1st Edition

Reimagining Digital Learning for Sustainable Development How Upskilling, Data Analytics, and Educational Technologies Close the Skills Gap

Edited By Sheila Jagannathan Copyright 2021
    406 Pages 60 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    406 Pages 60 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Reimagining Digital Learning for Sustainable Development is a comprehensive playbook for education leaders, policy makers, and other key stakeholders leading the modernization of learning and development in their institutions as they build a high value knowledge economy and prepare learners for jobs that don't yet exist.

    Currently, nearly every aspect of human activity, including the ways we absorb and apply learning, is influenced by disruptive digital technologies. The jobs available today are no longer predicators of future employment, and current and future workforce members will need to augment their competencies through a lifetime of continuous upskilling and reskilling to meet the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This book features curated insights and real-world cases from thought leaders throughout the world and identifies major shifts in content formats, pedagogic approaches, technology frameworks, user and design experiences, and learner roles and expectations that will reshape our institutions, including those in emerging economies.

    The agile, lean, and cost-effective strategies proposed here will function in scalable and flexible bandwidth environments, enabling education leaders and practitioners to transform brick-and-mortar learning organizations into digital and blended ecosystems and to achieve the United Nation’s ambitious Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

    Chapter 18 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license. 

    Foreword 1: Digital Classrooms are Reinventing the Way We Teach and Learn
    Anant Agarwal

    Foreword 2: Accelerating a 21st Century Learning Ecosystem that Supports Countries in Leapfrogging from Learning Deficits to Upskilling and Reskilling
    Ju-Ho Lee

    About the Editor

    Acknowledgements

    Acronyms

    Preface

    THEME 1: LEARNING IN THE 21ST CENTURY

    Chapter 1: Scale of the challenge – Massive Reskilling & Upskilling Needed –The Crucial Role of Capacity Development
    Sheila Jagannathan

    Chapter 2: The Digital Learning Opportunity
    Sheila Jagannathan

    Chapter 3: Lifelong Learning for Careers that Don’t Yet Exist
    Chris Dede and Eileen McGivney

    Chapter 4: Decisions Pathways Leading to the Successful Digital Transformation of Learning: Conversation with Tony Bates
    Ryan Watkins

    THEME 2: INNOVATIVE PEDAGOGIES TO ADVANCE REACH, RELEVANCE AND QUALITY LEARNING OUTCOMES

    Chapter 5: Reimagining Pedagogy for a Digital Age: Conversation with Tony Bates
    Sheila Jagannathan

    Chapter 6: Pedagogic Choreographies for Practitioner Skill Development
    Som Naidu and Sharishna Narayan

    Chapter 7: Quality for New Digital Learning Cultures
    Ulf-Daniel Ehlers

    Chapter 8: The Manifesto for Teaching Online and the Complexities of Digital Education
    Peter Evans

    THEME 3: NEW MODELS FOR DEEPER LEARNING

    Chapter 9: How MOOCs are Changing the World and What Lies Ahead
    Lee Rubenstein

    Chapter 10: Game Mechanics for Digital Learning
    John Traxler

    Chapter 11: The Future of Learning is Immersive: Games, Simulations and Virtual Reality
    Anders Gronstedt

    THEME 4: DIGITAL AND BLENDED LEARNING IN ACTION: GOOD PRACTICES

    Chapter 12: Linking Learning to Jobs and Service Delivery in the Public Sector –The Tec De Monterrey Experience
    Laura Ruiz Perez

    Chapter 13: Building National-Level Partnerships for e-Learning: The Malaysian Experience
    Ansary Ahmed

    Chapter 14: Improving Performance and Employability Through e-Learning: The IDB Experience
    Edgar Gonzalez, Stella Porto, and Xenia Coton

    Chapter 15: Lessons from Two Transformational EdTech Initiatives in China
    Ronghuai Huang, Huanhuan Wang, Hang Lu, Bojun Gao, Zhisheng Li, Ahmed Tlili

