law schools

Do digital distractions justify law professors’ prohibitions on laptops? [Ward]

On 04/27/2022, in accessibility / UDL, assistive technologies, Bring your own device (BYOD), higher education, IT in HE, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, neurodivergent/special needs, tools, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

Do digital distractions justify law professors’ prohibitions on laptops? — from abajournal.com by Stephanie Francis Ward

Excerpt:

If a professor is uncomfortable with laptops in the classroom, he or she might consider allowing a handful of students to use them, as official note takers, says Robert Dinerstein, a former acting dean of American University Washington College of Law, who directs its Disability Rights Law Clinic. The note-taking group should include students who do and do not have accommodations for laptops so no one is stigmatized, he adds. Dinerstein, a former commissioner on the ABA’s Commission on Disability Rights, now serves as its liason from the ABA’s Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice. Additionally, he co-chairs the section’s disability rights committee.

2022 Outlook: 6 Legal Trends and Predictions to Have on Your Radar [Susko]

On 04/27/2022, in analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, collaboration, data related items, future, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, trends, United States, by Daniel Christian

2022 Outlook: 6 Legal Trends and Predictions to Have on Your Radar — from jdsupra.com by Vivian Susko

Excerpt:

In January, 2020, we made some bold predictions about what would lie ahead for legal operations in the new decade. Let’s dive back into some of our top forecasts, survey our new landscape, and see which legal trends are currently impacting the industry in 2022. Mitratech expert, Justin Silverman, weighs in on what you can expect to see on the horizon for legal ops.

Points on a radar screen

Also from Eva Keiffenheim (on Medium.com, on Twitter), see:

What Most People Get Dangerously Wrong About Building a Second Brain
And how to fix it.

Also relevant/see:

Analysis: 6 Brain-Based Learning Strategies and Study Skills That Help Teens Learn — from the74million.org by Hank Pellissier

Excerpt:

Teens zoning out during Euclidean geometry or citing TikTok influencers in an expository paper doesn’t always mean they are bored or lazy, argues neurologist and teacher Judy Willis, co-author of Research-Based Strategies to Ignite Student Learning: Insights from Neuroscience and the Classroom. “The demands on students are squishing their natural curiosity and joy of learning,” Willis says.

Brain scientists suggest that students absorb information best if they work in what’s known as the flow state. This mindset is reached when their consciousness is fully “in the zone,” entirely focused on activities they find so pleasurable that time flies and all distractions disappear. Try these brain-based learning strategies and study skills that can help teens enter this open state of more productive and enjoyable learning.

Can you truly own anything in the metaverse? A law professor explains how blockchains and NFTs don’t protect virtual property [Marinotti]

On 04/25/2022, in Blockchain, copyright/ownership/NFTs, law schools, legislatures / government / legal, marketplaces, Metaverse, morals/values, policy, society, Web3, by Daniel Christian

Can you truly own anything in the metaverse? A law professor explains how blockchains and NFTs don’t protect virtual property — from theconversation.com by João Marinotti

Excerpt:

Despite these claims, the legal status of virtual “owners” is significantly more complicated. In fact, the current ownership of metaverse assets is not governed by property law at all, but rather by contract law. As a legal scholar who studies property law, tech policy and legal ownership, I believe that what many companies are calling “ownership” in the metaverse is not the same as ownership in the physical world, and consumers are at risk of being swindled.

How to make competency-based education possible through an intelligent learning platform [Solea]

On 04/25/2022, in CMS/LMS, competency-based learning/education, higher education, intelligent systems, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, online learning, platforms, tools, by Daniel Christian

How to make competency-based education possible through an intelligent learning platform — from blog.neolms.com by Ioana Solea

Excerpt:

Competency-based education plays an essential role in this endeavor. As its name suggests, this type of learning focuses on individual competency. It promotes a learner-centric approach in which students get from level A to level B after acquiring and demonstrating mastery of certain skills.

Competency-based learning is easier to implement when you have the right tools. An intelligent learning platform (ILP) is the ideal option. This technology already incorporates all the features you need to implement a competency-based learning model.

