podcasting - Learning Ecosystems

Google Tools and Activities for Art Education [Curts] + other tools to enhance your students’ creativity

On 09/29/2023, in art, content development, aggregation, repositories, creativity, digital audio, digital storytelling, education technology, Emotion, experimentation, Google, multimedia, music, platforms, play, podcasting, student-related, teachers, tools, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Google Tools and Activities for Art Education — from techlearning.com by Eric Curts

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Although there is no replacement for getting your hands dirty with finger paints, technology can offer many ways for students to be creative when making art. In addition to creativity, technology can also allow students to explore and learn about art in new and engaging ways.

Some of the best free digital art tools are those from Google that help educators and students with teaching, learning, exploring, and creating art. The wide range of tools and activities available provide nearly infinite possibilities.

Also relevant/see:

Top Free Sites for Creating Digital Art — from techlearning.com by Diana Restifo

And speaking of tools, also see:

Soundtrap: How To Use it to Teach — from techlearning.com by Luke Edwards
Soundtrap is the recording studio for students and teachers that could help in class and beyond

Soundtrap is a music production tool that is designed for use in education. That means a full-on mixing and sound production studio experience, but one that is accessible for students grade six and up.

Since this is relatively simple to use and is available in app as well as web formats, it is highly accessible for both in-class and personal devices.

This tool offers a way to spark creativity in students and a method to help experiment with music that can inspire those new to this world, or enable more experienced students to create complex and explorative music.

Also relevant/see:

BREAKING: YouTube announced a suite of AI tools for creators! From a dedicated video editing app and AI language dubbing to AI video generation and ideation. Here’s the TL;DR:

1. AI Video with Dream Screen – Visually transport yourself anywhere by typing a prompt. This new… pic.twitter.com/fCPSc87IKq

— Bilawal Sidhu (@bilawalsidhu) September 21, 2023

Letter from the Editor: Experienced teachers are leaving Michigan schools. This is why. — from mlive.com by Matthew Miller

They talked instead about issues like pay, stress and the sense that they no longer had the solid backing of school administrators.

Sue Harper, who retired this summer from Kreeger Elementary in Fowlerville, blamed what she called “bulldozer parents.”
…
“I have never been one to quit anything, and teaching is my passion, but this is not teaching,” one teacher wrote. “This is hours of endless paperwork, this is social work, this is counseling, this is parenting, this is babysitting, this is coaching, this is everything but teaching.”

Also relevant/see:

Low pay, culture wars, and ‘bulldozer parents.’ Why Michigan’s best teachers are calling it quits. — from mlive.com by Melissa Frick and Matthew Miller

Now a change management coordinator for Fifth Third Bank, she said, “I don’t take the stress from my job home. I don’t feel guilty, like I always could be doing more for someone.”

Thousands of experienced teachers have retired or left the profession in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic first closed schools and shifted classes to Zoom.

Teachers say they’re burnt out, tired of a lack of support and lack of respect, feeling the impact of the increasingly acrimonious politics surrounding public education.

And finally:

Michigan Teacher Shortage Study: Comprehensive Report — from epicedpolicy.org by Tara Kilbride, Katharine O. Strunk, Salem Rogers, & Meg Turner; published in January of 2023

Let’s Use ChatGPT to ‘Think Different’ About K-12 Schools — from gettingsmart.com by Kara Stern

So, in addition to asking ChatGPT to think like a school communications professional, a principal, or a teacher, what if we asked ChatGPT to think like the populations we’re serving, as a way of improving the education (or UX) we’re delivering?

Why I Keep Teaching — from edutopia.org by Rachel Jorgensen
A veteran educator explains why, despite the many challenges, she continues to try to change students’ lives, in turn enriching her own.

