The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, Sep 25, 2017
Ce document est protégé par la loi sur le droit d'auteur. L'utilisation des services d'Érudit (y ... more Ce document est protégé par la loi sur le droit d'auteur. L'utilisation des services d'Érudit (y compris la reproduction) est assujettie à sa politique d'utilisation que vous pouvez consulter en ligne.
The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, Dec 3, 2015
This paper describes the use of globally accessible Massive Open Online Courses, MOOCs, for addre... more This paper describes the use of globally accessible Massive Open Online Courses, MOOCs, for addressing the needs of learners at community learning centers in Northern Sweden. The Scandinavian "study circle" concept is used to facilitate the studying of MOOCs, thereby forming "blended" or "glonacal" courses. Although the technical possibilities for Swedish universities to offer accessible education are steadily increasing, most universities do not, at present, prioritize courses for off-campus students. The available web courses in asynchronous formats are also difficult to master for untraditional learners and leaves the local learning centers with limited possibilities. Therefore a Nordplus Horizontal project 2014-2016, with partners in three Nordic countries, is developing models for the use of MOOCs in learning centers and organizations. A small pilot course case at the learning center in Arvidsjaur and its outcome is presented, including the interactions with Lund University which has an ongoing piloting project on use and examination of MOOCs. This concept development is discussed as a blended learning design and as a "glonacal" phenomenon with Marginson and Rhoades' "glonacal agency heuristics". Possible future scenarios are outlined.
International journal of educational technology in higher education, Feb 15, 2018
This study addressed several outcomes, implications, and possible future directions for blended l... more This study addressed several outcomes, implications, and possible future directions for blended learning (BL) in higher education in a world where information communication technologies (ICTs) increasingly communicate with each other. In considering effectiveness, the authors contend that BL coalesces around access, success, and students' perception of their learning environments. Success and withdrawal rates for face-to-face and online courses are compared to those for BL as they interact with minority status. Investigation of student perception about course excellence revealed the existence of robust if-then decision rules for determining how students evaluate their educational experiences. Those rules were independent of course modality, perceived content relevance, and expected grade. The authors conclude that although blended learning preceded modern instructional technologies, its evolution will be inextricably bound to contemporary information communication technologies that are approximating some aspects of human thought processes.
In this conceptual paper, Luciano Floridi's philosophy of Information (PI) is interpreted and use... more In this conceptual paper, Luciano Floridi's philosophy of Information (PI) is interpreted and used for generating and presenting alternative or deviating, even provoking, understanding and scenarios on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), in connection with teaching and networked learning, today and in the future. The relation between teacher and technology and the functions of networked learning are here in focus for the application of Philosophy of information (PI) on issues of teachers, learners and technology. We are as humans, according to Floridi, presently changing our self-understanding, as we also have done at earlier occasions during history, for adapting to scientific and technological developments while still keeping but also changing our agency as humans. Humans are seen as the only known "semantic engines" in the world. The digital technology we presently use, with ICTs who process information and communicates in networks to other ICTs, changes our position and role as humans, as information-processing earlier was purely human activity. Now we have ICTs that are "syntactical engines"; they can process information both fast and precise, although they have "intelligence as a toaster". Humans today are in PI called "inforgs", living in an "infosphere", where information is the most critical asset, and we increasingly experience the world in informational terms. Floridi categorises ICTs as documenting, communicating and informationprocessing. A longer historical perspective on ICTs in teaching and learning, from Sumer 2000 B.C. and forward leads here to questioning if not the concepts of distance-, e-and online learning are soon old and obsolete, and mainly were continuing something traditional. What is characteristic for digital ICTs is according to Floridi the processing of information, and what we can find when we look for these ICTs in teaching and learning is Learning Analytics, Adaptive Learning, Calibrated Peer Review and similar ICTs for e-teaching. Furthermore, the general concepts of living together with information-processing ICTs are re-ontologisation, enveloping and transdiegetisation. These concepts describe what the ongoing integration of ICTs affects the human, as a teacher or a learner. Networked learning persists and is highly relevant, but includes also networking with applications of artificial intelligence. A critical discussion wraps up the paper.
