distance education

One wonders what this type of tech will do for online-based learning, &/or hybrid/blended learning, &/or hyflex-based learning in the future [Christian]

On 05/24/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, attention, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, competency-based learning/education, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, disruption, distance education, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, Google, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, ideas, innovation, K-12 related, law schools, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, liberal arts, more voice more choice more control, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, online learning, online media, platforms, remote teaching and learning, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, society, student-related, telecommunications, telelegal, telemedicine / telehealth / virtual health, telepresence, television, tools, training / L&D, United States, universities, usability, user experience (UX), vendors, videoconferencing, Virtual courts and law firms, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, vocational / trades, web-based collaboration, webinars, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
It will be interesting to see — post Covid19 — how vendors and their platforms continue to develop to allow for even greater degrees of web-based collaboration. I recently saw this item re: what Google is doing with their Project Starline. Very interesting indeed. Google is trying to make it so that the other person feels like they are in the same space with you.

.
Time will tell what occurs in this space...but one does wonder what this type of technology will do for online-based learning, and/or hybrid/blended learning, and/or hyflex-based learning in the future…?

Video Lectures: 4 Tips for Teachers — from techlearning.com by Erik Ofgang
Creating short and engaging video lectures for students is a growing trend at education institutions

Excerpt:

To encourage a more professional type of evergreen video resource, the institution has invested in lecture capture studios, adding five new ones over the past year so each campus has at least one. Some of these studios are DIY, others require a crew, but all enable professors to record lectures in a professional recording environment, complete with green screens and high-quality lighting and audio. The recordings are then edited by the studio team who can help the professor follow the best pedagogical practices for video recordings, including keeping videos short and engaging.

From DSC:
A great example of using of teams to create higher-quality, engaging, interactive learning content.

Also see:

Adorama Business Solutions Equips New Classroom Studio for West Coast Baptist College Creative Arts Department — from svconline.com
Workspace Allows Department to Expand Video Production and Editing Course Offerings

Picture of a new classroom studio within a learning space

73 percent of students prefer some courses be fully online post-pandemic — from campustechnology.comby Rhea Kelly

“When three-fourths of students and more than half of faculty want to experience at least some courses fully online, the key takeaway is that the pandemic did not threaten but in fact accelerated the long-term growth, acceptance, and desirability of online learning, and those numbers will only improve, as emergency remote offerings are rebuilt as modern online courses and programs.”

Thursday, 5/20/21, is Global Accessibility Awareness Day!!!

On 05/18/2021, in accessibility / UDL, adjunct faculty, adult learning, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, computer science, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, distance education, education, education technology, elearning, faculty, flipping -- inverted learning, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, instructional design, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, languages and translation, law schools, leadership, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, library / librarians, lifelong learning, marketing/social marketing, multimedia, Natural Language Processing (NLP), new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, presentations, productivity / tips and tricks, reading, remote teaching and learning, society, special needs, storytelling, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, telelegal, telemedicine / telehealth / virtual health, tools, training / L&D, universities, user experience (UX), user interface design, vendors, videoconferencing, Virtual courts and law firms, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, visualizing information, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, web design and production, web-based collaboration, writing, youth, by Daniel Christian

Global Accessibility Awareness Day is this Thursday, May 20, 2021
Help us celebrate the tenth Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD)! The purpose of GAAD is to get everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital access and inclusion, and the more than One Billion people with disabilities/impairments.

Also see:

Reimagining Online Culture: Project-Based Learning, Inclusion, and Reach in Online Education [Schneider]

On 05/15/2021, in Asia, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), culture, distance education, engagement / engaging students, Europe, experimentation, ideas, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, online learning, society, by Daniel Christian

Reimagining Online Culture: Project-Based Learning, Inclusion, and Reach in Online Education — from er.educause.edu by Christian Schneider
The pandemic created a unique opportunity for educators to rethink their approach to online learning and explore how this educational environment can expand access while increasing and building on diversity.

