An overview of some trends in ICTs and Higher Education in 2012, with opportunities and concerns from an African perspective

1. Some Trends, Opportunities & Concerns - An African Perspective
Laura Czerniewicz
March 2012
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2. Global Higher Education Issues
Higher Education in Africa
The Changing University
Affordances of the Digital Environment
The Digital Landscape - Statistics
The Big Questions

3.  Massification of higher education
 Overall lowering of academic standards
 Greater social mobility for a growing segment of the population
 Increasingly diversified higher education systems
 Pressure to expand
 Post-secondary education will need to provide places for an
additional 98 million learners over the next 15 years; this would
require more than four major universities (30,000 students) to
open every week for the next fifteen years". (Daniel 2011.)
 Funding
 Resource constrained globally
 New patterns of funding higher education
 Public / private good
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Altbach, P; Reisberg,L; Rumbley, R (2009) Trends in Global Higher Education: Tracking an academic revolution, UNESCO

5.  Technology
 instantaneous communication
 the global dissemination of research and other information
 expansion of ICTs.
 Knowledge economy
 Demographics
 Both students and staff will grow and become more varied
 Academic activities and roles will become more diversified &
specialised
 In developing countries, the need for more lecturers will mean
that academic qualifications, already rather low, might not
improve much and reliance on part-time staff will continue.
 Academic mobility
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Altbach, P; Reisberg,L; Rumbley, R (2009) Trends in Global Higher Education: Tracking an academic revolution, UNESCO

6. Socio-economic Organisational Pedagogical and Technological
epistemological
African Access and Social Capacity explosion Curricula quality and Severe pressure on
higher education Equity Enrolment expansion Relevance technological
Challenges Participation rates New players, new Language of infrastructure
Changing demands instruction Increasing demand
demographics (including the rise Faculty quality, for bandwidth
Funding and of private higher strength and Wide range of ICT
financing education) motivation literacies among
Gender imbalances Management issues Impoverished students and
Pressure to respond in universities research and students
to participate in a Poor learning publishing Educators with
new world order environments Academic freedom limited experience
Student activism System The brain drain and of educational
Diversification the issue of technology
capacity building
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7. Socio-economic Organisational Pedagogical and Technological
epistemological
African Pressure to expand Overcrowded Outdated curricula Infrastructure
higher education enrolment classrooms Inappropriate pressure
T&L challenges Diversity in student A lack of educational teaching methods Increasing demand
body resources Inadequate for bandwidth
Mature students, life- Weak management academic support Wide range of ICT
long learning capacity Recognition of prior literacies
Inadequate teaching learning Educators with
and learning Poor throughput limited experience
environments rates of educational
Poor working Low achievement of technology
conditions graduate Online content vs
Limited competencies design of online &
accountability for Poorly equipped mixed mode
teaching young educators learning
Limited incentives for interactions
teaching Poorly designed
Donor-driven online learning
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8.  University under pressure to respond to a
changing world order
 The role of the university being questioned
 The rise of the digital
 Expectations of online
▪ Teaching
▪ Research
▪ Communication
▪ Engagement
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9.  Networked
 Granular
 Hyper/linked
 Multiple
 Disaggregation
 Aggregation
 Integrated
 Inter-operable
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10. The Statistics

11. Internet users by country, 2007 figures from Internetworldstats.com.. CC-BY-SA

12. CC-BY-SA

13. CC-BY-SA

14. Insight into Mobile Telecoms in Africa
http://www.slideshare.net/andrewmchenry/insights-into-mobile-telecoms-in-africa-dec-2011-
final

15. http://www.slideshare.net/andyhadfield/south-african-african-digital-stats-pub-quiz

16.  What is the role of technology in the changing higher
education scenario ?
 Cause
 Consequence
 What is the relationship between ICTs and issues of
equity and access in Africa?
 Social inequality and digital divides
 ICTs can overcome divides and can deepen divides
 What are the big trends in technology and education?
 In terms of these trends, what are the opportunities and
concerns for African education?
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17. Openness
Alternative delivery models
Digital content
Mobile learning