Learn how an ILP enables competency-based education.

EDUCAUSE QuickPoll Results: Learning Spaces Transformation — from er.educause.edu by Jenay Robert

Excerpts:

With an eye toward the future, IT units can help institutions create inclusive, flexible spaces that support a variety of learning activities and modalities. Appropriate technology infrastructure, strategic support from institutional leaders, and financial resources are among the most essential elements for transforming learning spaces.

.

Figure 1. Types of Learning Spaces Being Transformed bar graph showing percentage of respondents who said each type of learning space was being transformed. Small classrooms 52%; Spaces for remote classes 52%; Libraries 50%; Lecture halls 44%; Study spaces 44%; Experimental learning spaces 42%; Discipline-specific labs 39%; Gathering spaces; 36%; Residential spaces 20%; Hallways and foyers 16%.

I Grew Up Believing I Was Dumb. A College Education Behind Bars Healed That Wound https://t.co/PsUZ2LyOxa via @MarshallProj

— Paul Czarapata (@pczarapata) April 21, 2022

Seeing the possibilities, I finally took a chance. I studied English, political science and finite math, and each class I passed deepened my confidence and self-love.

This growing self-love was key to my academic development. Growing up, I didn’t experience much real love, outside of my mother and a few family members. I most often encountered the kind of false love expressed through violence and monetary possessions. College changed the way I thought about myself and others. I worked hand-in-hand with men from all backgrounds to complete assignments, and even taught other students. Before I knew it, I was getting A’s on my essays and solving quadratic equations in math class.
…
When people question why it’s important to educate prisoners, I remind them that to see change, we must support change. We must give individuals the opportunity to see themselves as more than the harm they’ve caused, more than what was once broken within them.

Christopher Blackwell

Also relevant/see:

University Behind Bars

We need to use more tools — that go beyond screen sharing — where we can collaborate regardless of where we’re at. [Christian]

On 04/20/2022, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, adjunct faculty, adult learning, blended learning, Bring your own device (BYOD), business, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, distance education, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), education, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, engineering, entrepreneurship, experimentation, face-to-face, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, Hyflex learning, ideas, immersion, innovation, instructional design, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, internet, 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 preferences, learning spaces, lifelong learning, multimedia, new business models, new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, pedagogy, platforms, presentations, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, project-based learning, remote teaching and learning, skills, smart classrooms, story, storytelling, strategy, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, telecommunications, telelegal, telemedicine / telehealth / virtual health, telepresence, television, tools, training / L&D, TVs, United States, universities, usability, user experience (UX), using teams, vendors, videoconferencing, Virtual courts and law firms, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, vocational / trades, web-based collaboration, Web3, webinars, workplace, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Seeing the functionality in Freehand — it makes me once again think that we need to use more tools where faculty/staff/students can collaborate with each other REGARDLESS of where they’re coming in to partake in a learning experience (i.e., remotely or physically/locally). This is also true for trainers and employees, teachers and students, as well as in virtual tutoring types of situations. We need tools that offer functionalities that go beyond screen sharing in order to collaborate, design, present, discuss, and create things. (more…)

From DSC:
Hmmm…many colleges and universities keep a close eye on their peers and often respond with similar strategies that their peers are pursuing. But who is an organization’s peer? The Chronicle of Higher Education‘s posting below — “How a College Decides Who Its Peers Are” — stated that “there is clearly no shared definition of what constitutes a peer institution.”

Plus, I found this item especially interesting:

Harvard University selected only three peer institutions: Yale, Princeton, and Stanford. But 22 institutions, including Bowdoin, named Harvard as a peer. Bowdoin, a small, liberal-arts college with about 1,800 undergraduate students and no graduate programs, chose 98 “peers,” including the entire Ivy League and many large universities, some of which enroll more than 10,000 students. Bowdoin itself was picked by 35 institutions as a peer. All of them were small, liberal-arts colleges or universities that primarily serve undergraduates.

