active learning

Can I borrow that robot for a minute? Using remotely-controlled devices to bring distance learners into face-to-face classrooms! [Daniel Christian]

On 06/11/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, accessibility / UDL, active learning, assistive technologies, Bring your own device (BYOD), communications, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, distance education, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, face-to-face, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning spaces, lifelong learning, mirroring and/or multiple devices, multimedia, new business models, online learning, online tutoring, personalized/customized learning, professional development, reinvent, robotics, smart classrooms, social learning / networks, staying relevant, student-related, tablets, technology (general), telepresence, television, training / L&D, ubiquitous learning, user experience (UX), videoconferencing, virtual field trips, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, webinars, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:

What if you want to allow some remote students to come on into your face-to-face classroom?
.
What if you want to allow those remote students to be seen and communicated with at eye level?
.
What if you want Remote Student A to join Group 1, and Remote Student B to join Group 2?
.

Well…how about using one of these devices in order to do so!

New video collaboration robot: TelePresence gets moving — from cisco.com by Dave Evans

Excerpt:

That is why Cisco’s new joint effort with iRobot—demonstrated publicly this week for the first time—is so exciting: We’ve created a mobile Cisco TelePresence unit that brings collaboration to you—or, conversely, brings you to wherever you need to collaborate. Called iRobot Ava 500, this high-definition video collaboration robot combines Cisco TelePresence with iRobot’s mobility and self-navigation capabilities, enabling freedom of movement and spontaneous interactions with people thousands of miles away.

iRobot Ava™ 500 Video Collaboration Robot — published on Jun 10, 2013
iRobot and Cisco have teamed to bring the Ava 500 video collaboration robot to market. The robot blends iRobot’s autonomous navigation with Cisco’s TelePresence to enable people working off-site to participate in meetings and presentations where movement and location spontaneity are important. The new robot is also designed to enable mobile visual access to manufacturing facilities, laboratories, customer experience centers and other remote facilities.

Double Robotics Double

MantaroBot™ TeleMe

From Attack of the Telepresence Robots! — from BYTE by Rick Lehrbaum

Kubi


MantaroBot “TeleMe”	VGo Communications “VGo”	Anybots “QB”	Suitable Technologies “Beam”

RP-7i ROBOT

Also see:

Cisco, iRobot’s new bot lets workers roam the office from afar. — from smartplanet.com by Kirsten Korosec
.
Meet the next generation of smartphone-based robot companions — from popsci.com by Miriam Kramer

Tagged with: 21st century • 24x7x365 • A/V • accessibility • active learning • assistive technologies • Bring your own device (BYOD) • communications • corporate / business world • corporate training / universities • Daniel S. Christian • digital audio • digital learning • digital video • educational technology • emerging technologies • engagement • experimentation • face-to-face • future of higher education • game-changing environment • higher education • homeschooling/homeschoolers • human-computer interaction (HCI) • ideas • IT • K-12 • learning ecosystem • learning from the living [class] room • learning preferences • learning spaces • Lifelong learning • love of learning • mirroring / multiple devices • multimedia • new business models in he • online learning • online tutoring • personalized learning • professional development • reinvent • Skype • smart classrooms • social learning • staying relevant • student-related • technologies for the home • technology (general) • telecommunications • telepresence • training • TV • ubiquitous learning • user experience • videoconferencing • virtual field trips • vision • web-b • webinars • workplace

Should we put students more in charge of creating the content? I think so!

On 01/22/2013, in active learning, project-based learning, student-related, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
I’ve been pondering the question…”Should we put students more in charge of selecting and/or creating the content?” And I’m thinking, absolutely. We may be surprised at the results. They’ll own their learning more when they have more choice, more control over what they are working on. Give them real-world problems to solve. Enlist multiple disciplines (writing, art, music, computer science, engineering, mathematics, business skills, etc.). Active, project-based learning. Enlist web-based collaboration and teams — take on a project with a classroom 1/2 way around the world.

