Innovating with Digital to Succeed with Remote Learning
We've seen an increasing interest in the Digital Tourism Think Tank from academia generally and our Academic Members who have really got stuck-in to our resources since the start of 2021.
We've seen an increasing interest in the Digital Tourism Think Tank from academia generally and our Academic Members who have really got stuck-in to our resources since the start of 2021.
With the challenge of COVID-19 felt by every sector on earth right now, we are all searching for new ways of doing everything in a new digital 'at-home' world.
Whilst some are attempting to forecast the "return to normal" here at the DTTT we can already see that that's unlikely to happen. The new way of doing things, will become the "new normal" and with it the need to transform fast, or die trying.
Will education go the same way as music, film and television? Whilst it may already be happening, expect it to be accelerated.
"We're suddenly remote..."
For most institutions, many services were already digitised, but going fully remote, designing teaching material for digital consumption and engagement and is an entirely different thing.
Together with being thrown into a world of remote learning, this sense of 'forced digitalisation' is driving digital by necessity, not by intent and with uncertainty on the cards and societal shifts only accelerated, should we look a little further than the immediacy of right now?
Platforms like Moodle and Blackboard have been around for more than two decades. We could argue that digital learning environments are not a new thing, but do they really meet the needs of today's academics and students?
How many of these platforms leverage the full potential of technology today? How many institutions and lecturers exploit the technology they have at their disposal to create a truly impactful learning experience?
Is it enough to go 'digital' or provide 'e-learning' platforms, to digitise learning resources? Which of these would be better categorised as 'legacy platforms' and should we demand more, strive to be more competitive to invest in the digital infrastructure what we invest in the physical infrastructure?
On researching tools like Blackboard, Canvas, Moodle and many more, I had mix surprise both by how much potential many had but also how limit their uptake was by users, mostly taking advantage of basic features.
What both excites and bemuses however is the fragmented experience of users, often breaking out into an almost infinite number of tools and apps to 'improve' or 'facilitate' ways of doing things better.
Few LMS's offer it all, or even intend to. Extendability is a must today to keep people engaged through the apps, environments and tools which work for them. Being able to connect services, data, activity is critical for seamless and unified experience where data and progress can be tracked.
Engaging students in the lecture theatre has always been important, to stimulate ideas, invite critical thinking, debate theory and get stuck-in to exploring the subject together.
In a remote, digital or hybrid environment that need to engage is even more important but it requires a digital first approach. With a multitude of choices through different apps and interfaces, channels and platforms, successful engagement will come down to a mix of what works for you, the subject you're teaching (and how to bring it to life) and your students.
In the Mural, which you can discover here, we explore three different themes:
The Mural explores this in-depth with a lot of interesting studies for further reading and great references of ways in which education has tapped into this.
Succeeding in digital learning means not viewing it as a fallback but the method driving your teaching. Getting it right requires investment in time, resources and a commitment to amazing.
Once establishing that the remote or even the hybrid class is not the same as the lecture theatre, you can start to re-imagine content production and delivery.
If you invest a fraction on the digital learning experience of what you spend on physical infrastructure, just imagine what you can create? At the DTTT we invest in professinal grade streaming servers, blackmagic streaming gear, studio spaces, lighting, switchers etc.
We also invest in production and post-production team members and making sure the 'on-demand' experience for our users meets their needs and expectations, with integrations like interactive chapterised video and navigable content.
The impact of digital on our daily lives has been immense and there is hardly an industry or sector that hasn't faced disruption as a result. Some have been disrupted many times over. Anything that can be improved upon, learned (by a machine), recorded or replicated can also be replaced.
If the only way to face disruption is to be disruptive, then it requires us stay on track with trends and invest in innovation.
The Mural goes into each and every one of these in considerable detail, so leaving that for your browsing pleasure, here's a quick summary of where disruption is going to come from:
With that said, you might want to think about which of the above you're ranking well on and where you fall flat.
There is no 'right' way to succeed in digital but to be ready to 'fail fast, fail often'.
Learn to use human centred design in every element of your build workflow, to design solutions around the needs of your users, mapping out their experience, feelings, obstacles and work to design an amazing digital experiences.
Design is the driving force behind good digital experiences. IBM Design Thinking is a good start for anybody (free online course) and also shows us what a great digital learning experience looks like from an industry perspective.
We've taken inspiration from the likes of IBM Design but also from the likes of Mural, Luma, Standford D School and Ideo.
