A leading theorist and researcher on how technology impacts learning, George Siemens thinks digitization of content and interaction has profound implications on teaching and learning and the organization of universities in general.
Siemens will deliver a lecture – The Future of Learning: Digital, Data-driven, and Distributed – April 13 as the Schmidt Family Annual Educational Technologies Lectureship in the Vanderbilt School of Engineering. The lecture is in Jacobs Believed In Me Auditorium, 134 Featheringill Hall, at 4:10 p.m. A reception will follow in Adams Atrium.
“The models of instruction that once defined higher education are giving way to more participative and interactive approaches. These changes are heavily influenced by broader societal transitions. My presentation will provide an overview of what’s changing, what it means, and how we can expect higher education to function in the future,” Siemens said.
Siemens is a researcher on learning, systemic change, networks, analytics, and openness in education. He is the author of Knowing Knowledge, an exploration of how the context and characteristics of knowledge have changed and what it means to organizations today. He also is the author of the Handbook of Emerging Technologies for Learning.
He has delivered keynote addresses in more than 35 countries on the influence of technology and media on education, organizations, and society, and his work has been profiled in national and international media.
Siemens is professor and executive director of the Learning Innovation and Networked Knowledge Research Lab at the University of Texas, Arlington, and he holds an appointment with the Centre for Distance Education at Athabasca University in Canada. His research has received numerous awards for pioneering work in learning, technology, and networks. He holds honorary doctorates from Universidad de San Martín de Porres in Peru and Fraser Valley University in Canada. He also holds an honorary professorship at the University of Edinburgh and adjunct faculty status at the University of South Australia.
Siemens is a founding president of the Society for Learning Analytics Research. He has advised government agencies Australia, European Union, Canada and the United States, as well as numerous international universities on digital learning and utilizing learning analytics for assessing and evaluating productivity gains in the education sector and improving learner results.
In 2008, he pioneered massive open online courses (referred to as MOOCs). He blogs at eLearnSpace and on Twitter: gsiemens.
The focus of the Schmidt Family Annual Educational Technologies Lectureship is to explore advances in digital learning and their applicability to innovation and practice in the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering.” Doug Schmidt, associate chair for computer science and professor of electrical engineering and computer science, and his parents, retired Navy Capt. Raymond P. Schmidt and Roberta R. Schmidt, created the lectureship.
Contact:
Brenda Ellis, (615) 343-6314
Brenda.Ellis@Vanderbilt.edu
Twitter @VUEngineering