who use emerging interactive technologies for teaching and learning at a dist

"Which Technology Should I Use To Teach Online?": Online Technology and Communication Course Instruction

"The massive open online course on 'e-learning' will cover the most important trends in e-learning. Participants will be analysing an existing educational offering on its strengths and weaknesses regarding the use of learning technologies and designing their own blended or online course. Students can participate in several learning activities such as online masterclasses, brief video lectures, group discussions and individual assignments. Covered are themes like e-learning 101 (basic), Learning Analytics, E-learning trends, TPACK, Multimedia learning resources and Mobile technology. Participants are able to select learning activities, learning content and time they want to invest in this MOOC."

Following a successful first run last year, which saw several participants produce their first published paper relating to their work in the area of technology-enhanced learning, Write-TEL (Writing for Publication in Technology-Enhanced Learning) is back!

"At the ALT C conference I went to a few sessions where VLE discussion came up, most notably Lawrie Phipps and Donna Lanclos's session "Are learning technologies fit for purpose?". They asked us to reflect on the main question in groups and nearly all of the discussions came back to complaints about the VLE. Lawrie picked on me to give the first response and I mentioned that the problem was not so much the technology but the "institutional sediment" that builds up around it. "

KTN final report on the future of digital content sets out a series of provocative and exciting ideas that will help creative businesses and technology developers understand the radical transformation that developments in digital technology will have on c

The iPad and the essentialism of technology in education

The Edgeless University argues that technology in higher education is not just about virtual learning environments, but is increasingly central to the way institutions provide learning and facilitateresearch. Technology is making research and learning pos

Quick answers to real classroom technology questions. An online service of the Educational Technology Clearinghouse.

Professional development courses on how to integrate technology for active learning via blended (BL) and blended online learning (BOL) courses and workshops.

If you are interested in new developments in multimedia social technologies, social networking, online communities, virtual worlds and new skills, and want to know more about how you and your staff can benefit from these technologies right now, then the N