EVERY TIME I SHOW UP FOR WORK, A STUDENT MIGHT CHANGE MY LIFE FOR THE BETTER

MY WORK HAS INVISIBLE RIPPLE EFFECTS

34 Ways to Quiet a Rambunctious Class — from edutopia.org by Daniel Leonard
From “Silent 20” to imaginary marshmallows, these teacher-tested strategies for all grade levels can help you snap an unruly classroom back to attention.

Per EdSurge:

‘THE MOTH’ GOES TO SCHOOL: For more than a decade, the nonprofit behind the popular storytelling podcast The Moth has run workshops in schools to help students share impactful stories from their lives. Now the group started a spin-off podcast, Grown, highlighting those student stories. Here’s what they’re learning, and why they say storytelling needs to be taught in schools.

The Power of Storytelling for Youth https://t.co/5OyBarJtQp #edtech via @EdSurge

— Daniel Christian (he/him/his) (@dchristian5) August 25, 2023

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DC: This article is behind a paywall so I couldn’t read it…but I think we need more *fixes/overhauls* and less coping.

More student centered; less legislative/administration centered. https://t.co/MsEe7058XV

— Daniel Christian (he/him/his) (@dchristian5) August 25, 2023

10 ways for students to get repetitions for practice — from ditchthattextbook.com by Matt Miller

If we want students to remember – to lock new information or ideas into long-term memory – getting meaningful repetitions still is key. And the science of learning still backs that up.

So … if we want students to get repetitions to make new learning permanent, how can they do it? Here are 10 ways to help students get repetitions for practice – and how classroom technology can help.

MUST-TRY FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL ACTIVITY IDEAS – EASY EDTECH PODCAST 225 — from classtechtips.com by Dr. Monica Burns

In this episode, I share ten engaging activities that combine education, technology, and plenty of fun to make the first week of class super memorable. From digital scavenger hunts to virtual field trips, hear about a few of my favorite ways to create an interactive start to your school year.

Tips for First Week of School Activity Ideas

Establish routines in a fun way.
Provide opportunities for collaboration.
Introduce tech tools that will be used all year.

From DSC:
Dr. Burns has a great list of tools/tips/resources in this posting.

Teaching: What does it take to elevate good teaching? A lot. — from chronicle.com by Beth McMurtrie

Advice guides for teaching
As the fall approaches, we want to remind readers that The Chronicle offers a range of free advice guides designed to help improve your teaching. They’re written by experts for instructors who want to gather ideas on creating a syllabus, teaching a good first day of class, making your teaching more engaging, improving classroom discussion, making your teaching more inclusive and being a better online teacher.

Four directions for assessment redesign in the age of generative AI— from timeshighereducation.com by Julia Chen
The rise of generative AI has led universities to rethink how learning is quantified. Julia Chen offers four options for assessment redesign that can be applied across disciplines

Direction 1: From written description to multimodal explanation and application

Direction 2: From literature review alone to referencing lectures

Direction 3: From presentation of ideas to defence of views

Direction 4: From working alone to student-staff partnership

Absenteeism Mires Recovery from Pandemic Learning Losses — from educationnext.org by Phyllis W. Jordan
But simple measures by schools can encourage better student attendance

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

With the latest national test results showing a dispiriting lack of progress in catching students up academically in the wake of the pandemic, one potential explanation stands out: stubbornly high rates of student absenteeism. Vast numbers of students haven’t returned to class regularly since schools reopened.

From DSC:
Shouldn’t that tell us something?

A cam/mic/light/teleprompter remote kit for non-tech-savvy guests, including Shure MV7 [Tépper]

On 08/05/2023, in A/V -- audio/visual, adjunct faculty, Australia, collaboration, colleges, communications, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, distance education, education technology, experimentation, faculty, higher education, instructional design, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, media/film, mobile technologies, multimedia, new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, platforms, podcasting, productivity / tips and tricks, remote teaching and learning, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, telelegal, telemedicine / telehealth / virtual health, telepresence, tools, training / L&D, UK, United States, universities, user experience (UX), vendors, videoconferencing, Virtual courts and law firms, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, virtual tutoring, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

