In 2019, there were three-quarters of a million international students studying in Australia. Since then, that number has fallen by almost 37%, according to the Australian Department of Education. China was and still is Australia’s largest source market for international students, followed by India and Nepal. Encouragingly, after a challenging three years, early indications reveal that 2023 could be a record year for international university students coming to Australia to study.

The Australian government and higher education sector needs to be more proactive if they want to remain competitive in international education. It connects Australia with the world, delivers better education outcomes for our domestic students, and contributes to the national economy. In 2019, international education earned $40.3 billion and supported around 250,000 Australian jobs.

In the coming years, we need to do things differently as we rebuild to make the higher education sector more sustainable, create new growth opportunities and enhance the experiences of domestic and international students. As international student numbers start to increase again, we also need to have a greater diversity of students coming into Australia.

The Australian Strategy for International Education 2021–2030 sets a new direction for international education for the next ten years. The Strategy will be backed by more than $37 million in targeted support measures, including regulatory fee relief and an Innovation Development Fund for English language providers.

Upskilling or reskilling to establish skills alignment

Increasing the diversity of courses in which international students can enrol introduces opportunities for a more substantial alignment between international education and Australian skills needs.

The National Skills Commission (NSC) has identified skills needs in emerging fields that will drive Australia’s growth in the future. Its data is promising. Skills that are new and growing in the economy—such as renewable energy, cyber security and infection control—are already being taught through Australia’s Vocational Education and Training (VET) system. In addition, over half of the occupations listed in shortage on the NSC’s Skills Priority List have a pathway through the VET system.

Remaining competitive

How will universities remain competitive internationally in this metamorphic age that’s fundamentally changing how we live, work and learn? What will the nature and role of a university be?

We must ask what will make a university successful in this new world. What will Australia’s students and employers demand of our universities in the future? And what should universities consider today to be ready to deliver truly transformative outcomes?

Disrupting university business models

There is a dichotomy between competing needs. On the one hand, universities need to find ways to stabilise and optimise their core business. On the other, they need to embrace change, innovation and opportunity to enable future growth. University leaders need to be ready to reposition their institutions by nurturing deeper collaboration with industry and co-creating new business models and learning experiences.

Shifting from faculty-focused to learner-centric 

Australia is encouraging social institutions in the public and private sectors to focus on those they serve. The implications of this shift for universities are significant because learners are becoming more demanding consumers of educational services. Universities must evolve their paradigm—from student to learner, from teaching to designing and managing learning experiences, and from degree based to continuous learning.

Reimagining the physical campus for a virtual world 

Technology is impacting the educational landscape as learning moves to a hybrid state. For many, however, the novelty of a 60-second journey to their desk at home for an online lecture may have worn off somewhat as they miss the on-campus experience with the combined energy of students and staff. Unfortunately, many international students still cannot be on campus due to local lockdowns and limited access to affordable flights. That is why access to quality online learning is essential for them.

Universities need to re-think the meaning of “campus” in a future where digital and physical infrastructure intersects and space, place, and time are more fluid. What is the contribution and value of “campus” in the students’ life-long learning journey?

Shifting the role of education institutions

Universities are evolving from their traditional roles as teaching and research centres to play a big part in Australia’s future prosperity. As economic growth hubs and innovation incubators, universities are forging more intimate ties to their local communities. In the future, universities will need to reimagine their physical footprints and facilities, with opportunities to use them in new ways to help address broader social and societal needs.

The takeout 

Commentary around the recent Universities Australia conference foreshadows profound changes in the education sector. Policymakers and university leaders agree that a reset is needed to work together better to meet immediate and longer-term challenges and adjust the settings to help Australian universities innovate, invest and transform.

Our universities can then be recognised as one of Australia’s critical economic assets, with the Australian Government taking a crucial role in ensuring they are globally competitive.

Tony Maguire is Regional Director, Australia & New Zealand at D2L

The post Why Australian universities need to innovate, invest and transform to remain globally competitive appeared first on Education Technology Solutions.

BenQ, internationally renowned innovator of visual solutions, today announced the EH620 smart projector for business, integrating the full Windows operating system and embedded with an Intel® Celeron® Processor onboard to streamline enterprise cloud-based meetings for the hybrid workplace.

As an all-in-one smart projector with built-in Windows computing capabilities and operating system, the EH620 readily assimilates into Windows-based workplaces, providing the same access, control, security, and processes as enterprise laptops or PCs. Without the need for connecting an external PC, the EH620 is compatible with the full range of Windows business applications ranging from Office 365 to Adobe Document Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Zoom, and other conferencing apps for efficient meeting productivity with total security.

“We created EH620, the world’s first Windows*-based smart projector, to fulfil hybrid business needs for integrated meeting equipment and software as well as corporate cloud-first data storage policies while increasing meeting efficiency, wireless transmission security, and compatibility with existing equipment,” said Martin Moelle, Managing Director of BenQ Australia. “With businesses back to in-person and hybrid meetings, collaboration-focused organisations are looking for an all-in-one display solution for their shared workspaces and huddle rooms. The Windows 11 environment provides the compatibility and connectivity that these teams require.”

Integrating cloud infrastructure such as Microsoft Azure, the EH620 provides enterprise identity services including single sign-on, multifactor authentication, and conditional access, reinforced by network security of AES 128-bit encryption and WPA2 wireless protection to help guard against cybersecurity attacks, as well as Intel Secure Boot to protect against malware threats.

In addition, BenQ EH620 is certified by Onward Security Corporation, passing the Black Box Test security assessment with no vulnerabilities found in its operating system, network services, wireless, password management, denial of service, and hardware, for reliability and peace of mind.

