College and University presidents respond to Covid-19: 2020 fall term survey — from acenet.edu by Jonathan Turk, Maria Claudia Soler Salazar, and Anna Marie Ramos
Excerpt:
On 11/05/2020,
in A/V -- audio/visual, adjunct faculty, adult learning, animation, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, attention, colleges, community colleges, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, distance education, education, engagement / engaging students, faculty, graphics, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, ideas, instructional design, K-12 related, law schools, learning, Learning Experience Design, learning preferences, learning theories, liberal arts, love of learning, media/film, memory, metacognition / metacognitive skills, more voice more choice more control, motivation, online learning, online tutoring, participation, passions, platforms, remote teaching and learning, simulations, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, training / L&D, universities,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
Many people talk about engagement when they discuss learning, and with good reason. It seems to me that what they are really getting at is the topic of getting and maintaining someone’s *attention.* Attention is the gatekeeper to further learning. I wonder if some of the next generation learning platforms that employ some level of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled features, will look to a learner’s preferences (as stored in their cloud-based learner’s profile) in order to help gain/maintain such attention.
And this also helps explain why allowing more learner agency — i.e., more choice, more control — in pursuing their own interests and passions really helps: A motivated learner is paying closer attention to what’s going on.
From DSC:
And along these lines, that’s one of the key reasons I’d like to see more involvement from the Theatre Departments, Computer Science Departments, and from those involved with creative writing across the land — in terms of helping develop content for remote and online-based education. Actors, actresses, set designers, costumer designers, audio/video editors, programmers/software developers, and more who could collaborate on these kinds of ideas.
Last comment on this. I don’t mean that we should present our classes like many advertisements do (i.e., running a thousand images by me within 30 seconds). But changing things up periodically — both visually and audibly — can help regain/reset your students’ attentions.
On 11/02/2020,
in business side of he, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, digital learning, distance education, education technology, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, ideas, innovation, IT in HE, law schools, leadership, learning, learning ecosystem, liberal arts, new business models, online learning, remote teaching and learning, strategy, teaching online, United States, universities,
by Daniel Christian
Top IT Issues, 2021: Emerging from the Pandemic — from educause.edu
Excerpt:
The EDUCAUSE Top IT Issues list has been refactored for 2021 to help higher education shape the role technology will play in the recovery from the pandemic. What different directions might institutional leaders take in their recovery strategy? How can technology help our ecosystem emerge stronger and fitter for the future?
The 2021 EDUCAUSE IT Issues project explores these questions using a very different approach from previous years. Anticipating potential ways institutions might emerge from the pandemic, this year we offer three Top IT Issues lists and examine the top 5 issues within three scenarios that may guide institutional leaders’ use of technology: restore, evolve, and transform.
Also see:
- Educause Identifies Top IT Issues for an Uncertain Future — from campustechnology.com by Dian Schaffhauser
On 10/31/2020,
in adjunct faculty, blended learning, colleges, community colleges, hybrid learning, online learning, pedagogy, platforms, remote teaching and learning, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, universities,
by Daniel Christian
Bichronous Online Learning: Blending Asynchronous & Synchronous Online Learning — from er.educause.edu by Florence Martin, Drew Polly and Albert Ritzhaupt
Excerpt:
Overall, research shows that when synchronous communication features are integrated with asynchronous features, the online course is more engaging, increasing learning outcomes, positive attitudes, and retention.
On 10/30/2020,
in business side of he, change, changing business models, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, digital learning, education technology, elearning, higher education, new business models, online learning, online media, United States, universities,
by Daniel Christian
OPM Market Landscape and Dynamics: Fall 2020 updates — from philonedtech.com by Phil Hill; with thanks to Edsurge.com for this resource
Excerpt:
There has been growing interest in the Online Program Management (OPM) market, as more schools try to develop a strategy and revenue model for online programs (particularly for master’s level). In addition, there has been a broad question to what degree schools would turn to OPM partners to help out with the Covid-driven move to online education in 2020 and beyond. We’re in the middle of the chaotic period of the pandemic, so there are no clear answers yet, but the consistent message is that OPM vendors are seeing a marked increase in interest from colleges and universities this year.
