‘Anyone who walks into these spaces wants to teach in them’ — from ucalgary.ca by Joni Miltenburg
Instructors can apply to teach in the Taylor Institute’s flexible learning space

 

Photos inside The Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning before the official launch in April 2016.

Excerpt:

Leighton Wilks noticed a palpable difference when his class moved from a traditional lecture-style classroom to an active learning space. Not only did attendance increase, but students were more engaged and collaborative.

“I see a lot more team cohesion. They’re talking more to each other because they’re sitting with their teams. It’s nice to foster that teamwork throughout the semester.”

Wilks is an instructor in the Haskayne School of Business and teaches a second-year organizational behaviour course in the newly-renovated active learning classroom in Scurfield Hall. He found that the space breaks down the boundary between instructor and student.

“Instead of being up at the front, I’m walking around. I feel I get a lot more questions and get to know the students better, which is important.”

 

 


From DSC:
Also see my notes from this year’s Next Generation Learning Spaces Conference.


 

 

Creating Great Digital Spaces for Learning — from slideshare.net by Phil Vincent
Professor Andrew Harrison, Professor of Practice at University of Wales Trinity St David and Director, Spaces That Work Ltd., from Jisc DigiFest 2016

PwrDigitalChange-JISC-2016-first

 

PwrDigitalChange-JISC-2016-1

PwrDigitalChange-JISC-2016-2nd

 

 

 

21st-century learning environments — from webcpm.com by Kenneth A. Gruskin, Michael Searson

Excerpts:

Pedagogy
Preparation for the 21st-century workforce demands that educators shift the authority for learning to the students. After all, today’s workers are expected to function in collaborative and horizontal environments, as opposed to the “factory” driven, top-down, solitary worker spaces of yesterday. Therefore, contemporary learning environments should lean heavily on collaborative spaces, supported through personalized learning technologies. Good pedagogy encourages student engagement through complex collaborative projects based on real-world problems.

Technology
Innovative learning should incorporate a true BYOD (bring your own device) environment that provides opportunities for student-centered learning, beginning with their own personalized technologies — from laptops and tablets to smartphones and wearable devices. This approach leverages student devices and reduces the need for institutionally provided equipment.

Supporting Distance Learning
Strategies being used within Unified Communications and Collaboration solutions provide the means to support the involvement of remote participants, whether they are present on the WAN or solely connecting via Internet services. Since these solutions are moving to cloud-based topologies, they are mostly services that individuals subscribe to directly or have access to through campus-based subscription services. These features are also beginning to appear in social media environments, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, so the opportunity for use may become as easy as installing another app in the not-toodistant future.

 

 

 

Engaging students with interactive technologies — from webcpm.com by Bill Nattress

 

InteractiveTechnologies300

Excerpt:

Wireless presentation, lecture capture, online collaboration and active-learning methodologies all require the ability for any and all participants to engage the installed resources within the facility while they also access their personal content; whether local to their personal devices or within the cloud. With the video tools now available to the consumer, the use of conferencing apps will continue to rise. The environments that engage students and faculty will need to allow for any user to log in and access his or her content and presentation appliances without hurdles or roadblocks. Access to subject matter experts or other individuals will also need to be supported as well. With the deployment of video tools via social media, users will also rely more on their personal accounts for contact management instead of an address book. These changes in workflow are disruptors to the policies that many institutions have put in place as it relates to the BYOD usage surrounding their networks. Success of these communication and education solutions needs the networks to focus on and easily support three key technologies: wireless presentation, collaboration and participation by remote team members.

 

EON Reality Launches Free App for ‘Gamified’ Learning — from thejournal.com by Richard Chang

Excerpt:

EON Reality, an Irvine-based virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) company, has just launched a free app that aims to help teachers and students learn with interactive, “gamified” lessons.

EON Experience AVR, an AR- and VR-based learning library, features 3D learning environments and objects with functions such as exploded views, grab, drag, drop, rotate and snap, as well as the ability to view annotations and other attached media. A play mode consists of guided challenges and knowledge paths with continuous assessment (tests and quizzes). Users can learn by doing with identify, locate, build, disassemble and dissect capabilities.

 

Also see:

EON Experience AVR – A Vision of the Future

 

Examples from the above clip:

eon-4

 

eon-6

 

eon-2

 

eon-3

 

 

eon-5

 

Also see:

 

EON-Creator-AR-April2016

 

LinkedIn’s new app helps students figure out their career paths and find mentors — from thenextweb.com by Abhimanyu Ghoshal

 

 

Excerpt:

LinkedIn has already cemented its position as the go-to social network for working professionals. Now, it’s aiming at a younger audience with its new app for students that slated to launch on Monday.

