productivity / tips and tricks

“Using Virtual Reality for Career Training” + “AI interviews in VR prepare students for real jobseeking”

On 11/03/2022, in 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, animation, Canada, career development, communications, education, education technology, Europe, human-computer interaction (HCI), immersion, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, multimedia, participation, pedagogy, platforms, presentations, productivity / tips and tricks, real-world assignments, simulations, skills, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, tools, United States, user experience (UX), vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, vision/possibilities, vocational / trades, workplace, XR - extended reality, youth, by Daniel Christian

Using Virtual Reality for Career Training — from techlearning.com by Erik Ofgang
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Indiana have had success using virtual reality simulations to teach students about career opportunities.

a Woman with a virtual reality set on occupies one half of the screen. The other shows virtual tools that she is controlling.

Excerpts:

Virtual reality can help boost CTE programs and teach students about potential careers in fields they may know nothing about, says Lana Taylor from the Indiana Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
…
One of those other resources has been a partnership with Transfer VR to provide students access to headsets to participate in career simulations that can give them a tactile sense of what working in certain careers might be like.

“Not all kids are meant to go to college, not all kids want to do it,” Taylor says. “So it’s important to give them some exposure to different careers and workforce paths that maybe they hadn’t thought of before.”

AI interviews in VR prepare students for real jobseeking — from inavateonthenet.net

A Brilliant MIT Professor Shared 10 Simple Rules That Will Teach You How to Give a Great Speech [Bariso]

On 11/02/2022, in adjunct faculty, attention, communications, engagement / engaging students, faculty/staff, ideas, passions, presentations, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, story, storytelling, teachers, teaching & learning, workplace, by Daniel Christian

A Brilliant MIT Professor Shared 10 Simple Rules That Will Teach You How to Give a Great Speech — from inc.com by Justin Bariso

Excerpts:

How much would your life change if people valued all of your ideas?

In a recorded lecture that’s been viewed over 13 million times, MIT professor Patrick Winston takes a deep dive into how to be a better speaker. He explains that your success in life depends on your ability to speak, your ability to write, and the quality of your ideas — in that order.

His point? No matter how amazing your ideas are, no one cares unless you can convey them in a clear, compelling manner — and with emotional intelligence.

Use an empowerment promise to explain to your listeners exactly what you can teach them, how they will benefit, and why it’s important.

“The HundrED Global Collection 2023” + 7 other items re: the K-12 learning ecosystem

On 10/26/2022, in 21st century, Africa, architecture, art, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Asia, assessment, Australia, blended learning, Canada, collaboration, communications, communities of practice, creativity, design, Design Thinking, digital audio, digital storytelling, digital video, drama/theater, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, ethics, Europe, experimentation, global / globalization, health, India, innovation, K-12 related, languages and translation, leadership, learning ecosystem, marketing/social marketing, mathematics, morals/values, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, music, online learning, personalized/customized learning, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, programming, project-based learning, reading, real-world assignments, robotics, social media, society, storytelling, strategy, student-related, teachers, tools, UK, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

HundrED Global Collection 2023 — from hundred.org
Meet the 100 most impactful innovations that are changing the face of education in a post-COVID world.

Excerpt:

The year 2022 has been a year to look to the future, as the global education conversation moves again toward themes of education transformation and the futures of education. The 100 innovations selected for this year’s global collection are impacting the lives of over 95 million students worldwide. The collection highlights the important role of teachers in education innovation; the continued need for students to develop 21st century skills, including social and emotional learning; an increasing focus on student wellbeing and mental health; and equity in education.

For more information, download the full Global Collection 2023 report.
You can also browse the innovation pages of the selected innovators here.
.

From DSC:
Here’s an excerpt of the email I received today from EducationHQ out of Australia — though I think it applies here in the United States as well:

.

Amplify and value teachers’ voice in education policymaking: researchers — from educationhq.com
Amplify and value teachers’ voice in education policymaking: researchers

Excerpt:

Monash University’s Teachers’ Perceptions of their Work Survey has revealed teachers’ waning satisfaction in their role and highlighted their…

Also from educationhq.com

Teachers changed my life: Trauma-informed education shows kids they matter — from educationhq.com by Beck Thompson
.

