Curtis J. Bonk Speaking Topics

• Can You Believe It?: AI-Enhanced Self-Directed Lifelong Learning is Here!

  For a half century, educators, psychologists, and researchers have been predicting that highly intensive, innovative, and individualized learning formats powered by intelligent agents and tutors are only a few years away. However, each year would arrive with the same lovely hopes and dreams and unfortunately depart with little fanfare. Fast forward to today where the endless decades of promises seem much more relevant and realistic today with the advent of generative AI technology such as DeepSeek, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, Perplexity, etc.

  Today, the learner, guided by generative AI, is seeking out learning experiences (e.g., engaging in different levels of simulated experiences, beginning to learn a new language, learning to write poetry or musical lyrics, etc.), instead of being forced down preset paths with predetermined outcomes. The learner is increasingly self-directed and the learning environment is learner-determined, lifelong, and individualized. What the human race needs to do is design guidelines, specific training experiences, and novel assessments for this self-directed lifelong learning world. It may be hard to believe, but AI-enhanced self-directed lifelong learning is here and with it so too are new opportunities for every learner on this planet.

• Education 20/20 meets Education 5.0: Visions of Our Changing Learning World!

  The pervasive boredom of rote learning seen in Education 1.0 yielded to a more learner-centered age of Education 2.0 a few decades ago. Today instructors are confronted with the possibilities and dilemmas of Education 3.0. But now with climate change, economic unrest, the rise of robotics and AI, world population shifts, and so on, the innovation age of Education 4.0 is coming and Education 5.0 right after that. This is the age where learning is more informal, resource-rich, and self-directed and where learner creation of products is the new norm, often with the use of digital media.

  During the past few years, learning has become increasingly collaborative, global, mobile, flipped, modifiable, open, online, blended, massive, visually-based, hands-on, ubiquitous, instantaneous, on-demand, adaptive, and personal. We are living in an age of educational resource abundance where passion, play, purpose, and freedom to learn to take precedence over the traditional information reception models of learning. The best instructors and experts today are most effective as curators, counselors, consultants, concierges, and cultivators of our learning. And now they can appear instantaneously on a mobile device. That is a sign that Education 4.0 is not far away. New instructor roles require a unique and evolving set of guiding principles.

  Professor Bonk will detail a set of 20 “last” principles of instruction with his “Learning Activation System Template” (LAST) including the Principle of Flexibility, the Principle of Meaningful Learning, the Principle of Choice and Options, the Principle of Cheerfulness and Optimism, the Principle of Spontaneity, the Principle of High Expectations, the Principle of Nontraditional Learning, etc. Suffice to say, there is immense change around the world today related to new forms of learning typically involving technology.

  In fact, there are three megatrends related to learning technology today: (1) technologies for engagement; (2) technologies for pervasive access; and (3) technologies for the personalization and customization of learning. To better understand these new forms of learning delivery.

• Self-Direct to Learn, Self-Direct to Live

  Open, online, and distance learning have always relied on a large percent of learners to self-direct their own learning. Online and blended learning forms of learning often put learners in the driver’s seat, but many were not ready and instructors did not know how to effectively foster SDL.

  During the past two decades, the emergence of open and digital textbooks, open educational resources (OER), and massive open online courses (MOOCs) made self-directed learning (SDL) became more prominent, essential, and celebrated. And, then suddenly, the pandemic happened. As would be expected when in a pandemic, the percent of people engaging in self-directed learning pursuits multiplied.

  In response, Professor Curt Bonk conducted a series of studies at Indiana University related to SDL in technology-rich learning environments such as research on Duolingo and generative AI technology like ChatGPT. Implications for instructional designers and educators will be discussed, including instructional design guidelines and a checklist for fostering strategies found to be beneficial for self-directing one’s learning.

• Technology Today, Technology Tomorrow: Might Learning Evolutions lead to Learning Revolutions?

  Change is inevitable. Technology change is pervasive; especially in the age of ChatGPT. Yesterday's technologies wiped entire industries and occupations. Today's technologies are accelerating these changes, and are, in particular, transforming the field of education. Learning is definitely changing. There is now a pervasive need for innovations in how we teach and how we learn. In response, Professor Bonk will detail a set of 20 "last" principles of instruction including the Principle of Flexibility, the Principle of Meaningful Learning, the Principle of Choice and Options, the Principle of Spontaneity, and the Principle of High Expectations. He will also highlight new roles for instructors in light of these principles.

  Next, he will discuss these in light of three megatrends related to learning technology today: (1) the technologies for engagement; (2) the technologies for pervasive access; and (3) the technologies for the personalization and customization of learning. He will also take a moment to gaze into the future of learning as each of these megatrends evolve.

  In the third decade of the 21st century, learning has become increasingly flipped, social, collaborative, global, game-like, mobile, modifiable, open, online, visually-based, hands-on, ubiquitous, personal, and much much more. Without a doubt, ChatGPT and other Generative AI platforms have richly expanded and dramatically transformed all these forms of learning. Is this an evolution or a revolution?

• How Educators Can Harness Generative AI for Enhanced Learning

  The launching of ChatGPT in November 2022 also launched countless conversations about how it and other Generative AI tools and platforms might transform teaching and learning in higher education. With each passing month since then, instructors and instructional designers in higher education institutions and organizations around the world have continued to experiment with Generative AI for innovative pedagogy. Now is the time to compile, compare, and categorize some of their instructional ideas and methods.

  In Part 1 of this series of AI pedagogy in higher education talks, Curt Bonk presented dozens of ways of utilizing ChatGPT and other generative AI platforms and tools in one’s instruction while situating their use in two of his widely used psychological frameworks, TEC-VARIETY and R2D2.

  In building on that session, in Part 2, Curt showcased additional ways educators are utilizing AI to reflect on and improve their teaching. In particular, he featured dozens of unique activities designed to foster critical and creative thinking as well as learner collaboration and motivation.

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