Blended learning and digital technologies for the VET sector Professor Neil Morris T: @NeilMorrisDT Presentation at Chisholm Institute, Melbourne, June 2022

1. Welcome Professor Neil
Morris
Margie Fixter Chisholm Institute – Chief of Academic Excellence and Innovation Date

2. Acknowledgement to Country

3. Blended learning and digital
technologies for the VET
sector
Professor Neil Morris
T: @NeilMorrisDT
Presentation at Chisholm Institute, Melbourne, June 2022

4. Acknowledgements

5. Get involved
 Padlet board – post your comments,
observations, questions, links etc.
 Scan the QR code with your camera
to access the Padlet or navigate to:
https://bit.ly/39AFUuh
 On the Padlet you will find a link to
a copy of my slides, and links to
papers and materials referred to in
this session.

6. Acknowledging the context
https://theconversation.com/where-has-the-joy-of-working-in-australian-universities-gone-184251

7. Knowledge exchange
https://www.fenews.co.uk/exclusive/insights-from-australias-technical-and-further-education-tafe-system/
https://www.kangan.edu.au/automotive-centre-of-excellence

8. UN Sustainable Development
Goal 4: Quality Education For
All

9. Barriers to growth of higher technical
education
https://www.lifelongeducation.uk/

10. Conflicting perceptions of the value of
online education

11. Defining our terms: Post-Covid digital and
online education
 Modes of study:
Face-to-face (in-person)
Hybrid
Fully online
 Other terms:
Synchronous
Asynchronous
 Learning approaches:
Blended Learning
Multi-mode learning
Hyflex
Hyflex quick guide: https://library.educause.edu/-/media/files/library/2020/7/eli7173.pdf

12. The tertiary level student and learner continuum
 Occasional learner
 VE / TAFE learner
 UG / PGT student
 Doctoral researchers (PhD etc.)
 Professional / executive learner
 Staff learners
 Lifelong learner

13. How do we meet these multiple, conflicting,
needs?
Flexibility Choice Inclusivity Personalisation
Digital enabled
adaptive learning
Designing learning
for outcomes
Digital capability
Appropriate
educational support

14. Example outside of HE:
Creating a personalized, adaptive learning environment
(Peloton)
 Interact live (synchronous) or
recorded (asynchronous content)
 Build community – friends,
followers, challenges
 Receive recommendations,
nudges etc.
 See activity analytics
 Gain achievements, awards
 Set goals and monitor progress
Picture © Peloton

15. Peloton (2): Managing multi-mode participation
 Recorded content, but live community
 Multi-mode activity (F2F, fully online)
 Instructor engages with community,
works with them, sets goals, celebrates
success
 Options to interact, communicate,
engage with community
 Personalised view (add/remove content)
 Live progress monitoring
Picture © Peloton

16. What can we learn from these examples in the
context of tertiary education?
 Critical thinking
 Independent study
 Collaborative working
 Research-based learning
 Original thinking
 Knowledge creation
 Problem-solving
 Skills-based learning
https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/

17. Elements of a blended learning approach
Blended Learning is ..“An appropriate
mix of face-to-face and online
learning activities, using traditional
instruction, guided support and
independent learning, underpinned by
the use of digital technologies and
designed using strong pedagogical
principles, to support learner
engagement, flexibility and success.”
(Morris & Laurillard, 2015)

18. A challenge to universities:
Provide a digitally-enhanced education
Learning
spaces
Learning
content
Learning
technology
Ensure ubiquitous digital literacy
Re-imagine assessment
Portfolio, curriculum and pedagogies review
Learning
experience
Re-imagine ‘student’
Remove digital inequalities

19. Blended Learning Essentials for VET

20. Get involved
 Padlet board – post your comments,
observations, questions, links etc.
 Scan the QR code with your camera
to access the Padlet or navigate to:
https://bit.ly/39AFUuh
 On the Padlet you will find a link to
a copy of my slides, and links to
papers and materials referred to in
this session.

