education technology

Can A New Online Learning Platform Improve Employment For Those With Visual Impairment? [Mollenkamp]

On 01/19/2022, in accessibility / UDL, assistive technologies, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), business, career development, content development, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, education technology, elearning, online learning, platforms, special needs, training / L&D, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Can A New Online Learning Platform Improve Employment For Those With Visual Impairment? — from edsurge.com by Daniel Mollenkamp

Excerpt:

A workplace technology report from the American Foundation for the Blind, published this month, notes that many people who are blind, have low vision or are deafblind say that they experience difficulties with accessibility for workplace training.

According to researchers from the foundation, the participants in the study described problems with online trainings that were incompatible with screen-reading software or visual adjustments like changing the font size, with quizzes that didn’t work with a keyboard and with educational images and videos that weren’t verbally described.

Many of the participants say they needed to get help from a manager or coworker to complete mandatory training, the report notes, causing delays and feelings of exclusion.

Talk about engagement! Here are some fun ideas to engage your audience, class, and/or group!!! [Christian]

On 01/18/2022, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Adobe, adult learning, attention, Canvas - and other Instructure-related items, CMS/LMS, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, corporate universities / corporate training, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, education technology, educational games / serious games, Emotion, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, experimentation, higher education, ideas, innovation, instructional design, interactivity, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, love of learning, Microsoft, multimedia, online learning, online media, participation, platforms, remote teaching and learning, smart/connected TV, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, tools, training / L&D, user experience (UX), user interface design, using teams, vendors, videoconferencing, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, webinars, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
These ideas are specially meant for you entrepreneurs and vendors out there! Including such vendors and products such as Zoom, Cisco Webex, Microsoft Teams, Adobe Connect, and others!

This idea could also be profitable and fun for CMS/LMS vendors and products such as Instructure/Canvas, Blackboard Learn, D2L, Google Classroom and others!

How might we take engagement within an online-based learning environment to an entirely different level? Well, check out these ideas!

What if learning could feature more personality? Be more fun? Have shades of game shows even!? Yet at the same time, if you are a learner who ventures into the ideas that I’m about to suggest, you had better be ready to back up and explain your perspective/position!

Here’s what I’m getting at. You know when you are messaging you can insert some fun motion graphics into your message?

Well, what about if we could select from a bank of very short video clips during a live/synchronous discussion — or during an asynchronous-based discussion board posting — that contained a famous movie clip/message? Then, if you choose to do that, you are then required to explain your perspective/position.

Video	What the video could mean
“Beam me up Scotty! There’s no intelligent life down here.”	This is ridiculous. No one’s making any sense here.
“You meddling kids.” From various bad guys on Scooby-Doo.	You’re messing with me. I don’t agree with your perspective, and here’s why.
“That does not compute.” Spock from Star Trek.	I don’t agree with your answer. That doesn’t make any sense and here’s why.
“You can’t handle the truth.” Jack Nicholson in “A Few Good Men.”	Are you sure you want to know the truth about this topic? Can you handle such a truth? This is about to get real in here.
“Do. Or do not. There is no try.” Yoda. Star Wars	Take action on something; do something.
“I’ll be back.” Arnold Schwarzenegger in various films.	I’m stepping away from my desk…but I’ll be back soon. or You may have one this round, but I’ll be back for another round.

Learners within a learning community could use entertainment and have some fun while also having to backup their position/perspective! Talk about engagement! Shooooot.

And/or…learners could be like DJ’s at radio stations — and, on the fly, select from a bank of songs, audio-based noises and sounds!

The danger here is that humor can sometimes backfire and/or offend someone. So we would need to watch the content that’s available to choose from within the repositories of media. We would want to do some serious beta testing here to make sure things stay on the fun, entertaining, and educational sides of things.

Such an approach could introduce opportunities for creativity and for honing one’s ability to think on one’s feet. Also, learners could work on their communication skills as well as their ability to debate or persuade, or to practice some critical thinking.

While more gameshow-like on the surface, if you use such media, you have to explain why you used that media.

Exemplar of successful implementation of tech in schools — from donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com by Donald Clark

Excerpts:

It was impressive to find a school network that took technology as seriously as Curro, in South Africa. They had invited me to give a keynote on AI for Learning, based on my book and experience but I hung around as the teacher sessions were so damn good. This is what I learnt, as I think it is a recipe for success.
…
This was the big surprise. There were glowing testimonials from teachers about the power of adaptive learning, using AI, to personalise learning for students. It was described as a ‘gamechanger’ by the teacher who presented, with clear targeting, so that efficient and relevant, individual interventions could be made for students. It was clear that they knew why they wanted this technology, had implemented it well and were using teacher feedback to spread the word internally.

