EdVentures in Technology
teaching, learning and change
Archive for Teaching & Learning
July 30, 2008 at 10:56 am · Filed under EdTech, Higher Education, Teaching & Learning
Gary Brown, Director of Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology, Washington State University
My thoughts/comments are indicated by an asterisk (*).
Worldware refers to materials created for purposes other than teaching and learning.
Wesch – 100% want to learn, 50% want to be in classroom
We are all immigrants because we have yet to learn to think critically.
Students are swirling, using multiple institutions to facilitate learning.
Students who value critical thinking are significantly more likely to value: peer critiques, community, and self-assessment.
Testing to kill learning?
Cites AACU report American Association of Colleges and Universities survey of US 301 Business Leader. (pull quotes)
Nace 2008 webcitation.org/5XoKP5UJh
Erosion of public’s faith and good will toward higher ed.
bush satire comic tell me johnny what have you learned, mcgraw-hill
Bloom warned of the danger of confusing taxonomy with chronology.
Harvard Private Universe Project honors the power and sophoitication of (students) ideas.
The Disengagement Compact – “I won’t expect too much of you if you don’t ask too much of me.”
WSU Critical Thinking Project (http://wsuctproject.wsu.edu)
Great focus slide comparing teacher, learner and learning centricity
- Teacher centric: Assign Task, Study & Perform, Test & Submit
- Learner centric: Cooperate, Study, Interact & Perform, Test & Submit
- Learning centric: Help Define, Study, Collaborate, Discover, Generate; Share Beyond Class
Held an e-Portfolio Contest to identify innovative uses/styles of folio
The ideal ePortfolio continuum model: Select -> Reflect (initial) -> Feedback -> Loop back -> Longitudinal reflection
* How can we leverage this in working with employers?
Process over product (the process can be replicated, the product may or may not)
* I am going to get the slides and provide more reflection later. Gary shared some incredible quotes about the value of the ePortfolio
The Harvesting Gradebook
(WSU is using SharePoint) Activity Planning, Targeted Messaging, Learner Agency, Importing & Exporting Grades, Performance Over Time, Grade Calculations
Need to look into WSU model as this is perfect for our needs!
Student submits works for review using common, public rubric.
Faculty assignments can be reviewed using a similar rubric.
Presentation may be available here.
Tags: camptech08campus-technology campus technology education web2.0 next-gen worldware academic
July 30, 2008 at 9:46 am · Filed under EdTech, Social Software, Teaching & Learning, TechTalk
Susanna Wong Herndon, Associate Director, Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment, University of Texas-Austin
Robert Bruce, Associate Dean, DIIA, University of Texas-Austin
My notes are identified by an asterisk (*).
Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment (DIAA)
- Address teaching, technology and assessment needs
- Work with ALL UT colleges, schools and units
- Power to convene, advise and advocate (responsible for informing Provost and make recommendations)
Supports faculty through:
- instructional and technical consulting
- professional development
- resource development
- project development
- incentives & grants
Next-gen learners
- mobile
- digital
- connected
- experiential
- immediate
- social
* Experiment and learn through identification of cause and effect
They want to be engaged, to be part of a vibrant learning community, and have the opportunity to explore, collaborate, innovate and be challenged.
UT defines Web 2.0 in their environment as:
- social computing
- mobile learning
- educ gaming
- geospatial technologies
- immersive media
As UT scans their horizon, they are looking for tools that will:
- facilitate collaborative and group work
- connect students with ideals and information
- create experience that we could not provide students before
- merge the power of spatial analysis with geo-tagged multimedia
Identification Process
- Technology – what are the characteristics of the tech?
- Benefits – Does the tech address an important problem
- Faculty Readiness – Are faculty ready, willing and able to use it?
- Implementation – Can we implement and support it?
Funding & Dev
- Student development grants
- Provost’s incentive awards
- Digital media support
- Collaborative proposals with colleges
Incubation circles
- Inner ring: tools
- 2nd ring: new media research & support (NMRS)
- 3rd ring: Student employees retention & Training (SERT)
- 4th: faculty incentive grant (FAST TEX), Digital Media Services (DMS)
UTA – Teaching with Technology Resource Page
What is UT keeping up with?
- Changes in technology
- Shifts in student characteristics and expectations
- New approaches to teaching and learning
- The emergence of global communities
- New knowledge
What if we don’t keep up?
- We will have “Digital students at analog schools”
- We will lose out on opportunities to engage students
- We will fail to raise the bar in teaching & learning
- We will fail to be a leader in higher education
- We will fall short in support of the 21st century workplace and society
- We will fail to contirbiture toa culture of innovation
* I changed the bullets above to statements as they seemed to be more powerful in conveying the message about a need for change and attention to our students.