Powered by the latest Intel® Celeron® Processor CPU, highly integrated into EH620’s applications and security systems by BenQ R&D and Intel teams, users can simply log in to a network account directly from the EH620 to instantly start cloud-based meetings and video conferences on a Full HD 1080p big screen up to 150”. The EH620 can download business applications from the Microsoft Store and host any Windows software including web browsers and conferencing apps for unlimited collaboration potential.

In addition to the onboard Windows 11 IoT Enterprise OS, the EH620 provides the intuitive BenQ Uni Launcher UI for users to choose their preferred interface (BenQ Launcher or Windows 11). For iOS, Mac OS, and Android collaborators, the EH620’s driver-free wireless projection capabilities include Miracast, Airplay, Google Cast, and BenQ InstaShare screen mirroring with 4-way split-screen projection.

Ideal for easy system integration with Windows-based ecosystems alongside related devices such as smartboards or interactive boards and various cameras, the EH620 simplifies meeting setup with auto keystone, auto picture mode, and auto sound mode for its powerful 5Wx2 audio system. IT management is also simplified with automatic OTA firmware updates and full compatibility with control systems including Extron, Creston, AMX, and PJ Link.

To learn more about BenQ EH620 smart projector, please visit https://www.benq.com/en-au/business/projector/eh620.html

The post BenQ Launches World’s First Windows*-Based Smart Projector with Intel Inside for Enterprise appeared first on Education Technology Solutions.

 “The first ninety per cent of the task takes ninety per cent of the time, and the last ten per cent takes the other ninety per cent.” – Arthur Bloch

How many eLearning or technology initiatives do you know that failed or faded out?

• Can you walk around your campus and see technology abandoned?
  • Hardware sitting dusty in the corner of the room or packed away in a cupboard, never to be used again or rarely used?
  • Technology that was going to ‘change everything’ or revolutionise teaching and learning…but didn’t?
• How many technology-based initiatives can you think of that reached their full potential? You know – the potential that was highlighted in the organisation’s newsletter, promoted in the media, spoken about by the leadership, etc.?

Why do so many eLearning initiatives fail or fade? Why do so few succeed or reach their full potential?

The three phases of change and implementation

There are three main phases when working to enhance education by leveraging technology. Unfortunately, it is the first phase that often gets the most time, money, and attention. The second phase gets some as well, but often not enough, and the third phase (an essential phase) often gets little or no attention.

And that is where the problem lies.

The first 20% – the ‘technology’.

It is essential to find the ‘right’ technology, whether it is hardware, software, a cloud service or infrastructure. Some think it is the main component of change. It isn’t. It is vital, but it isn’t the main thing. It must be ‘right’, but all it takes is a few bright and knowledgeable people, experience, expertise, money, and the appropriate product.

However, just finding the right solution doesn’t solve the problem. It is just the start of solving the problem.

I have found this first phase takes about 20% of the time and ‘effort’[1] of the change program.

The technology is often a large and obvious budget item, as it can be expensive. Whether hardware, software or infrastructure. It is also visible. You can show it to people, take a photo of it and organisational leaders can have photos taken with it to promote in the media – evidence of the organisation’s commitment to ‘change’ and ‘improving education’.

The next 20% – the tech training

New technology requires training of staff – teachers, support staff and the like. This is essentially how to ‘press the right buttons’ to make the technology work. It is often supported by manuals, training videos, etc.

It is essential and important. It will involve support and training sessions, but if that is the end of the training, it isn’t enough.

The final 60% – changing the educational paradigm

“Deeply ingrained habits and beliefs take a long time to change.”

Changing the educational paradigm is the vital component. It takes time to change habits and foundational paradigms. One study[2] found it took an average of 66 days to develop a new habit, with some cases taking 254 days. And that was for a basic habit.

Existing educational methodologies are deeply ‘burned in’ approaches for most people and change often isn’t easy. After all, some teachers may say ’What I have been doing for years works. Why change?’ Yet improvements can always be made, and this is what must be highlighted. Otherwise, are we to assume we have reached the peak of educational methodologies[3]? Is everything already so good that no further change is needed?

This portion of the ‘training’ requires a focus on the new ways to teach and learn; the methodology improvements facilitated by the technology. The technology is secondary.

This part of the training does not focus on ‘which buttons to push’.

Its focus is more involved with why to ‘push the buttons’; the educational advantages of the change for teachers, students and the organisation.

It also focuses on the optimal methods of teaching and learning that make ‘the button pressing’ (and the underlying technology) useful.

Its total focus is on the teaching and learning, and on supporting teachers and students to become comfortable and fluent with the evolved educational methodologies.

This phase requires:

• regular training and support sessions – preferably weekly or fortnightly, and preferably in person.
• support that is ‘instant’ – preferably a phone call away and definitely not by submitting a support ‘ticket’ to an online system that may be responded to hours or days later.
• An enthusiastic and knowledgeable training team of teachers known by staff to be effective. This provides credibility and confidence in the program.
• A large enough training team to provide support for all staff.
• Examples of success using the new approaches.
• Training for staff provided in the same format as staff are expected to teach[4]. For example, providing professional development/capability uplift by using a PowerPoint presentation and a ‘lecture’ when alternative approaches (such as flipped learning) are being promoted is hypocritical.
• Active support and visibility from the leadership of the organisation. Thus, while time and funding allocated for training are essential, more is needed. Hopefully, the leadership of the organisation is also involved in the training. It needs to be more than ‘do as I say, not as I do’.

