Category: LRNT 523

In a world that seems to be under a huge amount of stress politically, environmentally and economically, we need to accept and adapt to a future that is “fundamentally uncertain, volatile and unknowable” (Selwyn, 2021).

Technology forces change in all businesses and the automotive industry is not the exception to the rule, from the way vehicles are built, serviced and repaired to the way they are now advertised and sold (Cubbis, 2021). The accelerating technological advances happening worldwide constantly force the car manufacturers to adapt and change quickly. One of the biggest expectations of such adaptation is that education and training happens at the same rate. Understanding that “virtual environments for learning and research offer more imaginative and immersive experiences for students and instructors alike” (Educause, 2021). Many automakers and dealerships have re-defined and re-shaped their programs to allow their technicians, staff and salesforce to stay current with latest technologies. Vehicles now come with more modern systems and technologies which require technicians and staff in general to be educated in the operation of more sophisticated tools, specialized equipment and the use of latest software and devices. For this to happen, the interaction between students, educators and the industry itself needs to be relevant, meaningful and effective.

“Today, planning for the future is probably as complex and as challenging as it has ever been” (Educause, 2020). On one hand, the auto industry is a major contributor to the global industrial and economic development. On the other hand, its respective supply chains for the manufacturing processes have major impacts on the environment caused by gas emissions, air pollution, and greenhouse gases just to name a few. Selwyn points out that Educational Technology can provide “possible environmental benefits”. It will be interesting to find out if by 2030 the use of technology has helped auto-makers reduce their large environmental footprint and if their inherent supply chains are also sustainable and environmentally conscious.

McKinsey Sustainability is a firm that consults and advises corporations on “sustainability, climate, energy, transition, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) – from the board room to the engine room” (McKinsey Sustainability, 2021). According to one of their publications, “the European Union announced it would slash at least 55 percent of carbon emissions by 2030” (Hannon et al., 2021). Hannon, Heid and Wolff acknowledged that such target is ambitious and that countries of the EU will require a major transformation in all industries including the automotive. They also acknowledged three important elements where manufacturers will need to make important changes. 1. Transparency on the emissions their activities generate. 2. Education and training that would help understand the environmental footprint and carbon impact their industry is causing. 3.Team rebuilding by choosing suppliers and sub-suppliers that have achieved higher emission performance standards (Hannon et al., 2021). By 2030 will the automotive industry have made changes these major economic contributors are starting to make today.

According to Selwyn (2021), “most forms of emerging technology in education attract occasional claims of environmental benefit” (p. 500). The integration of technology in all fields including education will grow exponentially moving forward, making online learning a fundamental component of school education. For this online learning to happen, people and industries like the automotive are constantly changing their electronic devices not only for learning purposes but also to keep up with latest software, and to work with better and faster device models (cell phones, tablets, computers, monitors, cameras, etc). While this could be perceived as something positive, there is a flip side to it, the increased amount of electronic goods being discarded known as e-waste.

Macgilchrist et al. (2019) argued that “The planet had been stretched to breaking point with toxins polluting the seas and the land, the climate under pressure, and natural resources insufficient to cope with global levels of consumption” (e-pub). Many electronic devices are built with lead, mercury, and other harmful chemicals. These elements, when simply thrown in the trash, can and will poison the soil around our landfills. When exposed to the heat some of their toxins and chemicals are released polluting the air we breathe and eventually damaging the atmosphere too. The same toxic chemicals, when left in the landfills, they can find their way to groundwater affecting air, land, and sea animals consequently affecting human life as well (EPA, n.d.). Recycling e-waste is the only viable option to protect our landfills and to prevent environmental pollution caused by toxic chemicals. Many car manufacturers are switching to producing electric vehicle line-ups. While electric vehicles (EVs) don’t produce carbon emissions one of the biggest worries for the auto industry for the not-so-far future is to see what will happen to the batteries when they reach the end of their useful lives, thus the importance of having a recycling plan in place.

While the future may be seen as uncertain as it always is, it definitely looks like the automotive industry will have to reimagine its operations. It is anticipated that more computers and devices will be required for learning, programming, servicing and selling vehicles. Perhaps electric mobility and driverless cars will deliver what they promise by then. Most likely by 2030 we will have to deal with an increased amount of ‘e-waste’ that we have not yet anticipated. I believe that in the not-so-far future it will be all about sustainability, e-waste recycling strategies, and changing consumer behavior in terms of mobility.

