Silver Lining for Learning

Teenagers in Nepal have been learning from massive open online education (MOOCs) for much of the past decade. That use accelerated during the pandemic. Several of these young learners appeared on Silver Lining for Learning for Episode 33 in back October 24, 2020 and will return for this episode to give us an update on the benefits and challenges of MOOCs on their lives during the past four years. Attend this episode of SLL and learn how MOOCs and open educational resources can make a difference at the K-12 level. More about our guests below the video.Richa Suri: Richa completed high school and now preparing for the earning a placement at a US institution. Amazingly, she ran two workshops on taking MOOCs for the teachers and students in her district last year. It had the participation of around 70 participants.Sneha Adhikari: She completed her high school and now is studying Software Engineering at Pokhara University, Nepal. She has been fortunate enough to learn from Massive Open Online Courses since she was in Grade 10 and used them for her studies at her undergraduate level too.Bivushi (Manushi) Timilsina is originally from Pokhara, Nepal. She is now a sophomore at Sweet Briar College, majoring in Engineering Science with a 4.0 GPA. Last year, she was honored with the Emerging Leader Award (2023-2024) during the annual Student Involvement Recognition Ceremony. Over the summer, she became the first-ever counselor from Nepal at Kennolyn Camps, serving as a STEM counselor. Recently, she received the Emilie Watts McVea Scholar Award (2024-2025), given to the highest-ranking member of each class. She is also involved on campus through leadership roles such as Vice President of the Multicultural Communities Council, Resident Advisor, and Communication Lead for the Google Developer Student Club, among others. This semester, she is exploring courses in Cybersecurity and Web Development through CodePath, deepening her passion for tech and community engagement.

Join James Lester, an AI expert and director at North Carolina State University, Kip Glazer, a tech-savvy high school principal, and Gautam Biswas, a Vanderbilt University engineering professor. They dive into the power of AI in education, discussing how storytelling can engage students and enhance motivation. The trio highlights innovative narrative-centered learning technologies and the ethical implications of AI in classrooms. They also tackle the challenges of integrating technology into education and the importance of equity in access to AI tools.

Hosts reflect with Chris Dede, Yong Zhao, Lydia Cao & Punya Mishra 

Join researchers Thomas Breideband, William R. Penuel, and Mai T. Vu as they envision the future of classrooms through AI collaboration. They discuss the transition from traditional learning to interactive, collaborative environments where students and AI partners tackle real-world challenges together. Insights include how AI can empower students, enhance critical thinking, and promote diverse, engaging educational experiences. The trio also examines innovative assessment methods that align with modern education goals, urging educators to embrace AI as a valuable ally.

Charity Freeman, an advocate for inclusive educational technologies, H. Chad Lane, an AI education expert, and researcher Blair Lehman discuss the INVITE AI Institute's mission to tackle education inequities. They explore the integration of emotional intelligence in learning for marginalized students and how teachers can co-design AI tools. The conversation emphasizes fostering persistence in learners and the significance of human-AI collaboration. Their vision aims to create personalized, culturally responsive educational experiences to enhance engagement and success for all.

Open Education at Scale: Stories from the Open University of ChinaAnyone seeking a degree from a higher education institution today realizes that learning is more open and available (often for free) with the push of a button or blink of an eye. Not surprisingly, there are seemingly countless words that have sprung up to describe this increasingly "open" world. There are open access journals, open educational resources (OER), opencourseware (OCW), open teaching, open pedagogy, open educational services, open education practices, open-source software, and open universities. Clearly, there is a push toward open forms of education. This newfound sea of openness is moving us from an age of information scarcity to one of information abundance. Enter the Open University of China (OUC). The OUC is one of the largest open universities in the world, with an enrollment of five million adult learners for higher education and 20 million elderly learners. The OUC is dedicated to providing its learners with a wide range of educational opportunities and learning resources. The advance of digitalization has brought many opportunities for the development of the OUC, and challenges as well. We will share our understanding of these opportunities and challenges in this episode. We will also present an AI-supported language English teaching innovation project initiated by the Faculty of Foreign Languages at OUC. The project aims to promote large-scale and personalized learning with the integration of AI technologies. Join us for Episode #206 of Silver Lining for Learning and discover what makes OUC so unique and important in the lives of millions of people.Dr Li Wei is an associate researcher and serves as Director of Department of Learning Resources of the Open University of China, and Deputy Secretary General of the Scientific Research Institute Working Committee of the Chinese Association of Adult Education. Her research areas include lifelong learning, online education, and digital resources. Dr. Li Wei has published five monographs, including "OECD and the Development of Lifelong Learning for All" and "Comparative Study of the World Open Universities." She has published more than 30 SSCI and CSSCI papers, led 6 national projects from the Ministry of Education, and participated in the drafting of more than 10 policies on lifelong education and continuing education. Dr. Li Wei won the Best Paper Award of the 26th ICDE World Congress and the National Young Adult Education Academic Scholar in China. She can be reached at: liwei@ouchn.edu.cn.Dr. Qi Li is Vice-Chair of the Department of English, Faculty of Foreign Languages, at the Open University of China. She is a lecturer of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). She teaches EFL courses to both English and non-English majors at college levels. Qi Li’s research focuses on technology-enhanced language teaching and learning, CALL teacher education, and AI and open education. Before that, she received her PhD from Indiana University Bloomington, U.S.A., where she majored in Literacy, Culture, and Language Education, and minored in Instructional System Technology. Her dissertation project was a design-based research study of building an optimal language learning environment by integrating multiple technologies to support authentic input, sufficient output, timely feedback, and personalized learning. Dr. Qi Li can be reached be at sophia.liqi@hotmail.com or at liq@ouchn.edu.cn.  

