Monday 9 July 2018

Future of Learning Conference

What a way to start the holidays! I was lucky enough to attend the Future of  Learning Conference held at Haeata Community Campus. Monday was conference day and then I also get to go to the Masterclass on Tues and Wed! There were some really amazing speakers and lots to think about from today so I have put my notes here to hopefully get others thinking about what education might look like further down the track. So much information for one day! I thought about splitting this, but maybe you might just have to read it in 2 sittings. Apologies for typos, I haven't proof read it all as it is just my notes with links added, lots of extra reading. You can also check out the Twitter feed #folnz18

Introduction

Some great questions to start the day!
Explore outside of our comfort zone into the world of possibilities.
Tech being used for the greater good.
Anticipate, Collaborate, activate

Preferred future, probable future, possible future

Need to consider the balance of these and being aware for all of the intended and unintended consequences

The oath of non harm for an age of big data:
"I will remember that the technologies I design are not aimed at data points, probabilities or patterns, but at human beings"
Virginia Eubanks



Keynote: The Future of Learning: Redefining Readiness from the Inside Out


What is the interaction between people and technology? Exploring our readiness for exponential change and key considerations.
Jason Swanson will explore the rise of smart machines, which include technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics and other forms of automation and which are increasingly capable of doing tasks or jobs once thought safe from automation, is changing how many tasks associated with work are completed. He will also explore how work is being organised differently.

It is really worth reading this article that this talk is based on - I read it before the conference and will read it again.

Skills knowledge and dispositions needed for life and for work
Every student should have personalised learning
The future is not a fixed point. It is ours to create. It's not possible to know the future, we look at trends so seek to depict a range of futures. Do this not to be accurate but to prove the unknown
How has work changed since you entered the workforce?
Smartphone or laptop
Quality and speed
Are the changes we are experiencing now new?
Readiness will impact equity, social justice, and so much more.
As we move into the future, what skills will she need to be ready for the world in 2040. How will ready be defined in 2040?
Exponential change, rate of change grows very quickly. Rate that tech is moving, business, societal structure.
Education radically resistant to change. Need to keep pace with an exponential world.
Pressing need to partner with the code in our digital devices to make sense of the world around us.
Four industrial revolutions
Robotics, AI, internet of things, autonomous vehicles are in the latest
Have begun the shift and are increasing at an exponential rate.
Continually need to innovate to bypass resource issues.
We can expect the rate of change to continually accelerate, 5th revolution even closer.
Rise of smart machines
Rembrandt painted by a machine. Smart machines will develop further and get cheaper and will impact cognitive manual tasks.
To what extent will this change work?
Can cause significant human displacement.
Baxter robot working along side people. He learns tasks
Drs use machine learning to diagnose
Gps enabled devices also recommend shorter routes when traffic changes.
Google translator in real time
Transportation, Uber freight disrupting change.
Decline of the full time employee. Internet making it cost effective to access knowledge on the open market rather than employing people for things.
Project based work
Task rabbit. Online platform for just simple tasks.
Uber, human task is simply to drive.
Taskified jobs are broken down and easy to automate
Rise of smart machines and decline of full time work will change the employment landscape.
Future work characteristics: Market driven and user-centered, Data and metrics driven, Modular and recombined, Grounded in relating, Interwoven with learning.
Frequent measurement and quick feedback
Work broken down into tasks, each with own team and goals
Relationships will help determine success, collaborative. Productive relationships important
Act of working will be the act of learning. Passion based projects to learn new skills.
Graphic from:
Resilient, reflective and able to build new relationships
Need to foster inclusive work environments
Focus first on the people learning, then the context that they might employ their skills
Mastering content first, then moved to thinking and doing came to be seen as being essential.
What is the role people play in the workplace? Schools need to respond with how they educate learners.

How do we use tech to augment our learning experience?
Career mosaic rather than a career ladder.
Conversation that has to have a diverse group of people at the table.
Take the focus off assessment and onto learning success.
Own set of micro credentials
Bring those resistant to change into the conversation.
How can we integrate what is important to them to where we might be heading?
Pd  look for ways to meaningfully personalise this so you don't do a one size fits all.
Base it around employees needs and goals. 

Lots more information on the Knowledgeworks site.


Panel 1:

Panelists will share their personal reflections on readiness for the future of learning and provide provocative challenges to consider during the day.


