Keynote presentation at HELTASA 2013 Pretoria, November 27-29 November, UNISA

1. DISAGGREGATION
IN TEACHING AND LEARNING
‘Being parties in the work’
A view of the changing digitally-mediated
teaching and learning landscape
Laura Czerniewicz
28 November 2013

2. A University is, according to the
usual designation, an Alma
Mater, knowing her children one
by one, not a foundry, or a mint,
or a treadmill.
The best telescope does not
dispense with eyes; the printing
press or the lecture room will
assist us greatly, but we must
be true to ourselves,
we must be parties in the work.
John Henry Newman, The Idea of the University, 1824
Photo- http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/newman/jhnbio2.html

3. THIS TALK
o About technology
• The characteristics of new technologies
• How technology is changing the possible shape of
teaching and learning, and of course provision
o The global role players in the teaching
and learning landscape
• Values and interests
o What this means for access, participation
& learning
• with a particular view from South Africa

4. HIGHER EDUCATION UNDER
PRESSURE
o Financial crisis
• Government cuts in many countries
• Under funded and resource constrained
o Massification globally
• SA: Gross enrolment rate (no of students at particular level)
• 16%. Low internationally, Low considering 700 000
matriculants officially qualifying for HE
o SA: Low participation high attrition
system
• In SA, 40% students leave HE in 1st year

5. TECHNOLOGY
o Pervasive
• A cause of change in the higher education
environment
• Seen as solution for higher education
problems
• Mediating all higher education practices
• Assumed to be increasingly ubiquitious

6. TECHNOLOGY
Principles of new media
Affordances of the digital

7. GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF NEW
MEDIA
o Numerical representation
• new media objects exist as data
o Modularity
• the different elements of new media exist
independently
o Automation
• new media objects can be created & modified
automatically
o Variability
• new media objects exist in multiple versions
o Transcoding
• the logic of the computer influences how we
understand and represent ourselves
Manovich , L 2002, The Language of New Media

8. SOME KEY DIGITAL
AFFORDANCES
o Granular
o Dynamic
o Communication visible
• a form of content
o Sharing - free & easy
• Sharing means multiplying not dividing
o Affords more closed/ lock down as well
as more open & accessible

9. MODULARITY: DISAGGREGATION IN
TEACHING & LEARNING
Disaggregation of
Content
Teaching & learning
interaction
Certification

10. TRADITIONAL FORM OF TEACHING &
LEARNING

11. SINGLE PACKAGE
Time
Space
Content
Teaching & learning interaction
Assessment & certification

12. DISAGGREGATION
Platform
Time
Content
Teaching & learning interaction
Assessment & certification

13. DISAGGREGATION
Platform
Time
Content
Teaching & learning interaction
Assessment & certification

14. ACCESS TO LEARNING CONTENT
Analogue
Textbooks
Some
photocopying
Photocopying
Legal
Illegal
ETextbooks
Open
Education
Resources
Pirate sites
File
sharing
Digital

15. DIGITAL CONTENT
o From products to services
• From tangible to intangible
• Control no longer with customer when
purchased
o From ownership to access/license
o Intermediary - platforms
• Services via an intermediary
• May need to buy the platform, or access to
the platform, not the content

16. OPEN CONTENT
o Free to user
• To download (gratis)
• To re-use & remix (libre)
o Available under an open license
or public domain
o Grants permissions not copyright

17. http://www2.macleans.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/music_piracy_small.jpg
http://jmgregoirebooks.com/2013/03/31/show-your-support-and-take-a-stand-against-ebook-piracy/
http://betanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Piracy-crime-scene-PC-300x200.jpg
http://www.gambling911.com/poker/new-harry-reid-cyber-security-bill-lik
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/piracy
DISCOURSES OF PIRACY

18. CHANGES IN TEACHING &
LEARNING
Place
Time
Content
Teaching & learning interaction
Assessment & certification

19. MOOCs
Forms of provision
Fully online
Onlineintensive
Blended
(mixed
mode):
Internet
combines dependent
F2F and
online
Internet
supported
F2F only
On campus
Location
of students
Remote

