ideas

Staff get little to no say in campus governance. That must change. [Skallerup]

On 09/24/2020, in change, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, faculty, future of higher education, higher education, ideas, law schools, leadership, learning ecosystem, organizational change, participation, strategy, United States, universities, using teams, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Staff get little to no say in campus governance. That must change. — from chronicle.com by Lee Skallerup Bessette
As professors and administrators debate how to reimagine academe after Covid-19, that reform must include a greater voice for staff members.

Excerpts:

Why, then, in all of this recent (and needed) hand-wringing and speculating about the future of the university, post-pandemic, have we not heard many (if any) staff voices? Or for that matter, any calls for our voices to be included in any planning and restructuring?
…
Faculty members are the experts in their disciplines, but they do not have a monopoly of knowledge around pedagogy, programming, student success, inclusivity, equity, accessibility, among other things. We shouldn’t expect already overtaxed faculty members to be experts in everything and anything. In fact, the intense pressure that many of them are feeling lately is largely because of structures and traditions that discourage professors from collaborating with staff members who are experts in those areas.
…
With college campuses selling themselves as an entire “experience,” not just a set of courses, it’s high time for those of us responsible for that campus experience to be included in the larger conversation.

Purdue Shares Look Inside HyFlex Classroom — from campustechnology.com by Rhea Kelly

Excerpt:

He started blending both face-to-face and online instruction in his classrooms weeks before Purdue officially shifted to remote learning last spring.

Mentzer wanted his students to be able to participate in class remotely in real time or physically attend on any given day, according to a university news story.
…
“If students are unable to come to class for a period of time because they are in isolation or quarantined, they can complete the requirements online and continue progressing in the course,” she noted.

Zoom, but for X: How startups are building for our new video normal [Carson]

On 09/23/2020, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, attention, blended learning, business, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, communications, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate universities / corporate training, creativity, digital audio, digital storytelling, digital video, drama/theater, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, flipping -- inverted learning, future, game-changing environment, graphics, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, ideas, innovation, instructional design, interactivity, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, multimedia, online learning, online media, online tutoring, platforms, play, presentations, user experience (UX), vendors, videoconferencing, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, webinars, by Daniel Christian

Zoom, but for X: How startups are building for our new video normal — from protocol.com by Biz Carson
Meet the startups building the next take on video.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Trying to liven up the monotony of Zoom meetings, Phil Libin hung up a green towel behind his desk and started projecting images onto it, like Dr. Anthony Fauci hovering over his shoulder, just to make his team laugh. At first, it was a bit of a performance and a way to break up the monotony as Zoom fatigue set in a few months into the pandemic at the end of May. But then Libin, the former CEO of Evernote and founder of startup studio All Turtles, realized the “Weekend Update” style could be more than just a gimmick.

A bit of coding and a fantastic demo later, Libin closed a seed round of $4.5 million to launch his new company, Mmhmm. His big belief is that we’re moving to a hybrid world where things don’t fit neatly into boxes like in-person or online or live or recorded. Instead, it’s all going to be a mix.

Also see:

“God shall wipe every tear from their eyes” | Our dad sings a song based on Revelation 21.4

On 09/23/2020, in Daniel S. Christian, faith, future, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, ideas, music, surviving, by Daniel Christian

⁴‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes.
There will be no more death’^[a] or mourning or crying or pain,
for the old order of things has passed away.”

⁵He who was seated on the throne said,
“I am making everything new!” Then he said,
“Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

From DSC:
Our dad, in his younger days, used to sing a song with Revelation Verse 21:4 in it. It was a beautiful piece that he had recorded years ago. That recording recently resurfaced, and our family is glad that we located it again. (Our dad sang quite a bit throughout his lifetime, and still likes to recall/sing some tunes. He and our mom met in college, both studying within the School of Music.)

Anyway, that song will likely be played at one or more of the funerals within our family in the near future. Any day now we could get “that call.” Or, if we’re lucky enough, we’ll be able to be present with him when he passes away (though Covid19 is making that very difficult these days).

Add to these experiences the recent loss of a dear, lifelong friend to cancer — and I’ve once again been reminded of the brevity of our lives. These reflections bring a couple more verses to my mind…

From DSC:
If you doubt that last sentiment/lesson, watch a different version of this song, from a present-day recording.

Time flies. So as our mom would say, “Carpe Diem!” (i.e., “Seize the day!”)