Coming to Android and iOS, LinkedIn Students offers college folks a look at the career paths their degrees will afford them once they graduate.

 

 

Also see:

 

LinkedInStudents-April2016

 

 

Addendum from LinkedIn.com on 4/20/16:

Introducing the LinkedIn Students App: Helping Soon-to-Be College Graduates Conquer Their Job Search

Graduation is quickly approaching. Your job search is all consuming. What do you search for? What job options are best for you? Today, LinkedIn unveils the first-of-its-kind LinkedIn Students app available for iOS and Android, tailored specifically for soon-to-be college graduates looking to answer these very questions. Using insights from LinkedIn’s database of over 400 million professionals, the brand new app helps you discover jobs that are a best fit for graduates with your major, companies that tend to hire from your school and the careers paths of recent alumni with similar degrees.

86% of students choose to go to college to get better jobs, but 44% of graduates are underemployed.* Let LinkedIn Students help you navigate these uncharted waters of finding your first job out of school; something you, yourselves have told us is the paramount challenge you’re facing:

As a student close to graduating, finding a job is the most important aspect of my life right now.

I am graduating with $35,000 of debt so landing a good first job out of college is extremely important to me.

I don’t understand how my major translates into a job I’m qualified for.

These are just a few quotes from San Jose State and University of Central Florida students who recently participated in our pilot test of the app, but it’s no mystery these types of concerns are shared by students across the country. An understandable trend given the uncertainties that come with an economy mired in $1.2 trillion of student loan debt and an unemployment rate among college graduates of 7.2 percent (compared with only 5.5 percent in 2007).**

So how can the new app help you tackle your college to career transition? Think of it as your personal job exploration guide, providing tailored jobs related recommendations based on real data from the career paths of hundreds of millions of successful professionals. You can use these insights to discover and explore career opportunities you hadn’t considered or even known were possible!

Here’s a quick overview:

You can chip away at your job search checklist in any of your in-between moments – walking between classes, waiting in line at the coffee shop or taking a study break. What initially felt like an insurmountable undertaking will morph into a manageable daily to-do list and, before you know it, you’ll no longer be asking “How do I find a job that’s a fit for me?,” but “Which of these jobs is the best fit for me?”

The new LinkedIn Students app is available for iOS and Android in the US only for now. We look forward to hearing your feedback and continuing to improve this experience to help you discover and land a first job you’ll love.

*New York Federal Reserve

**Economic Policy Institute, 2015

 

This massive solar-powered computer can provide water for an entire village — from digitaltrends.com by Maria Mora

Excerpt:

The Center for Disease Control estimates that 9.1 percent of global disease could potentially be prevented by cleaner water and improved sanitation. One European-based company is aiming to provide fresh, drinkable water; Internet connectivity; and free electricity to a community in need.

Watly is world’s first, and largest, solar-powered computer that uses thermal technology to provide clean water, electricity, and Internet connectivity to about 750 people. Measuring in at about 131 feet (40 meters) long, this machine can sanitize up to 1,320 gallons (5,000 liters) of water a day, while generating electricity that can be used to charge external devices. Watly is also built with a 3G/4G router that gives people access to the Internet.

 

 

 

Also see:
Microscope Uses Artificial Intelligence to Find Cancer Cells — from futurism.com
A new microscope developed by researchers from UCLA uses AI to detect cancer cells in blood samples.

Excerpt:

Artificial intelligence is one of the greatest goals of the 21st century. Major developments in AI do astound, machines learning how to turn words into images and how to beat world class players in Go.

Who would have known AI can also spot cancer?

A new microscope, developed by researchers from UCLA, uses AI in helping detect and spot blood samples with cancer cells. Faster and more accurate than its contemporary techniques, it can analyze 36 million images every second without damaging the blood samples.

 

Apple TV: Apple Unveils New “Live Tune-In” Feature With Latest tvOS Update — from idigitaltimes.com by Michael Gardiner

Excerpt (excerpt):

If you happen to have a fourth generation Apple TV, then there’s some good news: Apple’s “Live Tune-In” feature is officially live. This feature allows an Apple TV user to ask Siri to automatically transport them to the livestream of a tvOS app from the home screen, an idea that could go a long way in making the Apple TV’s app navigation less painful.

 

 

From DSC:
What if these live streams were live lectures?