Some questions and answers

1. So…is this ‘total program’ of three effective phases difficult? Probably.
2. Does it take a lot of time and resources? Yes.
3. Does it produce instant results? No.
4. Will there be a reluctance to change from some staff[5]? Yes.
5. Will there be resistance from some of the leadership and ‘bean counters’ of the organisation? Yes.
6. Will some assume that teachers will ‘just figure it out’ by themselves? Yes (But many teachers won’t. There will be a small percentage of teachers who will succeed through self-education and working additional hours. However, teachers are generally time-poor and have too many pressures in day-to-day teaching – just surviving – to find more hours in the day to research new paradigms and then try to work things out by themselves.)
7. Are the results visible? Can I take a photo for the promotion of the program? Yes, but it will be of people learning and teachers teaching differently, not of ‘shiny’ equipment. The media is unlikely to be interested.

But – and these are the important questions…

Will it produce positive educational change? YES (if done ‘properly’).

Is it essential? Yes (if long-term success is the goal.)

Conclusion

This isn’t ‘rocket science’. This is common sense.

Changing and improving the educational paradigm and thus educational practice takes time, effort, and long-term support.

Changing and improving the educational paradigm and thus educational practice isn’t a ‘technology’ solution, it is a ‘human’ solution that leverages technology.

What is your organisation providing?

References

[1] The composition of the ‘effort’ required varies with each phase, and its composition can also vary between projects. However, anyone who has been responsible for driving the evolution of education in an organisation will know what it entails.

[2] How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world – PHILLIPPA LALLY, CORNELIA H. M. VAN JAARSVELD, HENRY W. W. POTTS AND JANE WARDLE University College London, London, UK

[3] The article Have we reached peak education? expands on this concept.

[4] The article Is it time to blended learning PD the right way? explains this concept in more detail.

[5] The article Blended Learning and the paradox of the experienced teacher provides insight into the reluctance to change by some.

The post The 20:20:60 Rule of eLearning Evolution appeared first on Education Technology Solutions.

BenQ, an internationally renowned provider of professional education display solutions, recently showcased its latest edtech products at Australia’s EduTECH International Congress & Expo 2022. The showcase included the RP03, an all-new Pro Series IFP (Interactive Flat Panel with World’s First features; RM03 Master Series IFP with advanced Germ Resistant screen and pens; BenQ’s real-time collaborative classroom IFP-based app EZWrite 6 Cloud Whiteboard; Integrated Education Display Solutions including Dustproof Laser and Windows-based Smart Projector, Wireless Presentation Device InstaShow; and the native wireless content-sharing app InstaShare 2. Finally, the showcase included a plethora of Zoom-certified video conferencing solutions to suit any blended classroom requirements.

RP03 Pro Series: World’s First IFP with Air Ioniser Technology and Eyesafe® Certification

Aiming to further the creation of healthy learning environments, BenQ developed the RP03 Pro Series Interactive Flat Panel with advanced ClassroomCare® features, including an all-new World’s First, air ionizer; germ resistant screen, stylus and remote control; CO2 and formaldehyde sensor; and Eye Care Technology, a TUV certified technology ensuring flicker-free and low blue light IFP screen. Furthermore, the Pro Series IFP is the World’s First interactive flat panel to be crowned with internationally renowned Eyesafe® certification, offering the highest level of blue light protection while maintaining vivid, true-to-life colours. BenQ OPS-enabled interactive flat panels have also gained the coveted Intel® Gold Partner for IoT Solutions, providing a foundation for seamlessly and securely connecting devices.

Keep the content engaging with leading hardware features such as Dolby Digital Plus acoustics, the latest Android 11 version installed and convenient front I/O ports including USB-C Smart Port for easy access. The IFP also works to make teaching more efficient and interactive with teaching support applications like all new EZWrite 6 Cloud Whiteboard and InstaShare2 Native Wireless Screen Sharing Software. IT Managers can take advantage of tools such as X-Sign Broadcast and BenQ Exclusive AMS & DMS to manage BenQ devices from one central location.

Unique On-site Demonstrations

In line with current STEM and Blended Learning trends and implementation of the smart campus, a series of on-site demonstrations were showcased at BenQ’s stand.

1. Real-time Collaborative Classroom, featuring BenQ’s all new EZWrite 6 Cloud Whiteboard with Infinite Canvas and downloadable whiteboard files. Cloud Whiteboard allows teachers and students to collect, categorise, edit, and share ideas between IFPs and mobile devices, making it a perfect tool for collaboration and remote learning. With Board-to-Board Applications, students can engage in project-based learning by joining the same online lesson or discussion using different BenQ IFPs.
2. BenQ Education Academy: A series of engaging presentations  by influencers, industry thought leaders, user success stories and the BenQ team. Topics covered a wide variety of Exclusive BenQ features, such as EZWrite 6 Cloud Whiteboard, InstaShare 2 Wireless Content Sharing app and next-gen ClassroomCare®. Along with in-depth overviews of BenQ partner software. Special guests included: Davis Lee, Chief Strategy Officer – Eyesafe®, Year 6 Students – Our Lady of the Pines, Donvale Vic, John Pendergast, Customer Success Lead – Vivi, Karen Mihail, Literacy Development Manager – LiteracyPlanet, Holly Millican, Head of Mathematics- Orara High School and Jai Chillingworth, Head Trainer and FAE – BenQ Australia.
3. Integrated Education Display Solutions for smart classrooms, including BenQ IFPs, Dustproof Laser, Windows-Based Smart Projectors and Wireless Presentation Device InstaShow^TM. Presenters can make annotations on their IFP that immediately displays on the projection screen using InstaShow. This solution is designed for lecture halls, auditoriums, interactive classrooms, multimedia rooms and more. More importantly, the ClassroomCare® IFP combines a revolutionary Air Ioniser (RP03 only) and air quality sensor (RP03 only), TÜV-certified Germ Resistant screen, pens and Low Blue Light and Flicker-free technologies with anti-glare displays, providing a safeguard in the classrooms. Dustproof Laser Projectors include a sealed engine that block up to 99% of particles with IP5X-level protection, ensuring long lasting, low maintenance operation.

