Towards flexible personalized learning and the future educational system in the fourth industrial revolution in the wake of Covid-19

Abstract

The concept of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is related to a ubiquitously connected, pervasively proximate (UCaPP) world and its response to Covid-19. Pedagogies need to be aligned with institutional 'quality education' and changes in the nature of the undergraduate student intake to formulate a 'Future Educational System'. Considerations include students from 'non-traditional' sources adapting to existing university structures and how procedures might accommodate these students in addition to changes and disruptions resulting from Covid-19. Mobile devices allow Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) to be developed in accordance with individual students' needs. PLEs allow ubiquitous, flexible structures to develop educational quality. Policies should involve connectivist approaches and active learning via broad curriculum development and appreciate the importance of individual student needs and capabilities, socioeconomic as well as academic. We stress the importance of broadening access to higher education, particularly for those who have been 'neglected' by current procedures.

The Digital Culture Of The Academy And The Limits Of Technology

“…Academics the world over have observed new vistas and frontiers that have been afforded through the pandemic, however, these point towards considerations for disciplinarity and the socialising role of human agents within the context of the academy, with far less emphasis on technology being a driver for change and more focus placed on how human agents negotiate technology use in a mindful way (Bruggeman et al, 2021;Kabir et al, 2020;Muthuprasad et al, 2021;Talarico, 2021;Whalley et al, 2021). For example, researchers in India have expressed concerns regarding the teaching of agricultural sciences, which includes a highly practical range of subjects, in that digital technology use does not present a viable long-term solution for appropriate pedagogical measures (Muthuprasad et al, 2021).…”

Modalities, Disciplinarity and Multiliteracies: the digital culture of higher education and the false promise of technological determinism

“…Academics the world over have observed new vistas and frontiers that have been afforded through the pandemic, however, these point towards considerations for disciplinarity and the socialising role of human agents within the context of the academy, with far less emphasis on technology being a driver for change and more focus placed on how human agents negotiate technology use in a mindful way [78], [83], [90]- [92]. For example, researchers in India have expressed concerns regarding the teaching of agricultural sciences, which includes a highly practical range EURAS Journal of Social Sciences -Volume 1 Issue 1 -October -2021 of subjects, in that digital technology use does not present a viable longterm solution for appropriate pedagogical measures [91].…”

“…Belonging or belongingness is defined as a biological and psycho-social need expressed in one's objective identification in addition to one's subjective feeling of being part of a broader, situated ecosystem of relations [80], [81]. This is idea of belonging is also present in the work of several education scholars [19], [78], [82]- [85], including that of Brown et al [93] in which they investigate the entanglements of rural-based teenagers in middle school and the relationship between their social identities and the education institutions in which they study. What is of interest here in these instances of education-based scholarship, including many others, is how closely tied the idea of belonging is with not only disciplinarity, and the evolving role of the academy as a social institution, but how this is connected with the spatial, particularly in terms of materiality, in contrast Modalities, Disciplinarity and Multiliteracies: the digital culture of higher education and the false promise of technological determinism 38 to the actuality of virtual spaces offered through the affordances of digital technologies used within this context.…”

Technology inclusion for students living with disabilities through collaborative online learning during and beyond a pandemic

“…The all-inclusive nature of the technology inclusion requires that HEIs internationally need to appraise their syllabi so that it would align with competencies and abilities that are necessary for students living with disabilities. The implication that individuals need to learn new skills quickly (Atiku & Boateng, 2019;Whalley et al, 2021) necessitates that HEIs position themselves in such a fashion that students living with disabilities are enabled to increase their capacity to function in these spaces (Cloudebate, 2019). The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated technology inclusion in HEIs, intensifying the digitalisation of human collaboration and virtual education, among others.…”