Some relevant items:

College students develop apps to help kids with algebra — from USAToday.com
7th graders publish their own textbook — from learninginhand.com by Tony Vincent
Students running a VC Fund? The University Venture Fund Says “Yes” — from Forbes.com by Cheryl Conner
Students spearhead digital badge movement — from blog.makewav.es

Tagged with: active learning • collaboration • cross-disciplinary assignments • interdisciplinary • project-based learning • real-world assignments • student-related • web-based collaboration

7th graders publish their own textbook [Vincent]

On 01/21/2013, in active learning, digital learning, e-books, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), participation, project-based learning, by Daniel Christian

7th graders publish their own textbook — from learninginhand.com by Tony Vincent

Also see:

Readz launches to provide publishers DIY solution to optimize content for tablets — from betakit.com by Humayun Khan
.
7 outstanding free books for your iPad — from educatorstechnology.com
Excerpt:
Below is a list of some excellent books for your iPad. I have curated this list over the last couple of months and I kept adding to it every time I stumble upon a resource somewhere online.I don’t know if you like reading books on your iPad or not but let me tell you this: having at least a couple of titles installed on your iPad would really be of great help particularly in those moments when you are stuck somewhere and have nothing to do but waiting. Reading is a habit ( luckily a good one ) that we can ACQUIRE by force of habituation at least in the eyes of Skinnerian theory.The more you read , the fluent you get at reading and the more used your mind becomes to the act of reading. Check out these books I selected for you. All of them are free and require iBooks. Enjoy.

Addendum on 1/22/13:

College students develop apps to help kids with algebra — from USAToday.com

Tagged with: active learning • e-books • e-publishing related items (EPUB and more) • eportfolios • new publishing models • project-based learning • publishing • student-related

Meet the Active Learning Classroom [Strawbridge]

On 11/08/2012, in active learning, Canada, UK, by Daniel Christian

Meet the Active Learning Classroom — from blogs.ucl.ac.uk by Fiona Strawbridge

Excerpt:

I attended a great workshop at the Educause conference on active learning classrooms – and specifically on the kinds of activities that can take place in them – led by the very energetic Adam Finkelstein of McGill University in Montreal.

Tagged with: active learning • Canada • UK

This article reminds me of this graphic

On 11/02/2012, in active learning, attention, change, learning theories, memory, metacognition / metacognitive skills, project-based learning, real-world assignments, student-related, by Daniel Christian

The article, “Technology changing how students learn, teachers say,” reminds me of the graphic below. It appears that teachers now have a definite answer to the question I was asking back in June 2010:

If attention can be visualized as a gate...is it getting harder to get through the gate?

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Teachers who were not involved in the surveys echoed their findings in interviews, saying they felt they had to work harder to capture and hold students’ attention.

“I’m an entertainer. I have to do a song and dance to capture their attention,” said Hope Molina-Porter, 37, an English teacher at Troy High School in Fullerton, Calif., who has taught for 14 years. She teaches accelerated students, but has noted a marked decline in the depth and analysis of their written work.

Bottom line:
Like so much in life, we have very little control of most things. Students are changing and we cannot control that situation — nor should we seek to. Why? Because most people I know — including myself — do not like to be controlled. We can and should attempt to pulse check these sorts of changes, plan some experiments around them, and then see and report on what works and what doesn’t work. This all relates to something I saw on earlier today on Twitter from Anya Kamenetz (@anya1anya):

If you declare a no-media classroom, you better be damn fascinating.

Also, a relevant quote:

The biggest problem area for teachers is students’ attention span, with 71% saying saying entertainment media use has hurt students either “a lot” (34%) or “somewhat” (37%) in that area.

— from Children, Teens, and Entertainment Media: The View From The Classroom
A Common Sense Media Research Study – NEW REPORT
November 1, 2012
Download the full report

Tagged with: active learning • attention • change • learning theories • memory • metacognition • project-based learning • real-world assignments • staying relevant • student-related

Mobile furniture moves classrooms towards the future [Sims]

On 10/26/2012, in active learning, collaboration, learning spaces, learning theories, Michigan, smart classrooms, by Daniel Christian

Mobile furniture moves classrooms towards the future — from schoolconstructionnews.com by Torrey Sims

Steelcase Education Solutions showcased its
collaborative learning furniture at CEFPI in San Antonio.

