In this lecture, professor Rebecca Strachan ( Northumbria University) ilustrates how we should be reimagining education to use technology in transformational ways

1. “Lets Educate, Learn and Flourish: how can we
open doors, light fires and race with machines?”
Becky Strachan
November 2017
Professor of Digital Technology and Education,
Associate Pro Vice Chancellor Strategic Planning & Engagement,
Faculty of Engineering & Environment, Northumbria University
“Technology can become the
‘wings’ that will allow the
educational world to fly
further and faster than ever
before – if we allow it”
Jenny Arledge

2. “Lets Educate, Learn and Flourish: how can we
open doors, light fires and race with machines?”
Becky Strachan
November 2017
Professor of Digital Technology and Education,
Associate Pro Vice Chancellor Strategic Planning & Engagement,
Faculty of Engineering & Environment, Northumbria University
“Technology can become the
‘wings’ that will allow the
educational world to fly
further and faster than ever
before – if we allow it”
Jenny Arledge

3. “Lets Educate, Learn and Flourish: how can we
open doors, light fires and race with machines?”
Becky Strachan
November 2017
Professor of Digital Technology and Education,
Associate Pro Vice Chancellor Strategic Planning & Engagement,
Faculty of Engineering & Environment, Northumbria University
“Diversity : the art of thinking
independently together.”
Malcolm Forbes
“Cherry, plum, peach or damson
blossoms – all, just as they are,
are entities possessing their own
unique qualities”
Teachings of Buddha

4. “Lets Educate, Learn and Flourish: how can we
open doors, light fires and race with machines?”
Becky Strachan
November 2017
Professor of Digital Technology and Education,
Associate Pro Vice Chancellor Strategic Planning & Engagement,
Faculty of Engineering & Environment, Northumbria University
“Do not follow where the
path may lead. Go instead
where there is no path and
leave a trail”
Ralph Emerson

5.  How do we learn?
 Opening Doors: Can technology help widen
participation?
 Racing with Machines: Can technology transform
education?
 Lighting fires: Can technology inspire and engage our
learners?
 Where next?

6. How do you learn well?
 Think of something that you’re good at,
something that you know you do well.
 How did you become good at it? Share
this with the person sitting next to you.

7. How do you learn well?
Motivation
Good
Support
Taken from Phil Race’s ‘Ripples’
Model of Learning, see
www.phil-race.co.uk

8. My Philosophy on Learning & Education
“I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.”
Albert Einstein
“Every student can learn. Just not on the same day or in the same way.”
George Evans
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
Mahatma Gandhi
“I try never to let my schooling get in the way of my education.”
Mark Twain
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
Yeats
“You don't learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.”
Richard Branson
“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”
Quote attributed to Confucius
“The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.”
Sydney J. Harris

9. Active
Learning
Make
mistakes
Educate not
train
Independent
Learning
Open Doors
Think for
Yourself
Lifelong
learning
Inside and
Outside the
Classroom

10. Education … more than training
Belief that people can be
‘more’
Involves physical,
intellectual, emotional,
cultural, spiritual,
vocational, aesthetic,
moral, language, social,
religious and recreational
developments

11. Society and Culture
 Narrow Focus:
– Education from age 4 – 21 years
– Expected norms: university vs work
– Environment & Culture: formal learning
 Leaky Pipeline
– Gender imbalance in different disciplines
– Mismatch between demand and skills
– Becomes more stark at higher levels

12. Can Technology help ‘Open Doors’?
 Fast changing discipline
 Focus on interaction/active learning not
content
 Maker/Tinkering Activities
 Hackathons/code clubs
 Career inspired …

13. How do we Open Doors with technology?
 Start early
One Example: NUSTEM
 Focus on ‘STEM capital’
 Sustained engagement
 Gender inclusive
 Career inspired
 Partnership working
 Targeting ‘hard to reach’
Colleagues: Carol Davenport, Annie Padwick, Jonathan Sanderson,
Joe Shimwell, Sarah Hilton, Opeyemi Dele-Ajayi, Kate Winter, Dan
Wilkinson, Antonio Portas, Itoro Emembolu, Luke Haworth
www.nustem.uk

