engagement / engaging students

Mental Canvas is a game-changer for 2D/3D designers! Check this out!

On 10/26/2021, in 3D, animation, architecture, art, communications, content development, creativity, design, digital learning, drama/theater, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, Europe, experimentation, graphics, innovation, Microsoft, multimedia, tools, user experience (UX), vendors, by Daniel Christian

Mental Canvas will unleash some serious creativity!

Also see:

Mental Canvas: App for drawing in 3D — from microsoft.com in Germany; Google translated the excerpt below:

When I first saw Mental Canvas in action, I was instantly impressed. Drawings are created in 3D in the app. You can even fly through your own sketches and comics. Mental Canvas offers teachers completely new possibilities to design blackboard pictures, to illustrate content and to try out creative things. The tutorials and examples immediately make you want to draw in three dimensions. Mental Canvas is currently available as a free download. In this blog article you will get to know the app.

50 Sites & Apps for K-12 Education Games [Restifo & Kapuler]

On 10/20/2021, in active learning, Adobe, attention, biology, chemistry, creativity, design, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, Emotion, engagement / engaging students, health, homeschooling/homeschoolers, ideas, instructional design, K-12 related, languages and translation, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, mathematics, multimedia, new media literacies, participation, passions, play, reading, science, STEAM-related, student-related, tools, vendors, writing, youth, by Daniel Christian

50 Sites & Apps for K-12 Education Games — from techlearning.com by Diana Restifo and David Kapuler
Game-based learning is a great way to integrate technology into the classroom while engaging kids with real learning.

Excerpt:

Game-based learning turns potentially tedious study time into an adventurous knowledge quest, complete with catchy soundtracks and digital rewards. It helps keep kids engaged with the subject matter and motivated to pursue greater expertise. Best of all, web- or app-based gameplay integrates easily into both online and in-person classes.

With the demise of Flash at the end of 2020, many favorite educational game sites went under. That’s why we decided to update our popular list below to include the latest and best sites and apps for K-12 education games. Many are free (or offer free basic accounts) and some provide progress tracking and analysis tools for teachers. All will help kids enjoy learning.

Also relevant/see the following resource and excerpt from Goldie Blumenstyk’s The Edge (from the Chronicle of Higher Education)

Creative Acts for Curious People: How to Think, Create, and Lead in Unconventional Ways — by Sarah Stein Greenberg

Excerpt:

Greenberg also makes a compelling case for the “playful and joyous” approaches the d.school has been championing, like the secret handshake or building several prototypes of an ideal chair using tools like cardboard, pipe cleaners, and chewing gum and toothpicks. After so many months of loss and social deprivation, she told me last week, “those elements are more important than ever.”

Light Field Lab Unveils Modular Holographic Video Wall [Melnick]

On 10/18/2021, in A/V -- audio/visual, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, education technology, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, face-to-face, learning, learning ecosystem, learning preferences, learning spaces, smart classrooms, tools, training / L&D, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, web-based collaboration, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

Light Field Lab Unveils Modular Holographic Video Wall — from vrscout.com by Kyle Melnick

Along these lines…see:

Bank of America turns to VR for soft skills training — from vrscout.com by Bobby Carlton

@CanvasLMS users, checkout this great article on creating e-learning content. #CanvasLM #CanvasFAM https://t.co/TgYrHbX35z

— Jim Wolf M.S.Ed., M.S.Ed.I.T. (@wjameswolf) October 5, 2021

Here’s an example of what an engaging and exciting online course might [look like].

You start with a short video that introduces the subject. It focuses on the course’s main ideas, and how they relate to one another, getting your learners interested in the topic and making them eager to learn more.

3 Promising Opportunities to Teach Your Kids From Home — from medium.com by Eva Keiffenheim
These organizations innovate homeschooling.

Excerpt:

What follows are three organizations that rethink the way children learn from home.

From DSC:
My wife teaches for Outschool and really enjoys it! She develops solid relationships with her students and is able to personalize things (as she deals with 1-3 students at a time). She doesn’t charge much at all, but she enjoys it.

3 Tips for Making Passion-Based Learning Work Successfully [Pierce]

On 10/13/2021, in attention, collaboration, communications, creativity, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital video, drama/theater, education, educational games / serious games, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, homeschooling/homeschoolers, ideas, innovation, instructional design, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning preferences, lifelong learning, love of learning, more choice more control, motivation, multimedia, new media literacies, participation, passions, pedagogy, play, podcasting, skills, story, storytelling, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, tools, user experience (UX), vendors, vision/possibilities, writing, youth, by Daniel Christian

3 Tips for Making Passion-Based Learning Work Successfully — from thejournal.com by Dennis Pierce

Excerpt:

Passion-based learning, a form of self-directed learning in which students pursue projects of interest to them, is becoming more popular in schools — and for good reason: Educators who have set aside time for passion-based learning have discovered that students become highly engaged and motivated when learning about topics that intrigue them, while taking their learning much deeper than they would in a traditional lesson.

