vision/possibilities

From DSC:
The resource below (from The Chronicle of Higher Education) is one of the best, most useful articles I’ve read in a long time. It’s full of innovative and/or powerful ideas. I like the part about seeking to give students “more voice, more choice, more control.”

Learners need: More voice. More choice. More control. -- this image was created by Daniel Christian

5 No-Cost or Low-Cost Ways to Improve Your Campus — from chronicle.com by Richard J. Light and Allison Jegla
Change doesn’t have to be expensive. It’s often sparked by a simple suggestion and a leader willing to give it a try.

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

No. 1: Reward innovative teaching. Lynne Schofield, a professor of statistics at Swarthmore College, has fundamentally changed the way her students learn basic and intermediate statistics. She lectures and assigns problem sets but she also teams up with local Philadelphia organizations such as food banks and blood-donation centers to give students an opportunity to solve real-world problems using their classroom knowledge. The organizations benefit from data and analysis that they may not have had time or bandwidth to collect themselves, and the students see the practical application of what they might ordinarily have perceived as a dry subject.

No. 2: Solicit ideas from students. …
They met with a dean and proposed a public event called, “10 Big Ideas, 10 Professors, 10 Minutes Each.”

When the dean agreed, the students took the lead on selecting and inviting professors to each present the “most exciting new idea” in their academic field, in less than 10 minutes.

The idea of someone’s “presence” continues to get stronger, more realistic online/digitally. How might this impact our future learning ecosystems? [Christian]

On 05/04/2022, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, art, collaboration, communications, communities of practice, content development, aggregation, repositories, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, education technology, emerging technologies, engineering, entrepreneurship, experimentation, face-to-face, future, game-changing environment, higher education, Holographic comms, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, immersion, innovation, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Metaverse, multimedia, online learning, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, remote teaching and learning, tools, training / L&D, user experience (UX), Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
The posting below (out at vrscout.com) made me reflect that the idea of someone’s presence continues to get stronger and more realistic in the online/digital worlds. How might this impact our future learning ecosystems?

Hologram voicemails are here thanks to asynchronous reality — from vrscout.com by Bobby Carlton; with thanks to Ori Inbar for this resource out on Twitter

The amazing opportunities of AI in the future of the educational metaverse [Darbinyan]

On 04/29/2022, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate universities / corporate training, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, distance education, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, Facebook / Meta Platforms, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, immersion, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, K-12 related, languages and translation, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, learning spaces, library / librarians, lifelong learning, Metaverse, Michigan, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, Natural Language Processing (NLP), NVIDIA, online learning, personalized/customized learning, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, United States, universities, virtual field trips, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, wearables, web-based collaboration, Web3, by Daniel Christian

The amazing opportunities of AI in the future of the educational metaverse — from forbes.com by Rem Darbinyan

Excerpt:

Looking ahead, let’s go over several potential AI-backed applications of the metaverse that can empower the education industry in many ways.

Multilingual Learning Opportunities
Language differences may be a real challenge for students from different cultures as they may not be able to understand and keep up with the materials and assignments. Artificial intelligence, VR and AR technologies can enhance multilingual accessibility for learners no matter where they are in the world. Speech-to-text, text-to-speech and machine translation technologies enrich the learning process and create more immersive learning environments.
…
AI can process multiple languages simultaneously and provide real-time translations, enabling learners to engage with the materials in the language of their choice. With the ability to instantly transcribe speech across multiple languages, artificial intelligence removes any language barriers for students, enabling them to be potentially involved, learn and communicate in any language.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Education Market size exceeded USD 1 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 40% between 2021 and 2027. (source)

Along the lines of innovation within our educational learning ecosystems, see:

3 Questions for Coursera’s Betty Vandenbosch & U-M’s Lauren Atkins Budde on XR — from insidehighered.com by Joshua Kiim
How might extended reality shape the future of learning?

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

[Lauren Atkins Budde] “Being able to embed quality, effective extended reality experiences into online courses is exponentially a game-changer. One of the persistent constraints of online learning, especially at scale, is how do learners get hands-on practice? How do they experience specific contexts and situations? How do they learn things that are best experienced? XR provides that opportunity for actively doing different kinds of tasks, in various environments, in ways that would otherwise not be possible. It will open up Lauren Atkins Buddeboth how we teach online and also what we teach online.”
…
These courses are really exciting and cover a broad range of disciplines, which is particularly important. To choose the right subjects, we did an extensive review of insights from industry partners, learners and market research on in-demand and emerging future-of-work skills and then paired that with content opportunities where immersive learning is really a value-add and creates what our learning experience designers call “embodied learning.”