Let’s Give a Kiss Goodbye to These 10 Pandemic-Endangered Practices [Blumenstyk]

On 09/17/2020, in adjunct faculty, colleges, community colleges, face-to-face, faculty, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, ideas, student-related, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

The Edge: Let’s Give a Kiss Goodbye to These 10 Pandemic-Endangered Practices — from chronicle.com by Goldie Blumenstyk

Excerpt:

Goodbye to traditional class lectures, in-person faculty office hours, and the college visit. Likewise, how about a fond farewell to inflexible academic calendars, the face-to-face faculty meetings filled with pontification, and the place-based conferences — with all their exclusionary trappings.

Dozens of you responded to my question over the past two weeks about what higher-ed practices paused by the pandemic should never come back. Thank you! The suggestions I cited above, along with four others, are the ones that stood out to me because they point to a more efficient or engaging way to operate. Also, in many cases, the replacements and adjustments reflect a more equitable approach. Hmm. Did we really need a pandemic to see that?

With $3.5M Raise, Steno Aims To Disrupt Depositions [Ambrogi]

On 09/16/2020, in Access to Justice (A2J), ideas, innovation, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, by Daniel Christian

"Pair an accomplished civil litigator looking to rethink depositions w/ a successful tech entrepreneur who just sold his startup to a larger co, add in $3.5M in seed funding, & you have a recipe for potentially disrupting how lawyers litigate big cases."https://t.co/Zb3jdd1Mb3

— Daniel Christian (@dchristian5) September 16, 2020

“Teaching in a Hybrid Classroom – What’s Working, What’s Not” [Bruff] + “Active Learning in Hybrid and Physically Distanced Classrooms” [Bruff]

On 09/14/2020, in active learning, adjunct faculty, blended learning, Canvas - and other Instructure-related items, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate universities / corporate training, digital learning, distance education, education, education technology, experimentation, face-to-face, faculty, formal learning, higher education, hybrid learning, ideas, innovation, instructional design, interaction design, interactivity, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, multimedia, online learning, online media, participation, pedagogy, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, remote teaching and learning, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, tools, training / L&D, United States, universities, user experience (UX), videoconferencing, virtual K-12 schools, web-based collaboration, writing, youth, by Daniel Christian

Teaching in a Hybrid Classroom – What’s Working, What’s Not — from derekbruff.org by Derek Bruff

Excerpt:

Now that we’re a few weeks into the semester, I wanted to know what was working and what was a continuing challenge for instructors, so I convened a conversation on teaching earlier this week attended by 18 of my faculty colleagues representing a range of disciplines. They were excited to be back in the classroom this fall. “There’s a different energy when we’re face-to-face,” one of them said. We had a lively discussion via Zoom about hybrid teaching, including what made it exciting and what made it frustrating, and I wanted to share a few highlights here on the blog.

I waited a minute or two while the participants thought and typed, and when it was clear that most of the participants were no longer typing, I said, “Ready, set, go!” Everyone hit enter, and a slew of responses appeared in the chat at the same time. At this point, we all spent a couple of minutes reading through the responses. I selected a couple that were particularly interesting and called on those participants to elaborate via video.

Also see:

Active Learning in Hybrid and Physically Distanced Classrooms — from cft.vanderbilt.edu by Derek Bruff

If I’m standing at the front of the classroom with half or a third of my students in the room with me, but sitting six feet apart from each other and wearing masks, while the rest of my students are joining class by videoconference, what strategies might I employ to engage all of my students in meaningful learning?

I’m going to try to outline some options here in this blog post, drawing on ideas and resources from across the higher education community, but I would enthusiastically welcome additional approaches in the comments below or via Hypothesis annotations.

Derek Bruff

Walmart just started delivering stuff with drones — from futurism.com by Victor Tangermann

Excerpt:

Walmart just kicked off its own drone delivery pilot, a collaboration with drone delivery company Flytrex. The pilot launched today in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and is limited to select grocery and household essential items from the retailer’s local stores.

From DSC:
It starts off with an army of drones from Walmart joined by another army of drones from Amazon.

Then company XYZ chimes in. Then company ABC chimes in. And so on, and so on, and so on.

Then the armies of drones change to more powerful, louder, more “capable” delivery vehicles that can handle bigger, heavier deliveries.

And suddenly, the skies are full of noise-making, sun-blocking pieces of human-made machinery that, for the most part, are convenient but not necessary.

We need to think — and act — very carefully these days.

