Now we are going to move forward to
accession, which is going to be a round table.
We are going to be continuing with
people who have already been just taken forward.
Linda.
And I don't want to reveal.
We're going to go along those baseline of research,
I'm sorry, innovation of the computer science faculty doing it
as a learning experience in e-learning and acquired the aspects
in several prior years, allowing them to see an accessible use
of innovative technologies in the disciplinary areas
Litigation, art, economics, psychology.
So this room table is has a focus on lifelong learning.
So the definition of the Readiness Group 2006 is the following
the concept of learning as a process that continues through life
process and indeed what learning needs
that is used widely in education to refer to learning processes
in many forms at many levels.
But it is important to reflect here
two key aspects throughout our life
and as well a particular focus on the transversal,
different types of learning and not forgetting other delegation.
So we are in a context of lifelong learning in a complex world.
In 2000,
23 different countries.
We are all aware of that affect a lot of the world.
So in the previous lesson, always pick us up,
disclose their unique cultures, or get these amazing skills.
In this case, when I had the opportunity
to use this time more informally, you know, the station format
where we will expose speakers ideas regarding lifelong learning.
Keeping in mind UNESCO's objectives in litigation.
So considering those foreign countries of political instability
and by that context of participants and speakers, the first question is
what are the current and future key challenges
of lifelong learning in your particular context?
And during the work we call on the
occasion.
Thank you.
I think you actually invited me to participate
in this roundtable because I, as a member of the
Unique Culture unit,
I see like three main challenges
that at least the ones that I'm involved in.
The first is regarding the MOOCs, because I go to the tends to be,
you know,
a member of the group unit.
We try to leave the the MOOCs in in even in said Europe.
So for a while we were, you know, pushing forward for that.
But this moment
I think I'm more concerned
and how to how we could
use the the MOOCs as an informal input,
you know, or, you know, and make the game
he reallocation models but the online
not mixing person shoulder
for instance like the clip in the classroom.
I'm not thinking on that.
I'm thinking about doing informal plus for my learning
everything online.
So how we would use the MOOCs even in in higher education
as a means to enhance some transversal skills,
for instance, such as
I don't know, collaboration and things like that, that usually
the distance students are, you know, very much isolated from,
from the position of one.
So we've been doing some some research on that
and I think, you know, it's worth, you know, to investigate
about the balance, you know, that we could use this kind of
learning in formal contexts,
but also
this very soon.
I'm going to say if it were seen
maybe as a 14
or 15 rate after the MOOCs via
LinkedIn, try to make these budgets out of the MOOCs learning.
So in a full I agree that
we've missed maybe this book and
because the end
later learning needs flexibility
but also we the students need some credentials.
I'm thinking about our
type of
student that you need the usually is in the
you know 50 up forties or 30 years or forties.
So they don't just want to learn but it conventional
and at that point
when they get to know this distance
universities and I wrote up that these open
universities in the in the Anglo-Saxon world and I love that
that word open because for they
it meant like a legal type of education.
So you could build up, you know, your
educational profile like, you know, it
can some courses from here to there and building your own itinerary.
And I think that's what you know, that
the society now needs, or at least the models that we are in search of
are doing it. But
you need has play an important role
also for the last two years, at least in our country, New Spain.
And we are in fact already developing some
micro degrees, several micro masters and micro rates.
But the problem is that they are not yet recognized.
So at least in our country, I think we have a problem
with our National Agency for Quality because they I'm not sure
what they are thinking about, but they are not yet recognized.
And I think it will take too long And to finalize
my first intervention and I was just to
say little
or just one idea about personalization,
because it's been said this morning a lot about, you know,
the power of eye to the sunrise systems
and and in personalized learning.
But I see things from another view.
I think now we are all focused on, on on eye but just on
the language models and it is like, okay, it's only, you know,
looking about the the power of the eye
and you know, in with this kind of modeling.
But I see because
and then a lot of
research on on on the autonomous use for years
and that means you know having these lawyers as they produce
speakers just mention that they could be, you know,
a McLean Municipal through a repository
and that that
we can access them,
you know, whenever we want or so we can select them.
So I think that I can play a very important role on that.
And we we are able to develop some tools,
you know, with a lot of
nice recommendation, not not the ones that
that we are used now like the Amazon example that were said this morning.
