Category: Adult Learning

Industry 4.0: The Future of Work

Paul Ross

Industry 4.0 is the dawn of the next generation of work processes, with increasing artificial intelligence and the automation of work. It’s time to consider how will this effect the human element in the future of work?

“And now we enter Industry 4.0, in which computers and automation will come together in an entirely new way, with robotics connected remotely to computer systems equipped with machine learning algorithms that can learn and control the robotics with very little input from human operators” (Marr, 2016).

Cyber Physical Systems of Industry 4.0

 

Industry 4.0

Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) are connected via a modular approach and will also be de-centralised, with increased communication and understanding at this modular level to refine and develop.

“CPS can be further developed for managing Big Data and leveraging the interconnectivity of machines to reach the goal of intelligent, resilient and self-adaptable machines. Furthermore by integrating CPS with production, logistics and services in the current industrial practices, it would transform today’s factories into an Industry 4.0 factory with significant economic potential” (Lee, Bagheri & Kao, 2015).

The Internet of Things

“The Internet of things (IoT) is the inter-networking of physical devices, vehicles (also referred to as “connected devices” and “smart devices”), buildings, and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and network connectivity which enable these objects to collect and exchange data (Wikipedia, 2017).

“Data is a precious thing and will last longer than the systems themselves” by Tim Berners-Lee, Inventor of the World Wide Web.

Industry 4.0 Video Resources

 

Industry 4.0 is predicted to occur over the next 20 years, what the interaction between computer and machine will develop will be interesting to follow. What jobs will become obsolete and what will jobs of the future look like are all unknowns and one for the education system to consider. Coding, science, technology, mathematics, artificial intelligence may be some of the skills to consider.

Keywords: Industry 4.0; Internet of Things; AI; Machine Learning.

References

Lee, J., Bagheri, B., & Kao, H. A. (2015). A cyber-physical systems architecture for industry 4.0-based manufacturing systems. Manufacturing Letters, 3, 18-23.

Marr, B. (2016) What Everyone Must Know About Industry 4.0. Forbes.com

Wikipedia (2017) Industry 4.0

Open Access & Public Domain Resources

Paul Ross

Copyright and the use of images is a tricky business when using to present at a conference, add to education resources or use on a blog. You need to check the copyright rules and understand permission rights of when you can use an image. It is not acceptable to copy one directly from a Google search as these images are likely copyrighted “All Rights Reserved” and you must get written permission or pay to use such works. Hopefully this post can help you find resources on copyright rules and to find open access images, music and content.

“Creative Commons helps you legally share your knowledge and creativity to build a more equitable, accessible, and innovative world. We unlock the full potential of the internet to drive a new era of development, growth and productivity”(Creative Commons.org).

Added to this difficulty is the fact that the internet is global and copyright rules may be different in each respective country, although new Creative Commons licence 4.0 are internationally valid. This resource is excellent in clarifying the commons licence understanding.

Wanna Work Together? from Creative Commons on Vimeo.

Resources

Remember to check each of the above resources copyright and permission rules as not everything will be open access.

Help create a sharing community by adding your contributions and make your resources open access and freely available. Not everyone has the financial means to access journals and articles to keep up to date with the latest evidence base, so even a review can help aid discussion in our global healthcare online communities.

 

 

Minecraft & Gamification

Paul Ross

Now I am not a gaming person but for skills of the future I have decided for my own personal development, that my aims for the coming 12- 24 months are to engage in gaming environments (Minecraft to start) and also learn some basic coding skills. Hopefully you find these resources useful when starting out, if you know of any others please post them in the comment section at the bottom of this post. When I somehow find some spare time to commence coding I will create a post with links to any of the resources I have used (I aim to learn using open access resources so it will all be free).

For those in school education, there is also a Minecraft Education edition that promotes an online world with collaboration and problem-solving in an immersive environment.

Keywords; gaming, immersive, problem-solving, collaboration, Minecraft.

Resources

DigMinecraft (2017) Getting started in Minecraft.