19. • Open scholarship
• Open access
• Open content
• Open licensing
• Open education
practices
• Open education
resources
• Open source
• Open data
• Open research
• Open science
• Open web
• Open knowledge
http://www.flickr.com/photos/opensourceway/5535034664/sizes/o/in/photostream/

20. http://www.slideshare.net/laura_Cz/open-everything-
exploring-open-in-higher-education

21. • Open scholarship
• Open access
• Open content
• Open licensing
• Open education
practices
• Open education
resources
• Open source
• Open data
• Open research
• Open science
• Open web
• Open knowledge
http://www.flickr.com/photos/opensourceway/5535034664/sizes/o/in/photostream/

22. Beethham, H et al (2012) Open Practices Briefing Paper

24. CC-BY-SA

25.  For everyone with internet access:
 Access to online content
 Access to peers & community
 Emergent access to accreditation
 Opportunity to contribute, create & share
 Cost savings
 Choice
 Transparency
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26.  Growing divide
 With/ without connectivity
 With/ without specific devices
 Disproportionately benefit the wealthy?
 See: https://edutechdebate.org/oer-and-digital-divide/open-educational-resources-expand-educational-inequalities/
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27. Open Online Courses
Flexible learning in traditional universities

29.  Experimental,
often 1-off
 Generally not
accredited
 Not
associated
with an
institution
https://sites.google.com/site/themoocguide/home CC-BY-SA

30. MIT MiTX Stanford Knowlabs
Opencourseware Pilot: 6.002x A1course Using Udacity
Wide array (Circuits and 229 paying students platform
Electronics) Pilot non paying students
160 k enrolled
2300
Content Free content Course textbook buy Online lectures, Online lectures
from Amazon automated quizzes Automated
Some content free quizzes
online
Interaction Not provided, Discussion boards Peer interaction Peer interaction
Pedagogy/Learning content only for students And with lecturers
Design/Feedback
automated
Accreditation Not provided, Pilot no testing Letter from course Letter from (ex
Summative Assessment content only Intend: a credential lecturers (not from Stanford)
for a modest fee Stanford) for non course lecturers
(not/ from MIT) paying students for non paying
students
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31.  The OER Tertiary Education
Network, Athabasca
University, BAOU (Gujarat’s open
university), SUNY Empire State
College, Nelson Marlborough
Institute of
Technology, NorthTec, Open
Polytechnic, Otago
Polytechnic, Southern New
Hampshire University, Thompson
Rivers University, University of
Canterbury, University of South
Africa, University of Southern
Queensland, and the University of
Wollongong.
 Eight university- and college-level
courses as prototypes
 College Composition
 Art Appreciation and Techniques
 Regional relations in Asia and the
Pacific
 A Mathematical Journey
 General and Applied Psychology
 Critical Reasoning
 Why Sustainable Practice
 Introduction to Management CC-BY-SA

32. CC-BY-SA

33.  Extend access
 To those eligible for university but without places
 Support life long learning
 Cheaper
 May be genuinely innovative
 May address real educational challenges
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34.  Parallel education has dangers
 (separate but equal?)
 Danger of increasing divides
 With/ without resources (incl funding)
 With/ without expertise
 Threatening
 Change management
 Unknown
 Prone to unsubstantiated hype
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35. Changing nature of content
Rise of media rich content
Ebooks
Etextbooks

36. Self-curated, Visual, Social, Mobile
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http://www.slideshare.net/joseph.murphy/cil-12-changing-face-of-content

