remote teaching and learning

Let’s do a reality check, shall we? [Christian]

On 09/01/2020, in adjunct faculty, Asia, Australia, Canada, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, distance education, education technology, elearning, engagement / engaging students, Europe, expectations, experimentation, faculty/staff, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, India, instructional design, K-12 related, law schools, leadership, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, liberal arts, lifelong learning, Michigan, new business models, online learning, parents/guardians, pedagogy, reinvent, remote teaching and learning, society, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, telecommunications, UK, United States, universities, user experience (UX), using teams, vision/possibilities, web design and production, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
I’ve heard many people mention that what we did throughout K-16 in the spring of 2020 was remote teaching — an emergency response to the Coronavirus. And I would agree with that assessment and verbiage — that was/is very true. It wasn’t online-based learning as many of us have come to know it over the last 20+ years. It didn’t offer a lot of the things that organizations like the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) and Quality Matters have been trying to promote and get us to achieve for years.

But then I hear the expectation that everything has been vastly improved over the summer and suddenly, almost overnight, all teachers, professors, trainers, adjunct faculty members, etc. have become highly proficient in matters involving online-based teaching and learning. In other words, the expectations say that:

Students should expect a top-notch experience now that summer is over.
Suddenly, Rome was built in a day!

But it wasn’t, and it isn’t.

It takes time and practice to become proficient in how to teach online. That’s the truth. It also takes a great deal of time and investments in hardware, software, tools, training/education/professional development, networking and telecommunications infrastructure, and more. It takes numerous skillsets to do it well. (By the way, that’s why I like to think in terms of team-based content creation and delivery.)

Also, often times, it takes MORE time to teach online than it does to teach in a face-to-face classroom. That is certainly the case for the first time that you will be teaching online. You need to know that going into it. You have to put your course together PLUS learn how to deliver it effectively in an online-based format. You need to learn a variety of tools and related ecosystems. Not a simple, overnight kind of task, I can assure you.

So students, don’t expect your faculty members to become professional online-based teachers overnight. Again, it takes time and practice…just like anything we set out to do.

And for you student teachers and Education Departments/Programs out there, keep at it. Don’t dismiss this time as a brief period/phenomenon that will simply go away and we’ll get back to “normal.” Make the necessary adjustments to your curriculum, toolsets, “teacher placements,” and more. Let’s get prepared for the future, come what may.

For higher ed, if you want to continue to use adjunct faculty members to handle a significant amount of the teaching load out there, you will need to better address the training and the $$/reimbursements that you provide to them.

And for all of the teachers, trainers, faculty members — and now even parents and/or guardians — out there, cut yourself some slack, give yourself some grace, and keep trying. One step at a time. Don’t get discouraged.

Also relevant/see:

Build and accelerate beyond the pandemic: Consciously deliver a great online experience for lifelong learners — from evoLLLution.com by Philip Regier

Excerpt:

Today’s learners have high expectations as expert consumers in all aspects of their lives. Higher education needs to create an infrastructure that meets the needs of this tech-savvy demographic. Institutions need to recognize that the online environment is here to stay and is in need of a rebuild in order to deliver the best student experience possible, even post-pandemic. In this interview, Phil Regier discusses the today’s learners’ expectations, scaling a high-quality online environment, and how to build the right infrastructure to support learners in this new and digitized normal.

7 things you should know about podcasting — from library.educause.edu

Excerpt:

What is it?
In its most basic sense, a podcast is an audio file. When the term was introduced in 2004—derived from the Apple iPod, at the time still a novel portable music player—podcast referred to audio content that employed RSS technology to allow users to subscribe to serialized content that is automatically downloaded and synchronized whenever it is updated. Purists would insist that those requirements still apply—that a podcast must be serialized content available through an RSS feed. In common usage, however, the term has become much looser and is now often used to describe essentially any audio file, whether it is part of a program or a one-off, and even audio content available on a website but not syndicated. It can replace or augment written material, such as textbooks or similar resources. Other podcasts consist of poetry or fiction or are venues for entertainment. Podcasting is enjoying a resurgence, in part because of the penetration of smartphones. People can listen to podcasts during their commutes, while exercising or washing the dishes, or in countless other times and places.