A cam/mic/light/teleprompter remote kit for non-tech-savvy guests, including Shure MV7 — from provideocoalition.com by Allan Tépper

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Inspired by my recent Review: Shure MV7 dynamic hybrid studio microphone – near, far and beyond, Beaker Films of Fairfield, Connecticut, US has developed and deployed a first batch of 10 kits to capture remote conversations from different locations worldwide. Beaker Films is frequently contracted to record remote interviews or testimonials from medical professionals. For this project, Beaker Films’ clients wanted consistent, high quality audio and video, but with 3 additional challenges: they preferred to have no visible microphone in the shot, they needed a teleprompter function and the whole kit needed to be as simple as possible for non-technical guests.

…

Speaking of A/V-related items, also see:

Seven worlds one planet at the BBC Earth Experience — from inavateonthenet.net by Paul Milligan

‘Holographic’ animal-free zoo opens in Australia — from inavateonthenet.net

XR Lab opens in UK college — from inavateonthenet.net

West Suffolk College in the UK has opened its Extended Reality Lab (XR Lab), the facilities comprise of four distinct areas: an Immersion Lab, a Collaboration Theatre, a Green Room, and a Conference Room. The project was designed by architects WindsorPatania for Eastern Colleges Group.

CJP to create virtual studio for Solent University — from inavateonthenet.net

Systems integrator CJP Broadcast Service Solutions, has won a tender to build a virtual production environment for Solent University in the UK.

The new facilities, converted from an existing studio space, will provide students on the film production courses with outstanding opportunities to develop their creative output.

Does the ADA Require Captions for Internet Videos? — from boia.org

Excerpt:

According to Accessibility.com, at least 2,387 web accessibility lawsuits were filed in 2022. Those lawsuits were either filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or California’s Unruh Act; any violation of the ADA is considered a violation of the Unruh Act.

While the plaintiffs cited a variety of issues, multimedia accessibility is a common point of concern. In 2015, the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and other plaintiffs settled a lawsuit with Netflix, which cited a lack of captions for certain featured movies and TV shows.

That prompts an interesting question: Does the ADA require captions for internet videos — and if so, how can businesses make sure that they’re compliant?

267: College Learning Disability Specialist Elizabeth Hamblet and 7 Steps to College Success (Author Series) — from learnsmarterpodcast.com

Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET welcome back College Learning Disability Specialist Elizabeth Hamblet to discuss her new book 7 Steps to College Success: A Pathway for Students with Disabilities. She discusses the origin story of the book and the disconnect between what college disability services can do for learners and what learners and parents expect. She talks about reading this book when the learner is in 8th grade because of the specific impact it can have on parent and learner decisions on course selection. Elizabeth discusses how parents and learners can get surprised in the college disability process. Elizabeth talks about the critical importance of non-academic skills and how the drive for success in high school can stand in the way of independence necessary for college success.

What Web Designers Can Learn From Apple’s Assistive Access Feature — from boia.org

Excerpt:

If you’re interested in accessible digital design, pay attention to Apple. The company seems to approach accessibility from the perspective of users with disabilities.

Apple’s messaging treats accessibility as a fundamental design principle: Accessibility must be built into digital systems from the start, not tacked on as an afterthought. In other words, they take an accessibility-first mindset, and their commitment seems consistent.

The company’s track record continued in May 2023, when Apple announced its latest suite of accessibility features to launch later that year. One of these features, Assistive Access for iPhone and iPad, holds valuable lessons that web designers can apply to their own work.

Here’s what Apple accomplished with Assistive Access, plus a few ways web designers can achieve similar goals.

A Six-Episode Podcast on Reading Comprehension [Wexler]

On 06/27/2023, in education, education reform, K-12 related, podcasting, reading, society, sociology, student-related, youth, by Daniel Christian

I’m Hosting a Six-Episode Podcast on Reading Comprehension — from nataliewexler.substack.com by Natalie Wexler
Called “Reading Comprehension Revisited,” it’s the inaugural season of the Knowledge Matters Podcast.

