On 07/29/2010,
in adjunct faculty, engagement / engaging students, faculty, innovation, using teams,
by Daniel Christian
Reaching the last technology holdouts at the front of the classroom — from the Chronicle by Jeff Young
Chris Dede, a professor of learning technologies at Harvard U., helped write the Department of Education’s new National Educational Technology Plan, which challenges educators to leverage modern technology to create engaging learning experiences for students.
Every semester a lot of professors’ lectures are essentially reruns because many instructors are too busy to upgrade their classroom methods.
That frustrates Chris Dede, a professor of learning technologies at Harvard University, who argues that clinging to outdated teaching practices amounts to educational malpractice.
“If you were going to see a doctor and the doctor said, ‘I’ve been really busy since I got out of medical school, and so I’m going to treat you with the techniques I learned back then,’ you’d be rightly incensed,” he told me recently. “Yet there are a lot of faculty who say with a straight face, ‘I don’t need to change my teaching,’ as if nothing has been learned about teaching since they had been prepared to do it—if they’ve ever been prepared to.”
And poor teaching can have serious consequences, he says, when students fall behind or drop out because of sleep-inducing lectures. Colleges have tried several approaches over the years to spur teaching innovation. But among instructors across the nation, holdouts clearly remain.
From DSC:
A major part of me agrees wholeheartedly with this. If a group of people are in control at an institution, those persons are responsible for the performance of the institution. So if faculty have the control at an institution, they are responsible for the results of that institution.They must take the steps to keep innovating, adapting, and must never be content w/ the status quo. (And actually, this is the case whether they are in control or not.)
Yet…another part of me struggles with loading everything on the faculty member. While I agree that we all need to keep growing, innovating, and updating our courses, I think that we are asking faculty to do too much here. They can’t keep up and neither can the instructional technologists. Few, if any, people have all the required skills nowadays. The bar has risen too high.
We need TEAMS of specialists…and that’s why the for-profit, online universities are kicking the tails of everyone else. They utilize teams to build and deliver their content.
(Michael Jordan, as good as he was, wasn’t able to beat a solid team of players. It wasn’t until he got support from other members of his own team that the Bulls went on to win multiple championships.)
On 07/23/2010,
in Apple, computer science, education technology, productivity / tips and tricks, research, science, tools,
by Daniel Christian
On 07/21/2010,
in 24x7x365 access, business, business side of he, career development, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, competency-based learning/education, corporate / business world, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, disruption, education reform, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, face-to-face, faculty, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, innovation, leadership, learning ecosystem, lifelong learning, more voice more choice more control, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, online learning, online tutoring, open courseware and systems, pace of change, personalized/customized learning, strategy, teaching & learning, traditional / tradition, universities, using teams, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
From Spring 2010
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From DSC:
If you are even remotely connected to higher education, then you *need* to read this one!
Most certainly, not everything that Thomas Frey says will take place…but I’ll bet you he’s right on a number of accounts. Whether he’s right or not, the potential scenarios he brings up ought to give us pause to reflect on ways to respond to these situations…on ways to spot and take advantage of the various opportunities that arise (which will only happen to those organizations who are alert and looking for them).
On 07/16/2010,
in blended learning, collaboration, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, design, distance education, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, face-to-face, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, library / librarians, multimedia, productivity / tips and tricks, smart classrooms, social learning / networks, teaching & learning, training / L&D, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, web-based collaboration, webinars, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
For those of you involved with creating learning labs, smart classrooms, group study areas, etc. — or for those who want to enable more efficient group collaboration within your classrooms — you need to check out Steelcase’s Media:Scape product line.
One of the pieces of this configuration that I love is that they have created an easy-to-use interface in a puck-like device. What I want to see happen is for students to pull up to a movable/reconfigurable table, connect their device, and click the puck to “play” their media for the class (without interrupting the flow of the class).
Also, one monitor on the “totem” can be used for one set of information/data — or even a remote speaker via videoconferencing for example — and the other monitor can be used for someone else’s data/desktop.
Here are some images for you:
Also see the Media:Scape ad/video:
This product line is also available through Custer Workplace Interiors.
On 07/06/2010,
in economics, education, educational games / serious games, elearning, engagement / engaging students, K-12 related, mathematics, simulations,
by Daniel Christian
Rags to Riches — from ilearntechnology.com
What it is: Rags to Riches takes Lemonade Tycoon to a whole new level with simulated business. In Rags to Riches, students are working to make their band a success. Students play the part of a new band going on tour with a few new songs. As they play the Rags to Riches game simulation, students must make decisions about what the band should do. They have to decide which cities are best for them to play in, what venues to play, how much money to spend on publicity and how much to charge for tickets. Students start out with $100 and must make wise decisions to continue in the simulation. When they run out of money, the game ends and they must start again.
How to integrate Rags to Riches into the classroom: If you teach students like mine, breaking out Lemonade Tycoon in the classroom is met by cheers from some and with eye rolls by others who are “way too cool” for a lemonade stand. For those students, Rags to Riches is in order…
On 07/02/2010,
in digital audio, digital learning, digital video, education technology, elearning, engagement / engaging students, expectations, online learning, online media, tools,
by Daniel Christian
Screencasts to support learning
I believe there are a number of reasons why screencasts are extremely effective as educational tools and I have outlined these below:
1. Time-flexible learning
2. Support Web 2.0 expectations of learners
3. Enhancement of the learning process
4. Enhancement of learning engagement
Let’s take a look at these one by one….
On 07/01/2010,
in 21st century, art, assessment, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, e-readers, education, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, geography / geology, higher education, interactivity, IT in HE, learning ecosystem, online learning,
by Daniel Christian
This year’s presentations included:
- Articulating Assessment: Digital Storytelling for Digital Work
Virginia Kuhn, University of Southern California - How IT Rescued a $100,000 No Budget Project
Lou Rera, Buffalo State College - Kindling Students – HCC’s eBook Classroom Project
Lorah Gough, Houston Community College System; Laurel Lacroix, Houston Community College System - Partnering for a 21st Century Education
Holly Ludgate, Full Sail University; Sharyn Gabriel, Orange County Public Schools; Kathy Craven, Full Sail University; Michael Cardwell, Full Sail University - Plasma Playground: Innovative Ideas for Training Students Techs
Helmut Baer, Dartmouth College - Timelines Tell All! Peasants and Revolutionaries Don’t Always Agree
Molly Ruggles, Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Touchless Interactive Art in the Personal Computer
Seiji Ikeda, University of Texas, Arlington; Collin Hover, University of Texas, Arlington - Using Voice Tools with Students in Online Courses
Gail Krovitz, Pearson Learning - Which Castle is That? Geotagging as a Tool for Research and Scholarship
Jared Bendis, Case Western Reserve University
On 07/01/2010,
in digital textbooks, e-readers, education technology, K-12 related,
by Daniel Christian
Here are some excellent resources re: eBooks and the iPad — from Johnny Ansari, Calvin College’s Teaching & Learning Digital Studio
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On 06/30/2010,
in accessibility / UDL, digital textbooks, e-readers, education technology, emerging technologies, textbooks,
by Daniel Christian
Driving home the point on accessibility — InsideHigherEd.com
The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice on Tuesday released an open letter to colleges expressing concern that some institutions might be “using electronic book readers that are not accessible to students who are blind or have low vision” and warning them that the government will crack down on any institutions that are “requiring” disabled students to use emerging technology that does not comply with federal accessibility laws.