This tiny 3-minute read of a post packs NINE practical tips into a few paragraphs... and they're tried and true, guaranteed to bring at least one new voice to the table in your discussions.
For help with engaging your learners, email helpdesk@uah.edu ATTN: Instructional Design Meeting Request and we'll be happy to schedule a consultation with you!
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If we think carefully about decoding and direct instruction in phonics and phonemic awareness, teachers will face a wide diversity of students in any class in terms of where they are in their reading development; in short, there simply is no situation where “all students must” serves students well.
Literacy is not simple, and literacy development is not linear, sequential, or systematic.
For example, most people do not accumulate vocabulary in order to be able to read, but develop their vocabulary by reading.
Read more from Radical Eyes for Equity: Moving from “All Students Must” to “Each Student Deserves.”
(Thanks to Stephen Downes for the heads up!)
“Humanizing Your Course” has taken learner-centered teaching strategies to a new level. You can read the background and context here, as well as create your own bookmark to the infographic below.
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I am going to cut straight to the chase, leave this here for your enjoyment, and encourage you to utilize your UAH Educause membership and get on those email discussion groups!
Educause's The Difference Between Emergency Remote Teaching and Online Learning is absolutely required reading for anyone who is delivering courses or training online beyond the pandemic emergency measures we've experienced or may still yet as the pandemic drags on. Those faculty who complete the required QEPO (Quality Education Practices Online) program for course design and development often remark how relevant the elements of learning objectives, course alignment, formative assessment, and other aspects of their course development apply equally well and are just as successful if applied to on-ground or in hybrid models.
If you'd like to discuss the design of your course regardless of its delivery modality, contact the Instructional Design team by emailing helpdesk@uah.edu SUBJECT: IDTeam with your inquiry. We'd be happy to meet with you one-on-one or design team workshops depending on your needs.
[Welcome back, fellow Chargers! Have a great academic year!]
Research shows that student performance in gateway courses is a direct predictor of retention and student success. However, Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and other minoritized student groups have historically been underserved in these courses, resulting in higher (drop/fail/withdraw) rates and lower retention rates for these students. Digital learning can be a catalyst for improving course outcomes for historically minoritized students, but instructors also need awareness and tools to address the affective, interpersonal, and situational challenges that Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and other minoritized student groups experience. In this session, (the presenter) will share strategies for faculty and institutional leaders for digital learning transformation at scale that centers on equity and racial justice. (Educause)
At SFSU, Dr. Beatty pioneered the development and evaluation of the HyFlex course design model for blended learning environments, implementing a “student-directed-hybrid” approach to better support student learning. In today’s episode, Brian and I will discuss the values and principles of the HyFlex course design model, along with its history and implementation in several contexts. Is the HyFlex model right for you? Brian will help us process the questions one needs to answer in order to determine if this is the right model for you and provide you with the resources to get started.
Beatty's book Hybrid-Flexible Course Design: Implementing Student-Directed Hybrid Classes is free and open access. If you’d like to discuss course design strategies, you can make an appointment with an instructional designer by emailing helpdesk@uah.edu for scheduling.
From Stephen Downes' newsletter to your screen, I present you Digital Badges Turn 10—So What? It's a thorough but quick overview on the merits of digital badging both for academic programs as well as team development within a professional working environment. Who doesn't love flair?
On a perspective with more gravitas, badges can also be seen as important step toward creating a job economy based on skills rather than more visible demographics that tend to cloud our views when making hiring decisions.
And like a mythical sword in the stone, digital badges have just been waiting for the right hands to let them do their magic. Those of us in gatekeeping positions need to do only slightly more than stay out of the way and let badges get to work making the world a better place, where opportunities are more often matched to people based on the needs of all stakeholders, and in ways that are blind to factors such as race, gender, and last name.
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"University Libraries Digital Badge Program" by pennstatenews is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 |
With the last year behind us, we've all had to become computer savvy quite quickly and as with everyone else, I'm forever learning new ways to use the hardware and software to my greatest advantage and with the most security in mind.
Here's a great rationale for why even Bill Gates knows it's a good idea to keep your webcam covered and your wifi disabled when not using those specific features.
But some folks mistakenly think that a paper clamp or even a clamp designed especially for monitors or laptops would be even safer (less likely to fall off).