Excerpt:

We needed to identify people to interview—classroom teachers, district leaders, maybe a reading researcher—and then I would need to interview them. I would also need to write the scripts, incorporating audio clips from the interviews. Then I would need to record the narration, which someone would have to integrate with the interview clips. Plus a lot of other stuff I wasn’t even aware of.

But I’m delighted to report that we’ve actually done it! The first episode is set to drop on June 28th, and you can listen to the trailer right now, here. You’ll also find links on that page to various podcast platforms where you can subscribe.

From DSC:
If you don’t mind providing me with feedback here on what you think of this new podcast (as new recordings become available), I’d appreciate it.

Homeschool Talks is an informative podcast about all things homeschooling.

On 06/06/2023, in homeschooling/homeschoolers, instructional design, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, love of learning, parents/guardians, participation, passions, personalized/customized learning, podcasting, student-related, technologies for your home, youth, by Daniel Christian

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Homeschool Talks is an informative podcast about all things homeschooling.

082 | Generating Voices — from thebrainyacts.beehiiv.com

Excerpts:

Conventional Use Cases

Audio Document Reading:
Accessibility:
Training Materials:
Document Proofing:
Transcriptions:
Blog to Podcast:

Unconventional Use Cases

Voice Cloning for Client Interaction:
Multilingual Services:
AI-based Legal Information Hotline:
Real-Time Courtroom Assistance:
Engaging Jurors:
Storytelling for Case Understanding:

“Intentional Teaching: Rethinking Teaching in an Age of AI” [Bruff, Lang, & Miller] + your almost daily AI update

On 05/25/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, digital audio, emerging technologies, Emotion, experimentation, hearts -- matters of the heart, multimedia, music, platforms, podcasting, society, sociology, by Daniel Christian

Intentional Teaching — from intentionalteaching.buzzsprout.com by Derek Bruff
Rethinking Teaching in an Age of AI with James M. Lang and Michelle D. Miller

Excerpt:

In her 2022 book Remembering and Forgetting in the Age of Technology, Michelle D. Miller writes about the “moral panics” that often happen in response to new technologies. In his 2013 book Cheating Lessons: Learning from Academic Dishonesty, James M. Lang argues that the best way to reduce cheating is through better course design. What do these authors have to say about teaching in an age of generative AI tools like ChatGPT? Lots!

Governance of superintelligence — from openai.com
Now is a good time to start thinking about the governance of superintelligence—future AI systems dramatically more capable than even AGI.

OpenAI leaders propose international regulatory body for AI — from techcrunch.com by Devin Coldewey

Excerpt:

AI is developing rapidly enough and the dangers it may pose are clear enough that OpenAI’s leadership believes that the world needs an international regulatory body akin to that governing nuclear power — and fast. But not too fast. In a post to the company’s blog, OpenAI founder Sam Altman, President Greg Brockman and Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever explain that the pace of innovation in artificial intelligence is so fast that we can’t expect existing authorities to adequately rein in the technology. While there’s a certain quality of patting themselves on the back here, it’s clear to any impartial observer that the tech, most visibly in OpenAI’s explosively popular ChatGPT conversational agent, represents a unique threat as well as an invaluable asset.

OpenAI-backed robot startup beats Elon Musk’s Tesla, deploys AI-enabled robots in real world — from firstpost.com by Mehul Reuben Das; via The Rundown
A robotics startup backed by OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT has beaten Elon Musk’s Tesla in the humanoid robots race, and has successfully deployed humanoid robots as security guards. Next, they will be deploying the robots in hospices and assisted living facilities

A robotics startup backed by OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT has beaten Elon Musk’s Tesla in the humanoid robots race, and has successfully deployed humanoid robots as security guards. Next, they will be deploying the robots in hospices and assisted living facilities.