Watch out for these 3 mistakes you’re making during distance teaching [Emerich France]

On 09/01/2020, in active learning, adjunct faculty, CMS/LMS, collaboration, colleges, communications, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate universities / corporate training, digital learning, distance education, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, experimentation, faculty/staff, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, ideas, instructional design, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning preferences, liberal arts, online learning, online tutoring, participation, pedagogy, remote teaching and learning, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, universities, user experience (UX), by Daniel Christian

Watch out for these 3 mistakes you’re making during distance teaching — from edsurge.com by Paul Emerich France

Excerpt:

Distance teaching also shone a light on problematic practices that were never effective in person, either. And trying to re-create them in a virtual environment didn’t make them any better. As many schools resume remote instruction this fall, watch out for these three mistakes you may be making. More importantly, give yourself the liberty to try out some of the alternative approaches that can help make distance teaching more sustainable and effective.

Moody’s: Coronavirus is accelerating shift to online education [Schwartz]

On 08/31/2020, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, active learning, business side of he, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, cost of getting a degree, culture, digital learning, distance education, education technology, elearning, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, Google, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), instructional design, IT in HE, online learning, pace of change, parents/guardians, platforms, reinvent, remote teaching and learning, society, staying relevant, surviving, teaching & learning, teaching online, traditional / tradition, training / L&D, trends, United States, universities, vendors, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Moody’s: Coronavirus is accelerating shift to online education — from educationdive.com by Natalie Schwartz

Dive Brief:

The pandemic will hasten a transformation of higher education business models, according to a new Moody’s Investors Service report.
The crisis will accelerate many colleges’ plans to grow their online footprints, though not all schools have the resources to invest in digital infrastructure, the report notes. They will also likely expand non-degree and certificate programs.
Analysts predict that once the pandemic subsides, some colleges will struggle if they haven’t established a strong online presence.

“Some universities previously resistant to change will have to take more expansive steps to adapt to this transformation,” Pranav Sharma, assistant vice president at Moody’s, said in a statement. “Not all universities, however, have the resources or culture to move quickly and the coronavirus will expedite existential threats for some.”

Also see:

Active Learning while Physically Distant — from blogs.acu.edu

Excerpt:

Use a Google Form as an entrance or exit ticket. Upon entering class, a quick google form can engage students with a couple of quick questions. A google form as an exit ticket can provide good insight into student learning that day.

Video Now Available! Promoting Equity and Inclusion in Online Teaching [saltlaw.org]

On 08/31/2020, in instructional design, law schools, learning, Learning Experience Design, legal reform, legislatures / government / legal, remote teaching and learning, society, sociology, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, by Daniel Christian

SALT Social Justice Series Promoting Equity Online (21 Aug 2020) — from saltlaw.org with a special thanks to Catherine M. Grosso for these resources (Catherine is a Professor of Law at Michigan State University, Co-President, Society of American Law Teachers, and an Associate Editor for the National Registry of Exonerations.)

From DSC:
To me, that last bullet point says:

“I’m on your team and I’m here to help you become the best lawyer, litigator, judge, legislator, etc. that you can be.”

Other resources Catherine and Dr. Tasha Souza mentioned:

The Pandemic May Drive Principals to Quit [Maxwell & Superville]

On 08/28/2020, in education, health, K-12 related, leadership, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, remote teaching and learning, student-related, teachers, United States, by Daniel Christian

The Pandemic May Drive Principals to Quit — from blogs.edweek.org by Lesli A. Maxwell and Denisa R. Superville

Excerpt:

The physical and emotional strain of the coronavirus pandemic is taking a steep toll on America’s principals, with a large share saying they are speeding up plans to retire or otherwise leave the profession.