References

Educause (2021, April 26). 2021 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report | Teaching and Learning Edition. (p. 32-36) Retrieved from: https://library.educause.edu/-/media/files/library/2021/4/2021hrteachinglearning.pdf?la=en&hash=C9DEC12398593F297CC634409DFF4B8C5A60B36E

Educause (2020, March 2). 2021 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report | Teaching and Learning Edition. (p. 31-35) Retrieved from: https://library.educause.edu/-/media/files/library/2020/3/2020_horizon_report_pdf.pdf?la=en&hash=08A92C17998E8113BCB15DCA7BA1F467F303BA80

EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency (n.d.). Cleaning Up Electronic Waste (E-Waste). Retrieved from: https://www.epa.gov/international-cooperation/cleaning-electronic-waste-e-waste

Cubbis, J. (2021). Forbes. The future of Automotive and Mobility. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2021/05/05/the-future-of-automotive-and-mobility/?sh=7c3e079e59d5

Hannon, E., Heid, B., Wolff, C. (2021). McKinsey Sustainability. This surprising change can help the auto industry tackle emissions goals. Retrieved from: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability/our-insights/sustainability-blog/this-surprising-change-can-help-the-auto-industry-tackle-emissions-goals

Hofstätter, T., Krawina, M., Mühlreiter, B., Pöhler, S., & Tschiesner, A. (2020). Reimagining the auto industry’s future: It’s now or never. Article.

Macgilchrist, F., Allert, H., & Bruch, A. (2019). Students and society in the 2020s. Three future ‘histories’ of education and technology, Learning, Media and Technology, 45:1, 76-89, Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2019.1656235

Selwyn, N. (2021). Ed-Tech Within Limits: Anticipating educational technology in times of environmental crisis. E-Learning and Digital Media, 18(5), 496–510. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/20427530211022951

Selwyn, N., Pangrazio, L., Nemorin S., & Perrotta,C. (2020) What might the school of 2030 be like? An exercise in social science fiction, Learning, Media and Technology, 45:1, 90-106. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2020.1694944

The one thing we know about the future is that it comes too fast and it seems like it never comes in the way that we imagined. In a world that seems to be under a huge amount of stress politically, environmentally and economically, we need to accept and adapt to a future that is “fundamentally uncertain, volatile and unknowable” (Selwyn, 2021).

Technology forces change in all businesses and the Automotive Industry is not the exception to the rule. The accelerating technological advances happening worldwide constantly force the car manufacturers to adapt and change quickly, one of the biggest expectations of such adaptation is that education and training happens at the same rate.

On one hand, the Auto Industry is a major contributor to the global economic development while on the other, its respective supply chains for the manufacturing processes have major impacts on the environment caused by gas emissions, air pollution and greenhouse gases to name a few. Selwyn points out that Educational Technology can provide “possible environmental benefits”. It will be interesting to find out if by 2030 the use of technology has helped auto-makers reduce their large environmental footprint and if their inherent supply chains are also sustainable and environmentally conscious.

I can’t help but wonder what the future of the Automotive industry will look like in 2030. Maybe electric mobility and driverless cars deliver what they promise by then. How does education and training need to change to keep up with the demands in the industry? Maybe more computers and devices will be required for learning, programming, servicing and selling vehicles; perhaps by 2030 we will have to deal with an increased amount of ‘E-waste’ that we have not yet anticipated. We will see!

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References

Hofstätter, T., Krawina, M., Mühlreiter, B., Pöhler, S., & Tschiesner, A. (2020). Reimagining the auto industry’s future: It’s now or never. 

Macgilchrist, F., Allert, H., & Bruch, A. (2020). Students and society in the 2020s. Three future ‘histories’ of education and technology, Learning, Media and Technology, 45:1, 76-89, Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2019.1656235

Selwyn, N. (2021). Ed-Tech Within Limits: Anticipating educational technology in times of environmental crisis. E-Learning and Digital Media, 18(5), 496–510. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/20427530211022951

Selwyn, N., Pangrazio, L., Nemorin S., & Perrotta,C. (2020) What might the school of 2030 be like? An exercise in social science fiction, Learning, Media and Technology, 45:1, 90-106. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2020.1694944

 

 

By Gail Yee and Luis Rodriguez

For this activity, we were tasked with investigating the Great Media Debate in the Ed Tech field where Clark and Kozma expressed opposing viewpoints.  Simply stated, Clark (1994) believes that media does not influence learning and compares media to a “vehicle” which delivers instruction whereas Kozma (1994) believes that new technologies offer opportunities to change things and how it has the potential to impact how teaching and learning occur.  We chose these 2 articles to demonstrate the relevance of the media debate by applying Clark & Kozma’s points of view to critique and question the articles’ claims.  