Passion-based learning initiatives include Genius Hour and 20time, both inspired by Google’s program that lets employees spend 20% of their time on projects of their choosing to spark innovation.

Giving all students the option to explore their interests can be challenging on a large scale. To overcome this hurdle and make the process easier for teachers, Sonora Elementary uses a new peer-to-peer learning platform called Tract, which is a collection of video content organized into self-directed learning paths.

From DSC:
I love the type of tool/app like Tract — as students can work on a variety of skills:

multimedia development
music
acting
writing/composing
digital storytelling
…and more

Such projects/tools can unleash a great deal of creativity, engagement, and positive energy. Learning becomes more relevant, enjoyable, and interesting when we can provide more choice and control to our students.

STEM lessons: Make learning engaging in any environment [Ofgang]

On 10/12/2021, in 3D, attention, content development, education, educational games / serious games, engagement / engaging students, engineering, ideas, instructional design, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, STEAM-related, student-related, teachers, by Daniel Christian

Make learning engaging in any environment – from issuu.com [Tech & Learning Oct 2021 issue] by Erik Ofgang

Excerpt:

The Metaverse is Taking Over the Physical World — from interestingengineering.com by Rupendra Brahambhatt; with thanks to Dan Lejerskar for this resource
The virtual world is expanding with real world avatars and digital economy.

Excerpt:

The advent of AR, blockchain, and VR devices in the last few years has sparked the development of the metaverse. Moreover, the unprecedented growth of highly advanced technologies in the gaming industry, which offer immersive gameplay experiences, not only provides us a glimpse of how the metaverse would look like but also indicates that we are closer than ever to experience a virtual world of our own.

What is the metaverse?

The Metaverse is Taking Over the Physical World Source: Kelvin Han/Unsplash

A metaverse is a group of persistent, shared 3D virtual environments where you (in the form of your digital avatar) can visit places, shop for products, subscribe to services, work with your colleagues, play games, and even customize the scenes around you to meet your personal tastes and requirements, and the digital assets you own. So essentially, a metaverse is a virtual world or worlds, that would allow you to go inside the digital world — to be in rather than on the digital space.

From DSC:
Again I wonder….on the legal side of things…how will this impact what lawyers, judges, legislators, general counsels, and more need to know? Along these lines see:

What Skills Do Lawyers Need to Excel in a New Era of Business? — from jdsupra.com

To do this well, legal department heads and the lawyers and professionals in the department will have to learn, and practice, some new skills: embracing technology, project management, change management, and adaptability.
…
The first, and likely most obvious, skill an attorney needs in a rapidly evolving business environment is a firm grasp on existing and emerging technology. There are two important categories of technology to consider—the first is legal technology and the second is broader technology trends.

Common Anxieties in Beginning HyFlex: Learning to Teach a HyFlex Class — from hyflexlearning.org by Brian Beatty

Excerpt:

Not surprisingly, one of the biggest anxieties – FEARS – for many faculty considering or implementing a HyFlex approach for the first time is learning how to do so, and to do so effectively the very first time. No one likes to feel like they aren’t equipped to do the work they are required (or challenged) to do; perhaps especially teachers who are normally in full control of their classrooms and the activities that take place in them. When you are planning to teach HyFlex, it may seem like you are planning for CHAOS, or at least planning to lose control over the class environment(s), the teaching process, and ultimately student learning. Let’s address those concerns one at a time, but briefly.

If we assume you are an effective classroom teacher, then a common design path that I usually recommend is to start with your plans for an effective classroom experience and work to translate those to the other modes, accessing expert guidance as needed (such as, instructional designers, online course design books, your colleagues). What are the learning outcomes (or instructional objectives) for the classroom? How will those translate into the online mode(s) you are planning? What about the instructional content and associated activities for the classroom? How do those translate? What about plans for assessment? Start with what you know, and are confident with, and then layer in approaches for the other modes.

Think-Pair-Share: The Basics! [The Scholarly Teacher Team]

On 10/09/2021, in active learning, adjunct faculty, collaboration, education, engagement / engaging students, faculty, higher education, instructional design, K-12 related, law schools, learning, Learning Experience Design, pedagogy, student teaching/teacher education, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, videoconferencing, by Daniel Christian

Think-Pair-Share: The Basics! — from lillyconferences.com by The Scholarly Teacher Team
Think-Pair-Share is a collaborative learning strategy that promotes critical thinking and peer learning. This is an excellent place to start if you want to add active learning to your lecture-based course without taking much class time.

From DSC:
The ability of many videoconferencing systems to automatically create breakout groups/sessions for you can be very helpful here.