Forty-five percent of principals said that pandemic conditions are prompting them to leave the job sooner than they had previously planned, according to a new survey from the National Association of Secondary School Principals. A slightly larger share—46 percent—said the pandemic has not changed their plans to stay in or leave the profession.

From DSC:
Stressful times, indeed. What will the pandemic ultimately do to the learning ecosystems related to the school systems, families, and youth within K-12 within the U.S.? It’s hard to say at this point, but time will tell.

The Great Online Migration and Curricular Materials Product-Market Fit [Feldstein]

On 08/27/2020, in business side of he, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, dangers of the status quo, digital learning, distance education, education technology, face-to-face, future of higher education, higher education, new business models, online learning, online media, platforms, remote teaching and learning, textbooks, by Daniel Christian

The Great Online Migration and Curricular Materials Product-Market Fit — from eliterate.us by Michael Feldstein

Excerpts:

Third, COVID-19 will accelerate the need of colleges and universities to find ways of continuing to serve their graduates for 20 or 40 years rather than for two or four. Quite simply, they will need revenue at a time when the pace and breadth of reskilling needs in the workplace is accelerating. These students will need online or blended educational experience, which will mean that more instructors will be called upon to teach using new modalities.
…
Major changes in the market
This shift online will drastically shift approaches to curricular materials at both the individual instructor and the institutional levels.
…
Meanwhile, institutions will face two pedagogy-related challenges. First, they will have to work very hard to retain students who are under increased financial stress and may struggle in an online environment more than they would in a residential program. Since the colleges will also be under financial stress, they will need to retain every student possible. They will no longer have the luxury of simply letting faculty teach however they like and accepting that some of them are not good at helping their students to succeed.

DC: For those involved in Theatre, here’s to such innnovation in the future!

On 08/21/2020, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, active learning, attention, career development, change, collaboration, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, computer science, content development, aggregation, repositories, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, distance education, drama/theater, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, engagement / engaging students, future, higher education, ideas, innovation, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, learning ecosystem, liberal arts, media/film, multimedia, music, online learning, participation, platforms, programming, project-based learning, real-world assignments, remote teaching and learning, society, storytelling, student-related, surviving, United States, universities, user experience (UX), user interface design, using teams, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, vision/possibilities, web design and production, web-based collaboration, writing, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

From edsurge.com today:

THOROUGHLY MODERN MEDIA: This spring, a college theater course about women’s voting rights aimed to produce a new play about the suffrage struggle. When the pandemic scuttled those plans, professors devised a new way to share suffragist stories by creating an interactive, online performance set in a virtual Victorian mansion. And their students were not the only ones exploring women’s voting rights as the country marks the 100th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment.

…which linked to:

The Pandemic Made Their Women’s Suffrage Play Impossible. But the Show Went on— Virtually — from edsurge.com by Rebecca Koenig

Excerpts:

Then the pandemic hit. Students left Radford and Virginia Tech. Live theater was canceled.

But the class wasn’t.

“Neither of us ever said, ‘Forget it,’” Hood says. “Our students, they all wanted to know, ‘What are we doing?’ We came to them with this insane idea.”

They would create an interactive, online production staged in a virtual Victorian mansion.
…
“Stage performance is different than film or audio. If you just have audio, you only have your voice. Clarity, landing sentences, really paying attention to the structure of a sentence, becomes important,” Nelson says. “Students got a broader sense of the skills and approaches to different mediums—a crash course.”

From DSC:
Talk about opportunities for interdisciplinary learning/projects!!! Playwrights, directors, actors/actresses, set designers, graphic designers, fine artists, web designers and developers, interactivity/interface designers, audio designers, video editors, 3D animators, and more!!!

