The mini-course above requires an account on CALI’s website.
Also see:
https://www.cali.org/corona
On 05/31/2020,
in CMS/LMS, colleges, community colleges, education, education reform, education technology, higher education, ideas, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, United States, universities,
by Daniel Christian
Pandemic may (finally) push online education into teacher prep programs — from edsurge.com by Rebecca Koenig
Excerpt:
But there’s another factor that’s impeding remote learning. Most teachers simply don’t know how to teach online. No one ever taught them how—or asked them to learn.
“To teach remotely is not something we usually teach,” McGhee says. “We are very much focused on classroom teaching.”
That’s not unique to Auburn. Few teacher preparation programs in the U.S. train future educators to teach online, experts say.
On 05/22/2020,
in colleges, community colleges, digital learning, distance education, faculty/staff, higher education, law schools, Michigan, online learning, pedagogy, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, United States, universities, writing,
by Daniel Christian
Six Practical Approaches for Teaching Writing Online — from facultyfocus.com by Christian Aguiar and Albert Pearsall; with a shoutout to Bill Knapp from GRCC for posting this on Twitter
On 05/20/2020,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adjunct faculty, adult learning, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, distance education, education, education technology, elearning, engagement / engaging students, face-to-face, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, IT in HE, law schools, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, more voice more choice more control, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, personalized/customized learning, platforms, reinvent, society, staying relevant, student-related, surviving, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, technology (general), tools, traditional / tradition, United States, universities, user experience (UX), vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
Higher Ed Needs a Long-Term Plan for Virtual Learning — from Harvard Business Review by James DeVaney, Gideon Shimshon, Matthew Rascoff, and Jeff Maggioncalda
Excerpts:
The staggering impact of Covid-19 on education systems around the world is unlike anything we have seen in the post-war era. More than 1.6 billion students have been affected, representing over 91% of all students in the world. Unsurprisingly, demand for online learning has skyrocketed. In the last 30 days, there were 10.3 million enrollments in courses on Coursera, up 644% from the same period last year.
…
As the emergency subsides but normal fails to return, higher ed institutions need to do more. There’s a good likelihood that virtual learning — in some capacity — will need to be a part of education for the foreseeable future. Higher ed institutions need a response framework that looks beyond the immediate actions. They have to prepare for an intermediate period of transition and begin future-proofing their institutions for the long term.
On 05/12/2020,
in adjunct faculty, blended learning, career development, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, dangers of the status quo, education technology, face-to-face, faculty/staff, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, health, higher education, hybrid learning, ideas, innovation, instructional design, internet, IT in HE, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, Michigan, more voice more choice more control, online learning, online media, online tutoring, teaching & learning, teaching online, United States, universities, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
Fall Scenario #13: A HyFlex Model — from insidehighered.com by Edward Maloney and Joshua Kim
Excerpt:
In a HyFlex course, courses are delivered both in person and online at the same time by the same faculty member. Students can then choose for each and every class meeting whether to show up for class in person or to join it online. The underlying design ethos behind the HyFlex Model is flexibility and student choice.
…
To do it well, then, a lot of things need to line up, including the technology, the course design, the focus on pedagogy and the engagement of the students. Many schools that wish to scale the HyFlex Model across the curriculum for the fall semester will likely need to make a significant investment in classroom technology.
Also see the other scenarios from Kim and Maloney at:
Problems planning for a Post-Pandemic Campus this fall — from bryanalexander.org by How will campuses try to return to face-to-face education? What does it mean now to plan for a Post-Pandemic Campus this fall?
Excerpt:
In April I published three scenarios for colleges and universities may approach the fall 2020 semester in the wake of COVID-19, based on different ways the pandemic might play out. I followed that up with real world examples of each scenario, as different institutions subsequently issued announcements about their plans. To recap, they are:
- COVID Fall: today’s “remote instruction” continues and develops for the rest of calendar 2020.
- Toggle Term: campuses are ready and able to switch between online and in-person instruction as circumstances change.
- Post-Pandemic Campus: colleges and universities return in the fall to the traditional face-to-face mode after COVID-19’s danger has ebbed to a certain level.
6 ways college might look different in the fall — from npr.com by Elissa Nadworny
Excerpt:
What will happen on college campuses in the fall? It’s a big question for families, students and the schools themselves.
A lot of what happens depends on factors outside the control of individual schools: Will there be more testing? Contact tracing? Enough physical space for distancing? Will the coronavirus have a second wave? Will any given state allow campuses to reopen?
For all of these questions, it’s really too early to know the answers. But one thing is clear: Life, and learning for the nation’s 20 million students in higher education, will be different.
