SP4Ed: SP Scenario: Future of Open Education: A Lifelong Learner's Vision through OERP 2030

Open Education 2030 Lifelong Learning This work is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 Unported License. Future of Open Education: A Lifelong Learner’s Vision through OERP 2030 Vinod Kumar Kanvaria Assistant Professor Department of Education University of Delhi, Delhi (India) Email: vinodpr111@gmail.com In 2030, learners and facilitators would give rise to a society made up of global democratic citizen, having values of respecting others, as they are, with the help of highly advanced technologies through sustainable practices involving public and private actors including the last learner of the society, too, through open educational resources and practices facilitating learning, throughout the life. Learners Enrolment and support schemes: Enrolment will be possible through mobiles, also, and would be automatized. While making entries in the forms the ‘automator’ will support throughout the form and would provide several options for lessening the chances of errors. Going through several automated suggestions, no mistakes would be made in the forms. There would be a single platform for all the similar courses. Once signed up for a particular course, information pertaining to all the institutes would be automatically received well in time through mobile/email/social networking sites etc. Temporal and information constraints would not be a problem. Peer learning and interaction: In place of heavy devices like mobile, laptop, etc. learners would be using wrist-watches for interaction and all sorts of computer/web-enabled task would be pursued through a folding transparent screen fitted within the watches. Noises will have no place in peer learning and interaction. Learner-teacher roles: Teachers would be simply learning managers through moderating, managing, configuring, correcting, and adjudicating the best possible learning open educational resources. Perhaps, the open educational resources would themselves be able to correct, manage and transfer them to the learners, while a certain set of instructions are programmed and given by the teacher. Teacher would be working, all the time, just to enhance the quality of produced open educational resources. Learner would be learning, throughout the life, based on the principles of the ‘hole in the wall’. Learner and teacher would never come in face-to-face contact with each other throughout the entire course and sometimes may not know each other for the whole period and that would be very challenging. Learning practices and outcomes: Most of the learning, throughout the life, would be automated, machine-driven, machine-managed and automated. The entire burden would lie on the high quality open educational resources. Learning practices would be focused on not just exploring the open educational resources but the highest quality open educational resources. Learning, throughout the life, would be a fun and learning practices would not be emphasizing on the memorization or rote learning. Knowing the figure and facts would not make any difference in learning, throughout the life. Learning, throughout the life, will be meant ‘how’ and ‘why’. 2 Linking formal and informal learning: Since, most of the learning, throughout the life, would be ubiquitous and through wrist-watches, hand held devices etc. there would be no formal system of learning, throughout the life. Learners would be learning, throughout the life, at their own pace, at the time when they decide, at the place where they are comfortable, courses and subjects which they feel interesting and joyful, there would be no place for the formal system of education. Learning, throughout the life, would be for the learner, by the learner and to the learner. There would be no concept of ‘power hierarchy’ as learners and peers would play significant role in evaluation, grading and final accreditation. Learner engagement and motivation: Learning, throughout the life, would be driven by selfmotivation. A high quality of open educational resources would engage learners in a better way than that of the teachers. A ‘whole in the hole’ (everything in the screen fitted in the hole of the wrist-watch) principles would not only engage learners all the time but also ease of access would create a sense of attachment to the learning process. Teachers Teacher-learner interaction: Teacher and learner would interact in a temporal-free, spatialfree, bias-free and idiosyncratic-free environment. The culture variability will have no meaning; the language will no more be a variable. A democratic and learning-friendly environment would be generated, where caste, class, strata, creed, race, religion, colour, language, gender, locality will have no hamper on the learning, throughout the life. No system made for learning, throughout the life, will ask information like gender, etc. A teacher would be a teacher, not a male or a female, and a learner would be a learner, not a male or a female. Teacher training and collaboration: Teacher training aspirations would be totally changed. A good teacher training course would be the one which can turn a person to generate, manage, moderate and configure open educational resources with high quality. The quality manager of learning open educational resources would be a good teacher. Since all the open educational resources would be generated by learners, teachers would be learning, throughout the life, to enhance their quality, maintaining the quality and manage such open educational resources under different domains so that learners can easily access them as per their need. The best set of teachers would be having best possible collaborations consisting of teachers from various streams, disciplines and domains. They would be collaborating to manage and correcting the open educational resources keeping high quality with respect to not only a single subject but the open educational resources sound with respect to all the subjects altogether and simultaneously. Pedagogical methodologies and practices: Pedagogical methodologies and practices would be limited to managing the learning through learning open educational resources. The evaluation part would need better quizzes, questionnaires, tests, rubrics, etc. which would be developed with the help of learners. The methodologies and practices would be learner-driven than the system-driven or teacher-driven. Quality and innovation: The innovations would be guided by the strategy