Theory of practice architecture - book overview

 This book,  the theory of practice architecture is by Peter Grootenboer and Christine Edwards-Groves. It is published by Springer in 2023.

Being a book in the Springer Brief series, it has five chapters. The first chapter summarises the premises with regards to the concepts of practice architetcture as a research approach to help understand real-world practices and 'practice-scapes.

The second chapter, extends the work into the wider approach of theories of ecologies of practice.

Then the third chapter explains the importance of situating practices into their authentic settings.

Chapter four details the ways practice architecture influence and lead the interpretation and analysis of data.

The last chapter provides recommendaitions on how to disseminate practice-based research to ensure it has impact and is used tranformationally to inform and perhaps enhance practice.

Creating the university of the future - book overview

 This 2024 open access book, Creating the university of the future is published by Springer and edited by U-D Ehlers and L. Eigbrecht. It is part of the book series on Future Higher Education. 

There are 30 chapters, organised into five sections.

The editors 'Set the scene' with 3 chapters in the first section - Creating the university of the future: A global panorama on future skills; towards a future skills framework for higher education; and the practice of future skills learning: an assessment of approaches, conditions and sucesss factors.

The next section focuses on 'future skills- foundations and shapes of a new emerging concept in a global view. There are six chapters in this section. 

Then 11 chapters in the section on future skills in practice - teaching and learning. The chapters provide case studies or examples of contemporary pedagogy from across the world.

The fourth section is on 'future skills in practice - assessment'. with 4 chapters. Emphasis is placed on formative assessments across the chapters.

The last section has a series of chapters from various countries which have worked towards achieving 'future skills'. Chapters are on the 'skills future movement in Singapore'; 'continuing education at the National University of Singapore'; Educational digital transformation of university education in Japan; future IT skills; and further higher education in New Zealand.

Overall, a good collection of chapters, some philosophical/theoretical but many reporting on current approaches. 

Peformance based research funding in Aotearoa New Zealand -

 Last week, the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) announced that the University Advisory Group, has been tasked with reviewing the mechanism for recognition and funding of research in tertiary institutions. The Performance-based Research Funding (PBRF) is the main conduit for the funding of research at universities and polytechnics 

Taking this into account, the current collation of evidence towards the 2018-2026 evaluation round, has been cancelled. The Tertiary Education Union (TEU) have always contended that the PBRF system was unwieldy and expensive, taking up much of academics' time without any real benefits for them. 

What happens next, will hopefully be more manageable and fair. Across three posts, Roger Smyth has discussed some possibilities. Firstly, he overviews the system as it stands and summarises the inherent challenges. Then, he presents some possible solutions. A postscript was then added providing examples of how the possible solutions proposed, may play out. Of note is that PBRF is a funding regime that is derived from the university sectors' research volume. Smaller tertiary providers in the form of  Wananga (Māori Universities) and Polytechnics which participate in research as they offer degree level and above qualifications, will always have much smaller volumes of research outputs. Therefore, their share of the PBRF, has always been much smaller. 

The recommendations from the University Advisory Group on PBRF will therefore, always be a balancing act between how funding drives research activity and the costs of measuring the quantity and quality of the activity. The current system is very costly, in terms of time, for individual institutions and individual researchers. Hopefully, a better, more efficient method is presented that does not penalise non-university research. 

Māori voices in the AI landscape

 Dr. Karaitiana Taiuru maintains a blog and also posts on linkedin. He is an authority on IT issues and ther effects on Māori. His blog has posts on Māori data sovereignty AI/data and emerging technologies and critical indigenous research.

This linkedin post discusses the small number of Māori active in the technology sector in Aotearoa NZ and how this needs to change as many aspects of AI have far and long reaching effects on all people. Ensuring larger Māori representation in the digital space, is important to ensure their voices are heard. 

References provide a good resource.

Prompt engineering - Claude prompt library and other resources

 Prompt engineering is part of AI literacies and as interaction with Gen AI platforms/tools/apps increases, the competency to be able to effectively use prompt engineering has increased.

