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ICT enhanced learning – the
socio-economic environment
Andras Szucs
Secretary General, EDEN
2
Social factors influencing E-Learning
• Human and social elements in the forefront - technology is
available and affordable
• Accelerated technical-economic development, globalisation:
– performance pressure at universities,
– strong competition for their „social space”
• Migration of ‘knowledge construction’:
away from traditional educational institutions
• Easier access and affordability of new ICT - it becomes
natural commodity
• Cheaper tools with higher performance,
cheap/free access to network
• Integration of three sectors with the ubiquitous technology:
− Work,
– Education and Training and
– Lifestyle and Entertainment
3
Trends and contextual factors in learning and ICTs
• Unemployment, economic crisis - Focus is shifted
nowadays to the socio-economic environment and
contexts, access issues.
• Enormous changes in user habits and expectations
– Dramatically increasing number of users
– RAPIDLY LEARNING USERS!
• Spontaneous strengthening of on-line informal (e)-learning
Some socio-economic facts and concepts
• Increasing domination by market realities
• Labor productivity up 85% since 1980 – wages up 35% only
• Social role of education, in particular higher education:
keeping students in frames of the educational system -
when their chances on the job market are uncertain and
unstable, unpredictable
• The post-modern world puts a premium on ‘tertiary
learning’ - a kind of learning which our inherited
institutions, are ill prepared to handle
Zygmunt Bauman, The Individualized Society, 2001
• “Only the well educated will be able to act effectively in the
Information Society.”
Michael Barber, The Learning Game
Distance and e-learning:
distinctive European elements
• Avoiding social exlusion, support equal access,
fight against digital gap(s)
• Stressing the importance of pedagogy,
educational methodology, instructional design
• Critical and responsible application of technology (ICT)
• Linguistic and cultural diversity,
• Remarkable differences in (e)-maturity across
member states
6
The EU role
• Important initiatives, programmes, commitments:
- eEurope - eLearning - Information Society Technologies
programmes, Opening up Education
• EU policy and funding important in the field –
national initiatives are rarely strong enough
• Main objectives:
- improving quality and effectiveness
- facilitating access of all to E&T
- opening education and training systems
to the wider world
7
Recent Keywords for Education
Economic growth
Employability
Accountability
Enterpreneurship
Innovation
Competences, Skills
Change towards excellence, flexibility, adaptability
... Did something really change in pedagogy...?
8
Critics - Problems
 Digital competence problem: gap between students’ and
teachers’ approach
- Students seek for efficiency gain, rather than exploring the pedagogic
opportunities
 In the educational sphere the effective takeup is not satisfying.
– E-learning fails meeting the access and digital-social divide challenge
 Discrepancy of supply structures, access possibilities and social
demand
 E-learning policy is often dominated by hypothetic/speculative
scenarios, overstatements.
• Are we working with real needs along real situations or modelling the
needs and situations?
 “learners must change, learning must change, system has to
change, schools must change …”
9
„Rhizomatic learning”
• Proliferating informal and non-formal learning contexts, situations, with
the help of ICT
• Practice of learning which is diversifying spontaneously
without co-ordination,
• Nodes, able to grow independently, no center, no boundaries
(cf. blogs, wikis)
• Strength and weakness at the same time: the content and competence is
legitimated by the networked co-operation.
A botanical metaphor, offering flexible conception of knowledge for the information age: the rhizome. A
rhizomatic plant has no center and no defined boundary; rather, it is made up of a number of semi-
independent nodes, each of which is capable of growing and spreading on its own, bounded only by the
limits of its habitat.
• http://davecormier.com/edblog/2008/06/03
Distortive effects of the free world of the web
• Concept and business model of voluntary contribution, free
work for the online community
– Authors: User generated content, Wikipedia- Peers : mentors,
tutors, evaluators, advisors online.
• ANYTIME - ANYWHERE...? - Moving parts of the burden of
education on the learners' shoulders: time and often costs
as well.
• The openness model and underfunded educational systems
• What can change the scenario?
– A breakthrough when employers will consider, accept the
atypical certifications as"normal" ones
• Civil society, professional community is our strength
- Needs investment in the power of the organisations !
Thank you!
www.eden-online.org