Excerpt:

The move to online education during the pandemic has been one of the greatest experiments ever conducted. It was initially met with reluctance and fatigue, but once we moved beyond the attempts to replicate what we do in real life, it brought to light important innovations.

We cut out constraints, categorizations, and biases while concentrating on our faces, voices, and work, and we extended the reach of geographical, cultural, and social access.

During the pandemic, however, when most students were in their home countries, they seemed to be more comfortable as their authentic selves, working on projects that related to their local environments.
…
Teaching online can not only make education available to more people around the globe but also open a space where students can share “a piece of themselves,” where different perspectives can interact, where we can learn from each other and our local environments and opportunities. This creates an enormous opportunity for equity and inclusion.

Elevating Your Streaming Production Quality [Davis]

On 05/11/2021, in A/V -- audio/visual, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, distance education, education technology, higher education, instructional design, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, liberal arts, multimedia, online learning, online media, online tutoring, platforms, podcasting, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, quality, remote teaching and learning, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, tools, training / L&D, vendors, videoconferencing, virtual K-12 schools, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Elevating Your Streaming Production Quality — from avnetwork.com by Cindy Davis

Excerpt:

The instructional studios started with a mobile standing desk, which serves as the command center for instruction. The desk has a room controller, document camera, and an interactive display with an adapter for laptop content sharing. Behind the desk is a whiteboard with a whiteboard camera. In front of the desk, we designed an AV cart that includes a shotgun mic pair, LED light panels, two large displays, one off-lens teleprompter, and PTZ camera.

The studios put the instructor in control of the meeting using a Zoom Rooms controller— allowing them to easily switch between and share multiple types of content simultaneously: main camera, document camera, laptop content, digital annotations, and whiteboard writing.

Brief reflections on “How to Design a Hybrid Workplace” [The New York Times]

On 04/24/2021, in A/V -- audio/visual, blended learning, business, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, distance education, education technology, emerging technologies, expectations, experimentation, face-to-face, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, hybrid learning, innovation, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, online learning, platforms, remote teaching and learning, smart classrooms, society, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, telecommunications, telelegal, telemedicine / telehealth / virtual health, telepresence, tools, training / L&D, trends, United States, universities, user experience (UX), using teams, vendors, videoconferencing, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, workplace, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

How to Design a Hybrid Workplace — from nytimes.com

Excerpt:

But many companies have hatched a postpandemic plan in which employees return to the office for some of the time while mixing in more work from home than before. The appeal of this compromise is clear: Employers hope to give employees the flexibility and focus that come from working at home without sacrificing the in-person connections of the office.

From DSC:
There has been — and likely will continue to be — huge pressure and incentives put on companies like Cisco, Zoom, Microsoft, and others that develop the products and platforms to help people collaborate and communicate over a distance. It will be very interesting to see where these (and other) vendors, products, and platforms are 2-3 years from now! How far will we be down the XR-related routes?

How will those new ways of doing things impact telehealth? Telelegal? Virtual courts? Other?

Making VR a Reality in the Classroom [Flynn & Frost]

On 04/22/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, attention, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, distance education, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, future, future of higher education, generational differences, graphics, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, immersion, innovation, instructional design, interaction design, interactivity, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, multimedia, platforms, play, psychology, United States, universities, user experience (UX), vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, vision/possibilities, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

Making VR a Reality in the Classroom — from er.educause.edu by Cat Flynn and Peter Frost
Faculty and staff at Southern New Hampshire University piloted virtual reality in an undergraduate psychology course to see if it can be an effective pedagogical tool.

Excerpt:

Meeting the Learning Needs of Gen Z and Beyond
While this study was conducted with current SNHU undergraduates, our team aimed to understand the implications of immersive learning for both today’s students and future learners.
…
Given Gen Z’s documented love for gaming and their desire for higher education to equip them with problem-solving and practical skills, VR provides a confluence of experiential learning and engagement.

From DSC:
Cost and COVID-19 are major issues here, but this is an interesting article nonetheless.