Robert Bruce made a good link back to the tech problems early on in the presentation. The speaker’s IM failed to connect, as she used the tool to stay in touch with her children (said it’s the only way she can reach them). The corollary is that we will fail to connect with our students if we cannot adopt technologies that reach them.
Tags: camptech08campus-technology campus technology education web2.0 next-gem academic
July 29, 2008 at 10:56 am · Filed under EdTech, Teaching & Learning, TechTalk
Sarah Robbins, Ball State University and author of Second Life for Dummies
Pedagogy first, technology second
* Amen!
Students first, universities second
*Again, amen!
Chickering and Gamson 7 Principles for Good Practice in Higher Eduation (look up after)
*wOOt!
PPT is on blog, address on last slide
She is against idea of immigrants v. natives, no supporting data, causes divisiveness and problems. It’s a crutch.
Real difference is in the digital divide in terms of lifestyle, engagement and motivation. UK study – 15-18 yr olds least likely to give up cell phone, older folks more likely to give up cell phone and sex rather than liquor, caffeine and chocolate. *Scary!*
Don’t build a creepy treehouse! (http://technagogy.learningfield.org)
Approach
Identify problems and/or opportunities first, then match technologies with opportunities. What problem will tool X solve? Primary point of hesitancy and push-back. How will this HELP me?
From Clay Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody, The Promise -> The Tool -> The Bargain
Establishes offering, expectations, operating norms, and rules of conduct. Focus on The Promise and The Bargain, not The Tool.
What is the Second Life Promise? Increased sense of presence, community bonding, more engaging and immersive learning (when SL used correctly), fun
What is the Second Life Tool? Stigmergy (ability to manipulate environment to send a message to someone who comes after you-we have the ability to build and create, change/modify, leave something for those who follow), Customized Avatars (allowing students to make changes, reading the student by who they choose or allow students to role play in a realistic setting), Global Community , Multi-modal Communication (text chat, voice 1 to 1, group and area and ability to emote)
She cites a great example of using it to teach rejection and social interactions such as discrimination in a safe environment.
Sarah also shared a great example of modifying environment to experience LD life, what happens when your environment is upside down? How do you cope?
What is the Second Life Bargain? What we need to accept: There is a Learning Curve (install and learn to get around, build avatar, learn to build, learn to script), Students need to suspend self-limitations (Loyalist College Border Crossing), That we are using the tool as the best, justified use of the tools, Necessary expertise to serve as guide, advisor, AND instructor.
Resources
http://ubernoggin.com
http://SL-educationblog.org
SLED Mailing List
SLRL Mailing List
SL Avatar: Intellagirl Tully
http://intellagirl.com
Tags: camptech08campus-technology campus technology education seond-life SL
July 5, 2007 at 8:00 am · Filed under PELI, Teaching & Learning
Well, it sounds as if everything went well last night with the arrival of our 15 participants in this year’s Pakistani Educational Leadership Institute, or PELI for short. Although their departure wasn’t all that smooth as it appears that they were caught up in the chaos surrounding a siege on a mosque. Apparently the shooting started while they were leaving for the airport and they just made the airport before the curfew went into effect! Our ITA colleague in Pakistan, Beena Raza, is still sorting through some things back there.
Their transit took them through Heathrow and even with all the recent trouble over there, it appears that it didn’t slow them down as they made it into Logan Airport around 8:30 p.m. EST last evening. As I type, they are probably still making up for lost sleep and aren’t due to make an appearance until our brunch around 11 a.m. local.
The focus of this year’s Institute is on assessment. As this is the fourth year that the Institute has run, it was felt that it was time to bring over some of the senior educational leadership and close the loop on our prior work. I’ll keep folks apprised of our progress as the next three weeks unfold.
[tags]peli, peli2007, pakistan, education, leadership[/tags]
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July 3, 2007 at 5:05 pm · Filed under Creativity, Learning Theory, Random Thoughts, Teaching & Learning
Now that I have your attention, I will shamelessly admit that the title was just a hook. Yes, you should read this book. If not for yourself, for your children or for your neighborhood’s children. My thanks to Christian Long over at think:lab for his post which brought The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden to my attention.
I just happened to be online in a Borders bookstore after an off-campus meeting when his post came in to my reader. Checked out the author’s site, watched their video, and immediately bought the book for my own motley crew. My seven year old is already hard at work on his knots, having mastered the reef knot and clove hitch, working on developing his own mnemonic for the figure-8 and trying to figure out the bowline.