But I think there is a lot to do and we've we've invested a lot
on the semantic whip and I think we have not, you know, all the
power of of of the semantic
web and I see that that in the near future
there could be a place for for the people
to reach, you know,
the content or reach the pieces of
of learning, you know,
in an autonomous way.
And that can be
had by by the use of I.
Think Google by longer foresee.
Yeah.
Well if I want to think in all about the challenges in my
you know in my context, you know, where I live, you know,
which is also different than other places,
the first thing I think about is
I think about the curriculum
and for lifelong learning curriculum available,
it should I believe it should remain relevant
to the changing needs of the job market.
Because, you know, I look at from a lifelong learning
centers indifferent universe and they look at the curriculum,
I see it's outdated or obsolete or it's not.
So I think this is one important challenge.
Another challenge we have in Lebanon is the recognition of this,
what we call informal learning, because it's different
maybe than in Europe, because, you know, if you go to
to the job market, the first question you will ask you or the
the person interviewing you, do you have
a degree from a university for one degree,
a bachelor in marketing, a bachelor in that.
So this is another challenge for us.
A lot of people, you know, like
they get training on the job or through Lifelong
Learning Center or self-directed,
and they get the certificate at the end of the training.
And, you know, they find it really hard with the employers,
at least in Lebanon.
This is another challenge that I see.
Another challenge, you know, if I want to talk about, is
because I was the the director of the lifelong
Learning Center at my university for a couple of years,
as you know, the financial barriers, because you know this person
who's getting $500 per month, you know, he cannot afford to
to come and pay for a to take.
This week,
A the lifelong learning center for Affordability.
It's another challenge,
I guess.
And lastly, another challenge.
You know, here is the policy
when it comes to minister of education
and higher education, you know the policy,
we don't have adequate policies
that support and promote lifelong learning in our country.
So this is what I can think about
in my context.
Thank you very much.
Appreciate it.
Linda.
Thank you.
Michael,
can you hear me?
Great.
So South Africa has has a kind of a little bit of a story behind
about how we've approached lifelong learning and to be 100%
honest, it's not an area I know well, but I have been least
reading about it, considering I'm on the panel
and it's very much so.
The the first mentions of lifelong learning came through
trade unions in South Africa,
and that's the kind of the definition that they had
was that that lifelong learning, lifelong learning should be capable
of meeting both equity and development needs.
And, you know, part of the South African system is complicated.
Our education system is not good.
Our literacy levels are not as high.
A shocking statistic statistics.
So our unemployment rate currently
is at 31.9%, whereas Spain
currently, just as an example, is on 11.8.
So what we have is a lot of
people who need more skills and so it's very much
kind of skills driven as opposed to
kind of, you know, nice to have or
it is related to work, but it's more kind of a fundamental
what is the thing that you that
you need to get a job?
Exactly.
As Fozzie was saying,
you know, it's you've got to collect these things on your CV.
So it was
all about the unions promoting
lifelong learning and to to help with skills shortages
specifically, and lifelong learning that was flexible and portable
and mobile so that students could easily access
the materials.
So what we have done,
which which is a is is a good thing,
is that the government has got quite involved in this.
And the the term that we use
is the recognition of prior learning or appeal.
I don't know if it's something used in other countries
or whether it's a uniquely South African thing, I don't know.
But what we try what we've tried to do to open up
access is for people,
whoever you are, to to recognize,
you know, your prior learning, gain through work, experience
and practical workplace learning and such,
so that you can kind of build up a portfolio of these.
And so the government is trying to standardize this
into a national system.
So so that's is a very good positive thing.
But just to add to finish of what I want to say,
we don't have micro micro credentials in case
which would probably be really useful for building
a building blocks of these kinds of things.
So that hasn't really happened yet.
So this is something that that needs to happen in the future.
We need to be thinking about that.
What else did I want to say?
I think that's enough for now.
Thank you, Linda.
Thank you.
We know there is trouble in.
I'm not sure.
I. Yeah, let's throw it to somebody.
Some video.
Okay, No worries then.
Just to summarize some some of the challenges can be that
we need flexibility, accreditation.
There is a lack of recognition, a need for personalization,
so curriculum has to be updated for lifelong learning,
taking care that recognition
there may be financial barriers and policies have to be in place.
