Social Media in Education: Resource Roundup — from edutopia.org by Ashley Cronin
This collection of blogs, articles, and videos aims to help educators deploy social-media tools to develop professionally, connect with parents and communities, and engage students in 21st-century learning.
On 02/04/2015,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, career development, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital audio, digital video, ideas, innovation, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, social learning / networks, social media, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
I ran across a few items that may tie in with my Learning from the Living [Class] Room vision:
A very interesting concept at Stackup.net (@ScoreReporting)
Score everything you read + learn online. Use the StackUp Report to prove to employers that your dedication and interest make you the ideal candidate.
From DSC:
This is big data — but this time, it’s being applied to the world of credentials. Is this part of how one will obtain employment in the future? Will it work along with services like Beansprock (see below)?
Then there was spreecast: An interactive video platform that connects people:
From DSC:
A related item to these concepts:
The Future of Lifelong Learning — from knewton.com
Created by Knewton and Knewton
AI software that could score you the perfect job — from wired.com by Davey Alba
Excerpt:
Today, little more than two years later, Levy and Smith are launching a website called Beansprock that uses natural language processing and machine learning techniques to match you with a suitable job. In other words, they’re applying artificial intelligence to the career hunt. “It’s all about helping the job hunter find the best job in the job universe,” Levy says.
.
On 12/22/2014,
in adjunct faculty, career development, faculty/staff, higher education, social learning / networks, social media, UK,
by Daniel Christian
Social Media and the Digital Scholar — from Sue Beckingham; with thanks to Tom D’Amico (@TDOttawa) for his Scoop on this
On 12/17/2014,
in attention, creativity, engagement / engaging students, graphics, multimedia, new media literacies, play, social media,
by Daniel Christian
Educators and trainers take note!
Take a moment to check out “Weird Al” Yankovic’s “Word Crimes” video. Then take a moment to reflect about the elements that “Weird Al” and Jarrett Heather used in this piece…what comes to your mind?
For me — and regardless what you think of his music here — “Weird Al” and Jarrett have come up with a solid piece of pedagogy here. In fact, this could be a fun intro piece to several classes out there!
I say this because it’s a clever, fun way to introduce and discuss grammar. It illustrates some examples of the sorts of mistakes we make in our use of language and words, but it does so via the creative use of animation, music, video, social media, text, graphics and more! Folks (of all ages!) will find themselves learning while they’re having some fun. This playful use of multimedia gets your attention. In fact, for me, the elements in this piece provide a recipe for maximum engagement.
On 11/04/2014,
in A/V -- audio/visual, collaboration, communications, creativity, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, higher education, immersion, innovation, interactivity, learning ecosystem, love of learning, media/film, Michigan, multimedia, online learning, participation, play, psychology, real-world assignments, relationships, religion, social learning / networks, social media, society, sociology, story, storytelling, student-related, surviving, teaching & learning, transmedia, universities, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, using teams, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
Last week I attended the 20th Annual Online Learning Consortium International Conference. While there, I was inspired by an excellent presentation entitled, “A Disruptive Innovation: MSU’s Surviving the Coming Zombie Apocalypse – Are You Ready to Survive a New Way of Learning?“ The four team members from Michigan State University included:
- Glenn R. Stutzky | Course Instructor
- Keesa V. Muhammad | Instructional Designer
- Christopher Irvin | Instructional Designer
- Hailey Mooney | Course Librarian
Check out the intro clip on the website about the course:
From the description for the presentation:
This session highlights MSU’s award winning, groundbreaking online course that fuses social theory, filmmaking, social media, and viral marketing while students survive an apocalyptic event. http://zombie.msu.edu/
MSU created and used powerful digital storytelling and multimedia to overlay real, experiential, immersive learning. Important content was relayed, but in a way that drew upon your emotions, your ability to solve problems and navigate in a world where you didn’t have all of the information, your ability to work with others, and more.
“This innovative course integrates current research and science on catastrophes and human behavior together with the idea of a zombie apocalypse. In doing so, we actively engage with students as they think about the nature, scope, and impact of catastrophic events on individuals, families, societies, civilizations, and the Earth itself.”
“Our innovative approach to teaching and learning features: students as active participants, the instructor becomes the facilitator, storytelling replaces lectures, zombies become the catalyst of teaching, a “zombrarian” (librarian) drives research, and the students emerge as digital storytellers as a way of assessing their own learning.”
Others outside MUS have found out about the course and have requested access to it. As a result of this, they’ve opened it up to non-credit seeking participants and now various people from police forces, Centers for Disease Control, and others are able to take the course. To make this learning experience even more accessible, the cost has been greatly reduced: from $1600+ to just $500. (So this talented team is not only offering powerful pedagogies, but also significant monetary contributions to the university as well.)