 

 

 

2016 Online Education Trends — from bestcolleges.com
Tracking the innovations and issues changing higher education

BestColleges-2016-OnlineEdTrendsRpt

 

Excerpt:

Key issues are identified in three categories:

  1. The state of online teaching and learning
  2. Technology and tomorrow’s learning environments
  3. The cost of online education

 

Through completely online virtual schools, hybrid or blended learning options, and some state-level requirements, K-12 students are entering college with online learning experience.

 

The results suggest that there are six new major types of students enrolling in college today. These types have multifaceted motivations and the need to consider more than just age or delivery platform when planning everything from curriculum and support services to marketing initiatives.

  1. Aspiring Academics: high-achieving, high-income recent high school graduates who want the traditional college experience and professional focus, which may include graduate school
  2. Coming of Age: unsure about career goals or major, but trust that college is the way forward
  3. Career Starters: interested in majors that lead to specific careers; focused on researching program costs and placement rates when making college decisions
  4. Career Accelerators: already working full-time and interested in advancing in their existing career field with part-time college options
  5. Industry Switchers: have work experience, but want to change career fields; focused on cost, online and hybrid options, job placement services
  6. Academic Wanderers: often returning to college after a break; unsure about career goals, but focused on finding low-cost higher education options to help them move forward

From the Who is teaching online? section:

Across higher education, online and on campus, the new normal is a reduction in full-time tenure-track faculty members and an increase in part-time or contract-based instructors in what are often referred to as contingent or adjunct positions.

According to the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), “more than 50% of all faculty hold part-time appointments” [9]. This doesn’t mean, however, that they are not working the equivalent of full-time hours or teaching a full-time course load. Almost 75% of faculty are considered “non-tenure track,” meaning that they may work part-time or full-time, but without the support and resources usually available to those in tenure-track positions [10].

 

Education consultant Peter Stokes recently called for a switch in language and approach. Online learning has become synonymous with “tuition streams” and “content development,” and perhaps a specific type of degree program. Stokes recommends replacing this term with digital strategy. This all-encompassing term more accurately describes not only delivery mode and administrative decisions, but also “pedagogy”, “market relevance” and the use of educational technology in on-campus programs as well [26]. This broader focus represents the reality of today’s higher education system, which increases student access to college while improving the overall learning experience.

 

 

Everything announced at Facebook’s F8 conference.

 

Facebook-10YearRoadmap-AsOfApril2016

 

Facebook-AI-April2016

 

 

Everything Facebook announced at F8 2016 — from thenextweb.com by Natt Garun

Excerpt:

Two days of Facebook’s F8 Conference have come and gone, so here’s a look back at all the things you may have missed from the event. To learn more about each topic, click the links below for full stories.

 

 

 

The 5 Biggest Things Facebook Announced This Week — from time.com by Victor Luckerson
Messaging bots, live video in drones and 360-degree cameras

Excerpt:

In a wide-ranging keynote April 12, CEO Mark Zuckerberg laid out the company’s 10-year plan to “Give everyone the power to share anything with anyone.” To do so, Facebook plans to move far beyond its original role as a social network. The firm aims to launch new virtual reality projects, beam Internet across the world using drones and unleash complex artificial-intelligence bots that can fulfill our every digital need.

Before all that can happen, Facebook has to deal with the here and now of improving its current products. On that front, the company made several announcements that will reshape the way people and brands use Facebook and its constellation of apps this year.

Here’s a breakdown of Facebook’s biggest F8 announcements.

 

 

 

How Facebook’s Social VR Could Be The Killer App For Virtual Reality — from fastcompany.com by
It’s going to take time, but Facebook is committed to developing realistic and satisfying social experiences in VR.

Excerpt:

When Facebook bought Oculus VR in 2014 for $2 billion, many observers wondered what the world’s largest social networking company wanted with a virtual reality company whose then-unreleased system was pretty much all about single-user experiences. Today at F8, Facebook’s annual developers conference in San Francisco, the company showed off some of the most fleshed-out examples of how it sees VR as a rich social tool. During his F8 keynote address, CTO Mike Schroepfer talked at length about what Facebook explicitly calls “social VR.”

 

Facebook Shows Us What It Means to Be ‘Social’ in Virtual Reality (Video) — from recode.net by Kurt Wagner

Excerpt:

One of the key knocks on virtual reality, the gamer-heavy industry Facebook is betting big on, is that wearing a headset intended to block out the real world in favor of a virtual one isn’t a very social activity. Facebook, an inherently social company, thinks it can change that.

At its F8 developer conference on Wednesday Facebook demoed what it calls “social VR,” which is exactly what it sounds like: Connecting two or more real people in a virtual world.