If we apply human centred design principles to the challenges we face today, whilst taking enough time to explore, examine and understand trends, the potential and the impact of new technology, we are halfway to getting on the right side of disruption.
Open Mural ↗
Innovating with Digital to Succeed with Remote Learning
With the challenge of COVID-19 felt by every sector on earth right now, we are all searching for new ways of doing everything in a new digital 'at-home' world.
Whilst some are attempting to forecast the "return to normal" here at the DTTT we can already see that that's unlikely to happen. The new way of doing things, will become the "new normal" and with it the need to transform fast, or die trying.
Will education go the same way as music, film and television? Whilst it may already be happening, expect it to be accelerated.
"We're suddenly remote..."
For most institutions, many services were already digitised, but going fully remote, designing teaching material for digital consumption and engagement and is an entirely different thing.
Together with being thrown into a world of remote learning, this sense of 'forced digitalisation' is driving digital by necessity, not by intent and with uncertainty on the cards and societal shifts only accelerated, should we look a little further than the immediacy of right now?
Platforms like Moodle and Blackboard have been around for more than two decades. We could argue that digital learning environments are not a new thing, but do they really meet the needs of today's academics and students?
How many of these platforms leverage the full potential of technology today? How many institutions and lecturers exploit the technology they have at their disposal to create a truly impactful learning experience?
Is it enough to go 'digital' or provide 'e-learning' platforms, to digitise learning resources? Which of these would be better categorised as 'legacy platforms' and should we demand more, strive to be more competitive to invest in the digital infrastructure what we invest in the physical infrastructure?
On researching tools like Blackboard, Canvas, Moodle and many more, I had mix surprise both by how much potential many had but also how limit their uptake was by users, mostly taking advantage of basic features.
What both excites and bemuses however is the fragmented experience of users, often breaking out into an almost infinite number of tools and apps to 'improve' or 'facilitate' ways of doing things better.
Few LMS's offer it all, or even intend to. Extendability is a must today to keep people engaged through the apps, environments and tools which work for them. Being able to connect services, data, activity is critical for seamless and unified experience where data and progress can be tracked.
Engaging students in the lecture theatre has always been important, to stimulate ideas, invite critical thinking, debate theory and get stuck-in to exploring the subject together.
In a remote, digital or hybrid environment that need to engage is even more important but it requires a digital first approach. With a multitude of choices through different apps and interfaces, channels and platforms, successful engagement will come down to a mix of what works for you, the subject you're teaching (and how to bring it to life) and your students.
In the Mural, which you can discover here, we explore three different themes:
The Mural explores this in-depth with a lot of interesting studies for further reading and great references of ways in which education has tapped into this.
Succeeding in digital learning means not viewing it as a fallback but the method driving your teaching. Getting it right requires investment in time, resources and a commitment to amazing.
Once establishing that the remote or even the hybrid class is not the same as the lecture theatre, you can start to re-imagine content production and delivery.
If you invest a fraction on the digital learning experience of what you spend on physical infrastructure, just imagine what you can create? At the DTTT we invest in professinal grade streaming servers, blackmagic streaming gear, studio spaces, lighting, switchers etc.
We also invest in production and post-production team members and making sure the 'on-demand' experience for our users meets their needs and expectations, with integrations like interactive chapterised video and navigable content.
The impact of digital on our daily lives has been immense and there is hardly an industry or sector that hasn't faced disruption as a result. Some have been disrupted many times over. Anything that can be improved upon, learned (by a machine), recorded or replicated can also be replaced.
If the only way to face disruption is to be disruptive, then it requires us stay on track with trends and invest in innovation.
The Mural goes into each and every one of these in considerable detail, so leaving that for your browsing pleasure, here's a quick summary of where disruption is going to come from:
With that said, you might want to think about which of the above you're ranking well on and where you fall flat.
There is no 'right' way to succeed in digital but to be ready to 'fail fast, fail often'.
Learn to use human centred design in every element of your build workflow, to design solutions around the needs of your users, mapping out their experience, feelings, obstacles and work to design an amazing digital experiences.
Design is the driving force behind good digital experiences. IBM Design Thinking is a good start for anybody (free online course) and also shows us what a great digital learning experience looks like from an industry perspective.
We've taken inspiration from the likes of IBM Design but also from the likes of Mural, Luma, Standford D School and Ideo.
If we apply human centred design principles to the challenges we face today, whilst taking enough time to explore, examine and understand trends, the potential and the impact of new technology, we are halfway to getting on the right side of disruption.
Open Mural ↗
Innovating with Digital to Succeed with Remote Learning
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