Dr. Jon Mason Delivered a Lecture on Questioning, Smart Education and Learning Analytics
Dr. Jon Mason from the School of Education, Charles Darwin University in Australia delivered a lecture titled Questioning, Smart Education and Learning Analytics on November 17 at School of Educational Technology, Beijing Normal University (BNU). This lecture is under Series Lectures on Future Education and was organized by Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Future Education (AICFE). This lecture was in Room 208 at School of Educational Technology instead of a meeting room at AICFE, because we intended to share cutting edge researches with faulty and staff and students at BNU. The lecture attracted around 30 audience, including staffs at AICFE, students and international students at BNU, and teachers from middle schools. The most impressive activity for audience was a mini workshop on question formulation technique. Thirteen questions arose in 10 minutes around ‘learning analytics’. This workshop reminded us that ‘why’ is intriguing and essential.
The background of the lecture is that some data scientists have argued that recent developments in smart technology point to a diminishing need for causal reasoning in processing digital information to the extent that the 'why' will no longer be needed. In other words, the data available to support inquiry may render some questioning redundant. This is obviously the case when we use search technologies that abbreviate our questions; it is not so obvious when we are engaged in deep questioning or dialog. Meanwhile, recent attention in education has also focused on development of 21st century competencies, in which problem solving and digital technology skills have prominence. Therefore, leading to some question. How do we accommodate both these diverse approaches in building smart infrastructure for smart education? As the era of big data, the internet of things, and data-driven everything gets underway what might be a smart or strategic response? How smart will such a response be seen in the future? In considering such questions this lecture focuses on the role of questioning in the evolving digital environment.
Picture 1: Dr. Jon Mason is speaking
Picture 2: Dr. Jon Mason and audience
Further Reading:
1. Dr Jon Mason
Dr Jon Mason is currently a faculty member of the School of Education at Charles Darwin University in Australia. Previously he worked as a consultant in digital learning and knowledge management in the government and education sectors, engaging in a range of international standardization activities since 1998, initially as the founding co-chair of the DC-Education Working Group. More generally this standardization work has been located within the e-learning domain – the IMS Global Learning Consortium, the IEEE LTSC, and ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC36. Earlier appointments included a number of senior roles for education.au limited, a ministerial non-profit agency formed in 1997 for the purpose of leading collaborative projects focused on ICT for the Australian Education and Training sector. Jon serves on a number of journal editorial boards and is an elected member of the executive committee of the Asia Pacific Society for Computers in Education, the organization that hosts the annual International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE). His PhD dissertation investigated the “why dimension” of digital learning and his current research interests are at the nexus of digital learning, knowledge-based systems, inquiry techniques, sense-making, question technologies, open educational practices, and the cultivation of wisdom.