They have to cover equity and development needs.
People need a skills for the labor market.
So government involvement is important and positive
when they consider as well they are learning.
Now let's discuss.
We have been thinking about those challenges
and now let's think about together.
How would you improve the opportunities for lifelong
learning within your context?
So in this case, let's
start with obstacles.
Yeah, I think McKenzie is raising is
and maybe you want to say something,
I don't know, maybe
and you see him raising his end, know
McKenzie from South Africa.
I'm afraid they don't see anything here
anyway.
But on a
whole, you know,
if I want to think about, you know, like
improving
the opportunities for lifelong learning, you know,
in my country, the first thing you know, I
promoting what we call digital literacy and on
skills, this is first thing,
as I said, you know, a lifelong learning center need
to update the curriculum to meet the industry needs.
This is very important.
But you know in a regular basis review and update all the education
curricula to align with the evolving needs of
whatever job markets we're talking about.
Another thing is, you know, like
recognition is very important, you know, for
we need mechanism.
We don't have them to recognize and give credit for a prior
learning experience, the work related skills,
informal learning, lifelong learning, whatever you want to call it.
We don't have any of talking about Lebanon.
Again, I'm not talking general.
This is something very important and maybe, you know, like
universities have to meet with, you know, like employers
with companies to encourage them to to to
to acknowledge, to value
the skills gained through nontraditional educational policies.
For example, at my university, we have formed
a committee, as Glenda was saying, about micro credentialing.
We are establishing what we call digital badges now
at the university level under the Lifelong Learning Center
so that, you know, any student enrolled in those courses,
certificate or whatever, you know, they will get the digital badge,
which is issued by an accredited university
because the lifelong learning Center is on the Notre Dame University.
And this digital badges, you know, it will be
offered to student and this is I think it's a very important thing
if we can achieve it whenever they complete a course
or a certificate, then they can
The university or the lifelong
Learning Center will issue this badge,
which is of value, and then the student
can put it on his LinkedIn account, his Facebook or whatever.
He can share it with the employers,
and then the employers can check why this this student take this.
But it's more than just a I passed the course of I failed the course.
It's more than A and B and C as the great English system
because we use the American system, it the badge will tell you exactly
what the skills that was accomplished, you know, or
gain by the student by completing the specific code or this the
specific certificate.
And of course, you know, as I said, also the government
and the ministry here,
they have to play an important role
because, you know, in our situation, if a student has a certificate
from our university or from the lifelong learning center
and go to the ministry or to Stanford to say, well,
I got the certificate, they will not stamp it for them.
And, you know, if you go to their employer
and you will tell them, you know, go to the ministry and, you know,
I need that acknowledgment that this is that they get that
for this course, for this series of courses is valid or whatever.
Okay. So this is another thing.
It should be done at the ministry level.
I don't know if I can think about that.
But that said, you know, that's a that's a
thank you.
That's quite a lot.
You know.
So how would I, I would, in our context, improve things.
I think that
I think the fact that open education
resources and open textbooks
have far more on the horizon,
not only in higher education, but also in in colleges.
I think that that is that's an improvement.
And we so
my colleague from Spain talked about MOOCs and MOOCs as a as a good way
to to find different schools in all different areas.
We've developed MOOCs at our university
and the other examples in South Africa.
And those are certainly MOOCs that are about local
content and relevant, really relevant to to people's needs.
So that's definitely something that's important.
And what what's happened with the MOOCs and I think this is,
you know, one of the things one of the issues with mix is,
you know, how open are they is, you know,
you do the course and then you don't have access to the content.
We've set up that any.
Luke,
the academics who want to make MOOCs had to make the materials open.
So that's also another way of actually
you know, sharing content and having content out there
and hopefully kind of, you know,
growing a sort of a community of, of
and, and a philosophy around
lifelong learning.
We're also wanting
to do short courses that
that would be accredited with a UKTI degree
or UKTI short course diploma, I suppose you would call it.
And we're trying to keep them very inexpensive.
So they're very expensive options
but we're trying to keep them very inexpensive.
So they're
they're lots of small pieces that we can do in higher education.
But I do
the aspect that really worries me is more
that the kind of the school leavers and the younger
children who are not
doing
formal education to to kind of a qualification level
and and trying to, you know,
get both to society that thinks about about
learning society, let's call it, and a learning nation.
