My perspective at this symposium…
As learners entering into RRU’s Master of Arts in Learning and Technology program, we were tasked with reviewing eight presentations from a virtual symposium that happened earlier this April. The talks I reviewed were packed with information that was entirely new to me. It appears that, while K-12 and higher education programs are experiencing growth in the concept of ‘open learning’, healthcare seems to be taking a more cautious position. The most exciting educational tool in healthcare in the last few years has been medical simulation training and debriefing. Eppich and Cheng (2015) found that health care educators “… recognized the essential role of debriefing in simulation learning contexts to help transform experience into learning through reflection.” (p. 106). While open educational resources (OER) are becoming common in healthcare news (Groen, 2012), the idea of open, networked learning has not yet taken root. There is much to learn from the progress of open learning in education and the use of openness as a “vehicle for change” (Childs, 2018). It is my hope that some of the lessons from social sciences and education can be transferred and used to design safe, open spaces for learning in the field of healthcare.
Dave Cormier’s presentation from the 2017 symposium was very enlightening and he adequately conveyed the progression of the concept of ‘open’ within education moving from ‘open access’ to ‘open source’ to ‘open content’ (Cormier, 2017). His expansion on the concept of ‘Rhizomatic’ networked learning, where the community becomes the curriculum, was fascinating. I was excited to potentially brainstorm on how the networked minds of experienced healthcare educators could use this concept to instil motivation, passion and creative new ideas in our field.
I was thrilled to learn more about multi-platform sharing of data, software, and knowledge for free. I contemplate that there may be benefits for faculty/clinical site educator community discussions and reflections through open learning. I also see potential benefit of tech-based, networked learning on the development of public ‘eHealth literacy’ – defined in Neter and Brainin’s work (2012) as “…the ability of people to use emerging information and communications technologies to improve or enable health and health care.” (p.1). Yet, more questions must be asked before we can forge ahead.
- How do we make open education networks safe and accessible for healthcare professionals?
- How do we make open education networks safe and accessible for patients/clients?
- How do we protect Healthcare professionals from liability?
- How do we prevent breaches of confidentiality?
I had previously engaged in the use of MOOCs (Cormier, 2017) without knowing they were considered OERs. I’ve enjoyed access to great business, personal and professional development courses on Udemy, Lynda.com and EdX. However, I am a self-professed information junkie and constantly seek out new certifications and training for professional and personal development. Some individuals choose to select their learning experience more carefully, requiring a compelling and engaging online education experience that they feel is worth their full attention and hard-earned money. Vivianne Forsmann’s comments in her presentation regarding higher learning institutions using signature pedagogies highlighted the importance of programs distinctly and strategically setting themselves apart from others (Forsmann, 2018). I was proud to hear MALAT program director Elizabeth Childs mention that RRU has been developing and using a signature pedagogy “for over 20 years.” (Forsmann, 2018). It was interesting to reflect on how this signature, foundational pedagogy would affect marketing of programs, learner engagement and instructional design.
To hear from Dave Cormier that MOOCs are already considered somewhat ‘outdated’ was surprising (2017). Having open content curriculum being recited in online text and audio/visual forums for low to no-cost is no longer ‘cutting edge’ education. The concept of ‘open’ is dynamic. As a staff educator in a large health authority in B.C., I agree with Mr. Cormier’s idea that networked communities of practice require engagement and motivation for learners to access them, but then create empowerment once they are utilized and explored (2017, Cormier). Communities of practice in healthcare facilitate knowledge sharing and further development of expertise. Mr. Cormier’s words give me ideas for placing the right learners in the path of education opportunities in the right context.
Catherine Cronin’s statements about living in a “…participatory culture.” (2017) were exciting in consideration of her description of low barriers to participation creating:
- increased expression
- increased civic engagement
- increased creativity
- increased social connection
- benefits of informal mentorship
(Cronin 2017)
Ms Forsmann’s comments that there are current and future opportunities within learning design or instructional design with a niche for faculty support (2018) were music to a grad student’s ears. Overall, the symposium talks were very enlightening and a great introduction to the courses and future directions for the MALAT program.
References
Childs, E. (April 16, 2018) A continuum of openness in a MA degree. RRU MALAT Virtual Symposium 2018.
Cormier, D. (April 18, 2017) Values of Open: Intentional messiness of online communities. RRU MALAT Virtual Symposium 2017.
Cronin, C (April 20, 2017) Choosing Open. RRU MALAT Virtual Symposium 2017.
Eppich, W. and Cheng, E. (2015) Promoting Excellence and Reflective Learning in Simulation (PEARLS): Development and Rationale for a Blended Approach to Healthcare Simulation Debriefing. Simulation in Healthcare, (10) 2, p 106-115. doi: 10.1097/SIH.0000000000000072
Forsmann, V. (April 17, 2018) Strategic directions for online education: Is online program management coming to Canada. RRU MALAT Virtual Symposium 2018.
Groen, P. (Sept 9, 2012) Open education and training resources for healthcare. [blog post] Retrieved from: http://www.openhealthnews.com/blogs/groenpj/2012-09-09/open-education-training-resources-healthcare