Dr. Yungcheol Byun is a full professor at the Computer Engineering
Department (CE) at Jeju National University (http://www.jejunu.ac.kr). His
research interests include the areas of Pattern Recognition & Image
Processing, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Pattern-based
Security, Home Network and Ubiquitous Computing, u-Healthcare, and RFID &
IoT Middleware System. He directs the Machine Laboratory at the CE
department. Recently, he studied at University of Florida as a visiting
professor from 2012 to 2014. He is currently serving as a director of
Information Science Technology Institute, and other academic societies.
Outside of his research activities, Dr. Byun has been hosting international
conferences including CNSI (Computer, Network, Systems, and Industrial
Engineering), ICESI (Electric Vehicle, Smart Grid, and Information
Technology), and serving as a conference and workshop chair, program chair,
and session chair in various kinds of international conferences and
workshops. Dr. Byun was born in Jeju, Korea, and received his Ph.D. and MS
from Yonsei University (http://www.yonsei.ac.kr) in 1995 and 2001
respectively, and BS from Jeju National University in 1993. Before joining
Jeju National University, he worked as a special lecturer in SAMSUNG
Electronics (http://www.samsung.com) in 2000 and 2001. From 2001 to 2003, he
was a senior researcher of Electronics and Telecommunications Research
Institute (ETRI, https://etri.re.kr/eng/main/main.etri). He was promoted to
join Jeju National University as an assistant professor in 2003.
Charles B. Hodges, Ph.D. is a Professor of Instructional Technology at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, GA. He was formerly a faculty member at Virginia Tech. Dr. Hodges earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mathematics from Fairmont State University and West Virginia University respectively, followed by a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction focusing on Instructional Design and Technology from the School of Education at Virginia Tech. He has been Editor-in-Chief of the AECT journal, TechTrends since 2014, and he is the co-editor of the book Emerging Research, Practice, and Policy on Computational Thinking (2017) published by Springer, as well as editor of the book Self-Efficacy in Instructional Technology Contexts (2018) also published by Springer. He is co-Principal Investigator on the National Science Foundation funded project, Developing and Piloting a Game Design-Based Computer Science Curriculum.
The Adjacent Possible: Thoughts on ICT in (Higher)
Education After the COVID-19 Pandemic
Abstract: As educators try to adapt to a year or more of emergency
remote teaching and other disruptions to their personal and professional
lives since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many are pushing for a
return to "normal". But can we go back? Biologist Stuart Kauffman introduced
the idea of the adjacent possible in 2002. Later, Steven Johnson built on
this idea of the adjacent possible describing innovation as the natural
movement toward change based on where we need to go. Johnson suggested that
new ideas are "built out of a collection of existing parts, the composition
of which expands (and, occasionally, contracts) over time." What are some
possibilities for ICT in education post pandemic? Also, what types of
institutions of higher education are ready for these new possibilities?
Rogers’ (2003) work on the diffusion of innovations offers the following
stages of innovation within an organization: agenda setting, matching,
redefining and restructuring, clarifying, and routinizing. In the agenda
setting phase their general problems are identified for which some
innovation may be a solution. Matching refers to the process of finding an
innovation to the problem. During the redefining and restructuring phase the
innovation is refined, tweaked, etc., and the the organization makes
accommodations for the innovation through changes like making new policies
or revising existing ones, restructuring, etc. Clarifying is the process of
further refinement of the relationship between the innovation and the
organization. Finally, during routinizing the innovation is assimilated into
the organization. The COVID-19 pandemic rushed much of higher education
through the agenda setting, and matching phases. We appear to now be in the
mix of the redefining and restructuring and clarifying phases. The
institutions that have already reached Roger's routinizing, and those that
are now doing the hard work of redefining and restructuring and clarifying
based on their pandemic-accelerated experiences, and thus are on their way
to routinizing, will likely see good returns on their work moving forward.
Institutions clinging to pre-pandemic operations regarding their delivery
modes will likely find that their faculty and students want something
different now.
Dr. Piet Kommers is an early pioneer in media for cognitive- and social support. His doctoral research explored methods for hypertext and concept mapping in learning. Since 1982 he developed educational technology for teacher training. His main thesis is that technology is catalytic for human ambition and awareness. His main function is associate professor in the University in Twente, The Netherlands and adjunct/visiting professor in various countries. He taught more than fifteen bachelor-, master- and PhD courses and supervised more than 30 PhD students. He instigated and coordinated the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Cognitive Technologies in 1990 and a large series of Joint European Research Projects in: authoring multimedia, web-based learning, teacher education, virtual 3d worlds, constructivist learning, social media, web-based communities and international student exchange. UNESCO awarded his work in ICT for Education in Eastern Europe with the title of Honorary Professor. The Capital Normal University in Beijing awarded his work with the title of Honorary Doctor. He is member of advisory boards in ministries of education and academia of sciences in Singapore, Finland and Russia. Piet Kommers is the initiator of the international journal for web-based communities and overall chair of the IADIS conferences on societal applications of ICT. Since the late nineties he gave more than 40 invited and keynote lectures at main conferences in the fields of education, media and communication.
