Talk by George Siemens, October 7th, 13:15, BC 420

George Siemens is an academic and researcher on learning, technology, networks, analytics, and openness in education. Dr. Siemens is the Executive Director of the Learning Innovation and Networked Knowledge Research Lab at University of Texas, Arlington. He has delivered keynote addresses in more than 35 countries on the influence of technology and media on education, organizations, and society. His work has been profiled in provincial, national, and international newspapers (including NY Times), radio, and television. His research has received numerous awards, including honorary doctorates from Universidad de San Martín de Porres and Fraser Valley University for his pioneering work in learning, technology, and networks.
Siemens is a founding member and President of the Society for Learning Analytics Research (http://www.solaresearch.org/). He has advised government agencies Australia, European Union, Canada and United States, as well as numerous international universities, on 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 (sometimes referred to as MOOCs) that have included more than 35,000 participants. He blogs at http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/ and on Twitter: gsiemens
The hype of MOOCs since 2011 has recently started to produce the inevitable backlash. The discourse has changed from "MOOCs are the future of education" to "MOOCs are a lousy product". MOOCs, however, represent, rather than drive, a range of profound changes in technology, knowledge development, and society. These changes reflect real and sustained challenges to the existing models of higher education. This talk will evaluate the changes facing universities today and explore what type of landscape will remain once MOOCs, learning at scale, and online learning move through higher education.