The US National Science Foundation's Fostering Learning in the Networked World: The Cyberlearning Opportunity and Challenge, A 21st Century Agenda for the National Science Foundation [1.5 MB PDF - 62 pages], was published in June 2008, but it passed me by. Its authors include Hal Abelson, Clifford A. Lynch, and Diana G. Oblinger.
I dislike the term "cyberlearning", defined in the report as "learning that is mediated by networked computing and communications technologies", but the report's recommendations have plenty of ambitious, we-do-not-do-anything-by-halves, bite. (I've included them in full in the continuation post below. )
The striking thing for me is the report's recognition, which echoes the US National Academy of Engineering's selection of "advance personalized learning" as a Grand Engineering Challenge, that there is plenty of hard development and research to be done in the learning technology field. This contrasts with a view that is quite prevalent in the UK that with a bit more determination (discipline?) amongst teachers, the right kind of institutional leadership, and some improved coordination between agencies, the benefits of technology in learning will be easily realised.
1. Help build a vibrant cyberlearning field by promoting cross-disciplinary communities of cyberlearning researchers and practitioners including technologists, educators, domain scientists, and social scientists. NSF can advance their insights through the publication of promising practices and the ongoing recruitment of diverse talents to carry the field forward.
2. Instill a “platform perspective”—shared, interoperable designs of hardware, software, and services—into NSF’s cyberlearning activities. An effective platform should incorporate promising innovations from newly funded technology projects and offer fully tested and supported modules for use in classrooms. It should ensure that learning materials targeted for the platforms are widely usable and remain usable over time. The ongoing evolution of platform designs should be guided by an expert panel.
(Two NSF resources merit specific attention: the National STEM Digital Library (NSDL) and the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST). Both resources should be reviewed in the context of recent and new developments in cyberinfrastructure and cyberlearning at NSF and with consideration of the other changing technological, social, and economic environments identified in this report.)
3. Emphasize the transformative power of information and communications technology for learning, from K to grey. Technologies that allow interaction with scientific data, visualizations, remote and virtual laboratories, and human expertise offer opportunities for additional research and broad implementation, particularly among the STEM domains. New information tools that seamlessly bridge multiple learning environments and technologies likewise deserve more research attention. In addition, teachers’ professional development should be supported through training programs, professional societies, and ongoing collaboration on the creation of new teaching materials.
4. Adopt programs and policies to promote open educational resources. Materials funded by NSF should be made readily available on the web with permission for unrestricted reuse and recombination. New grant proposals should make their plans clear for both the availability and the sustainability of materials produced by their funded project.
5. Take responsibility for sustaining NSF-sponsored cyberlearning innovations. Educational materials and learning innovations need to flourish beyond the funding of a grant. They can be maintained and extended across NSF divisions and through partnerships with industry, professional organizations, and other institutions.
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