14. of NUSTEM Research
 Among young people (7 – 15 years), the
following declines with age:
– Enjoyment of science
– Engagement of science
– Confidence in science
And females decline more sharply
 As early as age 7 years, males & females differ
in their self-identify (most like me)
 Males know more jobs particularly STEM from
an early age
 Males talk about science with a wider
set of people in and out of school

15. Racing with Machines:
Technology Enabled Learning
“It is very important to put education in the
driving seat of future technology
development … I want to turn that around,
and begin with the requirements of
education, and challenge technology to meet
them.”
Diane Laurillard (2008)
“Technology is a useful
servant but a dangerous
master.”
Christina Lous Lange

16. Data, Information and Content
Amount is overwhelming
 Estimate that the
information we create and
store doubles every two
years
 By 2020, the digital
universe will reach 44
zettabytes, or 44 trillion
gigabytes.
How do we access and use it?
Same applies to education.
Not about content creation but how do we signpost
and use it with students.

17. Mobile devices are permitted!
Question: What is  to 5 decimal places?
How would you have found out this
‘Before Google’ and mobile phones?

18. Development …
of Technology Enhanced Learning

19. Technology Enabled Learning
UK HEFCE Report (2009) on technology in
learning and teaching highlighted three main
benefits:
•efficiency (existing processes carried out in a
more cost-effective, time-effective, sustainable or
scalable manner)
•enhancement (improving existing processes and
the outcomes)
•transformation (radical, positive change in
existing processes or introducing new
processes).

20. Efficiency:
• Online learning management systems e.g. Blackboard, Moodle, Canvas
• Lecture capture e.g. Panopto
• Electronic assessment submission
Enhancement:
• Online feedback (immediate)
• Mobile apps to access content, timetables, etc.
• Interactive whiteboards
Transformation:
• Less obvious …
Are we playing too safe?

21. An Example: Interactive Video
 https://life-saver.org.uk/
 Video based, interactive, real-life, time
based
 Difficult to reproduce this in the classroom

22. Learning should be
fun, stimulating,
exciting, enjoyable and
inspirational
* facilitate * communicate * coordinate * disseminate * stimulate *
* support * listen * update * inform * liaise * innovate * proactive *

23. Example 2: Lighting Fires’
Using Games for Learning: Two Projects
Project 1: Using MMORPGs for Second
Language Learning
Colleagues: Isara Kongmee, Alison Pickard
Project 2: Using educational games to
improve engagement with Mathematics
Colleagues: Opeyemi Dele-Ajayi, Jonathan
Sanderson, Alison Pickard

24. Project 1: Gaming to Support
Second Language Learning
Background
 Students learning English as their second language
need to practice their language skills to become
competent
 Difficult to provide opportunities to interact with
native English speakers
 Classroom delivery in Thailand is quite traditional
and second language learners are under achieving.
 Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games
(MMORPGs) provide space to meet people across
the globe

25. “When people learn to play video games,
they are learning a new literacy”
(Gee, 2005: 13)

26. Methodology
Action
Research
Learners
Virtual
Ethnography
Hidden
avatar
Known
avatar
Observation
Tasks:
Game
basedGuidance &
Support

27. Conclusions
 Online role playing games can support active and
situated learning.
 Provide a stimulating and engaging environment
 Students personalised their learning: exemplified by
the different roles of ‘leader’, ‘economist’ and
‘socialiser’.
 Avatar characterisation provides anonymity providing
a safe environment, that helps increase their
confidence in using the language.
 Students gained cultural knowledge too
 Tutor can support in and out of the virtual environment

28. Example 2: Motivation for the Study
But also supported by research including:
Mathematics is important but boring: Students’ beliefs and attitudes
towards mathematics, Kislenko et al, 2005
“They do not like
mathematics, many of them
see it as hard and
impossible, then they get
disinterested in the
classroom”
Teacher, Nigeria 2015
Anecdotal

29. Challenge: Engaging Mathematics
‘Racing with Machines’
 Can games help?
 Children appear to enjoy and have greater
concentration during computer based
learning1
 But do they need to foster deeper
learning?
Our problem is about engagement, not
educational performance
1:Wrzesien, M. and Raya, M.A., 2010. Learning in serious virtual
worlds: Evaluation of learning effectiveness and appeal to students in
the E-Junior project. Computers & Education, 55(1), pp.178-187.

