youth

How Teaching Robotics Fosters Tech and Soft Skills [Ofgang]

On 05/05/2021, in 21st century, communications, creativity, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, participation, passions, robotics, STEAM-related, student-related, youth, by Daniel Christian

How Teaching Robotics Fosters Tech and Soft Skills — from techlearning.com by Erik Ofgang
Students who compete in robotics competitions learn STEM skills, but equally important are the social skills they gather

Excerpt:

Beginning on May 17, Fausto and his teammate’s on the Owlbots 3028x will compete at the first-ever Live Remote VEX Robotics World Championship. The event runs through May 29 and is hosted by The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation and VEX Robotics.

Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month, May 15 – June 15

On 05/04/2021, in accessibility / UDL, education, Emotion, health, K-12 related, neurodivergent/special needs, teachers, teaching & learning, youth, by Daniel Christian

Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month, May 15 – June 15

Excerpt:

Challenges faced as a result of the condition can be physically and psychologically crippling. Let’s make a difference together this Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month, May 15 – June 15, as we create a more universal understanding of the condition, as well as to share successes to inspire our community and beyond. There are various ways you can get involved and make a lasting difference on a global scale.

But do you want to know a secret of what it really is?

It’s the determination from the 7-year-old to focus on an assignment at school even though his hand won’t stop ticcing.
It’s the bravery of the 16-year-old with a shoulder-shrugging tic who’s taking her driving test for the first time.
It’s the strength of a mother who is confused and scared as her child has just been diagnosed.
It’s the candor of a 45-year-old who has just been overlooked for his dream job, or worse – recently let go, because of TS.
But above all-it’s the perseverance of every child, teen, and adult who lives with TS on a daily basis.

So the next time Tourette Syndrome is used as a punchline, a quip, or a slur, please don’t laugh. Don’t share it. But instead, remember that there are real people behind the joke who may set them back. (source)

Two items re: courts…and one involves regulation of student speech in the Internet era

On 05/04/2021, in game-changing environment, generational differences, innovation, internet, K-12 related, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, Virtual courts and law firms, youth, by Daniel Christian

Utah Supreme Court to extend regulatory sandbox to seven years — from utahinnovationoffice.org

U.S. Supreme Court Wary About Extending School Authority Over Student Internet Speech— from edweek.org

Excerpt:

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday spent nearly two hours wrestling with its first case about schools’ regulation of student speech in the Internet era. The justices seemed to be searching for a way to rule as narrowly as possible while protecting young people’s right of self-expression, yet giving schools leeway to respond to threats and bullying that originate off campus.

“That sharp line … between on campus and off campus, how does that fit with modern technology?” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. asked during arguments in Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. (Case No. 20-255).

Also see:

Everlaw announces CAGR of 67% and 140% growth in UK revenue — from legaltechnology.com by Caroline Hill

“The legal industry is experiencing a period of rapid transformation, and legal teams are starting to recognize the robust potential that cloud-based technology has for collaborative litigation to discover the needle-in-a-haystack pieces of information needed to argue and win cases,” said Everlaw CEO AJ Shankar.

Clio achieves unicorn status with $1.6bn valuation — from legaltechnology.com by Caroline Hill

Improving Digital Inclusion & Accessibility for Those With Learning Disabilities [Kreisa]

On 04/17/2021, in accessibility / UDL, adjunct faculty, adult learning, assistive technologies, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), business, colleges, communications, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, digital learning, education, education technology, faculty/staff, formal learning, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, instructional design, K-12 related, law schools, learning, Learning Experience Design, learning preferences, media/film, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, Natural Language Processing (NLP), neurodivergent/special needs, online learning, online media, online tutoring, parents/guardians, participation, policy, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, quality, remote teaching and learning, society, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, tools, training / L&D, universities, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, videoconferencing, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, web design and production, web-based collaboration, workplace, youth, by Daniel Christian

Improving Digital Inclusion & Accessibility for Those With Learning Disabilities — from inclusionhub.com by Meredith Kreisa
Learning disabilities must be taken into account during the digital design process to ensure digital inclusion and accessibility for the community. This comprehensive guide outlines common learning disabilities, associated difficulties, accessibility barriers and best practices, and more.