Creating remote communities of learners; recent resources from “A New Way Forward”

On 08/20/2020, in collaboration, communications, communities of practice, education, project-based learning, remote teaching and learning, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, by Daniel Christian

Recent resources from A New Way Forward:

10 Things To Do in the First Weeks of School to Connect with Learners in Distance Learning — by Katie Martin
Doing Project-Based Learning at Home by Jon Larmer
(Source: Getting Smart)
The 12 Shifts for Student-Centered Hybrid Environments by Kyle Wagner
(Source: Getting Smart)
How 13 Educators are Strengthening Their Communities by Lindsy Ogawa
(Source: Education Reimagined)
6 Ideas for Creating a Remote Community of Learners by Dr. Katie Martin
(Source: Altitude Learning)

Let’s use television to minimize the learning gaps that will otherwise be experienced by many students this next year! [Christian]

On 08/19/2020, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Amazon, Apple, collaboration, communications, content development, aggregation, repositories, convergence, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, distance education, education, engagement / engaging students, game-changing environment, homeschooling/homeschoolers, ideas, innovation, instructional design, internet, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, media/film, microlearning, multimedia, parents/guardians, participation, passions, platforms, policy, political science, remote teaching and learning, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, society, sociology, staying relevant, STEAM-related, storytelling, strategy, streams of content, student-related, surviving, teachers, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, television, tools, United States, user experience (UX), vendors, vision/possibilities, youth, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:

If one doesn’t have access to the Internet, a computer, or any such mobile technology as seen in the image above…could TV become the medium through which one could be educated during this next year of the Coronavirus situation? That is, until we can develop better and more equitable policies, plans, funding, systems, infrastructures, and connectivity for all students!
After that, could we see more televisions morph into smart/connected TVs?
Could PBS, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and other major networks collaborate with the U.S. Department of Education to help us educate all students?
Could the largest internet company of 2030 be an online school as Thomas Frey predicts?

A few years ago, I had hoped that Apple was going to go all-in with their tvOS platform.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – SEPTEMBER 9: Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces the New Apple TV during a Special Event; 9/9/15.

Though it’s still early in the game, that really hasn’t happened to the extent that I had hoped. That said, more recently, I was encouraged to see this article from back in July:

Let’s ask the employees of PBS, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and other networks if they would be willing to work with the U.S. Department of Education to help educate ALL students! Though educational TV is not new, I’m talking about taking things to a *whole* new level.

With that in mind, I created the following graphic:

(One might ask why I used an old television in the above graphic. I was trying to get at the idea that one might not have a lot of resources to work with.)

Michigan State U joins Notre Dame & UNC in going online

On 08/19/2020, in change, colleges, community colleges, health, higher education, IT in HE, law schools, learning ecosystem, online learning, remote teaching and learning, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

From the Coronavirus Updates out at The Chronicle of Higher Education

5:33 p.m. Eastern, 8/18/2020
Michigan State Moves Fall Term Online, Asks Students to Stay Home

Michigan State University is taking the fall semester entirely online, reversing its plan to hold some classes in person, the university’s president, Samuel Stanley, announced on Tuesday. Stanley said the university was asking students who had planned to live in residence halls to stay home.

“Given the current status of the virus in our country — particularly what we are seeing at other institutions as they repopulate their campus communities — it has become evident to me that, despite our best efforts and strong planning, it is unlikely we can prevent widespread transmission of Covid-19 between students if our undergraduates return to campus,” Stanley wrote.