for conveying the best possible open educational resources with maximum ease in most learner-friendly version in minimum time in the lightest mode to the learner. Continuous and comprehensive joyful learning, throughout the life, would be at the centre while quality of open educational resources and innovative practices are decided. Content and scope of “teaching”: Teaching would be entirely replaced by the facilitating and managing. Facilitating the learners and their learning, throughout the life, by managing the quality open educational resources as per the need and interest of the learners would be the 3 prime focus and prime vital task of teaching. The teacher at one place would be a learner at other place. In other words, the dividing line between the teacher and the learner would be diminished. Teacher engagement and motivation: Teacher will be highly motivated as they would not have to waste their energy in ‘non-teaching learning’ activities due to absence of problems pertaining to formal system of education. Absence of face-to-face interaction would save them from several un-academic problems and threats. Hence, they would be more enthusiastically and energetically engaged in the teaching-learning activities. The motivation would be from within and environment would help them continuing keeping the same at high level. Organisational aspects Business and sustainability models of Open resources and Practices: Open educational resources would be developed by all, managed by lesser and moderated by the least. Since all would develop OERs, the cost of developing and availability would be the least. The companies would require people just for developing new softwares or platforms. As the resources would be generated by the participation and devotion of all, these would be highly sustainable. Public generates most of the resources not for financial gain but for name, fame and recognition. Thousands of android softwares support this phenomenon. Hence lack of high cost would make it more sustainable. Interaction between public and private actors: Public funding would be provided to private actors for developing more learner-friendly softwares and platforms. And private actors would be consistently and continuously interacting with the public actors for the need and demands which could benefit the mass level. Public would decide the needs and targets and private actors would endeavour to achieve those. Interaction between different educational centres / institutions: Different educational institutions would come closer to give rise to a common platform for collaboration of courses, interaction, OERP, degrees, evaluation, etc. The individual identity of institutions would merge to generate a new identity to the group of similar institutions. The institutions would be steam based or discipline based rather than all the streams at a single institute. Assessment, recognition, and certification: Most of the assessment would be done by machines. The certification, alongwith the learning, throughout the life, would be free and open in its true sense. The degrees and awards would be universally recognized. Certification would be highly specialized as per the skills and learning, throughout the life. Curricula and Learning Objectives: Curricula would be highly refined through dynamic ratifications and possible modifications. Learners would be a part of curricula development. Needs and demands of the learners and society would be the predominant factor for the changes in curricula. Learning objective would be develop a global democratic citizen trusting in the values of live and let live free from the concept of caste, creed, race, gender, class, religion, etc. Technological aspects: Technology would be highly advanced and would be accessible to all with the ease of reach even to the last learner of the society. Wrist-watches would decrease the need and demand of heavy and big devices. Foldable screens would be found everywhere. Public money would be invested for technological advancement and availability of highly advanced devices and instruments under ‘TFA’ (Technology for All) likewise ‘EFA’ (Education for All). 4 Socio-economic aspects Equity and equality: Equity, equality and democracy would get a higher place in the society. Technology would make all equal and bias-free. Technology would give all an equalopportunity environment. Quality would be generated through consistent refinement of resources through massive and engaged collaboration of all. Addressing emerging skills and business needs: The most demanding skill would be exploration for learning, throughout the life, with the optimum utilization of available resources within the minimum possible time. Multitasking would be a habit. People would not mind if others are busy in interacting with others for teaching and learning, throughout the life. Fostering employment, active citizenship and inclusion: People would be manifested into global democratic citizens having respect for others irrespective of caste, creed, gender, etc. They would be well aware of their duties and expected behaviours with others. All would have equal rights and equal opportunities for inclusion in the mainstream due to technological advancement. People would generate their own employment by developing better opportunities for facilitating learning, throughout the life, and learning platforms alongwith the educational resources. Impact on the market structure: Market would be learner-friendly. Cost for softwares and other resources would come down. Market would be public-needs driven. Government would look after the consumption of high quality educational resources arriving in the market. Legal issues (IPR, copyrights): Copyrights would give all sorts of freedom except the acknowledgement and clear referencing. One would be able to copy, modify, change, regenerate, reuse and even sell also, but a proper acknowledgement would be a must. Since everything would be free, it would demotivate selling of the secondary resources. Less legal issues and conflicts would arise as everything would be ‘open’. Summary In 2030, learners and facilitators would give rise to a society made up of global democratic citizen, having values of respecting others, as they are, with the help of highly advanced technologies through sustainable practices involving public and private actors including the last learner of the society, too, through open educational resources and practices facilitating learning, throughout the life.