“Learning shouldn’t be something only those without disabilities get to do,” explains Seren Davies, a full stack software engineer and accessibility advocate who is dyslexic. “It should be for everyone. By thinking about digital accessibility, we are making sure that everyone who wants to learn can.”
…
“Learning disability” is a broad term used to describe several specific diagnoses. Dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, nonverbal learning disorder, and oral/written language disorder and specific reading comprehension deficit are among the most prevalent.

An image of a barrier being torn down -- revealing a human mind behind it. This signifies the need to tear down any existing barriers that might hinder someone's learning experience.

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

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

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

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

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

To those who celebrate it: Happy Easter to you!

On 04/04/2021, in Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, faith, future, hearts -- matters of the heart, India, Michigan, religion, student-related, UK, United States, youth, by Daniel Christian

Picture of an empty tomb -- so glad the tomb was empty! Happy Easter to those who celebrate it!

NJ High School Adds New Recording Studio to Learning Spaces — from spaces4learning.com by Matt Jones

Excerpt:

A career and technical high school in New Jersey has added new professional recording gear to one of its teaching spaces. County Prep High School, part of Hudson County Schools of Technology, added hardware from Solid State Logic (SSL), a UK-based company that manufactures analog and digital audio consoles for music and audio production. Students in the music and audio technology program learn how to write their own songs and produce their own music. The senior project involves putting a label together and releasing songs.

The new studio at County Prep High School features professional equipment from Solid State Logic.
Source: Solid State Logic

Also see:

Addendum on 4/1/21:

Control Room 42 ushers in the future of broadcasting — from derivative.ca
Excerpt:
Control Room 42 (CR42) a project from RTBF, public broadcaster for the French speaking part of Belgium, gives broadcasting’s traditionally hardware-based control room a radical makeover enabled by TouchDesigner in ways its designer Hugo Ortiz thought impossible a few years ago. Recipient of The European Broadcasting Union’s Technology and Innovation Award 2020, this new software-based control room prototype that also integrates Artisto for audio and Smode for real-time graphics brings game-changing innovation to the broadcasting industry.

Self-Assessment (emphasis DSC)

Turn each of your learning outcomes or objectives into a question. Then, ask each student to self-score how confident they feel about being able to demonstrate that outcome or task.

Example:
Learning outcome: Students will be able to compare bacteria vs. viruses.

Change it to a question: How confident are you in comparing bacteria vs. viruses based on today’s lesson?

Now ask students to score their confidence or ability to do this outcome using a simple scale such as: “1 = I’m not confident that I can do it” to “5 = I am very confident that I can do it.”

Two items re: AI — and one not positive at all

On 03/19/2021, in 21st century, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), computer science, data related items, Facebook / Meta Platforms, political science, programming, the downsides of how people use tech, youth, by Daniel Christian

How Facebook got addicted to spreading misinformation — from technologyreview.com by Karen Hao

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

By the time thousands of rioters stormed the US Capitol in January, organized in part on Facebook and fueled by the lies about a stolen election that had fanned out across the platform, it was clear from my conversations that the Responsible AI team had failed to make headway against misinformation and hate speech because it had never made those problems its main focus. More important, I realized, if it tried to, it would be set up for failure.

The reason is simple. Everything the company does and chooses not to do flows from a single motivation: Zuckerberg’s relentless desire for growth. Quiñonero’s AI expertise supercharged that growth. His team got pigeonholed into targeting AI bias, as I learned in my reporting, because preventing such bias helps the company avoid proposed regulation that might, if passed, hamper that growth. Facebook leadership has also repeatedly weakened or halted many initiatives meant to clean up misinformation on the platform because doing so would undermine that growth.

