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On 05/23/2022,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, content development, education technology, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, face-to-face, faculty, graphics, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), interactivity, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods, learning spaces, liberal arts, mathematics, Michigan, online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, teaching & learning, tools, training / L&D, United States, universities,
by Daniel Christian
On 05/20/2022,
in adjunct faculty, CMS/LMS, collaboration, education technology, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, face-to-face, faculty, flipping -- inverted learning, future, future of higher education, higher education, innovation, instructional design, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, library / librarians, organizational change, pedagogy, teaching & learning, United States, universities, using teams,
by Daniel Christian
The Pandemic’s Lasting Lessons for Colleges, From Academic Innovation Leaders — from edsurge.com by Nadia Tamez-Robledo, Rebecca Koenig, and Jeffrey R. Young
Excerpts:
“Universities are in the business of knowledge, but universities do a very poor job of managing their own knowledge and strategy,” says Brian Fleming, associate vice chancellor of learning ecosystem development at Northeastern University. “You may have faculty members who study organizational development, but none of that gets applied to the university.”
…
University leaders should learn to think more like futurists, he argues, working to imagine scenarios that might need planning for but are beyond the usual one-year or five-year planning cycles.
The pandemic prompted more faculty to ask the question, “What do we actually want to use class time for?” says Tyler Roeger, director of the center for the enhancement of teaching and learning at Elgin Community College. And the answer many of them are landing on, he adds, is: “Actual face-to-face time can be dedicated to problem-working, and working in groups together.”
On 05/20/2022,
in active learning, adjunct faculty, blended learning, career development, colleges, communications, community colleges, education technology, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, faculty, higher education, hybrid learning, ideas, instructional design, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, online learning, participation, pedagogy, skills, teaching & learning, tools, United States, universities, vendors,
by Daniel Christian
4 Online Tactics to Improve Blended Learning — from campustechnology.com by Megan Burke, CPA, Ph.D.
An accounting professor shares how best practices from online pedagogy have helped her create a blended learning environment that supports student success.
Excerpts:
Now that students are back in the classroom, I have been combining these tactics with in-person instruction to create a blended learning environment that gives my students the best of both worlds.
The right activities, on the other hand, can make a significant difference. For example:
- Breakout rooms (for think/pair/share);
- Polls and quizzes that are low-stakes and anonymous to encourage full engagement;
- Using the whiteboard option; and
- Having reviews of material at the end of class.
I also encourage faculty (and myself!) to get out and meet with employers and ask what we can do to better prepare students, so that we can get a better feel for what first-year staff really need to know — and ensure that we present that knowledge and information in the classroom.
On 05/11/2022,
in adjunct faculty, attention, change, colleges, dangers of the status quo, education reform, engagement / engaging students, face-to-face, future of higher education, higher education, law schools, learning, Learning Experience Design, love of learning, more choice more control, motivation, participation, pedagogy, teaching & learning, United States, universities,
by Daniel Christian
On 05/04/2022,
in active learning, adjunct faculty, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, culture, Daniel S. Christian, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, face-to-face, faculty, higher education, ideas, innovation, instructional design, law schools, leadership, Learning Experience Design, pedagogy, real-world assignments, strategy, student-related, teaching & learning, traditional / tradition, United States, universities, vision/possibilities,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
The resource below (from The Chronicle of Higher Education) is one of the best, most useful articles I’ve read in a long time. It’s full of innovative and/or powerful ideas. I like the part about seeking to give students “more voice, more choice, more control.”
5 No-Cost or Low-Cost Ways to Improve Your Campus — from chronicle.com by Richard J. Light and Allison Jegla
Change doesn’t have to be expensive. It’s often sparked by a simple suggestion and a leader willing to give it a try.
Excerpts (emphasis DSC):
No. 1: Reward innovative teaching. Lynne Schofield, a professor of statistics at Swarthmore College, has fundamentally changed the way her students learn basic and intermediate statistics. She lectures and assigns problem sets but she also teams up with local Philadelphia organizations such as food banks and blood-donation centers to give students an opportunity to solve real-world problems using their classroom knowledge. The organizations benefit from data and analysis that they may not have had time or bandwidth to collect themselves, and the students see the practical application of what they might ordinarily have perceived as a dry subject.
No. 2: Solicit ideas from students. …
They met with a dean and proposed a public event called, “10 Big Ideas, 10 Professors, 10 Minutes Each.”
When the dean agreed, the students took the lead on selecting and inviting professors to each present the “most exciting new idea” in their academic field, in less than 10 minutes.
