April 29, 2014 by Danya Perez-Hernandez
Last year Coursera announced partnerships with international organizations to expand the number of its massive open online courses available in foreign languages. Now the for-profit MOOC provider is going a step further by establishing a Global Translator Community in which individuals will volunteer to help translate lectures.
Coursera says it hopes not only to “make more content more available in more languages” but also to create a close-knit community of translators who will be recognized for their work, according to a news release. Volunteers will help with subtitle translations for the lectures.
Read more.
http://chronicle.com
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Psst! Wearable Devices Could Make Big Tech Leaps, Into Your Ear
by JESSICA GLAZER
April 29, 2014
It's early evening on a Thursday and you're at a networking event, balancing a small plate of appetizers in one hand. Someone comes up to you to say hello. She acts like you've met before, but you can't recall where.
"It's Jackie Barnes," she says.
"Jackie Barnes," you repeat like you remember. "It's been a while."
As you say her name, a little device in your ear picks it up. The device does a search, and microseconds later it feeds you the info it's found on the Web: the college she attended, her current company, that she has two kids and is an avid runner.
Read more.
http://www.npr.org
April 29, 2014
It's early evening on a Thursday and you're at a networking event, balancing a small plate of appetizers in one hand. Someone comes up to you to say hello. She acts like you've met before, but you can't recall where.
"It's Jackie Barnes," she says.
"Jackie Barnes," you repeat like you remember. "It's been a while."
As you say her name, a little device in your ear picks it up. The device does a search, and microseconds later it feeds you the info it's found on the Web: the college she attended, her current company, that she has two kids and is an avid runner.
Read more.
http://www.npr.org
Standing on the Sidelines With Virtual Reality
By NICK BILTON
April 29, 2014
D.J. Roller, a filmmaker and explorer, has captured videos of sharks, taken cameras under the Antarctic ice, and documented the discovery of the remains of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Now he wants everyone to be able to experience those same adventures — but thankfully from the comforts of their living room.
Read more.
http://mobile.nytimes.com
April 29, 2014
D.J. Roller, a filmmaker and explorer, has captured videos of sharks, taken cameras under the Antarctic ice, and documented the discovery of the remains of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Now he wants everyone to be able to experience those same adventures — but thankfully from the comforts of their living room.
Read more.
http://mobile.nytimes.com
Why #NetNeutrality Matters to Higher Ed
April 29, 2014 by Adeline Koh
If you work in the digital humanities–or for that matter, in higher education–net neutrality is an issue that calls for a concerted response from all of us now. if you’re still getting caught up, check out Adeline’s post on this from last week, Alexis Madrigal’s guide to the history of Net Neutrality, and Colorlines on why people of color need to care about this.
Net Neutrality is the principle that all Internet content should be treated equally. Current proposed changes by the FCC would allow Internet Service Providers like Comcast to charge content providers(say, Netflix or the DPLA) a premium for access to the fastest service. Why does this matter? Think about how quickly you lose interest if a website takes longer than usual to load. The New York Times reported that people will visit a website less often if it is slower than a close competitor by more than 250 milliseconds (a thousandth of a second).
Read more.
http://chronicle.com
If you work in the digital humanities–or for that matter, in higher education–net neutrality is an issue that calls for a concerted response from all of us now. if you’re still getting caught up, check out Adeline’s post on this from last week, Alexis Madrigal’s guide to the history of Net Neutrality, and Colorlines on why people of color need to care about this.
Net Neutrality is the principle that all Internet content should be treated equally. Current proposed changes by the FCC would allow Internet Service Providers like Comcast to charge content providers(say, Netflix or the DPLA) a premium for access to the fastest service. Why does this matter? Think about how quickly you lose interest if a website takes longer than usual to load. The New York Times reported that people will visit a website less often if it is slower than a close competitor by more than 250 milliseconds (a thousandth of a second).
Read more.
http://chronicle.com
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Flipped learning skepticism: Is flipped learning just self-teaching?