A theoretical approach to prompt engineering is offered by this IBM video whereby the approaches are based on computer science principles or algorithms.

For educational and pedagogical approaches, the paper by Mollick & Mollick (2023) recommends the assignation of a role to AI, usually as a coach/mentor. The role undertaken by AI, guides the types and tone of conversation with the AI. 

Good examples can now be found through the Claude AI prompt library. There are dozens of prompts to get things started for work, study and leisure tasks. These are useful in education as examples that can be deconstructed by learners, for them to work out the main principles for prompt engineering. 

Alternatives to ChatGPT

 A list of free and paid alternatives to ChatGPT can be found at Writesonic's site which compares each alternative to its own Chatsonic. 

Another list is found at Clickup which also compares the alternatives with both ChatGPT and its own project - Clickup.

More neutral recommendations from analyticsvidhya blog,  PC world and an older one (2023) from TechRadar for free to try alternatives.

Each has advantages and disadvantages and some have been adopted by certain industries as 'standards' or 'go to' platforms. Not all provide the ability to 'build your own chatbot' so it will be interesting to see how many are still about next year and of those that survive, how many provide additional features. 

Learning Design Voices -

 Learning Design Voices captures the perspecitves of learning designers post-pandemic. The book is open access and edited by South African learning designers/researchers T.Jaffer, S.C. Govender and L. Czerniewicz. 

After an introduction, the book has three sections (provocations).

The first provocation is 'what might learning design become in the post-COVID university? has five chapters. Each cover one of several themes -

1) increased visibility and value of learning designers due to the need to shift to flexible delivery models.

2) open learning design - on the margins

3) learning designer as pedagogical advisor

4) learning how to design learning through mimicry and mentoring

5) indigenous learning practices

The second focuses on compassionate learning design for unsettling times, with six chapters. The chapters focus on issues of equity, access, humanising learning, inclusivity and community.

The final provocation ' the challenge of designing experiences' has 13 chapters. Here, various examples, case studies and reflective studies are presented.

14) adapting ABC learning design

15) Using Laurillard's learning types

16) Rapid development prototype model

17) blended learning

18) elearning tools

19) knowledge-identity nexus

20) learner centred learning

21) authentic learning design

22) developing critique and argument

23) rethinking the textbook

24) digital divide and accessibility to print-based learning

25) ten principles of alternative assessment

26) reimagining authentic online assessments for large classes

27) inclusive online assessment

All in, may relevant chapters to inform the work of learning designers. 

Practical pedagogy

 Book published in 2019 by Routledge. Mike Sharple's draws on the innovative pedagogy series published yearly by the Open University since 2012.

The book 'Practical pedagogy'  works through the various pedagogies sorted into 6 categories. 

- Personalisation includes adaptive teaching, spaced learning, personal inquiry, stealth assessments and translanguage.

- Connectivity introduces crossover learning, seamless learning, incidental learning, learning from gaming, geo-learning, learning through social media, and navigating knowledge.

-Reflection summarises 'explore first' teachback, learning through argumentation, computational thinking, learning from animations, learning to learn. assessment for learning and formative analytics.

- Extension has threshold concepts, learning through storytelling, learning through wonder, learning in remote science labs, context-based learning, event-based learning, and learning for the future.

- Embodiment includes embodied learning, immersive learning, maker culture, bricolage, and design thinking.

- Scale refers to massive open social learning, crowd learning, citizen inquiry, rhizomatic learning, reputation management, open pedagogy, humanistic knowledge-building and communities. Some discussion of the contents of the book found here.

The last chapter discusses 'pedagogies in practice'.

Modes of learning - Mark Nichols

 An early morning webinar with Dr. Mark Nichols hosted by the Commonwealth of Learning.  on the topic of 'modes of learning'.  

Began with what is 'teaching'? Pedagogy is the dance between pedagogy and the dynamic operating decisions of the university' - teaching is the activity that gives a subject its voice, that brings the subject alive for the learner to form a relationship with. Not all teaching has to have an identifiable teacher. 

How about learning 'learning is 'a smudge between a self that knows to be self that knows more' to learn, then is to be personally smudged from one state of knowing into another ... as knowers we are forever incomplete: there is always more to know.

