teaching online

2014 Student and Faculty Technology Research Studies — from educause.edu / ECAR

From the ECAR RESEARCH HUB
This hub contains the 2014 student and faculty studies from the EDUCAUSE Technology Research in the Academic Community research series. In 2014, ECAR partnered with 151 college/university sites yielding responses from 17,451 faculty respondents across 13 countries. ECAR also collaborated with 213 institutions to collect responses from more than 75,306 undergraduate students about their technology experiences.

Key Findings

Faculty recognize that online learning opportunities can promote access to higher education but are more reserved in their expectations for online courses to improve outcomes.
Faculty interest in early-alert systems and intervention notifications is strong.
The majority of faculty are using basic features and functions of LMSs but recognize that these systems have much more potential to enhance teaching and learning.
Faculty think they could be more effective instructors if they were better skilled at integrating various kinds of technology into their courses.
Faculty recognize that mobile devices have the potential to enhance learning.

Excerpts from infographic:

Makerspaces and online education [Venable]

On 03/14/2014, in ideas, online learning, pedagogy, teaching & learning, teaching online, by Daniel Christian

Makerspaces and Online Education — from onlinecolleges.net by Melissa Venable; with thanks to Steve Wheeler and Stephen Harris for the Tweets on this

Excerpt:

Ideas for Online Teaching and Learning
The idea of building a web-based learning community isn’t new, but how can students get these hands-on, collaborative opportunities when they study online? “Making” can result in physical objects as well as digital ones. Here are a few ideas to spark your own maker learning initiative:

Create a “makers” assignment.
Rethink course and curriculum design.
Promote service learning.
Encourage career exploration.
Connect with the library.
Find physical locations.
Explore existing resources.
Look for professional development opportunities.
Join other maker-educators.

A proposal for Apple, Google, IBM, Microsoft, and any other company who wants to own the future living room [Christian]

On 11/18/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, analytics, animation, Apple, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, attention, Augmented Reality (AR), blended learning, career development, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, competency-based learning/education, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), education, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, experimentation, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global, Google, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, IBM, ideas, immersion, informal learning, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, internet, K-12 related, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, learning spaces, lifelong learning, machine-to-machine communications, media/film, mobile learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, motivation, multimedia, Near Field Communication (NFC), new business models, new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, open courseware and systems, pace of change, participation, passions, personalized/customized learning, play, professional development, real-world assignments, reinvent, second screen apps, simulations, smart classrooms, social learning / networks, social media, society, staying relevant, STEAM-related, storytelling, strategy, streams of content, student-related, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, telepresence, television, training / L&D, trends, TVs, ubiquitous learning, user experience (UX), user interface design, using teams, vendors, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

“The main obstacle to an Apple television set has been content. It has mostly failed to convince cable companies to make their programming available through an Apple device. And cable companies have sought to prevent individual networks from signing distribution deals with Apple.”

— Apple, closer to its vision for a TV set, wants
ESPN, HBO, Viacom, and others to come along
qz.com by Seward, Chon, & Delaney, 8/22/13

From DSC:
I wonder if this is because of the type of content that Apple is asking for. Instead of entertainment-oriented content, what if the content were more focused on engaging, interactive, learning materials? More on educational streams of content (whether we — as individuals — create and contribute that content or whether businesses do)?

Also see:

What the mobile “fourth wave” means for operators — from mportal.com by D.P. Venkatesh on November 12, 2013

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

The communications landscape has historically taken the form of a tumultuous ocean of opportunities. Like rolling waves on a shore, these opportunities are often strong and powerful – yet ebb and flow with time.

Get ready, because the next great wave is upon us. And, like a tropical storm, it is likely to change the landscape around us.

As detailed by analyst Chetan Sharma, this particular wave is the one created by the popularity of over-the-top (OTT) solutions – apps that allow access to entertainment, communication and collaboration over the Internet from smartphones, tablets and laptops, rather than traditional telecommunications methods. Sharma has coined this the mobile “fourth wave” – the first three being voice, messaging (SMS) and data access, respectively – and it is rapidly washing over us.

Addendum on 11/25:

The Smart TV app revolution is coming: Here’s what you need to know — from businessinsider.com by Dan Frommer

5 ways to reduce cognitive load in eLearning [Guyan]

On 11/08/2013, in corporate universities / corporate training, digital learning, elearning, instructional design, learning theories, memory, online learning, pedagogy, teaching & learning, teaching online, training / L&D, workplace, by Daniel Christian

5 ways to reduce cognitive load in eLearning — from elearningindustry.com by by Matthew Guyan

Excerpt:

Present some information via the visual channel and some via the verbal channel
Break content into smaller segments and allow the learner to control the pace
Remove non-essential content
Words should be placed close as possible to the corresponding graphics
Don’t narrate on-screen text word-for-word

From DSC:
Thanks Matt for a well-written, concise, beneficial posting here. I especially appreciated the quick review of the Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) as well as the 5 suggestions to reduce cognitive load (with the goal being to move content into peoples’ long term memories).