30. 1: DeSmet, A., Van Ryckeghem, D., Compernolle, S., Baranowski, T., Thompson, D., Crombez, G.,
Poels, K., Van Lippevelde, W., Bastiaensens, S., Van Cleemput, K. and Vandebosch, H., 2014. A meta-
analysis of serious digital games for healthy lifestyle promotion. Preventive medicine, 69, pp.95-107.
“If we can present generally
‘complex’ scientific content
through tangible and non-textually
media like serious games, we may
be able to engage reluctant
learners in STEM subjects” 1

31. Research gap
 Finding the optimal balance between
entertainment and education ( Cowley et al.
2013)
 What are the game features that support
learning and promote engagement (Butler,
2014)
A critical step for effective education games is
identifying the key game engagement factors.

32. Conceptual Engagement Framework
Initial Engagement Clarity of Goal
Thematic and Visual Appeal
Ongoing Engagement Rewards and Feedback
Social Interaction
Creativity
Challenge
Committed Engagement Immersion

33. Practical Implementation
 Three schools in Nigeria
 Carried out a ‘Technology Acceptance
Model’ (TAM) evaluation with teachers to
support them too
 Designed a game ‘Speedy Rocket’ to
support estimation mathematics
 Two weeks in the classroom trialling with
students and teachers

35. TEL in the Classroom
 Games for Learning (but keep the
engagement factors!)
 Recordings – video, audio, screen capture
 Interactive Whiteboards & other media
 Learning Management Systems and
online support – blogs, wikis, discussion
boards
 Ebooks, e-library

36. Your turn: Peer Learning …
 One minute: Count how many triangles.
 Share your answer with someone else,
now share with another couple - decide on
a final answer.

37. What are students doing in practice?
A Study of International UG Students
 19% (438,010) of all UK HE
students are international
[Source: HESA return 2015-2016]
 Often find our learning
and teaching methods
‘strange’ & ‘challenging’
 Anecdotal evidence that many use digital resources
e.g. facebook, youtube and other social media to
support their studies
37

38. Research Approach
Research Questions:
 what digital technologies are international
undergraduate students using to support their
learning?”
and
 “how are they using these digital technologies to
support their learning?”
Case Study Approach:
Survey (n=250) plus 12 in depth interviews
Colleagues: Sanaa Aljabali, Alison Pickard
38

39. Research Framework
39
Identified initial set of 10 Critical Success Factors for
technology enhanced learning (from the literature)
Learning
Community
Collaborative
Learning
Educational
Ecology
Ability to use
Hardware/
Software
Hardware/
Software
Platforms
Time Space
Learning
Contexts
Learning
Activities
Life Experience

40. Key Findings: use of digital devices
Type of
Digital Device
Daily Weekly Monthly Never
Desktop
computer
42%
(104)
26%
(65)
10%
(25)
19%
(48)
Laptop 88%
(221)
6%
(16)
2%
(4)
2%
(4)
Mobile phone 97%
(243)
0 1%
(2)
0
Tablet 32%
(79)
14%
(34)
12%
(30)
31%
(77)
40
Table 1. Frequency of Use of Digital Devices by Students
(out of a total of 250)
Note some students did not provide an answer

41. Key Findings: On and Off Campus
41
Hours of
Use
1-3
hours
4-6 hours 7-9
hours
10+
hours
On
Campus
57%
(143)
28%
(69)
10%
(24)
5%
(13)
Off
Campus
16%
(39)
34%
(84)
37%
(94)
14%
(34)
Table 2. Frequency of Use of Digital Technology by Students
(out of a total of 250)
Note some students did not provide an answer

42. 42
“I do find the library a very
suitable place for my
studies … it’s a very quiet
place to concentrate and it
have everything I need”
“I prefer to go
home to study”
“When I don’t have my
laptop with me … my
mobile phone comes in as
it helps me to do this on
the go”
“I spend about two
hours in the university
using technology but
three hours or more
outside the university”

43. Key Findings: Popular Technologies to
Support Learning
43
Table 3. Most Popular Digital Technology Tools
(out of a total of 250)
Note some students did not provide an answer
Technology Tool Response
Internet Websites 79% (197)
Blackboard (eLP) 78% (195)
Email 76% (191)
Social Media 52% (131)
Youtube 51% (127)
Document Sharing e.g. Dropbox 41% (103)
eLibrary 40% (99)
Ebooks, discussion board, wikis,
blogs
<35%