Minecraft (2017) Minecraft Official Site.

Minecraft Education Edition (2017) What is Minecraft Education.

Wikipedia (2017) Minecraft.

Phenomenon Based Learning (PhenoBL)

Paul Ross

So Finland is leading the way in approaching education in a different way in the digital age. Finland has become renowned for its innovative educational approach to education with shorter days, shorter terms, more play and no homework! Education moves out of the classroom to engage with the outside world in person or online. Use of innovative technology and sources outside the school are key to the success, engaging experts and museums to enhance the learning experience and create learning networks.

What is PhenoBL?

“Phenomenon based teaching and learning use the natural curiosity of children to learn in a holistic and authentic context. Holistic real-world phenomena provide the motivating starting point for learning, instead of traditional school subjects. The phenomena are studied as holistic entities, in their real context, and the information and skills related to them are studied by crossing the boundaries between subjects. Phenomena are holistic topics like human, European Union, media and technology, water or energy. This enables students also to learn 21st century skills like critical thinking, creativity, innovation, team work and communication” (Phenomenal Education, 2017).

21st Century Skills

The freedom to discover, communication, remove traditional classroom barriers, become connected and be adaptable.

Pro’s

  • Digital citizens
  • Critical thinkers
  • Technical skills
  • Innovators
  • Team players
  • Global citizens

Con’s

Does this approach favour the brightest, who understand what is expected of them while the lower end struggle with concepts and higher thinking. This approach can potentially widen the education gap.

What about the grounding of baseline knowledge, does this take a step too far in the taxonomy of learning and steps are missed out for true understanding?

The jury is still out until actual evidence this approach actually works on a wider scale in other environments, other than in Finland.

Heavy workload for the facilitator, again reproducibility is  the question. Finland has small class sizes, well funded schools and a very different education system compared to most countries.

Adult Learning

My personal thoughts are this is an amazing approach and challenges the testing and accreditation heavy educational philosophy that is standardising education into a restrictive manner for both student and teacher. But the classroom still has face to face time which is essential to set goals and expectations. I do think in online learning this can be achieved but it takes time, effort and highly motivated learners to truly engage. Also in vocational professions, such as in healthcare there has to be hands-on and experiential learning events.

Keywords: PhenoBL; Phenomenon-based Learning.

References

Iyer, H. (2015) EdTech Meets Phenomenon Based Learning.

Kekkonen, T. & Tallinn, A.L. (2015) Phenomenon Based Learning: Students on the Focus.

Phenomenal Education (2017) Phenomenon-based Learning: Re-thinking from Finland.

 

Learning Goals in Textbooks

Paul Ross

I came across this sticker inside my daughter’s reading book and was intrigued with the learner profiles, value and attitudes. All this for 5 year old’s – very impressive indeed. It is amazing the amount of thought around the learning goals of children’s literature and how it shapes their future. Even the language used to break down stereotypes such as gender bias. In healthcare we still have far to go in changing the male:doctor and female:nurse stereotypes within the literature.

The International Baccalaureate aims to “prepare students for the intellectual challenges of further education and their future careers, focusing on the development of the whole child as an inquirer, both in the classroom and in the world outside.”

Future ready, global citizen, problem based learning all skills aimed for the developing child, these are similar aspirations from the higher education setting (take a look at any University prospectus). Just need to add the work ready aspect and these children will be ready for future workplace where innovation, creativity, self employment will be key. The aims of the learner profiles, attitudes, and values are a very similar approach to the taxonomy and intended learning outcomes that you will set for education sessions and courses in workplace and higher education settings.

References

International Baccalaureate (2017). What is the PYP?

Nursing Education Network (2016). Bloom’s Taxonomy & Constructivism.

Nursing Education Network (2016). Intended Learning Outcomes.

