Excerpt from Education Research Is Still Too Dense. We Need More Teacher-Researcher Partnerships. — from edsurge.com by Kristin Simmers
Get to know reputable organizations that are linking research to practice, such as Deans for Impact, The Learning Scientists, Student Experience Research Network, and The Learning Agency Lab.
Learn How To Study Using… Dual Coding — from learningscientists.org by Megan Smith & Yana Weinstein
Excerpt:
This is the final post in a series of six posts designed to help students learn how to study effectively. You can find the other five here:
What is dual coding?
Dual coding is the process of combining verbal materials with visual materials. There are many ways to visually represent material, such as with infographics, timelines, cartoon strips, diagrams, and graphic organizers.
When you have the same information in two formats – words and visuals – it gives you two ways of remembering the information later on. Combining these visuals with words is an effective way to study.
Now, look at only the visuals and explain what they mean in your own words. Then, take the words from your class materials and draw your own visuals to go along with them!
From DSC:
As the authors comment, this is NOT about learning styles (as research doesn’t back up the hypothesis of learning styles):
When we discuss verbal and visual materials, it does sound like we could be referring to learning styles. However, it is important to remember that a great deal of research has shown that assessing your learning style and then matching your study to that “style” is not useful, and does not improve learning (2). (For more, read this piece.)
Improving Digital Inclusion & Accessibility for Those With Learning Disabilities — from by Meredith Kreisa
Learning disabilities must be taken into account during the digital design process to ensure digital inclusion and accessibility for the community. This comprehensive guide outlines common learning disabilities, associated difficulties, accessibility barriers and best practices, and more.
“Learning shouldn’t be something only those without disabilities get to do,” explains Seren Davies, a full stack software engineer and accessibility advocate who is dyslexic. “It should be for everyone. By thinking about digital accessibility, we are making sure that everyone who wants to learn can.”
…
“Learning disability” is a broad term used to describe several specific diagnoses. Dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, nonverbal learning disorder, and oral/written language disorder and specific reading comprehension deficit are among the most prevalent.
Nearly Half of Faculty Say Pandemic Changes to Teaching Are Here to Stay — from campustechnology.com by Rhea Kelly
Among the findings:
Also see:
Two-thirds of people in the education sector expect to see a continuation of remote work post-pandemic. Sixty-five percent of respondents in education agreed that due to the success of remote collaboration, facilitated by videoconferencing, their organizations are considering a flexible remote working model.
Video Captions Benefit Everyone — from ncbi.nlm.nih.gov by Morton Ann Gernsbacher
Excerpts:
Video captions, also known as same-language subtitles, benefit everyone who watches videos (children, adolescents, college students, and adults). More than 100 empirical studies document that captioning a video improves comprehension of, attention to, and memory for the video. Captions are particularly beneficial for persons watching videos in their non-native language, for children and adults learning to read, and for persons who are D/deaf or hard of hearing. However, despite U.S. laws, which require captioning in most workplace and educational contexts, many video audiences and video creators are naïve about the legal mandate to caption, much less the empirical benefit of captions.
More than 100 empirical studies, listed in the appendix, document the benefits of captions.
…
With so many studies documenting the benefits of captions, why does everyone not always turn on the captions every time they watch a video? Regrettably, the benefits of captions are not widely known. Some researchers are unaware of the wide-ranging benefits of captions because the empirical evidence is published across separate literatures (deaf education, second-language learning, adult literacy, and reading acquisition). Bringing together these separate literatures is the primary purpose of this article.
The excerpt below is from The 7 best online whiteboards in 2021 — from zapier.com by Maria Myre
From DSC:
Other potentially-relevant tools/vendors here include:
From DSC:
Below are some great questions and reflections from Mr. Andrew Thorburn:
“I’d like to suggest not only the tools to learn and adapt, but marry that with — and to the learning model of — forgiveness and growth from not getting it right the first time. Perhaps a reflection or question from an instructor, a friend, and/or a mentor asking:
We need to change how we feel about learning and appreciate the process of personal growth.
