Emotion

6 Characteristics of an Education that Students Want — from gettingsmart.com by IDEA (School of Industrial Design, Engineering and Arts) Students in Tacoma Washington

As current high school students, we want:

Education for the Real World
Personalized and Flexible Education
Cultivating Agency
Creativity and Divergent Thinking
Joyful Learning and Community Building
Empathy and Emotional Growth

Also from gettingsmart.com

Diving into the Evidence: Virtual and Hybrid Models as High-Quality School Choice Options

Key Points

The Learning Accelerator is building an evidence base of what high-quality virtual and hybrid learning looks like and how it can be a catalyst for expanding access to powerful learning opportunities.
An analysis of 64 high-quality models revealed that virtual and hybrid learning occurs in various contexts, from state-based, fully-virtual programs to individual, hybrid schools and meets the needs of different student populations, including those underserved or disengaged by traditional education systems as well as looking for increased flexibility and course access.

“Playboi Farti & his AI homework machine” [Warner] + other items re: AI in our learning ecosystems

On 02/26/2025, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), content development, aggregation, repositories, education, education technology, Emotion, engagement / engaging students, hearts -- matters of the heart, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, IT in HE, K-12 related, languages and translation, leadership, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, NVIDIA, personalized/customized learning, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, project-based learning, society, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, tools, trends, UK, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Nvidia helps launch AI platform for teaching American Sign Language — from venturebeat.com by Dean Takahashi; via Claire Zau

Nvidia has unveiled a new AI platform for teaching people how to use American Sign Language to help bridge communication gaps.

The Signs platform is creating a validated dataset for sign language learners and developers of ASL-based AI applications.
…
Nvidia, the American Society for Deaf Children and creative agency Hello Monday are helping close this gap with Signs, an interactive web platform built to support ASL learning and the development of accessible AI applications.

Using Gen AI to Design, Implement, and Assess PBL — from gettingsmart.com by David Ross

Key Points

Generative AI can significantly reduce the time and effort required in designing PBL by providing tools for research, brainstorming, and organization.
AI tools can assist educators in managing project implementation and assessment, providing formative feedback and organizing resources efficiently.

I usually conclude blogs with some pithy words, but this time I’ll turn the microphone over to Rachel Harcrow, a high school English/Language Arts teacher at Young Women’s College Prep Charter School of Rochester, NY: “After years of struggling to call myself a PBL practitioner, I finally feel comfortable saying I am, thanks to the power of Gen AI,” Harcrow told me. “Initial ideas now turn into fully fledged high-quality project plans in minutes that I can refine, giving me the space and energy to focus on what truly matters: My students.”

AI Resources for District Leaders — from techlearning.com by Steve Baule
Educational leaders aiming to effectively integrate generative AI into their schools should consider several key resources

To truly harness the transformative power of generative AI in education, district leaders must navigate a landscape rich with resources and opportunities. By delving into state and national guidelines, exploring successful case studies, utilizing innovative planning tools, and engaging in professional development, educational leaders can craft robust implementation plans. These plans can then assist in integrating AI seamlessly into their schools and elevate the learning experience to new heights.

Anthropic brings ‘extended thinking’ to Claude, which can solves complex physics problems with 96.5% accuracy — from rdworldonline.com by Brian Buntz

Anthropic, a favorite frontier AI lab among many coders and genAI power users has unveiled Claude 3.7 Sonnet, its first “hybrid reasoning” AI model. It is capable of both near-instant answers and in-depth, step-by-step reasoning within a single system.

Users can toggle an extended thinking mode where the model self-reflects before answering, considerably improving performance on complex tasks like math, physics and coding. In early testing by the author, the model largely succeeded in creating lines of Python (related to unsupervised learning) that were close to 1,000 lines long that ran without error on the first or second try, including the unsupervised machine learning task shown below:

New Tools. Old Complaints. Why AI Won’t Kill Education or Fix it — from coolcatteacher.com by Vicki Davis; via Stephen Downes

AI won’t kill education. But will it kill learning? The challenge isn’t AI itself—it’s whether students can still think for themselves when the answers are always one click away.
…

Wait. Before you go, let me ask you one thing.
AI has opportunities to help learning. But it also won’t fix it. The real question isn’t whether students can use AI—but whether they’re still learning without it.

