How the characteristics of your students might affect how they learn and what an ideal environment might look like for them?
Due to the latest findings which confirm that ‘there is no significant differences between staff and students with regards to their technology-based activities’ (Educating the Net Generation Handbook, 2009, p19) educators at tertiary level don’t need to be concern about accommodating the expectation of techno-savvy net generation of students in contemporary settings.
Although the research shows that students coming from different educational setting and who are expected to have a very different understanding and knowledge of using technology, similarly as students from different demographic backgrounds and low socio-economic status have not demonstrated overall diversity in usage patterns (p24).
Hence the accommodating learning environment is not about accommodating the students’ different usage patterns of technology but in understanding the specific needs of students coming from diversity of backgrounds and of different age groups. For example international students might be techno-savvy but their understanding of using web based information might not be according to university standards, therefore all students regardless of belonging to net generation or not need to be educated about using the we based information by introducing them to referencing practices and critical research skills used in research.
Educating the Net Generation:A Handbook of Findings for Practice and Policy. (2009).
Retrieved June 28 2010. From www.netgen.unimelb.edu.au/downloads/handbook/Sec3Investigation.pdf
Monday, June 28, 2010
Higher Education in a Web 2.0 world
What does the changing environment of higher education in Web 2.0 world mean to you?
Some of the contemporary debates surrounding the integration of web 2.0 technologies into Higher Education include a consideration of the prior experience of higher education learners, their expectations and international practice in the use of Web 2.0 in higher education learning. This brief reflection, with its focus on the later two, will discuss some of the challenges arising form integrating Web 2.0 technologies into higher education learning from a perspective of an adult educator. The first challenge lies in aligning curriculum with the Web 2.0 technologies, and the second in prioritising web awareness to secure the graduate attribute for the global market.
Aligning curriculum with its components is challenge for any educator and it requires not only the subject’s expertise but it also may require a technological knowledge. This can be a huge challenge for academics who as well as students need to learn how to use the new technology. According to Sir David Melville, a chair of Lifelong Learning UK, when talking about students’ expectations states that tutors need to keep up where the students are in this and what they are doing. Sir Melville also stresses the benefit of ability of student knowledge of the technology in the development.
While I agree with his first point that adult educators need to keep up with the contemporary technologies used in higher education, providing the needed staff development support on institutional level not always is easily achieved. From my own experience, the organized support mainly includes seminars instead the workshops that would be in demand due to their ability of instant practice of the gained knowledge. Therefore, without provided staff development educators won’t be able to see ‘where the students are in this’ and hence they cannot design aligned curriculum.
Every tertiary institution strive to give their students the graduate attribute that are relevant to the ever changing global market. While Web 2.0 technologies are responsible for a new shift in global market, not all HE institutions which make a use of the new technologies keep up with educating students about the pitfalls of Web 2.0. According to Adrian Godfrey form Internal Business Solutions, one of the benefits of incorporating Web 2.0 technologies into higher education is the ability to attract whole population of student,
David Melville, points out the need to prioritise web awareness due to the lowered levels of critical thinking skills caused by the using Web 2.0. This is more so alarming knowing that graduate attributes are gradually introduced from a beginning of study. If the curriculum is not aligned with the emerged technology, university graduates will emerge to the global marked without having the corresponding skills and the whole point of equipping students with skills that help them to find employment is diminished. Therefore without educating students to collaborate not just in physical domain in the wide-global area of Web 2.0, not only their critical thinking skills will continue being lowered but also their chances of employment will too.
Podcast/Press Release: ‘HE in a Web 2.0 World’ report. (11 May 2009).
Retrieved June 28 2010. From http://www.jisc.ac.uk/news/stories/2009/05/podcast80heinaweb20world.aspx
Hughes, A. (March 2009). Higher education in a Web 2.0 world: Report of an independent Committee of Inquiry into the impact on higher education of students’ widespread use of Web 2.0 technologies, JISC.
Some of the contemporary debates surrounding the integration of web 2.0 technologies into Higher Education include a consideration of the prior experience of higher education learners, their expectations and international practice in the use of Web 2.0 in higher education learning. This brief reflection, with its focus on the later two, will discuss some of the challenges arising form integrating Web 2.0 technologies into higher education learning from a perspective of an adult educator. The first challenge lies in aligning curriculum with the Web 2.0 technologies, and the second in prioritising web awareness to secure the graduate attribute for the global market.
Aligning curriculum with its components is challenge for any educator and it requires not only the subject’s expertise but it also may require a technological knowledge. This can be a huge challenge for academics who as well as students need to learn how to use the new technology. According to Sir David Melville, a chair of Lifelong Learning UK, when talking about students’ expectations states that tutors need to keep up where the students are in this and what they are doing. Sir Melville also stresses the benefit of ability of student knowledge of the technology in the development.
While I agree with his first point that adult educators need to keep up with the contemporary technologies used in higher education, providing the needed staff development support on institutional level not always is easily achieved. From my own experience, the organized support mainly includes seminars instead the workshops that would be in demand due to their ability of instant practice of the gained knowledge. Therefore, without provided staff development educators won’t be able to see ‘where the students are in this’ and hence they cannot design aligned curriculum.
Every tertiary institution strive to give their students the graduate attribute that are relevant to the ever changing global market. While Web 2.0 technologies are responsible for a new shift in global market, not all HE institutions which make a use of the new technologies keep up with educating students about the pitfalls of Web 2.0. According to Adrian Godfrey form Internal Business Solutions, one of the benefits of incorporating Web 2.0 technologies into higher education is the ability to attract whole population of student,
David Melville, points out the need to prioritise web awareness due to the lowered levels of critical thinking skills caused by the using Web 2.0. This is more so alarming knowing that graduate attributes are gradually introduced from a beginning of study. If the curriculum is not aligned with the emerged technology, university graduates will emerge to the global marked without having the corresponding skills and the whole point of equipping students with skills that help them to find employment is diminished. Therefore without educating students to collaborate not just in physical domain in the wide-global area of Web 2.0, not only their critical thinking skills will continue being lowered but also their chances of employment will too.
Podcast/Press Release: ‘HE in a Web 2.0 World’ report. (11 May 2009).
Retrieved June 28 2010. From http://www.jisc.ac.uk/news/stories/2009/05/podcast80heinaweb20world.aspx
Hughes, A. (March 2009). Higher education in a Web 2.0 world: Report of an independent Committee of Inquiry into the impact on higher education of students’ widespread use of Web 2.0 technologies, JISC.
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