28: Stephan Caspar: Cultivating time to enhance future learning

Time is the biggest barrier to educational innovation!  Teachers are too busy, working hard to ensure that students receive the best possible suite of academic outcomes.  There is little, to no time to investigate new technologies, online learning environments or to develop active learning opportunities that expand our learner’s experiences, essential skills set and knowledge.   

But when the need to introduce a new idea into our teaching practice is recognised, the temptation to immerse ourselves in the excitement and charge into using a new application or integrating a piece of technology is often the biggest risk that leads to failure.  Before we know it, the mountain we have discovered is so enormous to climb that we simply do not have the tools or time to achieve innovative learning opportunities. 

Stefan Caspar, Enhanced Learning Production Manager at the University of Southampton, recognises the need for teachers to have the luxury of time so that they can explore and develop future learning opportunities.  Together Stefan and I discuss that to be truly innovative in education we need to get creative and then develop a plan of action, for we owe it to future generations of learners.

Episode take-aways:

·         Developing processes to build blocks of time to cultivate future learning opportunities

·         Improving Virtual Learning Environments with Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)

·         Evolving the role and engagement of the learner; innovative ideas to bridge the digital divide

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