For me, the key thing here is that this course represents what I believe is the direction that’s starting to really pull ahead of the pack and, if done well, will likely crush most of the other directions/approaches. And that is the use of teams to create, deliver, teach, and assess content – i.e., team-based learning approaches.
So many of the sessions involved professional development for professors and teachers – and much of this is appropriate. However, in the majority of cases, individual efforts aren’t enough anymore. Few people can bring to the table what a talented, experienced group of specialists are able to bring. Individual efforts aren’t able to compete with team-based content creation and delivery anymore — and this is especially true online, whereby multiple disciplines are immediately invoked once content hits the digital realm.
In this case, the team was composed of:
- The professor
- Two Instructional Designers
- and a librarian
The team:
- Developed websites
- Designed their own logo
- Marketed the course w/ a zombie walking around campus w/ brochures and a walking billboard
- Used a Twitter stream
- Used a tool called Pensu for their students’ individual journals
- Made extensive use of YouTube and digital storytelling
- Coined a new acronym called MOLIE – multimedia online learning immersive experience
- Used game-like features, such as the development of a code that was found which revealed key information (which was optional, but was very helpful to those who figured it out). The team made it so that the course ended differently for each group, depending upon what the teams’ decisions were through the weeks
- Used some 3D apps to make movies more realistic and to create new environments
- Continually presented new clues for students to investigate. Each team had a Team Leader that posted their team’s decisions on YouTube.
They encouraged us to:
THINK BIG! Get as creative as you can, and only pull back if the “suits” make you! Step outside the box! Take risks! “If an idea has life, water it. Others will check it out and get involved.”
In their case, the idea originated with an innovative, risk-taking professor willing to experiment – and who started the presentation with the following soliloquy:
Syllabi are EVIL
Syllabi are EVIL and they must die!
Listen to me closely and I’ll tell you why.
Just want students to know what is known?
See what’s been seen?
Go – where we’ve been going?
Then the Syllabus is your friend,
cuz you know exactly where you’ll end.
But if you want to go somewhere new,
see colors beyond Red, Green, and Blue.
Then take out your Syllabus and tear-it-in-half,
now uncertainty has become your path.
Be not afraid because you’ll find,
the most amazing things from Creative Minds,
who have been set free to FLY,
once untethered from the Syllabi.
Glenn Stutzky
Premiered at the 2014
Online Learning Consortium International Conference
October 29, 2014
“The number of infected in Michigan has reached critical mass.” CSM Quintero #sw290 pic.twitter.com/F6m8ZaoRyG
— MSU Zombie (@MSUZombies) June 19, 2014
They started with something that wasn’t polished, but it’s been an iterative approach over the semesters…and they continue to build on it.
I congratulated the team there — and do so again here. Excellent, wonderful work!
By the way, what would a creative movie-like trailer look like for your course?
On 08/23/2014,
in adjunct faculty, Bring your own device (BYOD), collaboration, digital learning, digital textbooks, e-books, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), e-readers, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, faculty/staff, higher education, learning ecosystem, online learning, open courseware and systems, simulations, social learning / networks, social media, student-related, teaching & learning, teaching online, tools, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
2014 Student and Faculty Technology Research Studies — from educause.edu / ECAR
From the ECAR RESEARCH HUB
This hub contains the 2014 student and faculty studies from the EDUCAUSE Technology Research in the Academic Community research series. In 2014, ECAR partnered with 151 college/university sites yielding responses from 17,451 faculty respondents across 13 countries. ECAR also collaborated with 213 institutions to collect responses from more than 75,306 undergraduate students about their technology experiences.
Key Findings
- Faculty recognize that online learning opportunities can promote access to higher education but are more reserved in their expectations for online courses to improve outcomes.
- Faculty interest in early-alert systems and intervention notifications is strong.
- The majority of faculty are using basic features and functions of LMSs but recognize that these systems have much more potential to enhance teaching and learning.
- Faculty think they could be more effective instructors if they were better skilled at integrating various kinds of technology into their courses.
- Faculty recognize that mobile devices have the potential to enhance learning.
Excerpts from infographic:
On 08/06/2014,
in cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, convergence, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, learner profiles, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, lifelong learning, media/film, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, online learning, online media, online tutoring, personalized/customized learning, second screen apps, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, social media, streams of content, technologies for your home, television,
by Daniel Christian
Living social: How second screens are helping TV make fans — from nielsensocial.com
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
Television viewing used to be an experience strictly between viewer and show, with water cooler talk coming the day after. The rise of social TV has changed that relationship, and according to a study by Nielsen, more and more Americans are quickly warming up to this new behavior. With tablets, smartphones and laptops at their side, TV viewers can follow their favorite shows, share content and connect with fellow fans before, during and after a program.