Whether the learning is happening between the ears.

And so much of what we teach in schools isn’t the answers on a test. It answers questions like “What is my purpose in life?” “How do I make friends?” and “How can I help my team be stronger.” Questions that aren’t asked on a test but are essential to living a good life. These questions aren’t answered between the ears but within the heart.

That, my friends, is what teaching has always been about.

The heart.

And the heart of the matter is we have new challenges, but these are old complaints. Complaints since the beginning of time and teaching. And in those days, you didn’t need kids just to be able to talk about how to build a fire, they had to make one themselves. Their lives depend on it.

And these days, we need to build another kind of fire. A fire that sparks the joy of learning. The joy of the opportunities that await us sparked by some of the most powerful tools ever invented. Kids need to not be able to just talk about making a difference, they need to know how to build a better world tomorrow. Our lives depend on it.

How Debating Skills Can Help Us In The Fight Against AI — from adigaskell.org by Adi Gaskell

Debating skills have a range of benefits in the workplace, from helping to improve our communication to bolstering our critical thinking skills. Research from the University of Mississippi suggests it might also help us in the battle with AI in the workplace.

We can often assume that debate teaches us nothing more than how to argue our point, but in order to do this, we have to understand both our own take on a subject and that of our opponent. This allows us to see both sides of any issue we happen to be debating.

“Even though AI has offered a shortcut through the writing process, it actually still is important to be able to write and speak and think on your own,” the researchers explain. “That’s what the focus of this research is: how debate engenders those aspects of being able to write and speak and study and research on your own.”

Perhaps God allowed Donald Trump to be President in order to HUMBLE the United States. [Christian]

On 02/21/2025, in change, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, Emotion, ethics, game-changing environment, legislatures / government / legal, morals/values, policy, political science, United States, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
I realize that I lose a lot of readers because I put some scripture from the Bible on this blog and I mention the names of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and our Heavenly Father here as well. I address matters of faith from time to time. So I have hesitated greatly to put anything out here re: politics. I will lose further readership most likely.

But I can no longer be silent on the matter of Donald Trump and the Republican Administration* as a whole. Like many others, I’m very disappointed that our nation elected him — and I think it’s time we Americans took a long, hard look in the mirror on that one.

Donald Trump scorns the Constitution and he seeks to destroy our democracy — something many people have given their lives to develop and support.
He orchestrated the January 6, 2021 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol building. His supporters called for the life of the (then-current) Vice President if he didn’t do what they wanted him to do.
Speaking of the insurrection…Donald Trump is a convicted felon and would have likely lost several more court cases had he not been able to make a MOCKERY of our judicial system. His money, power, and position were able to postpone many of those court cases. As a relevant aside here, who knows how many people were given access to confidential records of the U.S. (for a price no doubt). He should be in jail right now. You and I would have been thrown in jail a looooong time ago. But Donald Trump laughs at justice — he distorts justice.
He acts like a toddler — at most, a junior high school student.
He bullies people and nations.
He threatens retribution if someone doesn’t agree with him.
He belittles people and nations.
He creates massive division, not unity. He reminds me of Adolph Hitler.
He is an embarrassment to the United States. He has destroyed so much diplomatic work and goodwill on the global stage. Our allies — or perhaps I should say former allies now — were shocked to recently hear about Donald Trump’s stances on many things.
And the tariffs aren’t helpful either. They create barriers and will likely increase prices here in the U.S.
I can’t believe a word that comes out of his mouth. For a President of the United States to exhibit this characteristic over and over again, it sets a horrible example for the younger generations to see. It further establishes a culture in America that is NOT the type of culture I want to live in or have my descendants live in. I do not support the type of culture that Donald Trump creates.

I, for one, apologize to the rest of the world that our nation elected him as President. This was a massive mistake.