Introduced the project. Work with Dr. Seelig to try to look at what constituted learning, especially what is open, flexible and distance learning. For Te Pūkenga there are three modes, on-the-job, f2f, and distance delivery. What do these mean, how can they be combined, are these actually singular in themselves?

There is no such thing as an on-the-job delivery mode, turns out to be fluid. Similar to distance delivery, there are many modes as well. There is great potential in missing the modes. 

Important to consider how to meet learner needs, increase accessibility.

Q & A followed

Defining modes helps to enable common dialogue and scalable innovation. Asserts for example that peer relationships across learners are not necessarily a requirement for effective learning. Being able to define the modes help with decision-making, shared practice and strategic planning. A shared programme may not all be offered in a fixed mode but be flexible to allow for learner needs, circumstances and objectives. Defining modes enables education by design. 

Overviewed the asynchronous (most to least) OFDL distance, work-based, study centre, negotiate) and synchronous (most to least) live classroom, virtual class, flexible, local group, road show, supervised self-paced. Details in https://tinyurl.com/teachingmodes

Provided two examples, one in business to show the ways the modes can be mixed to provide flexibility for learners. Learning activity - what learners do, teaching activity - what do teachers do, resources - what academic support, subject representation, courseware, timetable - asynchrous/synchronous and assessment - enduring assessments tasks and also pre-determined, must be decided on to design the learning. 

The work on modes of learning was undertaken to inform Te Pūkenga as it brought together diverse delivery modes. However, with the disestablishment of Te Pūkenga, this work has not been taken further. 

The work is helpful though to try to place some rigor into how delivery modes are difined. Encouraged the use of these modes of learning and to help with further investigation to refined the modes, identify exemplars and explore the planning dynamics (costs, operating considerations). Challenged us to reflect on - education is always designed 'how deliberate is it?

Leaders and Legends Online learning - Professor Mike Sharples

 Dr. Mark Nichols' podcast on Leaders and Legends of Online Learning this week is with Professor Emeritus Mike Sharples. 

Began with an overview of his career, how it started with a degree in computer science and worked towards his PhD on cognition, computers and creative writing. He has always worked with AI and Gen AI for over 50 years. 

He compared the 'sudden awareness' of AI to how the internet developed. Much work undertaken over many decades before user relevance and other parts supporting the concept, took it into the mainstream. As with the www, important to think through implications and have guardrails with AI as there are many ways it can be utilised for good and also for bad.

Discussed his involvement across the 2000s with mobile learning as a means to provide more personal and individualised learning. 

Then provided an overview of how the UK version of MOOC - futurelearn - was set up to bring in good practice and pedagogy based on understanding of neuroscience into the design of futurelearn. A successful learning platform, distinctively difference from other MOOCs which are based mainly on lectures. In contrast, futurelearn stresses social learning opportunities along with the usual online learning platform mechanics.

Then introduced his most recent books including Story Machines: How computers have become creative writers.

Discussed the importance of social constructivist learning. Personalised learning is one piece but not the only one. There is still a need for learners to interact with their peers, teachers etc. to springboard and synthesise, discuss and defend their stance, weight up and evaluate their conceptual understanding. AI should not be only a technological tool but needs to be led by pedagogy. Encouraged the need to ensure the use of technology is more human centred. 

Summarised the important components of a new online system. Pedagogy is essential. Concepts include the need to have spaced learning, ensure learning is a social process, feedback is provided at the right time,and the need to build learner efficacy. AI-enhanced collaborative learning must be the goal.

Proposed the most important research is to find out how to best leverage technology to encourage and support social learning, rather than just go down the personalised learning route. New methods of assessment also need to be considered to allow for social learning and to focus on assessments for learning. Some ideas include peer assessments, the opportunity for learners to express their judgment, and evaluative and critical thinking. 

Now he is retired, his research interest centres around the future of technology-enhanced education. He is able to concentrate on research without the distractions of the other aspects of an academic career. Recommended to follow the work of colleagues at the University of Sussex and Looi Chee Kit (Nanyang Technological University and The Educational University of Hong Kong) who has had success introducing many principles of learning sciences at the primary school level. 