By Robert Talbert
I had to take a bit of a hiatus for the last two weeks to finish up the semester and to give and grade exams. Now that this is over, I wanted to come back and address some of the comments in these two posts. Specifically, many of those comments are principled skepticisms of flipped learning and the flipped classroom, and rather than bury my responses in an already crowded comment thread, I thought they deserved to be brought up point by point for discussion.
Read more.
http://chronicle.com
I had to take a bit of a hiatus for the last two weeks to finish up the semester and to give and grade exams. Now that this is over, I wanted to come back and address some of the comments in these two posts. Specifically, many of those comments are principled skepticisms of flipped learning and the flipped classroom, and rather than bury my responses in an already crowded comment thread, I thought they deserved to be brought up point by point for discussion.
Read more.
http://chronicle.com
Online Education: More Than MOOCs
On January 8, 2014, Inside Higher Ed editors Scott Jaschik and Doug Lederman led a lively discussion of online education issues in a free webinar.
Read more.
http://www.insidehighered.com
Read more.
http://www.insidehighered.com
Monday, April 28, 2014
Online Learning 101
Online Learning 101
- Orientation program
- Instructional Design process
- Assurance of Learning
- Program evaluation
- Copyrights
- Academic honesty
- Plagiarism, proctoring
- Technology
- Program support
- Student development
- Faculty development
- Online learning formats
By Charles Wachira
BlendKit2014 Chapter 2 - Reading reaction
Is there value in student-to-student and student-to-instructor interaction in all courses regardless of discipline?
Interaction in a course be it student-to-student or student-to-faculty is crucial to the success of the course. Generally a course will be composed of students from different backgrounds and different learning styles. Encouraging students to interact with each other promotes and exposes students to different points of view. Faculty interactions with students helps the students to gain a better understanding of the course and faculty expectations. Faculty are also able to gain insight into the students needs in and beyond the classroom.
By Charles Wachira
Interaction in a course be it student-to-student or student-to-faculty is crucial to the success of the course. Generally a course will be composed of students from different backgrounds and different learning styles. Encouraging students to interact with each other promotes and exposes students to different points of view. Faculty interactions with students helps the students to gain a better understanding of the course and faculty expectations. Faculty are also able to gain insight into the students needs in and beyond the classroom.
By Charles Wachira
BlendKit2014: Week 2
Week 2
- BlendKit Course: BlendKit Reader: Chapter 2
- Reading reaction
- Post reading reactions to blog
- Post to twitter: #BlendKit2014
- DIY assignment
- Course schedule: completed (04/30/2014)
- Course protocol: completed (04/29/2014)
- Course syllabus: complete (05/05/2014)
- Webnair: Blended Interactions (05/05/2014)
- Week 02 Feedback (05/05/2014)
By Charles Wachira
Students Prefer Smartphones and Laptops to Tablets, Study Finds
April 25, 2014 by Danya Perez-Hernandez
When tablets appeared on the market, there were expectations that they would be laptop computers’ greatest competition. That has not turned out to be true at Ball State University, where students see tablets as a form of entertainment—as essentially a bigger and more expensive smartphone, according to a recent study.
The study, by Michael Hanley, a professor of advertising and director of Ball State’s Institute for Mobile Media Research, found that students’ use of smartphones for entertainment, such as watching videos, visiting social-media platforms, and shopping online, has increased in the last five years. Those are the same uses they would consider buying a tablet for. Because of tablets’ high prices, however, students prefer to stick to laptops and smartphones while in college, the study found. (Mr. Hanley plans to publish the results of the study later this year.)
Read more.
http://chronicle.com
When tablets appeared on the market, there were expectations that they would be laptop computers’ greatest competition. That has not turned out to be true at Ball State University, where students see tablets as a form of entertainment—as essentially a bigger and more expensive smartphone, according to a recent study.
The study, by Michael Hanley, a professor of advertising and director of Ball State’s Institute for Mobile Media Research, found that students’ use of smartphones for entertainment, such as watching videos, visiting social-media platforms, and shopping online, has increased in the last five years. Those are the same uses they would consider buying a tablet for. Because of tablets’ high prices, however, students prefer to stick to laptops and smartphones while in college, the study found. (Mr. Hanley plans to publish the results of the study later this year.)