So I’m beginning to think that the LORD allowed Donald Trump to become President NOT to make America Great Again (MAGA) — as that whole campaign seems to be a lie too — but rather to HUMBLE America.

By the way, I don’t think Donald Trump is a Christian — at all. Besides his hatred of the truth as well as the other items listed above…if he were truly a Christian, he would not have balked at the Bishop’s urging him to be compassionate to others (at his Inauguration). He would have listened to her wisdom. Plus, he would have put his hand on the Bible when he took his oaths.

Daniel’s prayer in Daniel 1:19 is highly relevant to the United States right now. And so is 2 Chronicles 7:14:

¹⁴if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
.

* In the past, I have voted for members of the Republican and Democratic Parties — Presidents, VPs,
Governors, Senators, Representatives, and more. But when Karl Rove & Company started
playing too many games for my taste, I moved towards voting mostly for Democrats.

To the Futurist Jack Uldrich:
Thank you for your posting entitled “A Special Edition: Jack Uldrich’s Friday Future 15: Truth, Compassion and Love.” It got me to finally write this posting that I’ve been meaning to write for several weeks now.

Trevor Noah & Simon Sinek discuss friendship

On 02/20/2025, in Emotion, engagement / engaging students, morals/values, participation, relationships, society, by Daniel Christian

Like it or not, AI is learning how to influence you — from venturebeat.com by Louis Rosenberg

Unfortunately, without regulatory protections, we humans will likely become the objective that AI agents are tasked with optimizing.

I am most concerned about the conversational agents that will engage us in friendly dialog throughout our daily lives. They will speak to us through photorealistic avatars on our PCs and phones and soon, through AI-powered glasses that will guide us through our days. Unless there are clear restrictions, these agents will be designed to conversationally probe us for information so they can characterize our temperaments, tendencies, personalities and desires, and use those traits to maximize their persuasive impact when working to sell us products, pitch us services or convince us to believe misinformation.
.

How to Make Learning as Addictive as Social Media | Duolingo’s Luis Von Ahn | TED

On 02/07/2025, in adjunct faculty, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, digital learning, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, Emotion, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, faculty/staff, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, interaction design, interactivity, K-12 related, languages and translation, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, liberal arts, motivation, participation, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, psychology, social learning / networks, strategy, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, tools, training / L&D, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

How to Make Learning as Addictive as Social Media | Duolingo’s Luis Von Ahn | TED — from youtube.com; via Kamil Banc at AI Adopter

When technologist Luis von Ahn was building the popular language-learning platform Duolingo, he faced a big problem: Could an app designed to teach you something ever compete with addictive platforms like Instagram and TikTok? He explains how Duolingo harnesses the psychological techniques of social media and mobile games to get you excited to learn — all while spreading access to education across the world.
.

10 Extreme Challenges Facing Schools — from stefanbauschard.substack.com by Stefan Bauschard

TL;DR
Schools face 10 extreme challenges

– assessment
– funding
– deportations
– opposition to trans students
– mental health
– AI/AGI world
– a struggle to engage students
– too many hats
– war risks
– resource redistribution and civil conflict

Hundreds of thousands of students are entitled to training and help finding jobs. They don’t get it — from hechingerreport.org by Meredith Kolodner
The best program to help students with disabilities get jobs is so hidden, ‘It’s like a secret society’

There’s a half-billion-dollar federal program that is supposed to help students with disabilities get into the workforce when they leave high school, but most parents — and even some school officials — don’t know it exists. As a result, hundreds of thousands of students who could be getting help go without it. New Jersey had the nation’s lowest proportion — roughly 2 percent — of eligible students receiving these services in 2023.

More than a decade ago, Congress recognized the need to help young people with disabilities get jobs, and earmarked funding for pre-employment transition services to help students explore and train for careers and send them on a pathway to independence after high school. Yet, today, fewer than 40 percent of people with disabilities ages 16 to 64 are employed, even though experts say most are capable of working.

The article links to:

Pre-Employment Transition Services

Both vocational rehabilitation agencies and schools are required by law to provide certain transition services and supports to improve post-school outcomes of students with disabilities.