44. Key Findings: Main Purpose
Cultural Difference
44
Table 4. Cultural Differences on Main Purpose
of Using Digital Technologies
Purpose of Using
Digital Technology
USA &
Europe
North &
East Asia
Midde East
Communicate with
other students
91% 71% 71%
To ask questions 76% 66% 71%
To engage in
discussion
55% 59% 51%
To share resources 69% 48% 34%
To support formal
assessment
41% 45% 41%
To evaluate work of
others
28% 22% 13%

45. Other Findings and Cultural Differences:
Communication and Feedback
 Face to face (77%) preferred form of
communication but over 50% also cited use of
social networks and email with messaging and
phone at just over 40%
 Phone is particularly popular with students from
Asia
 Messaging and social media are most popular
with students from Europe/USA, and is
particularly low with students from the Middle East
 Discussion forums are rarely used
 More feedback is received by students via
Blackboard (45%) and Email (42%) than face to
face (32%)
45

46. Problems with Technology
 Students from Middle East and North & East Asia
reported more problems with technology than those
from Europe/USA
 A third of students from Middle East reported poor
understanding of technology compared to under 15%
from Europe and the USA
 Internet addiction is higher for students from Asia
(30%) compared to those from USA/Europe (25%)
 14% of students from Asia report social issues with
technology compared to <3% with Europe/USA
 Main issues reported as technical
(38%) with 29% reporting Internet
addiction and 26% reporting a lack of
understanding with the technology

47. Conclusions from the Project
Students are becoming more mobile in
their use of technology – devices and
location
They are using technology for a variety of
purposes both inside and outside the
classroom
There are cultural differences in how
students access and use technology
47

48. Where Next?
 Less distinction between technology for the classroom, face to
face, distance, online, informal and formal learning
 Move from resource based to contextualised, interactive and
intelligent
– Two way interaction
– Social learning
– Content Curation
– Microlearning
– Adaptive to individual
 Gamification/immersion (& keep the ‘play’)
 Learner Analytics (but take care!)

49. In Conclusion
 Education should be transformational
 Using technology in learning should be driven
by the pedagogy, not the technology
 Be innovative, try things out, make mistakes,
we all should be learning too …
 Shared practice, learning together across the
globe!
Together we can Educate, Learn & Flourish 

50. Technology Enabled
Learning should be fun,
stimulating, exciting,
enjoyable and inspirational
* facilitate * communicate * coordinate * disseminate * stimulate *
* support * listen * update * inform * liaise * innovate * proactive *

51. References
Strachan, R., Dele-Ajayi, O., Sanderson, J., Pickard, A., A Modified TAM for Predicting
Acceptance of Digital Educational Games by Teachers, IEEE EDUCON 2017, Athens,
Greece, April 25-28 2017.
Strachan, R., Aljabali, S., How are international STEM undergraduate students using digital
technology to support their learning?, HEA STEM conference, Manchester, Feb 2017.
Dele-Ajayi, O., Strachan, R., Pickard, A., Sanderson, J., Learning Mathematics through
Serious Games: an Engagement Framework, IEEE Frontiers in Education, Erie, USA, Oct
2016.
Padwick, A., Dele-Ajayi, O., Davenport, C., Strachan, R., Innovative methods for evaluating
the science capital of young people, IEEE Frontiers in Education, Erie, USA, Oct 2016.
Strachan, R., Kongmee, I., Pickard, A., Using Massively Multiplayer Role Playing Games
(MMORPGs) to Support Second Language Learning: A Case Study of the Student Journey. In
K. Terry, & A. Cheney (Eds.) Utilizing Virtual and Personal Learning Environments for Optimal
Learning, Advances in Educational Technologies and Instructional Design: 52 Volumes, 1, pp.
87-109. IGI Global, Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference, 2016
Strachan, R., Liyanage, L., Active Student Engagement: The Heart of Effective Learning.
Chapter in Global Innovation of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, Professional
Learning and Development in Schools and Higher Education, 11, pp. 255-274, Springer
International Publishing, 2015