From DSC:
Instead of TV/entertainment-oriented programs, how about a service that offers cloud-based, scaffolded streams of content that are more educational/training-related in nature, complete with digital playlists of interactive content that can be offered up on the main display, while lifelong learners interact and discuss the content via their PLNs, cohorted groups of learners within their learning hubs, etc.?
![The Living [Class] Room -- by Daniel Christian -- July 2012 -- a second device used in conjunction with a Smart/Connected TV](http://danielschristian.com/learning-ecosystems/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/The-Living-Class-Room-Daniel-S-Christian-July-2012.jpg)
On 05/29/2014,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Amazon, analytics, Apple, Asia, business, Canada, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, communications, convergence, corporate / business world, dangers of the status quo, data related items, disruption, emerging technologies, Europe, global / globalization, Google, human-computer interaction (HCI), IBM, innovation, interactivity, internet, marketing/social marketing, marketplaces, mobile technologies, more voice more choice more control, pace of change, platforms, smart/connected TV, social media, society, strategy, streams of content, technologies for your home, technology (general), telecommunications, television, trends, UK, United States, user experience (UX), vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, workplace, youth,
by Daniel Christian
Example slides:
On 04/15/2014,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, business, career development, change, changing business models, digital learning, education, emerging technologies, future, game-changing environment, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, internet, pace of change, robotics, social learning / networks, social media, sociology, staying relevant, surviving, technology (general), the downsides of how people use tech, trends, user experience (UX), vision/possibilities, youth,
by Daniel Christian
Excerpt:
‘Intelligent machines’ are increasingly interconnecting. The Internet of Things is imminent, with sensor networks and mobile devices connecting everyone and everything everywhere in the near future., Singularity’ – the moment of when machines become as capable as humans – is quickly becoming a buzzword that rivals Social Media. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is certain to play a role everywhere, and robots are dropping in price dramatically while gaining quickly in functionality and skills. Exponential technological progress is evident everywhere – but how will we – as linear beings – cope with this increasing empowerment of software and machines, the tremendous gain in the flow of real-time information, and the far-reaching implications that these developments will have? How will we keep up with thousands of real-time datafeeds, the ever-increasing volume, variety and depth of input, the tsunami of incoming communications and the rapidly improving smartness – and increasingly deep intelligence – of software, devices and machines? Will humans need to be ‘augmented’, soon, in order to keep up, and if so, where will this take us? What will happen to our ethics in a world of ultra-smart intelligent agents, artificial intelligence and the coming ‘trans-humanism’?
On 04/09/2014,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Bring your own device (BYOD), communications, content development, aggregation, repositories, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, distance education, e-books, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, flipping -- inverted learning, future, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, lifelong learning, media/film, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, Near Field Communication (NFC), online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, personalized/customized learning, platforms, play, professional development, reinvent, second screen apps, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, social media, staying relevant, streams of content, student-related, surviving, technologies for your home, telepresence, television, training / L&D, transmedia, trends, user experience (UX), videoconferencing, virtual field trips, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, web-based collaboration, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
CONTENTS
- Content discovery and synchronization
With access to rich data about their subscribers and what they do, operators can improve recommendation, encourage social TV and exploit second screen synchronization. - Recordings get more personal
One of the next big steps in multiscreen TV is giving people access to their personal recordings on every screen. This is the moment for nPVR to finally make its entrance. - Evolving the User Experience
As service providers go beyond household level and address individuals, the role of log-ins or context will become important. There is a place for social TV and big data. - The role of audio in personalization
Audio has a huge impact on how much we enjoy video services. Now it can help to personalize them. ‘Allegiance’ based audio choices are one possibility. - Making advertising more targeted
Addressable advertising is in its infancy but has a bright future, helping to fund the growth of on-demand and multiscreen viewing.
Some excerpts from this report:
Good content should be matched by good content discovery , including recommendations. The current state-of -the-art is defined by Netflix.
…
Today’s TV experience is worlds apart from the one we were talking about even five years ago. We’ve witnessed exponential growth in services such as HD and have moved from a model in which one screen is watched by many, to many screens (and devices) being available to the individual viewer, what is today called TV Everywhere. Having multiscreen access to content is driving the demand for a more personalised experience, in which the viewer can expect to see what they want, where, and when. While video on-demand (VOD) has been a great method for delivering compelling content to viewers, it is not always a truly seamless TV-like experience, and traditionally has been limited to the living room. The growing demand for the personalised experience is driving seismic change within the TV industry, and we’ve seen great strides made already, with time-shifted TV and nPVR as just two examples of how we in the industry can deliver content in the ways viewers want to watch. The next step is to move towards more advanced content discovery, effectively creating a personalised channel or playlist for the individual user.