Unpicking Te Pūkenga - commentary on what is happening and what may work

 Roger Smyth  has had a long association with Aotearoa NZ tertiary education and his occasional blogs  provide viewpoints from his background as a policy analyst. He draws from both his experiences, scholarly work and his networks, to provide commentary on contemporary issues affecting tertiary education.

His latest blog, discusses a 'where to next' with regards to Te Pūkenga' as the process of its disestablishment begins. He summarises the reasons for the formation of Te Pūkenga, as a solution to the challenging financial position almost all of the country's polytechnics faced before merger. Discussion is had on the many facets of the reform of vocational education (RoVE) and the problems with combining the two arms of VET, the polytechnics with the industry training organisations (ITO).

He then discusses a few options for the creation of a network of regional polytechnics, how to try to bring some synergy between the objectives of polytechnics and the work-based support provided by ITOs, what do do with the funding system, and how to ensure employer and industry representations on skill needs is carried through to the standards setting function, currently held by Work Development Councils (WDCs).

It will be interesting to see how prescient some of his suggestions are, given that to date, little information has been available on what the post-Te Pūkenga landscape might look like going into the future. 

Sociomaterial design: Bounding technologies in practice - book overview

The book - Sociomaterial-Design edited by P. Bjorn and C. Osterlund was published in 2014 by Springer. 

There are 9 chapters, including the first chapter which introduces the concepts of sociomateriality and design.

The precepts of sociomateriality are argued to be useful in better understanding complex interactions. Design is brought in as to how processes are developed, and planned, initially impact on how people and things interrelate and interact. Therefore there are connections and commonalities between the two. How sociomateriality is affected by design and in turn feeds back on the efficacy of design, is a basis for better understanding intricate human associations, reactions and responses. 

5 chapters follow the introduction, reporting on a project (the emergency department in a hospital) and using it as a way to further illustrate the principles of how sociomateriality impinges on work. The last three chapters bring the various threads together with a chapter specifically on 'boundaries' and how actions affect these, how the findings can be applied to contexts beyond the healthcare sector and the overall implications on the discipline.

The concepts are now even more relevant as humans and machines' interactions and even the intertwining of the two into 'enhanced' entities become reality. 

AI tools for instructional designers

 The number of Gen AI supported apps/tools available is increasing rapidly. Here is a list from the eLearning Coach of recommendations for instructional designers. Many of these are also useful for teachers and learners.

The tools are organised into categories of animation, audio enhancement or improvement, audio text-to-speech tools, chatbot builders, classroom instruction, content search and generation, course creation, image editing, meeting apps (record, transcribe, summarise etc.), presentations, productivity, scholarly research, translation, video, and writing. 

In all, a good collation, showing the versatility of Gen AI incorporation into many tools that already existed but now 'enhanced'. 

ILO reports - Towards lifelong learning and skills for the future of work: global lessons from innovative apprenticeships AND promoting apprenticeships to meet the needs of the digital and knowledge economy

 Two recent reports from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) of relevance to future skills, digital skills and the role of apprenticeships.

Firstly, A report titled 'Towards lifelong learning and skills for the future of work: Global lessons from innovative apprenticeships"published in 2022 and authored/edited by McCoshan, A, and Markowitsch, J. with several chapters based on a collection of reports written by other authors. Most of the discussions centre around 'formal' apprenticeships. The first 4 chapters cover future skills needs including digital and green economy. There are two chapters on increasing apprenticeship participation. Then two chapters on emerging approaches to increase work-based learning including strengthening work-based learning in VET institutions and adapting apprenticeships to support the reskilling and upskilling of adults. a couple of chapters discuss how to make apprenticeship systems more flexible, inclusive and digital. The report closes with policy messages for the future of apprenticeships.

Secondly, with relevance to digital skills is the report on "Promoting apprenticeships to meet the skills needs of the digital and knowledge economy" authored by Perryman, S. and published in 2022. The report is part of the ILO Apprenticeship Development for Lifelong Learning and Training (ADULT) project.

