Tonight we (Amada and I) watched a Lilly 2021 session entitled “SUNY Exploring Emerging Technologies for Lifelong Learning and Success (#EmTechMOOC)” by Roberta (Robin) Sullivan from the University at Buffalo. Sullivan is an instructional strategist, and their colleague Cherie van Putten at Binghamton University is an instructional designer. Their goal was to inform all learners (including faculty and staff) to stay current with today’s rapidly changing technologies. EmTech is an OER. A campus can adopt or adapt the entire project, integrate modules into a course, use as a resource for students, and for faculty professional development. EmTech has a MOOC component that is a Coursera MOOC. There are short videos for the five different modules to create an online learning community. Sullivan mentioned that lifelong learning is the main idea and the “four Cs of 21st Century Skills”
- Communication
- Collaboration
- Creativity
- Critical thinking
These are skills that employers often seek. As part of the MOOC, Sullivan explained that the learning process has four stages: read/view/participate with course materials, explore Wiki tools/resources and complete discovery exercises, share an artifact & reflect in an ePortfolio, and earn badges & Coursera Certificate. Learners gain a personal ePortfolio, Coursera Certificate of Completion, a digital badge, and learning! Sullivan explained that members of SUNY system have Coursera fee waivers and others will pay a fee ($30) for the Coursera Certificate.
The Wiki site seems like an awesome dynamic resource to share materials and updates. The global reach of EmTech MOOC includes numerous countries, and I thought it was great to see Mexico on the list. Sullivan shared that the team has done surveys and qualitative research thematic analyses to learn about the impact of the EmTechMOOC. There was some evidence the presenters shared about users immediately implementing technology tools. The URL for the project website is: http://suny.edu/emtech
There are flyers, small takeaways downloads, and short 1-minute overview videos. The presenters made a call fro partnerships including EmTech Fellows. The site now has over 500 tools and resources, including tutorials for the Microsoft Suite of tools! Participants that complete the MOOC are invited to become EmTech Fellows to continue to enrich discussions. I love how this project continues to grow and participants contribute resources as well as feed the discussions! The presenters ended with a call for partnerships to further expand EmTech’s impact. I love learning about projects like these that continue to expand and create more collaborations.
