February 2016
EMG 501 THE CHALLENGE OF GLOBAL LEARNING
This unit explores how globalisation and associated concepts of mobility, culture and knowledge impact opportunities for and the provision of education and training. The unit address these issues in the context of Australian and international settings. It is especially relevant for leaders and managers of education in developing and, or complex education contexts. Scope is built into the approaches to the topic to allow for analysis and investigation of globalisation through the student's professional context and individual experiences of global learning. The unit incorporates a consideration of globalisation in relation to leading and managing curriculum development and associated teaching and learning activities.
March 2016
The first week started with getting to know our lecturers and the students enrolled in this unit. Each student introduced themselves in the learn line discussion board, It helped as an ice breaker for conducting conversation about the unit content. Although it wasn't compulsory to participate in meetings, the unit outline did suggest that such participation is important. Moreover, most research associated with effective online teaching & learning shows that active engagement matters.
In the second week, there were more interactive and collaborative engagement in this unit. The challenge of global learning appeared to be an interesting unit that focuses on contemporary issues in the global space and its implication to education.
Various topics were discussed such as:
- The Inputs into Digital Learning & the 7 affordances of digital technology;
- The ideas to think about when Teaching & Learning in this changing context of an ongoing digital revolution;
Week four started with a discussion board's exchange of ideas/opinions The key issue from the collaborate session was the challenge of policy implementation in Africa. The overarching question for discussion was why do policies fall in Africa? Asked Dr. Stephen B.
April 2016
The first week, we chatted about the first assignment Written review: key concepts in global learning & the outcomes that are expected in the essay
It is already week four in April and the assignment 1 was due yesterday. Here is what I submitted. Please, dear readers, this work is a personal effort and posted here just for your perusal; and exchange of ideas for further discussions with me. It can not be used for any other purposes.
May 2016 -
I have had a telephone conversation with the lecturer in regards of my paper and some useful feedback were given for future references.
Reminder of the two learning outcomes for the assignment 2 Media scan and analysis: education and training in key international, national, regional and local media sources
Readings posted on the blog. These are in regards of organisations or institutions that are meeting the global learning challenges.
EMG 501 THE CHALLENGE OF GLOBAL LEARNING
This unit explores how globalisation and associated concepts of mobility, culture and knowledge impact opportunities for and the provision of education and training. The unit address these issues in the context of Australian and international settings. It is especially relevant for leaders and managers of education in developing and, or complex education contexts. Scope is built into the approaches to the topic to allow for analysis and investigation of globalisation through the student's professional context and individual experiences of global learning. The unit incorporates a consideration of globalisation in relation to leading and managing curriculum development and associated teaching and learning activities.
March 2016
The first week started with getting to know our lecturers and the students enrolled in this unit. Each student introduced themselves in the learn line discussion board, It helped as an ice breaker for conducting conversation about the unit content. Although it wasn't compulsory to participate in meetings, the unit outline did suggest that such participation is important. Moreover, most research associated with effective online teaching & learning shows that active engagement matters.
In the second week, there were more interactive and collaborative engagement in this unit. The challenge of global learning appeared to be an interesting unit that focuses on contemporary issues in the global space and its implication to education.
Various topics were discussed such as:
- The Inputs into Digital Learning & the 7 affordances of digital technology;
- The ideas to think about when Teaching & Learning in this changing context of an ongoing digital revolution;
- Generational Change, also called generational gap which is a difference of opinions between one generation and another regarding beliefs, politics, or values. (see below)
Week three was consecrated into reading suggested articles and websites. I found some of them very useful such as Research4Life It has an overall goal which is to empower research institutions in developing countries and to reduce knowledge gaps. It is the collective name for the four programmes – HINARI, AGORA, OARE and ARDI – that provides developing countries with free or low cost access to academic and professional peer-reviewed content online.
Dr Jon M one of my lecturers in this unit is a big aficionado of Digital Education Futures theme. We talked about the Internet and the social movements as a challenge of global learning; The Project Zero perspective, which is to study and improve education in the arts. As I had never heard of the PZ before, It was an interesting discussion. (see below)
Week four started with a discussion board's exchange of ideas/opinions The key issue from the collaborate session was the challenge of policy implementation in Africa. The overarching question for discussion was why do policies fall in Africa? Asked Dr. Stephen B.
Personally, I believe that policies fall/fail because in many African nations, they are designed on false assumptions or they aren't implemented accurately. There are just too many issues that hinder the development of many African nations such as tyrannical regimes, greedy leaders, Corruption, the absence of accountability, constant change of constitution, lack of real democracy, dependency to the west, failure of educational system… Although Africa has come a long way. it still has a long way to go. Leaders must create a system that is bigger than a single individual, ensure the implementation plans, strategies that are meant to be in place will still go on and not collapse at the exit of the individual. This occurs so much that we are always in a state of perpetual recommencement.
The third day of this week, Ben Van Gelderen, a CDU lecturer, did present his research findings in the area of Indigenous education/policy on the collaborate session
At the end of the week, we discussed about the skilled migration as a challenge of global learning (see below)
At the end of the week, we discussed about the skilled migration as a challenge of global learning (see below)
April 2016
The first week, we chatted about the first assignment Written review: key concepts in global learning & the outcomes that are expected in the essay
- Apply knowledge of national, regional and local dimensions of the organisation of learning.