What kind of future do we want to hand down to our children and to our grandchildren?
What will the skies look and sound like in 2030 if such armies of drones and other types of airborne delivery vehicles are released?
Are we willing to say that our kids won’t mind paying the price?

Is this the future we want to create? Not me. I, for one, appreciate a quiet walk. I appreciate being able to look up at the skies, especially when they are clear.

We have a responsibility to keep things this way.

To the relevant engineers and C-Suites out there:

Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should.
Please take more responsibility for what’s being developed/brought to market.

Let’s shut this down — now — before the momentum gets started. Let’s follow Portland’s example by shutting down facial recognition/AI:

Portland adopts landmark facial recognition ordinances — from thehill.com by Chris Mills Rodrigo
Excerpt:
“What makes Portland’s legislation stand out from other cities is that we’re prohibiting facial recognition technology use by private entities in public accommodations,” Mayor Ted Wheeler (D) said during Wednesday’s deliberations. “This is the first of its kind of legislation in the nation,” he added.
Why Amazon tried to thwart Portland’s historic facial recognition ban — from salon.com by Matt Rozsa
Amazon reportedly lobbied in secret to weaken Portland’s ban on private use of facial recognition technology

DC: A very clever idea! What a wonderful way to foster creativity! #XR

On 09/12/2020, in A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, art, attention, creativity, design, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, ideas, innovation, K-12 related, XR - extended reality, youth, by Daniel Christian

DC: A very clever idea! What a wonderful way to foster creativity! #XR

Sketch Aquarium https://t.co/mkqTTjiLEd

— Daniel Christian (@dchristian5) September 11, 2020

Also see:

Fundamental Surgery ‘Teaching Space’ Lets Medical Students Collaborate in VR — from vrscout.com by Bobby Carlton

Today’s awkward Zoom classes could bring a new era of higher education [Spar]

On 09/11/2020, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, internet, IT in HE, law schools, leadership, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, lifelong learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, platforms, second screen apps, society, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, surviving, teaching online, telelegal, telemedicine / telehealth / virtual health, telepresence, television, tools, United States, universities, user experience (UX), vendors, videoconferencing, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Today’s awkward Zoom classes could bring a new era of higher education — from edsurge.com by Debra Spar

Excerpt:

Indeed, the forced march to Zoom has also forced colleges and universities to wrestle at last with the incipient promise of educational technologies; with the power that was evident, if not yet realized, in the early MOOCs. Much of that power has to do with scale–the ability to take a single course, even a single lecture, and share it across a vast universe of learners. But some also comes from the strange intimacy of the small screen, and from the possibilities of collapsing both time and space.

Office hours, for instance, migrate easily. Bringing in guest speakers works remarkably well, allowing faculty to introduce a wide range of voices into their classroom conversations. On the screen, everyone can see and hear and participate.

From DSC:
For those folks looking for work, the article below relays some solid advice/tips to get you past the Applicant Tracking Systems out there. The last time I was searching for a position, I had no idea how prevalent these systems are out there. To quote from the article:

Because of the sheer volume, 99 percent of Fortune 500 companies use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to manage each step of the hiring process.

If you haven’t looked for a job in a while, this will blow you away. To get your resume in front of an actual human being is a major accomplishment.

5 secrets to get you past the résumé-reading robots — from fastcompany.com by
Before your résumé gets to a recruiter, it’s read by an AI-driven Applicant Tracking System. A human resources exec advises how you can beat the robot.

From DSC:
…and by the way, this is very much relevant for faculty members and staff members out there. Consider this quote from Debora Spar, senior associate dean of Harvard Business School Online:

Many colleges and universities will suffer extreme financial stress; some – up to 345 colleges, according to one recent estimate – could be forced to close. Faculty are likely to face layoffs unprecedented in the history of U.S. higher education.

Are Economics classes talking about our current situation in the U.S.? [Christian]

On 09/09/2020, in 21st century, business, change, colleges, community colleges, Daniel S. Christian, economics, higher education, ideas, K-12 related, learning, United States, universities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Are Economics classes across the United States talking about our current situation? It seems to me that this kind of discussion would be so important, relevant, and thought-provoking. Economics is a complex subject. I know I would have appreciated learning more about the complexities, the pieces, the ingredients, the interrelationships of things in my college years. Seems like there are some solid topics for discussion board postings in here…

ECONOMY
Worries grow over a K-shaped economic recovery that favors the wealthy — from cnbc.com

KEY POINTS

As the economy struggles to shake off the pandemic effects, worries are growing that the recovery could look like a K.
That would be one where growth continues but is uneven, split between sectors and income groups.
One obvious area of concern is the dichotomy of the stock market vs the real economy, especially considering that 52% of the market is owned by the top 1% of earners.
“Let’s not get lost on different letters of the alphabet,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. “There are certainly parts of the economy that need more work.”

