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Francesc Pedró reports back from the:
Annual event of the Estonian e-University, organized under the auspices of the Estonian Foundation for Information Technologies, held in Tartu, Estonia on 2 April 2009.
The event gathers some 300 higher education teachers (from the university and the vocational education sector) with an interest either on e-learning or more generally on the use of technology in higher education
I delivered the key inaugural speech this event and share the key messages of the recent work on the New Millennium Learners in higher education in a country which is renowned by the levels of technology uptake (as a matter of fact, I never saw before old people paying in a supermarket using simply their cell phones).
My key messages were that the technology uptake by higher education students is impressive, and this has a real impact on the way they manage information and deal with their social networks. I also raised the issue of the prevailing stereotypes and shared evidence about the emergence of different user profiles, drawing on PISA data. When it comes to the effects on learning expectations of such an attachment to digital media I presented data suggested that the current situation indicates that higher education students are moving slowly towards an increased acceptance of technology as a learning tool in traditional higher education institutions. To me it was important to insist in the fact that the degree of technology uptake or the acknowledgement that students are technology savvier than their teachers does not automatically imply that today’s students have learned to use critically digital media –so an educational intervention is still of the outmost importance. Finally, I also spread the message that these institutions as well as their teachers are doing far better than the school system in incorporating technology in teaching and learning, also drawing on existing evidence. My final message was that, once again, as it has happened in other areas, higher education institutions might be leading to way to innovative approaches to teaching and learning.
I was surprised to see how many hands were raised and the level of controversy that my presentation raised amongst the audience: while some claimed that my approach consistently addressed their observations, others (mostly from educational sciences) suggested that the OECD should embark in action research in education, focus on social constructivism and do not trust so much statistics.
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