Learning Ecosystems

Presenting to the Association of University Architects [Norman]

On 07/07/2023, in active learning, architecture, Canada, colleges, community colleges, education technology, experimentation, faculty/staff, higher education, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, universities, by Daniel Christian

Presenting to the Association of University Architects — from darcynorman.net by D’Arcy Norman, PhD

Excerpt:

Recently, I had the absolute pleasure to be invited to co-present at the 67th Annual Association of University Architects Conference, conveniently hosted this year in Calgary, and even more conveniently having one day’s sessions housed within the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning. Our Vice Provost Teaching and Learning, Dr. Leslie Reid, was invited to share her experience in leading the Taylor Institute, and she brought in Dr. Natasha Kenny and myself to round out the session.

In planning for the session, we decided early on that we didn’t want to do A Presentation™. There would not be slides and slides of text, and no bullet points. We wanted to tell stories, and to learn from the ~100 expert university architects from across North America about how they approach the challenges we’ve faced in the last few years.

We broke the storytelling portion of the session into 3 parts:

Universality: Building for all or building for some (Leslie)
Planning: Tension between form and function (Natasha)
Flexibility: How to be flexible about flexibility (D’Arcy)

Strengthening Elementary Reading Instruction [National Council on Teacher Quality]

On 07/07/2023, in dangers of the status quo, homeschooling/homeschoolers, instructional design, K-12 related, Learning Experience Design, mathematics, pedagogy, reading, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, youth, by Daniel Christian

Strengthening Elementary Reading Instruction — from nctq.org

Excerpt:

The status quo is far from inevitable. In fact, we know the solution to this reading crisis, but we are not using the solution at scale. More than 50 years of research compiled by the National Institutes of Health, and continued through further research, provides a clear picture of how skilled reading develops and of effective literacy instruction. These strategies and methods—collectively called scientifically based reading instruction, which is grounded in the science of reading—could dramatically reduce the rate of reading failure. Past estimates have found that while 3 in 10 children struggle to read (and that rate has grown higher since the pandemic), research indicates that more than 90% of all students could learn to read if they had access to teachers who employed scientifically based reading instruction.

Also relevant/see:

The Education Exchange: Why Can’t Johnny Read? Because Only a Quarter of Teacher-Prep Programs Are Teaching Reading Instruction Well — from educationnext.org by Heather Peske & Paul E. Peterson
New review of almost 700 elementary-ed teacher preparation programs finds many courses don’t align with “science of reading”

Though not related to reading, here are some potentially-valuable resource re: mathematics for homeschoolers:

6 Best Homeschool Math Curriculum — from educatorstechnology.com

The Homework Apocalypse — from oneusefulthing.org by Ethan Mollick
Fall is going to be very different this year. Educators need to be ready.

Excerpt:

Students will cheat with AI. But they also will begin to integrate AI into everything they do, raising new questions for educators. Students will want to understand why they are doing assignments that seem obsolete thanks to AI. They will want to use AI as a learning companion, a co-author, or a teammate. They will want to accomplish more than they did before, and also want answers about what AI means for their future learning paths. Schools will need to decide how to respond to this flood of questions.

The challenge of AI in education can feel abstract, so to understand a bit more about what is going to happen, I wanted to examine some common assignment types.

Shift to Providing Feedback as Students Work [Tucker]

On 07/07/2023, in education, ideas, instructional design, K-12 related, learning, Learning Experience Design, learning theories, pedagogy, teachers, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

Shift to Providing Feedback as Students Work — from catlintucker.com by Caitlin Tucker

Excerpt:

How can pulling feedback into the classroom help students develop confidence and improve their self-regulation skills?

