digital video

Brief reflections on “How to Design a Hybrid Workplace” [The New York Times]

On 04/24/2021, in A/V -- audio/visual, blended learning, business, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, distance education, education technology, emerging technologies, expectations, experimentation, face-to-face, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, hybrid learning, innovation, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, online learning, platforms, remote teaching and learning, smart classrooms, society, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, telecommunications, telelegal, telemedicine / telehealth / virtual health, telepresence, tools, training / L&D, trends, United States, universities, user experience (UX), using teams, vendors, videoconferencing, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, workplace, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

How to Design a Hybrid Workplace — from nytimes.com

Excerpt:

But many companies have hatched a postpandemic plan in which employees return to the office for some of the time while mixing in more work from home than before. The appeal of this compromise is clear: Employers hope to give employees the flexibility and focus that come from working at home without sacrificing the in-person connections of the office.

From DSC:
There has been — and likely will continue to be — huge pressure and incentives put on companies like Cisco, Zoom, Microsoft, and others that develop the products and platforms to help people collaborate and communicate over a distance. It will be very interesting to see where these (and other) vendors, products, and platforms are 2-3 years from now! How far will we be down the XR-related routes?

How will those new ways of doing things impact telehealth? Telelegal? Virtual courts? Other?

Improved Student Engagement in Higher Education’s Next Normal [Glantz, Gamrat, Lenze, & Bardzell]

On 03/29/2021, in 21st century, active learning, adjunct faculty, blended learning, collaboration, colleges, communications, community colleges, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, distance education, education technology, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, faculty, future of higher education, higher education, hybrid learning, ideas, instructional design, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, liberal arts, multimedia, online learning, pedagogy, productivity / tips and tricks, reinvent, remote teaching and learning, teaching & learning, tools, universities, user experience (UX), vendors, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Improved Student Engagement in Higher Education’s Next Normal — from er.educause.edu by Ed Glantz, Chris Gamrat, Lisa Lenze and Jeffrey Bardzell
Five pandemic-introduced innovative teaching adaptations can improve student engagement in the next normal for higher education.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

The five teaching enhancements/adaptations discussed above—collaborative technologies for sense-making, student experts in learning and technology, back channels, digital breakout rooms, and supplemental recording—are well positioned to expand the definition of “student engagement” beyond traditional roll call and attendance tracking. Opportunities to include students at a distance have permitted inclusion of students who are reticent to speak publicly, students whose first language is not English, students with disabilities, and students less engaged through “traditional” channels. With these new conceptions of engagement in mind, we are prepared to be more inclusive of all students in the next normal of higher education.

If equity is a priority, UDL is a must [Novak]

On 03/26/2021, in accessibility / UDL, adjunct faculty, assessment, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate universities / corporate training, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, faculty, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, instructional design, K-12 related, law schools, learning, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, liberal arts, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, neurodivergent/special needs, new media literacies, online learning, pedagogy, productivity / tips and tricks, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, Uncategorized, universities, by Daniel Christian

If equity is a priority, UDL is a must — from cultofpedagogy.com by Katie Novak

Once you identify the firm goal, ask yourself, “Based on the variability in my class, what barriers may prevent learners from working toward that goal and how can I eliminate those barriers through design?”

Excerpt:

When we design the same learning pathways for all learners, we might tell ourselves we are being fair, but in fact, single pathways are exclusionary. Beverly Daniel Tatum, author of the critically acclaimed book, Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race, challenges us to focus on impact over intentions. It may not be our intent to exclude our learners, but the reality is that many students do not have opportunities to learn at high levels or to access curriculum and instruction that is accessible, engaging, culturally sustaining, and linguistically appropriate.

Luckily, there is a framework that rejects these one-size-fits-all solutions and empowers educators to proactively design learning experiences so all students can increase their brainpower and accelerate and own their learning. The framework is Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

UDL is a framework for designing learning experiences so students have options for how they learn, what materials they use, and how they demonstrate their learning.