20. http://blogs.cetis.ac.uk/sheilamacneill/2013/03/19/preparing-for-the-second-wave/
…has legitimised online education & distance
education at elite residential universities
..introduced new possibilities for business models

21. DISAGGREGATION
Place
Time
Content
Teaching & learning interaction
Certification

22. DISAGGREGATION
Platform
Time
Content
Teaching & learning interaction
Certification

24. Free
content
Pay to
access
platform

25. DISAGGREGATION
Platform
Time
Content
Teaching & learning interaction
Certification

26. CERTIFICATION

27. BADGES
o Micro, granular certification
o Some sort of formal(ised) recognition
• for informal learning processes
• for chunks of content
• for competencies

28. PRIVATE ASSESSMENT

29. IN SUMMARY
Numerical
representation Learning analytics
New media objects exist as data
Modularity Disaggregation of teaching &
the different elements of new media exist
independently
Automation
new media objects can be created & modified
automatically
Variability
new media objects exist in multiple versions
learning
Automated assessment
Versions of content
Transcoding Culture of technology shapes
the logic of the computer influences how we
understand and represent ourselves
social /pedagogical culture

30. IN SUMMARY
A modularised, variable, transcoded
teaching and learning landscape

31. TECHNOLOGICAL
DETERMINISM?

32. TECHNOLOGY AND THE
GLOBAL
HIGHER EDUCATION
Increased private sector investment
LANDSCAPE
New opportunities for the private sector
New players
Globalisation: extended reach

33. THE INTERNET

34. The network society
Promises and perils

35. Dominant functions and processes
in the information age are
increasingly organized around
networks.
Networks constitute the new social
morphology of our societies
and the diffusion of networking
logic substantially modifies
….processes of production,
experiences of power
and culture
Castells, M. (1996) The Rise of the Network Society.

36. In the past, social networks
were more limited in different
spheres. Networks were more
exclusive.
The Internet changed the
nature of networks by making
them more inclusive and easy
to participate in.
Castells, M. (1996) The Rise of the Network Society.

37. Conventional core– periphery relationships

38. http://www.flickr.com/photos/opensourceway/4370250237/in/set-72157623343013541
…can be replaced with networked relationships

39. AT THE SAME TIME

40. GLOBAL MARKETISATION
DISCOURSE

41. http://chronicle.com/article/A-Boom-Time-for-Education/131229/
INCREASED PRIVATE SECTOR
INVOLVEMENT

42. THE GLOBAL MARKET PLACE
o Online education is in the hand of
the private sector
• “In the US the for-profit sector has a much
higher proportion of the total online market
(32%) than its share of the overall higher
education market (7%).
• Seven of the 10 US institutions with the highest
online enrolments are for-profits.
• For-profits seem better placed to expand
online because they do not have to worry
about resistance from academic staff, nor
about exploiting their earlier investment in
campus facilities.”
Daniels, J 2012

43. Source: Kris Olds (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and Susan L. Robertson (University of Bristol)
http://www.aca-secretariat.be/fileadmin/aca_docs/images/members/Kris_Olds.pdf

44. http://chronicle.com/article/Major-Players-in-the-MOOC/138817/
VARIETY
OF
INTERESTS

45. PLAYERS IN HE LANDSCAPE
o New players
• For profit educational / service providers
• Eg Coursera
• Non-profit educational providers
• eg Ed-X
o New roles for old players
• E.g. Educational publishers as providers of
services
o Old players with new value
• Eg distance education providers

46. http://techcrunch.com/2013/09/10/google-expands-role-in-digital-education-teams-up-with-edx-to-build-a-youtube-for-free-online-cours
If you are not paying for the product
you are the product

47. If you are not paying for the product
you are the product

48. Access via the
platform

50. THE GLOBAL MARKET PLACE
o The developing
world as the new
market to solve
crises at northern
universities

51. GLOBAL REACH
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/globalhighered/mapping-courseras-global-footprint

52. https://www.edx.org/press/queen-rania-foundation-partners-edx

53. MODELS- MONETISATION
Traditional
New model
(MOOC)
Fees to
enter
Pay
No
Entrance
requirement
Yes
No
Content
May be free/included in fees
May be paid
Support
Free/included in fees
May be paid
Certification
Free/included in fees
Paid
User
generated
content
Private, owned by student
Owned by provider
Ownership
of course
Not traditionally shared
Proprietary, paid for re-use
adaptation
May be licensed or open
May be licensed or open
Platform