Read more.
http://chronicle.com
Friday, April 25, 2014
How Technology Has Impacted Education Over the Years [Infographic]
By Molly Greenberg
Innovating in the education realm is no easy task. In fact, it's one of the most difficult industries to disrupt because of its traditional brick-and-mortar nature. Or, well, at least that's what we're led to believe. If you take a trip down memory lane, though, you'll see how far we've come using technology to create successful learners, starting all the way back in the year 1650.
Online tutoring service WebWiseTutors created an infographic chronicling advancements in education throughout the ages, offering a visual to demonstrate how technology has continued to push us forward, opening new doors for students and educators alike.
Read more.
http://inthecapital.streetwise.co
Innovating in the education realm is no easy task. In fact, it's one of the most difficult industries to disrupt because of its traditional brick-and-mortar nature. Or, well, at least that's what we're led to believe. If you take a trip down memory lane, though, you'll see how far we've come using technology to create successful learners, starting all the way back in the year 1650.
Online tutoring service WebWiseTutors created an infographic chronicling advancements in education throughout the ages, offering a visual to demonstrate how technology has continued to push us forward, opening new doors for students and educators alike.
Read more.
http://inthecapital.streetwise.co
Thursday, April 24, 2014
The Incredible Shrinking Technology
By John Basso
The next logical progression goes one step beyond rings and glasses to implanted microchips and processors. It seems like a page out of a sci-fi novel right now, and most consumers aren't quite ready for that level of invasiveness. However, as wearable technologies go from convenient to bulky, and users become thirsty for even tinier tech, what we now consider science fiction will become reality.
are constantly moving. From a morning meeting to a lunch date to an afternoon conference call, we are always on the go and so are our technology devices. They are with us every step of the way, acting as our personal assistants, communicators and life-savers.
As we progress closer to a world where HUVr boards aren't a hoax and technology no longer fits in the palm of your hand but on a node in your brain, one trend is apparent: We are shifting from using static, desktop devices to portable devices in order to accommodate our lightspeed lifestyle.
Read more.
http://www.technewsworld.com
The next logical progression goes one step beyond rings and glasses to implanted microchips and processors. It seems like a page out of a sci-fi novel right now, and most consumers aren't quite ready for that level of invasiveness. However, as wearable technologies go from convenient to bulky, and users become thirsty for even tinier tech, what we now consider science fiction will become reality.
are constantly moving. From a morning meeting to a lunch date to an afternoon conference call, we are always on the go and so are our technology devices. They are with us every step of the way, acting as our personal assistants, communicators and life-savers.
As we progress closer to a world where HUVr boards aren't a hoax and technology no longer fits in the palm of your hand but on a node in your brain, one trend is apparent: We are shifting from using static, desktop devices to portable devices in order to accommodate our lightspeed lifestyle.
Read more.
http://www.technewsworld.com
What I Learned by Flipping the MOOC
By Steve Blank
Two of the hot topics in education in the last few years have been Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC’s) and the flipped classroom. I’ve been experimenting with both of them.
What I’ve learned (besides being able to use the word “pedagogy” in a sentence) is
1) Assigning students lectures as homework doesn’t guarantee the students will watch them and
2) in a flipped classroom you can become hostage to the pedagogy. Here’s the story of what we tried and what we learned.
MOOC’S – MASSIVE OPEN ONLINE COURSES
A MOOC is a complicated name for a simple idea – an online course accessible to everyone over the web. I created my MOOC by serendipity. Learning how to optimize it in my classes has been a more deliberate and iterative process.
Read more.
http://www.pbs.org
Two of the hot topics in education in the last few years have been Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC’s) and the flipped classroom. I’ve been experimenting with both of them.
What I’ve learned (besides being able to use the word “pedagogy” in a sentence) is
1) Assigning students lectures as homework doesn’t guarantee the students will watch them and
2) in a flipped classroom you can become hostage to the pedagogy. Here’s the story of what we tried and what we learned.