Feedback is one of the most powerful tools a teacher has to support students in achieving standards-aligned goals. Feedback also

Provides clarity on learning goals and expectations.
Guides students in understanding their strengths as well as areas in need of improvement.
Supports skill development and mastery of concepts.
Enhances metacognitive skills, such as self-regulation and self-monitoring.
Encourages engagement and active participation in the learning process.
Promotes a growth mindset and a belief in the potential for improvement.
Fosters effective communication and dialogue between teachers and students.
Builds confidence and self-efficacy in learners.

Tech & Learning Announces Winners of Best of Show at ISTE 2023 [techlearning.com]

On 07/07/2023, in A/V -- audio/visual, CMS/LMS, colleges, community colleges, digital learning, education technology, higher education, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Tech & Learning Announces Winners of Best of Show at ISTE 2023 — from techlearning.com
Our annual awards celebrate the products, and businesses behind each one, who are transforming education in schools around the world.

Excerpt:

The evaluation criteria included: ease of use, value, uniqueness in the market, and proof that the product helped make teachers’ lives easier and supported student achievement.

“We received an impressive array of nominations for this year’s awards,” says Christine Weiser, content director for Tech & Learning. “Our judges chose the products that they believed best supported innovation in the classroom and district.

“Do you remember a time when someone truly listened to you?” [Mehrabi]

On 07/07/2023, in attention, collaboration, communications, culture, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, Emotion, face-to-face, hearts -- matters of the heart, ideas, psychology, relationships, religion, society, sociology, United States, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
The Bible talks about listening quite frequently. The authors ask people to listen to what is being communicated.

Proverbs 16:20
Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers,
and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.

Unfortunately, it often involves people NOT listening to the LORD and/or to others and, instead, going their/our own way. In my own life, things don’t go so well when I do that. I think the same is true on a more general/corporate level as well.

For example, Israel in ancient days thought and behaved this way too. Read 1 Kings and 2 Kings to see what I mean. They didn’t listen to the LORD. They didn’t listen to instruction. They thought they knew it all. They didn’t give credit to Whom credit was due. They made up their own gods and worshipped the things that they created.

The LORD wanted to bless them — and us. But they didn’t — and we still don’t — want to listen and submit to His will at times (even though His will is meant to BLESS US).

I used to see the LORD looking down from heaven, with a stern or disappointed look on His face. He was tapping His foot, and had His arms folded. I imagined Him saying, “Daniel, get your stuff together!!!” I didn’t see Him as being on my team.

Through the years He has shown me that He IS on my team and that He is active in my heart, mind, and life. He is full of grace, truth, patience, forgiveness, vulnerable love, and wisdom. He’s awesome. I love Him and His ways — but that’s taken me decades to be able to say that.

He wants what is best for us. He gave us gifts and wants us to use those gifts to serve others.

Recording Arts as Reengagement, Social Justice and Pathway — from gettingsmart.com

Key Points

After a successful career as a recording artist, David “TC” Ellis created Studio 4 in St. Paul to spot budding music stars.
It became a hangout spot for creative young people, most of whom had “dropped out of school due to boredom and a sense that school wasn’t relevant to their lives and dreams.”
Ellis and colleagues then opened the High School for Recording Arts in 1998.

AI for Education Webinars [Barrett & Co.] plus other items re: AI in our learning ecosystems

On 07/07/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adjunct faculty, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Asia, assessment, Australia, bots, change, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, digital learning, digital textbooks, education, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, emerging technologies, ethics, experimentation, faculty/staff, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, library / librarians, morals/values, multimedia, new media literacies, online media, personalized/customized learning, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, skills, society, staying relevant, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, the downsides of how people use tech, tools, United States, universities, vendors, vision/possibilities, youth, by Daniel Christian

AI for Education Webinars — from youtube.com by Tom Barrett and others

Post-AI Assessment Design — from drphilippahardman.substack.com by Dr. Philippa Hardman
A simple, three-step guide on how to design assessments in a post-AI world

Excerpt:

Step 1: Write Inquiry-Based Objectives
Inquiry-based objectives focus not just on the acquisition of knowledge but also on the development of skills and behaviours, like critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration and research skills.