The report overviews the effects of the digital and knowledge economy on jobs - including aspects of labour market polarisation and types of future work (platform-based, hybridisation of work and skills, pandemic effects, importance of targeted education and training); summarises the skills needs of digital and knowledge economies; discusses how apprenticeships may meet some of the challenges; provides some recommendations to meet strategic and policy, curriculum, accreditation, inclusion and funding/delivery challenges; and closes with a case study. 

Overall, both reports summarise some of the key future skills needs and postulates how apprenticeships may be modified to meet the oncoming and rapid changes in work. Mostly macro discussion with some ideas for implementation at the micro level. 

Digital Skills Framework - for Aotearoa NZ - a discussion paper

 A discussion paper commissioned by Ako Aotearoa and written by Dr. Anne Alkema provides a timely piece of work from which our 'AI in foundation studies' project can draw from. Digital skills are prerequisites to being able to make use of AI tools/apps as presently, all are reliant on text input - although users could dictate the prompts into speech to text if the relevant plugins were enabled. 

The paper discusses the various definitions of digital literacy and skills and overviews several examples from overseas (UK, Australia, Canada, Ireland, EU, US of A) to inform the development of an Aotearoa NZ version. 

Recommends 4 options - align with the current adult learning progressions (which is what we currently have at Ara); develop an essential skills framework; develop a standalone digital skills framework; and work with potential partners.

AI in learning: Designing for the future - book overview

Open access book, published 2023 by Springer on AI in Learning with Hannele Niemi, Roy, D, Pea, and Yu Lu as editors with authors mainly from China, Finland and the US of A.

The book takes an overarching viewpoint on the application of AI into educational contexts. The book sections indicate the types of ways, AI can be deployed to improve learning and support teaching. Most chapters are useful in informing the ways AI can be implemented across various sectors and levels of educations. As the studies were conducted across 3 countries, social and cultural perspectives are also considered as what is considered to be acceptable in one country (i.e. AI surveillance), may not be in another. 

Sections include AI in expanding learning and well-being through life; AI in games and simulation; AI technologies for education and intelligent tutoring systems; and AI and challenges in new learning environments.

As such, the broader perspective, beyond just Gen AI, is described, explored, and evaluated. Of note is that chapters not only introduce the advantages of AI but also critique AI systems (including surveillance technologies) and argue for the importance of ensuring the voice of teachers and learners are included when AI technologies are implemented into education. worth a browse through the relevant chapters to learn more about the larger educational issues impacted on by AI and how application of digital technologies using AI can be of use to support learning and teaching.               

Plans for 2024

 Back at work today, after an exciting trip down to the Sub-Antarctic Islands, followed by a camping trip into the Canterbury high country. We await the next steps and details on how the disestablishment of the recommendations from RoVE pan out.

From the usual business as usual perspectives, it looks like we will be back to being a singular institute with campuses across Canterbury and the West Coast. I assume that the usual work of supporting departments and learning design will continue to ensure the institute fulfils its many functions and obligations to students, NZQA and government.

The six AI in VET projects will need to be written up by all the researchers involved and I need to finalise the chapters I author by the end of March. The process of editing everything before we submit the manuscript to the publishers at the end of April will keep me busy for the first quarter of 2024.

Additionally, there is the work to begin the four projects on AI in foundational VET, funded by Ako Aotearoa. Semester one will see each of the projects introduce AI to their students and to evaluate the tools/apps or platforms most appropriate to the programmes' contexts.

In all, semester one will roll by quite quickly with so much to accomplish in a short timeframe!! Alongside will be the following through of whatever process is pronounced with regards to the disestablishment of Te Pūkenga. I will miss the collegial interactions with colleagues from throughout the VET system but the relationships have now been kindled. It will be important to prioritise the nurturing of these despite the move back to individual institutional silos.

Therefore, I am looking forward to an interesting year. Let's see what happens and what can be done to ameliorate some of the disadvantages of disestablishment and to capitalise on the collaborations and networks formed through the last two years.