From DSC:
I put together this graphic as I’m working on a Module (for Canvas) to address the topic of accessibility:

By Daniel Christian March 2021

Chrome now instantly captions audio and video on the web [Ian Carlos Campbell]

On 03/22/2021, in accessibility / UDL, assistive technologies, colleges, communications, community colleges, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, education technology, experimentation, Google, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, instructional design, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, liberal arts, media/film, Natural Language Processing (NLP), neurodivergent/special needs, new media literacies, online learning, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, tools, universities, user experience (UX), vendors, vision/possibilities, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Chrome now instantly captions audio and video on the web — from theverge.com by Ian Carlos Campbell
The accessibility feature was previously exclusive to some Pixel and Samsung Galaxy phones

Excerpt:

Google is expanding its real-time caption feature, Live Captions, from Pixel phones to anyone using a Chrome browser, as first spotted by XDA Developers. Live Captions uses machine learning to spontaneously create captions for videos or audio where none existed before, and making the web that much more accessible for anyone who’s deaf or hard of hearing.
…
Chrome’s Live Captions worked on YouTube videos, Twitch streams, podcast players, and even music streaming services like SoundCloud in early tests run by a few of us here at The Verge. Google also says Live Captions will work with audio and video files stored on your hard drive if they’re opened in Chrome. However, Live Captions in Chrome only work in English, which is also the case on mobile.

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.

Seven online whiteboards for 2021 + other relevant tools/vendors for online-based collaboration

On 03/18/2021, in A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, adjunct faculty, art, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate universities / corporate training, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, distance education, education technology, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, faculty, flipping -- inverted learning, Google, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, interactivity, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, lifelong learning, Microsoft, multimedia, new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, parents/guardians, platforms, presentations, productivity / tips and tricks, remote teaching and learning, student teaching/teacher education, tablets, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, telelegal, telemedicine / telehealth / virtual health, tools, training / L&D, universities, vendors, videoconferencing, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, webinars, by Daniel Christian

The excerpt below is from The 7 best online whiteboards in 2021 — from zapier.com by Maria Myre

Miro for turning ideas into tasks
Stormboard for creating multiple whiteboards in a single brainstorming session
MURAL for remote, multi-member team meetings
Limnu for teaching students remotely
InVision Freehand for annotating design files with a team
Conceptboard for turning a brainstorming session into a formal presentation
Explain Everything for creating whiteboard videos

From DSC:
Other potentially-relevant tools/vendors here include:

Cisco Webex
- Cisco Webex Desk Series

- Cisco Webex Board Series
- Cisco Webex Room Series
Google JamBoard
Microsoft Surface Hub 2
Haworth’s Bluescape
…and others

Navigating website ADA compliance: ‘If you have videos that are not captioned, you’re a sitting duck’ — from abajournal.com by Matt Reynolds

Excerpts:

“If you have videos that are not captioned, you’re a sitting duck,” Goren said. “If you’re not encoding your pictures so that the blind person using a screen reader can understand what the picture is describing, that is a problem.”

Drop-down boxes on websites are “horrible for accessibility,” the attorney added, and it can be difficult for people with disabilities to navigate CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test) technology to verify they are human.

“Trying to get people with voice dictation or even screen readers to figure out how to certify that they’re not a robot can be very complicated,” Goren said.

Also see:

Relevant Laws

Section 508 of the United States Workforce Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Section 504 of the United States Workforce Rehabilitation Act of 1973
- Protecting Students With Disabilities
- Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
(Though less so, still related) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ; also see ADAGreatLakes.org

Information re: Lawsuits

Accessibility at a Crossroads: Balancing Legal Requirements, Frivolous Lawsuits, and Legitimate Needs — from Educause.edu by Martin LaGrow
2020 Full Year Report — from UsableNet.com
[2020] A record-breaking year for ADA Digital Accessibility Lawsuits — from UsableNet.com
DOE Rescinds “Mass Filer” Rule, Reopening Door for Web Accessibility Complaints — from levelaccess.com
50 Colleges Hit With ADA Lawsuits – from insidehighered.com (Dec 2018)
Feds Prod Universities to Address Website Accessibility Complaints – from insidehighered.com (Nov 2018)

DC: An interesting site, especially if you are trying to provide content in multiple formats/file types:https://t.co/SZ02AtyijZ pic.twitter.com/Za7XeXKmQc

— Daniel Christian (he/him/his) (@dchristian5) March 8, 2021

Asynchronous Video Conversations: 11 Tips and Best Practices — from er.educause.edu by Rob Gibson

Excerpt (first 4 of 11):

1. Closely align video conversations with the stated module, course, and/or program learning objectives. Clearly indicate those alignments in the course outline.