They do this by requiring learners not just to recall or “describe back” concepts that are delivered via text, lecture or video. Instead, inquiry-based objectives require learners to construct their own understanding through the process of investigation, analysis and questioning.

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Massive Disruption Now: What AI Means for Students, Educators, Administrators and Accreditation Boards
— from stefanbauschard.substack.com by Stefan Bauschard; via Will Richardson on LinkedIn
The choices many colleges and universities make regarding AI over the next 9 months will determine if they survive. The same may be true for schools.

Excerpts:

Just for a minute, consider how education would change if the following were true –

AIs “hallucinated” less than humans
AIs could write in our own voices
AIs could accurately do math
AIs understood the unique academic (and eventually developmental) needs of each student and adapt instruction to that student
AIs could teach anything any student wanted or need to know any time of day or night
AIs could do this at a fraction of the cost of a human teacher or professor

Fall 2026 is three years away. Do you have a three year plan? Perhaps you should scrap it and write a new one (or at least realize that your current one cannot survive). If you run an academic institution in 2026 the same way you ran it in 2022, you might as well run it like you would have in 1920. If you run an academic institution in 2030 (or any year when AI surpasses human intelligence) the same way you ran it in 2022, you might as well run it like you would have in 1820. AIs will become more intelligent than us, perhaps in 10-20 years (LeCun), though there could be unanticipated breakthroughs that lower the time frame to a few years or less (Benjio); it’s just a question of when, not “if.”

On one creative use of AI — from aiandacademia.substack.com by Bryan Alexander
A new practice with pedagogical possibilities

Excerpt:

Look at those material items again. The voiceover? Written by an AI and turned into audio by software. The images? Created by human prompts in Midjourney. The music is, I think, human created. And the idea came from a discussion between a human and an AI?
…
How might this play out in a college or university class?

Imagine assignments which require students to craft such a video. Start from film, media studies, or computer science classes. Students work through a process:

Generative Textbooks — from opencontent.org by David Wiley

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

I continue to try to imagine ways generative AI can impact teaching and learning, including learning materials like textbooks. Earlier this week I started wondering – what if, in the future, educators didn’t write textbooks at all? What if, instead, we only wrote structured collections of highly crafted prompts? Instead of reading a static textbook in a linear fashion, the learner would use the prompts to interact with a large language model. These prompts could help learners ask for things like:

overviews and in-depth explanations of specific topics in a specific sequence,
examples that the learner finds personally relevant and interesting,
interactive practice – including open-ended exercises – with immediate, corrective feedback,
the structure of the relationships between ideas and concepts,
etc.

Also relevant/see:

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Generating The Future of Education with AI — from aixeducation.com

Designed for K12 and Higher-Ed Educators & Administrators, this conference aims to provide a platform for educators, administrators, AI experts, students, parents, and EdTech leaders to discuss the impact of AI on education, address current challenges and potentials, share their perspectives and experiences, and explore innovative solutions. A special emphasis will be placed on including students’ voices in the conversation, highlighting their unique experiences and insights as the primary beneficiaries of these educational transformations.

How Teachers Are Using ChatGPT in Class — from edweek.org by Larry Ferlazzo

Excerpt:

The use of generative AI in K-12 settings is complex and still in its infancy. We need to consider how these tools can enhance student creativity, improve writing skills, and be transparent with students about how generative AI works so they can better understand its limitations. As with any new tech, our students will be exposed to it, and it is our task as educators to help them navigate this new territory as well-informed, curious explorers.

Japan emphasizes students’ comprehension of AI in new school guidelines — from japantimes.co.jp by Karin Kaneko; via The Rundown

Excerpt:

The education ministry has emphasized the need for students to understand artificial intelligence in new guidelines released Tuesday, setting out how generative AI can be integrated into schools and the precautions needed to address associated risks.