MOOC’S – MASSIVE OPEN ONLINE COURSES
A MOOC is a complicated name for a simple idea – an online course accessible to everyone over the web. I created my MOOC by serendipity. Learning how to optimize it in my classes has been a more deliberate and iterative process.
Read more.
http://www.pbs.org
How to Create a Successful Online Course — Without Muppets
By Steve Doig
As it turns out, you don’t need Muppets to teach a good online course.
I worried about this a few months ago as I began to prepare for my Arizona State University ASUonline ”Media Research Methods” class. This concern blossomed when, out of curiosity, I signed up for a Harvard EdX online course on computer science basics and watched the first lecture.
The video began with a two-and-a-half minute segment of a fuzzy puppet waking up in a dorm room and then rushing across the Harvard Yard to get to this class. It wasn’t some generic puppet — it was a Muppet; apparently the dorm is around the corner from Sesame Street. And the rock-star lecture was delivered from the stage of what looked like a packed opera house, complete with props, multiple camera angles, wireless mikes and professional editing.
Read more.
http://www.pbs.org
As it turns out, you don’t need Muppets to teach a good online course.
I worried about this a few months ago as I began to prepare for my Arizona State University ASUonline ”Media Research Methods” class. This concern blossomed when, out of curiosity, I signed up for a Harvard EdX online course on computer science basics and watched the first lecture.
The video began with a two-and-a-half minute segment of a fuzzy puppet waking up in a dorm room and then rushing across the Harvard Yard to get to this class. It wasn’t some generic puppet — it was a Muppet; apparently the dorm is around the corner from Sesame Street. And the rock-star lecture was delivered from the stage of what looked like a packed opera house, complete with props, multiple camera angles, wireless mikes and professional editing.
Read more.
http://www.pbs.org
How Medill Uses ‘Searchlights and Sunglasses’ in the Classroom
By Lauren Simonis
Owen Youngman, Knight Professor of Digital Media Strategy at Northwestern University has been using Searchlights and Sunglasses by Eric Newton as a textbook in his classroom. Explore his experiences as you think about texts for your next course and ways innovative forms can invigorate students’ thinking.
Read more.
http://www.pbs.org/
Owen Youngman, Knight Professor of Digital Media Strategy at Northwestern University has been using Searchlights and Sunglasses by Eric Newton as a textbook in his classroom. Explore his experiences as you think about texts for your next course and ways innovative forms can invigorate students’ thinking.
Read more.
http://www.pbs.org/
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
What Makes an Online Instructional Video Compelling? (EDUCAUSE Review) | EDUCAUSE.edu
Fantastic breakdown of video in online courses
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
BlendKit2014 Chapter 1 - Reading reaction
BlendKit2014 Chapter 1: Understanding Blended Learning
Is blended learning an online enhancement to a face-to-face learning environment or a face-to-face enhancement to an online learning environment?
While one could argue for either model, I believe a successful blended learning program should be created from scratch with both online and face-to-face environments complementing each other. In most cases, one environment may overshadow the other. The moment more emphasis is placed on one environment, that environment will take precedence.
By Charles Wachira
By Charles Wachira
Monday, April 21, 2014
BlendKit2014: Week 1
Began the BlendKit2014 MOOC today (04/21/2014)
- Orientation Webinar: Introduction to instructors and course structure
- Reading Reaction: Chapter 01
- Read and post reaction to Chapter 1: Understanding Blended Learning
- http://teachinglearningresearch.blogspot.com/2014/04/blendkit2014-chapter-1.html
- Blog entry
- Info Stream:
- Post to Twitter: #BlendKit2014
- DIY Task 01
- Course Blue Print
- Mix Map
- Week 1 Webnair
- BlendKit2014: Week 01 Webinar: Becoming a Blended Learning Designer
By Charles Wachira
BlendKit2014: Becoming a Blended Learning Designer
BlendKit2014: Becoming a Blended Learning Designer
I'm hoping to learn and engage in the processes of creating Blended Learning strategies.