 BenQ Wireless Solutions: InstaShow^TM, InstaShare 2 and InstaShare Button

An exclusive and powerful tool, InstaShare 2 App, allows wireless mirroring and casting of content BenQ IFPs from any laptop, smartphone, and tablet. This is great for idea sharing and homework review during lecture, as well as annotation directly on the shared content. Pairing this with hardware based InstaShare Button Solution, wireless sharing has never been easier.

Schools are continuing to make the transition into smart campuses. The need for wireless content mirroring from personal devices is ever increasing, along with the demand for efficient and interactive learning and meetings. InstaShow^TM WDC10C and WDC20 are a Plug-n-Play wireless presentation device, with the USB Type C Button and HDMI respectively. In addition to being cable-free, no software installation is required, and it includes AES 128-bit encryption and WPA2 authentication protocol. With its one-button design and natural ease of use, InstaShow transforms cluttered meeting spaces into seamless collaborative experiences.

Easy and Efficient VC Solutions for all sorts of blended learning environments

BenQ also presented its newest fleet of Video Conferencing Cameras, including the Zoom-Certified DVY31 Full HD Webcam and DVY32 4K UHD Conference Camera, as well as the All-in-one Smart Video Bar VC01A. All cameras come equipped with a 90+˚ wide field of view, omnidirectional mics (beamforming mic array for VC01A) and require no extra driver installation. Simple plug-and-play for the remote lessons to begin.

Because it matters

From building smart campuses, empowering STEM and project-based learning, to facilitating better learning outcomes, meetings and collaborations, BenQ is committed to helping educators, teachers, and institutions function more efficiently and enhance learning through healthcare-driven, innovation-fueled products, services and solutions.

For more information about comprehensive Education Display Solution, please visit

• RP03 Pro Series Interactive Flat Panel

https://www.benq.com/en-ap/business/ifp/rp7503.html

• RM03 Master Series

https://www.benq.com/en-ap/business/ifp/rm6503.html

• ClassroomCare® Interactive Flat Panels: https://www.benq.com/en-ap/business/ifp/education.html
• Dustproof Laser Projectors: https://www.benq.com/en-ap/business/projector/lu960ust.html
• Wireless Presentation System IntaShow^TM: https://www.benq.com/en-ap/business/wireless-presentation/instashow-wireless-collaboration.html
• Video Conferencing Solutions: https://www.benq.com/en-ap/business/signage/accessory.html
• Eyesafe Certification

The post BenQ Australia Launches the Next Generation Pro Series Interactive Flat Panel with World’s First Air Ioniser, Eyesafe® Certification and Advanced ClassroomCare appeared first on Education Technology Solutions.

“Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.” – W. Edwards Deming

The online educational equivalent of this is

“Without data, you’re just another teacher guessing each student’s level of engagement.”

Recent times have spurred on the amount of online and hybrid education. Yet, how much insight do you have into the online component of each student’s education?

Comparison with face-to-face teaching

Teaching in the classroom is dynamic and provides the teacher with many ways to know each student, their areas of success and understanding, and their areas of concern. Some are:

Attendance – Simply turning up to class increases the probability of success.

Engagement – Being involved and taking part in activities.

Class activities and interaction – Conversation (and more) in class with the teacher and peers.

Homework – How regularly homework is done, how complete it is and how ‘correct’ it is.

There are more, and good teachers use all the in-class cues to tailor their teaching and support for each student. Do we have the equivalent in the world of online education?

Comparison with some other web-based services

Other web-based services have systems to understand the individual. For example, online streaming video services know:

• Our viewing preferences
• Where and when we pause a movie
• the time of day we use their service,
• whether a particular show is viewed completely or rejected,
• at what point that rejection decision is made…
• and much more.

Shouldn’t we also know how well a student is engaging with the online component of their courses? Education is much more important for student growth than online entertainment.

Online Education

I will assume that educational organisations use some type of Online Learning Environment (OLE), whether it is an ‘LMS’ (for want of a better term) or some other centralised system, possibly with a variety of other online resources that integrate with this central system.

Let’s consider some of the data possibilities, and then look at how these affect our ability to better assist, guide and support our students.

Level 1 – Minimalist

Data available: In this stage, the teacher knows that a student has logged onto the system and knows the time and date of that login. That is it, and unfortunately, this is the level of functionality of some systems.

Impact on education: This allows the teacher to note which students access the system regularly, which students access it rarely and which don’t access the system at all. However, it doesn’t provide any insight into the activity of the student, such as which learning activity was accessed.

It is a ‘blunt instrument’.

 Level 2 – Minimalist +

Data available: This builds on Level 1 by also providing information about some other components of the course. A common example is quiz results. In many systems, quizzes can be easily added at some point or points in a topic.

Impact on education: This provides more insight as it allows a teacher to gain some idea of the student’s knowledge of a topic as well as knowing whether a student has engaged with that section of the course. It can be very useful if the course materials have high-quality formative quizzes scattered throughout. This can provide insights that can open conversations with a student, allowing positive feedback or early intervention if difficulties are noted.

