Given my role in the TELT project as an eLearning Researcher and Educational Technologist, I should probably preempt this post by saying the opinions and perspectives contained here are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of UNSW, or the individuals in the video. Basically this isn’t a formal media release; they’re just my thoughts and experiences.

This video was posted just this evening on the UNSW eLearning Channel at YouTube and I thought it was worth sharing. This is primarily to establish a point of reference regarding the landscape I work in at UNSW, but also as an indication of some evolving perceptual changes in educational technology with regard to distributed frameworks and freedom of choice; and equally significant, the fundamental relationships these factors share with the learning and teaching processes.

The clip features Robyn Jay (@robynjay on Twitter) and Director of my unit, Learning & Teaching @ UNSW, Professor Stephen Marshall and provides an overview of the Technology Enabled Learning & Teaching (TELT) Platform at the University of New South Wales.

In light of the discussions that emerged during last week’s SENG meeting (formal name STILL pending), it would appear that the trend at least at many local institutions is for a reduction in available technologies, rather than the increase we’re exploring at UNSW.

Importantly, this video discusses only the technologies that are expected to be formally supported at an institutional level. There is also the expectation that usage of cloud services will emerge as well – and this is recognised as a valid activity. The main distinction here lay between what is expected to be centrally supported, and what is not. Indeed it is also assumed that schools and faculties – even individual academics – will be exploring additional frameworks on their own, or at the local level. This too is seen as as completely reasonable activity.

The ultimate importance is how these frameworks can empower and support learning and teaching.

From a personal standpoint I see tremendous opportunities in all this, not just in the potential for innovation that can stem from such widespread, distributed experimentation, but perhaps more importantly in the potential for the cultivation and growth of learning networks that cut across the staff/student boundary, faculty lines and particularly extend beyond the walls of the institution itself.

Many of us already have vibrant, flourishing networks outside the institution that have been more or less developed in isolation. Formal recognition of the validity and value of choice and distributed interaction largely throws the doors wide open to all sorts of participation and collaboration. It’s a truly inspiring process to be a part of.

My main hope is that the exploration of new technological opportunities above and beyond – and especially outside – the LMS, such as blogs, wikis and other social media tools will inevitably lead towards cultural changes and a fundamental renegotiation of the roles and relationships that currently exist in education. Ultimately this remains to be seen.