Quizlet teams up with TikTok for interactive learning.

In January 2021, it was announced that educators using TikTok for teaching would be able to reach their students in a new way by integrating Quizlet interactive flashcards directly into their short-form videos.  This integration would shift TikTok’s platform into the education world and support their Creative Learning Fund.  This fund aims to address the COVID-19 pandemic challenges to remote and hybrid learning by bringing educational programs created by educators and other subject matter experts to the platform.  

The director of growth at Quizlet, Phil Carter (2021) states, “this integration between TikTok and Quizlet is a unique opportunity to bring together the fastest-growing mobile entertainment platform, and the largest AI-powered learning platform to reach students where they are” (para. 3).  The presumption is that educators can enhance their TikTok videos with Quizlet’s links thereby allowing students to engage and learn in a more interactive way on the popular platform.  TikTok’s head of product, Sean Kim (2021) states, “the integration with Quizlet is an important step in our commitment to assist creators in the production of learning content, provide resources for learners and introduce emerging teachers to the TikTok platform” (para. 6).

Clark would argue that this new integration of video and flashcards would not influence student learning based on his initial claim that media are “mere vehicles that deliver instruction” and that TikTok combined with Quizlet are just a different delivery “vehicle”.  Sean Kim (2021) states the integration “can help build human connection, promote creating learning content and inspire enriching ideas” and although Clark would agree that there is strong evidence that different media attributes accomplish the same learning goal.  He would maintain that it is not the media that influences the learning and instead it is the method.  

Kozma’s position on this new media partnership would ask the question:  how does this integration affect learning?  He would dispute that technology is a “vehicle” and stress that this media partnership possesses certain characteristics which make it more suitable to achieve particular learning tasks (1994).  Kozma (1994) would argue that learning with media is a complementary process where the learner and the media (TikTok and Quizlet) interact to expand and refine the learner’s mental model of a particular phenomenon.   

Incorporating popular media into social studies learning.

Darcy White has over 20 years of experience teaching secondary social sciences and is currently a Social Studies Curriculum Developer in California. In this article, she describes how students spend a lot of their time in front of their phones and other devices. She also points out how easy it is nowadays for students to create and share content to a large audience. As a teacher, instead of competing with the multiple devices and trending technologies she decided to embrace the popular culture and incorporate it in her lectures. White believes that using a variety of media such as movies, TV sitcoms and TikTok videos among others can be an effective learning tool for students. White (2021) states,  “the trick is to give students the opportunity to relate to the topic” (para. 9).

Clark would be intrigued to learn how White has implemented the new media and technology to her lectures. However, he would still argue that White’s methods “do not influence student achievement” and that her use of media in her classes are simply a different way of delivering instruction and does not influence learning under any circumstances.  

In contrast, Kozma (1994) would argue that the use of various new media with their own distinct capabilities would complement those of the learners producing an improved learning experience. Kozma would concur with White in her use of various media for her lectures since he perceives learning as an “active, constructive, cognitive and social process”. Kozma would align with White’s beliefs arguing that by forging a relationship between media and learning, the process itself can also contribute to the creation of new methods of instruction delivery. 

References:

Clark, R. E. (1994). Media will never influence learning. Educational Technology Research and Development, 42(2), 21-29.

EdScoop Staff (2021, January 28). Quizlet teams up with TikTok for interactive learning. Higher Education.

Kozma, R. B. (1994). Will media influence learning: Reframing the debate. Educational Technology Research and Development, 42(2), 7-19.

White, D. (2021, Sept. 7). Incorporating popular media into social studies learning. SmartBrief. Industry news.

I did not know anything about Dr. George Siemens until I read Weller’s 25 years of Ed Tech. I saw his name popping-up a few times in different chapters and that is why I chose him. When I started looking for information about him, I unintentionally found out that he was born in Mexico, my motherland. Because of this, I felt a connection and became more interested on finding out about his background and his work.

George’s great grandparents were German Mennonites who actually settled in Canada back in the 1900. Because the Canadian government wanted to send their children to public schools his family decided to relocate again, this time to a Mennonite village in Mexico. George was born in 1964 in a rural farming community of Mexico where he lived until he was 6 years old. During that time, he and his family did not have access to electricity or paved roads so they moved around by horse and buggy. Farm life in a small rural community provided him with a deep understanding of how information and knowledge work under limited circumstances. He and his family moved back to the province of Manitoba in Canada. He is now an internationally known author, researcher and theorist in the field of learning, knowledge management, and technology (CSU, 2015).