Students should comprehend the characteristics of AI, including its advantages and disadvantages, with the latter including personal information leakages and copyright infringement, before they use it, according to the guidelines. They explicitly state that passing off reports, essays or any other works produced by AI as one’s own is inappropriate.

AI’s Teachable Moment: How ChatGPT Is Transforming the Classroom — from cnet.com by Mark Serrels
Teachers and students are already harnessing the power of AI, with an eye toward the future.

Excerpt:

Thanks to the rapid development of artificial intelligence tools like Dall-E and ChatGPT, my brother-in-law has been wrestling with low-level anxiety: Is it a good idea to steer his son down this path when AI threatens to devalue the work of creatives? Will there be a job for someone with that skill set in 10 years? He’s unsure. But instead of burying his head in the sand, he’s doing what any tech-savvy parent would do: He’s teaching his son how to use AI.

In recent months the family has picked up subscriptions to AI services. Now, in addition to drawing and sculpting and making movies and video games, my nephew is creating the monsters of his dreams with Midjourney, a generative AI tool that uses language prompts to produce images.

The AI Dictionary for Educators — from blog.profjim.com

To bridge this knowledge gap, I decided to make a quick little dictionary of AI terms specifically tailored for educators worldwide. Initially created for my own benefit, I’ve reworked my own AI Dictionary for Educators and expanded it to help my fellow teachers embrace the advancements AI brings to education.

7 Strategies to Prepare Educators to Teach With AI — from edweek.org by Lauraine Langreo; NOTE: Behind paywall

Reflections on “Introducing Superalignment” + other items re: AI in general

On 07/06/2023, in 21st century, architecture, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, copyright/ownership/NFTs, design, Europe, future, game-changing environment, health, India, platforms, skills, society, sociology, the downsides of how people use tech, tools, UK, United States, by Daniel Christian

Introducing Superalignment — from openai.com
We need scientific and technical breakthroughs to steer and control AI systems much smarter than us. To solve this problem within four years, we’re starting a new team, co-led by Ilya Sutskever and Jan Leike, and dedicating 20% of the compute we’ve secured to date to this effort. We’re looking for excellent ML researchers and engineers to join us.

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

How do we ensure AI systems much smarter than humans follow human intent?
…
Currently, we don’t have a solution for steering or controlling a potentially superintelligent AI, and preventing it from going rogue. Our current techniques for aligning AI, such as reinforcement learning from human feedback, rely on humans’ ability to supervise AI. But humans won’t be able to reliably supervise AI systems much smarter than us, and so our current alignment techniques will not scale to superintelligence. We need new scientific and technical breakthroughs.
…
Our goal is to build a roughly human-level automated alignment researcher. We can then use vast amounts of compute to scale our efforts, and iteratively align superintelligence.

From DSC:
Hold up. We’ve been told for years that AI is at the toddler stage. But now assertions are being made that AI systems are smarter than humans — much smarter even. That said, then why is the goal of OpenAI to build a roughly human-level automated alignment researcher if humans aren’t that smart after all…? Which is it? I must be missing or misunderstanding something here…

OpenAI are jumping back on the alignment bandwagon with the brilliantly-named Superalignment Team. And you guessed it – they’re researching alignment of future superintelligent AIs. They reckon that AI can align other AI faster than humans can, and the plan is to build an AI that does just that. Head-spinning stuff…

Ben’s Bites

Plus…

Who else should be on this team? We certainly don’t want a team comprised of just technical people. How about including rabbis, pastors, priests, parents, teachers, professors, social workers, judges, legislators, and many others who can help represent other specialties, disciplines, and perspectives to protect society?