We are ready to embrace change. We are ready to change the status quo.
Singularity university summit. Never before had he felt so irrelevant as an educator. Things need to change.
Whatever space you are in, it is becoming more complex. Work with the change and use the momentum to change. 
Celebrate, not sort. We celebrate all strengths and wellbeing alongside learning.
We celebrate dispositional development as a priority.
We connect and don't silo. Our students lead learning.
Our NZ curriculum calls to go across subjects but we assess in single subjects.
We all want our young people to be self managed.
Make it personal. We are about individuals. We need to value every story.
Is the education we are providing in our institutions appropriate for the future that is coming?
Biggest lessons at Haeata. Complexity of change gets more and more entangled.
We need to get more people around the table. Every time we change, it affects others. 

Have done a learning mosaic, done a lot of stuff outside of Ncea and uni.
Age 11, what might the world look like in 2030. Did future problem solving.
Was told to read more science fiction to help with future sobbing. Felt if she did enough research she could solve the problem.
Singularity university, not science fiction but is science fact. We do know underlying trends which help us know the pace of change. All tech is exponential.
Our collective future is not a distant fiction. We should all understand the trends.
Need time dedicated to explore the crossover between school subjects.
Need interdisciplinary thinking required to solve problems.
Needs collaboration and ability to apply new thinking.
What is learning for? Give people the tools to lead lives and achieve goals.
Flexible and connected.
Schools be launchpad to different places and experiences.
Conference and exams. Did my grades take a hit, maybe, did my learning, no.
How do you conceptualise the future, are you a bystander in a science fiction novel or a co creator?
You have been successful in the current system so why change. The number of people that it suits and serves are narrowing. I did what I had to do to survive in the system but I hated it and wanted to thrive.
Need to jump across the divide soon. Could do ok, but have opportunity to do better.

Adaptive leadership
Ancestors were astronauts of their time. What kind of leadership would it take to embark into the unknown with no maps or evidence?
First part of being a navigator is what we leave behind. Always looking backwards, always sailing away from somewhere. What do we want to leave behind?
How can we spend more time focusing on human parts of work, robots can do the boring stuff.
How do we address the inequalities of our past?
Where do values, of equality, justice and fairness sit in our future?
Design to improve Maori and pasifika outcomes as it won't happen by itself.
We can choose to perpetuate history or change.
Plan our journey with intent. How do we make equity and innovation reside in the same place and plan our journey with intent?
We need to come together. It's not addressed by any one sector. This is an issue that impacts across sectors and communities.
If robots are answering our emails, what can we put more attention into? Equity, fairness and justice.

Question for all the panel: What's the key thing that we should be doing by 2020?

Relationships. Trust is the currency. What is the shared future we want to co create?
What would inspire us to come together and create a shared vision?
We need every New Zealander  to know about exponential change and Moore's law.
We all need to change.
Tell everyone about what you have learned and what you are worried about.
Change needs to be spread wider. 

Human Centered Learning

Exploring the skills and competencies needed to thrive. How technologies are being used to change learning experiences – trends and uses. Implications for qualifications, credentials and lifelong learning.
Faye Langdon Director, 21C Skills Lab
How to get ahead in a world of AI, algorithms bots and big data
Active listening, speaking, reading comprehension important.
Our youth need to be able to think like entrepreneurs. Need to be flexible.
Lab is about building the soft skills. It is our humanness that will enable us to survive.
Video:


Humans think critically, problem solve and be creative.
A lot of our young people's relationship with technology is passive. Need to move to a learning relationship.
Collaboration and team work across platforms.
What skill sets do our young people have to take into the work force.
To participate we need to think like skydivers. Have to have constant practice and learning.
Learning, unlearning and relearning. Needs to be flexible, current system does not.
Change thinking to make progress. Training brain for a growth mindset. Adaptability will be a predictor of success.
70% of future jobs will place importance on maths
Days of having expert skills have gone.
We are in the driver's seat but machines are riding shotgun with us. Career mobility will be there for all of us.

Approach our learning and working lives on skills.
Employers building their own credentials. Resume has gone.
Goodbye to the linear world of work
Skills and knowledge have a shelf life of 5yrs, will learn far more on the job. Foundation for Young Australians 
Work flexibly and independently.
Self directed learning important
2030 everything in our jobs will change.
Use portfolio of soft skills to solve problems and think creatively.
Bilingual skills, digital literacy, critical thinking, creativity. Duo lingo for other languages.
Purpose and a sense of self is what young people want.
Germany 50% of education in workplace
South Korea,academic credit bank, skills in and out of class.
Soft skills here are important.
World Economic Forum has more on this.