SP4Ed: The three most important skills for generating effective scenarios and why these skills are important?

Three prominent skills required for an effective scenario generator: 1. Creativity 2. Inductive and deductive reasoning 3. Daring to implement new ideas, approach, method and strategies with a concern of risk factors

SP4Ed : Scenarios can’t predict the future, so what’s the point?

Scenarios can’t predict the future, so what’s the point? Being an art, it not only increase the creativity, but also opens up new gates for innovative thinking. It gives freedom to an individual to test new means, methods, strategies, approach and apply new techniques in an entirely not-applied-before manner. It has ample space to grow in an independent, though sustainable, manner. It gives ample weightage to truth, beauty and goodness. The truth lies in its existence, though not scientific and analytical. The beauty lies in its nature of uniqueness in pluralism and pluralism in uniqueness. The goodness is not independent of the truth and beauty. The main focus is not only the existence in this world but a massive altogether growth and development exploring through novel and innovative ideas.

SP4Ed

SP4Ed Hi, This is Vinod Kumar Kanvaria. Introducing myself, I am currently associated with Department of Education, University of Delhi (India), which is popularly known as Central Institute of Education. I have a teaching and research experience of more than twelve years from Secondary School level to University level, including Govt of NCT of Delhi, NCERT and University of Delhi. My research interest areas are educational technology, mathematics, pedagogy of mathematics, experimental education, measurement and evaluation and ICT and its use in education. I am holding JRF award of UGC in Education and Population Studies and CSIR-NET in Mathematical Sciences. I have presented a number of research papers in national seminars and conferences. My, a number of research papers, have been published in the national and international journals. I have been associated with developing the semesterised curriculum of the four year integrated B.Sc. B.Ed. of Barkatullah University, Bhopal and the draft curriculum of the two year B.Ed. programme of University of Delhi. I have been associated as a resource person with a number of programmes especially of Distance Education Programme – Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (IGNOU and MHRD, Govt. of India), NCERT, New Delhi, RIE, Bhubaneswar (Odisha) and SCERT, Delhi. My single authored book ‘Developing a Standardized Achievement Test: VTAT’ and co-authored book ‘Evaluating a Textbook: A Case of Class IX Mathematics‘ have been published by LAP, Germany and VDM, Germany, respectively. I am the member, author team of ‘Package on ICT-Pedagogy Integration for Teacher-Educators’ and ‘Package on Open Education Resources for Teacher-Educators’ published by RIE (NCERT) Bhubaneswar and the member, author group of ‘CCE Manual for Class VIII Students’ published by SCERT, DELHI, and ‘Textbook on Pedagogy of Mathematics’ for two year B.Ed. course of NCERT, New Delhi. I have been a member of review team for the Hindi version of the book, ‘Exemplar Problems in Mathematics’ for Class X of NCERT, New Delhi and ‘Package on ICT-Pedagogy Integration for Teachers’ of RIE (NCERT), Bhubaneswar. I am member, editorial board of Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology and member, reviewer panel in a number of international journals. I am member of several academic associations including IATE, AIATE, AIAER, ISOC, AMTI and AITEA. I am also member, advisory board, international educational technology conference, Turkey. I had been enlisted as visiting faculty, Monad University, U.P. Moreover the author has a privilege for acting as a resource person in several national seminars, conferences and workshops throughout the India.