Authors file a lawsuit against OpenAI for unlawfully ‘ingesting’ their books — from theguardian.com by Ella Creamer; via Ben’s Bytes
Mona Awad and Paul Tremblay allege that their books, which are copyrighted, were ‘used to train’ ChatGPT because the chatbot generated ‘very accurate summaries’ of the works
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How AI is Transforming Workplace Architecture and Design — from workdesign.com by Christian Lehmkuhl

London Futurists | Generative AI drug discovery breakthrough, with Alex Zhavoronkov — from londonfuturists.buzzsprout.com

Alex Zhavoronkov is our first guest to make a repeat appearance, having first joined us in episode 12, last November. We are delighted to welcome him back, because he is doing some of the most important work on the planet, and he has some important news.

In 2014, Alex founded Insilico Medicine, a drug discovery company which uses artificial intelligence to identify novel targets and novel molecules for pharmaceutical companies. Insilico now has drugs designed with AI in human clinical trials, and it is one of a number of companies that are demonstrating that developing drugs with AI can cut the time and money involved in the process by as much as 90%.

Watch This Space: New Field of Spatial Finance Uses AI to Estimate Risk, Monitor Assets, Analyze Claims — from blogs.nvidia.com

When making financial decisions, it’s important to look at the big picture — say, one taken from a drone, satellite or AI-powered sensor.

The emerging field of spatial finance harnesses AI insights from remote sensors and aerial imagery to help banks, insurers, investment firms and businesses analyze risks and opportunities, enable new services and products, measure the environmental impact of their holdings, and assess damage after a crisis.

Secretive hardware startup Humane’s first product is the Ai Pin — from techcrunch.com by Kyle Wiggers; via The Rundown AI

Excerpt:

Humane, the startup launched by ex-Apple design and engineering duo Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, today revealed details about its first product: The Humane Ai Pin.
…
Humane’s product, as it turns out, is a wearable gadget with a projected display and AI-powered features. Chaudhri gave a live demo of the device onstage during a TED Talk in April, but a press release issued today provides a few additional details.

He Spent $140 Billion on AI With Little to Show. Now He Is Trying Again. — from wsj.com by Eliot Brown; via Superhuman
Billionaire Masayoshi Son said he would make SoftBank ‘the investment company for the AI revolution,’ but he missed out on the most recent frenzy

“Stunning”—Midjourney update wows AI artists with camera-like feature — from arstechnica.com by Benj Edwards; via Sam DeBrule from Machine Learnings
Midjourney v5.2 features camera-like zoom control over framing, more realism.

What is AIaaS? Guide to Artificial Intelligence as a Service — from eweek.com by Shelby Hiter
Artificial intelligence as a service, AIaaS, is an outsourced AI service provided by cloud-based AI providers.

AIaaS Definition
When a company is interested in working with artificial intelligence but doesn’t have the in-house resources, budget, and/or expertise to build and manage its own AI technology, it’s time to invest in AIaaS.

Artificial intelligence as a service, or AIaaS, is an outsourced service model AI that cloud-based companies provide to other businesses, giving them access to different AI models, algorithms, and other resources directly through a cloud computing platform; this access is usually managed through an API or SDK connection.

The Rise of the AI Engineer — from latent.space

Boost ChatGPT with new plugins — from wondertools.substack.com by Jeremy Caplan
Wonder Tools | Six new ways to use AI
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A series re: AI from Jeff Foster out at ProvideoCoalition.com

The AI upskilling imperative to build a future-ready workforce — from businessinsider.com

Excerpts:

Skill development has always been crucial, but recent technological advancements have raised the stakes. We are currently in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution, where automation and breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI) are revolutionising the workplace. In this era of quick change and short half-life of skills, upskilling shouldn’t be an afterthought. Instead, reskilling and upskilling have to evolve into requirements for effective professional development.

To understand the significance of upskilling for your career trajectory, it is important to recognise the ever-evolving nature of technology and the rapid pace of digital transformation. Business Insider India has been exploring how businesses and thought leaders are driving innovation by educating their staff on the technologies and skills that will shape the future.