2. Use the syllabus, an introductory course video, or a sample student video recording to prepare students in advance for this type of activity. Since many students will use their smartphones to record, provide information about best practices for creating quality video using a phone.

3. Some students are uncomfortable recording themselves. Depending on the product, consider offering alternatives such as an audio/mic-only mode, a text-only mode, or using a proxy image or avatar in the video.

4. Consider using threaded video conversations for course introductions to build a sense of humanizing the course. Michelle Pacansky-Brock supports the use of video conversations as an alternative to text. In her book How to Humanize Your Online Class with VoiceThread, she indicates that video tools maximize presence, a dimension of online connectivity to fellow students, the faculty, and the content. Research in her own courses found an increase from 25 percent to 75 percent in voluntary voice-video comments.^Footnote5 This also helps form common goals and dispositions among students—dispositions are affective learning dimensions, such as motivation, attitude, persistence, empathy, and problem solving.^Footnote6

What Is WeVideo And How Does It Work For Education? [Edwards]

On 03/04/2021, in cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, communications, creativity, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, education technology, K-12 related, platforms, play, teachers, by Daniel Christian

What Is WeVideo And How Does It Work For Education? — from techlearning.com by Luke Edwards
WeVideo is the online video editing platform aimed at K-12 for students and teachers

Excerpt:

WeVideo is web- and app-based with all the data crunching done in the cloud, making it ideal for use in schools and on less powerful devices. It’s built with a Chromebook focus, for example. The cloud-based nature of the platform also means it can be used collaboratively by students, both in class and remotely.

This platform is built for beginners and younger students, so it’s easy to learn and use. Essentially, there are two modes: Storyboard and Timeline. The first is easier, ideal for getting new students into video editing, while the latter is more complex, allowing students add in more detail and learn to video edit as they might on a more professional system.

Specialties In Instructional Design and What They Do — from teamedforlearning.com
Specialties in instructional design can help both job seekers and hiring managers find the right fit for digital learning courses and programs.

Excerpt:

An instructional designer is anyone who designs and develops digital learning experiences. That may sound straightforward, but within that vague job title nest dozens of specialties. Even more confusingly, instructional designers may also be called learning designers or learning architects. Their work often overlaps with that of instructional technologists and content creators. Specialties in instructional design help both teammates and hiring managers to navigate this evolving position.

Untangling the complexities of the instructional design role can help both job seekers and hiring managers find the right fit. Identifying a specialty can help professionals carve out their own niche in the instructional design ecosystem. Greater clarity around what instructional designers actually do can help team leaders find the right instructional designer for their project.

Putting Your Best Self Forward: 6 Keys For Filming Quality Videos — from er.educause.edu by Jered Borup
The difference between a video that students watch and one that is ignored often comes down to a few, easily addressed factors.

Excerpt:

Key #1: Convey Your Voice—Is the audio clear, or is there background noise or reverberations in the room that distract from your message?
Key #2: Find the Light—Are you well lit with a light source in front of you, or are you backlit and/or have shadows on your face?
Key #3: Frame and Maintain Eye Contact—Are you about at arm’s length and eye level with the camera, or are you looking down or up at the camera?
Key #4: Stage—Do you have personal and/or interesting things in the background, or are you recording in front of a blank wall?
Key #5: Be Prepared and Natural—Are you speaking naturally in a way that conveys your interest in the topic, or do you sound somewhat robotic and/or scattered?
Key #6: Keep it Short—Is the video under six minutes?