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) amends the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and requires vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies to set aside at least 15% of their federal funds to provide pre-employment transition services (Pre-ETS) to students with disabilities who are eligible or potentially eligible for VR services. The intent of pre-employment transition services is to:

improve the transition of students with disabilities from school to postsecondary education or to an employment outcome, increase opportunities for students with disabilities to practice and improve workplace readiness skills, through work-based learning experiences in a competitive, integrated work setting and increase opportunities for students with disabilities to explore post-secondary training options, leading to more industry recognized credentials, and meaningful post-secondary employment.

Repurposing Furniture to Support Learning in the Early Grades — from edutopia.org by Kendall Stallings
A kindergarten teacher gives five practical examples of repurposing classroom furniture to serve multiple uses.

I’m a supporter of evolving classroom spaces—of redesigning the layout of the room as the needs and interests of students develop. The easiest way to accommodate students, I’ve found, is to use the furniture itself to set up a functional, spacious, and logical classroom. There are several benefits to this approach. It provides children with safe, low-stakes environmental changes; fosters flexibility; and creates opportunities for spatial adaptation and problem-solving. Additionally, rearranging the room throughout the school year enables teachers to address potential catalysts for challenging behaviors and social conflicts that may arise, while sparking curiosity in an otherwise-familiar space.

How Teacher-Generated Videos Support Students in Science — from edutopia.org by Shawn Sutton
A five-minute video can help students get a refresher on important science concepts at their own pace.

While instructional videos were prepared out of necessity in the past, I’ve rediscovered their utility as a quick, flexible, and personal way to enhance classroom teaching. Instructional videos can be created through free screencasting software such as Screencastify, ScreenRec, Loom, or OBS Studio. Screencasting would be ideal for the direct presentation of information, like a slide deck of notes. Phone cameras make practical recording devices for live content beyond the computer screen, like a science demo. A teacher could invest in a phone stand and ring light at a nominal cost to assist in this type of recording.

However, not all teacher videos are created equal, and I’ve discovered four benefits and strategies that help make these teaching tools more effective.

Building Connections With Students as a Middle School Principal — from edutopia.org by Cristiana Jurgensen
This simple (and tasty!) strategy can help middle school principals get to know their students and create a welcoming school community.
6 Strategies for Building a Sustainable STEM Ecosystem — from edutopia.org by Rich Schiccatano
Upper elementary teachers can use these ideas to create meaningful, interdisciplinary STEM opportunities that encourage experimentation.

“A Teacher-to-Teacher Approach to Professional Development” [Wexler], voice & choice, + other K12-related items

On 01/14/2025, in education, education reform, Emotion, engagement / engaging students, ideas, innovation, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning preferences, more voice more choice more control, reading, teachers, teaching & learning, United States, youth, by Daniel Christian

A Teacher-to-Teacher Approach to Professional Development — from nataliewexler.substack.com by Natalie Wexler
An innovative fellowship program spotlights the practices of effective literacy teachers

When seeking guidance on classroom practice, teachers—understandably—tend to trust other teachers the most. An innovative fellowship program connects teachers with one another to provide concrete examples of what effective literacy instruction looks like.

A small philanthropy called the Goyen Foundation sponsors the program, now in its third year. For each cohort, the foundation selects 12 to 14 educators who are skilled in systematically teaching foundational reading skills while simultaneously building the knowledge that enables reading comprehension.

The Goyen Literacy Fellows document their own classroom practice, mostly through videos that are posted on social media platforms like X/Twitter and Facebook. They also interact with other educators who may have heard about “structured literacy” but aren’t sure what it means or how it’s done.

Giving Kids Some Autonomy Has Surprising Results — from nytimes.com by Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop
Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop are the authors of “The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better.”

In a polarized nation, one point of agreement deserves more attention: Young adults say they feel woefully unprepared for life in the work force, and employers say they’re right.

In a survey by Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation of more than 4,000 members of Gen Z, 49 percent of respondents said they did not feel prepared for the future. Employers complain that young hires lack initiative, communication skills, problem-solving abilities and resilience.