The legal realm holds the second highest potential for automation; plus other legaltech-related items

On 07/06/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, future, game-changing environment, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, tools, using teams, vendors, Virtual courts and law firms, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Law Firms Are Recruiting More AI Experts as Clients Demand ‘More for Less’ — from bloomberg.com by Irina Anghel
Data scientists, software engineers among roles being sought | Legal services seen as vulnerable to ChatGPT-type software

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Chatbots, data scientists, software engineers. As clients demand more for less, law firms are hiring growing numbers of staff who’ve studied technology not tort law to try and stand out from their rivals.

Law firms are advertising for experts in artificial intelligence “more than ever before,” says Chris Tart-Roberts, head of the legal technology practice at Macfarlanes, describing a trend he says began about six months ago.

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AI Will Threaten Law Firm Jobs, But Innovators Will Thrive — from law.com

Excerpts:

What You Need to Know

Law firm leaders and consultants are unsure of how AI use will ultimately impact the legal workforce.
Consults are advising law firms and attorneys alike to adapt to the use of generative AI, viewing this as an opportunity for attorneys to learn new skills and law firms to take a look at their business models.

Split between foreseeing job cuts and opportunities to introduce new skills and additional efficiencies into the office, firm leaders and consultants remain uncertain about the impact of artificial intelligence on the legal workforce.

However, one thing is certain: law firms and attorneys need to adapt and learn how to integrate this new technology in their business models, according to consultants.

AI Lawyer — A personal AI lawyer at your fingertips — from ailawyer.pro

From DSC:
I hope that we will see a lot more of this kind of thing!
I’m counting on it.
.

Revolutionize Your Legal Education with Law School AI — from law-school-ai.vercel.app
Your Ultimate Study Partner

Are you overwhelmed by countless cases, complex legal concepts, and endless readings? Law School AI is here to help. Our cutting-edge AI chatbot is designed to provide law students with an accessible, efficient, and engaging way to learn the law. Our chatbot simplifies complex legal topics, delivers personalized study guidance, and answers your questions in real-time – making your law school journey a whole lot easier.

Job title of the future: metaverse lawyer — from technologyreview.com by Amanda Smith
Madaline Zannes’s virtual offices come with breakout rooms, an art gallery… and a bar.
.

Excerpt:

Lot #651 on Somnium Space belongs to Zannes Law, a Toronto-based law firm. In this seven-level metaverse office, principal lawyer Madaline Zannes conducts private consultations with clients, meets people wandering in with legal questions, hosts conferences, and gives guest lectures. Zannes says that her metaverse office allows for a more immersive, imaginative client experience. She hired a custom metaverse builder to create the space from scratch—with breakout rooms, presentation stages, offices to rent, an art gallery, and a rooftop bar.

A Literal Generative AI Discussion: How AI Could Reshape Law — from geeklawblog.com by Greg Lambert

Excerpt:

Greg spoke with an AI guest named Justis for this episode. Justis, powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4, was able to have a natural conversation with Greg and provide insightful perspectives on the use of generative AI in the legal industry, specifically in law firms.

In the first part of their discussion, Justis gave an overview of the legal industry’s interest in and uncertainty around adopting generative AI. While many law firm leaders recognize its potential, some are unsure of how it fits into legal work or worry about risks. Justis pointed to examples of firms exploring AI and said letting lawyers experiment with the tools could help identify use cases.

Robots aren’t representing us in court but here are 7 legal tech startups transforming the legal system — from tech.eu by Cate Lawrence
Legal tech startups are stepping up to the bar, using tech such as AI, teleoperations, and apps to bring justice to more people than ever before. This increases efficiency, reduces delays, and lowers costs, expanding legal access.

Putting Humans First: Solving Real-Life Problems With Legal Innovation — from abovethelaw.com by Olga Mack
Placing the end-user at the heart of the process allows innovators to identify pain points and create solutions that directly address the unique needs and challenges individuals and businesses face.