I'm hoping to learn and engage in the processes of creating Blended Learning strategies.
- Follow on twitter #blendkit2014
- http://youtu.be/662kaPyzde0
By Charles Wachira
Microflipping: a Modest Twist on the 'Flipped' Classroom
April 21, 2014
By Sam Buemi
There has been a lot of buzz over the past few years, but also a lot of debate, about the so-called flipped classroom. The idea of flipping a class—meaning that students learn content outside the classroom, and then actively engage with that same material during class time—appeals to many people in academe. Supporters of the flipped classroom see it as a way to replace a mass-produced education system that has emphasized rote memorization, while those who teach in a more traditional way may find it intimidating.
But in practice, the flipped classroom often feels like an all-or-nothing endeavor that does not serve students as well as it could. Instructors typically either invest in flipping classes—using social media, video-editing software, or other bells and whistles of educational technology—or they don’t. What if, instead, we used a partially flipped classroom—the "microflipped" classroom—that combined the best of the old and new teaching approaches?
Read more.
http://chronicle.com
By Sam Buemi
There has been a lot of buzz over the past few years, but also a lot of debate, about the so-called flipped classroom. The idea of flipping a class—meaning that students learn content outside the classroom, and then actively engage with that same material during class time—appeals to many people in academe. Supporters of the flipped classroom see it as a way to replace a mass-produced education system that has emphasized rote memorization, while those who teach in a more traditional way may find it intimidating.
But in practice, the flipped classroom often feels like an all-or-nothing endeavor that does not serve students as well as it could. Instructors typically either invest in flipping classes—using social media, video-editing software, or other bells and whistles of educational technology—or they don’t. What if, instead, we used a partially flipped classroom—the "microflipped" classroom—that combined the best of the old and new teaching approaches?
Read more.
http://chronicle.com
What Enhanced E-Books Can Do for Scholarly Authors
April 21, 2014
By Jacob L. Wright
For scholars in the humanities, the "enhanced" e-book format is a game changer. Now we can much more easily disseminate our work in art history, archaeology, and many other scholarly fields that have presented high hurdles to print publishing.
A fully enhanced e-book can do the work of two or more traditional print volumes: Authors can address the general reading public and lower-level students in the main body of the text, while treating technical matters for advanced readers in more detail by providing electronic links to extensive pullout or pop-up windows.
Read more.
http://chronicle.com
By Jacob L. Wright
For scholars in the humanities, the "enhanced" e-book format is a game changer. Now we can much more easily disseminate our work in art history, archaeology, and many other scholarly fields that have presented high hurdles to print publishing.
A fully enhanced e-book can do the work of two or more traditional print volumes: Authors can address the general reading public and lower-level students in the main body of the text, while treating technical matters for advanced readers in more detail by providing electronic links to extensive pullout or pop-up windows.
Read more.
http://chronicle.com
Confronting the Myth of the 'Digital Native'
By Megan O’Neil APRIL 21, 2014
When Kaitlin Jennrich first walked into her communications seminar last fall, she had no idea that the professor already knew of her affinity for pink cars and Olive Garden breadsticks—and that she planned to share that knowledge with the class. It hadn’t taken much sleuthing on the professor’s part to uncover those inane nuggets. The 18-year-old freshman at Northwestern University had herself lobbed them into the public sphere, via Twitter.
Her reaction, she recalls, was, "Oh, no."
"I realized the kind of image I was putting out there wasn’t the kind of image I wanted potential employers or professors to see," says Ms. Jennrich, whose professional aspirations include sports public relations. -
Read more.
http://m.chronicle.com
When Kaitlin Jennrich first walked into her communications seminar last fall, she had no idea that the professor already knew of her affinity for pink cars and Olive Garden breadsticks—and that she planned to share that knowledge with the class. It hadn’t taken much sleuthing on the professor’s part to uncover those inane nuggets. The 18-year-old freshman at Northwestern University had herself lobbed them into the public sphere, via Twitter.
Her reaction, she recalls, was, "Oh, no."