There’s a reason the system isn’t serving people well, and it goes beyond the usual culprits of social media and Covid. Many recent graduates aren’t able to set targets, take initiative, figure things out and deal with setbacks — because in school and at home they were too rarely afforded any agency.

Maybe it’s time to define a higher ideal for education, less about ranking and sorting students on narrow measures of achievement and more about helping young people figure out how to unlock their potential and how to operate in the world. Amid the drumbeat of evolving artificial intelligence, wars, rising authoritarianism, political polarization and digital disconnection, they need to learn a lot more than how to follow instructions.

The Disengagement Crisis — from xqinstitute.org by Edward Montalvo – Director, Educator Network

Youth Voice & Choice
At XQ, we don’t see high schools as the tail end of K-12 education. Instead, we believe they are pivotal spaces for unleashing a young person’s sense of possibility and agency—so much so that it’s one of our Design Principles for school-wide success: Youth Voice and Choice.

Anderson and Winthrop, too, emphasize that when students feel they can shape the direction of their learning, they gain essential life skills: setting targets, identifying strategies, monitoring progress, and course-correcting when inevitable challenges arise. These aptitudes translate directly to college readiness, workforce performance, and a strong sense of agency in adulthood. As the authors note, even small doses of agency—like letting students choose which angle of a topic to explore—can radically transform how teens engage with the material and each other.

We’ve long championed youth voice and choice as a key element for transforming the traditional high school experience. By adopting this design principle, educators and school leaders empower students to be agents of their own learning journeys. They celebrate students’ personal growth and consistently provide opportunities for them to set goals and reflect on how they learn best.

By shifting away from checklists and mindless compliance, we can transform high schools into spaces of curiosity, discovery, and lasting engagement—where a spark lit in 9th grade can guide and energize students for a lifetime.

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Learners need: More voice. More choice. More control. -- this image was created by Daniel Christian

Addendum on 1/17/25:

376. Students as Partners — from teaforteaching.com

Faculty members often design and revise courses with limited direct feedback from students. In this episode, Laurel Willingham-McLain and Jacques Safari Mwayaona join us to discuss a program in which faculty work with trained student consultants to improve the student learning experience. Laurel is a consulting faculty developer at the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence at Syracuse University. Jacques is a Faculty Development Fellow, also at Syracuse University. Laurel and Jacques both work with the Students Consulting on Teaching program at Syracuse University.

A Three-Phase, Rational System of Education — from petergray.substack.com by Peter Gray; with thanks to Dr. Kate Christian for this resource
What will replace k-12 and college?

A Three-Phase, Rational System of Education
I don’t know just how or how fast the change will happen, but I think the days of K-12 and four years of college are numbered and sanity will begin to prevail in the educational world. I envision a future with something like the following three-phase approach to education:

Phase I. Discovery: Learning about your world, your self, and how the two fit together.…
Phase II. Exploring a career path.…
Phase III. Becoming credentialed for specialized work.…

Three recent items re: AI in our learning ecosystems

On 12/12/2024, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, change, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, digital learning, education, education technology, emerging technologies, Emotion, ethics, experimentation, faculty/staff, future, game-changing environment, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, morals/values, pedagogy, productivity / tips and tricks, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, tools, training / L&D, United States, universities, vendors, vision/possibilities, writing, by Daniel Christian

Episode 302: A Practical Roadmap for AI in K-12 Education with Mike Kentz & Nick Potkalitsky, PhD

In this episode of My EdTech Life, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mike Kentz and Nick Potkalitsky, PhD, to discuss their new book, AI in Education: The K-12 Roadmap to Teacher-Led Transformation. We dive into the transformative power of AI in education, exploring its potential for personalization, its impact on traditional teaching practices, and the critical need for teacher-driven experimentation.

Striking a Balance: Navigating the Ethical Dilemmas of AI in Higher Education — from er.educause.edu by Katalin Wargo and Brier Anderson
Navigating the complexities of artificial intelligence (AI) while upholding ethical standards requires a balanced approach that considers the benefits and risks of AI adoption.