- Review, analyse and synthesise the characteristics of global learning drawing on concepts such as globalisation, mobility and global learning.
It is already week four in April and the assignment 1 was due yesterday. Here is what I submitted. Please, dear readers, this work is a personal effort and posted here just for your perusal; and exchange of ideas for further discussions with me. It can not be used for any other purposes.
May 2016 -
I have had a telephone conversation with the lecturer in regards of my paper and some useful feedback were given for future references.
Reminder of the two learning outcomes for the assignment 2 Media scan and analysis: education and training in key international, national, regional and local media sources
- Apply analytical and critical thinking to promote innovation in the context of global demands on educational performance.
- Apply theoretical concepts to an analysis of international, national, regional and local media representations of education and training
Readings posted on the blog. These are in regards of organisations or institutions that are meeting the global learning challenges.
A New Vision for EducationFollowing the World Economic Forum, the Boston Consulting Group has just published: New Vision for Education: Fostering Social and Emotional Learning through Technology. "To thrive in the 21st century, students need more than traditional academic learning. They must be adept at collaboration, communication and problem-solving, which are some of the skills developed through social and emotional learning (SEL). Coupled with mastery of traditional skills, social and emotional proficiency will equip students to succeed in the swiftly evolving digital economy."
World Development Indicators
The World Bank has just published the latest edition of the World Development Indicators. A key feature of the report is a shift in language: there is no longer a distinction between developing countries (defined in previous editions as low- and middle-income countries) and developed countries (previously high-income countries). Regional groupings (such as “East Asia”) are now based on geographical coverage rather than a sub-set of countries that were previously referred to as developing.
The Shape of Global Higher Education
The British Council has just released a new report The Shape of Global Higher Education. This report evaluates the policies of 26 countries and identifies three areas where national governments can provide an enabling environment to their HE institutions to internationalise and forge collaborations:
i.Openness: government-level commitment to internationalisation; environment enabling international mobility of students, researchers, academic programmes and university research;
ii. Quality assurance and recognition: A regulatory environment to facilitate the international mobility of students, education providers and academic programmes.
iii. Access and sustainability: Promoting student/academic mobility and international research collaboration; consideration of possible unintended consequences of internationalisation.
27 May Assignment 2 submission: Media scan and analysis.
5 June. Feedback from the lecturer with some valuable insights
You take an interesting focus from the outset with this paper in examining the actual role of the media - social media & mass media - in education & training. The Introduction frame the paper quite well -- though you have a tendency to write long sentences!
Likewise with your Lit review you establish very early a clear argument for the reciprocal relationship, or mutual obligation, between educators & journalists.
The PISA focus in your discussion demonstrates a lot of good analysis & insight - well done.
"heutagogy" -- I'm beginning to see this word quite a bit recently. You've successfully brought this theoretical frame into the discussion on social media. You also mention "net-centric theory" but without any name -- check out Downes & Siemens on Connectivism
It is also apparent that you've delved quite deeply into theory & are conversant with a number of different theories that are highly relevant to our times. Interesting that you highlight the SIDE model & it is very pertinent to your analysis of bullying & unethical bahviours -- you may be also interested in the "popular" writing of New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. Some years ago he coined the term "the electronic herd" to describe some of the behaviours of online communities as well as financial markets. It's a great metaphor -- when the herd gets spooked, they take off with so much momentum it's hard to stop.
I've really enjoyed reading your even-handed analysis of the shortcomings of conventional media in contemporary times, even though it clearly plays a significant role in public policy development, criticism, & modification. Likewise, the analysis of 'new media' & its growing role is well informed. As you point out, there's so many issues & debates percolating around the use of social media in teaching & learning ... & these debates are not at any point of "resolution" just yet.
"media literacy" --yes, it's a crucial term in this context. Actually, there's lots of "new literacies" that are also worthy of attention (digital literacy, information literacy, web literacy, data literacy, etc) -- but you hit the nail on the head here with this one.
"In order to effectively use the media and gain sufficient relevant information, education and training institutions should adopt both conventional and social media". I know this is a recommendation but just watch out for "should" statements in academic writing -- particularly if you dont include simple rationale for doing so because they can sometimes just come across as opinions. I always see "should" statements as red flags & I know many academics also do. But, there's always other wasy to say these things:
"In order to maximise the effectiveness of media in the public domain, education
and training institutions need to consider the value of both conventional and social media channels"
This recommendation is expressed better: "In order to enhance the teaching role through the media, instructors ought to be granted professional development on the methodologies that they can utilize ..." as is "The application of social media and the mass media in general must be purposeful..."
Overall, a nice compact & coherent discussion supported by some clear analysis & logical recommendations.
Other related issues you might consider addressing next time:
1. The impact of the 24hr news cycle on public policy (& how the internet & social media have helped create this situation).
2. The Open Access agenda -- reporting on publicly funded research in Australia (through conferences & journals) must now be published as Open Access. "openness" is a crucial driver of change ... & it's always been one of the roles of conventional media to promote this.
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