"I realized the kind of image I was putting out there wasn’t the kind of image I wanted potential employers or professors to see," says Ms. Jennrich, whose professional aspirations include sports public relations. -
Read more.
http://m.chronicle.com
Digital Public Library of America Celebrates Its Birthday
April 18, 2014 by Jennifer Howard
Like most youngsters, the Digital Public Library of America has been growing fast. Officially a year old, it now encompasses more than seven million items, three times what it started with 12 months ago.
Designed to be a gateway to information rather than a final destination, the DPLA doesn’t actually ingest digitized books, manuscripts, photos, moving pictures, recordings, or other materials. Instead, it works with a nationwide network of institutions to aggregate the metadata that describes their digitized holdings. Bringing such information together makes it easier for users to find those collections.
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus
Friday, April 18, 2014
Design flaw in 'secure' cloud storage puts privacy at risk, JHU researchers say
Phil Sneiderman / April 16, 2014
Johns Hopkins computer scientists have found a flaw in the way that secure cloud storage companies protect their customers' data, a weakness they say jeopardizes the privacy protection these digital warehouses claim to offer.
Whenever customers share their confidential files with a trusted friend or colleague, researchers say, the storage provider could exploit the security flaw to secretly view private data.
Read more.
http://hub.jhu.edu
Johns Hopkins computer scientists have found a flaw in the way that secure cloud storage companies protect their customers' data, a weakness they say jeopardizes the privacy protection these digital warehouses claim to offer.
Whenever customers share their confidential files with a trusted friend or colleague, researchers say, the storage provider could exploit the security flaw to secretly view private data.
Read more.
http://hub.jhu.edu
Thursday, April 17, 2014
The Proctor Is In
February 25, 2014
By Allie Grasgreen
Only 100 or so colleges maintain honor codes, which are thought to bolster integrity and trust among professors and students by involving the latter in the creation and enforcement of academic standards. When a campus culture values open and frequent discussion about when and why cheating is socially unacceptable, the thinking goes (and some research shows), students are less likely to flout the rules – and more likely to report their peers who do.
Read more
www.insidehighered.com
By Allie Grasgreen
Only 100 or so colleges maintain honor codes, which are thought to bolster integrity and trust among professors and students by involving the latter in the creation and enforcement of academic standards. When a campus culture values open and frequent discussion about when and why cheating is socially unacceptable, the thinking goes (and some research shows), students are less likely to flout the rules – and more likely to report their peers who do.
Read more
www.insidehighered.com
Behind the Webcam's Watchful Eye, Online Proctoring Takes Hold
April 15, 2013
By Steve Kolowich
Hailey Schnorr has spent years peering into the bedrooms, kitchens, and dorm rooms of students via Webcam. In her job proctoring online tests for universities, she has learned to focus mainly on students' eyes.
"What we look for is eye movement," says Ms. Schnorr. "When the eyes start veering off to the side, that's clearly a red flag."
Read more.
http://chronicle.com
By Steve Kolowich
Hailey Schnorr has spent years peering into the bedrooms, kitchens, and dorm rooms of students via Webcam. In her job proctoring online tests for universities, she has learned to focus mainly on students' eyes.
"What we look for is eye movement," says Ms. Schnorr. "When the eyes start veering off to the side, that's clearly a red flag."
Read more.
http://chronicle.com
Udacity Will No Longer Offer Free Certificates
April 17, 2014 by Steve Kolowich
Udacity hopes the certificates it offers to people who complete its massive open online courses are worth something. Now the company plans to charge students accordingly.
The company, one of the big three MOOC providers, said on Wednesday that it would no longer give learners the opportunity to earn free, “non-identity-verified” certificates. People will still be able to view Udacity’s online-course materials without paying, but those who want a credential will have to open their wallets.
“Discontinuing the ‘free’ certificates has been one of the most difficult decisions we’ve made,” wrote Sebastian Thrun, Udacity’s founder, in a blog post about the policy change. “We know that many of our hardworking students can’t afford to pay for classes. At the same time, we cannot hope that our certificates will ever carry great value if we don’t make this change.”