Addendum on 5/1/22:
Can the Metaverse Improve Learning? New Research Finds Some Promise — from edsurge.com by Jeffrey R. Young

“The findings support a deeper understanding of how creating unique educational experiences that feel real (i.e., create a high level of presence) through immersive technology can influence learning through different affective and cognitive processes including enjoyment and interest,” Mayer and his colleagues write.

Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s newest exhibit teaches community about media literacy [Broekema & Sue Ellen Christian]

On 04/27/2022, in collaboration, community colleges, ideas, innovation, journalism, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning spaces, media/film, Michigan, United States, universities, vision/possibilities, youth, by Daniel Christian

Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s newest exhibit teaches community about media literacy — from mmlive.com by Gabi Broekema along with one of our sisters Sue Ellen Christian

Excerpt:

The 14-element interactive exhibit is scattered across two floors of the museum and invites visitors to learn about media literacy through fun games and stories.

This project is the brainchild of presidential innovation professor in communication at Western Michigan University, Sue Ellen Christian. A few years back, Christian wrote the book, “Everyday Media Literacy: An Analog Guide for Your Digital Life,” to teach media literacy to the classes she taught full of students from different majors across the university.

Why gamified learning works so well for gifted children — from raisinglifelonglearners.com by Colleen Kessler

Excerpt:

The gamification of learning can be critical for gifted children in particular, who often struggle to stay focused, engaged, and challenged in a traditional educational environment. Gamification can be so effective in gifted education because the learner forgets they are “working” and instead feels they are “playing.” It allows the gifted brain to relax into the “flow” of learning, and more effectively use their intellect for problem solving and creativity.

Also see:

Addendum on 4/27/22:

Homeschooling our gifted children: The power of artful questions — from raisinglifelonglearners.com by Colleen Kessler

Examples of artful questions for learning:

Why do you think that might have happened?
What would you have done differently?
What did you notice about that?
What would you suggest we do instead?
That’s a good point. How can you reconcile these two things?
Do you have an idea for how we could make this better?

From DSC:
Perhaps we should post those types of questions up on the walls of many board rooms and conference rooms around the nation…or have it be a slide in a presentation…or…

For all the learners who have horrible, painful memories of school, I’m sorry the systems weren’t different for you. [Christian]

On 04/25/2022, in assistive technologies, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, education, education reform, Emotion, engagement / engaging students, face-to-face, future, homeschooling/homeschoolers, ideas, innovation, instructional design, K-12 related, leadership, learner profiles, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning preferences, love of learning, more voice more choice more control, motivation, neurodivergent/special needs, parents/guardians, participation, passions, reinvent, society, strategy, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, United States, user experience (UX), vision/possibilities, youth, by Daniel Christian

K-12 education in America is like quickly moving trains that stop for no one.

K-12 education in America is like quickly moving trains that stop for no one.

From DSC:
A family member struggles with spelling — big time. This causes her major amounts of anxiety in school.

Another family member had some learning disabilities and reflects back on school with some bad memories.

Another family member struggles with social graces and learns at a much different pace than her peers — the move to her education being (predominantly) done via homeschooling has helped significantly.

A friend of mine has Dyslexia. He recently said that school was hell for him.

Another person I know doesn’t understand his daughter’s learning disabilities — at all. He’s asking a fish to climb the tree and yells at his daughter when she doesn’t produce like the other kids do. Her school is for college-bound learners, and there’s always pressure to maintain the school’s “blue-ribbon” status (i.e., sorry if you don’t fit in…but please board the train anyway, as it’s about to depart).

These people and stories about their educations got me to reflect on all the people who went through the school systems in the United States (over the last few decades) that didn’t work well for them. In fact, not only did the systems not work well for them, they were the sources of a great deal of pain, anxiety, depression, anger, frustration, and embarrassment. Instead of being a place of wonder or joy, school was a painful, constant struggle to get through.

For those who can keep up or even excel at the pace that the trains travel at, school isn’t that much of a problem. There are likely different levels of engagement involved here, but school is manageable and it doesn’t cause nearly the stress for someone who struggles with it.

For those with learning disabilities, I’d like to apologize to you on behalf of all the people who legislated or created rigid, one-size-fits-all school systems that didn’t understand and/or meet your needs. (Why we allow legislators — who aren’t the ones on the front lines — to control so much of what happens in our school systems is beyond me.) I’d like to apologize on behalf of all of the teachers, administrators, and staff who just accept the systems as they are.

Please help us reinvent our school systems. Help us develop the future of education. Help us develop a more personalized, customized approach. For those who are working to provide that, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

To everyone working within Pre-K through 12th grade, help us offer: More voice. More choice. More control. The status quo has to go. School should not be a constant source of pain and anxiety.