However, this is one of those times when going low tech is the safest option all-around! Clamps and mounts that rely on ANY amount of pressure to stay fixed can damage the edge of the monitor or laptop display, especially over time. It's not apparent until it's too late. Stick with the soft touch of a bent business card you can slide back and forth, or a post-it. Washi tape works great too, if you'd like a designer feel with no residue!
If you need tips for staying safe online, email Email the team for assistance and advice.
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"VPN & Internet Security on Your Computer for Online Privacy" by |
Jamboard is a fantastic free Google-based teaching tool that includes a collaborative, interactive whiteboard that can be shared and edited by learners. Check out this ultimate guide! ETL will be hosting a Jamboard Sandbox Series MET&L Workshop this summer. Keep an eye out!
It makes complete sense that having captions available would help all learners, not just those with documented disabilities. Many people with no discernible disability nor cognitive challenges benefit greatly when seeing and hearing the same information simultaneously, especially when proper nouns and technical terms may be confusing to hear or spell.
Here's some strong Educause-style data to back up this claim. We also know anecdotally that people across generations and ability spectrums use captions routinely by choice, and learners are apt to play our instructional videos at both slower AND faster speeds than the speed in which they are recorded. Captions help those learners—indeed, ALL learners— with key ideas and details that may elude them otherwise.
For help captioning your videos, email helpdesk@uah.edu for guidance.
"When asked why captions are helpful, respondents overall expressed strong agreement that captions help students focus, retain information, and overcome poor audio."
Why Active Learning Works came to me via Stephen Downes who himself forwarded it from Mike Taylor. I love the networks we form in our quest for new knowledge!
From Stephen (great embedded links!):
I think it is well known that "active learning — where learners engage in debate, problem-solving, role-playing, product creation and so on — is much more effective than presenting and explaining content." But why is it better? Stephen Kosslyn explains. First, "what we remember often is a byproduct of simply paying attention and thinking." Working with something focuses our attention. Second, "learning is enhanced by paying attention to feedback," and active learning produces plenty of feedback. Third, providing more ways to experience (visual, textual, etc) provides more ways to remember. Fourth, active learning helps us group and organize what we learn. And fifth, active learning creates a frame and context for learning. Via Mike Taylor.
This bite-sized lesson packs a powerful four tips into one tiny video for anyone who wants to get started on building better learning materials!
Join us Wednesdays at 2:00 pm for Mastering Enhanced Teaching and Learning (MET&L) Workshop Series. This week, we'll cover UDL and ADA in Course Design.
Missed the meeting? Here's the presentation!
UDL/ADA / MET&L Workshop by Tess OltenMany have heard of the amazing web-based tool called Canva, which enables anyone who can point and click to design breathtaking graphics in any format, including print. Every social media template is there (over 60,000 templates, they boast!) and literally millions of (also free) photos, illustrations, video clips, music tracks, and fonts.
All free for educators! Just sign up using your institutional email address for quick verification and you're up and running!
Here's an example of what can be created. This is my first project with Canva for Education and I haven't even tried animation or video yet! I'll be screencasting this presentation into a video upon completion of the project build. As you can see, the project can be shared on the Web or in Canvas courses so that students can self navigate even if accompanied with a video with your mini-lecture adding depth and context to your learners. Why not offer both? I'll be sure to caption my video and provide a transcript with relevant links enabled.
View this presentation in full screen mode here. (Swipe left to advance, swipe right to go back!)
From Copyright to Creative Commons by Tess OltenInclusive design is "design that considers the full range of human diversity with respect to ability, language, culture, gender, age, and other forms of human difference."4 It goes beyond accessibility, though accessibility is considered within inclusive design. Inclusive design celebrates difference and focuses on designs that allow for diversity to thrive. In higher education, this means asking ourselves, "Who has been served, supported, or allowed to thrive by our educational designs and who has not?" And, "How might we design for inclusion of more students?"
*UAH is an Educause member institution. You can sign up for free access to Educause content using your UAH-affiliated email address. Check out their mailing lists and learning communities!
By our own revered Dr. Robert Frederick and friends:
Have a Zoom, Zoom-Zoom-Zoom Christmas!
Have you heard about TED-Ed? It's full of content specifically for educators. In addition to having a whole library of high-quality (and keyword searchable!) video content for use in your classes, there are resources there to help you create your own and even get matched with a professional animator to illustrate your video! Check out this one that explains fevers!