    Chapter 16: Skilling the Youth Bulge in India: NSDC Experiences
    Manish Kumar

    THEME 5: FUTURE OF CONTENT DEVELOPMENT: LEVERAGING OPEN RESOURCES

    Chapter 17: Open Educational Resources for Sustainable Development: Guidelines for Policy and Capacity Building
    Sanjaya Mishra

    THEME 6: THE POWER OF THE PLATFORM: SMART TECHNOLOGIES AND TOOLS

    Chapter 18: The Power of Open Educational Technology
    Martin Dougiamas

    Chapter 19: AI, Blockchain and 5G: Implications for Education, Upskilling and Lifelong Learning
    Balaji Venakatarman, Alexis Carr

    Chapter 20: Reimagining Educational Experiences via Artificial Intelligence and New Technologies
    David Guralnick

    Chapter 21: A Metaknowledge Framework in the Training of Trainers Using Smart Mobile Learning Applications
    Abtar Darshan Singh, Edward Robeck, Shriram Raghunathan, Bibhya Sharma, Vaikunthan Rajaratnam

    THEME 7: MODERNIZING LEARNING MEASUREMENT, EVALUATION AND CREDENTIALING THROUGH DATA ANALYTICS FOR INSIGHTS AND DECISION MAKING

    Chapter 22: Evaluating and Improving the Impact of digital learning
    Ingrid Guerra-Lopez

    Chapter 23: Using Learning Analytics to Accelerate Change
    Gary Natriello

    Chapter 24: Advancing Sustainable Educational Ecosystems with Open Digital Credentials and Badges
    Daniel Hickey and Ilona Buchem

    THEME 8: MOBILIZING PARTNERSHIPS TO SUPPORT PATHWAYS TO WORK

    Chapter 25: Partnership Engagements for Sustainable Development: Lessons from Educational Technology Partnerships
    Shafika Isaacs

    Chapter 26: From Concepts to Action: How to Accelerate Digital Learning to Achieve SDGs - Influencer Viewpoints
    Sheila Jagannathan

    Chapter 27: The Future of Learning Is Here – Are You Ready?
    Sheila Jagannathan

    About the Contributors

    Biography

    Sheila Jagannathan is the Head of the Open Learning Campus at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., USA. She serves as the organization’s focal point on digital learning and issues at the intersection of technology use and education in emerging countries. She is an internationally recognized thought leader, advisor, author and a forward-thinking senior education leader with over 35 years of experience in leading capacity building, knowledge management, data, social learning and transformation change across public and private organizations. She has been responsible for designing and implementing world-class solutions in challenging global environments, resulting in performance and productivity improvements. Sheila also provides policy advice and technical assistance to World Bank country-level capacity building programs (both government and training centers of excellence seeking to introduce technologies in their educational systems) in, East Asia, China, the Middle East and North Africa, Africa and South Asia. Her current areas of interest and activity include: skilling and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, 60-year curricula, corporate talent management, diversity & inclusion, organizational development, MOOCs, experiential pedagogy, online/hybrid strategies, multimodal and social learning environments, immersive learning (AR/VR), use of artificial education in education, big data analytics, LXPs, LMS, and learning ecosystems. She has written articles for various peer-reviewed publications and journals. She is on the advisory board and planning committees of major professional associations of learning such as the Canadian Foreign Service Institute, Global Distance Learning Network, Indian National Skills Development Council, George Mason University, E-learning Africa, (Annual International Conference for developing E-learning capacities in Africa), International Conference on e-learning (ICEL), and Skills Development Councils.

    "Twenty-seven contributions from leading experts in the field have come together at an opportune time, when the entire world has been forced to transition to virtual learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Looking ahead, we still have significant challenges in delivering the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. I congratulate Sheila Jagannathan and the many contributing authors for this impressive exposition of how EdTech and pedagogical innovations will diffuse the benefits of the digital and learning revolution to every corner of the world."
    —Denis Robitaille, Vice President, World Bank

    "For decades, Sheila Jagannathan has had a pulse on learning technologies being incorporated by the world community for transformative change. Not surprisingly, she has deftly assembled a stellar slate of futurists, policy makers, pragmatists, realists, and visionaries in the pages of this wondrous book. Each chapter offers a timely recap of today that should foster cogent and exhilarating plans for education and training in the many worlds of tomorrow about to unfold."
    —Curtis J. Bonk, Professor, Instructional Systems Technology (IST), Indiana University