In other words, the Responsible AI team’s work—whatever its merits on the specific problem of tackling AI bias—is essentially irrelevant to fixing the bigger problems of misinformation, extremism, and political polarization. And it’s all of us who pay the price.

Artificial Intelligence In 2021: Five Trends You May (or May Not) Expect — from forbes.com by Nisha Talagala

Video Captions Benefit Everyone [Gernsbacher]

On 03/19/2021, in A/V -- audio/visual, accessibility / UDL, adjunct faculty, adult learning, assistive technologies, colleges, community colleges, corporate universities / corporate training, digital video, education, education technology, higher education, instructional design, K-12 related, languages and translation, law schools, learning, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, liberal arts, media/film, multimedia, neurodivergent/special needs, new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, pedagogy, productivity / tips and tricks, research, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, training / L&D, universities, youth, by Daniel Christian

Video Captions Benefit Everyone — from ncbi.nlm.nih.gov by Morton Ann Gernsbacher

Excerpts:

Video captions, also known as same-language subtitles, benefit everyone who watches videos (children, adolescents, college students, and adults). More than 100 empirical studies document that captioning a video improves comprehension of, attention to, and memory for the video. Captions are particularly beneficial for persons watching videos in their non-native language, for children and adults learning to read, and for persons who are D/deaf or hard of hearing. However, despite U.S. laws, which require captioning in most workplace and educational contexts, many video audiences and video creators are naïve about the legal mandate to caption, much less the empirical benefit of captions.

More than 100 empirical studies, listed in the appendix, document the benefits of captions.
…
With so many studies documenting the benefits of captions, why does everyone not always turn on the captions every time they watch a video? Regrettably, the benefits of captions are not widely known. Some researchers are unaware of the wide-ranging benefits of captions because the empirical evidence is published across separate literatures (deaf education, second-language learning, adult literacy, and reading acquisition). Bringing together these separate literatures is the primary purpose of this article.

DC: More changes to the learning ecosystems in the U.S.

On 03/18/2021, in Alternatives, education, education reform, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, United States, youth, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
More changes to the learning ecosystems in the U.S.

Microschools Can Lead to Macro Change — from gettingsmart.com by Tom Vander Ark and Rebecca Midles

Excerpts:

However, around the edges, the growth of pods and microschools has benefited thousands of learners. New tools and strategies have made it easier to create microschools of 15 to 150 students as a short-term pilot or long-term learning option.

Given their small size, microschools can be opened quickly in alternative spaces. Microschools quickly create new community-connected learning options (themes, careers, and experiences) for students. They can also be used to quickly address underserved student populations (preschool, dropout recovery, and career education).

Microschools make learning personal. With unique themes, links to community, and porous walls, they can ignite learning for students and innovation for districts.

Also see:

The Highly Competitive, Hypocritical, and Altogether Essential World of Pandemic Pods — from by Julia Beck
During the most stressful school year on record, learning bubbles are the one thing saving working parents’ sanity—so long as no one dares to break the rules.

Still, pod life isn’t all good grades and living by the golden rule. Pods have also been the source of criticism and conflict in the Boston area. They have been at the root of strained relationships in some suburban communities, and criticized for accelerating achievement gaps between the podded and the podless.

Travel from home: 13 virtual museums and galleries to tour — from millionmilesecrets.com by Cynthia Paez Bowman; with thanks to Tatiana Rosado Vidal for this resource

Excerpt:

Museums, movie theaters, concerts and other events have all taken a hit since COVID-19 emerged. Luckily, the creative world has gotten — creative — and found new, alternative ways to provide virtual cultural and educational experiences during these challenging times. If you’re hankering for a little art immersion, there are a variety of virtual museum tours you can take, all from the comfort of your home. Best of all, you won’t have to navigate a sea of crowds and selfie sticks to get a closer look at a Van Gogh or Monet.
…
The following list of virtual museums and galleries are organized based on interest:

Virtual Art Museums
Virtual Tour for Kids
Virtual Natural History and Science
Weird Virtual Museums

DC: This reminds me that a different kind of learning is taking place these days…

On 03/06/2021, in 21st century, change, education, future, game-changing environment, generational differences, ideas, K-12 related, pace of change, society, youth, by Daniel Christian

Coronavirus has taught Colorado school kids one key lesson: resilience — from coloradosun.com by Erica Breunlin
They have faced continued uncertainty, lost out on sporting events and missed time with friends. Through it all, kids have learned how to cope.

And as much as schooling has been disrupted in the past year, Colorado students have also grasped lessons beyond their years — the kinds of lessons that are often learned best outside the classroom: a sense of resilience, how to deal with disappointment and the ability to navigate waves of uncertainty from week to week. For all the classroom moments they’ve missed since last March, they’ve also gained a set of coping skills to steer them through whatever trying times come after the pandemic.

From DSC:
And perhaps this kind of learning is what our kids will need to survive and thrive in a rapidly-changing world.

Reflections on “Today’s Teens Questioning the Status Quo When It Comes to College” [prnewswire.com]

On 03/05/2021, in 21st century, Alternatives, business side of he, career development, change, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, disruption, entrepreneurship, experimentation, faculty/staff, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, higher education, innovation, leadership, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, new business models, organizational change, parents/guardians, reinvent, society, staying relevant, strategy, student-related, surviving, traditional / tradition, United States, universities, vendors, youth, by Daniel Christian

Today’s Teens Questioning the Status Quo When It Comes to College — from prnewswire.com by with thanks to Ryan Craig for this resource
National survey finds high schoolers want lower-cost, quicker paths to careers: 50 percent are open to something other than a four-year degree

Excerpt:

For those who have been following the discussion, it will not come as a shock that this demographic is extremely concerned about the cost of higher education. In fact, the number one thing teens would change about college is the price tag. Their second top concern is making sure the path they take directly connects them to a future career. Specifically, the top three things Gen Z teens are most concerned about:

50 percent—graduating with a high amount of debt
44 percent—not getting a job after they graduate
40 percent—not being prepared for a job after school ends

From DSC:
I sometimes use the tag “surviving” and it often has to do with individuals and families. But over the last few years, I have found myself using it for institutions of traditional higher education (as I did for this posting).

It’s time for reinvention if we want those institutions to survive. Those who can’t wait until the status quo returns are likely in for a disappointment, if not outright shock. Over the last several years, many people have already lost their jobs throughout higher ed, positions have gone unfilled, and early retirement offers were made (and often snatched up). The headcounts have been decreasing for years and the workloads have increased for the survivors of such cuts. The use of adjunct faculty members has been on the increase for many years now.

Those institutions that have cultures that support experimentation, innovation, and support strategic, nimble, entrepreneurial thinking have a better chance of surviving.

How to Remotely Support Students Who Learn Differently [Ofgang ]

On 03/03/2021, in accessibility / UDL, distance education, education, ideas, instructional design, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, neurodivergent/special needs, parents/guardians, pedagogy, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, United States, vendors, youth, by Daniel Christian

How to Remotely Support Students Who Learn Differently — from techlearning.com by Erik Ofgang
A new distance learning toolkit offers best practices and advice to support students who learn differently

Excerpt:

The National Center for Learning Disabilities recently partnered with Understood to release a distance learning toolkit for educators to support students who learn differently during the pandemic.

The need for such a toolkit is clear. One in five students learn differently, and there is evidence that students who struggle academically or utilize individualized support in school are more likely to fall behind during distance learning.

The toolkit builds on the lessons of a 2019 report Forward Together: Helping Educators Unlock the Power of Students Who Learn Differently.

Learning Ecosystems

Travel from home: 13 virtual museums and galleries to tour [Paez Bowman]

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