“George Siemens is an educator and researcher on learning, networks, analytics and visualization, openness, and organizational effectiveness in digital environments” (EDUCAUSE, 2021). He is considered a pioneer in the concept of Massive Open Online Courses or MOOCs. Through his work in technology, online learning and sense-making ,he proposed Connectivism as a theoretical framework that understands learning in a digital age and suggests that technology plays an important role in the learning process.

 A great interview with Dr. George Siemens can be found here where he talks about the evolution of MOOCs and his prediction of where they are headed.

“Education is not about building better Googlers” (Siemens, 2010)
Learn more about this on the video below.

In Weller’s Ed Tech book each chapter has a wealth of information. I have found it quite interesting how he describes the evolution of technology and its impact in Education. In chapter 12 Weller talks about the origins of YouTube and how, along with the use of the internet, video sharing became relevant to education. I find the use of video of huge relevance in the Automotive Industry which is the sector where I currently work. Marketing research shows that car buyers prefer to watch a video demonstration or a video ad before they even consider taking an actual look at the vehicle they are thinking of buying. Furthermore, some car buyers go as far as watching video reviews online to fact-check what car manufacturers and dealers advertise. Video is a powerful tool that allows shoppers to discover, compare and contrast their different available options, all of this accessible at their fingertips. My employer and the Auto Industry in general, have realized how potential buyers are exploring, engaging and making decisions based on their video experience. Understanding that videos are helpful in the decision process when car-shopping, vehicle manufacturers and car dealerships continue to invest their marketing dollars in good quality videos of their inventory with the expectation to increase sales. Weller argued that “what accompanied and reinforced the online video sharing revolution was a drastic reduction in the cost of production. It has become possible to produce a good quality video using mobile phones” (p.88). This is so true today, not only sales seem to be going up with the use of video but also costs went down by implementing the use of new digital technologies such as online video advertising instead of traditional paper and radio ads. To reaffirm Weller’s statement, some of our Sales Team members are currently able to record a quick video of a newly arrived vehicle using their cell phones and share it on social media or other means within minutes.

On a different note, Weller refers to WordPress as a “blogging tool”(p.73). While I understand his perception of it due to his professional background and use of WP in Education, I find that term to be quite subjective and not necessarily contradicting but contrasting with what I have learned through my work experience. I have used WordPress for website creation and website management. I find the platform fascinating and easy to use. It is user friendly, free, open-source, and easy to integrate with third-party platforms. Yes, it has a built-in blog feature and it was originally created for online blogging and similar online publications. However, I think of it as a very complete platform with endless possibilities currently being used worldwide to create responsive websites. Although I  never used WordPress for blog purposes before joining the MALAT program, I can certainly see the benefits of using it for blogging and its practicality in academic environments.

References:

Weller, M. (2020). 25 Years of Ed Tech. Athabasca University Press. Retrieved from: https://www.aupress.ca/books/120290-25-years-of-ed-tech/

Photo by Martin Weller from 25 Years of Ed Tech

After reading the first third of Weller’s book, I found it to be a very interesting and engaging read for all of us who are interested in learning about the evolution of technology. Even better, for all of us who have experienced first-hand many of the changes mentioned in the book, either as students, instructors or both.

I could not help but to travel back in time when I was probably in Grade 5 or 6 and the first computers became available in my school. There was only one computer lab for the entire school, at the time those big boxes on the tables represented the latest and most amazing technology there was. I am pretty sure nobody in my classroom knew at the time what a transforming world was ahead of us. I remember clearly how amazed I was while walking into the computer lab for the first time. Those floppy disks were super cool, MS-DOS was the software of the future and that dial-up tone, while very annoying, was the sound that transported me to an alternate world, the internet.

To me, one of the most compelling arguments in Weller’s book is the development of Wikipedia. He described it as something that was seemed as “an unworkable idea” (p. 41). I share the same sentiment because I remember clearly how time-consuming and work-intensive it was to go to a public library and do a research project. When Wikipedia became available it seemed too good to be true. It didn’t make things easier, simply made them more available to those who could afford a computer and internet at home. Things that seemed impossible started to become readily usable. We knew so little that with the passage of time Wikipedia, while still a useful and practical tool, would not be considered a reliable source anymore.

References:

Weller, M. (2020). 25 Years of Ed Tech. Athabasca University Press. Retrieved from: https://www.aupress.ca/books/120290-25-years-of-ed-tech/