Introduction to Open Online Learning
Feb 28, 2024. Seminar, Microlearning, Mackwacis Cultural College, Online via Zoom.
The idea of open online learning has been taken up by numerous colleges and universities, opening up new opportunities to many people previously unable to access higher education courses and materials. This presentation talks about the history of open online learning, the motivations for its development, open learning tools and resources available today, and the future of open online learning.
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Connectivism: What is it? How to apply it.
Jan 26, 2024. Seminar, Microlearning Series, Maskwacis Cultural College, Online via Zoom.
Connectivism is a relatively new learning theory that suggests students should combine thoughts, theories, and general information in a useful manner. Four key principles for learning: autonomy, connectedness, diversity, and openness. This presentation will outline the elements of Connectivism and model how it can be applied in an online learning setting.
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Introduction to Social Constructivism
Dec 15, 2023. Seminar, Microlearning Series, Maskwacis Cultural College, Online, via Zoom.
In this presentation I introduce the basic elements of constructivim and social constructivism, outline the relation to critical theory, discuss applications in the classroom, and consider criticisms of social constructivism. Unedited audio transcript.
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Introduction to AI Policies, Guidelines, and Frameworks
Nov 16, 2023. Workshop, Microlearning Series, Maskwacis Cultural College, Online, via Zoom.
This workshop looks at recent policies, guidelines and frameworks developed by governments and institutions for the ethical and responsible use of artificial intelligence. How are they created, and what things do they address? Participants have the opportunity to identify important values and principles in order to develop a starting point for discussion relevant to their own context. (Slides will be available shortly)
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Three Frameworks for Data Literacy
Oct 21, 2023. Seminar, 20th International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in a Digital Age, IADIS, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal.
Data literacy education across three frameworks: the competency model defining data literacy, the assessment of data literacy competencies, and methods for the development of data literacy in an organization.
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Introduction to AI
Oct 12, 2023. Seminar, Invited Talk, Maskwacis Cultural College, Online, via Zoom.
As the title suggests, this is an introduction to artificial intelligence for people with a non technical background, covering how AI systems work, how we can work with them, and some of the issues and ethical concerns that follow. Here's another video showing the participants'-end view.
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Transforming Learning Design in the AI Era
Jul 13, 2023. , Transforming Education in the Artificial Intelligence Era, Moroccan School of Engineering Sciences, Rabat, Morocco, via Salle de conférence AI et Transformation pédagogique.
In this presentation I consider some potential applications of AI in the design of online learning (and MOOCs in particular), point to the importance of data in these design processes, and discuss how data development and quality will become of major importance to learning design in the future.
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Why Do Digital Transformations Fail?
May 25, 2023. Keynote, CNIE 2023, CNIE, Online via Zoom.
CNIE Keynote. What would it take to talk usefully about some of these technologies that we're working on? We consider things like AI, blockchain and metaverse from the perspective of technology adoption models and ask how we would account for whether they succeed or fail?
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How to Make the Most of Online Learning
Mar 02, 2023. Keynote, Congreso Líderes Digitales, Dirección General de Bilingüismo y Calidad de la Enseñanza, Matrid, Spain.
Instead of thinking about online learning as digital lessons and classes, to make the most of it think of it as an environment for doing things. So our learning begins with the question 'what do I want to do?'. This talk describes how to do that, from finding communities, to learning from experts, to discovering your own voice. (Audio on the video isn't very good, so maybe listed to the audio file instead; it's a little quiet but a lot clearer).
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Navigating the AI Revolution
Feb 10, 2023. Seminar, Navigating the Al Revolution, Bellevue College, Bellevue, WA, vs MS Teams.
This presentation looks at the role of higher education institutions and how it changes in light of recent AI technologies.
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Universities at the Crossroads: Technologies, values and the role of the institution
Dec 02, 2022. Keynote, 1r Congres Internacional de la SCP-IEC, Catalan Pedagogical Society, Lleida, Spain.
My objectives are to: offer clear and understandable descriptions of three current technologies (metaverse, blockchain, artificial intelligence); discuss how they will impact the traditional role and function of universities; and describe the application of the conference themes (inclusion, sustainability, ethics) to these technologies with respect to these roles. Video with translation into Catalan
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Ethics, Analytics and the Duty of Care: The Workshop
Nov 23, 2022. Workshop, Online Educa Berlin 2022, Berlin, Germany.
We begin by looking at the applications of artificial intelligence and analytics in learning technology, describing in a structured way what decisions we actually make when we apply artificial intelligence, analytics, and neural networks to teaching and learning. We also survey the ethical issues that have arisen in the field, for example, bias in algorithms, justice and fairness, diversity and equity, bad actors and data manipulation, and a range of other concerns.
Some additional (big) resources:
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Open Learning in the Fediverse
Oct 19, 2022. Lecture, Open Education Conference, Online, via Zoom.
As a new generation of digital technologies evolves we are awash in new terms and concepts: the metaverse, the fediverse, blockchain, web3, acitivitypub, and more. This presentation untangles these concepts and presents them from the perspective of their impact on open learning.
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The Future of Learning Technology: 10 Key Tools and Methods
Sept 21, 2022. Seminar, Webinar, Contact North, Online, via Zoom.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the education system in Canada and around the world received an unexpected shock as schools, colleges and universities closed and people began working and learning from home. As faculty, instructors, students, administrators, policy-makers and funders, we learned a lot. But what can we expect in the future? In this webinar, Contact North I Contact Nord Research Associate Stephen Downes discusses the 10 major educational technology tools, methods and developments that are expected to be more widely adopted within two to three years and will likely be mainstream by 2030. See also the associated research report published by Contact North.
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The Next Generation of MOOCs
May 20, 2022. Keynote, Iranian Conference of Health Professions Education (ICHPE), Education and Development Center of the Ministry of Health, Tehran, Iran, by Zoom.
In this presentation I outline the development of MOOCs, discuss the impact of the pandemic, and suggest several ways MOOCs will grow and develop in the future, including through the use of web3 technologies, live linked data, artificial intelligence, and the metaverse.
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Opportunities for Education in the Metaverse
May 13, 2022. Lecture, Smart Education Summit: Reinventing education in the Metaverse era, Smart Cities Week, Online, via Teams, to Rabat, Morocco.
This short presentation introduces major elements of the metaverse, outlines some applications for education, discusses how it may be combined with other technologies for advanced applications, and outlines some issues and concerns.
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Data Literacy
May 11, 2022. Seminar, In-house, NRC, Ottawa.
Video slide presentation to accompany my data literacy report (79 page PDF). It's a comprehensive analysis opf the concept of data literacy, descrivbing the overall competencies involved, methods for assessing data literacy, and methods for enhancing data literacy.
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Supporting Open Educational Resources
Jan 07, 2022. Lecture, LISACON-2021, LIS Academy, Bangalore, India, via Zoom.
Developers and practitioners have come to realize that OER require support and an infrastructure, and this has been realized through such mechanisms as open online courses and open practices. In this plenary Stephen Downes describes these developments both from a historical context and also to develop a broader framework of support. Drawing from examples in other fields, including social media, streaming video, and open source software, he identifies key elements of a broad-based open educational platform (OEP) and offers suggestions on how librarians and information scientists can support this approach.
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