AUDIO available at http://bit.ly/audio_thompsonnebsa2016 Slides from keynote address at National EBS Association (NEBSA) 2016 national conference, Jacksonville, Florida

1. Tethers, Towers, and the Next
Wave of Connected Learning
Kelvin Thompson, Ed.D.
University of Central Florida
@kthompso #NEBSA
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Sharealike 3.0 Unported
License. Portions of this work are the intellectual property of others and are attributed appropriately in
context.

2. http://bit.ly/thompson_nebsa2016
Primitive audio recording of the session:
http://bit.ly/audio_thompsonnebsa2016

3. Technology is anything invented after you
were born. Everything else is just stuff.
- attributed to Alan Kay
(possibly paraphrased)

4. A Story

5. Modified from “Pacific
Telephone Ad, c1959” by
alsis35 on Flickr under
terms of
CC BY-NC 2.0 License
https://www.flickr.com/photos
/alsis35/6091361075

6. “A blast from the
past (**Explored)”
by stratman2 on
Flickr under terms
of
CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
License
https://www.flickr.com/
photos/stratman2/1659
1859241

7. Same Time + Different Place Different Time + Different Place
Same time + Same Place Different time + Same Place
Time
Place

10. “Cell Tower 37th st.” by
cvreeland on Flickr under
terms of
CC BY-NC 2.0 License
https://www.flickr.com/photos
/cvreeland/23493187721

11. Every connection point is
both a tether and a tower.

12. Connections
A Preamble

13. Our lives are connected by a thousand
invisible threads.
- Reverend Henry Melvill
(paraphrased)

14. I define connection as the energy that exists
between people when they feel seen, heard,
and valued; when they can give and receive
without judgment; and when they derive
sustenance and strength from the
relationship.
- Brene Brown, Ph.D.
(The Gifts of Imperfection)

15. [Human moments are] those moments when we feel
connected to someone or something outside of
ourselves and in the presence of what matters.
- Edward Hallowell, M.D.
(Human Moments)

16. X
Technological
Human
+-
+-

18. Networked
Technologies
Digital
Information
Abundance
Human Interaction

19. Values Value Proposition Clarification
Cost Access Quality
Small Public
Medium Public
Large Public
Small Private
Medium Private
Large Private
Large Public 3 1 2
Just an Example…

20. The Future of Learning is…
1. Untethered
2. Blended
3. Personalized
4. Deeper
5. Connected

21. Untethered
The future of learning is untethered.

22. BYOD?
• Some studies indicate that 95% of college students bring
cell phones to class each day
- May, 2012
• Nationwide, 90% of adults (98% of those 18-29) have
cell phones with the majority (63%) using for internet
access
• 61% of US adults own a laptop computer
- Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2014
http://bit.ly/pew_data http://bit.ly/may_data

23. “Small [network connected] devices can be carried almost
anywhere with minimal effort and can therefore be accessible to
the user at all times….
Mobile learners have access to real-time or static data whenever
and wherever they need it in addition to rapid access to
applications for data-gathering, including note taking, imaging,
audio recordings, videos, teacher lecture notes, reference books,
simulations, worksheets, etc.” [emphasis added]
- Orr, 2014
http://bit.ly/orr_dissertation

24. Blended
The future of learning is blended.

25. Multiple Approaches
Tech Enabled
F2F + Online
Web Enhanced
Flip Class
Reduced Seat Time
Mandated “Recipes”
Understanding “Blended”

26. Blended Learning at UCF

27. 27

28. AY 2014-2015
• 37.79% of total university SCH
• 77.7% of all students took at least one online course (W, M, V, RV)
• 80.19% of all undergraduates (47,116)
• 61.13% of all graduate students (6,469)
NOTE:
W = fully online
M = blended
V/RV = video lecture capture

29. 88 91
87 88 91 8890
94 91 91
95 9289 91 89 90 92 91
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Spring 14 Sum 14 Fall 14 Spring 15 Sum 15 Fall 15
F2F (n=581,010) Blended (n=75,684) Fully Online (n=199,787)
Student success (A, B, or C grade)
Used with permission. UCF Research Initiative for Teaching Effectiveness

30. 4 3 4 4 3 44 2 3 3 2 35 4 5 4 3 4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Spring 14 Sum 14 Fall 14 Spring 15 Sum 15 Fall 15
F2F (n=655,631) Blended (n=81,091) Fully Online (n=200,095)
Student withdrawal
Used with permission. UCF Research Initiative for Teaching Effectiveness

31. Overall Student “Excellent” Ratings
Blended Learning 56%
Fully Online 55%
Face-to-Face 53%
Video (fully online) 47%
Video (blended) 45%
N = 756,445
Used with permission. UCF Research Initiative for Teaching Effectiveness

32. Personalized
The future of learning is personalized.

33. “Isaiah Medina and Corrie Peterson at Trenton Public Library” by NJ State Library on Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0
https://www.flickr.com/photos/njlibraryevents/15539980979

34. Individualized learning experiences through
application of various technologies for scale.
K-12 – personalized = blended (sometimes)
Higher ed – personalized = adaptive/CBE/etc. (sometimes)

35. UCF “Personalized Learning” (RealizeIT)
Report on initial trials:
“Realizeit at UCF”
http://bit.ly/ucfreport_
personalized

36. “Habitable Worlds”
ASU Case Study by
SmartSparrow
https://www.smartsparrow.
com/case-
studies/habworlds

37. Open Questions
• What are the limits to personalization?
o Remediation only?
o All disciplines?
o Scale?
o Scope?
• What is the place of social interaction v.
self-paced?

38. Deeper
The future of learning is deeper (learning).

39. “Deeper” = more accurate assessment
“Deeper” = higher cognitive levels (after
assuring foundational
knowledge)

40. An overt emphasis on data,
particularly learning analytics, to
promote foundational student
success
MOOC Remediation Case Study
http://bit.ly/mooc_remediation

41. Problem-based learning (or other high
person-intensive) approaches utilized
in pursuit of whole-is-greater-than-
sum-of-parts gains
Conceptual Model from Georgetown
University
http://bit.ly/georgetown_model

42. Connected
The future of learning is connected.

43. We don’t connect to technology.
We connect to other people through
technology.

44. “egg crate” by meg-z on Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0
https://www.flickr.com/photos/meg-z/4522641172

45. Connection in Action
http://bit.ly/rogers_video
• Watch
• Follow directions
• Reflect

46. Dig Deeper…
• FREE online course now (BlendKit2016) http://bit.ly/go_blendkit2016
• FREE webinar March 14 from ELI & NMC http://bit.ly/trends_webinar
• FREE 2-pagers on emerging learning tech http://bit.ly/eli_7things
• FREE monthly podcast on digital teaching http://bit.ly/topcast_web
• FREE videos on personalized learning http://bit.ly/etv_personalized
• (variable $) monthly newsletter on trends http://bit.ly/ftte_news

47. "In times of change, learners inherit the earth
while the learned find themselves
beautifully equipped to deal with a world
that no longer exists."
- (paraphrased from) Eric Hoffer
“Aha Cleveland” by Erik Drost on Flickr CC BY 2.0 License
https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrost88/14669029608

48. Thanks and Please Follow-Up
Dr. Kelvin Thompson
@kthompso
kelvin@ucf.edu
http://linkedin.com/in/drkelvinthompson
http://bit.ly/thompson_nebsa2016