Below are two excerpts from the Lecture Breakers Weekly — by Dr. Barbi Honeycutt — re: teaching asynchronous online courses + podcast choice boards
Above choice board created by Greg Jung
In this example, the teachers in a professional development workshop could choose which of the podcasts they wanted to listen to and discuss. I love this strategy combined with the use of podcasts! It could easily be adapted to any course as a creative way to increase student engagement and motivation.
Episode 75: How to Create More Engaging Asynchronous Online Courses with Dr. Monica Burns — by Barbi Honeycutt, Ph.D.
Podcasting for Educators — from techlearning.com by Erik Ofgang
Most educators have skills sets that translate well to the podcasting world. Here’s how to get started with your podcast.
Excerpt:
Tech & Learning talked with Young as well Dr. Kecia Ray and Dr. Frances Gipson, hosts of Tech & Learning’s Honor Role podcast, for some best practices and tips. We also collaborated with the six hosts of the AV SuperFriends podcast, asking questions for this story but recording the entire conversation for a future episode of their podcast. Watch for the release of that episode here.
From DSC:
I’d love to see even more teachers, trainers, and professors share their expertise out there. Podcasting is a great way to do that. And so is blogging. It would be nice to see the expertise of those folks reach a far greater audience — society — than just the (behind-the-paywall) journals.
“Maybe if I write it in a letter?” — from additudemag.com by Allison Leigh Solomon
Our children are easy to write off as disrespectful, lazy, and even hopeless. They are none of those things, but they will challenge you. And if you take up that challenge — and recognize the incredible potential for growth just waiting to burst out — you may just be a part of something magical.
Excerpt:
But here is what I want you to know about these children:
How to Remotely Support Students Who Learn Differently — from techlearning.com by Erik Ofgang
A new distance learning toolkit offers best practices and advice to support students who learn differently
Excerpt:
The National Center for Learning Disabilities recently partnered with Understood to release a distance learning toolkit for educators to support students who learn differently during the pandemic.
The need for such a toolkit is clear. One in five students learn differently, and there is evidence that students who struggle academically or utilize individualized support in school are more likely to fall behind during distance learning.
The toolkit builds on the lessons of a 2019 report Forward Together: Helping Educators Unlock the Power of Students Who Learn Differently.
Putting Your Best Self Forward: 6 Keys For Filming Quality Videos — from er.educause.edu by Jered Borup
The difference between a video that students watch and one that is ignored often comes down to a few, easily addressed factors.
Excerpt:
This article is part of a series about incorporating asynchronous video into educational activities:
The Chegg situation is worse than you think — from eliterate.us by Michael Feldstein
Excerpts:
Forbes just ran with an article entitled “This $12 Billion Company Is Getting Rich Off Students Cheating Their Way Through Covid“.
Ouch.
[Per Michael] To sum up:
Addendum on 2/9/21:
Nearly three-quarters of pandemic affected parents feel students should learn subjects they’re passionate about, not those of little interest — from newswire.ca by Unschooling School
Excerpt:
TORONTO, Feb. 1, 2021 /CNW/ – A nation-wide survey of Canadian parents released today finds that nearly three in four of them (73%) believe the education system today would be better for students if it were structured to give them more choice and time to just learn those subjects and topics, they are either excited or passionate about.
Also, more than two-thirds (67%) want a school reset, so students learn more of the subject areas they’re passionate about and not those of little interest to them.
From DSC:
I feel the same way about many K12 systems here in the United States. Our youngest daughter — who has been studying at home this past year — has so much more energy and passion when we give her more agency to do the things that *she* wants to do and to learn about the things that *she* wants to learn about.
And readers of this blog know that I’m all about the love of learning (or even liking it better), seeing as we all need to be lifelong learners these days.
The more we enjoy learning = The better, more fulfilling, enjoyable that our lives will be! (Not to mention how much more productive we’ll be as well.)