On 10/29/2020,
in adjunct faculty, Canvas - and other Instructure-related items, CMS/LMS, colleges, community colleges, education technology, engagement / engaging students, faculty, higher education, remote teaching and learning, society, sociology, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, trends, United States, universities, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
State of Student Success and Trends in Higher Education — from instructure.com
2020 Global Research Study and Trends
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
In the following report, we’ve identified six leading trends for student success and engagement in today’s world:
- Career readiness is the number one priority for students.
- Institutions need to think beyond the lecture.
- Faculty-student engagement is critical.
- Online learning needs to be intentionally designed.
- Socioeconomic disparities impact engagement.
- Democratisation of education begins with equitable access.
On 10/27/2020,
in collaboration, colleges, communications, community colleges, computer science, higher education, leadership, Learning Experience Design, online learning, participation, platforms, presentations, programming, remote teaching and learning, teaching & learning, teaching online, tools, vendors, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
The Advantages of Teaching Soft Skills to CS Undergrads Online — from cacm.acm.org by Orit Hazzan; with thanks to Sarah Huibregtse for posting this out on LinkedIn.
Excerpt:
At first, I wondered whether teaching soft skills online is even possible since, unlike theoretical courses, I assumed that close face-to-face (F2F) interaction is required in order to practice such skills. Eventually, I realized that teaching this course online has, in fact, some advantages, that this teaching format opens up new opportunities, and that this medium can even foster several soft skills that I had not previously considered teaching in the F2F format. This blog demonstrates these advantages by focusing on the use of the breakout rooms option available in Zoom, which I used extensively in the course.
On 10/24/2020,
in A/V -- audio/visual, adjunct faculty, Canvas - and other Instructure-related items, colleges, communications, community colleges, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, distance education, Google, K-12 related, law schools, Microsoft, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, remote teaching and learning, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, tools, vendors, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
Expert Tips for Using PowerPoint Presenter View (2 screens, Windows) in Zoom or Teams — from thinkoutsidetheslide.com; with thanks to Tamara Kravits for this resource
Except:
In this article I want to share some of the expert tips for using the features of Presenter View. I will use the common scenario of Presenter View showing on one screen while the slides show on a second screen which is shared in the meeting platform. This allows easy access to all the Presenter View features.
If you need to add a second screen, check out the options in this article and if you want to learn more about using Presenter View in different setups, I have complete guides to using Presenter View in Zoom and in Teams.
From DSC:
Along the lines of using two monitors with a videoconferencing application, below is a graphic I created for our faculty members at the WMU-Cooley Law School.
Also relevant/see:
- 6 Microsoft Teams features Zoom doesn’t have — from legaltechmonitor.com by Jim Calloway
On 10/22/2020,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, adjunct faculty, Adobe, Apple, architecture, art, attention, biology, business side of he, career development, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, competency-based learning/education, computer science, content development, aggregation, repositories, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, design, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital video, distance education, drama/theater, economics, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, engagement / engaging students, engineering, entrepreneurship, experimentation, face-to-face, faculty, future, game-changing environment, geography / geology, global / globalization, graphics, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, immersion, innovation, instructional design, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, journalism, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, liberal arts, love of learning, maker movement, mathematics, media/film, Michigan, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, multimedia, music, online learning, online media, participation, passions, photography, platforms, project-based learning, reinvent, research, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, United States, universities, vision/possibilities, writing, XR - extended reality,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC…by the way, another title for this blog could have been:
WIN-WIN situations all around! The Theatre Departments out there could collaborate with other depts/disciplines to develop highly engaging, digitally-based learning experiences!
The future of drama and the theatre — as well as opera, symphonies, and more — will likely include a significant virtual/digital component to them. While it’s too early to say that theatre needs to completely reinvent itself and move “the stage” completely online, below is an idea that creates a variety of WIN-WIN situations for actors, actresses, stage designers, digital audio/video editors, fine artists, graphic designers, programmers, writers, journalists, web designers, and many others as well — including the relevant faculty members!
A new world of creative, engaging, active learning could open up if those involved with the Theatre Department could work collaboratively with students/faculty members from other disciplines. And in the end, the learning experiences and content developed would be highly engaging — and perhaps even profitable for the institutions themselves!