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to transform the world—including higher education—the need for responsible use has never been more critical. While AI holds immense potential to enhance teaching and learning, ethical considerations around social inequity, environmental concerns, and dehumanization continue to emerge. College and university centers for teaching and learning (CTLs), tasked with supporting faculty in best instructional practices, face growing pressure to take a balanced approach to adopting new technologies. This challenge is compounded by an unpredictable and rapidly evolving landscape. New AI tools surface almost daily. With each new tool, the educational possibilities and challenges increase exponentially. Keeping up is virtually impossible for CTLs, which historically have been institutional hubs for innovation. In fact, as of this writing, the There’s an AI for That website indicates that there are 23,208 AIs for 15,636 tasks for 4,875 jobs—with all three numbers increasing daily.

To support college and university faculty and, by extension, learners in navigating the complexities of AI integration while upholding ethical standards, CTLs must prioritize a balanced approach that considers the benefits and risks of AI adoption. Teaching and learning professionals need to expand their resources and support pathways beyond those solely targeting how to leverage AI or mitigate academic integrity violations. They need to make a concerted effort to promote critical AI literacy, grapple with issues of social inequity, examine the environmental impact of AI technologies, and promote human-centered design principles.1

5 Free AI Tools For Learning & Exploration — from whytryai.com by Daniel Nest
Have fun exploring new topics with these interactive sites.

We’re truly spoiled for choice when it comes to AI learning tools.

In principle, any free LLM can become an endlessly patient tutor or an interactive course-maker.

If that’s not enough, tools like NotebookLM’s “Audio Overviews” and ElevenLabs’ GenFM can turn practically any material into a breezy podcast.

But what if you’re looking to explore new topics in a way that’s more interactive than vanilla chatbots and more open-ended than source-grounded NotebookLM?

Well, then you might want to give one of these free-to-try learning tools a go.

VLOG: Learning in Medical School [The Learning Scientists]

On 12/07/2024, in Emotion, experimentation, faculty/staff, health, higher education, instructional design, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, memory, productivity / tips and tricks, student-related, teaching & learning, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

VLOG: Learning in Medical School — from learningscientists.org by The Learning Scientists

NOTE:

This vlog is for anyone in medical school, interested in medical school, or just curious about what learning is like in medical school!

In this vlog Althea and Cindy talk about their work with medical student learners. They discuss common learning challenges in medical school, efficient learning strategies, learning in the context of attentional disorders and anxiety, and what it means to prepare future healers.

How AI is transforming learning for dyslexic students — from eschoolnews.com by Samay Bhojwani, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
As schools continue to adopt AI-driven tools, educators can close the accessibility gap and help dyslexic students thrive

Many traditional methods lack customization and don’t empower students to fully engage with content on their terms. Every dyslexic student experiences challenges differently, so a more personalized approach is essential for fostering comprehension, engagement, and academic growth.
…
Artificial intelligence is increasingly recognized for its potential to transform educational accessibility. By analyzing individual learning patterns, AI-powered tools can tailor content to meet each student’s specific needs. For dyslexic students, this can mean summarizing complex texts, providing auditory support, or even visually structuring information in ways that aid comprehension.

NotebookLM How-to Guide 2024 — from ai-supremacy.com by Michael Spencer and Alex McFarland
With Audio Version | A popular guide reloaded.

In this guide, I’ll show you:

How to use the new advanced audio customization features
Two specific workflows for synthesizing information (research papers and YouTube videos)
Pro tips for maximizing results with any type of content
Common pitfalls to avoid (learned these the hard way)

The State of Instructional Design 2024: A Field on the Brink of Disruption? — from drphilippahardman.substack.com by Dr. Philippa Hardman
My hot takes from a global survey I ran with Synthesia

As I mentioned on LinkedIn, earlier this week Synthesia published the results of a global survey that we ran together the state of instructional design in 2024.