Level 3 – Passive duration

Data available: This stage notes the logon as well as the logoff time for each student. The system does not ‘know’ whether any activity occurs while connected to the system. Thus, a student could be actively working through learning materials, or they could also have logged on and then walked away to do some unrelated activity. Thus, it is a ‘passive’ indicator. It has limited use.

Impact on education: Information provided at this level should be used with caution as there is no way to know if the student has been actively engaged with the learning materials.

 Level 4 – Active duration

Data available: This stage provides both logon and logoff times and takes this much further by noting activity within the course materials. It notes mouse movement, interactions and movement between sections of the course. It does not simply record time spent with a browser window open but with no activity.

External systems are available to note activity if your Online Learning Environment does not have this capability.

Impact on education: This level provides an understanding of student activity, and thus provides the opportunity for meaningful individual conversations – positive feedback for engaged students and proactive intervention for disengaged students (and much more).

While we all know that activity does not automatically mean success, it is still a very important indicator.

This level is particularly insightful when combined with extensive use of formative quizzes. (Level 2 – Minimalist +)

 Level 5 – Partial granular

Data available: This level contains more than just quizzes at various points in the course material; it contains a range of interactive activities (IA) that provide data when accessed.

(A list of possible interactive activities is available in a companion article “Is your school ready for an LMS? – The Course Design Continuum (CDC)”)

The teacher can then be aware of each student’s progress through the course materials by noting access to each interactive activity.

Impact on education: Level 5 allows excellent insight into student activity, engagement and progress when combined with the best components of the previous levels. A teacher can initiate many support, remedial and encouragement activities by having a rich overview of each student’s progress. In the process, when well designed and implemented, the course becomes more engaging and educationally relevant for students.

Level 6 – Full granular

Data available: This level leverages modern technology, namely xAPI. It allows an insight into many, many data points during and within an activity. It can note student progress at all stages and within almost all components of the online materials.

The xAPI website states:

“xAPI is an eLearning specification that makes it possible to collect data about the wide range of experiences a person has within online and offline training activities.”

“Many eLearning standards can only capture digital experiences. xAPI enables you to track experiences that happen in many different environments and systems.”

It does require an LRS (Learning Record Store) and dashboards that provide an overview and insights. Thus, it may be unsuitable for small educational organisations.

Impact on education: This level has the potential to provide granular individual student engagement data. If implemented well, it allows a teacher to personalise student feedback, support and encouragement.

The Paradox

Some believe that technology depersonalises education. Yet, when rich individual data sets are available, technology can provide great insights so that a teacher can make learning and their interactions with students very personal. Education can be targeted more specifically to each individual.

In the process, student satisfaction and success levels can be enhanced – the goal of all educators.

Location of data and privacy

Of course, the privacy of data is essential. Access to student data should be limited to only those teachers and administrators who need it. Students need to be aware of what data is collected.

Privacy policies need to be appropriate and explicit.

Servers housing data should be secured and on-premise or in a trusted, secure location.

What can the data be used for?

The next article in this series will discuss some ways to use this data.

Attribution

Quiz and Interactive icons – Quiz icons created by Freepik – Flaticon

Logon icon – Login icons created by srip – Flaticon

Logout icon – Logout icons created by apien – Flaticon

Data icon – Data collection icons created by Flat Icons – Flaticon

The post Is your school ready for an LMS? – The Data Design Continuum (DDC) appeared first on Education Technology Solutions.

Besides the already classic use of IT in administration or email communication, other areas are gaining in importance at a rapid pace. Non-IT systems from building services engineering to laboratory technology are integrated into the central IT system at most educational institutions.

Although many in the teaching profession like to rely on traditional methods of teaching, the possibilities that are opening up when technology is brought into the classroom are endless.

The role of technology in the education sector

Educational content is increasingly being offered via the internet and videos in particular in which teachers, lecturers and professors transmit learning content and tasks to pupils and students have become a part of everyday life.

To really utilise the multitude of ed-tech tools, teachers should ask themselves why students want technology in the classroom, not just why they need it. It can definitely help education professionals in the monitoring of individual development and innovative and engaging lesson planning. But the students who learn through technology are acquiring a new set of skills that will help them throughout their own careers.

How technology is breaking down barriers in education

Access to education has been significantly broadened as a result of technology, including a wide range of learning styles and online degree options. The cost of education has significantly reduced by eliminating the need to buy physical textbooks as most academic journals offer full digital versions originally produced in print either free or significantly cheaper.

By accessing their course content, lectures and scholarly articles from a university’s database, students can easily choose to continue their studies in another country or without leaving their home, opening up educational opportunities to those with mobility issues, chronic illnesses or intellectual disabilities.

Students no longer need to enrol in a full degree program to learn from the best universities in the world.  Even if they are not currently studying or involved in the education community, various articles and videos can be downloaded to a mobile device, making the learning experience infinitely better and more accessible.

Educational institutions’ dependency on IT

It is abundantly clear now that universities, Technical and Further Education (TAFE) colleges and other educational institutions in Australia (and New Zealand) are extremely dependent on a functioning and high-performance IT infrastructure. These complex IT infrastructures need to be constantly monitored to ensure they provide a superior and secure student learning experience. The typical requirements for a monitoring solution in the education sector are as follows:

1. Distributed locations

IT infrastructures of educational and research institutions are often distributed over several locations, within a city or in several buildings on campus. Usually the result of history, this poses a major challenge for IT managers. Servers, devices and applications must be available at all locations at all times and an uninterrupted data exchange between the locations must be ensured.

1. Virtual learning environments

Today more than ever, providing a virtual learning environment has become the biggest challenge. Aside from classic materials that have to be available at any time and any place, video on demand and video conferencing have become a central element of remote teaching. That creates completely new demands and requirements.

