Making Learning Meaningful
Education at the Forefront of the OEB Conference in Berlin
Thousands of experts from all over the world came together at the online education conference OEB in Berlin at the beginning of December. The theme of the conference revolved around the purpose and meaning of learning; “Making learning meaning” was the title, which could be playfully translated into Icelandic as: Making learning meaningful!
The conference presentations clearly indicated that a revolution is ahead in the education system. In its management and organisation, student access, technology, and content. This is undoubtedly a development that has been brewing for the past few years but has been accelerated by the effects of COVID-19.
Reflection is important
“What should education deliver? What role does it play in our future society? Technological advances are useless if we don't scrutinise the content,” said Rebecca Stromeyer, the conference chair. “We say that technology opens up new, exciting possibilities. But the old problems are still there, and I'm not sure we truly understand the real meaning when we talk about technology revolutionising the education system.” Rebecca's reflections allude to whether we have truly considered where we are heading. What we want and whether it is realistic. However, reflection is extremely important, especially in light of how rapid the development is. Now is the time to have an impact. “Learning is not simply a means to an end. Learning is increasingly becoming an end in itself,” Rebecca emphasised. Learning is a personal experience and an inseparable part of human existence.
Hildur Elín Vignir, Managing Director, and staff from the IÐA Education Centre attended the conference to learn about new opportunities and technology that support learning and training. “The conference was certainly different this year. However, the content was well delivered and even encouraged more audience participation than in previous years,” says Hildur about this year's OEB conference.
In December, we will publish a few informative articles here on the IÐA website about the conference's content, which relates to the rapid development ahead in education worldwide. For example, regarding management training, artificial intelligence, and developments in learning assessment.