21. Learning
Flexibility
Interaction
Collaboration
Digital skills
Employability
Globalisation Access
Sharing
Inclusiveness
Engagement
Motivation
Enjoyment
Literature on the
impact of digital
technology
demonstrates the
value it can have to
support learning.
Research also shows
that digital education
can enhance learning
outcomes.
Opportunities provided by digital technology

22. Enriching hybrid learning with digital
technology
Delivery requires engaging multi-modal content in a clearly
narrated learning journey, with multiple opportunities for
interaction, questioning and feedback.
Creating an online community where students
and teachers can be their authentic selves and
learn together through directed tasks helps to
improve learning.

23. Enriching student engagement through active
learning
Regular opportunities for interaction,
debate and feedback help to guide
students through the learning
journey and build their confidence
and understanding.
Use of a consistent tool set builds
learner skills and engagement and
provides an on-going data set to
help support learners.

24. Uses of video in education
Image CC by Jenko, FlickR

25. At desk recording
capabilities used
extensively during
remote working
Automated
captioning for all
content
Audio and video resources to enhance
learning
76% of students use
recordings for note-
taking after lectures
74% of students use
recordings for writing
assessments
85% of students use
recordings to catch-up
after missing lectures
Morris et al., 2019
“Recording lectures and then putting them on the VLE should be
compulsory for every school within the university.”
“Record seminars not just lectures. Would be useful for revision near
exams as not possible to write notes for everything said in seminars.”
“Flip the classroom - if most lectures are recorded and change little from
year-to-year, why can't students watch the lecture beforehand and use
the time in class to broaden their understanding with the lecturer.”

26. Lecture capture reimagined: shifting to a
student-centred approach
https://jamworks.com/
 Shift to student-centred approaches for audio
and video learning materials
 Aim to give students more control over their
learning journey, enabling them to curate
learning content most relevant to their needs
 Tools to personalize, curate and enable
annotation, sharing and collaboration are
increasing in the market (e.g. Jamworks)
 Flexible software-based tools that enable
managed recording and publication of all
educational content

27. ePortfolios: a rich tool set to support
learning
Reflection
Learning activities/
journeys
Collaboration Practice
Competency-based
learning/assessment
Assessment and
feedback
Professional
development
Career support

28. Assessment and feedback in
the digital age
https://www.jisc.ac.uk/reports/the-future-of-assessment

29. Group-based authentic assessment
develops skills and competencies
https://edu2k.net/blog/assessment-whats-the-point/
https://sway.office.com/EX38m2nSXgaovY8m?ref=Link
Working in groups to co-
create new content based
on learning topics supports
self-regulated learning and
engagement, and supports
development of digital
literacy, team-working and
leadership skills.
Assessments of this kind
also reduce the possibility
of academic malpractice,
reduce marking time and
produce usable outputs.

30. Virtual classrooms: supporting multi-mode
learning approaches
 Virtual classrooms can offer a flexible, inclusive learning experience
for students who are classroom-based, campus-based, home-based
or international.
 Educational institutions should provide a consistent approach to the
use of virtual classrooms, and provide professional development to
support teachers (and learning mentors) to optimize the learning
experience for all participants.
 This will require careful learning design and session planning, to
ensure all participants can engage equitably in the learning activities,
and may necessitate increased educational support (e.g. online
mentors) for large multi-mode groups.
 Plan activities and approaches for students attending in the class in
all modes (i.e. in-room students will do activity A supported by in-
room teacher, online students will do activity B supported by online
learning mentor).
In-class
learners
Campus-based
(but not in-
class) learners
Fully online
learners

31. Learning spaces:
Preparing for active, social, engaging interactions
• Convert lecture theatres to active
learning spaces
• Equip spaces with tech facilities for
content sharing and interaction
• Equip spaces for ‘bring your own
device’
• Provide supported ‘demonstrator’ and
‘innovation’ labs with AR/VR
• Implement smart campus technology
for sustainability, efficiency and data
mining

32. Creating an integrated digital
education ecosystem
• Ensure consistency and human-
centred design are principles in
your ecosystem
• Ensure seamless movement
within the ecosystem
• Use the data collected to
support students’ learning, well-
being and outcomes, and to
redesign curricula
• Be wary of consolidating digital
education to a single platform
or system

33. Leveraging data to enhance student
learning and engagement
• Sharing learning engagement
information with students builds their
confidence and helps them to reflect.
• Building trust with students about
how their data is being collected and
used is essential.
• There are powerful opportunities to
use learning data to design more
inclusive, personalized, authentic
curricula.
• Use of these data can help direct
student support to those most in
need and avert difficult situations.