1. Heterogeneous infrastructures

Heterogeneous infrastructures are usually due to irregular growth or arise because they have not been modernised in a consistent manner. New, modern equipment often has to be brought into line with outdated equipment, which can often turn out to be an unplanned, time-consuming challenge. It becomes even more difficult when IT environments of different departments are combined and the existing technical equipment has to be reconciled with the requirements.

What type of unified monitoring solution is required in education?

These are only some of the challenges that those responsible for IT in the education sector are confronted with. But how can all these heterogeneous infrastructures, distributed locations, virtual learning environments and custom applications be brought under one roof and monitored?

The ideal monitoring solution should provide a centralised overview of distributed locations and heterogeneous environments and integrate IT with external systems like video conferencing equipment, surveillance cameras and door lock systems. In addition to a variety of notification options, such as email, SMS or push notification, there should be a dashboard that keeps IT teams constantly informed about the status of everything that really matters in terms of providing an excellent learning experience.

A monitoring solution for educational institutions must meet standard requirements such as feature set, usability, price-performance ratio, licensing, implementation efforts and technical support. Reliable alerting in case of malfunctions or failures by a central unit is also an essential component that must not be missing.

 Future-proof through standards and continuous improvement

Particularly in the education sector, there are usually numerous bespoke technology solutions developed at great expense. These are justified as they monitor custom applications or hardware for which no standard solution is available. In order to achieve full continuity, a unified monitoring solution that requires little effort to implement in the cloud should be considered by IT decision-makers in the education sector.

The post Why educational institutions need to monitor their complex infrastructures to provide superior student learning experiences appeared first on Education Technology Solutions.

Two years on, it is time to accept that COVID and its variants will be part of our lives and schooling for years to come.

It is also important to appreciate at the same time that key elements of schooling, which date back to the Industrial Age, are becoming increasingly alien in a socially networked society, where the interconnectedness necessitates a more collaborative, agential style approach.

The significant digital divide, student mental health concerns, shortage of teachers, falling student enrolments and retention rates and the growing student disengagement and alienation point to major structural shortcomings within schooling, that necessitate astute holistic renovations befitting today’s world.

Schools and governments must address those realities, understanding their experience is being replicated in schools worldwide, and normalise as soon as feasible the apt, attractive, effective, and strongly individualised use of remote teaching in schooling, be in the school or from home.

The new normal should be schooling that incorporates the astute everyday use of remote – or some would say hybrid, blended or flipped – teaching.

Let’s get serious.

Banish the notion that the pandemic is a temporary problem, and that the connected world is not dramatically changing our ways.

Schooling must move immediately out of its holding pattern, the use of Band-Aid solutions and political spin and begin shaping a model of schooling for a networked world that can provide a ‘new normal’, largely interrupted schooling when living with COVID.

Critically continue to base schooling within the physical place called the school, but employ a socially networked teaching regimen that is equally attractive, engaging, and effective on-site and when provided out of the student’s and teacher’s homes.

Let’s take advantage of the global societal shift to a digital and networked existence, the increasingly sophisticated technologies, the greater personalisation of information and the best of traditional schooling and teach for today’s world, and not the Industrial Age.

Many have been calling for years for this to happen. In early 2020, the schooling of the nation’s young irrevocably changed worldwide.

Let’s accept there is no going back. Rather, there is the necessity, and the opportunity for governments and astute visionary educators to build upon the natural transition to a more networked, personalised mode of schooling to provide every one of the nation’s young an attractive, quality contemporary education, while contending with COVID.

Stop grabbing off the shelf online teaching solutions, still geared to the Industrial Age, that bore most students, and which benefit only the bottom line of the companies who create them.

Core is shaping the way forward with a digital mindset.

Allied is genuinely respecting and building upon the contribution made by all associated with the education of each child. For far too long students, parents, grandparents and vitally teachers, have been viewed as pawns to be used at whim by education bureaucrats.

Within a socially networked society the dividends come from the collaborative pooling of resources and expertise and treating people with respect; trusting and empowering them to contribute to the holistic education of the children.

Let the village assist in the education of the young.

The remote teaching during the school shutdowns globally was in reality done by the ‘village’, primarily from the students and teacher’s homes, using their personal resources, infrastructure, and connectivity.

Rarely has that financial contribution been recognised or teachers recompensed, or it appreciated that this kind of collaboration exemplified the use of networked resources that should be the norm within a networked society.

COVID has alerted parents, and hopefully governments, worldwide to the oft-forgotten reality that schooling should be far more than academic performance, and should also address the growth, development, well-being and nurturing of every child, the marginalised, the non-conformist, the disabled and not simply the academically advantaged.

The pandemic also underscored the imperative of 100% of the nation’s young and their families having permanent broadband home connectivity, and all in the family having the digital devices needed to grow being digital, lifelong. 100%, not 95% or even 99% must have connectivity.

In a networked society, that connectivity is now critical to almost all facets of life, for every citizen. That has been affirmed daily throughout the pandemic. That personal connectivity must be provided to all, the 90-year-old as well as the young. Every citizen must have the ready facility to learn, communicate, and socialise digitally, but also to partake of the evolving new normals, such as telehealth, pandemic warnings, digital passports, and permission to access buildings, travel, provinces, and nations.

Astute governments, such as Boston in the US, recognise they must ensure every citizen has that connectivity, as they once did with the mail.  While most in the developed world can afford that connectivity the school experience worldwide revealed, even in the richest of nations there was a significant number who could not, particularly when all in the family were working from home.

Let’s also get serious about the greatest resource at the school’s disposal, its teachers.