“I don’t think there’s any scenario under which it’s business as usual on American college campuses in the fall,” says Nicholas Christakis, a sociologist and physician at Yale University.
If law schools can’t offer in-person classes this fall, what will they do instead? — from abajournal.com by Stephanie Francis Ward
On 05/07/2020,
in adjunct faculty, adult learning, blended learning, bots, career development, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education, engagement / engaging students, face-to-face, faculty/staff, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, hybrid learning, ideas, instructional design, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, learning theories, memory, metacognition / metacognitive skills, motivation, neurodivergent/special needs, pedagogy, personalized/customized learning, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, psychology, strategy, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, United States, universities,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
Here’s an idea that I’ve been thinking about for quite some time now. It’s not necessarily a new idea, but the seed got planted in me by a former colleague, Quin Schultze (which I blogged about in January of 2018). I’m calling it, “My Learning Journal.” The purpose of this device is to promote your metacognition — helping you put things into your own words and helping you identify your knowledge gaps.
I realize that such a learning strategy/tool could take some time to complete. But it could pay off — big time! Give it a try for a few weeks and see what you think.
And, with a shout-out to Mr. James McGrath, the President of the WMU-Cooley Law School, the article listed below explains the benefits of taking the time for such reflection:
Reflective learning – reflection as a strategic study technique — from open.edu
Excerpts:
Rather than thinking of reflection as yet another task to be added to your ‘to do’ list or squeezed into a busy study schedule, view it as something to practice at any stage. The emphasis is on being a reflective learner rather than doing reflective learning.
Developing a habit of reflective learning will help you to:
- evaluate your own progress
- monitor and manage your own performance
- self-motivate
- keep focus on your learning goals
- think differently about how you can achieve your goals by evaluating your study techniques, learning strategies and whether these best fit your current needs, identifying your skills development needs or gaps in knowledge
- think about and overcome what may be blocking your learning by using a different approach, or setting more pragmatic (realistic/achievable) goals
- support and enrich your professional practice ensuring that you are better placed to respond to and manage new, unexpected and complex situations – a key requirement at Master’s level.
From DSC:
Pastors, trainers, K-12 educators, student teachers, coaches, musical teachers, and others: Perhaps a slightly modified version of this tool might be beneficial to those with whom you work as well…?
And for educators and trainers, perhaps we should use such a tool to think about our own teaching and training methods — and what we are (or aren’t) learning ourselves.
Addendum on 5/14/20:
Perhaps someone will build a bot for this type of thing, which prompts us to reflect upon these things. Here are some examples of what I’m talking about or something like Woebot, which Jeremy Caplan mentioned here.
On 05/07/2020,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, career development, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, credentialing, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, design, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, disruption, distance education, education, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, law schools, leadership, learner profiles, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, pace of change, platforms, reinvent, remote teaching and learning, society, staying relevant, strategy, student-related, surviving, teaching & learning, teaching online, tools, traditional / tradition, training / L&D, United States, universities, user experience (UX), vendors, vision/possibilities, youth,
by Daniel Christian
DC: Ouch! Likely a *major game-changer* — esp given the current landscape of #HigherEducation. If traditional institutions of higher ed want to survive, they better take #onlinelearning far more seriously & research/develop excellent learning experiences.https://t.co/ijmorKMbTv
— Daniel Christian (@dchristian5) May 6, 2020
From DSC:
Readers of this blog will know that I’m a big fan of online learning. That said, I realize it’s not for everyone. Our son, who is studying to become an actor, hates it.
Given:
- our current technological tools, setups, and infrastructures
- the ways that we are used to doing things
- our past and current educational systems
- and folks’ learning preferences
…it’s hard to do some things online. I get it.
That said, I wouldn’t rule out the further significant growth and development of online-based learning experiences by any stretch of the imagination. The Coronavirus will force traditional institutions of higher education (plus many K-12 school systems as well as corporate training programs) to invest much more aggressively in the research and development of online-based learning experiences. And with AI-based tools like Otter.AI, our future virtually/digitally-based learning ecosystems could be very powerful indeed.
As but one example, consider that AI technologies — as unseen but present participants in future videoconferencing calls — will “listen” to the conversation and likely provide us with a constantly updating sidebar that will consist of beneficial resources such as:
- relevant research
- websites
- journal articles
- blog postings
- former team conversations
- etc.
The output from that sidebar will likely be able to be saved /downloaded just like we do with transcripts of chat sessions. The available options for such a service will be customizable, and filtering mechanisms can be turned on, or off, or be adjusted.