Nonprofit Bringing Businesses to Life in the Classroom — to the Tune of $400,000 — from the74million.org by Tim Newcomb
Making candles out of crayons, building birdhouses, fashioning furniture: Real World Scholars has helped 50,000 students become entrepreneurs

Not much entices a second grader to skip out on recess to get back to schoolwork. But excitement around a classroom-run business can do just that, especially when it means creating candles out of crayons and selling them in the local community.

Students design their ideal urban home in My ArchiSchool exhibition — from dezeen.com

Excerpt:

Promotion: fifty-two students presented digital designs and architectural models of their ideal home as part of Hong Kong-based education institute My ArchiSchool’s latest exhibition. As part of the exhibition, My ArchiSchool students were asked to design their ideal home within an urban environment. The exhibition, which took place on 2 October 2022 at the Sky100 on the 100th floor of the International Commerce Centre in Hong Kong, showcased photomontages of digital designs presented alongside physical models.

5 Resources that help students become digital citizens — from rdene915.com by Rachelle Dene Poth

Excerpt:

We need to create opportunities for students to become more digitally aware and literate, and to be responsible when using technology. There are many ways to do this, depending on our content area and grade level. We can model best practices for our students, bring in a specific digital citizenship curriculum to guide them through their learning, or use digital tools and resources available to have students explore and create.

Helping students learn to safely navigate what has become a highly digital world is something that we are all responsible for. Students need to be aware of the impact of their posts online, how to create and manage social accounts and protect their information, and how to properly access and use resources they obtain through technology.

3 Reasons School and District Leaders Should Get on Social Media — from edweek.org by Marina Whiteleather

Excerpt:

School and district leaders can—and should—be using social media in their work.

That’s the message shared by Stephanie McConnell, a superintendent in the Hawkins Independent School District in Texas, and Salome Thomas-El, a K-8 principal in Delaware, during an Education Week K-12 Essentials forum on Oct. 13.

At the event, McConnell and Thomas-El provided insights and advice for school leaders who are hesitant to post on certain social platforms or unsure how to use them.

How Wayne Brady ‘Yes, Ands’ His Way to Success [Sherry]

On 10/21/2022, in business, collaboration, corporate / business world, drama/theater, experimentation, ideas, innovation, productivity / tips and tricks, United States, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

How Wayne Brady ‘Yes, Ands’ His Way to Success — from inc.com by Ben Sherry
At the Inc. 5000 Conference & Gala in Phoenix, the legendary performer shares how the art of improvisational comedy can help business owners innovate.

Essentially, “Yes, and” is a process of accepting what your “scene partner” in an improv comedy sketch has said and then expanding on that line of thinking to come up with a new, original idea on the spot. Instead of shutting down suggestions from peers or potential business partners, Brady says, you should look for ways to build on others’ ideas. The resulting camaraderie can help you and your partner create a potentially breakthrough idea together in real time.
…
The “Yes, and” attitude, says Brady, “means saying, ‘I like what you’re doing. Now let me put my own sauce on it, and we’ll see what happens.'” In order to effectively improvise, you need to actively listen to people, the same way improvisational comedians listen closely to their “scene partner,” and identify an idea that you can make even better. Next, you should encourage your “partner” to continue this process, so both parties are actively responsible for creating the new idea.

It’s time to modernize workplace development programs — from chieflearningofficer.com by Jason Mundy

Excerpts:

So, what exactly do employers need to do to improve L&D? Incorporate individualized microlearning into workforce development.
…
Microlearning-based L&D is used to solve key business objectives and is useful for many types of employee education, such as compliance training, on-the-job skills and administrative responsibilities. Microlearning programs can be tailored to individuals and administered in a way that is not disruptive to employees. Through modern microlearning solutions, it’s also possible to implement scenario-based learning and gamification, both of which increase employee engagement.

From DSC:
After reading this article, some questions come to my mind:

Who decides what’s next on the training regime for an employee?
Is it a team of people doing that for each position? The employee, the supervisor, two levels up supervisor(s), L&D, other?
And/or is it tapping into streams of content created by former people who have done that exact job?

For each position, is it possible to capture a knowledgebase containing which topics, learning modules/courses, blogs, websites, people to follow on social media, or other resources?
Is there a community of practice for each position?
How and who keeps these knowledgebases pruned and up-to-date?

Hmmm…thanks for letting me think out loud with you.

How to Cope With Presentation Anxiety [Lang]

On 10/18/2022, in adjunct faculty, colleges, communications, community colleges, face-to-face, faculty/staff, higher education, ideas, presentations, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, teaching & learning, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

How to Cope With Presentation Anxiety — from chronicle.com by James M. Lang
Here’s how a professor and experienced public speaker has learned to deal with the academic version of stage fright.