…
As the tools become available to deliver personalized experiences to consumers, content owners can better create experiences that leverage their content. For example, for sports with multiple points of action, like motor racing, multiple camera angles and audio feeds will allow fans to follow the action that is relevant to their favourite racing team. And for movies, access to additional elements such as director’s commentaries, which have been available on Blu-ray discs for some time, can be made available over broadcast networks.
From DSC:
Some words and phrases that come to my mind:
- Personalization.
- Data driven.
- Content discovery and recommendation engines (which could easily relate to educational playlists)
- Training on demand
- Learning agents
- Web-based learner profiles
- Learning hubs
- What MOOCs morph into
- More choice. More control.
- Virtual tutoring
- Interactivity and participation
- Learning preferences
- Lifelong learning
- Reinventing oneself
- Streams of content
- Learning from The Living [Class] Room
On 03/07/2014,
in content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, India, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, lifelong learning, professional development, social learning / networks, social media, streams of content, training / L&D, UK, user experience (UX), workplace,
by Daniel Christian
A series re: The Learning Flow — by Jane Hart
(1) Beyond the Course: The Learning Flow – a new framework for the social learning era
(2) The Learning Flow and the User Experience
(3) Three Types of Learning Flow
(4) The role of the Guide in a Learning Flow
Excerpt:
- S/he needs to be a knowledgeable expert in the relevant domain.
- S/he needs to be a curator – but more than a curator.
- S/he needs to able to pick out key resources and materials from the mass of material shared online. In other words s/he needs to be able to extract the “signal from the noise”.
- S/he needs to be able to “join the dots” between resources – and show how one relates to the other.
- S/he needs to be able to contextualize resources and make them relevant to the participants – drawing out the salient point(s) of the resources s/he shares.
- S/he needs to be able to model good knowledge sharing skills.
- S/he needs to “think small” – and create short manageable micro-learning activities.
- S/he needs to “think social”- and how she can inspire and encourage short social learning experiences.
- S/he needs to “think flexible” – and how she can support autonomy and choice in users’ participation.
From Micro-Learning to Corporate MOOCs — from idreflections.blogspot.com by Sahana Chattopadhyay
Excerpt:
I see MOOC as a dissemination model that offer a unique opportunity to integrate both—micro-learning and learning flows. It is an approach that – if done right – can integrate all aspects of the Pervasive Learning model – Formal, Informal and Social – popularized by Dan Pontefract in the book, Flat Army. I will discuss this in a later post. In this post, I am going to focus my attention on how micro-learning and learning flows can be an integral part of a MOOC and how this may benefit the corporate world.
On 03/03/2014,
in A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, attention, collaboration, communications, creativity, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, flipping -- inverted learning, ideas, innovation, interactivity, K-12 related, media/film, multimedia, professional development, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, social media, streams of content, student-related, teaching & learning, television, tools, vendors,
by Daniel Christian
Bringing the Wonder of the Web to Video (emphasis DSC)
Our mission is to usher in a new age of expression.
Anyone can easily create professional-quality videos combined with all the interactivity you expect to find inside a browser. We call these TouchCasts, a new medium that looks like video, but feels like the web.
Also see:
- Engaging with the YouTube Generation — by Ayelet Segal
. - The Future of Personal Broadcasting: Consider this your invitation — from touchcast.com by Charley Miller
Excerpt:
The very idea of who a “broadcaster” is (the “we”) is about to change. It’s about to become you.
On 03/01/2014,
in 21st century, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, reinvent, social learning / networks, social media, staying relevant, streams of content, training / L&D, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
Beyond the Course: The Learning Flow – a new framework for the social learning era — from janeknight.typepad.com by Jane Hart
Excerpts:
But in the age of Facebook and Twitter, and now Enterprise Social Networks (ESNs) like Yammer and Jive – where at the heart lies an activity stream that is used for a continuous stream of knowledge exchange, there is a place for a new learning framework – one that lies between the formal, instructionally designed course and the unstructured knowledge sharing of teams, groups and communities. We call this a Learning Flow.
A Learning Flow is a continuous steady stream of social micro-learning activities – accessible from the web and mobile devices
Let’s look at each of the elements of that sentence, that describe a Learning Flow
- continuous – ongoing (ie no end date)
- steady – daily (or probably more likely, weekdaily)
- micro-learning – short – ie taking no longer than 15-20 minutes to undertake
- activities – that involve reading (watching or listening to) something and doing something
- social – that invite and encourage active participation and contribution
- stream – that are organised and structured in the Flow in weekly themes
- accessible from web and mobile devices – to ensure that learning can take place anywhere and at anytime
From DSC:
Jane’s posting gets at what I’ve been trying to get at with the graphic below; and that is, we need to be consistently dipping our feet into streams of relevant content (i.e. relevant to our own learning ecosystems and what each of us needs to know to get and stay marketable).