Steelcase Education Solutions’ furniture
focuses on the concept of active learning.

Excerpt:

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The future of classroom furniture can now be found in more compact and flexible designs. Education Solutions, a division of Steelcase Inc., has redefined its approach to classroom furniture by incorporating designs that accommodate the needs of students, teachers and the educational approach of the future.

From DSC:
Being involved with planning our Next Generation Smart Classroom, what I especially appreciate about what Steelcase has done here is to allow for more flexible seating solutions. Faculty can have students quickly and efficiently re-arrange their seating configurations in order to enable greater collaboration. There are several other advantages/features in their offerings, but I wanted to highlight that one.

Tagged with: active learning • collaboration • learning spaces • learning theories • smart classrooms

Student run help desks — a good example of “real-world” learning, problem solving, critical thinking

On 10/19/2012, in active learning, project-based learning, real-world assignments, staying relevant, student-related, by Daniel Christian

How student help desks support mobile devices — from centerdigitaled.com by Tanya Roscorla

Excerpt:

The help desk staff members each have a title, role and responsibilities. They solve problems for students and staff in-person, but they also update a blog with videos that address common issues they see.

Also see:

Why learning should be messy — from blogs.kqed.org by Nikhil Goyal
Excerpt:
“Today’s problems — from global poverty to climate change to the obesity epidemic — are more interconnected and intertwined than ever before and they can’t possibly be solved in the academic or research ‘silos’ of the twentieth century,” writes Frank Moss, the former head of the M.I.T. Media Lab. Schools cannot just simply add a “creativity hour” and call it a day.

Tagged with: active learning • cross-disciplinary assignments • interdisciplinary • project-based learning • real-world assignments • staying relevant

teagueduino.org — seems like a great site for designers, tinkerers, engineers, and artists! Some serious active learning.

On 07/11/2012, in active learning, art, creativity, design, engineering, innovation, interactivity, open courseware and systems, project-based learning, by Daniel Christian

Tagged with: active learning • art • creativity • cross-disciplinary assignments • design • engineering • innovation • interactivity • open • project-based learning

Steelcase Education Solutions introduces new active learning solutions [multivu.com]

On 07/11/2012, in active learning, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, smart classrooms, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Steelcase Education Solutions introduces new active learning solutions — from multivu.com
Verb takes action & iconic Node makes new moves

Tagged with: active learning • learning ecosystem • learning spaces • smart classrooms • vendors

Active Learning Classrooms (ALC’s) at University of Minnesota [Educause]

On 12/16/2011, in active learning, learning spaces, pedagogy, smart classrooms, by Daniel Christian

Active Learning Classrooms (ALC’s) at University of Minnesota — from Educause

Implications and Recommendations

Where local resources allow, administrators might consider refitting older learning spaces along the lines of the ALCs to improve student learning outcomes and increase student satisfaction.
Instructors teaching in an ALC-style classroom should be aware that the space’s de-centered nature can make traditional, expository teaching techniques difficult. They might wish to incorporate more active learning techniques and approaches into their repertoires.
The beneficial impact of aligning pedagogy with the learning space indicates that faculty development programs designed to support the redesign of courses being taught in ALC-type spaces deserve continued or increased institutional support.

Further research is needed into the connections among learning spaces, pedagogical approaches, and student learning outcomes. In particular, future research should investigate the mechanisms underlying the positive effects of space and aligned pedagogy that our studies have found. Furthermore, as ALC-type learning environments become more common, it will be possible to conduct longitudinal studies of the impact of taking multiple classes in new learning spaces on broad strategic outcomes such as student retention, persistence, and failure rates.

Tagged with: active learning • learning spaces • pedagogy • smart classrooms

Young black males, learning, and video games [Burke]

On 12/02/2011, in active learning, educational games / serious games, engagement / engaging students, real-world assignments, society, sociology, by Daniel Christian

Young Black Males, Learning, and Video Games — from dmlcentral.net by Whitney Burke

Tagged with: active learning • educational gaming • engagement • games • real-world assignments • society • sociology

From DSC:
What a great way to engage, inspire, involve students in music!