The president seemed to be alluding to spikes of Covid-19 at campuses like the Universities of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Notre Dame, both of which have moved operations online (for the rest of the fall semester in Chapel Hill, temporarily at Notre Dame). —Andy Thomason

James Lang’s Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What You Can Do About It [Dhami]

On 08/14/2020, in learning, learning preferences, learning theories, online learning, pedagogy, remote teaching and learning, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, vendors, by Daniel Christian

James Lang’s Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What You Can Do About It — from tophat.com by Harleen Dhami
Navigating distraction in the virtual classroom starts with curating novel, community-oriented learning activities

Excerpt:

You suggest that how instructors teach is often at odds with how students learn. What’s the disconnect here?
The disconnect is taking for granted that students should pay attention. What we need to think about is how we structure the class in a way that sustains someone’s attention through an extended period of time. We need to think like playwrights. What do they do to maintain attention? They have acts and scenes, there’s an intermission, the action rises and falls. At the beginning of a play, something happens that is designed to intrigue you and get you engaged in the story. I argue in the book that we have to think both like a playwright and like a poet. You have to think like a playwright in terms of the structure. You have to think like a poet in terms of “what’s going to reawaken the attention of my students,” or awaken the attention of my students to this particular content for the day.

Pandemic turns smartphones from luxury to must-have as India’s schools go online — from news.trust.org by Roli Srivastava
Smartphones help classes continue as schools remain closed, but the poorest families are struggling to keep up

Excerpts:

India is the world’s second-biggest smartphone market after China, and nearly half of the country’s almost one billion mobile users already have a phone with internet access.
…
With no clear sign of schools reopening soon, internet access has become a must for children to follow classes, prompting more low-income families to scrape together the money to buy a cheap or second-hand smartphone for the first time.

Customised lessons for first to 12th grade students will be aired on television and radio in a “one class-one channel” initiative planned by the federal human resource department.

Law schools should have flexibility in responding to ‘extraordinary circumstances,’ ABA House of Delegates says [Francis Ward]

On 08/04/2020, in distance education, e-books, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), face-to-face, health, law schools, Legal operations, library / librarians, online learning, policy, remote teaching and learning, by Daniel Christian

Law schools should have flexibility in responding to ‘extraordinary circumstances,’ ABA House of Delegates says — from abajournal.com by Stephanie Francis Ward

Excerpt:

Resolutions regarding distance-education programs, the adoption of emergency policies by law schools, teach-out plans and provisional program approval were approved this week by the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates.

Also see:

12 tips for building your digital law library in the age of COVID-19 — from abovethelaw.com by Jean O’Grady
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing firms to fast forward into designing the law firm of the future.

Zoom Launches Zoom For Home

On 07/22/2020, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, adjunct faculty, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, distance education, education, education technology, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional 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, multimedia, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, online learning, online tutoring, participation, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, remote teaching and learning, second screen apps, smart/connected TV, society, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, tools, training / L&D, United States, universities, user experience (UX), vendors, videoconferencing, virtual K-12 schools, virtual tutoring, web-based collaboration, webinars, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Zoom Launches Zoom For Home — from which-50.com

Excerpts:

Zoom Video Communications has announced Zoom for Home, which it describes as a new category of software experiences and hardware devices to support remote work use cases. The focus is on improving employee experiences to connect remotely and be productive.

Features for the all-in-one 27-inch device include: three built-in wide-angle cameras for high-resolution video; an 8-microphone array for crystal-clear audio in meetings and phone calls; and, an ultra-responsive touch display for interactive screen sharing, whiteboarding, annotating, and ideation.

Also see:

ZOOM FOR HOME – DTEN ME: VIDEO CONFERENCING JUST GOT PERSONAL — from blog.dten.com by Scott Krueckeberg
VIDEO CONFERENCE LIKE A BOSS — from blog.dten.com by Nia Celestin

From DSC:
Again, we see some further innovation in this space. The longer the Coronavirus impacts things, the further ahead the online-learning space will be catapulted. This type of device consolidates several devices into one, while making it intuitive and likely easy to annotate items on it.

Learning Ecosystems

Moody’s: Coronavirus is accelerating shift to online education [Schwartz]

Video Now Available! Promoting Equity and Inclusion in Online Teaching [saltlaw.org]

The Great Online Migration and Curricular Materials Product-Market Fit [Feldstein]

Michigan State U joins Notre Dame & UNC in going online

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