Presentation Panel
Learner-centric Implementation of Digital Learning at Higher Education
Date Thursday, Nov 23 Time – Room Bellevue
This Presentation Panel focuses on the challenges faced by students when introducing learning technologies in Higher Education classrooms.
Speakers will explore student attitudes towards technology and strategies for implementing educational technology solutions in large universities. They will address the need for intrinsic motivation and learner-centric teaching strategies, and provide recommendations to address resistance to changing the learning management system to support student success.
Bernd Schenk
Senior Lecturer, University of Liechtenstein, Liechtenstein
Bernd Schenk is a senior lecturer for Business Administration and Information Systems and the Academic Director of the BSc programme in Business Administration at University of Liechtenstein.
Bernd has worked as a consultant with different companies in the field of ERP systems and E-commerce and served as a trainer for SAP SE in the ASG region. He was a guest lecturer at different universities, including the University of Barcelona, Tongji University, Shanghai, and University Nettuno, Rome. Furthermore, he is a certified facilitator for Design Thinking and a TLS alumni of D.School at Stanford University
Links
Adity Saxena
Professor & Dean, Woxsen University, School of Arts and Design, India
Dr. Adity Saxena: Professor & Dean of the School of Design, Woxsen University, India | Board Member, College Art Association, USA | India Representative, Restorative Justice Education, USA
With a dynamic career spanning over two decades, Dr. Saxena has left an indelible mark on education, Design, and culture. Her journey has encompassed teaching, mentoring, academic leadership, research, administration, project management, and accreditations.
Having illuminated the paths of nearly 4,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students and guided approximately 500 as their mentor, her dedication to nurturing emerging talent shines brightly.
Dr. Saxena's influence extends across the United Kingdom, the United States, and EU countries, where she collaborates with a diverse network of creative educators, artists, designers, strategists, business leaders, policymakers, and researchers.
As the Academic Leader and Dean of the School of Arts & Design, she skillfully oversees five dynamic departments—Foundation, Interior Design, Fashion Design, Industrial Design, and Communication Design. With a capacity for 400 undergraduate students and a core faculty of 20+, she engages closely with national and international stakeholders.
Her prowess as a Professor in Communication Design is evident through her adeptness in teaching Visual Communication, Design Thinking, and Design Research. Notably, Dr. Saxena is the first elected candidate of Indian origin to sit on the Board of Directors of the College Art Association (CAA), USA, from 2022 to 2026.
Highlighted in The Academic Woman Magazine (UK) in the January-March 2022 issue, her impactful initiatives continue reverberating. Dr. Saxena actively spearheads international projects, including leading the Centre for Learning Design and the Center of Excellence for Ethics, Responsibility, and Sustainability at Woxsen University.
Her participation in global projects and collaborations is underlined by her role in the ongoing Erasmus+ funded DESIGN THINKING FOR SOCIAL CHANGE project and her position as an external member of the European Union (EU) Storylines Project.
Expanding her horizons further, she was honoured with an invitation to the United States for a Restorative Justice (RJ) School Project in 2020, where she played a vital role in promoting a Culture of Care in School Education through RJ methodologies. Dr. Saxena is certified in Design Thinking from Virginia University and holds a certification in Emotional Intelligence from Oxford University (2021), further enriching her skillset.
As both an educator and academic leader, she aspires to foster an inclusive learning environment that embraces diversity and employs empathy as a transformative tool.
Links
Damian Klein
Head of Customer Success Department, iSpring Solutions, Germany
Damian Klein is the head of Customer Success Department for EMEA region and an E-Learning Expert at iSpring Solutions. Damian started his career in Sales at iSpring 3 years ago and helped dozens of companies from the whole DACH region to find the eLearning solutions that suit all the needs of the companies. Now as Customer Success Manager he helps businesses, NPOs, and organizations in the government and academic sectors streamline the eLearning process. He has a great deal of experience working with multinational organizations from different Industries and always ready to help clients with any product-related question or request. Damian always addresses clients’ eLearning needs in a way that results in the ideal result. He is confident that appropriate eLearning solutions will help them reach their eLearning goals and realize success quickly. Damian dives deep into the client's needs to find the best possible solution and achieve great results with iSpring Solutions.
Detken Scheepers
Head of e-Learning, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Detken Scheepers leads the e-learning group at the University of Pretoria's Department for Education Innovation. Her responsibilities include managing the e-education team, overseeing e-learning staff development, and leading e-assessment efforts. Prior to her current position, Detken served as a senior instructional designer within the same department. With ten years of teaching experience, she previously worked as a lecturer in the Department of Anatomy, where she taught undergraduate and postgraduate students within the Faculty of Health Sciences. Detken earned an MSc in Anatomy and an MEd in Computer-assisted Education from the University of Pretoria. She has presented at numerous national and international conferences and co-authored multiple journal articles, Anatomy textbooks, and a book on whole-brain learning.
Moderator
Nikos Basbas
Educational Innovation Consultant, Tilburg University, Netherlands
Learning designer at the Education Innovation Lab at Tilburg University, the Netherlands. Freelance course designer and blogger.
Links
Moving to a Flipped Classroom: Preparing Students for Digital Learning Opportunities to improve Learning Performance, Bernd Schenk
The aim of this presentation is to achieve deep understanding of the change process which is necessary for successful implementation of technologies in a learning environment. Participants will be asked to identify the key issues and parameters that need to be taken into account when designing EdTech-supported courses
Bernd Schenk will analyse the problem space and solution space using Design Thinking and provide recommendations for creating a supportive working environment for technology learning.
Based on the Design Thinking approach, the problem space and solution space will be analysed together with the participants and solution prototypes will be drafted right in the session.
Learning Design: A Tool, Approach, and Mindset Needed in the Classroom of the Twenty-first Century, Adity Saxena
The concept of learning design is new to Indian higher education, resulting in traditional teaching strategies that prioritise memorisation and teacher-centred education. But the Centre for Learning Design at the School of Arts and Design of Woxsen University aims to transform higher education in India into a stimulating, inclusive, and engaging experience.
Adity Saxena will present the process of designing learner-centric Faculty Development Program - from the pre-interaction session with teachers to a co-creation workshop that allowed them to become familiar with learning design tools and envision future classrooms.
From Resistance to Influence: A Developing Perspective on Change Strategies to Make the Most of EdTech System Implementations, Detken Scheepers
This talk will discuss the challenges of implementing educational technology solutions in a large university with the goal of enhancing both access to the University and successful student learning. The e-learning group within the Department for Education Innovation plays a central role in evaluating, piloting, and implementing these technologies, and recently had to address resistance to changing the learning management system.
Detken Scheepers will present strategies used to move beyond resistance and showcase the positive experience of partnering with EdTech vendors to address concerns and contribute to the improvement of the systems for the institution.
Bringing the Human Touch: Strategies to Create Engaging and Personable eLearning Experiences, Damian Klein
This presentation will propose effective ways to humanise e-learning, including using video and audio narration, screencasts, and role-plays.
Daminan Klein will explore strategies to make e-learning courses more engaging and personable, and how to design courses that appeal to learners' emotions and senses, by incorporating human interactions and social learning. Best practices for designing user-friendly interfaces and navigation will also be covered.