All of that said, it IS time to reduce the investments that are being used to create new athletic facilities and/or other new physical buildings. And it’s time to start reallocating those millions of dollars of investments into creating/developing highly-effective online-based learning experiences.
Don’t get me wrong. Going to campus is an ideal learning experience, and I hope that for everyone out there. But if the current trends continue — especially the increasing costs of obtaining a degree — that won’t be an option for a growing number of people (especially with the aftermath/ripple effects of the Coronavirus on our society).
#CostOfObtainingADegree #StudentRelated #AI #InstructionalDesign #IntelligentSystems #IntelligentTutoring #FutureOfHigherEducation #Innovation #LearningEcosystems #HigherEducation #Change #NewBusinessModels #Reinvent #StayingRelevant #Surviving
On 05/06/2020,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adult learning, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Asia, blended learning, business side of he, career development, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, competency-based learning/education, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, disruption, distance education, education, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, Europe, face-to-face, faculty/staff, flipping -- inverted learning, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, hybrid learning, ideas, India, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, liberal arts, lifelong learning, microlearning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, organizational change, pace of change, personalized/customized learning, platforms, remote teaching and learning, social learning / networks, society, student-related, surviving, teaching & learning, teaching online, technology (general), traditional / tradition, training / L&D, trends, United States, universities, vendors, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
Dawn of the Age of Digital Learning — from medium.com by Michael Moe and Vignesh Rajendran
An Acceleration of Trends That Have Been Building for Years
Excerpts:
Some of these new online learners will sink. Some will crawl out of the pool and never go back in. But we believe most will get the hang of it, like it, and will no longer be confined to the shore. Effectively, the genie is not going back in the bottle… digital learning has come of age. We have a B.C. (Before Coronavirus) world transitioning to A.D. (After Disease).
…
The Coronavirus has brought forth the Dawn of the Age of Digital Learning — a time for builders to create the platforms, tools, and technology to propel society forward.
From DSC:
So many of the things in this article reminded me of the things, developments, trends, needs, and possibilities that I have been tracking for years in this vision of a next-generation, global learning platform that I have entitled:
My guess is that the large, primarily online institutions/organizations will come out of this ordeal in much better shape than the majority of the traditional institutions of higher education. It won’t matter what faculty members at liberal arts institutions think about online learning. And as much as some faculty members won’t like to see or hear about it, students will no longer need for such faculty members to be sold on it. Students will come to realize that it was under those faculty members watch that their own enormous gorillas of debt were created. And they are beginning to witness and hear that it’s taking (or will take) older family members decades to pay down their debt.
So, I think that the market will decide the fate of many traditional institutions of higher education. Lifelong learners will vote with their feet — and fingers actually, by typing in a new URL — and simply move to the SNHU’s, ASU’s, UMass Online’s, WGU’s, and Liberty University’s of the world. After 5-10 years of investments in online learning, there will likely be some pretty amazing learning experiences out there.
On 05/06/2020,
in flipping -- inverted learning, health, homeschooling/homeschoolers, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, online learning, parents/guardians, participation, remote teaching and learning, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, youth,
by Daniel Christian
The April issue of FLR looks at how we’re all managing the social-emotional cost of making a rapid transition to online learning.
Featured articles include:
- Teaching From Home Is Exhausting: How Are You Keeping Your Spirits Up?
- Why Is Online Teaching and Learning So Awesome and So Awful?
- 10 Ways to Help Students Cope With How COVID-19 Is Disrupting School Life.
- What Teachers Need From Administrators While Shifting to Remote Learning.
- Why the Two Most Important Online Teaching Skills Today Are Grace and Choice.
- We Miss Seeing Our Students, How Can We Fill That Hole in Our Soul?
- Unmasking the Social-emotional Cost of Going Online Overnight?
- Teaching During a Pandemic Is Fragile: Self-care Is Good, Self-compassion Is Better.
On 05/02/2020,
in adjunct faculty, adult learning, biology, blended learning, change, colleges, communications, community colleges, computer science, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, education, engagement / engaging students, faculty/staff, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, hybrid learning, ideas, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, learning theories, mathematics, more voice more choice more control, motivation, music, online learning, participation, pedagogy, programming, psychology, relationships, remote teaching and learning, research, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, United States, universities, vendors, youth,
by Daniel Christian
How the research on learning can drive change — from gettingsmart.com by Chris Sturgis
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
#2 Learning results from the interplay of cognition, emotion, and motivation.
