The International Webinar entitled ＂Envisioning the Futures of Education Through Design＂ Successfully Held
date：2023-03-22 16:19author：adminsource：Smart Learning Instituteviews：
The technological revolution, in recent years, is flourishing and generating profound impacts on people's learning and lives. Specifically, the development of artificial intelligence (AI) has brought both opportunities and challenges in terms of safeguarding the futures of education. On one hand, AI has contributed greatly to the intelligent development of education. On the other hand, educational inequalities are still prevalent and widespread. More efforts and effective reforms are needed to combat educational challenges to shape a better future for our planet.
On March 17, 2023, Smart Learning Institute of Beijing Normal University (SLI, BNU) held an international webinar entitled "Envisioning the Futures of Education Through Design". Ronghuai Huang, Co-Dean of SLIBNU; Diana Laurillard, Professor of UCL Knowledge Lab; Hannele Niemi, Professor of University of Helsinki, Koutheair Khribi, Assistant Professor of University of Tunis; Tingwen Chang, Assistant to the Dean of SLIBNU and Michael Agyemang Adarkwah, a postdoctoral fellow at Beijing Normal University, were among the guests who discussed the topic of "Design Empowers Future Education."
Prof. Diana Laurillard pointed out that current digital technology provided many conveniences for teaching. We can see the multimodal forms of lessons with the help of technological advancements, endowing students with more active engagement and reaction in classroom discussion, and also enabling teachers to provide more instant feedback. Moreover, she also introduced two successful practices of learning design, i.e., peer learning and the vicarious masterclass, which enables students to broaden their learning resources and gain more learning motivation.
Prof. Hannele Niemi perceives that the continuous development of technology is indeed a weighed focus in future educational design. For instance, AI can help students better understand and master subject knowledge, and offer teachers opportunities to dedicate more time to mastering technology. In the meantime, such transformation also indicates a need to confront emerging ethical risks. It is believed that the affordances technology applications offer humanity should be evaluated and investigated in the process of education development. When it comes to the latest novel invention, ChatGPT, Prof. Hannele Niemi welcomes more discussion about its use and boundaries from both official and societal communities.
Assistant Professor Koutheair Khribi from the University of Tunis pointed out that when producing accessible digital content, accessibility, fairness, and inclusiveness should be considered. Educational design should be people-oriented, creating accessible learning modes that satisfy the needs of every learner, including those with disabilities. More work should be done to pave way for the successful learning of minorities or the disadvantaged. Also, it is worth exploring the way to create a universally accessible digital teaching content.
In addition, Michael Agyemang Adarkwah, a postdoctoral fellow at Beijing Normal University, introduced the background, framework and themes of the English book entitled Envisioning the Futures of Education Through Design. The book, which will be included in the Springer LNET series, will integrate design and learning as a new domain, aiming to help educators and stakeholders (such as administrators, researchers, teachers and students) recognize the importance of design in education and encourage them to use design and design thinking to solve educational problems. The Call for Book Chapter is still on the way and experts are welcome to submit abstracts (with no more than 200 words) and the full chapter by emailing <d4fe@bnu.edu.cn> and <adarkwahmichael1@gmail.com>.
During this webinar, experts were engaged in a discussion on issues like educational design innovation. Since Educational reform is urgent, we shall all work to foster the innovation of education and the integration of education and technology.
On March 17, 2023, Smart Learning Institute of Beijing Normal University (SLI, BNU) held an international webinar entitled "Envisioning the Futures of Education Through Design". Ronghuai Huang, Co-Dean of SLIBNU; Diana Laurillard, Professor of UCL Knowledge Lab; Hannele Niemi, Professor of University of Helsinki, Koutheair Khribi, Assistant Professor of University of Tunis; Tingwen Chang, Assistant to the Dean of SLIBNU and Michael Agyemang Adarkwah, a postdoctoral fellow at Beijing Normal University, were among the guests who discussed the topic of "Design Empowers Future Education."
Prof. Diana Laurillard pointed out that current digital technology provided many conveniences for teaching. We can see the multimodal forms of lessons with the help of technological advancements, endowing students with more active engagement and reaction in classroom discussion, and also enabling teachers to provide more instant feedback. Moreover, she also introduced two successful practices of learning design, i.e., peer learning and the vicarious masterclass, which enables students to broaden their learning resources and gain more learning motivation.
Prof. Hannele Niemi perceives that the continuous development of technology is indeed a weighed focus in future educational design. For instance, AI can help students better understand and master subject knowledge, and offer teachers opportunities to dedicate more time to mastering technology. In the meantime, such transformation also indicates a need to confront emerging ethical risks. It is believed that the affordances technology applications offer humanity should be evaluated and investigated in the process of education development. When it comes to the latest novel invention, ChatGPT, Prof. Hannele Niemi welcomes more discussion about its use and boundaries from both official and societal communities.
Assistant Professor Koutheair Khribi from the University of Tunis pointed out that when producing accessible digital content, accessibility, fairness, and inclusiveness should be considered. Educational design should be people-oriented, creating accessible learning modes that satisfy the needs of every learner, including those with disabilities. More work should be done to pave way for the successful learning of minorities or the disadvantaged. Also, it is worth exploring the way to create a universally accessible digital teaching content.
In addition, Michael Agyemang Adarkwah, a postdoctoral fellow at Beijing Normal University, introduced the background, framework and themes of the English book entitled Envisioning the Futures of Education Through Design. The book, which will be included in the Springer LNET series, will integrate design and learning as a new domain, aiming to help educators and stakeholders (such as administrators, researchers, teachers and students) recognize the importance of design in education and encourage them to use design and design thinking to solve educational problems. The Call for Book Chapter is still on the way and experts are welcome to submit abstracts (with no more than 200 words) and the full chapter by emailing <d4fe@bnu.edu.cn> and <adarkwahmichael1@gmail.com>.
During this webinar, experts were engaged in a discussion on issues like educational design innovation. Since Educational reform is urgent, we shall all work to foster the innovation of education and the integration of education and technology.
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