GottaMakeItThoughTheGate

Google Helpouts — Is this where things are heading?

On 11/06/2013, in adjunct faculty, collaboration, communications, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, curriculum, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, disruption, education technology, elearning, faculty/staff, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, Google, higher education, innovation, internet, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, platforms, reinvent, second screen apps, social learning / networks, staying relevant, streams of content, surviving, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, TVs, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Items re: Helpouts by Google, which was just introduced on Monday, November 4th, 2013:

Google Helpouts: Need Help With Your Shakespeare? — video from The Wall Street Journal
Google Launches Helpouts, Paid Video Chats With Experts To Address Whatever Is Bothering You Right Now — from techcrunch.com by Alex Wilhelm
Google’s Helpouts could be the company’s secret weapon to take on healthcare — from gigaom.com by Janko Roettgers
Will Google Helpouts Undercut Freelancers? — from mashable.com by Chris Taylor
Per Paul Simbeck-Hampson

All things Helpouts
Thanks for compiling +Denis Labelle .

+Helpouts -> helpouts.google.com
1. Help/Support: support.google.com/helpouts
2. Google Help: support.google.com/helpouts/topic/3168357
3. Meet with a Helpouts Specialist: helpouts.google.com/supporthelpouts
4. Settings: helpouts.google.com/settings
5. On Google+: Circle +Helpouts
6. Helpouts Community on Google+:
plus.google.com/communities/103151120922119140466
7. On YouTube: youtube.com/helpouts
8. Mobile app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.helpouts

Video -> Introducing Helpouts by Google

From DSC:
This type of thing goes hand and hand with what I’m saying in the Learning from the Living Room vision/concept: “More choice. More control.” This type of thing may impact K-12, higher ed, and corporate training/L&D departments.

It this how we are going to make a living in the future? If so, what changes do we need to make:

To the curricula out there?
To the “cores” out there?
In helping people build their digital/online-based footprints?
In helping people market themselves?

A new pedagogy is emerging..and online learning is a key contributing factor — from Contact North ; with thanks to Stephen Downes (@oldaily) for putting this on The MOOC Newsletter

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

What is clear is that major changes in the way we teach post-secondary students are being triggered by online learning and the new technologies that increase flexibility in, and access to, post-secondary education.

…

What drives the development of this new pedagogy? Changes in society, student expectations, and technology are motivating innovative university and college professors and instructors to re-think pedagogy and teaching methods.

…

As professors and instructors become more familiar with digital technologies for teaching and learning, pedagogical challenges and strategies are emerging. The developments listed below have had an impact on how teaching is structured and how and where learning happens.

Humanizing your online class [Pacansky-Brock]

On 10/14/2013, in online learning, pedagogy, teaching & learning, teaching online, by Daniel Christian

Humanizing your online class — from InsideHigherEd.com and Academic Partnerships, by Michelle Pacansky-Brock

From DSC:
Resources include the recording of this recent webinar, the accompanying slides, etc. Also see:

Humanizing Your Online Class Webinar: A Success! — from facultyecommons.org

The new learning dashboard at Khan Academy

On 09/27/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, analytics, blended learning, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, face-to-face, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), informal learning, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, internet, K-12 related, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, learning spaces, mobile learning, more voice more choice more control, online learning, participation, personalized/customized learning, platforms, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, user experience (UX), vendors, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, by Daniel Christian

Introducing…the Learning Dashboard — from khanacademy.org

Excerpt:

The new learning dashboard is your personal homepage on Khan Academy. The dashboard gives you an easy way to find the best next things for you to do. It has a bunch of really cool things designed to help you learn math, and soon other subjects, really well on your own or with a coach. You can access it when you’re signed in by clicking on the Khan Academy logo at the top of the page.

From DSC:
Think of the power of this in a blended learning environment! Use the dashboard to gain more choice, more control. See your progress. Then go to your teacher, professor, trainer, supervisor, subject matter expert, etc. to get guidance, extra help, etc. It also plays into what I envision in the “Learning from the Living [Class] Room” environment that continues to form in front of our very eyes.

.

Also see:

Wearable tech at the workplace — from connectedworldmag.com

Excerpt:

Wearable sensors are the latest tech-related fashion craze, but not just for consumers. Businesses could soon make use of sensors affixed to hats, watches, glasses, and more. Equipped to provide workers with much-need data about the surrounding environment, these devices may soon invade the job and redefine the workplace—much like tablets and smartphones did just a few years back.

Naturally, businesses have been discussing how something like Google Glass could be used at work. Even the BYOD (bring your own device) phenomenon has the potential to extend to wearable technology, with workers bringing their personal smart watches and glasses for use at work. However, the potential for wearable sensors could be much greater, with specific applications created for targeted industries.