34. Blended Learning Essentials for VET

35. A word on principles for use of educational
technology…
 Free web-based edtech tools are often readily accessible, (free) and functionality rich
 Many teachers like to try out new tools with their learners, in the hope it will support and enhance
learning
 However, educational technologies need to be:
 Safe… i.e. storing data securely and in line with local legislation
 Accessible i.e. meet the highest accessibility standards
 Secure.. i.e. meeting institutional regulations for cybersecurity
 Inclusive.. i.e. available on a wide range of devices, online and offline
 Supported.. i.e. first line and specialized IT support available 24/7, 365
 Integrated.. i.e. accessible via single-sign on from institutional systems
 This often means that teachers are encouraged to only use institutionally-approved / supported
systems
 Whilst this can be frustrating for teachers who just want ‘to get on with it’, there are good reasons
for this.

36. Principles for designing effective multi-
mode inclusive learning
Start with considering the learning outcomes, learners, learning environment, technology
availability and digital skills level
Ensure access, flexibility and inclusivity for every learner and every learning activity
Design learning activities suitable for each mode of study
Consider how to integrate learners studying in different modes to enable collaboration,
knowledge / experience / cultural sharing
Personalise the learning experience as far as possible with the available technology
Engage and include learners in co-creating their learning experiences
Provide authentic, adaptive, flexible assessment opportunities that offer valuable real-world
experience

37. Get involved
 Padlet board – post your comments,
observations, questions, links etc.
 Scan the QR code with your camera
to access the Padlet or navigate to:
https://bit.ly/39AFUuh
 On the Padlet you will find a link to
a copy of my slides, and links to
papers and materials referred to in
this session.

38. Learning content:
Prepare for multi-mode rebundled education
• Offer every course in three modes:
- On-campus, blended
- Hybrid (online with some campus activities)
- Fully online
• Prepare to enable students to choose (and change) mode of
study
• Encourage students to bring credits from elsewhere into your
programmes
• Offer all your online courses to learners globally, for credit and
for lifelong learning
• Partner for services you need, but keep the things you value
the most in-house

39. Shifting perspectives on the value of online
learning

40. Facets of ‘unbundling’
Process Products
Activities Services
An example of unbundled educational provision could be a
degree programme offered as individual standalone modules
available for credit via an online platform, to be studied at the
learners’ pace, in any order, on a pay-per-module model, with
academic content, tutoring and support being offered by the
awarding university, other universities and a private company.
Unbundling is the process of
disaggregating educational provision into
its component parts likely for delivery by
multiple stakeholders, often using digital
approaches and which can result in
rebundling.
Swinnerton et al 2020

41. Potential benefits and risks of unbundling
for learners and learning
Benefits
Access
Flexibility
Inclusiveness
Student-focused
Market-led costs
Risks
Fragmented curriculum
Quality / regulation
Misalignment with
employer requirements
Cannabilisation of HE
sector
Further inequality
Micro-credentials
Pay-as-you-study
Mix-and-match
Enhanced campus
education
Global education
offer
Impact on role of
academic
Complexity for learners
Further marketisation of
sector
Digital exclusion
Risk to status of ‘degree’

42. Micro-credentials to support upskilling

43. Role of HE/TAFEs in this scenario?
 Provide wrap-around / holistic experience (note commercial
organisations are stepping into this role)
 Provide accessible, flexible, inclusive learning opportunities to
attract learners (e.g. all provision in all modes)
 Emphasise the holistic value of college/university experience
 Collaborate and partner with employers, alternative providers
and new entrants to avoid competition
 Stay relevant through constant portfolio / content updating

44. School, VET, HE pathways
 Learners are increasingly seeking clear and easy to navigate pathways
through education, organized and offered in the same way that their
online social tools work
 The current silos of school, college, HE and employment are unclear to
users, and only exist for cultural, historic, competitive reasons
 Collaborating and partnership between schools, colleges and universities
is critical to maintain an attractive offer to learners, who will be offered
compelling opportunities through employer-led education routes
 Offering clear, progressive, stackable routes to accredited learning
outcomes benefits learners, organisations and society
 What are the barriers to this, and how can we overcome them?