On 05/04/2022,
in 21st century, Alternatives, business side of he, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, content development, corporate / business world, cost of getting a degree, culture, curriculum, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, Emotion, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, faculty, future of higher education, game-changing environment, health, higher education, leadership, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, more choice more control, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, traditional / tradition,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
After seeing the item below, I thought, “Hmmm…traditional institutions of higher education better look out if alternatives continue to gain momentum.” Perhaps it’s wise to double down on efforts to gather feedback from students, families, parents, businesses, and other stakeholders in the workplace regarding what they want and need — vs. what the faculty members of institution ABC want to teach.
A Third of U.S. College Students Consider Withdrawing — from news.gallup.com by Stephanie Marken
Excerpt:
Editor’s Note: The research below was conducted in partnership between the Lumina Foundation and Gallup.
About a third (32%) of currently enrolled students pursuing a bachelor’s degree report they have considered withdrawing from their program for a semester or more in the past six months. A slightly higher percentage of students pursuing their associate degree, 41%, report they have considered stopping out in the past six months. These are similar to 2020 levels when 33% of bachelor’s degree students reported they had considered stopping out and 38% of associate degree students said the same.
On 04/26/2022,
in active learning, collaboration, education, educational games / serious games, engagement / engaging students, instructional design, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning preferences, play, project-based learning, psychology, simulations, United States, vendors, vision/possibilities, youth,
by Daniel Christian
Why gamified learning works so well for gifted children — from raisinglifelonglearners.com by Colleen Kessler
Excerpt:
The gamification of learning can be critical for gifted children in particular, who often struggle to stay focused, engaged, and challenged in a traditional educational environment. Gamification can be so effective in gifted education because the learner forgets they are “working” and instead feels they are “playing.” It allows the gifted brain to relax into the “flow” of learning, and more effectively use their intellect for problem solving and creativity.
Also see:
Addendum on 4/27/22:
Homeschooling our gifted children: The power of artful questions — from raisinglifelonglearners.com by Colleen Kessler
Examples of artful questions for learning:
- Why do you think that might have happened?
- What would you have done differently?
- What did you notice about that?
- What would you suggest we do instead?
- That’s a good point. How can you reconcile these two things?
- Do you have an idea for how we could make this better?
From DSC:
Perhaps we should post those types of questions up on the walls of many board rooms and conference rooms around the nation…or have it be a slide in a presentation…or…
On 04/26/2022,
in Augmented Reality (AR), biology, engagement / engaging students, health, hearts -- matters of the heart, innovation, science, tools, XR - extended reality,
by Daniel Christian
Innovation in education using #AR pic.twitter.com/UUywF37ziA
— Alvin Foo (@alvinfoo) April 26, 2022
On 04/25/2022,
in assistive technologies, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, education, education reform, Emotion, engagement / engaging students, face-to-face, future, homeschooling/homeschoolers, ideas, innovation, instructional design, K-12 related, leadership, learner profiles, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning preferences, love of learning, more choice more control, motivation, parents, participation, passions, reinvent, society, special needs, strategy, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, United States, user experience (UX), vision/possibilities, youth,
by Daniel Christian
K-12 education in America is like quickly moving trains that stop for no one.
From DSC:
A family member struggles with spelling — big time. This causes her major amounts of anxiety in school.
Another family member had some learning disabilities and reflects back on school with some bad memories.
Another family member struggles with social graces and learns at a much different pace than her peers — the move to her education being (predominantly) done via homeschooling has helped significantly.
A friend of mine has Dyslexia. He recently said that school was hell for him.
Another person I know doesn’t understand his daughter’s learning disabilities — at all. He’s asking a fish to climb the tree and yells at his daughter when she doesn’t produce like the other kids do. Her school is for college-bound learners, and there’s always pressure to maintain the school’s “blue-ribbon” status (i.e., sorry if you don’t fit in…but please board the train anyway, as it’s about to depart).
These people and stories about their educations got me to reflect on all the people who went through the school systems in the United States (over the last few decades) that didn’t work well for them. In fact, not only did the systems not work well for them, they were the sources of a great deal of pain, anxiety, depression, anger, frustration, and embarrassment. Instead of being a place of wonder or joy, school was a painful, constant struggle to get through.
For those who can keep up or even excel at the pace that the trains travel at, school isn’t that much of a problem. There are likely different levels of engagement involved here, but school is manageable and it doesn’t cause nearly the stress for someone who struggles with it.
For those with learning disabilities, I’d like to apologize to you on behalf of all the people who legislated or created rigid, one-size-fits-all school systems that didn’t understand and/or meet your needs. (Why we allow legislators — who aren’t the ones on the front lines — to control so much of what happens in our school systems is beyond me.) I’d like to apologize on behalf of all of the teachers, administrators, and staff who just accept the systems as they are.
Please help us reinvent our school systems. Help us develop the future of education. Help us develop a more personalized, customized approach. For those who are working to provide that, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
To everyone working within Pre-K through 12th grade, help us offer: More voice. More choice. More control. The status quo has to go. School should not be a constant source of pain and anxiety.