Does the ADA Require Captions for Internet Videos? — from boia.org

Excerpt:

According to Accessibility.com, at least 2,387 web accessibility lawsuits were filed in 2022. Those lawsuits were either filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or California’s Unruh Act; any violation of the ADA is considered a violation of the Unruh Act.

While the plaintiffs cited a variety of issues, multimedia accessibility is a common point of concern. In 2015, the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and other plaintiffs settled a lawsuit with Netflix, which cited a lack of captions for certain featured movies and TV shows.

That prompts an interesting question: Does the ADA require captions for internet videos — and if so, how can businesses make sure that they’re compliant?

267: College Learning Disability Specialist Elizabeth Hamblet and 7 Steps to College Success (Author Series) — from learnsmarterpodcast.com

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET welcome back College Learning Disability Specialist Elizabeth Hamblet to discuss her new book 7 Steps to College Success: A Pathway for Students with Disabilities. She discusses the origin story of the book and the disconnect between what college disability services can do for learners and what learners and parents expect. She talks about reading this book when the learner is in 8th grade because of the specific impact it can have on parent and learner decisions on course selection. Elizabeth discusses how parents and learners can get surprised in the college disability process. Elizabeth talks about the critical importance of non-academic skills and how the drive for success in high school can stand in the way of independence necessary for college success.

What Web Designers Can Learn From Apple’s Assistive Access Feature — from boia.org

Excerpt:

If you’re interested in accessible digital design, pay attention to Apple. The company seems to approach accessibility from the perspective of users with disabilities.

Apple’s messaging treats accessibility as a fundamental design principle: Accessibility must be built into digital systems from the start, not tacked on as an afterthought. In other words, they take an accessibility-first mindset, and their commitment seems consistent.

The company’s track record continued in May 2023, when Apple announced its latest suite of accessibility features to launch later that year. One of these features, Assistive Access for iPhone and iPad, holds valuable lessons that web designers can apply to their own work.

Here’s what Apple accomplished with Assistive Access, plus a few ways web designers can achieve similar goals.

Some beautiful art and photography for you!

On 07/06/2023, in art, creativity, digital photography, photography, by Daniel Christian

The 2023 Audubon Photography Awards Zeros In on Threats to Avian Life Amid the Climate Emergency — from thisiscolossal.com by Kate Mothes

Exquisite Paintings by Lee Me Kyeoung Are an Ode to the Quaint Corner Stores of South Korea — from thisiscolossal.com by Lee Me Kyeoung and Grace Ebert

Artist Spotlight: April Kamunde — from booooooom.com

Luminous Creatures Haunt Darkened Landscapes in Hannu Huhtamo’s Dreamlike Light Paintings — from thisiscolossal.com by Grace Ebert and Hannu Huhtamo

People really need to see this video! [Christian]

On 07/06/2023, in Access to Justice (A2J), Daniel S. Christian, global / globalization, India, law schools, legal reform, legislatures / government / legal, policy, political science, society, sociology, by Daniel Christian

With thanks to Professor Amanda Kirby on LinkedIn for reposting the original posting by Anjali Mishra

Some scripture for us

On 07/06/2023, in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, by Daniel Christian

Proverbs 15:22 NIV

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

Matthew 7:12 NIV

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Proverbs 15:23 NIV

A person finds joy in giving an apt reply— and how good is a timely word!

Acts 10:34-35 NIV

Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.

Proverbs 15:31-33 NIV

Whoever heeds life-giving correction will be at home among the wise. Those who disregard discipline despise themselves, but the one who heeds correction gains understanding. Wisdom’s instruction is to fear the LORD, and humility comes before honor.

Learning Ecosystems

Presenting to the Association of University Architects [Norman]

“Do you remember a time when someone truly listened to you?” [Mehrabi]

Some beautiful art and photography for you!

People really need to see this video! [Christian]

Some scripture for us

Greetings!

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