What I love about how Sir Ken Robinson discusses Changing Education is he shows clear insight of how through the evolution in innovations and technology of the last few hundred years (if not longer), our behaviour and responses to the world around us has changed in our every day life  - in what we do, what we pay attention to, and the internal and collaborative processes we use to learn, adapt and survive in a rapidly changing technological environment. He then contrasts this very eloquently with the view that for what ever reason, the pace of change in how we think about education, learning and formal learning contexts has not changed at the same pace or in the same way. He uses school education to exemplify his point. For me this video also spoke of higher education.

In higher or further education in some spaces (though not all) we have become more protective over what we know, learn and research (because its an asset to sell); more static in how we share it or educate others (because change is hard and requires resource); less welcoming of creativity and innovation – diversity in others (because it scares us); and more reliant on the standardisation and marketization of education driven by external measures of quality (because it has become the industry norm). But what do I remember about being a student of learning …

My best experiences of my own learning do no fit the picture above, my memories are about meaningful episodes of creativity and autonomy. They include: high school days when my art teacher encouraged me to ‘create’ and share ‘my voice’ on how I was seeing the world through drawing (without guidelines); or my history teacher who encouraged us to read fiction novels on historical topics as well as our textbooks (though not on the reading list); or my 2nd year university professor who taught statistics in the context of music, shopping and magazines (to make the equations meaningful); to my doctoral supervisor who encouraged my ideas on knowledge, learning and web technology (though unverifiable for a journal – they were ideas to still discuss).

I think in many ways, I was fortunate in these instance in my learning to have inspired others who encouraged me through how they saw the world. However, like many Sr. Ken Robinson describes in his video, I too traversed a conveyor belt of education, in age cohorts, expected to perform higher and better on standardised measures to enter the halls of academe to continue the process. So I became conditioned. Certainly we all are – all in society, not just the educators. But the politicians, the policy makers, the teachers, the lawyers, the parents, and grandparents … and increasingly the children. Conditioning us in what formal education is and in this losing sight of the aspiration what could education be … perhaps built instead on a model of what ‘inspires learning’ … not just how to measure, sell and protect it.

For me Social Web technology in the classes I design and deliver has been a way to start to unpick my own preconceptions and practices around how I educate and see learning in business management education – especially in marketing and organisational communications. Social web technology has helped me to start to think differently and let go of control in what education is. Letting go of control is I believe our first step to changing how we think in this embracing fear. It doesn’t matter how much I use social web technology, there is still the fear when standing in front of a class of 100 new students introducing them to the world of blogging, wikis, Twitter and Google docs, wondering “what challenges will I face this semester?” coupled with the excitement of wondering “what will they create and learn this semester?” And these challenges come from all places, to my own preconceptions. I live, work and traverse a complex system of people, practices and social norms.

Sir Ken Robinson, raises an excellent point in his video. To change what we do in education we need to change how we think about education, learning, learners and creativity. Over the past three years, I’ve been doing my best to unpack my thinking about the role of ‘lecturer as distant expert’ and ‘controller’ of the space, and instead create a learning space wherein, ‘we are learners, sharing, contributing and helping each other’ and ‘move the focus away from the grade to a focus on learning’ (I’ve certainly not cracked it yet, but I’m trying). I’m only a few years into the journey, and it is hard because it is not just I but also my students, my colleagues, my discipline, the sector, and those associated with it who see the world in different ways. Shame our learning systems don’t yet embrace divergent thinking in education design and practice. To heed the words of Sir Ken Robinson in the above video, to change what we do in education, we need to change how we think about education.

In this … “We are all learning!”

Smiles

Kelly

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The afternoon inspired me to reflect on the very same questions for what I do, the reason I started CASE Insights and found myself leaving the commercial marketing research sector for academic research and teaching. Reflection I haven’t done for a couple of years and given how difficult it can be juggling teaching, research, administration, marking, supervision and life … I thought it was increasingly important to revisit these questions!

The Beginning …

When I get asked what I do, I usually say I teach Digital Media Marketing at Cardiff Business School. If I get asked what I research and why, a few years ago I would have told you the following:

“Since the inception of my PhD, I have been reading about and researching the psychology behind technology usage and exploring the role of human knowledge. Namely the differences in perceptions, behaviours and contexts of usage of differing users of technologies: from the expert to the less expert, from the web desginer to the non-designer; from the highly engaged to those that see digital technologies as not that relevant to their lives.”

However, over the last few years this has evolved (as all things evolve) as I’ve been witnessing the evolution in marketing theory, media practice and marketing philosophy because of digital media and electronic technologies. And in all honesty, it’s really hard trying to keep up!

