After listening to George Veletsianos’ audiocasts answering our questions regarding research, I am excited to learn more about their experiences in our upcoming course. A few of Veletsianos’ answers stood out to me:
“How do we affect change at a policy level?” (Team 1: Darren, Jess, Giulia, Rebecca)
- Veletsianos (2022a) spoke about the importance of cultivating relationships with people in organizations that have the authority to make change.
- Explained that you must have an understanding of the organizations interests, what their priorities are, and motivations.
- Need to be able to use data to tell stories that are convincing.
- Have the necessary skills to affect the change.
- You cannot inform change on your own!
“What are three EdTech-related topics that you think will become mainstream over the next three years?” (Team 2: Marion, Bart, Megan, Michael)
Veletsianos (2022b) shared three EdTech-related topics that they believes will be mainstream in the next three years:
- Focus on Mental Health in Relation to Digital Learning
2. Reframing/Highlighting Existing Research on Online Learning
3. Studying Issues of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Indigenization, Issues of Social Justice
“Now that you are an experienced researcher, what advice would you give your younger self about conducting research?” (Shazia, Edward, Michal)
Veletsianos (2022c) said the advice they would give their younger self is to read broadly. They further explained that reading research from outside your field could be very informative and allow you to make connections between the various topics, which might be useful in your own research.
Overall, I gathered that to make an impact with your research, you must understand how to conduct research properly and establish relationships with those that can assist in influencing that change.
References
Veletsianos, G. (Executive Producer). (2022a). Team 1. [Audio Podcast]. https://www.dropbox.com/s/nixczg5texj1fba/team1.mp3?dl=0
Veletsianos, G. (Executive Producer). (2022b). Team 2. [Audio Podcast]. https://www.dropbox.com/s/50f3rb56d9k07la/team2.mp3?dl=0
Veletsianos, G. (Executive Producer). (2022c). Team 5. [Audio Podcast]. https://www.dropbox.com/s/728rygem4qdftmn/team5.mp3?dl=0
August 16, 2022 at 9:01 am
A concise and very informative post, Giulia; thanks!
I like George’s comment regarding reading research outside your field; is it part of your plan to incorporate this into our research for this program?
In my blog post, I also wrote about the importance of building relationships. I wonder how this will impact our research during this program, as it is relatively short compared to some of the studies and research we have been reading.
Thanks again for some points-to-ponder,
-Terry
August 16, 2022 at 12:17 pm
Thanks for the comment Terry! That is a great question. I don’t think I see myself doing too much research outside my field. Being both a broadcaster (media sector) and professor (education sector) should provide me a wealth of knowledge that may be complimentary to the research I will most likely be conducting.
August 18, 2022 at 6:57 am
Great post, Giulia. I am excited to see how our cohort chooses to conduct research within the next two years and how you incorporate your media and education background into your research.