Start by treating them as professionals, by providing them with the trust, respect, working environment, remuneration, training, agency, and support needed for them to lead the way in shaping the schooling for a networked society, and providing the best possible remote teaching and learning.

Stop treating them as mere drones on an education production line, to do the bureaucrats bidding.

Reflect on how governments worldwide treated doctors during the pandemic, and how those same governments treated their teachers.

Little is the wonder that teachers throughout the US, Canada, France, Australia, and England, have felt the need this year to strike to be heard. One will struggle to find an enquiry which examined teachers’ working conditions during the pandemic, the inordinate workload, the overtime, the stress, the burnout, the failure of bureaucrats to listen and the percentage of the teachers who have resigned or who soon will.

When one of the world’s wealthier education provinces, the state of NSW in Australia, unilaterally decides from on high to employ unqualified undergraduates and long retired teachers to keep its classroom’s operational, one can rightly argue that system’s treatment of its greatest resource has failed – abysmally.

The system likely doesn’t realise it is in a protracted downward spiral ever more unable to find the desired teachers. But NSW is not alone.

Education systems and schools worldwide continue to ineffectually perpetuate the ways of old, still believing the pandemic and the structural shortcomings are but temporary. It is time to get serious about the use of remote teaching in a networked society.

However, any such move, either by a school or system, must give due regard to the desired totality, to the increasing interconnectedness of the networked world and adopt a holistic approach that addresses the myriad of linked variables at play.

The post Let’s Get Serious About Remote Teaching appeared first on Education Technology Solutions.

As you are undoubtedly aware, e-gaming is experiencing exponential growth in education. We are seeing growing popularity across a range of education-based activities such as immersive gaming competitions through to interactive, real-world simulation using things like the Wahoo kicker bike and Zwift to enable athletes to compete and train in virtual competitions.

To that end, BenQ, one of the world’s leaders in display technology, has just released their new MOBIUZ EX3415R, an ultra-wide, 34-inch Curved Gaming Monitor. 

It goes without saying that these monitors look gorgeous. So let’s leave the aesthetics for a moment and begin by throwing some numbers at you and doing our best to explain what they mean, why they matter and how they are relevant to you. So this is going to be a slightly longer write up designed to help decide if this is the right product for your school or home e-gaming setup. 

Let’s start with the difference between flat and curved monitors and why you would want to choose a curved monitor. 

When making a switch from flat to curved monitors, there are a few basic benefits that come along with a curved panel.

Immersion. 

Curved monitors cover more of your peripheral vision than their flat counterparts. The result is a more immersive experience that allows you to interact with your work in a completely new way, whether it be for gaming, entertainment, editing, work, and more.

Eye comfort.

Curved monitors follow the natural curvature of the human field of view more closely than flat panels. The benefit here is that it is actually more comfortable for your eyes to look at your monitor under these conditions. This allows you to spend more time in front of your screen without feeling irritated.

In fact, studies have shown that eye strain and eye ache are 60% more common on flat monitors than on curved monitors.

Larger perceived images. By covering more of your field of view, images on curved monitors have the benefit of feeling bigger than they would on a flat-screen monitor.

Less distortion. 

By extending closer to you at the corners, monitor curvature is able to reduce minor instances of distortion that are present at the edges of a flat display as a result of our curved field of view. In addition, curved displays also cover a larger portion of our field of view, resulting in bigger looking images and improved depth perception.

Design aesthetic. 

To put it simply, curved monitors look cool! Yes, it’s true that this is more of a quality-of-life benefit, but if you enjoy style just as much as you do functionality, then a curved monitor will add a nice touch to your space. Chances are, you’ll receive a comment or two from your friends.

Now when talking about this monitor, the first thing you see should be obvious. 34inch ultra-wide means that this monitor is much wider than your standard monitor.  The 34 inches represents a diagonal measurement across the screen from, let’s say, top left to bottom right. 

The WQHD stands for Wide Quad High Definition. This resolution is essentially the equivalent to QHD (2560×1440) extended in width by 34% to create 3440×1440 pixels, giving it an aspect ratio of 21:9.

Well, what does that mean, you might ask? Put simply, your home TV has a screen ratio of 16:9, so when you play widescreen scenes or movies, you get these annoying black bars across the top and bottom of the image. Not so with 21:9 because it is a widescreen aspect ratio. 

The other important feature to note is the 144Hertz refresh rate. This basically means these monitors load 144 images per second, which is more than twice the rate of a conventional monitor. The reason this is important is because it means the monitor delivers smoother and more fluid graphics – which is obviously important for gaming. 

Now lastly, with regard to technical mumbo jumbo, we have a 1900r curvature. Yes, you guessed it, R refers to the radius. So in the case of the MOBIUZ EX3415R, we have a 1900 radius curve. 

Well, why does that matter? Because the radius of the curve plays a significant role in clear, the picture is, how immersive it is and so on, based on how far you sit from the monitor. So in the case of a 1900 radius, the maximum viewing distance the user wants to be from the monitor is around 2 meters which means you will get the most beneficial result from the monitor curve when you are using it at a typical desk.

So, all of these details, the Ultra-wide 34-inch WQHD 1900R monitor with a 21:9 aspect ratio and 144-hertz refresh rate, adds up to a kickass monitor ideal for sim racing, first-person shooters and casual gaming.

Okay, so, great size, good aspect ratio, good ergonomics and viewing angle, fast refresh rate – but what about picture quality? Glad you asked. The EX3415R features AMD FreeSync Premium… Yes, I know, more nerdy technical stuff, but put very simply, AMD FreeSync technology basically puts an end to choppy gameplay and broken frames by facilitating fluid, artifact-free performance at virtually any framerate. Trust me, that’s all you need to know. If you really want to know how it works, go look it up. We are just focused on the fact that for gaming,  as you can imagine, fluid, artifact-free performance at virtually any framerate is pretty important, and this monitor delivers that. 