Learners need: More voice. More choice. More control. -- this image was created by Daniel Christian

“Unpaid internships should be illegal:” Why colleges should reconsider unpaid internships. — from newamerica.org by Mauriell H. Amechi and Iris Palmer; with thanks to Goldie Blumenstyk for this resource

Excerpts:

College leaders must do more to facilitate access to paid work experience, especially for historically underserved, low-income, and racially minoritized student populations.

Require all internships offered through career services to be paid. The inequitable practice of not paying interns makes such opportunities impossible to access for many students. Colleges should require that internships they offer be paid for by the employer or through matching funds from the college. Paying interns for their time is the right thing to do and the best way to start creating access for all students.
Maintain some on-campus internship opportunities to ease transportation and care needs and offer on-campus care.
Provide shuttles, transit passes, or travel stipends to internship sites.
Consider working with employers to make internships renewable across semesters.
Consider student populations that are typically excluded from internships.
Document what works to create sustainable funding streams.

We need to use more tools — that go beyond screen sharing — where we can collaborate regardless of where we’re at. [Christian]

On 04/20/2022, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, adjunct faculty, adult learning, blended learning, Bring your own device (BYOD), business, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, distance education, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), education, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, engineering, entrepreneurship, experimentation, face-to-face, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, Hyflex learning, ideas, immersion, innovation, instructional design, interaction design, interactivity, interface 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, learning preferences, learning spaces, lifelong learning, multimedia, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, pedagogy, platforms, presentations, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, project-based learning, remote teaching and learning, skills, smart classrooms, story, storytelling, strategy, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, telecommunications, telelegal, telemedicine / telehealth / virtual health, telepresence, television, tools, training / L&D, TVs, United States, universities, usability, user experience (UX), using teams, vendors, videoconferencing, Virtual courts and law firms, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, vocational / trades, web-based collaboration, Web3, webinars, workplace, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Seeing the functionality in Freehand — it makes me once again think that we need to use more tools where faculty/staff/students can collaborate with each other REGARDLESS of where they’re coming in to partake in a learning experience (i.e., remotely or physically/locally). This is also true for trainers and employees, teachers and students, as well as in virtual tutoring types of situations. We need tools that offer functionalities that go beyond screen sharing in order to collaborate, design, present, discuss, and create things. (more…)

Hmmm…many colleges & universities keep a close eye on their peers…but who is a peer? [Christian]

On 04/20/2022, in 21st century, colleges, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, disruption, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, higher education, ideas, innovation, law schools, leadership, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, liberal arts, lifelong learning, more voice more choice more control, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, organizational change, pace of change, reinvent, society, staying relevant, strategy, surviving, training / L&D, United States, universities, vision/possibilities, vocational / trades, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Hmmm…many colleges and universities keep a close eye on their peers and often respond with similar strategies that their peers are pursuing. But who is an organization’s peer? The Chronicle of Higher Education‘s posting below — “How a College Decides Who Its Peers Are” — stated that “there is clearly no shared definition of what constitutes a peer institution.”

Plus, I found this item especially interesting:

Harvard University selected only three peer institutions: Yale, Princeton, and Stanford. But 22 institutions, including Bowdoin, named Harvard as a peer. Bowdoin, a small, liberal-arts college with about 1,800 undergraduate students and no graduate programs, chose 98 “peers,” including the entire Ivy League and many large universities, some of which enroll more than 10,000 students. Bowdoin itself was picked by 35 institutions as a peer. All of them were small, liberal-arts colleges or universities that primarily serve undergraduates.

I have often thought that colleges and universities should care far less about what their peers are doing. Rather, they should move forward with their own solid visions, bold actions, and well-thought-through strategies — as there can be a great deal of danger and risk in the status quo.

Too many alternatives have been appearing — and will likely continue to appear — on the lifelong learning landscapes. Most likely, these new organizations will offer in-demand credentials/skills as well as the capabilities of helping people constantly reinvent themselves — with far less expensive price tags associated with these types of offerings.

How a College Decides Who Its Peers Are — from chronicle.com by Susan Poser
Questions of institutional identity are at the core of the process.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

The mismatch between whom an institution chose as peers, and the colleges that reciprocated, pervades the data set. It raises the question of how institutions designate peers, which is a mystery. In some cases it is likely to be decided by someone in the Office of Institutional Research or the provost’s office in response to the Ipeds survey, while in others perhaps some process leads to a consensus among administrators. Regardless, there is clearly no shared definition of what constitutes a peer institution.