This article is part of a series about incorporating asynchronous video into educational activities:

Unbounded by Time: Understanding How Asynchronous Video Can Be Critical to Learning Success
Putting Your Best Self Forward: 6 Keys For Filming Quality Videos
Teacher, Are You There? Being “Present” in Online Learning
Let’s Discuss Discussions: Using Asynchronous Video to Improve Online Discussions
Improving Problem-Based Learning with Asynchronous Video
Back to Feedback Basics Using Video Recordings
The Handoff: Transitioning from Synchronous to Asynchronous Teaching

[For those involved with learning spaces] Hiperwall Introduces Cost-Effective ‘Essentials’ Video Wall Hardware & Software Packages

On 02/25/2021, in A/V -- audio/visual, analytics, art, attention, biology, business, chemistry, collaboration, colleges, communications, community colleges, computer science, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, data related items, design, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, education technology, engagement / engaging students, engineering, experimentation, graphics, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, liberal arts, media/film, mirroring and/or multiple devices, multimedia, online media, photography, platforms, presentations, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, storytelling, teaching & learning, technology (general), telelegal, telemedicine / telehealth / virtual health, television, tools, training / L&D, United States, universities, vendors, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, web-based collaboration, webinars, by Daniel Christian

Hiperwall Introduces Cost-Effective ‘Essentials’ Video Wall Hardware and Software Packages — from hiperwall.com with thanks to Michael Farino for this resource
Hiperwall Essentials video wall bundles eliminate barriers to entry for organizations wanting enhanced collaboration, clearer communication, and the ability to make informed real-time decisions

Excerpt:

February 24, 2021 – IRVINE, Calif., – Hiperwall Inc., an industry-leader in commercialized, IP-based visualization technology, today introduces ‘Hiperwall Essentials,’ two all-inclusive video wall hardware and software bundles that get users started with a full-featured, control-room grade video wall powered by Hiperwall for just $9,995.

Most major decisions made in the public and private sectors are driven by vast amounts of data. Due to the volume of data sources, data complexity, and different analytics tools, video walls have become the perfect canvas for decision-makers to put all of this data together clearly to arrive at an informed decision faster and more confidently.

At a price point that effectively removes barriers to implementation for small to medium businesses, small government agencies, and local law enforcement, Hiperwall Essentials serves as a great baseline for integrating video wall technology into any organization. As dependence on the video wall grows, Hiperwall’s modular platform makes scaling the video wall footprint and capabilities seamless and cost-effective.

Below are some example settings:

For those interested in video walls, this is worth checking out. These pictures are example settings.

Never Going Back: What Online Teaching in the Times of COVID Can Add to Our Teaching Toolkits – Elisabeth Sandberg — from cft.vanderbilt.edu with thanks to Beckie Supiano at the Chronicle for this resource

Excerpt:

Teaching online has not been all challenges for Sandberg. From this period of teaching, she has gathered a set of experiences that, she expects, will benefit her in an in-person setting, too. For one thing, Sandberg has explored new ways of optimizing the element of time in students’ learning. Realizing that even the most entertaining presenters become soon-to-bore lecturers in online settings, she became more attentive to keeping her prerecorded video lectures brief and dividing them into pieces interwoven with online activities. The Explain Everything app (a collaborative virtual whiteboard platform with multi-media features) has been helpful for annotating these short pieces of recorded lectures. Sandberg’s renewed attention to student attention has also made her more mindful of things she assigns out of class, and what these might represent in terms of student efforts. “I learned over the summer,” she said, referring to the CFT’s Online Course Design Institute, “how to be more cognizant of how much time the things that I consider easy work really take the students. And that was really a revealing piece that I will carry with me when we return to in person.”

From DSC:
I agree…the teaching toolboxes have expanded. In the future, teachers, professors, trainers, (and now parents) will have a wider selection of options/tools/pedagogies to select from.

Whats in your teaching toolbox?

Teacher, Are You There? Being “Present” in Online Learning — from er.educause.edu by Richard West

Excerpt:

Video technologies are part of that shift in helping online learners feel connected to teachers and peers. This connection comes from people developing the sense that they are “present” in the class, even if they are not physically in the same room. How is it possible to be present when you are physically separated?

Learning Ecosystems

Brief reflections on “How to Design a Hybrid Workplace” [The New York Times]

Improved Student Engagement in Higher Education’s Next Normal [Glantz, Gamrat, Lenze, & Bardzell]

Putting Your Best Self Forward: 6 Keys For Filming Quality Videos [Borup]

Never Going Back: What Online Teaching in the Times of COVID Can Add to Our Teaching Toolkits [Sandberg]

Categories

Tags