Tessa Tierney Agile Tribe Lead - Spark New Zealand
Victoria Lyons Tribe Lead - Spark New Zealand
Taking whole organisation and using Agile and tribes
Decision making further down the organisation. Puts them in the direct line from problems to resolution
No longer tell them what to do. You give them a purpose.
You have constraints and success measures. Allow them to come up with the how. 
Outcomes: Stronger customer focus, Engaged and empowered people, Faster to market
Need to move business systems and structures and their culture
How do I get better? Invest time and knowledge into your craft.
Work in two weekly sprints
Examine problems. Cross functional times. Empathy.
Experiment, pivot, pause. Stop, realign.
Have an agile coach to develop a high performance mindset.
Need to follow the discipline of Agile.
These teams also bring together diverse people. What does inclusiveness look like. Reflect in our workplace the community we serve
Diversity is our strength, let's celebrate it.

Reflection:
What skills do you imagine you need for the future?
What are the priorities for your organisation?


Panel: Qualifications, Credentials and Reputation: Implications for Personal Learning

This panel will share experiences in microcredentials, new learning models and blockchain technology
Developing microcredentials
More info on Edubits. Learn, build, succeed. Assessments and credentials
How do we recognise learning. Assessed against competency.
Demo skills through work and volunteering
This can be personalised.
Examples: Te Ao Māori, social marketing, health and safety, Microsoft skills, project management
Evidence can be through work, video, photos

Professor Samuel Mann, Professor,Otago Polytechnic @samuelmann (his Tweets were awesome graphic notes!)
Possible to do within current system
Tell their own story
Line up with graduate profile
All about defining professional framework of practice
Applied management and social services bachelor degree and one of Leadership for Change:
Defensible argument. Here I am and this is what I do.
What is it to work in their career space.
Start with a review of learning. What is my current framework of practice then what is the aspirational framework which leads to a project.
Then action research cycles.
Can be doing lots of change processes along the way.
Professional framework of practice canvas.
Entirely project based degree.
Work backwards from the end point. I want to make this difference in the world.
How are they setting themselves up for that?

CEO and Co-founder, HomeScore and Inductive
Introduction to AI at stanford
How do we get info into human brains.
Unprecedented growth in new knowledge
Cross fertilisation of Internet of things, blockchain, AI it goes crazy
Cost to learn about things is declining.
Scarcity of people that can use that knowledge for the greater good.
Store in Qualifications comes in the form in trust. Have to trust that your Qual will still be wanted.
Financial cost of quals
Decentralisation. Power is shifting to the individual and the small group
What if anybody could be a student or a teacher in any subject.
Blockchain have to work out if anyone was any good in it.
What if anyone could create a qual and issue it? Who guards the guards?
Large scale collaboration without central control
Fancy database. Block are pages in book. Each page references previous page. Each page has micro credential
Open, public and global. Full access and available records.
Can never be altered, can only add to them
Ethereum/smart contracts. Unstoppable code
Can build rules about who can issue micro credentials and how they interact
Tokenisation
Can have a digital item and take it out of one game and put into another.
When you get a certain amount of microcredentials they could stack up to a new level.
Can get micro credentials through act of teaching as well.
Might have crowd funding to take and learn micro credential, might be paid to learn.

Questions for the panel were answered as follows:
Micro credentials are showing how people are keeping up their standards
Competency based model
Shows here are the skills you need to be building
People need to continue to learn all the time. Life long learning needs to be taken seriously.
Having microcredentials democratises learning. Removes the barriers. Can learn in small blocks.
Take learning from the project and has validation for that.
Employers can offer for staff, they can recognise that and give pieces that can add up in the future.
Even a short project, what have we learnt from that, how can we share that.
Continually learning
Dark side:
That we reduce everyone down to numbers. China has social credit score.
If we are continually  assessing things, it can change the outcome


At lunch there were also breakout sessions which I didn't attend, instead I wandered with the Haeata tour and had some good conversations with others about what we do at Haeata.


Machines as Learning Partners

The impact of AI, robotics and immersive technologies on the way we learn. Implications for today and the future.
Artificial humans. Used in a number of industries.
Need to make sure tech is more human like. Creating the future of human machine cooperation.
Bring a human element to the way we react with machines.
I just finished uni, I could do whatever I want, how do we support people to change careers and make that jump. This tech did not exist 4 years ago.
Movies portray robots as having human qualities. Often negative ones!
Why do we need these things?
Message to get across we go from text, to voice then face to face.
Having a conversation with someone face to face you can pick up cues.
The face is so important for determining context.
Intersection of :
Embodied cognition
Emotional intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Dopamine currency, making people feel good
Personalised service, for anyone.
Could be a virtual teacher
Specialised content and knowledge
Accessible by anyone anywhere
Need people from different backgrounds and different expertise.
World's only virtual nervous system - Mark Sagar CEO
They are modelled in full body. Heart and lungs affect how we talk.
AI is here, we need to embrace it and use it for our own benefit.
Applications:
Assistant, to create customer experiences
Companion, digital characters that learn in real time, engage, entertain and empathise with you.
Can we use this for companionship, or provide unbiased support.
Hero, well known real world heroes that educate enlighten and inspire you. Have a conversation with someone from history.
Autodesk, Ava tool 70% of tier 1 and 2 calls
Creative script writers
Teams looking out how to dress her
Providing customer support. Anything complex gets diverted
Our biggest challenge is we don't have the staff we need. Data scientist. People needing to be flexible on learning new skills.