Now, the monitor also comes with a remote, which does more than just adjust volume, although we will get to that in a second. The remote enables you to access a host of great features, such as BenQ’s proprietary HDRi, which adapts screen content to ambient lighting to ensure dark areas on the screen a visible without overexposing bright areas. 

You can also use the remote to refine and personalise things like colour performance and brightness through features like Black eQualizer, Colour Vibrance, and Light Tuner.

As previously mentioned, the remote also lets you do more traditional things like adjusting the volume. However, you may want to simply turn the volume up and leave it cranked, thanks to the built-in 2.1 channel treVolo sound system.

BenQ has gone to great lengths here to give you the most immersive sound experience they can through the inclusion of two 2-watt speakers, a 5-watt subwoofer, and a digital signal processor that enables selectable sound modes such as gaming or cinematic. 

Honestly, it won’t replace your surround sound cinema system. However, for built-in monitor sound, if you don’t have a dedicated, high-end audio system, or you just want the freedom to use your in-built monitor audio, it’s pretty amazing. 

Now I understand it’s easy for me to stand here and tell you all about these amazing features and benefits, but the reality is, I actually choose to use two of these monitors for our everyday work and gaming. 

However, don’t just take my word for it. If you’re into gaming, then you are probably familiar with XP Esports, and if you don’t know who they are, you should definitely look them up. They are currently building a café style set up at the University of Queensland (due to be completed sometime in 2022), where there will be around 30 of these monitors in use in a dedicated BenQ area. If an e-gaming leader like XP Esports has chosen this monitor to help demonstrate the benefits of e-gaming at one of Australia’s leading universities, what more can I say. 

If you want to know more about MOBIUZ EX3415R, visit the link below or contact BenQ for more information.

The post Introducing the MOBIUZ Ultrawide Curved Gaming Monitor – The Next Evolution in E-Gaming appeared first on Education Technology Solutions.

Last year, the Australian EdTech Market Census found that the educational technology sector had seen a significant increase in size. This is especially evident in the past few years as the global investment for the sector increased from $500 million to $7 billion. The Australian EdTech sector also doubled in value recently, just trailing behind fintech in their list of the largest startup communities.

Now, with the educational technology market continuously growing, more technological pieces and products are emerging, helping teachers facilitate their classes smoothly and inventively. Here are four of them.

E-Books

E-books are publications in digital form, which can be read on an electronic device such as a smartphone, tablet, or laptop. However, e-books are not simply digital reading materials anymore. Today, many e-books are designed with features that make reading more interactive, such as search tool options, bookmarks, and even interactive text.

The e-books’ pages can also be easily annotated and saved, making them valuable study tools. This is in line with what educational researcher Dr. Sonke Ahrens promotes. Her book ‘How to Take Smart Notes’ lists several techniques “be it for Windows, Mac or Linux.” She emphasises how the key to writing intelligent text is in the organisation of ideas. E-books have made this much easier for students. For teachers, engaging directly with the material through e-books means being able to identify the significant parts of a lesson, so they can then create an effective discussion and assessment plan.

AR and VR Learning

With almost all educators utilising PowerPoint as their primary visual aid, sometimes the delivery of lessons tends to be homogeneous and repetitive. No matter how well-crafted the slides are, there are topics that require simulations, albeit virtual. This is where augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are making ground in the EdTech sector.

In the classroom, AR, which enhances the real world with a digital overlay, has been found to be useful in simulating real-life problem-solving in maths and science. Meanwhile, VR creates (or recreates) immersive environments, which are viewed through a specialised headset or a computer screen. Reliving history’s greatest moments, teachers can use it to take their students on a walk through ancient Rome or a visit to the International Space Station. It’s especially useful for remote classrooms.

Open Educational Resources (OERs)

There has been an influx of educational resources available online. Unfortunately, with copyright issues, not every teacher gets access to them. This is the gap that Open Educational Resources seek to resolve. These are teaching and learning materials that are placed in the public domain or released under a Creative Commons licence, meaning anyone can access, use, and distribute them with little to no restrictions.

For instance, Khan Academy offers its services for free, allowing teachers to find teaching and assessment content suitable to their learners’ needs and track their progress. Also, Vimeo has a free video editor feature for educators, so they can create engaging and entertaining learning content. Lastly, the Directory of Open-Access Journals, which is an online directory of high-quality, peer-reviewed journals, provides teachers with a wealth of accessible supplementary learning materials.

Gamification of Learning

Gamification is a developing trend that assimilates game elements in attaining learning objectives, increasing the motivation and productivity levels of students. For instance, instead of simply asking students to write a story, teachers can incorporate the game Minecraft in bringing their characters to life.

But for school administrator Jamie Beaton, gamified learning can also mean taking the reward system from games and applying to real life. This includes rewarding students with badges for every activity completed or high score-streaks if they can answer consecutive questions correctly. Technology can also be applied here, especially assistive school rewards apps like ClassDojo, LiveSchool, and RedCritter. In that way, the usual learning experiences can be made more inspiring and innovative.

It’s no secret that technology has disrupted the education sector, and these emerging trends are just proof of how learning experiences can be significantly improved. Because of them, students are more engaged and teachers can be more organised with their lessons, which inevitably leads to better academic performance and holistic development for the former.

By Sienna Davis

The post 4 Emerging Major Education Technology Trends appeared first on Education Technology Solutions.

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