Citation
Arnold, B. (2024), "Editorial: Innovative teaching and learning: learner centered emerging technologies", Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning, Vol. 17 No. 2, pp. 150-151. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIT-09-2024-193
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2024, Brian Arnold
License
Published in Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning. Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
As we embrace increasingly frequent waves of digital transformation, it is prescient to ask fundamental questions about how these tools will reshape the way we teach and learn. Academia has a unique opportunity to reimagine itself, to place healthy learning at the center of virtual design. In efforts to offer counsel to business drivers and to empower our community with all forms of digital literacy, the Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching and Learning (JRIT&L) would like to offer this special issue with a specific focus, answering the question of how we, as a community, can leverage emerging technologies (AI and the Metaverse as the biggest headliners) as tools for powerfully supported social emotional learning (SEL) experiences.
It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as the guest editor for this special issue of the JRIT&L. The idea for the special issue sprang from the work being done at National University by The MetaverSEL Group, a think tank made up of forward-thinking educators from NU and beyond. After spending more than a year examining the intersection of SEL and the Metaverse, certain realities came into sharp focus: (1) it is imperative that all emerging technologies be examined through the lens of education application; (2) it is incumbent on educators to ensure that when new technologies are adopted, we do so with all our extant learning wisdom while eschewing as much of the baggage as possible and (3) if we are not proactive and literate on these topics, the evolution and adoption of these technologies will be guided by economics rather than learner wellbeing.
Luckily for us, we can see the horizon and anticipate needs. To that end, this issue of JRIT&L is a treasure trove of theory and practice dedicated to ensuring that learners and learning are at the heart of our tech tool adoption strategies. This issue is a snapshot and a call to action that there is much work to be done, and it must be done in advance of market forces if we are to maximize our agency in the rapidly changing landscape of education futures.
Please read, consider, share, enjoy and discuss the articles from this special issue, then heed our call to action and use your understandings to catalyze your communities of practice in order to aggressively lean into right-fit technological solutions applied to meaningful educational problems. Play with the tools and learn their affordances and constraints so that your usage, discussion, feedback and example can help shape these tools into the best fit solution for the next generation of learners. As a collective, we have tremendous influence on the shape of things to come; let’s wield it – for our learners and for a better future.
Of course, none of this would be possible without the tireless support of our reviewers, the true editor in chief of JRIT&L Zhonghe Wu and the resources and support of the Sanford College of Education at National University, whose support through Dean Robert Lee empowers us to share in this future-facing conversation.