54. MODELS- MONETISATION
Traditional
New model
(MOOC)
Fees to
enter
Pay
No
Entrance
requirement
Yes
No
Content
May be free/included in fees
May be paid
Support
Free/included in fees
May be paid
Certification
Free/included in fees
Paid
User
generated
content
Private, owned by student
Owned by provider
Ownership
of course
Not traditionally shared
Proprietary, paid for re-use
adaptation
May be licensed or open
May be licensed or open
Platform

55. MODELS- MONETISATION
Traditional
New model
(MOOC)
Fees to
enter
Pay
No
Entrance
requirement
Yes
No
May be free/included in fees
May be paid
Content
Support
Certification
What does this mean for
the coherencefees
Free/included in of
teaching and learning
Free/included in fees
processes?
May be paid
Paid
User
generated
content
Private, owned by student
Owned by provider
Ownership
of course
Not traditionally shared
Proprietary, paid for re-use
adaptation
May be licensed or open
May be licensed or open
Platform

56. EXAMPLE OF “FREEMIUM
MODEL”
(A South African example)

57. EXAMPLE OF “FREEMIUM
MODEL”

58. EXAMPLE OF “FREEMIUM
MODEL”

59. EXAMPLE OF “FREEMIUM
MODEL”

60. EXAMPLE OF “FREEMIUM
MODEL”

61. TRADITIONAL MODEL: COSTS OF
SUPPORT
o Student support
Relative costs over 8 year
lifecycle of a Distance Education
course
From: Weller, M some MOOC thoughts, presentation to UCT, November xx. 2013

62. From: Tim Gore Making Sense of MOOCs Brussels 10th October 2013

63. https://chronicle.com/article/Providers-of-Free-MOOCs-Now/136117/
EXAMPLE: ANALYTICS

64. TENSIONS IN THE ECO SYSTEM
o Values
• Private sector imperatives
• Higher education role - as a public good, for
sake of knowledge, workplace etc
• Learning & pedagogy needs
o Control & participation
• Who has control, of what, at which point?
• Role and control of technology?
o Geopolitics
• How do these tensions play out locally?
• Whose global interests are served?

65. BEING PARTIES TO THE WORK
Access

66. YES, BUT: A PAUSE FOR BOURDIEU
o In a network society, forms of capital are
forms of power
•
•
•
•
•
•
Economic capital
Social capital- (networks across/within)
Embodied cultural capital (expertise, competence)
Objectified cultural capital (the object, technology)
Institutional cultural capital (qualifications)
Symbolic cultural capital (recognition, status, legitimacy)

67. WHERE DOES THE POWER LIE?
o In a network society, forms of capital are
forms of power
•
•
•
•
•
•
Economic capital
Social capital- (networks across/within)
Embodied cultural capital (expertise, competence)
Objectified cultural capital (the object/technology)
Institutional cultural capital (qualifications)
Symbolic cultural capital (recognition, status,
legitimacy)

68. ELECTRICITY
http://www.masterresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/earth_night.jpg

69. UNDERSEA CABLES
http://submarine-cable-map-2013.telegeography.com/

70. CONNECTIVITY IS INCREASING
but unevenly

71. CONNECTIVITY DIVIDES
o Households with/ without Internet
• Developed countries 78%,
• Developing countries 28%
o Speed
• Dramatic differences, Asian countries
fastest, African countries slowest
o Education levels
o Rural/urban
o Income

72. MORE LEVEL PLAYING FIELD
o Mobiles: eg South Africa
LSM
Living
Standards
Measure

73. MOBILE BROADBAND
o % cost

74. BEING PARTIES TO THE WORK
Access

75. o In a network society, forms of capital are
forms of power
•
•
•
•
•
•
Economic capital
Social capital- (networks across/within)
Embodied cultural capital (expertise, competence)
Objectified cultural capital (the object, technology)
Institutional cultural capital (qualifications)
Symbolic cultural capital (recognition, status, legitimacy)

