George Veletsianos, PhD

OTESSA – 2 special issue calls for papers

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On September 19, 2024

In cfp

OTESSA has two calls for special issue papers:

  • Mapping Terminology, Theory, Policy, and Resources Across Key Areas of Impact In Educational Technology.
  • Supporting and Understanding Access to Research Funding in Education, Educational Technology, and Open: Exploring Challenges and Opportunities

Call for Papers: Special Issue on Mapping Terminology, Theory, Policy, and Resources Across Key Areas of Impact In Educational Technology

Co-Editors: Mariel Miller, Valerie Irvine, Michele Jacobsen, & Stephanie Moore

Interested authors are invited to submit manuscripts for Theory, Policy, and Resource Papers to the Journal by January 15, 2025.

Proposal soft deadline for consideration on an Index Paper author panel (described below): December 1, 2025. Successful panel members will be notified by January 15, 2025.

We strongly encourage submissions from authors who identify as belonging to structurally marginalized groups.

Response papers will be considered from date of issue publication until October 1, 2025 for continuous publication in the issue before December 31, 2025

Guidelines for submission are in the following section.

Statement of flexibility: “The proposed deadlines are not fixed and any potential author(s) are encouraged to reach out to the editors at any stage to determine if their proposal can be reviewed for inclusion.”

This special issue centres on several high impact areas in educational technology. These include merging learning modalities, learning spaces, open education, artificial intelligence, microcredentials, digital literacy, and IDDEA for Ed Tech (inclusion, decolonization, diversity, equity, and accessibility) (Educause, 2024). As research and practice of Educational Technologies evolve at a rapid pace, this special issue aims to consolidate and synthesize information in key topic areas. By bringing together diverse perspectives and expertise in these areas, this special issue aims to advance understanding and facilitate effective dialogue within the field.

Topics of interest include:

• Learning Modalities, replacing the strict binary of online vs. face-to-face instruction with numerous variations of interaction, including online and face-to-face concurrently, consecutively, or both.
• Open Education, including elimination of barriers to opportunities and recognition for participation in education
• Artificial intelligence (AI), including Generate AI and AI-Enabled Applications for Learning for education in terms of content creation, communication, and learning.
• Microcredentials, offering flexible and modular approaches to education
• Learning Spaces: physical and virtual environments designed to support and enhance the learning experience
• Digital Literacy, in terms of competencies to effectively and critically navigate, evaluate, and create information using a range of digital technologies.
• IDDEA in Ed Tech (Inclusivity, Diversity, Decolonization, Equity and Accessibility), addressing the critical need to ensure that educational technology advances these principles

Papers in this issue should be short so as to be digestible for quick understanding of key terms, concepts, theories, policies, and resource reviews. Authors are encouraged to highlight key research and practice papers, or to author them separately beyond this special issue, rather than compose long articles here. The following paper types will be considered:

1. Index Paper. (500-1000 words). These papers address the proliferation of terms in a selected trending area by examining and drawing connections between different terminologies. Index papers are authored by a panel of experts on the topic. Index papers are comprised of entries, each addressing a term for the focus topic. Entries should include a definition, alternative and related definitions, key works in the educational technology literature, including seminal papers. Index papers should conclude with critical comments by the author
2. Policy Paper (500-1000 words). Focuses on describing policy implementation related to a trending topic, whether by reviewing multiple policies or providing a detailed description of the implementation of a specific policy. Advances understanding of how policies are applied in practice and their impact on educational technology.
3. Theoretical Framework (500-1000 words). Theory papers focus on theoretical frameworks related to a selected trend, either by providing an overview of relevant theoretical frameworks or detailed review of a selected theory. Theory papers offer a conceptual foundation for future research and practice.
4. Resource Review (500-1000 words). Resource papers offer an overview of multiple resources and/or in-depth review of practical resources related to a selected trend area. Resource papers identify and evaluate tools and materials related to key topic areas.
5. Response Paper (1000-1500 words). These papers are short discourse articles that provide responses to the terminology, policy, or resource reviews. Response papers can be submitted throughout the year and are intended to provoke discussion, offer critiques, and provide additional perspectives on the primary papers.