From DSC:
Some serious potential for mobile/distance learning here. What if, instead of a surgeon, that person was an archaeologist on a dig speaking to students in their living rooms, on mobile devices, and/or in classrooms somewhere else…? An electrician fixing a broken transformer on the electrical grid and talking through what she is fixing…? The possibilities are numerous.

See Andrew Vanden Heuvel’s work on this as well:

How Andrew Vanden Heuvel is revolutionizing education from outside the classroom
Find out what this Google Glass Explorer and online science teacher thinks about online learning and the future of education.
Teaching with Glass
STEMbite: An Experiment in Teaching with Google Glass
Explorer Story: Andrew Vanden Heuvel [through Google Glass]
STEMbite (other/more)

Moving back to the surgery…one last thought/idea here:

What if there were several people wearing Google Glasses and the learners/students could pick the camera angle that they wanted to see?

Will IBM’s Watson — or a similar set of technologies — be a key ingredient of our future MOOCs? [Christian]

On 09/05/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, blended learning, career development, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital learning, disruption, global, health, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, IBM, ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interactivity, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, lifelong learning, marketing/social marketing, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, passions, personalized/customized learning, professional development, research, second screen apps, social learning / networks, social media, society, storytelling, strategy, streams of content, teaching online, technologies for your home, training / L&D, trends, TVs, ubiquitous learning, United States, using teams, vendors, videoconferencing, virtual K-12 schools, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
IBM Watson continues to expand into different disciplines/areas, which currently include:

Healthcare
Finance
Customer Service

But Watson is also entering the marketing and education/research realms.

I see a Watson-type-of-tool as being a key ingredient for future MOOCs and the best chance for MOOCs to morph into something very powerful indeed — offloading the majority of the workload to computers/software/intelligent tutoring/learning agents, while at the same time allowing students to connect with each other and/or to Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) as appropriate.

The price of education could hopefully come way down — depending upon the costs involved with licensing Watson or a similar set of technologies — as IBM could spread out their costs to multiple institutions/organizations. This vision represents another important step towards the “Walmart of Education” that continues to develop before our eyes.

Taking this even one step further, I see this system being available to us on our mobile devices as well as in our living rooms — as the telephone, the television, and the computer continue to converge. Blended learning on steroids.

What would make this really powerful would be to provide:

The ability to create narratives/stories around content
To feed streams of content into Watson for students to tap into
Methods of mining data and using that to tweak algorithms, etc. to improve the tools/learning opportunities

Such an architecture could be applied towards lifelong learning opportunities — addressing what we now know as K-12, higher education, and corporate training/development.

.

Part of the perfect storm in higher ed — A rise in wealth for the wealthy; declines for the lower 93% [Fry & Taylor]

On 04/24/2013, in disruption, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), e-readers, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, interaction design, programming, teaching online, Uncategorized, by Daniel Christian

Video Conferencing Guidelines for Faculty and Students in Graduate Online Courses [Gautreau, Glaeser, Renold, Ahmed, Lee, Carter-Wells, Worden, Boynton, Schools]

On 03/28/2013, in MBA, productivity / tips and tricks, teaching online, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Video Conferencing Guidelines for Faculty and Students in Graduate Online Courses — from jolt.merlot.org and California State University, Fullerton; by Gautreau, Glaeser, Renold, Ahmed, Lee, Carter-Wells, Worden, Boynton, & Schools

Excerpts:

Abstract

A review of the literature revealed that established guidelines were not available to assist faculty who use video conferencing in their online graduate courses. In an effort to address this need, a self-evaluation study was completed with faculty who teach such courses. Drawing on the results of this study together with published Netiquette guidelines and a survey of other extant literature, a set of Video Conferencing Guidelines was created.

Video Conferencing Guidelines for Online Graduate Students

Guideline #1: Remember you are on camera and live. The advantage of video conferencing is that you can take advantage of facial expressions, inflection, and tone of voice. Remember to think before you respond to make your thoughts and ideas clear and coherent to the video conferencing participants.
Guideline #2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior during the video conferencing session that you would follow in real life.
Guideline #3: Be mindful of all video conferencing participants. Allow other participants time and opportunities to contribute to the discussion and share their ideas with the group.
Guideline #4: Video conferencing provides synchronous opportunities to share knowledge. It is important to consider opinions from other participants who are engaged in the video conferencing session. Strive for a fairly equal balance among the participants.
Guideline #5: Be mindful of your tone and expressions during the video conferencing session. This is not an anonymous session. Your voice and video are viewed by all who are participating in the chat session.
Guideline #6: Share your expertise and knowledge. Be an active contributor during the video conferencing session.
Guideline #7: Remain professional in your communication with participants.
Guideline #8: Respect the context of the video conferencing session. Keep video conferencing sessions within the context of the conversation. If the session is recorded do not post isolated comments that may be taken out of context. Synchronous discussions take on a life of their own; therefore, it is important to keep conversations in context.
Guideline #9: Be forgiving of mistakes during the video conferencing session. Video conferencing is a new communication platform. There are bound to be technical glitches; be patient with the participants during the session.