Boundless Socratic Learning: Google DeepMind’s Vision for AI That Learns Without Limits — from by Giorgio Fazio

Google DeepMind researchers have unveiled a groundbreaking framework called Boundless Socratic Learning (BSL), a paradigm shift in artificial intelligence aimed at enabling systems to self-improve through structured language-based interactions. This approach could mark a pivotal step toward the elusive goal of artificial superintelligence (ASI), where AI systems drive their own development with minimal human input.

The promise of Boundless Socratic Learning lies in its ability to catalyze a shift from human-supervised AI to systems that evolve and improve autonomously. While significant challenges remain, the introduction of this framework represents a step toward the long-term goal of open-ended intelligence, where AI is not just a tool but a partner in discovery.

5 courses to take when starting out a career in Agentic AI — from techloy.com by David Adubiina
This will help you join the early train of experts who are using AI agents to solve real world problems.

This surge in demand is creating new opportunities for professionals equipped with the right skills. If you’re considering a career in this innovative field, the following five courses will provide a solid foundation when starting a career in Agentic AI.

What Happens When ‘Play’ Is Left Out of the School Curriculum — from edsurge.com by Fatema Elbakoury
When two birds flew into my classroom, I realized how much teachers lose when we don’t trust students to play.

Due to the rigidity of curriculum, standardized tests and the controlling nature of compulsory education, playfulness and unstructured time are seen as detrimental to a student’s learning. But what is learning and why is play seen as so antithetical to teaching? What if we centered playfulness and unstructured time in our classrooms, even when it has nothing to do with the curriculum? Part of learning is acquiring knowledge through experience. If play is an experience it, too, can result in the acquisition of knowledge.

Campus webinar: The art of bringing creativity and fun into the classroom — from Times Higher Education

In our latest webinar, we spoke to three experts from Campus+ partner across the UK to discuss creative and fun ways to get students engaged, both online and in the classroom.

Gary Burnett from Loughborough University, Simon Brownhill from the University of Bristol and Kelly Edmunds from the University of East Anglia talked to us about:

Creative and fun ways to get students engaged, in-person and online
Tapping into students’ creativity for better learning outcomes
Creating a culture of creativity and experimentation
Breaking down disciplinary boundaries for learning and collaboration
Creative ways to bring AI into classroom activities and assignments
Play as a powerful teaching tool

This Thanksgiving, I say “Thank you LORD!!!”

On 11/27/2024, in Daniel S. Christian, Emotion, faith, hearts -- matters of the heart, history, relationships, religion, by Daniel Christian

Colossians 3:17

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:16

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

Building the lawyer of the future [Furlong]

On 11/21/2024, in career development, change, changing business models, competency-based learning/education, Emotion, ethics, law schools, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, morals/values, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Building the lawyer of the future — from jordanfurlong.substack.com by Jordan Furlong
Here’s my latest “Future Lawyer Starter Kit.” Tell me what you think.

Building upon this knowledge foundation, I suggest that future lawyers should develop the following ten human competencies (through a completely overhauled education, training, and licensing process, but that’s a topic for another day):

Acting ethically
Advocating and negotiating
Demonstrating character
Displaying empathy
Exercising judgment
Giving advice
Reasoning legally
Relating with people
Resolving conflicts
Solving problems

Learning Ecosystems

Perhaps God allowed Donald Trump to be President in order to HUMBLE the United States. [Christian]

* In the past, I have voted for members of the Republican and Democratic Parties — Presidents, VPs,
Governors, Senators, Representatives, and more. But when Karl Rove & Company started
playing too many games for my taste, I moved towards voting mostly for Democrats.

Trevor Noah & Simon Sinek discuss friendship

This Thanksgiving, I say “Thank you LORD!!!”

Building the lawyer of the future [Furlong]

Categories

Tags

* In the past, I have voted for members of the Republican and Democratic Parties — Presidents, VPs, Governors, Senators, Representatives, and more. But when Karl Rove & Company started playing too many games for my taste, I moved towards voting mostly for Democrats.

Categories

Tags

* In the past, I have voted for members of the Republican and Democratic Parties — Presidents, VPs,
Governors, Senators, Representatives, and more. But when Karl Rove & Company started
playing too many games for my taste, I moved towards voting mostly for Democrats.