 

 

Oculus Demos VR Selfie Sticks and 360 Photo Spheres — from vrscout.com by Jonathan Nafarrete

Excerpt:

During the second day keynote of Facebook’s F8 Developer Conference, Oculus showed off an entirely new way to get social in VR.

On stage, Facebook’s CTO Mike Schroepfer showed how 360-degree photos can instantly be shared with a friend in VR, with 360 photos appearing as handheld spheres. You can virtually grab the floating sphere and smash it against your face, you will then be instantly teleported into the content of the spherical photo.

 

 

 

 

Oculus Social VR Full Demo – Facebook F8 Conference 2016

 

 

 

Has Facebook achieved what AOL could have a generation ago? — from medium.com by Gary Vaynerchuk

Excerpt:

[On 4/12/16], Facebook opened up Instant Articles to all publishers. If you don’t know, Instant Articles are Facebook’s new way to natively load articles within the app using an adapted RSS feed. These native articles, which have a lightning bolt in the top right corner, load in half a second?—?10x faster than if user was to click out to a website. From what I’ve seen so far, they really do load instantaneously and have a great layout and user experience. And if you’re paying attention, you’ll understand that this is their third push for native media consumption: first photos, then videos, and now written content.

However, as of [4/13/16], Instant Articles become available to anybody with a Facebook page and a blog. This is a key opportunity for small blogs and publications to get ahead of the game and really understand how best to use the new product.

Has Facebook been able to achieve what AOL could have a generation ago? By that I mean: Has Facebook become a layer on top of the Internet itself?

 

FacebookInstantArticles-April2016

 

 

 

From DSC:
Let’s take some of the same powerful concepts (as mentioned below) into the living room; then let’s talk about learning-related applications.


 

Google alum launches MightyTV for cable cord-cutters — from bizjournals.com by Anthony Noto

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

MightyTV, which has raised more than $2 million in venture funding to date, launched today with a former Google exec at the helm. The startup’s technology incorporates machine learning with computer-generated recommendations in what is being touted as a “major step up” from other static list-making apps.

In this age of Roku and Apple TV, viewers can choose what to watch via the apps they’ve downloaded. MightyTV curates those programs — shows, movies and YouTube videos — into one app without constantly switching between Amazon, HBO, Netflix or Hulu.

Among the features included on MightyTV are:

*  A Tinder-like interface that allows users to swipe through content, allowing the service to learn what you’d like to watch
*  An organizer tool that lists content via price range
A discovery tool to see what friends are watching
*  Allows for group viewings and binge watching

 

From DSC:
What if your Apple TV could provide these sorts of functionalities for services and applications that are meant for K-12 education, higher education, and/or corporate training and development?

Instead of Amazon, HBO, Netflix or Hulu — what if the interface would present you with a series of learning modules, MOOCs, and/or courses from colleges and universities that had strong programs in the area(s) that you wanted to learn about?

That is, what if a tvOS-based system could learn more about you and what you are trying to learn about? It could draw upon IBM Watson-like functionality to provide you with a constantly morphing, up-to-date recommendation list of modules that you should look at.  Think microlearning. Reinventing oneself. Responding to the exponential pace of change. Pursuing one’s passions. More choice/more control. Lifelong learning. Staying relevant. Surviving.

…all from a convenient, accessible room in your home…your living room.

A cloud-based marketplace…matching learners with providers.

Now tie those concepts in with where LinkedIn.com and Lynda.com are going and how people will get jobs in the future.

 

The Living [Class] Room -- by Daniel Christian -- July 2012 -- a second device used in conjunction with a Smart/Connected TV

 

 

BlueJeans Unveils Enterprise Video Cloud as Businesses Hang Up on Audio-Only Communications
Global Enterprises Adopt Video as a First-Line Communications Strategy

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

April 12, 2016 — Mountain View, CA—BlueJeans Network, the global leader in cloud-based video communication services, today unveiled the Enterprise Video Cloud, a comprehensive platform built for today’s globally distributed, modern workforce with video communications at the core. New global research shows that 85% of employees are already using video in the workplace and 72% believe that video will transform the way they communicate at work.

“There is a transformation happening among business today – face-to-face video is quickly rising as the preferred communications medium, offering new opportunities for deeper personal relations and outreach, as well as for improved internal and external collaboration,” said Krish Ramakrishnan, CEO of BlueJeans. “Once people experience the power of video, they ‘hang-up’ on traditional conference calling. We are seeing this happen with the emergence of video cultures that power the most innovative cultures—from Facebook and Netflix to Viacom and Del Monte.”