Because fantastic education doesn't just happen
We now live in a world driven by data. Why don't we do it in education? We have changed from a black board to a white board.
We don't have an airpoints card for students to collect data. Why are we, in education, teaching to all in the same way at the same time?
Will AI take teachers jobs? Probably not. Will it take teachers jobs who refuse to work with AI? Probably.
Air New Zealand kiosks. Took no jobs, they are now circulating and helping out.  But the process is now quicker.
Teachers shouldn't be trying to teach content.
How do we get that data for students?
10 questions just finding out what they know 7/10
Weighting takes it to 5/10
Then find out they guessed 2 takes it to 30% correct.
Do you want to know if they got 70% or 30%
Using VR to train radiographer. Students used to train on people.
Data collected and used to enhance learning experience.
This kind of talk should not happen. Do not ask multichoice questions.
Adaptive learning development tools
Personalised, micro adaptive learning. They don't seem to know this so it sends them down that line.
Big data platform. No point doing a 3hr exam. They should have access to data where it tracks behaviours, competencies, risks and strengths.
Advanced analytics.
Move from what happened and why they got there.
Prelearning on their phones. Online material at weekends on their phones. Doing 30% on the bus.
Evidence based exams.
Finding out what they know is really important, then you can teach them what they don't know.
VR unit. Everything they do is saved to their data. They can see they are doing well and make it more complex. Can do it at home.
Gamified solution. People love to compete. Even against themselves
90 days to forget 50% of information. Texts can continually remind students what they did in the past.
Waiting room, every time they did a module a person left the room.
With data you know what they know and don't know. If they are really good at anatomy why ask them about anatomy in a face to face.
Start in same place, end in same place but different path.
Software identifies knowledge gaps and it fills them.
Continuously data driven
Adaptive digital learning
Vr
Lms elearning
Oral/practical assessment
Retention strategy

Students know what they don't know.

Panel: How are machines influencing us and what are the implications for learning?

Panelists will share their unique perspectives of technologies from their industry perspectives – what is happening, what should we consider and how should we design learning in this changing environment
Amy Fletcher Associate Professor, University of Canterbury & Executive Council AI NZ Forum
Disrupting the status quo with AI
Higher education.
Find some of it to be challenging and quite threatening.
Raises risk and psyc issues
"Automation is Voldemort, the terrifying force nobody is willing to name"
The education model we have brings them in week 1 and turns them out at week 12 with same assessment.
How can we have faculty in as partners not obstacles to change.
Younger people much more tech savvy than we are.
Those that perceive themselves as experts actually need to know there are new ways of doing things to be a life long learning
Competency based learning can take place in different places. Needs to be accountable and reliable
Scenario for faculty:
Dystopia, Goodbye Mr Chips
Alternative, rock star academic, could broadcast the top ten to all students but would lose people on the ground
Aspirational, augmented professor, brought in as a key part for effective learning system.
Personalised learning done well will create more access, equity and fairness. Is crucial when done well with the student with the centre.
In one sense we have had stackable credentials for a while, more interested in horizontal.
Can work across different areas. Partnership going to be important. Education and employers are in sync. Citizens deserve to feel they are being prepared for the workplace. What does it mean to do critical thinking?
Concept of a pathway is crucial. NZQA will be key. Put together micro credentials in a pattern. 

How can we be collaborative to partner up with machines to human advantage.
Software developers
You could make a youtube clip. - On demand, convenient, cheap and customised
Cartoon: I've found a course on how to find a course.
So many projects and online courses not finished.
This is how humans prefer to act in a digital environment.
Get to know your engagement types:
A Killers (competitive) - want leader boards
B Explorers (curious) - so find every bug
C Socialisers (Chatty and cooperative) - mentors
D Achievers (all the gold stars) - Want quals
E Nurturers (Build and refine) - Farmville
Socialists that are also killers can be bullies
Minecraft caters to every engagement type.
Killers get to destroy other stuff
If you engage people in the way that relates to them, learning becomes relatively painless. 
Game developers know how to engage their audience
We can tailor education for different types.
There are so many moving parts, get it there and get to know how your audience like to engage
Self awareness will become more important.
Core skills they need for hiring: Need people who can learn and keep up with what they need. 