37.  The expectation of “rich media”
 Rise of video – Utube, Vimeo, Ted, Khan
 Rise of audio, podcasting, lecturecasting
 Growth of animation, visualisation, simulation
 Rise of the digital humanities- vivid archival
resources
 These afford for education- interactivity,
modelling, engagement
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38.  To demonstrate experiments or experimental situations
 To illustrate principles involving dynamic change or movement
 To illustrate abstract principles through the use of specially constructed physical models
 To illustrate principles involving three-dimensional space
 To use animated, slow-motion, or speeded-up video to demonstrate changes over time
 To teach certain advanced scientific or technological concepts (such as theories of relativity or quantum physics)
without students having to master highly advanced mathematical techniques, through the use of models and/or
animation
 To substitute for a field visit
 To bring students primary resource or case-study material, i.e. recording of naturally occurring events
which, through editing and selection, demonstrate or illustrate principles covered elsewhere in the course.
 To demonstrate decision-making processes
 To demonstrate methods or techniques of performance (e.g. mechanical skills such as stripping and re-
assembling a carburetor)
 To interpret artistic performance (e.g. drama, spoken poetry, movies, paintings, sculpture, or other works of art)
 To analyse through a combination of sounds and graphics the structure of music
 To teach sketching, drawing or painting techniques
 To demonstrate the way in which instruments or tools can be used; to demonstrate the skills of craftsmen
 To record and archive events that are crucial to the course, but which may disappear or be destroyed in the near
future (e.g. Internet reportage of the Arab Spring)
 To demonstrate practical activities to be carried out later by students
 To synthesize, summarize or condense contextually and media rich information relevant to the course.
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Bates, T (2012) Pedagogical roles for video in online learning

39.  Print books: integrated/inflexible
 Digital: separation of content, software &
hardware
 New platforms and distributors
 Transitional at present (pdf online)
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40.  Paid for
content
 For one device
http://thenextweb.com/apps/2012/03/29/brian-coxs-wonders-of-the-universe-redefines-ipad-books-with-gorgeous-3d-and-a-brilliant-
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interface/

41.  Free
 Any
device
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42.  Free while online
 Annotate & Share
 Community
 Download and read off
line- pay

43.  Potential to be seamless and global
 Distribution costs of content near/zer0
 Linkable to
sources, multimedia, visualisation, customisa
ble
 Can integrate with Learning Environments
 Provide a student with a library
 New models include open (OpenStax, Flat
World)
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44.  Major drawback for Africa: Old print regime
territorial rights regimes limit access
(technology enables, IP constrains)
 Disjunctures
 Eg use software to make books but can’t buy them!
 Dangers of greater divides
 Exciting high quality in on proprietary software and
expensive devices
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46. Mobile Learning for Africa Parker, J 2011

47. LECTURE PODCASTING
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IN AD-HOC AUDIENCE RESPONSE SYSTEMS

48.  “M o b i l e l e a r n i n g i s
r e s t r i c t e d t o s h o r t -
l i v e d , s h o r t -f u n d e d p i l o t
p r o j e c t s o r t o r e s e a r c h e r s
u s i n g i n d i v i d u a l c o u r s e s
a s e x p e r i me n t s o u t s i d e
ma i n s t r e a m me t h o d s o f f e r e d
b y t h e i r i n s t i t u t i o n s ”
(R a j a s i n g h a m , 2011)”.
 “T h i s r e s e a r c h i n s t u d e n t s ’
d i g i t a l l y -m e d i a t e d
p r a c t i c e s a d d s
we i g h t , a l o n g wi t h o t h e r
r e s e a r c h (H o d g k i n s o n -
Wi l l i a m s & N g 'a m b i , 2009)
(K u k u l s k a - H u l m e & CC-BY-SA

50.  Highly complex environment
 New models
 Affordances – both open and closed
 Blurring boundaries
 Formal/informal
 Online/ face-to-face
 Academic/ personal
 Imperative for
 Information & ICT literacies
 Critical literacies
 Content & communication capabilities
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51. Laura.Czerniewicz@uct.ac.za
lauraczerniewicz.uct.ac.za
@czernie
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