Interactive Narrative by aaron13251, on Flickr
Interactive Narrative by  aaron13251  licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License

The University of New Hampshire holds a Faculty Instructional Technology Summer Institute for instructors and faculty members each summer. I was invited to give the keynote presentation at this year’s institute. Unlike prior keynotes and plenaries that I will be giving that will be focusing on stories and tales, I am framing this talk in terms of a debate, in terms of the stories that are told with respect to education, and in terms of the forces that are shaping it:

Title: Online Learning Myths and Truths

We live in opportune times. We live at a time when education features prominently in the national press and discussions focusing on improving the ways we design education are a daily occurrence. Stanford President John Hennessy notes that “a tsunami” is coming – and Pearson executives are calling the impending change an “avalanche.” We are told that “education is broken” and that technology provides appropriate solutions for the perils facing education. But, what do these solutions look like? Will these be the times that capture Dewey’s and Freire’s visions of education? Will these be times of empowered students, democratic educational systems, learning webs, and affordable access to education? Or, will these be the times where efficiency, venture capital, and market values dictate what education will look like? Is technology transforming education? If so, how? During this keynote presentation, I will highlight how learning and education are (and are not) changing with the emergence of certain technologies, social behaviors, and cultural expectations. Using empirical research and evidence I will discuss myths and truths pertaining to online education and present ways that faculty members and educators can make meaningful contributions to the future educational systems that we are creating today.