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Amsterdam, Netherlands
Hi All! I am a born and raised Canadian that is currently living a European life. I decided the best way to appreciate Canada was to escape it for awhile and see what other countries have to offer. I spent a year in Dublin and currently reside in Amsterdam. The plan is to live in Amsterdam for the next few years while I complete my Master's in Instructional Design and Technology. I look forward to blogging about my experiences as I begin to get closer to developing my Instructional Design skills and potentially gaining experience in this field. My goal is to complete my program and begin to develop and deliver training programs.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

The Future of Education

The future of training and educational development is headed down a technology driven path.  This means that the traditional lecture settings that we once were accustom to “on-campus” and in person will be a method of the past.  The future of education is we will communicate virtually with our instructors through online means or possibly watch their lectures through interactive media.  I did not expect technology would shape education this quickly but it seems the future is driving us to be online, read our textbooks on our mobiles or Electronic book readers, communicate online and graduate without ever having to set foot on a campus.  This link to YouTube addresses how quickly the world is changing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPO_HGafBsE . I think since this video was published back in 2009 it is already out of date which shows again how quickly technology and technology usage is changing us.


For the last two years I have been completing my Master’s online which has meant interaction throughout my program has been completely online with classmates and faculty.  I think throughout this time I have picked up the phone 3 times and on two occasions the call was made through Skype.  This method of education will continue to rise as more and more people decide to study online as it is more flexible and convenient.  

Prior to my online studies I had never used interactive videos to learn course materials.  However, throughout my online Master’s program we have constantly reviewed media files to get a better understanding of course content.  This method is also the future of training and education as materials going online will mean students are watching their lecturers online or will use interactive videos to understand materials. 


The other major learning tool has shifted to mobile phones.  Students can review materials on their phone, participate, research, email and even complete some of their classroom tasks on their smart phones (Noe, R. A, 2010).  As we have all seen a shift in personal phone usage I do not see this changing.  Computers and phones will continue to be put together and made more portable for student usage and for learning purposes.

Although it seems all learning materials are being placed online; there are definitely some fields and areas that cannot simply be learned online.  Blended learning which combines face-to-face instruction and online learning is also an important learning format (Noe, R. A, 2010).  .  For instance, those in medical or psychology fields must complete practicum and a certain amount of face to face interaction with patients or complete case studies to fully understand their future profession.  I do not believe these fields can change to completely online learning.  The future of these areas will most likely be the same unless the requirements change.

References

“Education and the Future of Technology.” (7 April 2009).  Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPO_HGafBsE

Noe, R. A. (2010). Employee training and development (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Posted by Liz v d Burg at 1:23 AM

1 comment:

  1. Renee Evans3:49:00 PM

    Liz,

    Interesting video and point of view. At times I ponder as to whether we (general) are merely painting on a thin layer of knowledge versus allowing it all to seep in. The pace at which technology promotes what is being considered as potential growth is far beyond the imagination. It is much like understanding the universe and how it came about and works. Each is so intricate it would take a lifetime to comprehend, and by then the latest upgrade would be out there.

    To some extent this raises a level of concern as it relates to education and learning. The integration of technology into the world of education is to enable knowledge transfer versus riddled with chaos. When not approach adequately, many learners can get lost in the mire. As stated by Noe (2010), "Training and development have a direct influence on human and social capital because they affect education, work-related know-how and competence, and work relationships"(p. 14), yet how far off the beaten path does technology take us (general)?


    Reference

    Noe, R. A. (2010). Employee training and development (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

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