From DSC:
Hmmm…given the crisis of loneliness in the United States, I’m not sure that this type of thing is a good thing. But I’m sure there are those who would argue the other side of this.

Turn ideas into music with MusicLM — from blog.google
Experiment today by describing a musical idea and hearing it come to life.

Sam Altman and Greg Brockman on AI and the Future

On 05/11/2023, in 21st century, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, education, education technology, emerging technologies, future, game-changing environment, personalized/customized learning, podcasting, society, sociology, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Sam Altman and Greg Brockman on AI and the Future — from open.spotify.com; for education-related discussion go to the 9 minute mark or so

Podcast description:

How might we develop and deploy beneficial, safe artificial general intelligence for humanity? Reid and Aria are joined by Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, and Greg Brockman, OpenAI co-founder and president. Sam and Greg trace their journey—from articulating their mission to early company projects and decisions to scaling and sharing GPT-4 with the world. They also explore the transformative impact artificial intelligence can have on other industries, like energy, medicine, education, and law. Plus, GPT-4 offers a poetic perspective on a piece of code.
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Some ideas & resources re: how we could use AI to enhance our learning ecosystems

On 05/09/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, accessibility / UDL, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, blogs / blogging / vlogging, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, creativity, design, digital learning, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, future, game-changing environment, graphics, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, NVIDIA, pedagogy, personalized/customized learning, platforms, podcasting, simulations, tools, training / L&D, United States, universities, usability, user experience (UX), using teams, vendors, Virtual courts and law firms, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, Web3, by Daniel Christian

Brainyacts #57: Education Tech— from thebrainyacts.beehiiv.com by Josh Kubicki

Excerpts:

Let’s look at some ideas of how law schools could use AI tools like Khanmigo or ChatGPT to support lectures, assignments, and discussions, or use plagiarism detection software to maintain academic integrity.

Personalized learning
Virtual tutors and coaches
Interactive simulations
Enhanced course materials
Collaborative learning
Automated assessment and feedback
Continuous improvement
Accessibility and inclusivity

AI Will Democratize Learning — from td.org by Julia Stiglitz and Sourabh Bajaj

Excerpts:

In particular, we’re betting on four trends for AI and L&D.

Rapid content production
Personalized content
Detailed, continuous feedback
Learner-driven exploration

In a world where only 7 percent of the global population has a college degree, and as many as three quarters of workers don’t feel equipped to learn the digital skills their employers will need in the future, this is the conversation people need to have.
…
Taken together, these trends will change the cost structure of education and give learning practitioners new superpowers. Learners of all backgrounds will be able to access quality content on any topic and receive the ongoing support they need to master new skills. Even small L&D teams will be able to create programs that have both deep and broad impact across their organizations.

The Next Evolution in Educational Technologies and Assisted Learning Enablement — from educationoneducation.substack.com by Jeannine Proctor

Excerpt:

Generative AI is set to play a pivotal role in the transformation of educational technologies and assisted learning. Its ability to personalize learning experiences, power intelligent tutoring systems, generate engaging content, facilitate collaboration, and assist in assessment and grading will significantly benefit both students and educators.

How Generative AI Will Enable Personalized Learning Experiences — from campustechnology.com by Rhea Kelly

Excerpt:

With today’s advancements in generative AI, that vision of personalized learning may not be far off from reality. We spoke with Dr. Kim Round, associate dean of the Western Governors University School of Education, about the potential of technologies like ChatGPT for learning, the need for AI literacy skills, why learning experience designers have a leg up on AI prompt engineering, and more. And get ready for more Star Trek references, because the parallels between AI and Sci Fi are futile to resist.