 

From DSC:
I wonder if we’ll see video communication vendors such as BlueJeans or The Video Call Center merge with vendors like Bluescape, Mezzanine, or T1V with their collaboration tools. If so, some serious collaboration could all happen…again, right from within your living room!

 

 

Internet of Things Landscape 2016 – In One Diagram — from Matt Turck

Excerpt:

Is the Internet of Things the world’s most confusing tech trend? On the one hand, we’re told it’s going to be epic, and soon – all predictions are either in tens of billions (of connected devices) and trillions (of dollars of economic value to be created). On the other hand, the dominant feeling expressed by end users (including at this year’s CES show, arguably the bellwether of the industry) is essentially “meh” – right now the IoT feels like an avalanche of new connected products, many of which seem to solve trivial, “first world” problems: expensive gadgets that resolutely fall in the “nice to have” category, rather than “must have”.  And, for all the talk about a mega tech trend, things seem to be moving at the speed of molasses, with little discernible progress year on year.

Just as for the Big Data world, the annual update to our Internet of Things Landscape (scroll below for the 2016 version) is a great opportunity to check in on the industry. In 2013, we were trying to make sense of the Internet of Things; in late 2014, it seemed that the IoT had reached escape velocity. In 2016, the IoT space continues to hold considerable promise, but equally, and unsurprisingly, there’s no shortage of obstacles – there is a long road ahead and this trend will unfold over many years, possibly decades.

 

IoT-Landscape2016-as-of-April2016

 
 

 

Women in Computer Science: Getting involved in STEM — from computerscience.org; with thanks to Emily French for the resource

Excerpt:

Even with projected growth of 15-20% between 2012 and 2022, the vast majority of computer science jobs will be pursued and filled by men. As STEM-related industries on a whole add over 1.7 million jobs in the coming years, there continues to be a notable absence of women in the field. This trend begins well before entering the job market: girls account for more than half of all Advanced Placement (AP) test-takers, yet boys outnumber girls 4:1 in computer science exams. In Mississippi, Montana and Wyoming, not a single girl took the AP Computer Science examination in 2014.

There is a clear disconnect between the computer science industry and the message girls receive about their ability to succeed in tech organizations. This guide examines the history behind this disparity and how educators, parents, employers and computer scientists can reverse the trend.

Due to the marketing strategies of the last three decades, many women have developed misconceptions about computer science. While the notion of the geek coder is alive and well, many young women may be unaware of the myriad jobs available and the opportunity to make a palpable difference.

As Smithsonian Magazine reports, a survey conducted by AAUW of 15,000 recent graduates found that, one year after graduation, male and female programmers were earning the same salary.

 

ScholarshipsWomenCS-April2016

 

 

 

Unlocking the past: How wearable tech could help get us back to our roots — from wareable.com by Daniel Coughlin
A genealogy expert predicts the future of using wearables to see into your past

 

Could wearable tech unlock the past?

 

Excerpt:

Imagine if you could snap on a DNA-matching wristband that connects you with long lost cousins, or pick up a personalised VR headset game that could immerse you in the lives of your ancestors? “It’s simply a matter of time before we could see this sort of technology,” says genealogy expert Thomas MacEntee.

Known in the industry as ‘The Tech Guy’, MacEntee runs an online community of 3,000 family history bloggers called GeneaBloggers. He also heads up Hack Genealogy, a blog about “repurposing today’s technology for tomorrow’s genealogy”, as well as the consulting site High-Definition Genealogy. MacEntee is renowned in the industry for spotting emerging family history trends and innovations.

Wearable technology for genealogy research and exploration is currently in its very early days. Ancestry.com, the world’s leading genealogy website, has made the industry’s first foray with its Ancestry app for Apple Watch, which launched last April. The app offers speedy access to Ancestry.com’s 14 billion records and images, allows the user to edit their family tree in an instant and delivers regular family history-related notifications.

That’s pretty much it for the moment – but MacEntee, who has envisaged a number of exciting potential uses, believes that this is just the beginning.

 

 

What Gen Z thinks about ed tech in college — from edtechmagazine.com by D. Frank Smith
A report on digital natives sheds light on their learning preferences.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

A survey of the collegiate educational-technology expectations of 1,300 middle and high school students from 49 states was captured by Barnes and Noble. The survey, Getting to Know Gen Z, includes feedback on the students’ expectations for higher education.