Dr. Shameem Farouk, Executive Vice-President at Maybank, discusses the transformative power of AI in workforce development. She highlights the importance of digital inclusion to close the skills gap, and shares Maybank's initiatives to reskill employees in the face of digital banking challenges. The conversation delves into empowering women in tech, emphasizing the role of inclusive training programs. Dr. Farouk also explores innovative approaches to create a growth mindset among employees, ensuring they adapt to rapid technological changes.

Episode #204 of Silver Lining for Learning will explore global citizenship education (GCE) broadly, and education on the Thai/Myanmar border specifically. Andrew Swindell and Wanida Lertvorapreecha Chong will discuss how migrant and ethnic-minority communities access quality and inclusive education on the Thai/Myanmar border as well as a few specific projects that they have worked on together. During their collaborations, they have examined how global, national, and local citizenship themes are represented in curriculum materials being used in schools with migrant students along the Thai/Myanmar border. In their research, they have found that Thai government school materials are strongly oriented towards national Thai citizenship whereas the internationally produced Open Education Resources (OERs) digital materials are more oriented towards global citizenship. In addition, they have written a digital GCE K-6 curriculum that is currently being used in migrant learning centers (MLCs) along the border. Importantly, during the SLL episode, Wanida and Andrew will talk about the curriculum development process and what GCE looks like in the context of migration. In addition, they will discuss mixed-methods program impact research they collaborated on over the past year on Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) initiatives across northern Thailand. Finally, Wanida wrote her dissertation on multicultural education and GCE focusing on this region, and will speak to the larger education situation there, particularly around migrant and ethnic-minority access to quality and inclusive education.Andrew Swindell has over 15 years of experience in international development, education, and research, and is passionate about advancing inclusive and quality education for all learners. He holds a PhD in Social Science and Comparative Education from UCLA and has worked in both online and in-person settings across the USA, Bangladesh, Liberia, Thailand, and Myanmar, specializing in emergency and forced migration contexts. He has published on topics like AI, digital literacy, education in emergencies, and curriculum studies in both popular and academic outlets, demonstrating an ability to convey rigorous evidence-based findings and complex ideas in varied formats for different audiences. He currently serves as a Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) consultant with education NGOs based in Thailand where he investigates multilingual education for migrant and ethnic-minority students. He has also worked as a K-12 teacher and his other research interests include online and digital learning, AI, and global citizenship. His career has been driven by a commitment to making education work better for all people, guided by principles of compassion and human dignity. More on Andrew can be found in LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/swindellandrew/ and he can be contacted at: aswindell@ucla.edu.Wanida Lertvorapreecha Chong is currently a part-time lecturer at Maejo University, in the North of Thailand with seven years of full-time position teaching experience working at the Faculty of Liberal Arts. She is from Thailand and earned her PhD in Multicultural Education from Chiang Mai University. Her work focuses on the study of migrant education and global citizenship education on the border of Thailand and Myanmar. She enjoys collaborating with migrant teachers in designing the Thai curriculum that is meaningful and relevant to the migrant community. She has served as a board member for Child Dream Foundation and been actively coordinating with any projects related to migrant education. Wanida aspires to work as an International Student and Scholar Services Advisor (ISSS) in Florida. You can find out more about Wanida at https://www.linkedin.com/in/wanida-chong-58aa13255/ and she can be contacted at: wanida.lertchong@gmail.com.

Explore a revolutionary educational model that prioritizes real-world, project-based learning. Discover the founders' journeys from traditional methods to creating a nurturing environment for diverse students. Learn about innovative alternative education approaches showcased at a conference and the significance of community-centered teaching. Hear insights on the importance of personalizing education and fostering emotional growth. Plus, the impact of global experiences on student learning is highlighted, emphasizing the power of meaningful connections in education.

Ep 202 | Hosts reflect with Chris Dede, Curt Bonk & Lydia Cao