Also relevant/see:

Who Does Your College Think Its Peers Are? — from chronicle.com by Jacquelyn Elias
‘An Art and a Science’: Colleges’ Tricky Task of Selecting Peers — from chronicle.com by Audrey Williams June

2022 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report | Teaching and Learning Edition

On 04/19/2022, in adjunct faculty, blended learning, change, changing business models, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, competency-based learning/education, cost of getting a degree, credentialing, digital learning, education technology, face-to-face, faculty/staff, flipping -- inverted learning, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, hybrid learning, ideas, instructional design, IT in HE, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, learning spaces, online learning, teaching & learning, technology (general), tools, traditional / tradition, United States, universities, vision/possibilities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

2022 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report | Teaching and Learning Edition — from library.educause.edu

Sections include:

Trends: Scanning the Horizon
Key Technologies & Practices
Scenarios
Implications: What Do We Do Now?

Also relevant/see:

Webinar | Exploring the 2022 Teaching and Learning Horizon Report

Also relevant/see:

2022 Educause Horizon Report Suggests Change Is Here to Stay; No Return to ‘Normal’ — from campustechnology.com by Rhea Kelly

Excerpt:

If the COVID-19 pandemic has been a time of unprecedented change in higher education — characterized by rapid pivots to remote work and learning and an explosion in the use of technology across the institution — the future is about reframing those changes into long-term realities, according to the 2022 Educause Horizon Report Teaching and Learning Edition, released this week. Colleges and universities are shifting their mindsets to “reflect an evolution from short-term ’emergency’ or ‘reactive’ modes of offering education during extraordinary circumstances to making strategic and sustainable investments in a future that will be very much unlike our past,” the report suggested.

6 Technologies and Practices Impacting the Future of Higher Education — from campustechnology.com by Rhea Kelly

The Digital versus Brick-and-Mortar Balancing Game — from educause.edu

Excerpt:

The blended campus required after two years of upheaval calls for out-of-the box thinking about what to keep and what to discard from both digital and physical work and learning spaces. Technology leaders face critical decisions regarding workplace culture, physical classroom design, and traditional campus spaces.

Making the move from fully in-person instruction to a learning environment that also accommodates remote students (and remote faculty) requires rethinking and redesigning physical learning spaces to provide an equitable experience for all learners. Technology leaders will need to overcome sizable obstacles to create inclusive classrooms that enable faculty and students to reap the many benefits of hybrid [hyflex] learning.

Also see some of the other most urgent issues in higher education here:

VR Technology Meets Drivers Ed Thanks To Boys & Girls Clubs [Carlton]

On 04/18/2022, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, vision/possibilities, wearables, XR - extended reality, youth, by Daniel Christian

VR Technology Meets Drivers Ed Thanks To Boys & Girls Clubs — from vrscout.com by Bobby Carlton

How a Statewide Entrepreneurship Contest Launched 3 Indianapolis High Schoolers into a Million-Dollar Business [Newcomb]

On 04/11/2022, in business, career development, collaboration, education, education reform, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, funding / grants, ideas, innovation, K-12 related, student-related, United States, vision/possibilities, youth, by Daniel Christian

How a Statewide Entrepreneurship Contest Launched 3 Indianapolis High Schoolers into a Million-Dollar Business — from the74million.org by Tim Newcomb

Excerpt:

If not for a statewide pitch competition for entrepreneurial students, three Indianapolis high schoolers likely wouldn’t have started their business. And they certainly wouldn’t have seen that company, Find Ideal Applicants, earn $20,000 in early-stage investment that valued the company at $1.5 million.

State leaders “wanted to see if they could intersect students with entrepreneurship and innovation,” he says. Students learn how to see a problem as an opportunity and come up with a plan. Wettrick says the faster students understand the benefits of learning from their mistakes, the more success they will have sooner in their lives.

Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court

On 04/11/2022, in Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legislatures / government / legal, society, United States, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
I realize I’m late with this, but I did insert it in my 4-7-22 posting and wanted to report it here as well. This is great news for the United States. I hope it is a major shot in the arm for diversifying the legal field.

The AR Roundup: March 2022 — from linkedin.com by Tom Emrich

Excerpt:

Every month I round up what you may have missed in Augmented Reality including the latest stats, funding news and launch announcements and more. Here is what happened in augmented reality between March 1-31, 2022.

“The metaverse is no longer a single virtual world or even a cluster of virtual worlds. It’s the entire system of virtual and augmented worlds,” Chalmers tells me over Zoom. “Where the old metaverse was like a platform on the internet, the new metaverse is more like the internet as a whole, just the immersive internet.”

~ David Chalmers, Philosopher and Author of Reality+

Learning Ecosystems

Hmmm…many colleges & universities keep a close eye on their peers…but who is a peer? [Christian]

2022 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report | Teaching and Learning Edition

The Digital versus Brick-and-Mortar Balancing Game [educause.edu]

VR Technology Meets Drivers Ed Thanks To Boys & Girls Clubs [Carlton]

Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court

The AR Roundup: March 2022 [Emrich]

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