And I think that's
that's a big
challenge and I don't have the solution for that but
that's something that we want to be working towards in
in every aspect of education, not only higher education.
My colleague from UniSA,
who knows more about lifelong learning than me.
And I had I had my hand up all right, I had my hand out.
The chap isn't going to see that.
Can I come into.
Yes, sir.
Yeah.
And, and thanks Linda for for put in the, the
the picture of lifelong learning on the platform.
I've been very busy.
In August I was appointed by the Minister of Education
together with the General Secretary for National Commission
for Unit School to become part of the ad hoc committee.
We were just, you know, how it happened.
So I figure we get a directive from government.
So we were just bundled together is a group of experts myself, Professor
Veronica mackay,
we were led by the CEO of and
of Sakwa Nadir Starr.
So we formed a team and I'm just responding to
to you, Glenda, to see the picture you presented.
Yes, there is absolutely no clarity.
Oh, well, lifelong leading South Africa,
the team participation in the Eunice Institute.
For Lifelong Learning.
And we found ourselves bundled in that.
Space with the Republic of China, with Egypt and with Azerbaijan.
So we became a foreign nation team that came together
under the guidance of the Institute for Lifelong Learning.
We had a series of workshops that culminated in us going to
Shanghai Open University, where the workshop
for the development of the poor.
So as we speak, we are finalizing a document
that will then spell out the policy on lifelong learning.
In South Africa is a new initiative. So you are absolutely right.
We are just clutching at straws and trying to get ourselves in this focus
it lifelong learning has been in the picture for long.
The you know, the initiative you mentioned is part and in fact,
Professor McCabe
has been leading lifelong learning initiative from disengaged
for many years.
The policies were there,
but the implementation in South Africa is crappy.
We don't really mean we were worried even now,
that we have entered into this whole process of workshops,
we have developed what I believe is a fine policy
that outlines how we view lifelong learning.
After the conversations we have had with some openness, the question is
will this be implemented?
So just watch this space and see what comes out of that.
Thank you very much. I need to clarify that.
Thank you.
Yeah,
quite on the day.
I fully agree with
all the comments that have been said
before, just to a couple of different
two facts
I agree
with also with the importance of these
terms.
I'm not sure how you approach process.
As you mentioned before, the decolonization of the content or so
I just to call it context adaptation or content adaptation.
So but yeah, and the point is not only to cultural adaptation
or the context of application, but also to the age of the learner.
I think it's very important for us thinking on lifelong learners.
They're thinking about people with a certain age.
So it's not the same to to give them some mitigation
resources that might, you know,
they might be like they would be too stupid or, you know, too
funny things that, you know, that adults do not like, you know?
So I think it's very important to analyze the content.
And I fully believe that, you know, the earlier
said trend is is is a starting point of that process.
I think
there is a second fact that has not been mentioned.
It's about what the blockchain technology
and give us in this context of work.
For instance,
you know, the blockchain technology
can can help us to enhance
different ways of certification.
So there is
a very wide range of new opportunities
there to develop different certificates are,
you know, full compliance and and sealed and everything.
And we can all preserve in our detailed profiles.
And also there is a place for mechanism of contracts
that could open, you know, the way we do the bilateral agreements
and it could help us to to move faster
while, you know, making
mixed learning between different
countries or different type of institutions and things like that.
And the third fact that I wanted to highlight this is the big my concern
about all these moral language that we are using based
we say AI.
And what about the
the respect of the
copyrights and
or Creative Commons licensing
I've been doing myself, you know, for for more than a decade.
I've developed myself for several lawyers.
Some of them are minds or there are refactored or re adapted from others.
But now, you know, they open all these
to diabetes and all these models for three or four in.
And I do not know if these tools have
maybe harvested my,
my content because my content was open in a way
and I have no idea if they have done it, if it's already harvested
and they are taking no money out of my
making money out of my work, and even
what if
they are respected?
I mean, if if some of my content
had maybe a specific Creative Commons license,
I mean, who can assure me that they have respect it?
So because usually I establish a licensing
that doesn't allow to make money out of my out of my content. So,
you know, I think this is an important
I challenge also.
But that is related
to the use of or you are saying lifelong learning.
And and for sure, you know in the opening of the whole.