Higher education is like an old building that is being constantly augmented with new technologica... more Higher education is like an old building that is being constantly augmented with new technological fixes, but the authors propose that it is time to radically question and rethink education, to build a new house from bottom up in order to construct a new normality, which we propose to call "Digital Didactics".
This paper addresses the development of strategies to increase innovation in remote rural and les... more This paper addresses the development of strategies to increase innovation in remote rural and less favouredregions. Many of the strategies aimed at developing innovation emanates from policy makers ...
The book The One World Schoolhouse is over two years old, and has been reviewed before. I have be... more The book The One World Schoolhouse is over two years old, and has been reviewed before. I have been asked to review and discuss it from a perspective of “blended learning”. I am not a researcher in ...
Biohydrometallurgy is the offspring of the unexpected union of biotechnology and metallurgy. From... more Biohydrometallurgy is the offspring of the unexpected union of biotechnology and metallurgy. From specific properties of some extreme biotopes, active principles of interactions between microbial metabolisms and minerals have been extracted to be used as efficient metallurgical processes. Many profitable industrial operations based on these bioprocesses have been running to recover copper, gold, uranium or cobalt for instance and many other applications have been designed. Europe was quite active in this area in the past, but currently the leadership is in South Africa, America and Australia. BioMinE (Biotechnology for Metal-bearing material In Europe) is a large integrated project launched with the support of the European Commission. It is aimed at stimulating synergies between the most relevant universities, research and industrial organisations to develop new concepts in this technical field that allow a better exploitation of the mineral resources in the future. The main technical subject is the investigation of the opportunities to apply bioleach processes to primary and secondary resources of metal-bearing materials. The second technical area of the project in terms of effort is the study of the recovery of metals from pregnant bioleach solution using biological reagents. All along the project duration, these investigations are focussed on the relevant resources in Europe screened according to an iterative process. The integration of the innovative pathways of processing will be evaluated up to the pilot scale whenever it is appropriate. The Consortium of BioMinE comprises 35 partners from industry (12 including 5 SMEs) research organisations (7) universities (14) and government (2). The participants are from 12 EU member states, from 1 candidate country (Romania), and from South Africa (INCO Country). The overall budget of the project is 17.9 million Euros, with a contribution from the European Commission of 11.6 million Euros. Started on November 1 2004, the project will last 4 years. An overview of BioMinE in the general context of the biohydrometallurgy development is the subject of this presentation.
Anders Norberg has a teaching background in philosophy and comparative religion and as a director... more Anders Norberg has a teaching background in philosophy and comparative religion and as a director of studies at upper secondary level and in adult education, but serves now as an education strategist for the Council of Skellefteå in Northern Sweden, working together with regional universities in the further development of a young multi-university campus. He has been in education development for 20 years, at Campus Skellefteå, at Umeå University and in several European R&D projects. His special area of interest is education access and logistics in connection to new technology and he is also a conference organizer and lecturer on these topics.
The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, Sep 25, 2017
Ce document est protégé par la loi sur le droit d'auteur. L'utilisation des services d'Érudit (y ... more Ce document est protégé par la loi sur le droit d'auteur. L'utilisation des services d'Érudit (y compris la reproduction) est assujettie à sa politique d'utilisation que vous pouvez consulter en ligne.
The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, Dec 3, 2015
This paper describes the use of globally accessible Massive Open Online Courses, MOOCs, for addre... more This paper describes the use of globally accessible Massive Open Online Courses, MOOCs, for addressing the needs of learners at community learning centers in Northern Sweden. The Scandinavian "study circle" concept is used to facilitate the studying of MOOCs, thereby forming "blended" or "glonacal" courses. Although the technical possibilities for Swedish universities to offer accessible education are steadily increasing, most universities do not, at present, prioritize courses for off-campus students. The available web courses in asynchronous formats are also difficult to master for untraditional learners and leaves the local learning centers with limited possibilities. Therefore a Nordplus Horizontal project 2014-2016, with partners in three Nordic countries, is developing models for the use of MOOCs in learning centers and organizations. A small pilot course case at the learning center in Arvidsjaur and its outcome is presented, including the interactions with Lund University which has an ongoing piloting project on use and examination of MOOCs. This concept development is discussed as a blended learning design and as a "glonacal" phenomenon with Marginson and Rhoades' "glonacal agency heuristics". Possible future scenarios are outlined.