Socio-cultural: Developing An Online Course

Paul Ross

Socio-cultural

The learning trajectory of the human learning experiences aims to create boundaries and create new opportunities. This experience of learning and negotiation of meaning within a community through concepts of imagination, alignment and engagement is the socio-cultural or ‘Communities of Practice‘ (Wenger, 1998). Socio-cultural theoretical framework involves the learning experiences from both past and present within the current learning environment to create new opportunities of learning.  The socio-cultural perspective surrounds the social construction, the environment and cultural context.

Socio-cultural Online Course
• Ideally naturally formed working partnerships and group work, this could be very difficult to create an effective, comfortable, trusting relationship formed quickly on an online course. The other option is to encourage discussion to link up with a peer, or eventually the more formal process of educator picking partnerships is undertaken. Same for group work, but likely the facilitator may organise this very low-key to encourage engagement and feeling of control and direction of the learners. Could a visual resource such as FaceTime, Skype or Hangout be used to form more personal relationships, “name to a face” approach?
• Cooperative learning environment, social integration of the learners.
• Peer partnerships.
• Online interpersonal skills, such as writing, listening, discussing, talking online, negotiating.
• Cooperative group work and learning experiences.
• Case studies and problem solving activities.
• Creating a solution as a team.
• E-portfolio for reflective practice, especially focused on the collaborative experiences.
• Sharing information.
• Variation.

Transformation Aims

Positive interdependence, in that the collaborative approach and sharing ideas has made a positive impact on the individual and the community level. The development of interpersonal skills and soft skills.

Keywords: social learning, community of practice, situated learning, COP.

References

Ross, P. (2016) Communities of Practice (CoP) by Etienne Wenger. Nursing Education Network.

Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge university press. [sample here]

Wenger, E. (2000). Communities of practice and social learning systems. Organization, 7(2), 225-246.

Wenger, E. & Wenger-Trayner, B. (2015) Introduction to communities of practice: A brief overview of the concept and its uses. Wenger-Trayner.com

Phenomenography: Developing An Online Course

Paul Ross

The science of andragogy is understanding and supporting lifelong learning in adult learners and developing the teaching of adult learners (Knowles, Holton & Swanson, 2011). This discussion on the main conditions around contemporary learning utilising a phenomenological theoretical framework environment is aimed to improve learning and the philosophy of knowledge.

Phenomenography

A student centred educationally developed course, with the environment developed from the instructor having walked in the student’s shoes. “Instructors must then not only ask “What is learned?” and “What is transferred?”, but also “What should be learned?” and “What should be transferred?” (Marton, 2006).

Background on Phenomenographic & Variation Theory.

Phenomenography/Variation Online Course (E-Learning)

  • Variation would be the nature of the course to provide adaptability and agility of the course and the student (#interleaving)
  • Creating scenarios based on variances and differences to engage, investigate and change perspectives.
  • Advancing technology, use of an array of online resources to explore phenomena. Web based, gamification, point of view could all be included as part of this development.
  • Engage in scholarly discourse, to critique and discuss content to encourage a wide range of views and perspectives. Increases oral and listening skills also as an ongoing life skill.
  • Two way discussion for developing enquiry and negotiation skills.
  • As part of the exploration, look at both sides (pro’s and con’s, for and against, good and bad) to develop knowledge.
  • Encourage students to think outside the box.
  • Error free learning environment.
  • Facilitator must engage closely with students to ensure students understand the variations, diversity and phenomena.
  • E-portfolio for reflective practice and really understand their personal feelings, process and developmental journey.

Transformation Aims

Student skills development, especially focusing on experience, ability to critique and question and notice differences in the variations. A personal growth from the transfer of the learning and discern meaning out of the learning experience. Phenomenon based learning is to equip students with the skills to flourish in the 21st century technology driven era.

Keywords: transfer; phenomenology; Marton; agent of learning; e-learning; phenomenon based learning; PBL.

References

Knowles, M. S., Holton III, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2011). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development.

Marton, F. (2006). Sameness and Difference in Transfer. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 15(4), 499-535. doi: 10.1207/s15327809jls1504_3