Excerpts:

Build a pause into the initial minutes of a presentation, so that you can stop and catch your breath. I don’t mean the kind of brief pause you might make between two sentences. I mean a substantive pause in which you are able to stop speaking — for at least 30 seconds — because you have given your audience something to view, think about, or discuss.
…
The remedy: Don’t envision yourself speaking for 45 minutes. Instead, soothe your brain and nervous system by persuading them that you only have to get through the next five minutes.

Your audience wants to learn from you. But real learning requires active thought from the learner. So use those early moments of your talk to start them thinking and take some of the pressure off you.

DSC: What?!?! How might this new type of “parallel reality” impact smart classrooms, conference rooms, and board rooms? And/or our living rooms? Will it help deliver more personalized learning experiences within a classroom?

There’s “virtual reality”, “augmented reality”, and “mixed reality” now added to the eXtended Reality #XR family, we have: “parallel reality”

– just consider how we might differentiate instruction with such technology! https://t.co/fQ17qsCkX4

— Immersive Learning Research Network – #iLRN (@immersiveLRN) October 11, 2022

What might the ramifications be for text-to-everything? [Christian]

On 10/11/2022, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, art, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, assistive technologies, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, computer science, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, distance education, drama/theater, e-books, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), education, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, face-to-face, faculty/staff, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, IT in HE, K-12 related, languages and translation, law schools, learner profiles, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, legal technologies, media/film, Metaverse, microlearning, Mixed Reality (MR), more voice more choice more control, multimedia, Natural Language Processing (NLP), neurodivergent/special needs, online learning, online media, online tutoring, platforms, podcasting, presentations, productivity / tips and tricks, publishing, smart classrooms, story, storytelling, streams of content, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, technology (general), telecommunications, telelegal, telemedicine / telehealth / virtual health, telepresence, television, tools, training / L&D, transmedia, trends, TVs, United States, universities, usability, user experience (UX), vendors, videoconferencing, Virtual courts and law firms, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, wearables, web-based collaboration, Web3, webinars, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:

We can now type in text to get graphics and artwork.
We can now type in text to get videos.
There are several tools to give us transcripts of what was said during a presentation.
We can search videos for spoken words and/or for words listed within slides within a presentation.

Allie Miller’s posting on LinkedIn (see below) pointed these things out as well — along with several other things.

This raises some ideas/questions for me:

What might the ramifications be in our learning ecosystems for these types of functionalities? What affordances are forthcoming? For example, a teacher, professor, or trainer could quickly produce several types of media from the same presentation.
What’s said in a videoconference or a webinar can already be captured, translated, and transcribed.
Or what’s said in a virtual courtroom, or in a telehealth-based appointment. Or perhaps, what we currently think of as a smart/connected TV will give us these functionalities as well.
How might this type of thing impact storytelling?
Will this help someone who prefers to soak in information via the spoken word, or via a podcast, or via a video?
What does this mean for Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), and/or Virtual Reality (VR) types of devices?
Will this kind of thing be standard in the next version of the Internet (Web3)?
Will this help people with special needs — and way beyond accessibility-related needs?
Will data be next (instead of typing in text)?

Hmmm….interesting times ahead.

Learning from Our Students: Student Perspectives on Good Teaching — from everylearnereverywhere.org; with thanks to Beth McMurtrie for this resource

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Twenty-two students trusted us with their stories and their reflections on good teaching. We honor that trust and hope that instructors who read this document gain as much insight about teaching from the students as we did. While we often write of students in the plural, each one of these students had an individual experience with learning and therefore a unique story to tell about good teaching. The key takeaways from their stories are:

Students want to be recognized as individuals and appreciated in the classroom.
Students want real life in the classroom.
Students want to be treated with respect and trust.

We hope readers will likewise ask their own students, “What do your best instructors do?” and use that feedback to continuously improve their craft as teachers.

Out of 22 students:

Why text-to-speech tools might have a place in your classroom with Dr. Kirsten Kohlmeyer – Easy TeTech Podcast 183 — from classtechtips.com by Monica Burns

Excerpt:

In this episode, Assistive Technology Director, Dr. Kirsten Kohlmeyer, joins to discuss the power of accessibility and text-to-speech tools in classroom environments. You’ll also hear plenty of digital resources to check out for text-to-speech options, audiobooks, and more!

