The Department of Learning Design and Technology at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa (LTEC) realises programs need to evolve and grow to help students meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world. Consistently addressing systemic change for over five decades, LTEC engages in a collaborative, iterative process for program redesign. This process is complex and requires trust, buy-in, collaboration, and empowerment of all stakeholders.
LTEC is a uniquely positioned department within one of the Asia-Pacific region’s premier research-focused universities. For over 50 years, the LTEC department has continually adapted its programs to serve the needs of a multicultural student population with a growing international student body, particularly from Asia and the Pacific. LTEC’s curricular focus is on the theory and practice of technology integration to enhance teaching and learning. Because the field is ever-evolving, so too are its programs and practices. Examples of recent endeavours include the development of culturally relevant computer science education, scaffolding technology-mediated delivery systems, and providing training and expertise to remote regions experiencing expanded access to technology and connectivity.
In this panel, the LTEC department will provide specific strategies on how institutions might consider culturally-relevant approaches to teaching and understanding contemporary technologies and their influences. The panel will consider factors particularly relevant in Southeast Asia including the global economy, a competitive market, changing technology, complex learning systems, and, most significantly, harnessing regional strengths to incorporate local identity.
The LTEC departmental process incorporates design thinking techniques to foster empathy and strengthen community among the department faculty as well as its students, alumni, and other stakeholders. The process has advanced the department’s success in strengthening working relationships, iterating and evolving programs, and building a greater network throughout the state of Hawai’i and Pacific region.
This panel discussion will provide a forum to open an authentic dialogue with individuals and organisations who wish to employ collaborative strategies for improved decision-making and community building, and who may also be grappling with such issues as computer science education, artificial intelligence, complex delivery systems, and other challenges facing Southeast Asia.
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