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in this video
I will talk about details of this diagram.
In an earlier video I mentioned
the term ecosystem
in education
The more I study educational scenarios
the more I have become confident
that we must look at understand education ecosystem at level
Ecosystematic view of education
can help you understand
failures and successes education model
and learning environment designs
although our focus is not biological science
what i have learned in education
can be often explains in biological organic views
in fact, I will even view a learning model or innovative idea as a species.
brought this quarter's i'll even used terms
such as evolution
extinction
resistant
immune system
d_n_a_
and virual mutations
you'll not be surprised to realize that such phenomena can be witnessed in
education
let's take a look at the diagram in detalis
I listed Technology,
content
pedagogy and value
why do i think these are most important elements to consider
in designing an educational technology solution
Here is why
if anyone is considering
designing developing
implementing
evaluating
and sustaining an educational technology project,
these overarching components should be considered
the bolster at your plant
at every step
focusing on
only one of these components
probably will not lead to successful outcomes.
technology
technology can certainly be an
enabling agent
technology can create new possibilities
but technology alone
cannot insure success
Let me share with you what I have seen
I seen a project that involved in deploying a large set of notebook
computers
and projectors
to schools in an extremely underserved region
where electricity was not available
Someone thought that solar cell panels could be installed
or diesel power generator could be set up
the power the school
the assumption was that if notebooks and protectors of power
teachers and students would use them
we're teaching and learning purposes
however such dream was not realize
and that particular community
what i have noticed
was that the the small solar cell panel installed
barely kept that teacher`s cell phone charge
and a few LED lights lit up.
powering multiple protectors usable level
wasn't really possible
when someone used a projector for 2 minutes
that was it for the whole school
for the whole day
The 2-minutes of projector time drained the batteries hooked up to the solar
cell panels.
when we talk about the solar cell panels.
as a potential source of electricity
we must do our homework
with lots of precise calculations
and must consider
the context
an environment where such solution will be deployed
different energy sources clearly have different purposes
the use of the inadequate
scale solar cell panels
to power a school was a naïve idea in this
particular case
even if the sponsoring organization installed a large-scale solar cell farm
for an enormous amount of cost
the return on investment
would be quite doubtful
in this particular context
in another place where there was a diesel power generator
the local people could not afford to keep paying for the fuel
also there was no technician was able to service the engine
i can come out with a numerous more real examples
were huge amount of money was invested for
no outcome
because there was no link between the research lab
and the real context on the ground
at the end
such projects
made no difference in education what so ever
technology was innovative only in research labs
or only in theory
Content. Unless content is going to be generated
regionally or locally
your designed content must be appicable and contextualized
to be meaningful for your project
and the constituencies of the local ecosystem
I have seen projects involving a lot of books collected from developed countries
and given to developing region
it sounds quite intriguing
but think about the cost of transporting
containers of books between continents
and going through customs and finally through local transportations.
the cost is enormous
but outcome is unknown
in addition
i have seen some children books with illustrations of children
baking cookies with
ovens in the kitchen
and bathing in jet-tubs
in the bathroom
picture this
those children stories land in the hands of children who
never seen a water fauced at home
and who slept with goats under half covered the roof at home
and those children who walk four hours to fetch water
that is full of toxins and
pathogenic germs
will such donated books and descriptions of
unfair blessings in this world
would be educational
i'm not quite sure
if your learning technology used such contents
would be the same case.
simply translating your content into the local language is not localization in
education project
Again, I can come up with many examples
that did not carefully consider the content side of an educational project.
In short
an education technology project without clear content plans
can hardly be an educational technology project
its not just the localization involving translation
It's the contextualization that is needed.
Again instead of saying two bowls of cereal with blueberries
you may have to say two bowls of uji with sukari
and a cup of chai
if you don't have a clue on what on earth i'm talking about here
post your question
i'm sure our friend will help post more examples of contextualized
content plant
pedagogy
i see far too many projects that deploy hardware
but without any pedagogical model whatsoever
i guess people were hoping that teachers on the ground
somehow would magically come out with reasons and ways to use such technology
and enhanced teaching and learning
people might have
thought that technology was the only missing piece
Such dreams have not been fulfilled.
What does "Pedagogy" mean?
it's from Greek Roots
"Pais" and "ago".
Pais means child
the learner
and ago means "
to lead
you could say Andragogy if you want to refer to helping adults to learn
oftentimes
we simply use the term pedagogy seek to mean
purposeful strategies for helping
students learn effectively
Why is pedagogy so important
we see many technology projects in the education sphere.
Many of them do not have a pedagogical model associated with technology
being implemented
many technology tools including laptops and tablets are purchased
and given to teachers without clear
pedagogical models
I call these technology projects,
not education project
A pedagogical model is a critical element in an educational technology
project
a model should
present how the technolgy can be used
to address
specific learning needs in particular circumstances
obviously
there are some universally acceptable
practices for learners
however
often times due to idiosyncratic conditions
or cultures or long inherited social DNA
one successful running model in one location may not be successful
and other locations or reasons of classrooms
developing a successful pedagogy and educational technology solution is not a
simple matter
it takes a lot of studying
design thinking
and testing
when hardware is barely functioning
content is so foreign
and no cler pedagogical model is suggested
there's no magical outcomes expected at the end
clear
meaningful
and feasible pedagogical model
must be in place
to nurture student learning
and catalyze
best teaching practices in an education ecosystem
interestingly
many governments around the world continue to invest in education technology
project
without pedagogical models.
Value ? what i mean by value
this is probably the most important component
an educational technology project
and in an education ecosystem
When an education technology project is to be designed
and implemented in a place
all constituencies in such ecosystem
must be identified: students, parents, teachers
principal superintendents
ministers
local universities and local private sectors
and so on
as a designer
you must find out what their value perceptions are
See if they are on the same page
with their project or solutions
if they do not value your solution
your project will most likely to face insurmountable challenges along the way
once i was in one of the least
develop regions around the world
i faced a community leader
who told me not to do anything
that would improve the schools in the region
he said most parents and do not want their children to be educated
in fact i'd find out that many parents i met
did not want their children to be wasting time in schools
that gave no value
students were taught by teachers who barely finished high school
and had no material
teacher showed up only once in a while
collected paychecks every month
from the government
as for parents
children wasting time in such school
meant they are
losing the necessary labor force
needed in the farms
i left the community
and have not gone back yet
i'm still struggling to figure out a way to get their children educated
with quality learning programs
l like to challenge those children
i like to show them what they could achieve in their lives
i'd like to see doctors professors engineers
and astronauts out of them`s
one-day i want to be back in there
and help change the perceptions of their parents
about schools
and also change those schools
drastically
let's sum up
the point i'm making here is that an education technology is project
must carefully consider not only technology options
but more importantly
content plans
pedagogical model
and most importantly
value perception of the constituencies in target ecosystem
also you must be aware that everything in your ecosystem
must evolve
Technology always advances contents must be updated
and pedagogical models must be enhanced
to reflect the best practices of the time
also
people's perceptions
can and do change over time
when you consider all these matters
your solution design will be much more robust and ultimately
much more sustainable
you're not just joining a class
you're joining together to make a difference in education systems around
the world
we're going to be desing a new
learning environment
that can lead students to learn
create
preserved shared peace
and prosperity for all
that imagine lea new learning environment
Once again, if we can imagine, we can make it happen. Thank you for watching.