Digital Education – so what?

Having written a few blog posts at this stage it’s probably time to remind myself of the reasons for creating a blog in the first place. A question recently put to me is worth addressing as part of this post “what are your initial thoughts on digital education and what interests you about it?”

First and foremost, maintaining a blog is a requirement for my upcoming first course frequently referred to as IDEL (seriously its not IDLE!) in Digital Education at the University of Edinburgh. Getting to grips with tags, links (cmd K still works – yay!) and open source images has been a refresher as it’s been 5+ years since I developed my online module for the MSc in Project and Programme Management at the University of Limerick. At least now I’ll have a head start on the upcoming semester.

Sustainable development (1) is an area I’m interested in, in part because it constitutes a learning outcome in the module that I teach where the concept of People, Planet, Profit, collectively coined by John Elkington as the Triple Bottom Line (2) (TBL) is a core element. It seems to me that Digital Education presents an opportunity to extend learning opportunities to those who cannot access it easily and in doing so, contribute to the community / people aspect of the TBL alongside supporting the environment (planet) through e.g. reduced paper distribution. Profit is an interesting aspect since providers of Digital Education can in theory ramp up their programmes to account for an unlimited number of learners so the cost / benefit analysis and return on investment is a decision between increasing profit and providing access to education for the greater good.

Finally, for now, lifelong learning (3), whether formal or informal, continues to interest me. It could involve taking an evening class offered by local schools typically in the autumn semester, online courses or MOOCs readily available and free, or volunteering efforts in the community eg. the Age Action Getting Started computer training or Age Action’s U3A groups that supports lifelong learning. U3A (short for University of the Third Age) is “a learning circle of older people that encourages members to share in all kinds of educational, creative, and social activities. Anyone can join – all you need is interest and an open mind.” (4)

As such, lifelong learning is not a new concept, and as technology continues to evolve, then I believe there’s a community responsibility to tap into these opportunities to aid personal and professional development of those wishing to pursue them.

The title of this blog post ‘Digital Education – so what?’ remains an open question in my mind, but hopefully I’ve shared some of my thoughts as to why Digital Education is important for the future of sustainable development.