Silver Lining for Learning

Uliana Furiv, Associate Project Officer at the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning, will discuss how flexibility has been important both during COVID-19 and before for enhancing the resilience of education systems. During the discussion, Uliana will share some good practices regarding promising policy options for creating more flexibility in higher education, as well as share some experiences of eight countries that have developed effective policies at both national and decentralised levels.Trine Jensen, Manager of Higher Education & Digital Transformation at the International Association of Universities, will discuss changes she has observed while developing a new IAU Policy Statement: Transforming Higher Education for the Common Global Good in a Digital World. Although the initial draft of the statement was prepared prior to the pandemic, the accelerated digital transformation during the pandemic highlights the importance of this work and key issues at stake for the future of higher education.

Have you heard colleagues talk about University Design for Learning (UDL) and wonder what it is? Are you charged with developing training in your organization or institution related to UDL? Perhaps you are interested in developing online courses that take into account UDL. Knowing this is a global, if not universal, concern, Elizabeth (Betsy) Dalton and Susie Gronseth edited a book with 47 chapters and nearly 90 contributors, Universal Access Through Inclusive Instructional Design: International Perspectives on UDL, that was published by Routledge in 2020. In the show, they will be joined by chapter authors from South Africa and Chile who will share their perspectives on how universally designed programs and instruction is happening in their parts of the world, some strategies and tools that they have found helpful in their UDL journey, and the persisting issues they continue to face as they work to achieve the goal of inclusive education. Without a doubt, Episode #59 should be a highly enjoyable and informative session. Yes, it is time Silver Lining for Learning included an episode on UDL.

Is “the world” still open? Why does it sometimes feel that the digitalization of education, datafication, and digital learning platforms raise new impossibilities and paradoxes? For example, can we really claim to educate self-directed 21st century learners when we increase datafication and online platform surveillance? These are some of the questions the Critical Applied Research of Digitalization in Education (CARDE) research group in Tampere, Finland is exploring with educators and researchers around the world. The mission of CARDE (about) is “Promoting deeper understanding of digitalization in education through critical applied research.” Research conducted at CARDE is international and informed by critical theory and critical pedagogy. It is also intended to connect and unite people around the planet with similar aims and goals. Learn about the mission of CARDE (about), current status, and the results to date from two of the founders as well as three CARDE research team members and students.

Technology has played a significant role in special education and has a lot more potential. In this episode we invite the top professors in technology and special education to discuss the past, present, and future of technology in special education. They are also leading the newly funded national center: Center for Innovation, Design, and Digital Learning (CIDDL). The center has a strong mission to connect with higher education faculty to promote better and more uses of technology. More about the guests below the video.

David Wiley, Co-founder and Chief Academic Officer, Lumen Learning, has been a leader in the open education movement for over two decades. If an interesting or ground-breaking open education project has happened, David likely is aware of it and perhaps even participated in it to make it so. Want to learn about open textbook research? Why not? David and his colleague, John Hilton, have conducted tons of it. OpenCourseWare advocacy? Here too David led the charge. MOOCs? Well, now, prior to the MOOC craze in 2009, David opened up his classroom to the world community and gave out certificates to those who joined. Open educational resources entrepreneur? As per his bio, there is no other like him. Organizer of the openness movement? David founded the Open Education Conference. Come to this session and find out how you can get involved in helping the world become more free and open for learning. You will likely learn about unique resources created for this open world as well as new trends and possibilities.

In this episode of Silver Linings for Learning, the Hosts reflect on the past 4 episodes.

In this episode, Jeremy Bailenson, Kristy Kroeker, and Anna Queiroz, will discuss their shared work on the Stanford Ocean Acidification Experience, which is an immersive VR journey where learners actively explore a virtual underwater ecosystem and observe firsthand how rocky reefs are expected to look by the end of the century if CO2 emissions are not curbed. In addition to discussing their shared work, they will also talk about some exciting new research, including Anna’s new findings on the use of VR headsets in schools and its effects on affective and cognitive learning,  Kristy’s research on ocean acidification and outreach and education regarding ocean climate change, and Jeremy’s work around policy and VR that focuses on a case study in Palau.

Delivering high quality professional development at scale that builds on new knowledge of learning and the mind is crucial to the future of teaching. In particular, teachers now must master remote and blended instruction as well as classroom interactions. This session describes a design science strategy for realizing those objectives. Diana Laurillard will discuss the models she has developed and studied, including new types of capacity building tools. We also will dialogue about the challenges of evaluation and the types of measures that predict success. Further, our conversation will address barriers to implementation and evolution. More about our guest below the video.

This episode will explore the recent projects and initiatives of three East Asian educational technology leaders, Insung Jung, Ok-hwa Lee, and Meifeng Liu, within their home countries of Japan, Korea, and China as well as their work around the globe. What have they each done during the past few years? What have they each discovered? And where will they go next? This session will also highlight what the governments in Japan, Korea, and China have been targeting since they start of the pandemic and the associated successes and failures. What insights do these prominent women leaders have for the world community as well as for young female scholars in the field of educational technology and distance education? See their bios  for examples of the projects that we will be discussing during Episode #52 of Silver Lining for Learning.

This episode of Silver Linking for Learning discusses how open educational resources and courseware is utilized for forestry education and forestry management. The Asia Pacific Forestry Education Coordination Mechanism, an international consortium of universities with a mission to promote forestry education and research cooperation, developed a joint educational online program entitled Innovative Sustainable Forest Management Education in the Asia-Pacific Region, which is a series of open online courses in Sustainable Forest Management (SFM). It is the only SFM online program of its kind, and provides world-class forestry education resources to more than 15,000 learners from over 90 international economies. Join the show to hear their stories about how the program paved its way from an initial self-directed OER learning program to a current credentialed certificate degree program, and to a future Master’s degree program in Forestry.Asia Pacific Forestry Education Coordination Mechanism (AP-FECM): https://apfecm.forestry.ubc.ca/https://apfecm.forestry.ubc.ca/executive-office-of-ap-fecm/Graduate Certificate in Forest Management and Conservationhttps://forestry.ubc.ca/programs/certificate/forest-management-conservation/JTF GCFE 49 Sustainable Forest Management Online Program – Canadahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSCM4Zg-MxU&t=49sAP-FECM open online courses: https://apfecm.forestry.ubc.ca/sfm-online-courses/.