Presentation of Brikena Xhomaqi, Director, Lifelong Learning Platform for the European Distance Learning Week's first day webinar on "The Challenges and Opportunities of Innovation" - 6 November 2017 Recordings of the discussion are available: https://eden-online.adobeconnect.com/pwh05t3xnae0/

1. Lifelong Learning Platform
Brikena Xhomaqi, Director
Position Paper “Reimaging education
for the digital age”

2. Innovation & lifelong learning
• Learning & innovation go hand in hand
• The secret of innovation lays in lifelong learning
• Lifelong learning paradigm is probably the most innovative concept,
calling for a true transformation of education systems

3. Background
• “Education in a digital world” is the overarching theme for LLLP agenda
in 2017
• Despite the reach of digitalisation, impact on world of education is
relatively limited
• Goal is to raise awareness about the challenges & opportunities that
the use of digital technologies presents for learning environments &
processes of learning in general
• Recommendations based on evidence gathered both from the ground
by LLLP membership and from existing research

4. Promoting innovation in learning
• If education systems are to help open up societies to
innovation, they should themselves be innovative!
• Need to better link formal and informal learning
structures, not think either/or
• Traditional concepts of education increasingly
questioned - need to guide learners towards
innovative practices of knowledge creation using
combination of physical, social, digital, virtual etc.
(see pages 7-8)

5. • Inquiry, game and phenomenon-based learning,
enhanced through digital technology, contribute to
more innovative learning ecosystems and thus to the
development of 21st century skills (see page 7)
• Digital technologies can support new assessment
methods, including self-assessment, that complement
traditional summative approaches
• Technologies being developed to exploit rapid
feedback loops made possible by computers to
support real-time, formative assessment - contributes
to more personalised learning

6. • Important to make assessment an integral part of
learning through artificial intelligence, machine
intelligence, learning analytics and new ways of
linking the assessment to learning materials
• This is part of adapting to life in the 21st century,
rather than training students to be good solely at the
“examination game” (see page 9)

7. Recommendations (1)
See pages 4-5 for full list of recommendations
• Investment in people and access to lifelong learning
opportunities as important as investment in digital
technology
• Recognise role of non-formal and informal education
providers
• Ensure digital innovation feeds into innovative
teaching and learning methods

8. Recommendations (2)
• Carefully integrate digital technology in cooperation
with all stakeholders - role of local communities,
shared leadership
• Provide adequate support to teachers, educators and
school leaders
• Support innovative approaches to assessment as a
way to personalise the learning process

9. Recommendations (3)
• Ensure access to technology contributes to equal
learning opportunities - this is not automatic
• Protect pedagogical freedom and humanistic vision
of education in face of increasing commercialisation
& private sector interventions
• Promote online safety & well-being
• Invest in cross-disciplinary, longitudinal research to
know long-term impacts of digitalisation on learning

10. Thank You!
Lifelong Learning Platform
Presenting: Brikena Xhomaqi
Editor: Andrew Todd