The brain does not clearly separate cognitive from emotional functioning so that optimal learning environments will engage both. It’s important that students feel safe if learning is to be optimized. When we are afraid, our amygdala becomes activated making it harder to learn. Do students feel valued? Relationships matter in creating a culture of inclusivity and belonging. Are schools designed so that teachers and professors have the opportunity to build strong relationships with students? Do students feel that the school and teachers want them to be successful? Do they have chances to receive feedback and revise or do grading practices simply judge them?
From DSC:
Two instances — plus a simmering question — instantly stand out in my mind when I read the above paragraph.
First instance:
It was years ago and I was working at a Fortune 500 company outside of Chicago. I was given the chance to learn how to program in one of the divisions of this company. I was in a conference room with my brand new boss. I had asked him a question about a piece of code, which clearly must have let him know I had some serious misunderstandings.
But instead of being patient, he grew increasingly frustrated at my lack of understanding. The madder he got, the worse my learning became. My focus shifted from processing the expected syntax of the code — and the content/instruction overall that he was trying to relay — to almost completely being concerned with his anger. My processing shut down and things deteriorated from there.
Second instance:
My mom was a classical piano teacher for decades. Though she was often loved by her students, she could be very tough, strong, and forceful. (This was true of several of my siblings’ music teachers as well.) Most of the time, she developed wonderful, strong relationships with the vast majority of her students, many of which came back to our house around Christmastime / New Year’s to visit with her (even long after “graduating”).
I mention that as background to a different context…when I observed my mom trying to teach one of my nieces how to do a math problem in the kitchen of our old house. Again, the teacher in this case kept getting increasingly frustrated, while the student kept shrinking back into their shell…trying to deflect the increasingly hot anger coming at them. The cognitive processing stopped. The amount of actual learning taking place quickly declined. I finally intervened to say that they should come back to this topic later on.
(The counselors/therapists out there would probably rightly connect these two scenarios for what was happening in my mind (i.e., not wanting to deal with the other person’s growing anger). But this applies to many more of us than just me, I’m afraid.)
A simmering question involving law schools and a common teaching method:
In law schools, one of the long-standing teaching methods is the Socratic Method.
Depending upon the professor and their teaching style, one student could be under intense pressure to address the facts, rules, the legal principles of a case, and much more. They often have to stand up in front of the class.
In those instances, I wonder how much capacity to actually process information gets instantly reduced within many of the students’ brains when they get the spotlight shown on them? Do the more introverted and/or less confident students start to sweat? Do their fear levels and heart rates increase? With the issue of having other students attempting to learn from this grilling aside, I wonder what happens to the amygdalas of the students that were called upon?
You can probably tell that I’m not a big fan of the Socratic Method IF it begins to involve too much emotion…too much anger or fear. Not good. The amount of learning taking place can be significantly impacted.
A professor, teacher, or trainer can’t know all of the underlying background, psychology, personality differences, emotional makeup, and experiences of each learner. But getting back to the article, I appreciate what the author was saying about the importance of establishing a SAFE learning environment. The more fear, anger, and a sense of being threatened or scared are involved, the less learning/processing can occur.
On 05/02/2020,
in 24x7x365 access, adult learning, colleges, communications, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, creativity, digital learning, digital storytelling, drama/theater, e-books, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), education, faculty/staff, higher education, K-12 related, law schools, learning, passions, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, quality, reading, story, storytelling, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, tools, universities, vendors, writing, youth,
by Daniel Christian
Potentially-useful sites for developing writers out there:
On 05/02/2020,
in adjunct faculty, CMS/LMS, colleges, community colleges, design, expectations, experimentation, faculty/staff, higher education, instructional design, online learning, online media, online tutoring, pedagogy, remote teaching and learning, teaching & learning, teaching online, universities,
by Daniel Christian
Setting Expectations for Remote Learning — from evoLLLution.com (where LLL stands for lifelong learning) by Robin Robinson
Excerpt:
Evo: How important is it to clearly differentiate remote learning and online education?
RR: You need to set expectations. Normally, if someone is going to produce an online course, they’re going to spend at least a semester building out the appropriate course map and alignments to their course objectives. In this situation, with remote learning, you’re trying to meet the same objective as you would in a regular face-to-face class, but online learning is completely different. Your head space needs to reflect that, and you need to consider the things in this environment that can’t be done in a face-to-face environment. We’re drawing on what people understand as good teaching and trying to emulate that experience online as much as possible.
Remote delivery requires using a lot of the synchronous tools. Online learning is about combining the best of both worlds.
Faculty who were skeptical have now adopted online learning. Many of them are amazed at how well they can get to know their students and how well they can track their performances in school.
…
What I’m concerned about is the digital divide. We want a very inclusive and diverse university, but that means recognizing that there are students at a disadvantage.