[DC: I only slightly edited the above image from the Theatre Department at WMU]
Though the integration of acting with online-based learning materials is not a new idea, this post encourages a far more significant interdisciplinary collaboration between the Theatre Department and other departments/disciplines.
Consider a “Dealing with Bias in Journalism” type of topic, per a class in the Digital Media and Journalism Major.
- Students from the Theatre Department work collaboratively with the students from the most appropriate class(es?) from the Communications Department to write the script, as per the faculty members’ 30,000-foot instructions (not 1000-foot level/detailed instructions)
- Writing the script would entail skills involved with research, collaboration, persuasion, creativity, communication, writing, and more
- The Theatre students would ultimately act out the script — backed up by those learning about sound design, stage design, lighting design, costume design, etc.
- Example scene: A woman is sitting around the kitchen table, eating breakfast and reading a posting — aloud — from a website that includes some serious bias in it that offends the reader. She threatens to cancel her subscription, contact the editor, and more. She calls out to her partner why she’s so mad about the article.
- Perhaps there could be two or more before/after scenes, given some changes in the way the article was written.
- Once the scenes were shot, the digital video editors, programmers, web designers, and more could take that material and work with the faculty members to integrate those materials into an engaging, interactive, branching type of learning experience.
- From there, the finished product would be deployed by the relevant faculty members.
[DC: Above images from the Theatre Department at WMU]
Colleges and universities could share content with each other and/or charge others for their products/content/learning experiences. In the future, I could easily see a marketplace for buying and selling such engaging content. This could create a needed new source of revenue — especially given that those large auditoriums and theaters are likely not bringing in as much revenue as they typically do.
Colleges and universities could also try to reach out to local acting groups to get them involved and continue to create feeders into the world of work.
Other tags/categories could include:
- MOOCs
- Learning from the Living[Class]Room
- Multimedia / digital literacy — tools from Adobe, Apple, and others.
- Passions, participation, engagement, attention.
- XR: Creating immersive, Virtual Reality (VR)-based experiences
- Learning Experience Design
- Interaction Design
- Interface Design
- …and more
Also see:
What improv taught me about failure: As a teacher and academic — from scholarlyteacher.com by Katharine Hubbard
In improv, the only way to “fail” is to overthink and not have fun, which reframed what failure was on a grand scale and made me start looking at academia through the same lens. What I learned about failure through improv comes back to those same two core concepts: have fun and stop overthinking.
…
Students are more engaged when the professor is having fun with the materials (Keller, Hoy, Goetz, & Frenzel, 2016), and teaching is more enjoyable when we are having fun ourselves.
On 10/22/2020,
in adjunct faculty, Canvas - and other Instructure-related items, CMS/LMS, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, credentialing, digital learning, distance education, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, engagement / engaging students, faculty, higher education, instructional design, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, liberal arts, multimedia, online learning, pedagogy, personalized/customized learning, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, remote teaching and learning, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, universities, vendors,
by Daniel Christian
Per “Instructure Launches Canvas Certified Educator Program” out at The Journal by Dian Schaffhauser:
Each course is expected to take about four weeks to finish. They include:
- Core 1: Foundational frameworks, which explores the impact of technology on student learning and the classroom and how Canvas can be used to help educators boost student achievement, motivation and engagement;
- Core 2: Engagement strategies, to examine how Canvas can help enrich teaching practices and maximize student achievement;
- Core 3: Personalized learning, to dive into personalized learning and learn how to create opportunities for student voice and choice within the learning environment;
- Core 4: Transformational practices, to help participants learn how to evaluate open standard digital learning tools that can enhance learning through Canvas; and
- Electives, described as a series of optional courses that can be selected by educators based on interests and needs.
On 10/19/2020,
in 24x7x365 access, active learning, adjunct faculty, adult learning, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, business side of he, change, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, credentialing, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, distance education, education, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, face-to-face, faculty, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, ideas, innovation, instructional design, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, multimedia, new business models, new media literacies, online learning, pedagogy, personalized/customized learning, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, remote teaching and learning, society, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, technology (general), traditional / tradition, training / L&D, trends, United States, universities, vendors, vision/possibilities, workplace, XR - extended reality,
by Daniel Christian