I have often thought that colleges and universities should care far less about what their peers are doing. Rather, they should move forward with their own solid visions, bold actions, and well-thought-through strategies — as there can be a great deal of danger and risk in the status quo.

Too many alternatives have been appearing — and will likely continue to appear — on the lifelong learning landscapes. Most likely, these new organizations will offer in-demand credentials/skills as well as the capabilities of helping people constantly reinvent themselves — with far less expensive price tags associated with these types of offerings.

How a College Decides Who Its Peers Are — from chronicle.com by Susan Poser
Questions of institutional identity are at the core of the process.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

The mismatch between whom an institution chose as peers, and the colleges that reciprocated, pervades the data set. It raises the question of how institutions designate peers, which is a mystery. In some cases it is likely to be decided by someone in the Office of Institutional Research or the provost’s office in response to the Ipeds survey, while in others perhaps some process leads to a consensus among administrators. Regardless, there is clearly no shared definition of what constitutes a peer institution.

Also relevant/see:

Who Does Your College Think Its Peers Are? — from chronicle.com by Jacquelyn Elias
‘An Art and a Science’: Colleges’ Tricky Task of Selecting Peers — from chronicle.com by Audrey Williams June

The Digital versus Brick-and-Mortar Balancing Game — from educause.edu

Excerpt:

The blended campus required after two years of upheaval calls for out-of-the box thinking about what to keep and what to discard from both digital and physical work and learning spaces. Technology leaders face critical decisions regarding workplace culture, physical classroom design, and traditional campus spaces.

Making the move from fully in-person instruction to a learning environment that also accommodates remote students (and remote faculty) requires rethinking and redesigning physical learning spaces to provide an equitable experience for all learners. Technology leaders will need to overcome sizable obstacles to create inclusive classrooms that enable faculty and students to reap the many benefits of hybrid [hyflex] learning.

Also see some of the other most urgent issues in higher education here:

Zoom Announces New Education Features, Enhancing Hybrid [Hyflex] Learning Experience for Educators & Students [Soulunii]

On 04/19/2022, in collaboration, colleges, communications, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, distance education, education technology, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, face-to-face, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), Hyflex learning, India, innovation, instructional design, interaction design, interactivity, K-12 related, law schools, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning spaces, liberal arts, tools, training / L&D, United States, universities, vendors, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Zoom Announces New Education Features, Enhancing Hybrid [Hyflex] Learning Experience for Educators & Students — from edtechreview.in by Stephen Soulunii

Excerpt:

According to a news release, the features span Zoom’s Chat and Meeting offerings and are designed to support teachers who need to engage and manage students joining class remotely or submitting homework assignments.
…
Breakout Rooms Enhancements
Breakout rooms, a popular education feature, also received enhancements in this latest release. Program Audio allows meeting hosts to share content with audio to breakout rooms, adding the ability to share videos with audio. With the LTI Pro integration enhancement, educators can populate breakout rooms from the course roster. This can be used to assign breakout rooms in advance, and then automatically sort students into breakout rooms.

Anywhere Polls
Anywhere Polls will allow polling content to live in a central repository that can be accessed from any meeting on an account, instead of being associated with a particular meeting. This will make it easier for instructors to reuse polls and will also be beneficial for grading. This feature will be available this year.

The Skills Needed to Practice “New Law” [Vasudevan]

On 04/19/2022, in analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, change, changing business models, data related items, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, mathematics, new business models, skills, UK, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

The Skills Needed to Practice “New Law” — from abaforlawstudents.com by Ram Vasudevan

Excerpt:

…but proficiencies in technology, data and analytics, math and statistics, finance and budgeting, and large-scale project management are among the most valuable. Each of these skill sets now comes into play in the practice of law on a near-daily basis.

All these new legal competencies have in common the recognition that legal projects involve far more than legal skills. Too many lawyers, however, are still narrowly focused on the legal aspect of their work and are therefore missing out on a whole host of opportunities. Rising lawyers and law firm graduates who might have previously struggled to be part of the hiring conversation can now make themselves highly marketable by becoming experts in one or more of these areas and filling a pressing need in today’s legal organizations.