“These initial insights are a springboard for colleges and universities to begin understanding the mindset of Gen Z as they prepare for their future, focusing specifically on their aspirations, college expectations and use of educational technology for their academic journey ahead,” states the survey’s introduction.

Like the millennials before them, Generation Z grew up as digital natives, with devices a fixture in the learning experience. According to the survey results, these students want “engaging, interactive learning experiences” and want to be “empowered to make their own decisions.” In addition, the students “expect technology to play an instrumental role in their educational experience.”

 

From DSC:
First of all, I’d like to thank D. Frank Smith for the solid article and for addressing the topic of students’ expectations. These messages were echoed in what I heard a few days ago at the MVU Online Learning Symposium, a conference focused on the K-12 space.

 

MoreChoiceMoreControl-DSC2

 

I want to quote and elaborate on one of the items from the report (as mentioned in the article):

“There is a need for user-friendly tools that empower faculty to design the kinds of compelling resources that will comprise the next wave of instructional resources and materials,” the report states.

Most likely, even if such tools were developed, the end goal from the quote above won’t happen. Why? Because:

  • Most faculty simply don’t have the time — they are being overrun with all sorts of other demands on their time (committees, task forces, advising, special projects, keeping up with the changes in their disciplines, etc.)
  • Even with user-friendly tools, one still needs a variety of skill sets to create engaging, sophisticated content and learning environments. Creating “the next wave of instructional resources and materials” is waaaaaay beyond the skillsets of any one person!!! Numerous skills will be required to create the kinds of learning materials that we can expect to see in the future:
    • Information architecture
    • Instructional design
    • Interaction design
    • Videography and creating/working with multiple kinds of media
    • Programming/coding
    • Responsive web design and knowing how best to design content for multiple kinds of devices
    • User experience design
    • Graphic design
    • Game design
    • Knowledge of copyrights
    • Expertise in accessibility-related items
    • The ability to most effectively write for blended and/or online-based approaches
    • Knowing how to capture and use learning analytics/data
    • Keeping up with advancements in human computer interfaces (HCI)
    • Staying current with learning space design
    • How best to deliver personalized learning
    • and much more!

This is why I continue to assert that we need a much more team-based approach to creating our learning environments. The problem is, very few people are listening to this advice.

How can I say this?

Because I continue to hear people discussing how important professional development is and how much support is needed for faculty members.  I continue to see quotes, like the above one, that puts the onus solely on the backs of our faculty members. Conferences are packed full with this type of approach.

Let’s get rid of that approach — it’s not working!  Or at least not nearly to the degree that students need it to. There may be a small percentage of faculty members who have the time and skills to pull some things off here, but even they will run into some walls eventually (depending upon the level of sophistication being pursued). None of us can do it all.

But for the most part, years have gone by and not much has changed. Rather, we need to figure out how we could use teams to create and deliver content. That would be a much wiser use of our energies and time. This perspective is not meant to dog faculty members — it’s just recognizing realities:

  • One person simply can’t do it all anymore.
  • Tools don’t exist that can pull all of the necessary pieces together.
  • Even if such tools existed, they won’t be able to keep pace w/ the exponential rate of technological changes that we’re currently experiencing — and will likely continue to experience over the next 10-20 years.

If we’re going to insist on faculty members creating the next wave of instructional materials and resources, then faculty members better look out — they don’t know what’s about to hit them.  Forget about having families. Forget about having a life outside of creating/delivering content.  And find a way to create a 50-60 hour work DAY (not week) — cause that’s how much time one will need to achieve any where’s close to mastery in all the prerequisite areas.

 

 

From DSC:
Yesterday, I attended the Michigan Virtual University (MVU) Online Learning Symposium on the campus of Michigan State University. I would like to send a shout out to MVU for putting this event together and to MSU for hosting a solid event, as well as to all of the speakers and presenters throughout the day.

 

MVUOnlineSymposium-April2016

 


Some key points/themes:


  • Online-based learning within K-12 in Michigan continues to increase:
    • Over 91,000 Michigan K-12 students took one or more virtual courses during the 2014-15 school year. This number is up over 15,000 students compared to the number reported last year (increase of 20%).
    • Michigan K-12 students accounted for approximately 446,000 virtual course enrollments in 2014-15, surpassing the 2013-14 figure by more than 126,000 enrollments (increase of 40%). 
  • A side note from DSC:
    Given this growth in online learning in the K-12 space…
    Given the emphasis in K-12 to provide more CHOICE to students…
    Given the emphasis to turn over the ownership of learning to students…….those colleges and universities who will carry on these students’ educations must realize that the K-12 student is changing…their expectations are changing. They want MORE CHOICE. MORE CONTROL. If you only offer a face-to-face delivery approach, that likely won’t cut it in the future.