International journal of educational technology in higher education, Feb 15, 2018
This study addressed several outcomes, implications, and possible future directions for blended l... more This study addressed several outcomes, implications, and possible future directions for blended learning (BL) in higher education in a world where information communication technologies (ICTs) increasingly communicate with each other. In considering effectiveness, the authors contend that BL coalesces around access, success, and students' perception of their learning environments. Success and withdrawal rates for face-to-face and online courses are compared to those for BL as they interact with minority status. Investigation of student perception about course excellence revealed the existence of robust if-then decision rules for determining how students evaluate their educational experiences. Those rules were independent of course modality, perceived content relevance, and expected grade. The authors conclude that although blended learning preceded modern instructional technologies, its evolution will be inextricably bound to contemporary information communication technologies that are approximating some aspects of human thought processes.
In this conceptual paper, Luciano Floridi's philosophy of Information (PI) is interpreted and use... more In this conceptual paper, Luciano Floridi's philosophy of Information (PI) is interpreted and used for generating and presenting alternative or deviating, even provoking, understanding and scenarios on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), in connection with teaching and networked learning, today and in the future. The relation between teacher and technology and the functions of networked learning are here in focus for the application of Philosophy of information (PI) on issues of teachers, learners and technology. We are as humans, according to Floridi, presently changing our self-understanding, as we also have done at earlier occasions during history, for adapting to scientific and technological developments while still keeping but also changing our agency as humans. Humans are seen as the only known "semantic engines" in the world. The digital technology we presently use, with ICTs who process information and communicates in networks to other ICTs, changes our position and role as humans, as information-processing earlier was purely human activity. Now we have ICTs that are "syntactical engines"; they can process information both fast and precise, although they have "intelligence as a toaster". Humans today are in PI called "inforgs", living in an "infosphere", where information is the most critical asset, and we increasingly experience the world in informational terms. Floridi categorises ICTs as documenting, communicating and informationprocessing. A longer historical perspective on ICTs in teaching and learning, from Sumer 2000 B.C. and forward leads here to questioning if not the concepts of distance-, e-and online learning are soon old and obsolete, and mainly were continuing something traditional. What is characteristic for digital ICTs is according to Floridi the processing of information, and what we can find when we look for these ICTs in teaching and learning is Learning Analytics, Adaptive Learning, Calibrated Peer Review and similar ICTs for e-teaching. Furthermore, the general concepts of living together with information-processing ICTs are re-ontologisation, enveloping and transdiegetisation. These concepts describe what the ongoing integration of ICTs affects the human, as a teacher or a learner. Networked learning persists and is highly relevant, but includes also networking with applications of artificial intelligence. A critical discussion wraps up the paper.
Higher education is like an old building that is being constantly augmented with new technologica... more Higher education is like an old building that is being constantly augmented with new technological fixes, but the authors propose that it is time to radically question and rethink education, to build a new house from bottom up in order to construct a new normality, which we propose to call "Digital Didactics".
This paper addresses the development of strategies to increase innovation in remote rural and les... more This paper addresses the development of strategies to increase innovation in remote rural and less favouredregions. Many of the strategies aimed at developing innovation emanates from policy makers ...
The book The One World Schoolhouse is over two years old, and has been reviewed before. I have be... more The book The One World Schoolhouse is over two years old, and has been reviewed before. I have been asked to review and discuss it from a perspective of “blended learning”. I am not a researcher in ...
Biohydrometallurgy is the offspring of the unexpected union of biotechnology and metallurgy. From... more Biohydrometallurgy is the offspring of the unexpected union of biotechnology and metallurgy. From specific properties of some extreme biotopes, active principles of interactions between microbial metabolisms and minerals have been extracted to be used as efficient metallurgical processes. Many profitable industrial operations based on these bioprocesses have been running to recover copper, gold, uranium or cobalt for instance and many other applications have been designed. Europe was quite active in this area in the past, but currently the leadership is in South Africa, America and Australia. BioMinE (Biotechnology for Metal-bearing material In Europe) is a large integrated project launched with the support of the European Commission. It is aimed at stimulating synergies between the most relevant universities, research and industrial organisations to develop new concepts in this technical field that allow a better exploitation of the mineral resources in the future. The main technical subject is the investigation of the opportunities to apply bioleach processes to primary and secondary resources of metal-bearing materials. The second technical area of the project in terms of effort is the study of the recovery of metals from pregnant bioleach solution using biological reagents. All along the project duration, these investigations are focussed on the relevant resources in Europe screened according to an iterative process. The integration of the innovative pathways of processing will be evaluated up to the pilot scale whenever it is appropriate. The Consortium of BioMinE comprises 35 partners from industry (12 including 5 SMEs) research organisations (7) universities (14) and government (2). The participants are from 12 EU member states, from 1 candidate country (Romania), and from South Africa (INCO Country). The overall budget of the project is 17.9 million Euros, with a contribution from the European Commission of 11.6 million Euros. Started on November 1 2004, the project will last 4 years. An overview of BioMinE in the general context of the biohydrometallurgy development is the subject of this presentation.