More Related Content

ICT enhanced learning – the socio-economic environment

  • 1. ICT enhanced learning – the socio-economic environment Andras Szucs Secretary General, EDEN
  • 2. 2 Social factors influencing E-Learning • Human and social elements in the forefront - technology is available and affordable • Accelerated technical-economic development, globalisation: – performance pressure at universities, – strong competition for their „social space” • Migration of ‘knowledge construction’: away from traditional educational institutions • Easier access and affordability of new ICT - it becomes natural commodity • Cheaper tools with higher performance, cheap/free access to network • Integration of three sectors with the ubiquitous technology: − Work, – Education and Training and – Lifestyle and Entertainment
  • 3. 3 Trends and contextual factors in learning and ICTs • Unemployment, economic crisis - Focus is shifted nowadays to the socio-economic environment and contexts, access issues. • Enormous changes in user habits and expectations – Dramatically increasing number of users – RAPIDLY LEARNING USERS! • Spontaneous strengthening of on-line informal (e)-learning
  • 4. Some socio-economic facts and concepts • Increasing domination by market realities • Labor productivity up 85% since 1980 – wages up 35% only • Social role of education, in particular higher education: keeping students in frames of the educational system - when their chances on the job market are uncertain and unstable, unpredictable • The post-modern world puts a premium on ‘tertiary learning’ - a kind of learning which our inherited institutions, are ill prepared to handle Zygmunt Bauman, The Individualized Society, 2001 • “Only the well educated will be able to act effectively in the Information Society.” Michael Barber, The Learning Game
  • 5. Distance and e-learning: distinctive European elements • Avoiding social exlusion, support equal access, fight against digital gap(s) • Stressing the importance of pedagogy, educational methodology, instructional design • Critical and responsible application of technology (ICT) • Linguistic and cultural diversity, • Remarkable differences in (e)-maturity across member states
  • 6. 6 The EU role • Important initiatives, programmes, commitments: - eEurope - eLearning - Information Society Technologies programmes, Opening up Education • EU policy and funding important in the field – national initiatives are rarely strong enough • Main objectives: - improving quality and effectiveness - facilitating access of all to E&T - opening education and training systems to the wider world
  • 7. 7 Recent Keywords for Education Economic growth Employability Accountability Enterpreneurship Innovation Competences, Skills Change towards excellence, flexibility, adaptability ... Did something really change in pedagogy...?
  • 8. 8 Critics - Problems  Digital competence problem: gap between students’ and teachers’ approach - Students seek for efficiency gain, rather than exploring the pedagogic opportunities  In the educational sphere the effective takeup is not satisfying. – E-learning fails meeting the access and digital-social divide challenge  Discrepancy of supply structures, access possibilities and social demand  E-learning policy is often dominated by hypothetic/speculative scenarios, overstatements. • Are we working with real needs along real situations or modelling the needs and situations?  “learners must change, learning must change, system has to change, schools must change …”
  • 9. 9 „Rhizomatic learning” • Proliferating informal and non-formal learning contexts, situations, with the help of ICT • Practice of learning which is diversifying spontaneously without co-ordination, • Nodes, able to grow independently, no center, no boundaries (cf. blogs, wikis) • Strength and weakness at the same time: the content and competence is legitimated by the networked co-operation. A botanical metaphor, offering flexible conception of knowledge for the information age: the rhizome. A rhizomatic plant has no center and no defined boundary; rather, it is made up of a number of semi- independent nodes, each of which is capable of growing and spreading on its own, bounded only by the limits of its habitat. • http://davecormier.com/edblog/2008/06/03
  • 10. Distortive effects of the free world of the web • Concept and business model of voluntary contribution, free work for the online community – Authors: User generated content, Wikipedia- Peers : mentors, tutors, evaluators, advisors online. • ANYTIME - ANYWHERE...? - Moving parts of the burden of education on the learners' shoulders: time and often costs as well. • The openness model and underfunded educational systems • What can change the scenario? – A breakthrough when employers will consider, accept the atypical certifications as"normal" ones • Civil society, professional community is our strength - Needs investment in the power of the organisations !