So some areas for improvement is we need to consider the job markets
in just put in place mechanisms for recognition.
So budgets need to include the skills of students should
get from the courses.
Check that out.
And again implementation for policy policies from governments
and ministries in terms of as well the use of lawyers.
And I don't think there's MOOCs.
MOOCs are not is so important.
They they keep us well local content
they are focus on readiness of of audience
and release those content.
That's how we are as an open content, open application
resources that's also courses.
So basically this has already with I mean in place
of course in our practices
what producing those materials to be really I guess
considered as well.
So courses have a diploma and important as well involve society
and keep as much as possible them inexpensive
is important and as a part of the condition of lifelong learning.
The age of our learners.
Bear in mind that when creating the content of the resources,
the use of blockchain technology to support certifications
and the correct use of the licenses, Creative
Commons and respect and check them out.
So I'm ahead of time.
So knowing when I currently allow you to answer this question is just
a couple of sentences.
Yes. Think about if you look back to the last ten years
as your contest for lifelong learning, significantly change,
yes or no, and yes, sorry way
I start with OSI or.
Well, yeah, of course.
You know, I mean it changed for for the better.
And one of the main reasons is that once in technology,
you know, what we see happening with technology,
I believe it played a significant role
in expanding access to education.
And we know because we have new modes of learning
and always the more online learning online course, the digital resources
or both issues.
Of course, this is due to technology.
This is something, you know, which wasn't seen before.
We're seeing more and more and another point, you know,
if I want to say
there is a need now, nowadays it's
very much pressure which is coming
from the rapidly changing jobs in the market
so that, you know, people will
go to lifelong learning,
get certification and the skilling upskilling all those things.
So I think those two, you know, that's
what I can think about now.
Thank you very much.
Also going on the.
Mm. Okay.
Definitely. Yes.
It's changed a lot.
I remember decades ago we were debating
if we could get a business model out of the year or out of the MOOCs.
And it definitely
does that.
And so, I mean, there are many
examples of good business out of the Oberlin movement also.
So, yes, a
It's a complete different context,
but still,
there is a lot of there is a lot of work.
I think that the MOOCs are like kind of still or not,
not dead, but there is no really an instructional design.
I mean, in the new MOOCs, so only new content.
But I think there's a lot of work that can be done, you know,
from the pedagogy go and point of view in,
in also
all this process of the decision this morning,
I think we raised the issue a little bit about it, but
in a way
we sell the idea that the open learning movement
will get to a broader
audience, you know, to the saver groups and so on.
And in a way, as long as they have a computer
or an Internet connection or a mobile they can access.
But at the same time, every day we've got new barriers.
And also Glenda raised a point of about the
the inherent inherent bias and the risk of discrimination
that we have also recognizing in some
a based products or results.
And so
in a way, I think I mean,
in a we this decade
yeah the conditions change in some things has changed a lot
and but in others you know it's been little improvement.
So I think we we have to
a lot of work to do.
Thank you Glenda.
Oh thank you, colleagues.
Yes, I did have very much more to add.
I also feel, you know, definitely
there is more awareness of lifelong learning in the last ten years.
I as I said, the growth of of of the open movement
is is also a positive
interest from the South African government
with this idea of especially the teaching vocational colleges
to have materials for for the young adults to upskill.
We have a national
open learning system called nulls,
which not many people know about, unfortunately,
but that was designed by the government
and has local materials there to to upskill
students who want to go into to technical vocational degrees.
At the moment, it's a it's a quite a tricky log in process.
But they are working on on trying to make it more open. So
step by step, right.
This one sometimes feels like small steps, but
we've got to take the steps and we've just got to keep
keep the momentum and and, and and try and change.
And at the moment, like it was, people are running
and we have to run to keep up.
I think with with all the changes that are happening at the moment,
if we don't stand up and make a difference
and and take the steps, we can be in a full band.
Thank you, Parker, for
chairing.
Nice to see you.
Thank you very much.
Would you pick me such a rock?
Yes. Is it, as they say?
So? I'm out of time.
So thank you very much to our speakers.
Runs and applause for them, please.
Thank you.
And now I think we can.
This roundtable,
considering that there is quite a lot of work to be done,
that things have improved and things are moving forwards as well.
So Thank you very much.
See you in the next session.