76. ACCESS
To promote
equity of access and fair chances of success
to all who are seeking to realise their potential
through higher education
Department of Education ( 1997) Education White Paper 3:
A Programme for the Transformation of Higher Education,

77. http://www.ted.com/talks/daphne_koller_what_we_re_learning_from_online_educ
GLOBAL SCARCITY

78. http://www.ted.com/talks/daphne_koller_what_we_re_learning_from_online_education.html

79. EQUITY: STUDENTS ONLINE
o Surveyed 40 000 students in
nearly 500 000 courses
o Findings
• …While all types of students in the study
suffered decrements in performance in
online courses, some struggled more than
others to adapt: males, younger students,
Black students, and students with lower
grade point averages
Xu & Jaggar 2013 Adaptability to Online Learning: Differences Across Types of Students and Academic Subject Areas

81. Access without support is not
opportunity.
Effective student support does not
arise by chance. It requires
intentional, structured, and proactive
action that is systematic in nature
and coordinated in application.
Prof. Vincent Tinto, Distinguished University Professor
Regional Symposia on Student Success
19 - 23 August 2013, South Africa

82. We were on the front pages of
newspapers and magazines, and at
the same time, I was realizing, we
don't educate people as others wished,
or as I wished. We have a lousy
product. It was a painful moment.
These were students from difficult
neighbourhoods, without good access
to computers, and with all kinds of
challenges in their lives ….
It's a group for which this medium
is not a good fit.
http://www.fastcompany.com/3021473/udacity-sebastian-thrun-uphill-climb
Sebastian Thrun
founder of Udacity,
November 2013

83. Online education: MOOCs taken by educated few, Ezekiel J. Emanuel, Nature 503, 342 (21 Nov 2013)

84. http://theory.cribchronicles.com/2013/01/04/the-mooc-is-dead-long-live-the-mooc/
http://clarissasblog.com/2013/11/24/moocs-are-dead-lets-move-on/
https://chronicle.com/article/MOOCs-May-Not-Be-So-Disruptive/140965/

85. https://chronicle.com/article/MOOCs-Are-Usefully-Middlebrow/143183/
25 NOVEMBER 2013

86. BEING PARTIES TO THE WORK
Participation

87. …Power, money, and information are primarily
organized around flows which link up distant
locales, and unite them in a shared logic.
The variable geometry of networked integration
and switched off exclusion of the network society
translates into the juxtaposition between two
spatial forms/processes: the space of flows,
on the one hand, the space of places, on the
other hand.
People still live in places, and construct their
. experience, their meaning, and their political
representation around these places.
Castells, M. (1996) The Rise of the Network Society.

88. MEANING MAKING
& the geo politics of content

89. African universities are
essentially consumers of
knowledge produced in
developed countries.
Minister of Higher Education, Blade Nzimande
UNESCO Conference on Higher Education, 2009

90. Flick 2011
FLICKR CONTENT

91. o Flick 2011
USER-GENERATED CONTENT GOOGLE

92. o Flick 2011
WIKIPEDIA CONTENT

93. o Flick 2011
WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE/POPULATION

94. BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATION

95. A MORE DEMOCRATIC CASE?

96. SEE: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21829122.200-free-for-all-lifting-the-lid-on-a-wikipediacrisis.html#.UphtIcQW0rU
o Insert the example

98. BUT: MOOC PROVIDERS
Mediation?
Recontextualisation?
http://openuct.uct.ac.za/blog/mooc-less-africa

99. In order for education to be most
effective, content must be
presented in a way that allows the
student to relate the information to
prior experiences.
John Dewey
Paulo Freire
…….situated educational
activity ….
of education
The programme content must be
the present, existential, concrete
situations reflecting the aspirations
of the people.