See:

iBand HD | Amazing! 24 Piece iPad Performance In School | #SVMiPad

Also see:

Neil Johnston from storevanmusic.com
Originally saw at The Futures Agency

Tagged with: active learning • attention • collaboration • creativity • cross-disciplinary assignments • digital audio • digital learning • digital video • drama/theater • emerging technologies • engagement • engaging students • face-to-face • ideas • innovation • interactivity • iPad • K-12 • Keeping students engaged • learning ecosystem • mirroring / multiple devices • multi-touch • multimedia • participation • passions • real-world assignments • social learning • teaching & learning • UK

icarewecare.org

On 05/21/2011, in active learning, engagement / engaging students, ethics, global / globalization, higher education, K-12 related, project-based learning, relationships, social learning / networks, sociology, student-related, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
I originally saw this at:

A Global Student Network-And Our Future — from forbes.com by Quentin Hardy

Excerpt:

Of course, the future belongs to the young. You get a decent look at it ahead of time, though, by watching how they build new ways seize it.

Earlier today a 17 year old named Priyanka Jain launched a student run nonprofit called iCAREweCARE, which is dedicated to helping high school and college students identify causes they care about, find local organizations that address those problems, and then write about their experiences, or connect with their friends over them. There is a Web site, and Facebook connections for rapid and deep information sharing.

The cause-centered orientation is praiseworthy. The implications of this kind of social platform, however, could be what proves really world-changing

Tagged with: active learning • adding value/not a commodity • connect • Connectivism • engagement • engaging students • ethics • higher education • K-12 • Keeping students engaged • project-based learning • relationships • social learning • social networking • student-related

New way to learn with augmented reality [Pengfei Li]

On 05/17/2011, in active learning, Augmented Reality (AR), corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, digital learning, emerging technologies, engineering, technology (general), by Daniel Christian

New way to learn with AR — from edlab.tc.columbia.edu by Pengfei Li

Addendum later on 5/17 — also see:

Augmented reality has potential to reshape our lives — from USAToday.com by Edward Baig

Tagged with: active learning • augmented reality • corporate / business world • corporate training / universities • digital learning • emerging technologies • engineering • technology (general)

MyTVBuddy kicks off as the first pan-European Social TV app on iPad — from appmarket.tv (emphasis DSC)

Excerpt:

Today E-ZONE unveiled its iPad app MyTVBuddy claiming it takes Social TV to the next level of exploration, interaction, engagement and participation by letting users check in to TV programs, watch videos, post messages on Facebook, share Twitter messages, participate in conversations and see where other users are located. MyTVBuddy kicks off with a special launch edition of Eurovision 2011.

MyTVBuddy comes with a solution for turning TV viewing into a social experience by using mobile devices such as the iPad. According to a recent study from Yahoo, nearly 90 percent of people watching television are using a mobile device at the same time. Be it Twitter, Facebook, email or instant messaging, they are doing more than just watching.

From DSC:
TV and entertainment coming up to bat — with learning-related applications on deck! 🙂

Also see:

Special launch edition: Eurovision 2011 — from mytvbuddy.net

Addendum on 5/11/11:

Why connected TV is poised to revolutionize entertainment

Tagged with: 1:1 • 21st century • 24x7x365 • A/V • active learning • digital audio • digital storytelling • digital video • emerging technologies • Europe • innovation • interactivity • Mobile learning • mobile technology • participation • social learning • social media • social networking • technologies for the home • transmedia • trends • TV

Previous Entries

Learning Ecosystems

Meet the Active Learning Classroom [Strawbridge]

Mobile furniture moves classrooms towards the future [Sims]

teagueduino.org — seems like a great site for designers, tinkerers, engineers, and artists! Some serious active learning.

Steelcase Education Solutions introduces new active learning solutions [multivu.com]

Active Learning Classrooms (ALC’s) at University of Minnesota [Educause]

Young black males, learning, and video games [Burke]

New way to learn with augmented reality [Pengfei Li]

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