Anders Norberg has a teaching background in philosophy and comparative religion and as a director... more Anders Norberg has a teaching background in philosophy and comparative religion and as a director of studies at upper secondary level and in adult education, but serves now as an education strategist for the Council of Skellefteå in Northern Sweden, working together with regional universities in the further development of a young multi-university campus. He has been in education development for 20 years, at Campus Skellefteå, at Umeå University and in several European R&D projects. His special area of interest is education access and logistics in connection to new technology and he is also a conference organizer and lecturer on these topics.
Information and Communication Technologies, ICTs, has now for decades being increasingly taken in... more Information and Communication Technologies, ICTs, has now for decades being increasingly taken into use for higher education, enabling distance learning, e-learning and online learning, mainly in parallel to mainstream educational practise. The concept Blended learning (BL) aims at the integration of ICTs with these existing educational practices. The term is frequently used, but there is no agreed-upon definition. The general aim of this dissertation is to identify new possible perspectives on ICTs and access to higher education, for negotiating the dichotomy between campus-based and ICT-enabled education. The access options of BL are in focus for this dissertation, although BL is generally seen as a campus phenomenon, and shares a place perspective. The main research questions in the dissertation are 1) how BL can be understood in the context of increased access to education, moreover, (2) how time can be work as a more constructive perspective for designing ICTs in education, compared to place. The dissertation comprises five articles. The first is conceptual and concentrates on place and time in blended learning, and forms a time-based model and perspective, drawing on the tension between synchronous and asynchronous modalities instead of a place-based center-periphery model. The following article examines the differences between North American and European use of the term BL, in education and research, and finds that BL is not much used by European researchers, although the term is frequently used in educational environments. Two design and intervention studies, articles 3 and 4, make experiments using the BL time-based model. In article 3, a group of untraditional learners at a learning centre in Arvidsjaur attends a synchronous co-located study circle group and participates in an asynchronous and global Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). In article 4, nine students in a preparatory year for entering engineering studies volunteer and participate in a pilot distance course experiment, where prevention of procrastination is a high priority. For this, agile framework theory, constructivist learning theory and the time-based model are used in design and analysis. The last article (5) reconnects learning to place by discussing and adapting Triple- and Quadruple Helix theory for regional development in the knowledge society to four regional European cases. At the end of the synthesis, an outline of the access affordances with the time-based model is given, drawing on Adam’s timescape theory. The discussion of ICT integration into education is made drawing on Floridi’s Philosophy of Information, which provides many tools to view discourses of ICTs in education critically, and also envisions the concept of e-ducation in the infosphere, where other blend issues appear connected to weak artificial intelligence and the pervasive power of ICTs.
International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 2018
This study addressed several outcomes, implications, and possible future directions for blended l... more This study addressed several outcomes, implications, and possible future directions for blended learning (BL) in higher education in a world where information communication technologies (ICTs) increasingly communicate with each other. In considering effectiveness, the authors contend that BL coalesces around access, success, and students' perception of their learning environments. Success and withdrawal rates for face-to-face and online courses are compared to those for BL as they interact with minority status. Investigation of student perception about course excellence revealed the existence of robust if-then decision rules for determining how students evaluate their educational experiences. Those rules were independent of course modality, perceived content relevance, and expected grade. The authors conclude that although blended learning preceded modern instructional technologies, its evolution will be inextricably bound to contemporary information communication technologies that are approximating some aspects of human thought processes.
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