100. MOOC LICENSES
o Review of 8 providers
o Almost entirely full copyright
• Udacity- some content CC-NC-ND (not
whole course)
o All keep user-generated content rights
• Some specify including for commercial
use
o Users as consumers not adaptors or
creators

101. POLITICS OF PARTICIPATION
o The Read-Write web
• Who reads and who writes
• Replicating global power relations

102. CONCLUSION
The ecosystem includes a great deal of
existing knowledge about good learning

103. GOOD LEARNING
o Good learning requires mediation
o We are more likely to get the learning outcomes we
want when the curriculum is aligned
o Learning is more likely to happen when students are
actively engaged
o Learning is more likely to be successful where the
teaching is cognizant of what students bring with
them: prior knowledge, language, experience
o Learning involves some degree of transformation of
self
Shay, S 2013
Shay, S Good Learning: What we Know. Presentation at Heads of Department Workshop, University of Cape Town, April 2013

104. IN SHORT
Asserting the interests of good
learning is essential

105. The realignment of interests
in the networked society
enabled by new technologies is
not necessarily serving
the requirements of learning
the needs of disadvantaged learners
concepts of education that serve democracy
and social good
the needs of the “global south”

106. Let’s ensure that those networked relationships don’t
only serve the interests of the educated & advantaged

107. W must be
e
parties in the
work!

108. Image: Stacey Stent
THANK YOU

109. REFERENCES
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
ACA Seminar ‘Making Sense of MOOCs’ Brussels 10 th October 2013, talks by Tim Gore and
Kris Olds, at
http://www.aca-secretariat.be/fileadmin/aca_docs/images/members/Tim_Gore.pdf
and
http://www.aca- secretariat.be/fileadmin/aca_docs/images/members/Kris_Olds.pdf
Altbach, P (2011) The past, present, and future of the research university in Altbach, P
and Salmi, J (Eds) 2011 The Making of World-Class Research Universities- The Road to
Academic Excellence, The World Bank
British Council 2012 The shape of things to come: higher education global trends and
emerging opportunities to 2020, British Council
Bourdieu, P. (1986) The forms of capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.) Handbook of Theory and
Research for the Sociology of Education (New York, ...
Castells, M. (1996) The Rise of the Network Society, Blackwell
Daniel J (20120 Higher Education in a Decade of Disruption , speech to Council of
College and Military Educators (CCME) Annual Conference, 14-16 February 2012,
Orlando, Florida, Commonwealth of Learning
Department of Education, South Africa ( 1997) Education White Paper 3: A Programme
for the Transformation of Higher Education
Emanuel, E (2013) Online education: MOOCs taken by educated few ,
Nature 503, 342 (21 Nov 2013)
Fisher G and Scott (2011) ‘The Role of Higher Education in Closing the Skills Gap in South
Africa’ The World Bank, Human Development Group, Africa Region, October 2011,
Background paper for the World Bank project 'Closing the Skills and Technology Gap in
South Africa'

110. REFERENCES
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Flick, C, (2011) Geographies of the World’s Knowledge , Convoco Foundation, Oxford
internet Institute Oxford internet Institute,
www.oii.ox.ac.uk/publications/convoco_geographies_en.pdf
ITU (2013) The World in 2013: ICT Facts and Figures, www.itu.int/en/ITUD/Statistics/.../facts/ICTFactsFigures2013.pdf
Internet World Stats. 2012. http://www.internetworldstats.com/
ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators database- www.itu.int/en/ITUD/Statistics/Pages/stat/default.aspx
Jegede, O (2012), The Status of Higher Education in Africa, paper for Panel Discussion in
the Launch of Weaving Success: Voices of Change in African Higher Education- A
project of the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa (PHEA) held at the Institute of
International Education, New York, , February 1, 2012
Jim, G (2013) Wiki-opoly, New Scientist, Vol. 218, Issue 2912
Letseka, M. and Maile, S. 2008. High University drop-out rates: a threat to South Africa’s
future. HSRC Policy Brief. www.hsrc.ac.za.
Manovich, L The Language of New Media, MIT Press
SAARF South African Audience Research Foundation (SAARF) Available at:
http://saarf.co.za/LSM/lsm-diy.asp
UK Department of Business Innovation and Skills (2013) The Maturing of the MOOC:
Literature Review BIS Research Paper Number 30, September 2013
US Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Economic Council, Four
Years of Broadband Growth, June 2013
Also, see URLs on examples on individual slides