From DSC:
In terms of learning, having to be in the same physical place as others continues to not be a requirement nearly as much as it used to be. But I’m not just talking about online learning here. I’m talking about a new type of learning environment that involves both hardware and software to facilitate collaboration (and it was designed that way from day 1). These new types of setups can provide us with new opportunities and affordances that we should begin experimenting with immediately.
Check out the following products — all of which allow a person to contribute to a discussion or conversation from anywhere they can get Internet access:
When you go to those sites, you will see words and phrase such as:
- Visual collaboration software
- Virtual workspace
- Develop
- Share
- Inspire
- Design
- Global teams
- A visual collaboration solution that links locations, teams, content, and devices in an immersive, shared workspace
- Teamwork
- Create and brainstorm with others
- Digital workplace platform
- Eliminate the distance between in-office and remote employees
- Jumpstart spontaneous brainstorms and working sessions
So using these types of software and hardware setups, I can contribute regardless of where I’m located. Remote learning — from anywhere in the world — being combined with our face-to-face based classrooms.
Also, the push for Active Learning Classrooms (ALCs) continues across higher education. Such hands-on, project-learning based, student-centered approaches fit extremely well with the collaboration setups mentioned above.
Then, there’s the insight from Simon Dudley in this article:
“…video conferencing is increasingly an application within in a larger workflow…”
Lastly, if colleges and universities don’t have the funds to maintain their physical plants, look for higher education to move increasingly online — and these types of solutions could play a significant role in that environment. Plus, for working adults who need to reinvent themselves, this is an extremely efficient means of picking up some new skills and competencies.
So the growth of these types of setups — where the software and hardware work together to support worldwide collaboration — will likely create a powerful, new, emerging piece of our learning ecosystems.
Remote learning — from anywhere in the world — being combined with our face-to-face based classrooms.
This is definitely where things are heading. Colleges realize they can save on costs too by utilizing online frameworks. And non-traditional students especially benefit from a high quality course that can be accessed outside of a traditional classroom. We need to keep working to improve those offerings.
Thanks Kate for taking the time to put this feedback/comment out there — I appreciate it. With the costs of the physical plants our there, we need to figure out ways like these to increase the ROI’s of the facilities that we decide to maintain. Also, our global population is poised to skyrocket over the next 30 years. How can we meet that growing demand for education? Thanks again Kate!