    "This is an interesting and timely publication, as the COVID-19 pandemic has been such a disrupter for the education sector globally. The opportunities offered by innovative pedagogies and EdTech advances are particularly valuable to emerging countries seeking to modernize their skills and capacity-building institutions to create new jobs and build back more resilient futures after the pandemic."
    —Bakary Diallo, CEO & Rector, African Virtual University

    "Upskilling the global workforce to compete for the jobs of the future is an urgent imperative and a complex challenge. This book provides valuable insights on the growing importance of lifelong learning to prepare us for jobs and careers that do not exist today and to assist us in mastering digital disruption in the workplace, where full-time workers, gig workers, and bots work side by side."
    —Jeanne Meister, Managing Partner, Future Workplace and Faculty of the Future Workplace Academy

    "This book addresses a range of critical issues facing education today. These challenges include that of reimagining at scale what education can and should be, especially to equitably meet the needs of today’s learners, as well as to prepare them for future careers (careers that may not even exist today). There is great potential in digital technologies and their thoughtful implementation in educational spaces to meet these challenges. This book brings together a wide array of ideas, tools, approaches, and models across multiple contexts that can inform the next wave of educational innovation, both locally and globally. I see this book as being of great value to policy makers, practitioners, educational and business leaders across the world."
    —Punya Mishra, Professor and Associate Dean of Scholarship and Innovation, Arizona State University

    "This book is a must read for leaders looking to reimagine a modern, digital learning ecosystem with a strategic vision. Sheila Jagannathan and other eminent authors provide practical insights on the how-to aspects, including smart solutions to the typical upskilling or reskilling challenges that emerging economies face."
    —George Siemens, Professor and the Executive Director of the Learning Innovation and Networked Knowledge Research Lab at University of Texas

    "Digital connectivity has become a lifeline for using data, consuming content, and engaging in digital applications by individuals, governments, and businesses to ensure continuity of economic and social activities throughout the developing world. I congratulate Sheila Jagannathan and the authors for producing a timely contribution that offers insights on how skills-building from brick-and-mortar to blended institutions can be achieved throughout the world."
    —Boutheina Guermazi, Senior Director, Digital Development, World Bank

    "Institutions globally are struggling with questions on how and where to invest in education for the future. This book provides useful insights based on the experiences of leading practitioners in online learning from around the world on how to effectively reskill and upskill the workforce and meet the SDGs, in order preparing people for new jobs enabled by the Fourth Industrial Revolution."
    —Nick van Dam, Chief of the IE University Center for Corporate Learning Innovation, and former partner and Global Chief Learning Officer at McKinsey & Company

    "For those looking to optimize online education technology in building human capital, Reimagining Digital Learning for Sustainable Development, a new anthology edited by Sheila Jagannathan, is an invaluable resource. . . . Learning leaders and innovators will appreciate this book first as an invaluable primer and second as a consistent resource to reference while doing on-the-ground work creating learning strategies, leading workshops and more."
    —Kelly Pesce Cassaro is Chief of Learning at Generation, a nonprofit founded by McKinsey & Company

    "This book provides many new ideas on digital learning for sustainable development and highlights the growing importance of lifelong learning. The insights and practical examples, tools, approaches, and methods are of great value for several stakeholders including policymakers, educational corporate leaders, researchers, and education practitioners."
    —Meina Zhu, American Journal of Distance Education

    "The book aims to help learning leaders in emerging countries develop a flexible mindset and a set of strategies to modernize learning by harnessing educational technology in their respective institutions and countries."
    —Tony Bates, Research Associate with Contact North

    "Reimagining Digital Learning for Sustainable Development offers a compilation of curated insights from leading experts in the educational sector, as they contemplate how educational systems will have to reinvent themselves to support the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030. . . . In summary, this book provides practical and useful insights on the state of educational provision in a post-pandemic world, putting forward alternatives for how and where to invest in education and capacity development."
    —Rosario Passos, Journal of Learning for Development