I have been tasked with finding a prominent influencer in the ed-tech field for this post. After some research and reflecting upon readings from previous courses, the person I will profile is Dr. Tony Bates. Dr. Bates has published twelve books and countless papers (Bates, n.d.) about distance education and the use of technology in teaching. In August of 2022, he updated his book Teaching in a Digital Age to provide an update on current best practices and the impact of Covid-19 on the field. He also has a blog titled Online Learning and Distance Education Resources, with over 2500 posts and links to academic articles mainly focused on post-secondary education and technology. Currently, Dr. Bates is the President and CEO of Bates and Associates. This consulting firm works in eLearning and distance education and has worked with many prominent intuitions like UNESCO and the World Bank. He is also a Research Associate at Contact North and a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University in the School of Continuing Education.
One could argue that Dr. Bates has been an early pioneer in ed-tech and distance learning. In the 70’s, he was writing and researching technology and home-based learning (Bates, 1978). In the 90’s, he explored the impact of technological changes on open and distance learning (Bates, 1997). In recent years he has researched the impacts of Covid-19 on distance education, specifically online learning, and the effects on the learning process (Bates, 2022).
When I have a free minute or two, I am reading through Dr. Bates, papers and watching some keynotes. I would encourage my classmates to check some of them out!
References:
Bates, T. (n.d.). Tony’s bio. Online Learning and Distance Education Resources. https://www.tonybates.ca/tonys-publications/tonys-bio/
Bates, T. (1978). New technology for home‐based learning: the challenge to campus-based institutions. Journal of Educational Television, 4(2), 4–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/0260741780040202
Bates, T. (1997). The impact of technological change on open and distance learning. Distance Education, 18(1), 93–109. https://doi.org/10.1080/0158791970180108
Bates, T. (2022). Teaching in the digital age – third edition. Tony Bates Associates Ltd. https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/teachinginadigitalagev3/
September 22, 2022 at 4:18 pm
Interesting! I hadn’t heard of him…now I want to read some of his work, especially about his ideas on distance learning. Is there a particular recent paper from him that discusses the effects on the learning process? What does he thinks about techno-determinism? I would love to read it.