I was giving a talk as part of that process. The day’s activities were under the banner of ‘Imagining 2022’. It’s hard enough to Imagine what any year will bring these days but it was clear that this was a learning organisation, willing to learn from their mistakes and make the effort to plan forward.

Also see:

Curro

My “If-Then” slides for transitioning curriculum between in-person and e-learning are available here (I made them for the districts I work with specifically, but everyone is welcome to use them)!https://t.co/inc9Aaz0o5 #LTCcoaches pic.twitter.com/BIEjlaTSAU

— Jennifer Leban (@mrsleban) January 13, 2022

Google Slides here

Reflections on “AI-powered chatbots, designed ethically, can support high-quality university teaching”

On 01/14/2022, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, adjunct faculty, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning, bots, Canada, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, content aggregration, content development, content repositories, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, ethics, Europe, faculty, India, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Natural Language Processing (NLP), teaching & learning, teaching online, United States, user experience (UX), user interface design, using teams, vendors, vision/possibilities, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, by Daniel Christian

DC: The staff from Teaching & Learning Centers as well as the IT/AV staff would likely collaborate on creating/maintaining this type of database.#teachingandlearning #AV #IT #AI #NLP #highereducation https://t.co/Vs3RQJwrrH

— Daniel Christian (he/him/his) (@dchristian5) January 13, 2022

Methods and tools to develop future-ready skills — from blog.neolms.com by Rachelle Dene Poth

Excerpt:

Because of the changes that we experienced in the past year, I believe that it is important to have various options, whether teaching in-person, hybrid, or virtually. Choosing methods like Genius hour or project-based learning, activities such as scavenger hunts or learning stations, or selecting digital tools that promote more interaction with and between students will help foster the development of essential future-ready and SEL skills.

There are many methods and tools to explore, but it’s important to focus on the why behind the choices we make for our students. The use of digital tools promotes collaboration, communication, creativity and many more essential skills while also promoting the power of choice for students to share what they have learned.

More choice. More control.

Also see:

What is Breakout EDU and How Can It Be Used for Teaching? Tips and Tricks — from techlearning.com by Luke Edwards
Breakout EDU is a puzzle game based in the real world and digitally that’s great for team-based learning

Escape rooms have become very popular as a place teams can go to work out how to get free from the room in which they are “trapped.” It’s like a real-world version of a computer game that makes you work together to solve puzzles to escape from somewhere.

Breakout EDU helps to bring that experience to educators so as to better engage students and help them learn while having fun.

School in the metaverse: How tech and the pandemic are changing online education — from protocol.com by David Pierce
Coursera’s CEO and chief content officer see a future of learning that’s more on-demand, more personalized and more immersive.

Excerpts:

Maggioncalda and Coursera Chief Content Officer Betty Vandenbosch joined the Source Code podcast to talk about the chaotic state of online education, what’s next for corporate training, how softer skills are becoming part of the work curriculum, how learning might work in the metaverse and much more.

“We know, broadly, that learning will become more available, it’ll be more online, and there’ll be a lot more people learning for a lot more of their lives,” said Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda.

Here’s a nice moderator checklist, courtesy of Eva Keiffenheim

On 01/13/2022, in adjunct faculty, adult learning, biology, business, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, distance education, education, education technology, faculty, health, instructional design, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods, learning preferences, learning spaces, learning theories, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, United States, universities, vendors, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Here’s a nice moderator checklist, courtesy of Eva Keiffenheim — from her Learn Letter, dated 1/12/22

Also see the following item from Eva Keiffenheim:

Four Brain and Energy Hacks for Better Learning — from medium.com
Use these mental and physical shortcuts to increase learning efficiency.

But how does exercise transform your brain? She shares the three main changes…

FLEXspace: Building the Resource, Fostering the Community [Grush & Stephens]

On 01/13/2022, in colleges, community colleges, education technology, higher education, learning, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

FLEXspace: Building the Resource, Fostering the Community — from campustechnology.com by Mary Grush & Lisa Stephens

Excerpt:

The FLEXspace platform allows users to find and share detailed exemplars for learning space design and is of great value for institutions planning new or updated spaces. FLEXspace has evolved amid a growing community of higher education participating institutions, with the SUNY and California State University systems, Penn State, and Foothill-DeAnza Community College District among its earliest and longest-term supporters. We asked Stephens about current and future developments in the FLEXspace platform and plans for its burgeoning community.