DC: Will be interesting to see if the level of innovation/investment takes a leap forward during this time…https://t.co/jw1ibbQkwg #highereducation #innovation #edtech #AR #XR #science #chemistry #biology #physics

— Daniel Christian (@dchristian5) September 9, 2020

Also see:

University System of Maryland Rolls Out Virtual Science Labs Across All Campuses
— from campustechnology.com by Rhea Kelly

Reflections on some nice ideas from Dr. Barbi Honeycutt [Lecture Breakers Weekly!]

On 09/08/2020, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, adjunct faculty, Adobe, adult learning, Apple, Bring your own device (BYOD), cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, distance education, education, education technology, engagement / engaging students, faculty, future, global / globalization, Google, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, interactivity, IT in HE, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, microlearning, Microsoft, multimedia, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, pedagogy, platforms, remote teaching and learning, second screen apps, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, social media, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, telepresence, television, tools, United States, universities, usability, user experience (UX), using teams, vendors, videoconferencing, virtual K-12 schools, vision/possibilities, webinars, by Daniel Christian

Per this week’s Lecture Breakers Weekly! from Dr. Barbi Honeycutt:

Break up your online lectures with the Watch Party! Here’s how you can do it:

Pre-record your mini-lecture or find a video you want to use for your lesson.
Instead of asking students to watch the video on their own, play it during your synchronous/live class time.
Explain to your students that they are watching the video all at the same time and that you will be facilitating the chat and answering their questions as they watch the video together. It’s a watch party!
Option: Take the conversation out of Zoom or your LMS. Create a hashtag for your course on Twitter and invite other experts, colleagues, or friends to join the conversation.

Instead of presenting during the synchronous class time, you can now focus completely on managing the chat, prompting discussion, and responding to students’ questions and ideas in real-time. And be sure to record and save the chat for students who couldn’t attend the live session or want to review it later.

From DSC:
This is one of the kind of things that I envisioned with Learning from the living class[room] — a next-generation, global learning platform.

Learners could be watching a presentation/presenter, but communicating in real-time with other learners. Perhaps it will be a tvOS-based app or something similar. But TV as we know it is changing, right? It continues to become more interactive and on-demand all the time. Add videoconferencing apps like Zoom, Cisco Webex Meetings, Blackboard Collaborate, Microsoft Teams, Adobe Connect and others, and you have real-time, continuous, lifelong, relevant/timely, affordable, accessible, up-to-date learning.

Also, you have TEAM-BASED learning.

“This isn’t helping the continued backlash against traditional institutions of higher education.” [Christian]

On 09/05/2020, in 21st century, Alternatives, business side of he, career development, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, colleges, communities of practice, competency-based learning/education, content development, aggregation, repositories, cost of getting a degree, credentialing, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, disruption, education reform, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, heutagogy, higher education, ideas, leadership, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, lifelong learning, more voice more choice more control, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, parents/guardians, platforms, society, sociology, student-related, surviving, United States, universities, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

DC: This isn’t helping the continued backlash against traditional institutions of higher education.”#highereducation #debt #tuition #learningfromthelivingclassroom #learningecosystems

https://t.co/srV971osSI

— Daniel Christian (@dchristian5) September 4, 2020

From DSC:
The perfect storm continues to build against traditional institutions of higher education. The backlash continues to build strength. And there WILL BE change — there’s no choice now. Alternatives to these traditional institutions of higher education continue to appear on the scene.

Over the last several decades, traditional institutions of higher education had the chance to step in and do something. They didn’t take nearly enough action. As in other industries, these days of the Coronavirus just hasten the changes that were already afoot.

Also see:

Alternative Credentials on the Rise — from insidehighered.com by Paul Fain, with thanks to Ryan Craig for this resource
Interest is growing in short-term, online credentials amid the pandemic. Will they become viable alternative pathways to well-paying jobs?

Learning Ecosystems

Staff get little to no say in campus governance. That must change. [Skallerup]

“God shall wipe every tear from their eyes” | Our dad sings a song based on Revelation 21.4

With $3.5M Raise, Steno Aims To Disrupt Depositions [Ambrogi]

Will the level of innovation & edtech-related investments take a leap forward during this time? [Christian]

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