Assistive tools can provide:

Text-to-speech
Definitions/vocabularies
Ability to level the Lexile level of a reading
Capability to declutter a website
More chances to read to learn something new
and more

Speaking of tools, also see:

Best online tools for creating interactive maps for students and teachers — from educatorstechnology.com by Med Kharbach, PhD

Best Venn Diagram Makers for Non-designers — from educatorstechnology.com by Med Kharbach, PhD

5 college recruiting lessons from a mom and a marketer [Lamphier]

On 10/04/2022, in business side of he, colleges, community colleges, higher education, ideas, leadership, marketing/social marketing, productivity / tips and tricks, strategy, United States, by Daniel Christian

5 college recruiting lessons from a mom and a marketer — from highereddive.com by Denise Lamphier
The executive director of communications and marketing at Central College, in Iowa, shares what she learned from her own child’s college search.

Excerpt:

Just after that first piece arrived, I proposed the idea to E.J. to collaborate on a four-year project together, reviewing admission materials. As part of the project, he wrote some journal entries about the mailings. Then I took the pieces to my office at Central and taped them on the wall. This allowed my team to see the four-year progression of materials that a high school student receives from colleges. E.J. also offered me access to his school email account so I could read all the college emails he amassed.

The following statistics reflect his recruitment experience in a numbers nutshell:

One student. Four years. Ninety different colleges and universities. A total of 5,228 emails. Four military recruitment brochures, 23 handwritten notes, 302 postcards, and 162 viewbooks and pamphlets mailed alone. That’s in addition to 130 letters, often including viewbooks, applications or other materials. And we mustn’t forget one yellow flying disc mailed as an irregular parcel.

All to elicit one decision.

Addendum on 10/10/22:

4 more insights from a mom and a marketer — from highereddive.com by Denise Lamphier
The executive director of communications and marketing at Central College, in Iowa, shares more of what she learned from her child’s college search.

Communicating the Value of Foresight [Badminton]

On 09/30/2022, in business, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, organizational change, pace of change, productivity / tips and tricks, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Communicating the Value of Foresight — from futurist.com by Nikolas Badminton

Excerpt:

After seven years each company’s maturity was measured and it was the vigilant companies – the ones that integrated foresight with their strategic practices – that were ‘33 per cent more profitable than companies on average. In addition, these vigilant companies have achieved a 200 per cent higher growth rate than the average company.’

Arts Integration and STEAM Resources for K-12 Educators — including a new podcast!

On 09/15/2022, in art, content development, aggregation, repositories, creativity, curriculum, design, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, education, graphics, ideas, K-12 related, learning, Learning Experience Design, learning preferences, love of learning, media/film, Michigan, multimedia, music, online media, participation, passions, pedagogy, podcasting, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, skills, STEAM-related, story, storytelling, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, tools, United States, vendors, vision/possibilities, web design and production, youth, by Daniel Christian

Arts Integration and STEAM Resources for K-12 Educators

Official Trailer (Art Works for Teachers)

Excerpt:

Introducing the Art Works for Teacher Podcast Trailer! Get a quick sneak peek at what you can expect from this new show, launching September 22, 2022. New episodes will be available each Thursday on your favorite podcast platform, on YouTube, and right here on our site.

From DSC:
Along these lines, also see WEST MICHIGAN CENTER FOR ARTS + TECHNOLOGY. Such a learning environment builds skills and creativity while supercharging participation and engagement!

How I Learned (Almost) Everything I Know [Bryd]

On 09/12/2022, in active learning, instructional design, K-12 related, learning, Learning Experience Design, pedagogy, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, skills, student teaching/teacher education, teachers, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

How I Learned (Almost) Everything I Know — from byrdseed.com by Ian Bryd

You’ve Got To See It
In short, the great educational leaders in my life did one of two things:

Showed me exactly what to do.
Sent me to the right person so I could watch it in action.

Learning Ecosystems

A Brilliant MIT Professor Shared 10 Simple Rules That Will Teach You How to Give a Great Speech [Bariso]

How Wayne Brady ‘Yes, Ands’ His Way to Success [Sherry]

How to Cope With Presentation Anxiety [Lang]

DSC: What?!?! How might this new type of “parallel reality” impact our learning ecosystems/spaces?

5 college recruiting lessons from a mom and a marketer [Lamphier]

Communicating the Value of Foresight [Badminton]

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