622180 Inclusive Learning Technology for Sustainable Development

(2 credits)

Lecturer: Dr. Jonghwi Park and Dr. Philip Vaughter (Guest lecturer: Prof Shinobu Yamaguchi)

Course Description

Education and lifelong learning is a key drive to the successful implementation and achievement for sustainable development. From climate changes, to responsible consumption, to resource management, to gender equality, and to the recent pandemic, the pressing global issues will unlikely be solvable without people from all walks of life actively participating in making urgent changes in view of building a sustainable society. This can be done through empowering communities and individuals to have a sound understanding of the underlying and interconnected issues and be part of the solutions. As such, the movement of education for sustainable development (ESD) emphasizes a vital role of education and lifelong learning in achieving the 17 SDGs and moving towards a sustainable future. It stresses that learning should not stop at the formal schooling and that learning opportunities should be accessible to anyone, anytime and anywhere throughout one’s life. With the rapidly advancing information and communication technology (ICT), educational opportunities can indeed go beyond the formal education and learners can pursue flexible learning paths at their own paces throughout their lives. But the very same technology has proven during the Covid-19 pandemic and its ensuing school closure and distance learning that it can worsen the learning inequality between learners with access to technology and those without, often further associated with the family environment and economic and social status. From a lifelong learning perspective, learning technology for sustainable development should take a careful consideration on inclusive and respectful designs in order not to leave anyone behind. This include, not limited to, those who have low literacy skills, disabilities, geographical disadvantages and language minorities as well as those who are forcefully displaced from their homes.

This 2-credit project-based course is to provide students with a comprehensive overview of the roles of and current issues in ESD from a lifelong learning perspective. It also explores a landscape of innovative and inclusive design of technology in expanding equal access to quality learning for sustainable development in a variety of settings, from emerging and low-income countries to advanced and highly connected nations. The course pays the equal attention to potential risks that digital technologies may impose in human and social development, well-being and energy consumption. Finally, students will have an opportunity as a group to design an innovative, inclusive and evidence-based educational programme for a local sustainability issue of their choice which aims to develop skills, knowledge and attitudes to help address the identified issues and build a sustainable future.

Course Objectives and Learning Goals

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Explain the roles of education and lifelong learning in progressing towards SDGs by 2030

• Select a local sustainability issue that can be addressed by education and lifelong learning

• Analyse a local sustainability issue and identify target learners to provide educational interventions

• Design an education programme that is appropriate for the target learners and effective for the intended learning outcomes

• Integrate innovation learning technology into an education programme purposefully to enhance quality, equity and inclusiveness.

• Evaluate feasibility, sustainability and scalablity of an education programme

• Create a monitoring plan to measure the outcome of an education programme