Also see:

Community College Students Want More Flexibility, Technology in Their Courses — from campustechnology.com by Rhea Kelly

3 major trends affecting ed tech companies [Schwartz]

On 01/10/2022, in adult learning, Alternatives, career development, CMS/LMS, corporate universities / corporate training, education technology, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, reinvent, skills, surviving, tools, trends, United States, universities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

3 major trends affecting ed tech companies — from highereddive.com by Natalie Schwartz
We reviewed what executives said during their latest earnings calls to better understand patterns in the growing sector.

“It’s going to be a series of short, discrete skill-building offerings knitted together in a curated or customized manner,” Craig said. “It’s going to be done within enterprises in five years’ time, and that’s going to further reduce the influence of colleges and universities.”

AR and MR bubbles above students' heads as to who has been called upon and who hasn't

From DSC:
I created this image back in May of 2016.

DC: Yup. “A portable, secure and verified digital wallet for learning, work and life.”

On 01/10/2022, in Alternatives, Blockchain, career development, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, content aggregration, content repositories, copyright/ownership/NFTs, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, credentialing, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, disruption, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, Google, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, internet, IT in HE, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, lifelong learning, microlearning, mobile learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, online learning, Personal Learning Networks (PLNs), personalized/customized learning, platforms, professional development, reinvent, staying relevant, student-related, surviving, technologies for your home, tools, training / L&D, ubiquitous learning, United States, universities, vendors, vision/possibilities, vocational / trades, workplace, by Daniel Christian

DC: Yup.

“Navigate the lifelong learner journey with Pocket.
A portable, secure and verified digital wallet for learning, work and life.”https://t.co/ncqa6e6aF4 #digitalcredentials #lifelonglearning #credentials #skills #learningfromthelivingclassroom

— Daniel Christian (he/him/his) (@dchristian5) January 10, 2022

Resource via @ernperez
at this article/page.

From DSC:

Cloud-based learner profiles are a likely element of our future learning ecosystems

14 Predictions for Higher Education in 2022 [Schaffhauser]

On 01/10/2022, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adult learning, Alternatives, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning, Augmented Reality (AR), blended learning, Blockchain, business side of he, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, colleges, community colleges, content aggregration, content development, content repositories, copyright/ownership/NFTs, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, disruption, distance education, education, education reform, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, faculty, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, ideas, immersion, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, law schools, leadership, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, learning spaces, more choice more control, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, online learning, pace of change, personalized/customized learning, platforms, reinvent, social learning / networks, society, staying relevant, streams of content, surviving, teaching & learning, teaching online, tools, training / L&D, trends, United States, universities, vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, vision/possibilities, workplace, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

14 Predictions for Higher Education in 2022 — from campustechnology.com by Dian Schaffhauser

Excerpt:

Ask people working in higher education what they expect will happen in the new year, and the outlook is filled with visions that build on what we’ve been experiencing on college and university campuses for the last two years: a major focus on learning formats; continued exploitation of new technology; and the use of new digital models that move users “beyond Zoom.” Here we present the collective predictions of 14 IT leaders, instructional folks and a student about what they anticipate seeing in 2022. As one put it, “Let’s go, 2022! We have work to do!”

From DSC:
I’d like to thank Dian Schaffhauser, Rhea Kelly, and Mary Grush for letting me contribute some thoughts to the various conversations that Campus Technology Magazine hosts and/or initiates. I inserted some reflections into the above article and I hope that you’ll take a moment to read my and others’ thoughts out there.

5 Ways Teachers Can Help Students in Their Online Learning Journey — from edtechreview.in

Excerpt:

With the growing prominence of online education and its integration into the daily lives of students, teachers can play an active role in helping students in their online learning journey. Here’s how:

Learning Ecosystems

Can A New Online Learning Platform Improve Employment For Those With Visual Impairment? [Mollenkamp]

Reflections on “AI-powered chatbots, designed ethically, can support high-quality university teaching”

School in the metaverse: How tech and the pandemic are changing online education [Pierce]

FLEXspace: Building the Resource, Fostering the Community [Grush & Stephens]

3 major trends affecting ed tech companies [Schwartz]

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