The special issue will use a continuous publication model, so accepted submissions will be published as soon as they are ready.

 

Call for Papers: Special Issue on Supporting and Understanding Access to Research Funding in Education, Educational Technology, and Open: Exploring Challenges and Opportunities

Co-Editors: Dr. Valerie Irvine & Dr. Michele Jacobsen

Interested authors are invited to submit a 500-word abstract proposal to Valerie Irvine and Michele Jacobsen (journal@otessa.org) by November 15, 2024. We strongly encourage submissions from authors who identify as belonging to structurally marginalized groups. Guidelines for submission are in the following section.

Contributing authors for successful abstracts will be notified continuously until a soft deadline of December 15, 2024. Final papers of 4000 to 7000 words (including references) will be published continuously from earliest October 2024 through March 2025, though we can be flexible with dates with good communication.

Theme of Special Issue

Despite efforts to create more equitable and inclusive research environments or cultures of support across all the disciplines and types of research, tensions still exist between qualitative vs. quantitative or hard sciences vs. humanities or equity between privileged vs. marginalized researchers and students. A key theme across all these trespasses involves the concept of respect:

  • Respect that diverse disciplines of study on university campuses all contribute to society through their own unique discourse, theories, methods, culture, and approaches to knowledge engagement. Comparisons meant to pit one field of study against the other serves to deteriorate our collective understanding of the world and each other. Assumptions that specialized domains can be picked up through a quick database search vs. several years and multiple degrees of immersive and expert study risks undermining decades of knowledge development and is also a waste of time and resources.
  • Respect that the social sciences and humanities are equally important to the natural sciences or medical sciences and should be allocated equitable funding. We know that many of the complex issues that are impacting the world today may ultimately be based on science-based phenomenon (such as the increase of the world’s temperature globally), but how we make changes to such crises is primarily a very human one that is based on individual decision-making or cultural trends or expression, which are in the social sciences or humanities.
  • Respect that researchers come from diverse backgrounds and may require different approaches to support or evaluation criteria in competitions to be inclusive. This may involve a researcher who experiences the world with a larger obstacles or heavier burdens, such as parents or other types of caregivers, those who experience financial obstacles and may have to work part-time through studies or take their graduate studies part-time, thus making them ineligible for scholarships or reducing their volume of output and, thus, competitiveness, those who experience cultural barriers, such as Indigenous or black researchers, those who are a person with a disability, a disabled person, or a person with a chronic health condition. When those who are abled, privileged, focus on positivist methods from the hard sciences experience a different pathway to research funding support, those reinforced mechanisms become centred in systems, stereotypes, and ultimately change the nature of the understanding of the world around us.
  • Respect that knowledge is generated through diverse approaches to research, and that methodologies exist along a continuum of practice. We had hoped that the qualitative vs. quantitative debate was over and we evolved to a better understanding that the types of research questions influence the types of methods used, along with the high value placed on mixed methods and the multiple ways these types of data could be brought together in a way that elevates the overall research. If we continue to perpetuate the value, and funding and publishing, of one type of research over another, we are skewing our understanding of the phenomenon being examined and exposing it more to one type of limitation over another.
  • Respect that integrity and fairness must be valued over systems and structures. The rules and processes that occur on a campus were created by individuals and likely edited by later individuals. Contexts change, the world changes, our ability to view these structures as malleable before needs for equity, social justice, and pursuit of excellence.

The field of education and the disciplines of educational technology and open education both have unique experiences in navigating the five barriers to Respect. We encourage authors who are a part of the field of education or any of its sub-disciplines (educational technology, art education, Indigenous education, science education, educational psychology, etc.) to submit proposals to this special issue. Given that we are a journal in educational technology and open education and scholarship does not negate that we share similar barriers to our counterparts in the field of education. We welcome any submissions that push the aforementioned boundaries further. Perhaps there are other barriers and biases about Respect beyond the five mentioned above. Perhaps there are papers to be written about inequity that skirts outside of our field of education and are more centred at the social sciences and humanities level. We welcome all submissions that wish to examine the system we have for supporting and funding research.

