Book Launch: Joint Research for Higher Education Transformation

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The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) points out: “Digital technologies have evolved from stand-alone projects to networks of tools and programmes that connect people and things across the world, and help address personal and global challenges. Digital innovation has demonstrated powers to complement, enrich and transform education, and has the potential to speed up progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) for education and transform modes of provision of universal access to learning.”

Digital transformation has already become one of the key approaches for global higher education to realize the vision of Education 2030. The digital transformation of higher education is a significant direction in educational reform and has been a focal issue for UNESCO in recent years. In November 2021, UNESCO released Reimagining Our Futures Together: A New Social Contract for Education. This document highlights the strategic position of digital transformation in educational reform, while also emphasizing the risks and challenges it faces. How to address these risks and challenges urgently requires broad and in-depth discussion and consensus among all parties.

To respond to these challenges, the UNESCO International Centre for Higher Education Innovation (UNESCO-ICHEI) focuses on advancing teachers' abilities in blended teaching under digital conditions, actively conducting research on the digital transformation of higher education, striving to become a global university digital transformation promoter and thought leader. UNESCO-ICHEI, in collaboration with the Institute of Education (IOE) of Tsinghua University, conducted the "Digital Transformation of Higher Education" series of research, resulting in the Research Report on Digital Transformation of Higher Education Teaching and Learning and three handbooks: Handbook of Education Reform Through Blended Learning, Handbook of Teaching Competency Development in Higher Education, and Handbook of Technical and Vocational Teacher Professional Development in the Digital Age (the "3+1" project, comprising three handbooks and one research report). Among them, the Research Report on Digital Transformation of Higher Education Teaching and Learning was officially released globally in Chinese, English, French, and Spanish during the 3rd World Higher Education Conference in May 2022.

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The Chinese editions of the three handbooks have been officially published by Tsinghua University Press in the second half of 2023, with the English editions simultaneously published by Springer. The three handbooks provide theories, standards, methods, and strategies about blended teaching, teaching competency and professional development of teachers, aiming to solve “the last mile” of digital teaching and learning. They serve as references for practitioners and researchers.

Chinese and English versions of the three handbooks

The Handbook of Education Reform Through Blended Learning  summarizes the research and practice of blended learning in our research teams over the past 20 years, involving a number of experts from educational technology, higher education, vocational education, and education management around the world, systematically expounds the relevant theories of blended teaching reform, provides content, methods, and strategies for blended curriculum teaching design, information age professional reconstruction, and school implementation of blended teaching reform from three levels: curriculum, major, and school, and attaches practical cases at home and abroad, while looking forward to the future development trend of education.

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Excerpts from The Handbook of Education Reform Through Blended Learning  

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Blended learning is a learning mode that integrates face-to-face learning and technology-enabled learning. As a product of societal, economic, and technological development, it is certain that blended learning will become the new norm of education. With the development of emerging information technologies, such as cloud computing, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and biological computer technology, physical space and virtual cyberspace will be integrated more deeply. As a result, education has the potential to satisfy the learning need for everyone and can happen anytime and anywhere, allowing the seamless integration between formal and informal education, supporting personalized and lifelong learning. In this way, learning can move towards a new ecology of ubiquitous learning.

——Handbook of Education Reform Through Blended Learning

The Handbook of Teaching Competency Development in Higher Education and the Handbook of Technical and Vocational Teacher Professional Development in the Digital Age offer systematic guidance for the development of teaching competencies in higher and vocational education teachers at both theoretical and practical levels. Each handbook establishes a framework for the development of teaching competencies in higher and vocational education, sets up a competency index system, and introduces tools for competency assessment, along with examples from various countries.

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Excerpts from the Handbook of Teaching Competency Development in Higher Education and the Handbook of Technical and Vocational Teacher Professional Development in the Digital Age

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"The changing demands for talent cultivation in the digital age pose new requirements for teachers' teaching abilities, which are also the core content and prerequisite for the digital transformation of education. " It aligns well with the educationvision set out by the Education 2030 Framework for Action. That is, we ensure that teachers and educators gain empowerment, appropriate recruitment, comprehensive training, professional qualifications, motivation, and support within systems that are efficiently governed and well-resourced.

—— Handbook of Teaching Competency Development in Higher Education

"Teachers in vocational education urgently require systematic, continuous, and sustainable technical support for the development of their teaching capabilities to keep pace with the digital transformation of our society. This rethinking not only prepares TVET students and teachers for the uncertainty brought about by the increasingly digitalized world of work, but also ready themselves for taking better advantage of the opportunities afforded by emerging technologies such as AI), automation and the fifth generation of mobile communication technology (5G).

—— Handbook of Technical and Vocational Teacher Professional Development in the Digital Age

The Research Report on Digital Transformation of Higher Education Teaching and Learning aims to provide concepts, approaches, methods, challenges, and countermeasures for addressing the digital transformation of teaching to international organizations, governments, universities, enterprises, and other stakeholders. The report analyzes the background, current state, and connotations of digital transformation in higher education teaching. It systematically elaborates on the content, characteristics, strategies, and future exploration directions of this transformation from six aspects: institutions, disciplines, courses and teaching, teacher teaching abilities, student learning, and quality assurance. The report also presents the challenges faced by the digital transformation of higher education teaching and proposes corresponding strategies, including practical examples from various countries.

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Excerpts from the Research Report on Digital Transformation of Higher Education Teaching and Learning

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Based on readiness in applying digital technologies to education, the digital transformation of education comprises three stages: integration of digital technologies and teaching, early transformation, and advanced transformation. In the stage of integration of digital technologies and teaching, where curriculum development and delivery will not be limited by time or space, the core elements such as teaching objectives, contents, activities, assessments, and environment will be reshaped and reorganized by the integration of physical and virtual spaces. At this stage, students will enjoy more flexible learning by blending online and offline methods and HEIs will expand Internet-based teaching to promote educational reform towards blended teaching. In the stage of early transformation, HEIs will gain access to external resources for curriculum development, such as those from other HEIs, relevant enterprises and social organizations. At this stage, HEIs will develop individualized curriculum designs with a flexible combination of course modules from different schools and academic programs to meet diverse needs of students. In the stage of advanced transformation, digital technologies will completely break boundaries between HEIs, enabling connectivity between HEIs, between HEIs and society, between HEIs and enterprises, and between HEIs and other stakeholders. By that time, the sharing of academic programs, curriculum, teachers, facilities, and services will become possible, and educational resources of the whole society will be fully utilized.

—— Research Report on Digital Transformation of Higher Education Teaching and Learning

Overall, the report and handbooks of the "Digital Transformation of Higher Education" series deeply analyze the current state, challenges, and development opportunities of digital transformation in higher education. The project has also involved extensive collaboration with stakeholders to assess and plan a more systematic teaching quality assurance system under the context of digital transformation in higher education. However, the practice of digital transformation in higher education teaching is still in a phase of growth, with significant room for innovation. This calls for further collaborative exploration of effective strategies and experiences in teaching digital transformation by international organizations, governments, schools, and businesses.

Acknowledgments

The compilation of the "Digital Transformation of Higher Education" series (the "3+1" project, comprising three handbooks and one research report) received extensive support from various sectors including the Institute of Education (IOE) of Tsinghua University, consultants, advisory experts, IIOE National Centers, IIOE partner university representatives, and corporate partners. The project extends its gratitude to all members of UNESCO-ICHEI, IIOE partners, and close collaborators for their contributions. The launch of the project series would not have been possible without their hard work and dedication, and we extend our heartfelt thanks to them.

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