Open for Business?

Today, I have been lucky enough to be attending the EduTech Symposium of our Business and Computing School. I was part of the initial panel, then helped colleagues in the Adobe Connect session.

The opening session was fascinating, and largely consisted of a Q&A with staff. It is a large academic School, with some very experienced staff, so there were good questions. We discussed the nature and benefits of Lecture Capture (and the ‘market-positioning’ factor of this for a Business School), TEF, clothing guidelines for Webinars, and how to ensure student engagement in blended provision.

What seemed, at least to me, though, to have emerged from the conversation was that technology in the ‘EduTech’ was not a passive conduit in the learning process. Our tool/software selection, use, and tone in education impacts on the learning experience in obvious and less obvious ways. What we seemed to conclude, was the idea that EduTech here had to be about people. Giving staff more time with students face-to-face by removing from the classroom that which wasted time, not getting drawn into old LMS e-learning solutions that were about clicking through a series of screens. If we look to the blossoming of Social Media uptake of recent years, we see a thirst for human connectivity. Technology in education can narrow our viewpoint, as we huddle around our own devices, mutely pressing our way through assigned tasks; or it can expand our horizons, as we interact with scholars and other students from around the globe, and the learning leverages our thirst for social interaction. I am glad to note that my colleagues here are strongly in favour of the latter…