In Michigan’s Lansing School District –> “Mini happens to be a chatbot.” [Carlson]

On 10/07/2021, in bots, education, education reform, engagement / engaging students, innovation, K-12 related, parents, productivity / tips and tricks, tools, vendors, youth, by Daniel Christian

A ‘New Normal’ Requires New Tools for Attendance and Family Engagement — from edsurge.com by Liesel Carlson

Excerpt:

Mini arrived at the Office of School Culture in Michigan’s Lansing School District in December 2020. She came on board to help us assess our attendance goals and strategies several months into a global pandemic. Mini immediately organized our scattered data and got to work pushing critical information about attendance to families by sending positive “nudges” via text messages, offering empathetic support and guidance.

Mini happens to be a chatbot.

Could AR and/or VR enable a massive 3D-based type of “Voicethread?” [Christian]

On 09/28/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, Augmented Reality (AR), cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, content aggregration, content repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, distance education, e-books, education technology, educational games / serious games, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, experimentation, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, interface design, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods, learning preferences, learning spaces, multimedia, new media literacies, online learning, participation, platforms, presentations, productivity / tips and tricks, second screen apps, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, streams of content, student-related, teaching online, technologies for your home, telelegal, telemedicine / telehealth / virtual health, telepresence, tools, training / L&D, tvOS-based apps, United States, virtual field trips, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, web-based collaboration, writing, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
What if we could quickly submit items for a group to discuss, annotate, and respond to — using whichever media format is available/preferable for a person — like a massive 3D-based Voicethread? What if this type of discussion could be contributed to and accessed via Augmented Reality (AR) and/or via Virtual Reality (VR) types of devices?

It could be a new 3D format that a person could essentially blow all the way up into the size of a billboard. Think, “Honey, I shrunk the kids” type of stuff.

Input devices might include:

Augmented Reality (AR) glasses
Virtual Reality (VR) headsets/glasses
Scanners
Smartphones
Tablets
Desktops and laptops
SmartTVs
Other types of input devices

For example, a person could take a picture of a document or something else and then save that image into a new file format that would be vector-based. I say a vector-based file format so that the image could be enlarged to the size of a billboard without losing any resolution (i.e., wouldn’t become grainy; the image would remain crystal clear regardless of how big the image is). I’m thinking here along the lines of “Honey, I shrunk the kids!”

Other thoughts here:

The files could be accessible online for attendees of classes or for audiences of presentations/webinars
The files could be displayed on the walls of learning/presentation spaces for marking them up
One could manipulate the 3D image if that person was using a virtual/immersive environment
Users should be able to annotate on those images and/or be able to save such annotations and notes

A question for phase II:
Could this concept also be used if virtual courts take off?

Hmmmm…just thinking out loud.

Living With a Learning Disability: Challenges, Helpful Advice & Improvements [Kreisa]

On 09/17/2021, in accessibility / UDL, assistive technologies, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), digital audio, digital equity, digital learning, digital video, education, education reform, engagement / engaging students, homeschooling/homeschoolers, learning, parents, participation, society, special needs, by Daniel Christian

Living With a Learning Disability: Challenges, Helpful Advice & Improvements — from inclusionhub.com by Meredith Kreisa

Excerpts:

While it is critical to remember that symptoms, comorbidities, and coping mechanisms vary, we’ll outline some of the challenges individuals with learning disabilities may face and highlight common strategies utilized by community members to address them.

Also see:

Improving Digital Inclusion & Accessibility for Those With Learning Disabilities — from inclusionhub.com by Meredith Kreisa
This comprehensive guide outlines common learning disabilities, associated difficulties, accessibility barriers and best practices, and more.

Untold provides educational video content to engage students in history learning [educatorstechnology.com]

On 09/12/2021, in art, content aggregration, content repositories, digital learning, education technology, engagement / engaging students, history, homeschooling/homeschoolers, K-12 related, legislatures / government / legal, society, sociology, teachers, United States, vendors, youth, by Daniel Christian

Untold provides educational video content to engage students in history learning — from educatorstechnology.com

Excerpt:

Untold is a platform that provides educational resources to engage students in history learning. The site offers a free collection of animated videos that shed light on alternative historical perspectives highlighting those stories and events that do not normally make it into the mainstream history textbooks. As they interact with these resources, students develop critical thinking skills required to help them evaluate and question the validity and authenticity of the information and news they deal with on a daily basis.

Untold materials are provided for free for teachers and students.

Learning Ecosystems

Mental Canvas is a game-changer for 2D/3D designers! Check this out!

Light Field Lab Unveils Modular Holographic Video Wall [Melnick]

The Metaverse is Taking Over the Physical World [Brahambhatt]

Common Anxieties in Beginning HyFlex: Learning to Teach a HyFlex Class [Beatty]

Living With a Learning Disability: Challenges, Helpful Advice & Improvements [Kreisa]

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