Kind and accurate summary of “Learning Online: The student experience”

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On September 9, 2024

In my research, online learning, sharing

I just came across the following summary of my book Learning Online: The student experience from librarians at the University of Northern Iowa, within a list of books focused on Universities and Education in the Digital Age. I am posting it here for posterity and to be able to track it later:

Online learning is ubiquitous for millions of students worldwide, yet our understanding of student experiences in online learning settings is limited. The geographic distance that separates faculty from students in an online environment is its signature feature, but it is also one that risks widening the gulf between teachers and learners. In Learning Online, George Veletsianos argues that in order to critique, understand, and improve online learning, we must examine it through the lens of student experience. Approaching the topic with stories that elicit empathy, compassion, and care, Veletsianos relays the diverse day-to-day experiences of online learners. Each in-depth chapter follows a single learner’s experience while focusing on an important or noteworthy aspect of online learning, tackling everything from demographics, attrition, motivation, and loneliness to cheating, openness, flexibility, social media, and digital divides. Veletsianos also draws on these case studies to offer recommendations for the future and lessons learned. The elusive nature of online learners’ experiences, the book reveals, is a problem because it prevents us from doing better: from designing more effective online courses, from making evidence-informed decisions about online education, and from coming to our work with the full sense of empathy that our students deserve. Writing in an evocative, accessible, and concise manner, Veletsianos concretely demonstrates why it is so important to pay closer attention to the stories of students–who may have instructive and insightful ideas about the future of education.

 

2033 – Future education scenario 3 of 3

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On August 28, 2024

In future education, futures, my research, speculative fiction, speculative futures

In a recent paper* we describe three education scenarios and ask youth to respond to them. Positioned in 2033, these futures represent three distinct possibilities for what education could look like in a decade. I’m curious what others think about them, and I’ll post one per day here, as my “back to school return to reviving this blog.” What are your reactions, thoughts, and feelings to this one? I’d love to know!

Future 3: The year is 2033. Public universities and colleges around the world struggle to stay open due to sharp declines in enrolments and continuing social and economic instability. Many schools close, and those that remain become increasingly unaffordable. Students that pursue higher education usually come from wealthy families. However, a variety of companies emerge to fill gaps. These companies offer short courses that help people develop work skills, such as how to use different kinds of software and how to analyze data. Some of the teachers in these companies are individuals who found success in their industries and are well-known chefs, international authors, famous engineers, and business executives of all kinds, for example. They have huge social media followings and are celebrity instructors. These companies do not provide any kind of financial aid, and access to their courses usually comes with strings attached, such as contracts to do temp work for the company.

This scenario describes a situation in which traditional universities are rare and inaccessible for most and the “social media university” emerges to fill the gap. It anticipates a future in which technology companies, particularly social media companies, further commodify education according to neoliberal logics. This style of university is a platform-based form of digital higher education in which celebrity experts and influencers occupy the role of educator as a function of their social media followings and professional prestige. Without financial support, learners/users exchange labor for skills development, while wealthy students continue to attend more conventional institutions to pursue their interests. The notion of a social media university reflects the interest of education technology startups which feature online education experiences offered by celebrities and influencers, as we examined in this paper.

* published in the the inaugural issue of the Journal of Open, Distance, and Digital education (see a review by Tony Bates).

 

2033 – Future education scenario 2 of 3

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On August 27, 2024

In future education, futures, my research, speculative fiction, speculative futures

In a recent paper* we describe three education scenarios and ask youth to respond to them. Positioned in 2033, these futures represent three distinct possibilities for what education could look like in a decade. I’m curious what others think about them, and I’ll post one per day here, as my “back to school return to reviving this blog.” What are your reactions, thoughts, and feelings to this one? I’d love to know!