The Lesson of Grace in Teaching — by Francis Su

On 01/22/2013, in adjunct faculty, faith, hearts -- matters of the heart, mathematics, teaching & learning, teaching online, by Daniel Christian

Per Jim Bradley (Mathematics, Emeritus) at Calvin College:

Francis Su is a Christian teaching at Harvey Mudd, a secular liberal arts college. He was recently selected to receive the Haimo Award*, one of the mathematics community’s highest teaching honors. Receiving the award entails giving an address at the annual math association meeting, going on now in San Diego. In writing his talk, Francis asked himself, “What does the gospel have to say to this large, mostly secular group of mathematicians?” He answered, “Grace.” Here’s a link to a written copy of his talk. I think it’s quite an inspiring and enjoyable set of reflections on teaching by an obviously great teacher.

http://www.facebook.com/notes/francis-su/the-lesson-of-grace-in-teaching/10151372450043217
(From DSC: Facebook deleted the above original posting by Franic Su — not sure why)

Per Francis’ new blog:
After giving this talk, I had so many requests for the text that I
shared it on Facebook. But Facebook deleted it.
So I created a blog just for this. I hope you find it helpful.

It was the hardest thing I ever had to write:
because it is deeply personal, truly me,
and about my biggest life lesson… given at a
conference in front of hundreds of people who,
I’m sure, struggle with the same things that I do.

The Lesson of Grace in Teaching
From weakness to wholeness, the struggle and the hope
Francis Edward Su
MAA Haimo Teaching Award Lecture
Joint Math Meetings, January 11, 2013
An audio file is available: bit.ly/W4gyD0.

Excerpt:

Knowing my new advisor had grace for me meant that he could give me honest feedback on my dissertation work, even if it was hard to do, without completely destroying my identity. Because, as I was learning, my worthiness does NOT come from my accomplishments. I call this

The Lesson of GRACE:

Your accomplishments are NOT what make you a worthy human being.
You learn this lesson when someone shows you GRACE: good things you didn’t earn or deserve, but you’re getting them anyway.

I have to learn this lesson over and over again.
You can have worthiness apart from your performance.
You can have dignity independent of achievements.
Your identity does not have to be rooted in accomplishments.
You can be loved for who you are, not for what you’ve done—somebody just has to show you grace.

From DSC:
Powerful messages…often times, it’s hard for me to get my arms around the lessons/messages that Francis addressed — especially seeing as we live in a world that constantly measures us by our performance, our achievements, and/or our productivity.

* From The Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics web page:

In 1991, the Mathematical Association of America instituted Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics in order to honor college or university teachers who have been widely recognized as extraordinarily successful and whose teaching effectiveness has been shown to have had influence beyond their own institutions. In 1993, the MAA Board of Governors renamed the award to honor Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo.

List of Recipients

2013
Matthias Beck, San Francisco State University
Margaret Robinson, Mount Holyoke College
Francis Edward Su, Harvey Mudd College

Mapping success: Essential elements of an effective online learning experience [Hathcock]

On 09/05/2012, in online learning, teaching online, user experience (UX), by Daniel Christian

Mapping success: Essential elements of an effective online learning experience — from Faculty Focus by Danielle Hathcock

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

The purpose of this article is to provide an understanding of how the elements of an online course are integrated such that they form a cohesive whole that creates easy travel based upon instructor presence, appropriate feedback, and easy navigation for students.

Nine steps to quality online learning [Bates]

On 08/10/2012, in Canada, communications, digital learning, education technology, higher education, innovation, instructional design, online learning, pedagogy, quality, teaching & learning, teaching online, using teams, by Daniel Christian

Nine steps to quality online learning — from Tony Bates

Also see:

How [not] to Design an Online Course — from onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com
Moving a face-to-face credit course to an online environment is far more challenging than one might expect – as numerous experienced and esteemed professors have discovered. In this post learn vicariously through one professor’s experience of ‘what not to do’.

Learning Ecosystems

Makerspaces and online education [Venable]

5 ways to reduce cognitive load in eLearning [Guyan]

Humanizing your online class [Pacansky-Brock]

Video Conferencing Guidelines for Faculty and Students in Graduate Online Courses [Gautreau, Glaeser, Renold, Ahmed, Lee, Carter-Wells, Worden, Boynton, Schools]

The Lesson of Grace in Teaching — by Francis Su

Mapping success: Essential elements of an effective online learning experience [Hathcock]

Nine steps to quality online learning [Bates]

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