CPIT professional development day - new city:new CPIT

Today is CPITs second whole institution professional development day. The occasion opens with a welcome from CE Kay Giles. Joe Bennett returns as a popular MC. The theme for the day and following year is new city: new CPIT. Kay commends on the resilience of staff and the institution and how we need to mine the learning to move CPIT forward into the futures. The earthquakes present a unique opportunity. Following last years PD day a catalyst team was formed and 3 key projects identified to increase collaboration across the institute. A video produced by students at Olds College in Canada on gamification and another Victoria University, Melbourne on work integrated learning used as example of whole institute direction towards future proofing the institute. Two other objectives include sustainability and opportunities for all. A scene from the play by the 'no limits group' is presented as a way to illustrate marginalisation and its effects.

First keynote is with Michael McQueen on decoding the next generation. Aims to provide practical suggestions at the end of the presentation for educators to bring back into their teaching. Summarising some of the concepts from his book. Engagement with Gen Y often thought to be difficult. Important to be authentic, not assume gen Y have no moral compass as they possess post-modern mindset and respect is not bestowed but earned through reciprocal relationships. Gen Ys may be 'unreliable' but their post-modern mindset prepares them well to cope flexibility and innovatively with change. If things don't work out they actively seek a different route and that causes them to be seen as lacking resilience. Gen Y are assumed to be technology savvy and also seen to be high maintenance. Strategies for engaging and equipping Gen Y is to prioritize the relationship, embrace new learning formats using appropriate technology and learning activities (check Donald Tapscott book on 'growing up digital') and use stories to make your point.

A staff activity follows morning tea. We broke up into 56 groups of about 12 in each group to work out the values CPIT should hold on to and work out what behaviours and activities would reflect these values. Group suggestions are to emailed into one repository and collated into informing the values development process of the new CPIT strategic plan.

After lunch, another activity to drive off the post lunch blahs.
Rhythm interactive takes through some collective flow activities with drumming, clapping, chanting and singing.

Second keynote from Peter Townsend CE of the Canterbury Employers' Chamber of Commerce. A video 'new city, new Christchurch' is shown to provide an update of rebuild plans for the city. He opens his presentation with a vision of  Christchurch into 2030. Participatory democracy applied to inform the various innovative and future directions of development. For the city to become a centre of excellence that supports NZ and South Island economic, research, commercial and education goals. Currently, there is population and capital inflow, increase of economic activity due to business resilience and the recovery has only just begun. We need to capitalise on the opportunities and to understand the scale of the work coming and the place of CPIT in contributing. He challenged the institution to strategically plan for the future.

Jenn Bestwick, chair of the CPIT council follows with an overview of the day's activities and updates on the council's direction. CPIT needs to continually work at leading innovation and embracing change for the benefit our students. We have performed well but demands for education and training increasing from industry, schools and students. Going forward requires remaining relevant to our communities and stakeholders and continuing with evolution and innovation to meet diverse needs.
The CPIT staff awards are next. There were 19 nominations for the rising star award which goes to 4 people. Charlotte Griffiths, Hemi Hoskins, Natalie Thomas and Jan Connolly. Certificates also to Nick McQueen, Clare Brokelhurst, Marion Peawini and Manu Fata. 10 nominations for the management awards with the winner Bree Underhill. sustainability awards from 6 nominations to Emma Meijer and the outdoor and sustainability education team. The excellence in teaching award goes to the midwifery team. The practitioner award goes to the teaching team of the 'next step' centre who work with women second chance learners to help them re-enter tertiary education and the workplace. The teaching award from the CE goes to the manufacturing team and then front-line management team.

The day closed with the great waiata challenge for the institute to learn the CPIT waiata.

Recent resources on elearning and mlearning

A good resource via Bronwyn Hegarty at Otago Polytechnic published by University of Woolongong details research projects conducted there on the use of mobile learning in higher education. Articles include an overview, how to encourage faculty to adopt the use of new technologies and descriptions and some evaluations of various projects with mainly full time students in education using mobile phones and ipods. The last chapter on design principles provides practical guidelines and recommendations.

Other resources of interest that have come up over the last fortnight or so include :

1) A more wide ranging review taken by the Commonwealth of Learning which discusses education for a digital world. This includes articles on how to prepare and implement technology in education followed by examples of various applications and projects.

2) educating the net gen is a Australian study and a handbook of findings for policy & practice. It recommends a cautious, planned approach to be taken as not all students (despite hype) are ready or willing to engage with the use of technology in their learning and not all staff are prepared to make the leap across the chasm to adopt the use of technology in teaching.

3) Two articles recommended to follow up on mobile / social networking use in university. One on policy and the other a response from JISC to the recommendations in the 2007 report ‘Web 2.0 for Content for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education.

4) A literature review of elearning research in the workplace via Ako Aoteoroa. The articles reviewed are accessed via a visual representation of the various aspects of the review. A good example of how to provide a simple portal to lots of information.

5) And a book to catch up on which discusses What if? About the use of technology in the 21st century classroom

6) Website of the American 21st century schools provides good conversation / discussion starter with what is 21st century education along with resources and information on curriculum & instruction and critical pedagogy. Has a mainly compulsory K-12 focus but much of relevance to tertiary ed. as well.

I intend to work through these in the next month or so. Many of the above bring the realism of putting ICT into practice into real educational settings. As I speak to many tutors around NZ, I find that many realise the need to assist learners to learn important 21st century skills of collaboration, critical thinking and citizenship. However, not all are convinced about using ICT as one of the tools. Maybe they have a point. However whether we want to or not, we now live in a world & in societies influenced by technology. Many of our students will live beyond our own live times. Do we do them a disservice by not modelling as teachers, flexibility, self-directed and life-long learning and openness to evaluating new ideas?