Future 2: The year is 2033. After a period of instability brought about by the disastrous effects of climate change, biodiversity loss, and global conflict, higher education has become totally focused on addressing these crises. Earlier efforts have been vastly scaled up to focus education resources on supporting climate justice for the most vulnerable people and places in the world. Universities have become hubs of local knowledge and places for community cultural and scientific development. In these spaces students develop climate and peoplefriendly trades and skills. They also develop their critical and creative thinking focused on decolonization and anti-racism. Learning happens through projects and through solving local problems, and learners of all ages join programs based on interest, curiosity, and community need.

The second future – the university for local community and local knowledge – pivots towards more regenerative forms of education, with a focus on systems-level solutions to imagined disasters of the next decade. With respect to anticipatory regimes, this future departs from the strict techno-utilitarian approach to embrace more relational modes of teaching and learning. Universities in this scenario have a mission grounded in justice and supporting knowledge for communities, with an emphasis on inter-generational learning relevant to specific places. This scenario is more utopian in its vision, even as it contends with a proposed future history of increasing climate and ecological catastrophe.

* published in the the inaugural issue of the Journal of Open, Distance, and Digital education (see a review by Tony Bates).

 

2033 – Future education scenario 1 of 3

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On August 26, 2024

In future education, futures, my research, speculative fiction, speculative futures

In a recent paper* we describe three education scenarios and ask youth to respond to them. Positioned in 2033, these futures represent three distinct possibilities for what education could look like in a decade. I’m curious what others think about them, and I’ll post one per day here, as my “back to school return to reviving this blog.” What are your reactions, thoughts, and feelings to this one? I’d love to know!

Future 1: The year is 2033. In the decade following the COVID-19 pandemic, higher education has increasingly become driven by collecting and analyzing vast amounts of student data, such as tracking student time online, physiological data, employment rates, etc. Learners attending public colleges and universities primarily pursue technical skills associated with a few streams of programs, including computer programming (such as the development of Artificial Intelligence and green technology), health, economics, finance, and business. The arts, social sciences, and humanities are no longer publicly funded. Learners can pursue such programs in expensive private universities, but only a few can afford them.

This is a future in which technical and business education dominates. This is the scenario in which higher education is almost totally oriented towards economic demands and expectations. We modeled this scenario after work in the literature which emphasizes futures in which the arts and humanities decline due to their lack of economic practicality. In such examples, the survival and growth of higher education heavily features future labor as a key indicator of institutional success, including meeting demands for skilled technologists and finance workers. Additionally, surveillance technologies are further integrated into institutional apparatuses, with data being a key management tool of student learning and outcomes. Already a concern in education at all levels, a number of education scholars have speculated about the risks of increasing use of these types of education technologies, many suggesting negative outcomes resulting from it.

* published in the the inaugural issue of the Journal of Open, Distance, and Digital education (see a review by Tony Bates).

 

Call for submissions: the intersection of AI + open education

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On July 29, 2024

In generative artificial intelligence, oer, open

MIT Open Learning is announcing a 2024 call for proposals from practitioners in open education and AI from around the world. We invite individual authors or groups of authors from and across higher education institutions, nonprofits, philanthropy, and industry working in AI to submit proposals for rapid response papers or multimedia projects that explore the future of open education in an ecosystem inhabited and shaped by AI systems. More details at https://aiopeneducation.pubpub.org/2024call

Be my colleague? Open position: Director of Online Programs in Learning Technologies

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On July 24, 2024

In sharing

We (the Learning Technologies degree program at the University of Minnesota – Twin cities) are growing, and are currently seeking a full-time (12-months) Director of Online Programs in Learning Technologies to join us! Flexible work arrangements may include flexibility in schedule and/or work location; 100% remote candidates will be considered.  View the position description and details for guidance on how to apply

Join us?

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