45. Examples of emerging HE and VET
partnerships
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/degree-courses-further-education-colleges-will-drive-uk-leve

46. HE and VET regional partnerships in the
lack of national unity
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/he-and-fe-unite-locally-england-wide-policy-still-disjointed
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/greater-manchesters-universities-and-colleges-announce-plans-to-work-more-closely-together/

47. 03
Digital exclusion Inequality Technostress
Digital literacies
Technocentricity
Literature
demonstrates how
digital technology
can have
unintended
consequences and
create problems.
Problems with digital technology

48. Blended Learning Essentials for VET

49. Evolving educational support to meet the
changing nature of education
Professional
development
Reward and
recognition
Leadership roles
Re-imagine role of
teacher, mentor,
learning support
Integrated academic
and professional
support
Professional support
roles

50. Supporting upskilling in TAFE sector
Post-covid professional development
for staff, to move from ‘emergency
remote teaching’, to pedagogically
effective online, hybrid and in-person
learning activities
Curriculum redesign, with learner
mode, skills needs and technology
integration at the heart of thinking
Move to authentic assessment, using
a range of digital approaches to
enable learners to demonstrate
achievement of learning outcomes
Partnerships with universities,
schools and employers to ensure
TAFE educators are able to develop
learning opportunities seamlessly
across sectors

51. Blended Learning Essentials for VET

52. Conversational framework
 Laurillard’s Conversational
Framework:
“a continuing iterative dialogue between
teacher and student, which reveals the
participants’ conceptions and the
variations between them… There is no
escape from the need for dialogue, no
room for mere telling, nor for practice
without description, nor for
experimentation without reflection, nor
for student action without feedback”.
(Laurillard, 2002)
From Laurillard (2002) Rethinking university teaching : a conversational framework for the effective use of learning technologies

53. Active learning improves learning (Wieman,
2018)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HioLgQ2KxsQ&feature=youtu.be
“There’s no point in lecturing any more, it’s clearly compelling that that’s not effective”
Carl Wieman, professor of physics and education at Stanford University
“Hundreds of articles show that
active learning instruction
consistently achieves better
student outcomes (learning and
completion) than lectures
across the many disciplines
studied.”
(Wieman, THE, 2018,
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/
blog/evidence-active-learning-more-
effective-lecturing-overwhelming)

54. Active learning improves learning outcomes
(Freeman)
 Freeman et al.'s. (2014) meta-analysis of over
200 studies exploring student performance in
STEM disciplines when experiencing traditional
lecturing versus active learning, which found
that on average performance increased in
active learning contexts and failure was more
likely when students were taught using
traditional lectures.
 The study proposed ‘abandoning traditional
lectures in favour of active learning’
(Freeman et al., 2014, p. 8410).

55. Definitions of active learning
“Instructional activities involving students in doing things and thinking about what they
are doing.” (Bonwell & Eison, 1990)
“Active learning engages students in the process of learning through activities and/or
discussion in class, as opposed to passively listening to an expert. It emphases higher-
order cognitive functions and often involves group work.” (Freeman et al, 2014)

56. What’s next for digital and online education?
 Mobile, flexible, accessible social learning
 Unbundled credentialed online education
 Immersive educational experiences using XR
technologies (virtual reality, augmented reality
and mixed reality)
 Data informed personalised, adaptive learning
environments
 Online and physical communities for social and
formal learning
 Artificial intelligence based tutoring and
assessment
 Virtual laboratories and simulations
 Integrated, intelligent, digital education
ecosystems
Personalisation
Real time online
collaborative
learning
Social
learning
Game-
based
learning
Employer
focused
learning
Authentic electronic
assessment
Integrated
mobile
learning
Student
centred
learning
Widespread
blended
learning
Learning
analytics
Flexibility in pace,
place and mode

57. Summary
• Views about effective methods to support education and learning
will continue to evolve.
• As educators and researchers, we should focus on embedding digital
technology where pedagogically appropriate to support a student-
centred, flexible, inclusive, learning experience.
• We all need to focus on curriculum design and ask what we want our
learners to be able to do, or know, through learning activities.
• We need to continue to challenge, and critically evaluate, the value of
new technologies to ensure they are delivering tangible benefits to
all learners.

