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EduTECH 2014— designs on the digital future. By Lara Caughey
EduTECH 2014 aimed to inspire thousands, as international speakers and exhibitors gathered to reshape the tertiary curriculum.
Australia’ s largest educational exhibition drew a crowd of 5000 attendees and 250 exhibitors to the Brisbane Convention Centre; it included eight masterclasses, a jam-packed leaders congress and seminars to discuss the future.
The message to higher education leaders was about designing 21st-century schools for globalisation and the digital revolution.
Keynote speakers such as Dr Yong Zhao shed light on the transformation of education through technology.
“ People come here to learn,” he said.“ We cannot fix the past. We can invent the future on what we have today.”
The world-renowned speaker, scholar and author has worked closely in the digital education divide. At EduTECH 2014, he conducted an interactive masterclass on educating creative and entrepreneurial students using the triad model.
John Daniel, former president and CEO of Commonwealth of Learning, advises colleges in China, the US and Canada. He spoke passionately about higher education in his address.
“ We need to create more open learning spaces in the tertiary sector through digital technology in response to the global employment crisis,” he said.“ There must be open access to research, software and data and students must have flexibility to study what they want to do.”
Panellist and speaker Stamenka Uvalic- Trumbic agreed with Daniel.
“ The tertiary sector is experiencing new phenomena through technology,” Uvalic-Trumbic said.“ There are challenges surrounding quality and credentials; and we need certification to [ meet them ].”
Swinburne pro vice-chancellor learning transformations, professor Gilly Salmon, delivered scenarios for digital learning’ s future.
She has developed four descriptors to help educators respond to the digital world and make the student experience of learning better: contentia( based on publication and content); instantia( big data, rapid feedback), nomadia( mobile technology and learning); and cafelatia( networking to accelerate the power of the human mind).
“ The future is going to be mobile and life integrated,” she said.
Another speaker was Ewan McIntosh, the founder of Edinburgh-based NoTosh, which works to inspire school communities.
“ My entire team at NoTosh has been learning more about why our work in using design thinking and formative assessment strategies is having such an impact,” he said.“ A key part of this idea is that those who will flourish in the future are not just those who can solve problems but those who can find great problems to solve.
“ I’ m proud of those teachers we’ ve worked with over four years who’ ve seen a huge impact on the engagement and attainment of their students.”
Industry market development manager for education at Microsoft Australia, Ray Fleming, said students need to be prepared at a high school level for the digital technology at the university level.
“ We are in the middle of world change,” Fleming said.“ Technology can help teachers connect by introducing things like gaming into the learning process.”
EduTECH organiser Craig Macfarlane said since 2011 the event has grown more than 900 per cent, becoming the most prominent face-to-face education, training and technology meeting place in the southern hemisphere. ■
6 | campusreview. com. au