Also relevant/see:

The Legal Tech Tools Clients Are Actually Using – TR Report — from artificiallawyer.com

Teaching: Fresh Approaches to Faculty Development — from chronicle.com by Beckie Supiano

Excerpt:

Baranovic can’t imagine returning to the old model: He’s sticking to panels in Zoom. Among the benefits, he says: “This arrangement breaks institutional silos, allows faculty to talk more about their experiences, shares effective practices from sources faculty trust (their peers), creates a stronger sense of community, makes it easy for panelists (they receive the questions ahead of time if they want to prepare, but because they’re speaking to experience, they don’t really have to prepare), and creates a form of support that works like therapy but doesn’t feel like therapy.”

Next, Baranovic hopes to turn the panels into a podcast format for professors unable to attend in real time.

From DSC:
As someone who had been involved with Teaching & Learning Centers for years, I can tell you that it’s very disheartening to put together a training session for faculty members and have very few — if any — people show up for it. It’s a waste of time and it leaves the T&L staff and/or IT staff members feeling discouraged and unvalued.

Over the years, I developed a preference for putting things into an asynchronous digital format for faculty members and adjunct faculty members to access per their own schedules. The institutions that I was working for got a greater ROI from those sessions and they were able to visit an internal “course” or website to reference those materials on-demand.

I also like the idea of podcasting here, but that takes a lot of time and effort — and isn’t always possible when you are one person trying to assist hundreds of faculty members (from a technical support and an LMS admin standpoint).

As an Instructional Designer, I also want to comment that it’s hard to help steer a car if you can’t even get into the car. Those institutions that are using team-based approaches will be far more successful in designing and developing more polished, effective, accessible learning experiences. Very few people can do it all.

Paralegal Pathways Initiative [change-center.law.columbia.edu]

On 04/18/2022, in career development, collaboration, ideas, law schools, learning ecosystem, reinvent, society, by Daniel Christian

Paralegal Pathways Initiative — from change-center.law.columbia.edu

Excerpt:

Housed at Columbia Law School, the Paralegal Pathways Initiative (PPI) aims to amplify the talents of formerly incarcerated individuals by providing skills-based legal training and connecting them with professional mentorship in preparation for careers in the legal field.

Inflation and labor shortages set to squeeze college budgets, Moody’s says [Seltzer]

On 04/18/2022, in business side of he, colleges, community colleges, higher education, law schools, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

Inflation and labor shortages set to squeeze college budgets, Moody’s says — from highereddive.com by Rick Seltzer

Dive Brief:

Colleges face their highest expense growth in over a decade as rising costs combine with wage inflation, labor shortages and a push to hire, according to two new reports issued this week by Moody’s Investors Service.
At the same time, volatility has returned to the investment market, and recent public funding increases are waning, Moody’s said. Colleges also face mounting enrollment uncertainty that raises risks for tuition-dependent institutions that lack a national brand and deep pockets.
Most of the U.S. higher education sector will remain financially stable in the near term thanks to strong endowment values and liquidity levels that grew recently, the reports said. But Moody’s analysts expect the converging pressures to squeeze many colleges’ budgets in fiscal 2023 and beyond.

Learning Ecosystems

Do digital distractions justify law professors’ prohibitions on laptops? [Ward]

Can you truly own anything in the metaverse? A law professor explains how blockchains and NFTs don’t protect virtual property [Marinotti]

EDUCAUSE QuickPoll Results: Learning Spaces Transformation [Robert]

I Grew Up Believing I Was Dumb. A College Education Behind Bars Healed That Wound [Blackwell]

Hmmm…many colleges & universities keep a close eye on their peers…but who is a peer? [Christian]

The Digital versus Brick-and-Mortar Balancing Game [educause.edu]

Reflections on “Teaching: Fresh Approaches to Faculty Development” [Supiano]

Paralegal Pathways Initiative [change-center.law.columbia.edu]

Inflation and labor shortages set to squeeze college budgets, Moody’s says [Seltzer]

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