I think Virtual Reality (VR), Mixed Reality (MR), and Augmented Reality (AR) will play a significant role in the future of how we learn. It may take us some time to get there, but I believe that we will.

21 Ways to Structure an Online Discussion, Part 1 — from facultyfocus.com by Annie Prud’homme-Généreux
*This is a five-part series. Each Monday, we will be publishing the next consecutive part of the article series.

Excerpt:

I searched for ways to structure online discussions, and my findings are described in this series of five articles. This first article explores ways to structure a discussion to encourage learners to apply the concepts they have learned. Articles two and three describe discussion structures that help learners explore concepts in greater depth. Article four looks at ways to use discussions for reflection, evaluation, and critique of concepts. The final article investigates ways to foster a greater sense of community by using multimedia and proposes resources for developing new discussion structures.

Below are five ideas where learners search for, recognize, and share concrete examples of a concept, or where they create examples to illustrate a concept. I am sure there are more ways to do it, and I welcome your additions in the comments below.

21 Ways to Structure an Online Discussion, Part Two — from facultyfocus.com by Annie Prud’homme-Généreux

Excerpt:

In this and the next article, I will describe ideas for structuring an online discussion when the goal is for learners to further explore a concept studied in class. I subdivided the ideas into two categories: Some are useful when the goal is for learners to engage in divergent thinking, in other words, when they are generating ideas and expanding the range of solutions or brainstorming (this article).

21 Ways to Structure an Online Discussion, Part Three — from facultyfocus.com by Annie Prud’homme-Généreux

Excerpt:

In this third article, we will explore structures to help learners explore concepts when the goal is convergent thinking, so each learner gains a deeper, richer understanding of a concept and aligns with a common understanding.

In this article, the ideas for structuring an online discussion when the goal is for learners to explore a concept through convergent thinking are:

Nearly Half of Faculty Say Pandemic Changes to Teaching Are Here to Stay — from campustechnology.com by Rhea Kelly

Among the findings:

Fifty-one percent of faculty said they feel more positive about online learning today than pre-pandemic. Faculty were most satisfied with how efficiently they were able to communicate with students — but across the board, a majority of faculty were also satisfied with how efficiently the technology worked, how well students learned and how well students engaged in class.
Fifty-seven percent of faculty said they feel more positive about digital learning materials than pre-pandemic.
Seventy-one percent of faculty reported they make considerable use of digital materials today, compared to 25 percent pre-pandemic. And 81 percent said they expect digital material use to remain the same or increase post-pandemic.
Fifty-eight percent reported considerable use of online homework and courseware systems, more than doubling the pre-pandemic share of 22 percent. Seventy-four percent expected the use of those systems to remain the same or increase post-pandemic.
Only 8 percent of faculty said they would revert to their pre-pandemic teaching practices after the pandemic is over.

Also see:

Success of Videoconferencing Could Keep a Lot of Education Work Remote — from thejournal.com by Dian Schaffhauser

Two-thirds of people in the education sector expect to see a continuation of remote work post-pandemic. Sixty-five percent of respondents in education agreed that due to the success of remote collaboration, facilitated by videoconferencing, their organizations are considering a flexible remote working model.

DC: Yet another reason to implement/support Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

On 04/11/2021, in accessibility / UDL, adjunct faculty, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, distance education, education technology, elearning, faculty, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, ideas, instructional design, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, learner profiles, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, multimedia, online learning, online media, online tutoring, parents/guardians, pedagogy, remote teaching and learning, society, special needs, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, telecommunications, training / L&D, United States, universities, usability, user experience (UX), vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, youth, by Daniel Christian

DC: Yet another reason for Universal Design for Learning’s multiple means of presentation/media:

Encourage faculty to presume students are under-connected. Asynchronous, low-bandwidth approaches help give students more flexibility in accessing course content in the face of connectivity challenges.