The initial aim of this earlier commercial and academic research was to develop our understanding in how and why people adopt and use digital technologies and inform how and why we use digital media in business management, media/communications and marketing. I’m still interested in this, but increasingly as I tranverse along this academic, research and philosophical journey about digital media in business and society, and how marketing is evolving, it is the conception of ‘knowledge’, ‘learning’ and ‘literacy’ about and with digital media in business that is resonating in my work most.

“As our environment evolves, so too do we: our knowledge, our skills, our learning and like it or not, business, media/communications and marketing management are evolving.”

Knowledge, Learning & Literacy …

The interesting thing, is if we use the words ‘digital media learning’ or ‘digital media literacy’ business and management schools and the communications or marketing profession don’t appear to have a deep rich investment in the discourse. The discourse on learning and literacy of digital media is heavily focused on the social context of high school education, and university departments in the disciplines of education, the arts, anthropology or media/digital media (amongst others) with specific focus on researching (or teaching) learning and literacy. Coupled with this is the support of industry and government partners interested in the policy debate about digital media literacy – in youth, in schools and in certain areas of higher education, esp. as it pertains to equality and access.

Don’t get me wrong, these approaches to digital literacy is very important and business schools are interested in education. They are higher education providers after all and education is a core part of their product offering with student fees from undergraduate and postgraduate programs the main revenue source of their business models.

However, much management research on digital marketing (and some of mine can be included in this) is focused on how we use digital technologies to improve firm performance, increase marketing efficiency and effectiveness and most significantly improve click through, satisfaction or sales (e.g., website design), increase loyalty (e.g., loyalty cards and scanner technologies); or improve data acquisition for competitive advantage (e.g., RFID).

Although interesting and relevant, these inherently focus on outputs from the use of digital media and technologies – the effect they have. But not on as much as the knowledge, skills, and learning contexts required in business and management (esp. media & marketing management). This would facilitate their usage or design OR more importantly to ensure that actors/agents in the process can not just use them effectively, but also responsibly, ethically and in tune with their socio-cultural evolution. In short:

• If ever there was a field who’s activities and processes have been fundamentally changed by digital media – it would be business, media/communication and/or marketing management.
• If ever there was a field undergoing dramatic change in skills, language and philosophy – it would be business, media/communication and/or marketing management.
• If ever there was a field who’s impact is so great (good and bad) on society, youth, education and culture – it would be business, media/communication and/or marketing management.

And NO – it’s not just about selling more stuff through digital media or building a better website. It’s about education, ongoing professional development and instilling tomorrow’s [and today’s] business, media/communications and marketing professionals with the knowledge, skills and key insights so they can participate, engage, be informed and most importantly act responsibly in the digital media space. Long gone is the focus on the model T-Ford through mass production or a business case about a Fortune 100 company or PR/Communicatiosn through printed press release. It’s about digital learning, literacy, participation and engagement.

Why is it important?

Digital media literacy for marketers and media/communications management professionals and education is increasingly important:

• For Community Participation: Media management and marketing professions are increasingly expected to adopt and use digital media technologies to reach, communicate and interact with the communities within which they coexist [Mandated by society and organisations].

• For Digital Community Engagement: Business management and marketing professions have to actively engage – “be involved, interested, interact, converse with and share information with” those more socially and technically digitally literate than themselves on a daily, weekly and monthly basis – from web designers, social media [web] consultants, programmers, engineers and expert users – as they adopt and use digital media technologies in their marketing and business activities?

• Because of Community Impact: It is the marketing and related business professions who develop, design, produce and make the decisions on the use of digital media in marketing, customer service, PR, promotional, product development and community engagement activities. And it is these that can (and do!) have a profound impact on society, youth, culture, and education. Be it for the marketing of a charity like Oxfam, an arts organization like NTW, a government initiative like Safe Sex, a new music or literary star like J. K. Rowling, or a product offering like Skittles, Cadbury, Orange or the Toyota Lexus. Marketing has an impact! Good and bad!

Digital Media Literacy in Business, Media Management and Marketing is about exploring the digital knowledge and skills that are evolving in business, management and the marketing profession.

The aim is contribute to the discourse about the core digital knowledge, learning and literacy  ‘learners’ in Business, Media Management and Marketing require so they can participate not just effectively, but also appropriately and responsibly.

So! Now when people ask me:

• What: “I research & teach Digital Media [Literacy] & Marketing at Cardiff Business School“.
  How: “Through practice-led and research led teaching [situated]: I work with practitioners and researchers to develop insights from cases and research projects, to inform theory, practice and education about how and what we do in digital media management & marketing”
  Why: “Because I want to help students, business, academe and the community develop the skills to learn, participate and engage in the digital space – effectively, appropriately and responsibly”… and to write about the journey
  

To learn more, here is a talk I gave at Chapter Arts Centre (UK) in March 2010 entitled: Marketing’s Digital Media Evolution: Do you see what I see?.

Smiles
Kelly

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