What I love about this book is that it encourages kids (and those of us refusing to grow up) to get out and play like we used to. As has been pointed out in the blogosphere, learning is messy. So is life. Yes there will be bumps, bruises and tears along the way, but they make the laughter, joy and happiness (dare I say learning?) all the sweeter. This book is just one more reminder.
Now get out there and play!
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June 21, 2007 at 10:16 pm · Filed under Teaching & Learning, Web 2.0
My thanks to Danah Boyd who brought to my attention testimony she and a number of others including a professor from my undergraduate alma mater, Dr. David Finkelhor of the University of New Hampshire, provided to the Advisory Committee to the Congressional Internet Caucus. Their testimony has been posted online and includes video (note this version requires Real Player, but read on for links to a YouTube version), audio (43MB) and transcript of the proceedings which lasted just under an hour and a half.
I highly recommend either viewing, listening to or reading this testimony. Read also Danah’s posts which are substantiated by statistical data and do far more justice to the topic than I can. It is interesting to see and hear from experts in the field, particularly as their testimony is often at odds with the fear pandering and net paranoia espoused by our media, and in some cases our government officials. Take for instance this sobering fact. When it comes to sexual predation, strangers account for only 10% of those cases. The predominant offender? Parents at 78.5% of reported cases.
As a parent myself, I understand and advocate for a greater level of parental involvement in the lives of our children. Any child predation is too much. However, it is also important for us to work from facts rather than assumptions. The bottom line is that online predation is far less a threat to our children than the lack of parental involvement, guidance and love in their lives. We don’t need more legislation, we need more communication!
[tags]online, youth, victimization, predation, netcaucus[/tags]
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June 1, 2007 at 7:49 am · Filed under Teaching & Learning, Videos
A big thanks to Christian Long at think:lab for pointing out this great video. If you are a teacher, know a teacher, or think you know what a teacher is or does, then this is for you.
[tags]video, passion, teacher, teaching[/tags]
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April 15, 2007 at 8:09 pm · Filed under Teaching & Learning
A while back I blogged about the NH Youth Earth Summit (NHYES) conference held last month on my campus. I’ve begun compiling my interview prep on my wiki and in the next couple of weeks I will be interviewing the students and faculty advisor behind this student-run conference.
I am interested in hearing any feedback from the edublogosphere regarding what questions they would ask if they were able to speak with these students. Whether it is about their experiences and gains from the event, whether it is about the logistics of the model or whether it is about how students feel about a more global event, I would like to hear from you.
Based on your feedback, I will include these questions in my interview which I intend to turn into a podcast available soon thereafter.
Please leave your questions in the comments below. I look forward to hearing what is important to you.
Cheers!
[tags]nhyes, conference, student, interview[/tags]
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March 25, 2007 at 8:44 pm · Filed under Teaching & Learning
The Washington Post had an article about Republicans turning against President Bush’s “signature domestic achievement” No Child Left Behind. So why haven’t we heard more about this?
Why the sea change? Apparently some legislators have been paying attention to the carnage left in the wake of this ill-conceived plan.
Once-innovative public schools have increasingly become captive to federal testing mandates, jettisoning education programs not covered by those tests, siphoning funds from programs for the talented and gifted, and discouraging creativity, critics say.
Hmm, ya think?
Apparently the frustration experienced by those in education has risen to the level of attention as two bills, one in the Senate and the other in the House, are being proposed which would allow states to opt out of the mandated testing and curriculum standards. Is there a glimmer of hope on the horizon?
If you are interested, check out House Resolution 1539, Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success Act of 2007 (A-PLUS), and Senator Jim DeMint’s Senate version of A-PLUS, S.893, for more information.
[tags]nclb, legislation, education[/tags]
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March 21, 2007 at 9:09 am · Filed under EdTech, Teaching & Learning, Web 2.0
I was listening to an Educause podcast from the Educause Learning Initiative or ELI2007 conference which was a recording of Carl Berger’s, The Millennial Instructor presentation. In it he used a phrase that hits the nail on the head when it comes to providing tech support or edtech training in today’s world.
WINWINI or What I Need, When I Need It
I like the Win-Win fit and the extra “I” at the end points out the personal touch.
I’ve always had a problem with the term “Just In Time” training because it always seemed to give the impression that no prior thought had gone into the process beforehand. WINWINI on the other hand speaks to the growing trend of on-demand service. On-demand training, on-demand learning, on-demand entertainment – where the focus is on the individual. It is not to say that it is a selfish perspective rather one that acknowledges that in today’s fast paced and multi-channeled society, expectations on us are evolving and our support needs and personal expectations are following suit. The ability to get what you need when you need it – by knowing where to turn or who to turn to will become an increasingly valuable skill.
[tags]winwini, support, training, edtech[/tags]
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