“NEW POSSIBILITIES IN EDUCATION AT THE NEXUS OF GENERATIONAL CHANGE AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION“

 

by Prof. Dr. Joy Kutaka-Kennedy, Ed. D.,
Department of Special Education, Sanford College of Education, National University, San Jose Campus, USA

 

The slides of the presentation are available here, and you can check the video of the presentation in this link.

 

Abstract

One thing is certain in life and that is change, something we all experience in big and little ways every day. We all emerged as newborns into families of varying sorts, progressed through a multiplicity of childhoods, and finally achieved and survived teenage years. We began renegotiating our relationship with parents who had their ideas of who we should be and how we should live, which more often than not clashed with our own emerging definition of ourselves in the changing world. Younger generations have struggled with older generations for possibly as long as human history. Each new generation challenged the norms, expectations, and perspectives of their predecessors in light of the latest social, environmental and technological changes that developed. Game-changing innovations have shaped and influenced the context of social evolution as well as cultural revolution. With these generational differences nuanced by ever evolving technological innovations, how can we in higher education best prepare our students to meet the needs of the changing workplace and communities? How do we bridge the gaps between the older-generation academics who grew up using typewriters and the younger generation student body using Facetime, social media and text messaging? Besides becoming more adept and proficient in using technology, which is a crucial step in the right direction, we need to harness more of the vast resources available in online education to offer course work to an increasingly demanding student body who wants instant access, quick responses and on-demand mobility. Online education is here to stay with demand growing each year. We in higher education need to become highly skilled and more effective in meeting students where they are with what they need and want. We must teach and engage them more efficiently and effectively, especially in light of upcoming innovations in augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and other innovations. Higher education needs to embrace the forces of innovation which will continually impact how people learn, adapt and go forward.

 

Biography

Prior to entering higher education Dr. Joy Kutaka-Kennedy spent over fifteen years teaching pre-school through high school students in regular education, gifted education, at-risk education, and special education. After earning her doctorate in Special Education, she has taught over fifteen years at the university level, emphasizing special education teacher preparation in academic course work and clinical practice supervision. Having extensive experience with online education, course development and program evaluation, she won Quality Matters recognition for innovative course design and student engagement. She has given numerous national and international presentations on creativity and collaboration in the online venue; individual accountability in online group work; emerging technological trends in higher education; implications of generational differences and technological innovation in higher education; and the future of Artificial Intelligence, machine learning and deep learning in education. Her university faculty responsibilities include course design and assessment oversight, field work supervision, and mentoring new faculty in higher education. Dr. Joy Kutaka-Kennedy serves as an officer of the California Association of Professors of Special Education, completes program reviews for state and national accreditation, and performs editorial reviews for professional publications. She currently is working on designing new curricula to align with new state credentialing standards.