 

MoreChoiceMoreControl-DSC

 

  • Technology will continue to play a strategic role in the quest to provide greater degrees of personalization as well as provide the data to aid in learning success

 

An insert, dated 4/14/16 from:
We’re already seeing such changing expectations, as identified in the following article from 4/11/16:
What Gen Z Thinks About Ed Tech in College” — edtechmagazine.com
A report on digital natives sheds light on their learning preferences.

Excerpt:

A survey of the collegiate educational-technology expectations of 1.300 middle and high school students from 49 states was captured by Barnes and Noble. The survey, Getting to Know Gen Z, includes feedback on the students’ expectations for higher education.

“These initial insights are a springboard for colleges and universities to begin understanding the mindset of Gen Z as they prepare for their future, focusing specifically on their aspirations, college expectations and use of educational technology for their academic journey ahead,” states the survey’s introduction.

Like the millennials before them, Generation Z grew up as digital natives, with devices a fixture in the learning experience. According to the survey results, these students want “engaging, interactive learning experiences” and want to be “empowered to make their own decisions.” In addition, the students “expect technology to play an instrumental role in their educational experience.”

 


Keynotes/speakers (with some notes on their presentations included):


 

Buddy Berry
Superintendent of Eminence Independent Schools
Eminence, Kentucky

Also see:
School on FIRE (Framework of Innovation for Reinventing Education)

 

Woven throughout all we do is the concept of Surprise and Delight. We want each student, staff, and stakeholder to be continually amazed and engaged each and every day. We want to create and foster an environment where creativity and customer service abound in all aspects of our school. Whether great or small, the element of “Surprise and Delight” is the essence of our organization.

Buddy gave an emotional, powerful keynote address — even while cooking up a delicious dish.

Photo from Eric Kunnen at GVSU

 

The aromas spread throughout the room, even if only a handful of people were actually going to eat the dish (a lesson is in there for education reform as well).  Buddy thinks outside the box and wants those in the Eminence Independent School system to start thinking differently as well. He seeks to have their schools surprise and delight students — awesome! As an example of this, he wouldn’t accept no to some things re: providing WiFi to their students. So he had their buses outfitted with WiFi, then saw to it that those buses were parked overnight in the areas where their students didn’t have access to WiFi. Students within 100 yards of those buses now have WiFi.

As a result of a tragic accident involving one of his former football players, Buddy is truly driven to change the world. He thinks big. He is on a mission, backed up by vast amounts of energy and determination.

Their School on FIRE document mentions the following bullet points re: personalized learning:

  • Student choice in electives
  • Personalized student goals
  • Personalized Learning Environment in all classes
  • ICE (Interventions, Connections, and Enrichments) Model (K-12)

 

 

Brian J. Whiston
State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Brian:

  • Mentioned Michigan’s Top 10 in 10 Years Program, striving to put Michigan in the nation’s top 10 performers for education within the next 10 years
  • Mentioned Governor Snyder’s recently introduced 21st Century Education Commission, created to prepare students for the global economy (see the full text of Executive Order 2016-6) which states that “the Commission shall act in an advisory capacity to the Governor and the state of Michigan, and shall do all of the following:”
    1. Analyze top performing states and nations to determine how their systems of education (structure, governance, funding, and accountability) have led to academic and career success for students pre-school through career credentialing/post-secondary education.
    2. Determine, for top performing states and nations, the similarities and differences between their demographic, cultural and economic realities and Michigan’s demographic, cultural, and economic realities.
    3. Based on this analysis of top performing states and nations, identify the structural (configuration of schools,) governance, funding, and accountability enablers and inhibitors impacting the academic success and career preparedness for Michigan students and residents, including distinct demographic and geographic variances as appropriate.
    4. Recommend changes to restructure, as necessary, the configuration, governance, funding, and accountability of Michigan’s education system to significantly improve student achievement and career preparedness, and ensure the high quality of all education options available to parents and students.
    5. Prioritize the Commission’s recommendations for implementation.
      .
      (The report/recommendations are due by 11/30/16.)

 

  • Asserted that students should lead/own their own learning — that students set and pursue their own goals
    (From DSC: I love that goal, as it will serve the students well in their futures; lifelong learning is now required and each of us has to own our own learning.)
  • Suggested that teacher preparation programs should be more akin to what medical schools do — and have student teachers work with kids earlier on in the process; be able to learn something, then immediately apply it. Teacher prep programs need to become more nimble.
    (From DSC: In another panel, it was asked what teacher preparation programs are doing to train future teachers on how to teach online…?  A solid, necessary question — at least for the foreseeable future.)