— as excerpted from campustechnology.com’s article entitled, “4 Ways Institutions Can Meet Students’ Connectivity and Technology Needs“

[UK] Over 27,000 students share how colleges & universities could improve digital learning

On 04/07/2021, in CMS/LMS, colleges, community colleges, digital learning, distance education, education technology, health, remote teaching and learning, student-related, UK, universities, by Daniel Christian

Over 27,000 students share how colleges and universities could improve digital learning — from jisc.ac.uk

Excerpt:

A Jisc survey of 27,069 higher and further education students reveals that most are pleased with their digital learning, but areas such as wellbeing, mental health and staff digital skills need more attention.

Between October and December 2020, 21,697 higher education (HE) students and 5,372 in further education (FE) took part in Jisc’s digital experience insights student survey. The surveys seek to support the sector in adapting and responding to the changing situation as a result of COVID–19 policies.

Webinar from Instructure: Building an Effective Learning Ecosystem

On 03/30/2021, in Canvas - and other Instructure-related items, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, Daniel S. Christian, distance education, education, education technology, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, learning preferences, online learning, online media, online tutoring, platforms, remote teaching and learning, teachers, technologies for your home, by Daniel Christian

Instructure: Building an Effective Learning Ecosystem — a recorded webinar from instructure.com from 3-4-21 (NOTE: You will need to provide some basic contact information to view it.)

Excerpt:

Hear from an expert panel of district leaders as they share their experiences with creating a learning ecosystem that includes integrating their learning management and assessment systems with quality benchmark and formative assessments. You will learn how a learning ecosystem has been an integral part of transforming teaching and learning during a challenging year.

Improved Student Engagement in Higher Education’s Next Normal [Glantz, Gamrat, Lenze, & Bardzell]

On 03/29/2021, in 21st century, active learning, adjunct faculty, blended learning, collaboration, colleges, communications, community colleges, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, distance education, education technology, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, faculty, future of higher education, higher education, hybrid learning, ideas, instructional design, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, liberal arts, multimedia, online learning, pedagogy, productivity / tips and tricks, reinvent, remote teaching and learning, teaching & learning, tools, universities, user experience (UX), vendors, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Improved Student Engagement in Higher Education’s Next Normal — from er.educause.edu by Ed Glantz, Chris Gamrat, Lisa Lenze and Jeffrey Bardzell
Five pandemic-introduced innovative teaching adaptations can improve student engagement in the next normal for higher education.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

The five teaching enhancements/adaptations discussed above—collaborative technologies for sense-making, student experts in learning and technology, back channels, digital breakout rooms, and supplemental recording—are well positioned to expand the definition of “student engagement” beyond traditional roll call and attendance tracking. Opportunities to include students at a distance have permitted inclusion of students who are reticent to speak publicly, students whose first language is not English, students with disabilities, and students less engaged through “traditional” channels. With these new conceptions of engagement in mind, we are prepared to be more inclusive of all students in the next normal of higher education.

Two items from faculty focus.com by Jenae Cohn, PhD, and Courtney Plotts, PhD:

Excerpt:

A strong sense of community begins with faculty designing and planning for the sense of community in the course. In order to build a strong sense of community within an online course, instructors should start by identifying the type of community they want to create. In other words, what is the common thread that runs through an online course: Inquiry, information giving, information gathering, and/or active listening?

Although not intuitive to all instructors, this question surrounding the idea of a sense of community is imperative for creating cohesion and a sense of belonging to a learning environment. Here are some ways that instructors might start to think about what community might mean for their class context:

Learning Ecosystems

Video Lectures: 4 Tips for Teachers [Ofgang]

73 percent of students prefer some courses be fully online post-pandemic [Kelly]

Reimagining Online Culture: Project-Based Learning, Inclusion, and Reach in Online Education [Schneider]

Brief reflections on “How to Design a Hybrid Workplace” [The New York Times]

21 Ways to Structure an Online Discussion, Parts 1, 2, & 3 [Prud’homme-Généreux]

Nearly Half of Faculty Say Pandemic Changes to Teaching Are Here to Stay [Kelly]

Improved Student Engagement in Higher Education’s Next Normal [Glantz, Gamrat, Lenze, & Bardzell]

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