Emerging Educational Technologies - very far from being applied in development

My (soon to be) colleague Diana Brandes just shared an article about 10 Specific Examples Of Emerging Educational Technologies by  Teach Thought.

The list provides some (heavily US-centric) examples about how some educational institutes are applying technology.

Cloud Computing, Mobile Learning, Tablet Computing and MOOCs are all listed in the "12 months or less" category, implying they are pretty much here already.  From where I'm sitting (well, standing most of the time, but that's the topic for another post one day), which is thinking how technology can revolutionize learning in a developing context (think large scale application of agricultural research in developing countries)  - this is still much more of a distant dream than reality.

Of all of these, the one I hold most hope for is mobile learning - but let's unpack it for a minute.  The article gives examples of a school in Australia using tablets for math applications, another use of tablets, this time in Switzerland, to create music on ipads, and finally a US school creating an iOS app for digital storytelling.  All very neat.  And very far removed from the reality of the vast majority of mobile users at the BoP.

Despite a lot of promise for (entry level android) smartphones about to boom in many Asian and African countries - the reality in my host country of Kenya - considered a hub, perhaps even the epicenter - of mobile innovation is that most users are still not on smartphones, and if you want scale in rural areas, you better think of the old school (Nokia) entry level phones.  None of the innovative applications mentioned in the article are mobile-compatible in this context. As far as timelines are concerned, I think we're certainly more than 12 months' away from any of these making a dent in mainstream applications of education, let alone in a development context.

The article's most exciting prospect for me personally is "Games and Gamification", slated at 2-3 Years away.  I think there's so much potential for engaging adult learners with games that we're not tapping into - it would hopefully take "only" one or two killer applications to come out to turn the tide and focus the world's attention to gaming for development.  Who knows, by then it might be a mobile app that does the trick?

What MOOCs Will Really Kill Is...

Came across an article in Forbes today who's headline read "What MOOCs Will Really Kill Is The Research University".  

Nice article, with the gist of it basically saying 

"...time to get a little Adam Smith on this professor. The sole purpose of any production is consumption: and we should listen and consider the interests of the producer only to the point that said interest is essential to the interests of the consumer. And I’m afraid that if MOOCs do indeed produce the technological revolution which lessens our demand for professors then that’s just too bad for professors. Our only concern here is and should be the interests of the students. If they can get a better education through technology, the same but cheaper education, or even a worse and much cheaper education and that trade off seems acceptable to said students then that’s just the end of the matter. The students’ interests win."

MOOCs are the most significant technological revolution in higher eduction in a long time (as in several generations) The established higher-ed industry has not come to terms with it yet (a bit like the very early days of digital photography).  In fact the biggest players are either Universities (e.g  edX) or emerged from universities (e.g. Coursera who's founders hail from Stanford).  Despite lots of hype and money being invested in the idea, the business model isn't clear or proven yet - but what a potential...   In any case, the trend is already  giving way to a wave of innovative startups looking to tap into this technological disruption.  For instance, Spire Kenya is about to launch a new model for undergraduate education that harnesses MOOCs, and combines them with placements in companies, mentoring and peer-leaning, to produce graduates that are better suited to match the needs of employers.  With a degree from an accrediated US university, and at a fraction of the price of private universities (e.g. less than $1000/year) - one could see that if such startups get it right, we could really have an appealing alternative model on hand.

To be sure, societies looking to get ahead will need to keep investing heavily in R&D, and universties will certainly continue to have a place in that picture.  So am not convinced the Research University is about to go the way of the dinosaurs.  However, many (in some contexts most) students in higher education are not on track for research careers.  Yet becuase of the way academics (prof.) are hired, promoted and remunerated - essentially based on their publications record - advances in teaching and learning have suffered.  It is this academic caste system whereby prof. in mainstream subjects (e.g. business, social sciences etc) shy away from great teaching (which sometimes pays less than janitorial work in the same institutions) in favor of often irrelevant research that's likely to be the first to go.

That might be a very good thing for most students.