58. References
 Active learning
 Barnes, D. (1989). Active Learning. Leeds University TVEI Support Project, 1989. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-872364-00-1.
 Bonwell, C., Eison, J. (1991). Active Learning: Creating Excitement in the Classroom. Information Analyses - ERIC Clearinghouse Products (071). pp. 3. ISBN 978-1-878380-08-1.
 Freeman, S., Eddy, S.L., McDonough, M., Smith, M.K., Okoroafor, N., Jordt, H., and Wenderoth, M.P. (2014). Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 111, 8410-8415.
 Laurillard, D. (2002). Rethinking university teaching : a conversational framework for the effective use of learning technologies. Taylor & Francis.
 Mazur, E (1997). Peer Instruction: A User's Manual Series in Educational Innovation. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ
 Mercer, N., Howe, C. (2012). Explaining the dialogic processes of teaching and learning: The value and potential of sociocultural theory- Learning, culture and social interaction, 2012 - Elsevier
 Tam, M. (2000). Constructivism, Instructional Design, and Technology: Implications for Transforming Distance Learning. Educational Technology and Society, 3 (2).
 Wieman C. (2019). Don’t lecture me! Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/d42473-019-00339-6
 Digital education ecosystem
 Morris NP, Swinnerton B, Coop T. 2019. Lecture recordings to support learning: a contested space between students and teachers. Computers and Education. 140
 Clunie L, Morris N, Joynes VCT, Pickering JD. 2018. How Comprehensive are Research Studies Investigating the Efficacy of Technology-Enhanced Learning Resources in Anatomy Education? A Systematic Review. Anatomical Sciences Education. 11(3), pp. 303-319Goshtasbpour F, Swinnerton B, Morris NP. 2020. Look who’s talking:
Exploring instructors’ contributions to Massive Open Online Courses. British Journal of Educational Technology. 51(1), pp. 228-244
 Morris NP, Lambe J. 2017. Multimedia interactive eBooks in laboratory science education. Higher Education Pedagogies. 2(1), pp. 28-42
 Morris NP, Lambe J, Ciccone J, Swinnerton BJ. 2016. Mobile technology: students perceived benefits of apps for learning neuroanatomy. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning. 32(5), pp. 430-442
 Unbundled Higher Education
 Morris NP, Ivancheva M, Coop T, Mogliacci R, Swinnerton B. 2020. Negotiating growth of online education in higher education. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education. 17(48)
 Ivancheva MP, Swartz R, Morris NP, Walji S, Swinnerton BJ, Coop T, Czerniewicz L. 2020. Conflicting logics of online higher education. British Journal of Sociology of Education. 41(5), pp. 608-625
 Unbundling and higher education curriculum: a Cultural-Historical Activity Theory view of process. (2020) Alan Cliff, Sukaina Walji, Rada Jancic Mogliacci, Neil Morris, Mariya Ivancheva. Teaching in Higher Education
 The Unbundled University: Researching emerging models in an unequal landscape. (2020) Preliminary findings from fieldwork in South Africa. B Swinnerton, M Ivancheva, T Coop, C Perrotta, NP Morris, R Swartz. Book: Mobility, data and learner agency in networked learning
 Between a rock and a hard place: dilemmas regarding the purpose of public universities in South Africa (2019) R Swartz, M Ivancheva, L Czerniewicz, NP Morris. Higher Education 77 (4), 567-583
 Unbundling education: Mapping the changing nature of Higher Education in South Africa. (2019) N Morris, B Swinnerton, L Czerniewicz. Impact 2019 (1), 44-46
 Negotiating the new normal: How senior decision makers in higher education perceive marketisation in the sector. (2018) L Czerniewicz, RJ Mogliacci, S Waljii, R Swartz, M Ivancheva, ... Research and Development in Higher Education:[Re] Valuing Higher Education 41
 Links available at: https://essl.leeds.ac.uk/education/staff/156/professor-neil-morris

59. Thank you
 Padlet board for your contributions, thoughts and comments at:
https://bit.ly/3O38Vh1
Padlet