The Promise of Personalized Learning Never Delivered. Today’s AI Is Different — from the74million.org by John Bailey; with thanks to GSV for this resource

Excerpts:

There are four reasons why this generation of AI tools is likely to succeed where other technologies have failed:

1. Smarter capabilities
2. Reasoning engines
3. Language is the interface
4. Unprecedented scale

Latest NVIDIA Graphics Research Advances Generative AI’s Next Frontier — from blogs.nvidia.com by Aaron Lefohn
NVIDIA will present around 20 research papers at SIGGRAPH, the year’s most important computer graphics conference.

Excerpt:

NVIDIA today introduced a wave of cutting-edge AI research that will enable developers and artists to bring their ideas to life — whether still or moving, in 2D or 3D, hyperrealistic or fantastical.

Around 20 NVIDIA Research papers advancing generative AI and neural graphics — including collaborations with over a dozen universities in the U.S., Europe and Israel — are headed to SIGGRAPH 2023, the premier computer graphics conference, taking place Aug. 6-10 in Los Angeles.

The papers include generative AI models that turn text into personalized images; inverse rendering tools that transform still images into 3D objects; neural physics models that use AI to simulate complex 3D elements with stunning realism; and neural rendering models that unlock new capabilities for generating real-time, AI-powered visual details.

Also relevant to the item from Nvidia (above), see:

Unreal Engine’s Metahuman Creator — with thanks to Mr. Steven Chevalia for this resource

Excerpt:

MetaHuman is a complete framework that gives any creator the power to use highly realistic human characters in any way imaginable.

It includes MetaHuman Creator, a free cloud-based app that enables you to create fully rigged photorealistic digital humans in minutes.

10 unexpected prompts to try in ChatGPT [Burns]

On 05/02/2023, in Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, digital learning, education, education technology, ideas, instructional design, platforms, podcasting, teachers, teaching & learning, tools, by Daniel Christian

10 unexpected prompts to try in ChatGPT — from classtechtips.com by Monica Burns

Excerpts:

In this episode, I share ChatGPT prompts for teachers you can use to save time and make the most of this free artificial intelligence tool. You’ll also hear tips for generating and refining prompts to optimize your workflow this school year, along with 10 prompts to try in ChatGPT that may surprise you!

Tips for Prompts to Try in ChatGPT

Think about your time-consuming tasks.
Keep in mind tone, context, and specificity.
Use prompts to generate activity ideas and classroom resources.
Try prompts for everyday tasks like formatting.

From NPR:

We closed the fifth annual Student Podcast Challenge — more than 2,900 entries!!!

…

So today, I wanted to share something that I’m also personally proud of – an elaborate resources page for student podcasting that our team published earlier this year. My big boss Steve Drummond named it “ Sound Advice: The NPR guide to student podcasting.” And, again, this isn’t just for Student Podcast Challenge participants. We have guides from NPR and more for anyone interested in starting a podcast!

Here’s a sampler of some of my favorite resources:

Using sound: Teachers, here’s a lovely video you can play for your class! Or for any visual learners, this is a fun watch! In this video, veteran NPR correspondent Don Gonyea walks you through how to build your own recording studio – a pillow fort! (And yes, this is an actual trick we use at NPR!)
Voice coaching: Speaking into a microphone is hard, even for our radio veterans. In this video, NPR voice coach Jessica Hansen and our training team share a few vocal exercises that will help you sound more natural in front of a mic! I personally watched this video before recording my first radio story, so I’d highly recommend it for everyone!
Life Kit episode on podcasting: In this episode from NPR’s Life Kit , Lauren Migaki, our very own NPR Ed senior producer, brings us tips from podcast producers across NPR, working on all your favorite shows, including Code Switch, Planet Money and more! It’s an awesome listen for a class or on your own!

Learning Ecosystems

Some conventional and unconventional use cases for AI in relation to voices/speech

“Intentional Teaching: Rethinking Teaching in an Age of AI” [Bruff, Lang, & Miller] + your almost daily AI update

Sam Altman and Greg Brockman on AI and the Future

Some ideas & resources re: how we could use AI to enhance our learning ecosystems

10 unexpected prompts to try in ChatGPT [Burns]

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