 

 

 

Joe Freidhoff
Vice President of Research, Policy & Professional Learning, MVU

Joe shared numerous pieces of data from the report that he authored:

Freidhoff, J.R. (2016). Michigan’s K-12 virtual learning effectiveness report 2014-15. Lansing, MI: Michigan Virtual University. Retrieved from http://media.mivu.org/institute/pdf/er_2015.pdf.

MVU-OnlineEffectivenessRpt2016

Some excerpts from the Key Findings section:

  • Over 91,000 Michigan K-12 students took one or more virtual courses during the 2014-15 school year. This number is up over 15,000 students compared to the number reported last year (increase of 20%). Three out of four students taking virtual courses came from the Local virtual learner subset, 15% came from cyber schools, and 10% from MVS
  • Michigan K-12 students accounted for approximately 446,000 virtual course enrollments in 2014-15, surpassing the 2013-14 figure by more than 126,000 enrollments (increase of 40%). High school grade levels continued to account for the largest number of enrollments, though the elementary grade levels showed the largest year-over-year percentage increases. The Local virtual learner subset accounted for 63% of the virtual enrollments.
  • Virtual enrollment patterns suggest that Michigan schools tend to enroll higher performing students in MVS courses, but rarely use MVS for lower performing students. In contrast, when Local schools provide their own virtual solution, they primarily enroll students who have failed several courses taken in the traditional classroom environment.
  • As in past years, virtual enrollments were heaviest in the core subject areas, led by English Language and Literature (20%) and Mathematics (17%).
  • Once again, males and females each accounted for roughly half of the virtual enrollments, and there was almost no difference in the percentage of males and females enrolling in core subjects.
  • Over half (51%) of schools with virtual enrollments had 100 or more virtual enrollments in the 2014-15 school year, though the second most likely scenario was that they had less than 10 (19%). This “all” or “very few” phenomenon continues the trend observed over the past four years, despite the number of schools with virtual enrollments growing from 654 in 2010-11 to over 1,072 in 2014-15.

Joe also shared some items from “A Report to the Legislature” — from 12/1/15.

MVUReportToLegislature-12-1-15

 


Other notes:


  • Professional Development would be ideally experiential, sustained; and staffed by people who have actually done things. Those people would ideally be available to coach/support others.
  • Support is key, as not everyone is highly proficient in using/applying technology.
  • edupaths.org
    EduPaths is a professional development portal for ALL Michigan Educators. EduPaths courses are aligned with school improvement framework, multi tiered systems of support, and designed to expand understanding on a wide variety of topics. Courses are available online and are completely self-paced. They are intended to help educators to personalize their own learning plan any time and any place. Another feature of EduPaths are the strategic partnerships with statewide educational organizations. Our goal is to “Help Educators Navigate their Professional Growth” through providing content and connecting content from our statewide partners.
  • GenNET Online Learning
  • LearnPort.org
    Michigan LearnPort® provides online learning solutions for educators and the educational community. Through Michigan LearnPort, you can access high quality courses and resources, meet professional development requirements, earn State Continuing Education Clock Hours and more.
  • micourses.org
  • mischooldata.org
    MI School Data is the State of Michigan’s official public portal for education data to help citizens, educators and policy makers make informed decisions that can lead to improved success for our students. The site offers multiple levels and views for statewide, intermediate school district, district, school, and college level information. Data are presented in graphs, charts, trend lines and downloadable spreadsheets to support meaningful evaluation and decision making.
  • The culture of a community will be key in determining what happens with that community’s educational system.
  • Several of the sessions dealt with the topic of quality, and some of the organizations/tools mentioned there include:
  • MVU’s iEducator Program

 

MVU-iEducatorProgram-2015

 

Backchannel products/solutions I saw used:

TodaysMeet.com

 

TodaysMeet-April2016

 

BackChannelChat.com

 

BackChannelChat-April2016

 

 

 

My green screen setup –from learninginhand.com by Tony Vincent

Excerpt:

I’m often asked about the set up I use to film my videos. Here’s a 360 spherical photo that I’ve annotated. Feel free to scroll and zoom around to check out my setup.

 

TonyVincent-GreenScreenSetup-April2016

 

 

Mark 2:21-22 (NIV)

Mark 2:21-22 New International Version (NIV)

21 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”

 
© 2024 | Daniel Christian