In a new age of information, rapid innovation, and globalization, how can we prepare our children to compete? Once the envy of the world, American schools are now in trouble. Test scores show our kids lag far behind their peers from other industrialized countries, and as the divide between rich and poor grows wider, the goal of getting all kids ready for college and the workforce gets harder by the day. How can the latest research help us fix education in America? Can the science of learning—including new insights from neuroscientists, psychologists, and educators—reveal how kids’ brains work and tell us which techniques are most likely to engage and inspire growing minds? What role should technology play in the classroom? Teachers, students, parents, and scientists take center stage as NOVA explores a new vision for the “School of the Future.”
"We're not trying to reduce educator time, we're trying to improve the value of their time."
This crisis has also brought academics together. New communities of teachers have been built online, virtually overnight, for peer mentoring and resource sharing. Important conversations about how teaching has changed, and how it should change, are happening right now. It’s not an end; it’s a beginning.
This report (a very brisk 28 page PDF that feels a lot shorter) outlines five major principles of future assessment (quoted):
- Authentic—Assessments designed to prepare students for what they do next, using technology they will use in their careers
- Accessible—Assessments designed with an accessibility-first principle
- Appropriately automated—A balance found of automated and human marking to deliver maximum benefit to students
- Continuous—Assessment data used to explore opportunities for continuous assessment to improve the learning experience
The sections themselves contain some brief discussion of each of the five items and links to companies or projects working on that particular topic. The report sometimes reads as a fairly progressive look at assessment, but the last section (which deals with plagiarism and 'contract cheating') brings us back to earth.
- Secure—Authoring detection and biometric authentication adopted for identification and remote proctoring.
"Last July we introduced live chat support for our Respondus Monitor application. The service was in 'beta' as we ramped up staff and evaluated usage levels. We are removing the 'beta' moniker from the 24/7 student live chat service and formally announcing there will be no additional cost to use it. Institutions with a Respondus Monitor license ... will have access to it. A few additional details are included below.
How do students initiate a live chat with Respondus Support?
Most technical issues are encountered during the pre-exam 'Startup Sequence' of Respondus Monitor – which is where the webcam/microphone check occurs. There is already a powerful 'It’s not working' feature in Respondus Monitor that helps students find the right solution. But if students are unable to solve the issue by the last step, a 'Chat now' prompt appears. The live chat functionality can also be accessed through the 'Help Center' in Respondus Monitor.
Which Respondus products have support available via live chat?
At the current time, 24/7 live chat support is available to students using Respondus Monitor, which is the online proctoring service available for LockDown Browser.
Is live chat covered by the Terms of Use for Respondus Monitor?
Yes, the current Terms of Use (which is accepted each time a student uses Respondus Monitor) covers the live chat service.
If you have any questions, please submit a support ticket."
I'm not a fan of the clickbait title of this post ... and I also question some of the 'research' behind the suggestions. But overall this is a pretty good post and contains a lot of things to think about, even if you don't follow them. This is especially the case for the bits about working memory and cognitive load. But there's a general message here—that video is more about perception and feelings than it is about content and remembering—that is important. Video helps you learn because it shakes your perceptions and has you asking questions, not because it gives you stuff to memorize.Regarding: Video for Learning—15 Things the Research Says (Some May Shock You)
Looking back can be fun!
YES! Media is a nonprofit, independent publisher of solutions journalism.
Through rigorous reporting on the positive ways communities are responding to social problems and insightful commentary that sparks constructive discourse, YES! Media inspires people to build a more just, sustainable, and compassionate world.The publication is both ad-free and operates without a paywall, so all online content is open and free. They even produce educational content around some of the difficult topics it tackles editorially. I receive both the print version and email updates to online content. The Death Issue is a "Let's Talk About It" edition and includes stellar writing assignments around rather complex but highly relevant topics like:
Discussion forums are a significant part of online courses, but only 66% of respondents say that forums are engaging, highlighting an opportunity for improvement. (Learning House, 2019)Most of us have been there both as student and instructor. How do you ignite a cold discussion board so that it invites all attendees to not just participate, but genuinely and with authenticity?
“Embrace” is probably too strong. “Acquiescence” suggests too much passivity. Whatever word you choose, though, the data indicate that American faculty members -- whether grudgingly or enthusiastically -- are increasingly participating in and, to a lesser extent, accepting the validity of online education.
Perhaps when we consider the silent voices, we should distinguish between those that are drowned out, and those that simply never shout out at all. Self censured, not silenced.