Humans crave connection
Connections define relationships. Relationships define success.
Shared experiences can define a relationship for life.
Meaningful conversations about things we care about.
Touch, experience and conversations
What is AI? Software that gets better without updates
Feedback defines patterns. AI is feedback from a dataset.
AI can make digital interactions more personal.
Can simply say what we want and we get answers.
Voice recognition has increased exponentially.
Chat bot can listen and respond 24/7
Electricity has changed the world and how we use it. Think of AI as an opportunity to make digital more human.
Looks past credentials when hiring. Looks at how they think and how they fit.

Panel: An intergenerational response to the themes of the day

Perspectives on the Future of Learning – what could this mean for us
Margaret Austin Former Vice-President Science Education, Royal Society of NZ
Sacha McMeeking Head of Aotahi, School of Maori and Indigenous Studies - University of Canterbury

A
Orientation of where we are now and where we are heading.
Past we look back on to inform the future.
M
Change is the result of learning
You can't learn without collaborating together and achieving what you inspire to.
Resistant to changes.
S
We would rather keep that that we don't want, than engage in the unknown.
Predictions cannot be accurate. It is impossible to know what so happen. Can only focus on trying to build something we believe is worthy.
M
Need to reinforce the idea of learning and what are the areas that cannot be left to chance as we move into the digital age.
A
Exciting to see things that can enable learning.
What is the world we collectively want and how do we move towards that? How do technologies give us one benefit without compromising another?
S
Students already prefer chat bots for feedback.
Quite often the first person to say I believe in you.
My ability to believe in and aspire to students.
Her child will have education not like hers, thankful for that.
Key takeaway:
A
Building self awareness and confidence in young people
There is a lot to think about. A community of people that are dying so much work and research. Power of collaboration is important.
M
Translating from the me to the we.
Teams, time and relationship.
Challenge in our community to make sure we have an informed public. At the present time they are listening but are they taking it on board? Environment, technology, future of work. Got to do something about social cohesion.
We have human condition of optimism bias, it won't happen to me. We are all dispensable. We have a choice whether we work in the status quo or bring in the new. Building the new is much harder.
Practicalities
M
Embrace tech but be aware of the risks. But don't be afraid to make mistakes, learn from them and get on with the job
S
Find a group of 4 people, 2 you don't know who and do an intentional project. Need concept deliveries
Need to work with people that are different.
Provocation
S
Question your own assumptions about what will be. Take someone who has an opposing view out for a meaningful coffee.
M
Never forget your roots, be thankful for them, never turn down an opportunity
Give as well as receive
Never for get to applaud some one for something they did during the day that deserves to be recognised.
Think we have to have the audacity to develop
To shape the future so it is more humane and more equitable

Conclusion: Postcard from the future

A call to action, implications for learning and our future
Jason Swanson
Hamish Duff BSc. MSc. MBA Recalibrate
Dr Cheryl Doig Think Beyond

Nearly every speaker has mentioned the power of collaboration.
Struck by how vital that is.
Hope you have met someone you can collaborate with. An unusual suspect
Education is facing an exponential world. We have to move towards a network ecosystem mindset.
When you are trying to move things forward, sometimes it is a lonely job.
Microcredentials to measure lifelong learning.
Learning how to learn is really important. We need to create the ecosystem to support people through new learning.
Equity access and trust are key design principles.
Major hurdle is about marginalised communities not being able to learn
Still issues as a city we need to address, access to learning
Removing boring parts of jobs to allow people to be more humane and work with people.
How do we break down silos with schools and businesses.
UN sustainability goals. Put our actions in the same direction
We have a city of opportunity. We have a collection of people who are willing to dig deep and make change happen.

My thoughts:
I am super excited about micro credentials - I did some work previously on Digital Badges and I can see some possibilities in where this could go. I love the idea of AI and can hardly wait to get into how we can use some of this amazing tech at Haeata. There were so many passionate people in that room today and I know I will be having conversations with many of them over time. It was great to meet new people and get different perspectives on how things might look in 20 years. Looking forward to Tues and Wed Masterclass.



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1 comment:

  1. Anonymous9 July 2018 at 21:00

    Kia ora Sue! Thanks for sharing your blog! I look forward your notes for the next 2 days!
    Ngā mihi nui,
    Vanessa

    ReplyDelete

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