Read more.
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus
Udacity hopes the certificates it offers to people who complete its massive open online courses are worth something. Now the company plans to charge students accordingly.
The company, one of the big three MOOC providers, said on Wednesday that it would no longer give learners the opportunity to earn free, “non-identity-verified” certificates. People will still be able to view Udacity’s online-course materials without paying, but those who want a credential will have to open their wallets.
“Discontinuing the ‘free’ certificates has been one of the most difficult decisions we’ve made,” wrote Sebastian Thrun, Udacity’s founder, in a blog post about the policy change. “We know that many of our hardworking students can’t afford to pay for classes. At the same time, we cannot hope that our certificates will ever carry great value if we don’t make this change.”
Read more.
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus
Five Lessons for Online Teaching from Finishing a MOOC
April 16, 2014 by Prof. Hacker
At the end of January 2014, I enrolled in an MOOC on corpus linguistics offered by the U.K.-based Open University’s Future Learn. CorpusMOOC, as it was affectionately known and hashtagged on Twitter, was billed as a “practical introduction to the methodology of corpus linguistics for researchers in social sciences and humanities” (See the video introduction here). Tony McEnrey, a leading scholar in the field, aimed to deliver a hefty eight learning objectives in as many weeks. One in particular, to “demonstrate the use of corpus linguistics in the humanities, especially History” aligned nicely with my prior work using corpus linguistics as a digital history methodology. I am happy to report that I beat the odds (or rather, fit most of the profile of a successful MOOCer) and successfully completed the course.
Read more.
http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker
At the end of January 2014, I enrolled in an MOOC on corpus linguistics offered by the U.K.-based Open University’s Future Learn. CorpusMOOC, as it was affectionately known and hashtagged on Twitter, was billed as a “practical introduction to the methodology of corpus linguistics for researchers in social sciences and humanities” (See the video introduction here). Tony McEnrey, a leading scholar in the field, aimed to deliver a hefty eight learning objectives in as many weeks. One in particular, to “demonstrate the use of corpus linguistics in the humanities, especially History” aligned nicely with my prior work using corpus linguistics as a digital history methodology. I am happy to report that I beat the odds (or rather, fit most of the profile of a successful MOOCer) and successfully completed the course.
Read more.
http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Software and Services for Managing Group Tasks
April 14, 2014 by Konrad M. Lawson
The world of software and online services is a densely populated field of companies who want you to share your to-do list with them. We’ve reviewed some of them here, including Todoist, Gqueues, Wunderlist, Basecamp, and Got Milk?. New options are appearing all the time, but I’ve long been a fan of Omnifocus and have good friends who swear byThings, both of which grow out of the Mac/iOS ecosystem.
Read more.
http://chronicle.com/
The world of software and online services is a densely populated field of companies who want you to share your to-do list with them. We’ve reviewed some of them here, including Todoist, Gqueues, Wunderlist, Basecamp, and Got Milk?. New options are appearing all the time, but I’ve long been a fan of Omnifocus and have good friends who swear byThings, both of which grow out of the Mac/iOS ecosystem.
Read more.
http://chronicle.com/
Monday, April 14, 2014
Google Sees Glass in Businesses' Future
By John P. Mello Jr.
E-Commerce Times
Google Glass may not be welcome everywhere -- you might want to rethink wearing it in a bar or a movie theater, for example -- but there are many settings in which the technology could find itself right at home, such as construction sites and hospitals. "We're seeing huge excitement around the possibility of what this can do for enabling the workforce," said APX Labs CEO Brian Ballard.
to now, Google's smart eyeware, Glass, largely has been considered a diversion for gadget lovers, but the company on Tuesday announced a new program to encourage its use in the workplace.
Read more.
http://www.technewsworld.com
E-Commerce Times
Google Glass may not be welcome everywhere -- you might want to rethink wearing it in a bar or a movie theater, for example -- but there are many settings in which the technology could find itself right at home, such as construction sites and hospitals. "We're seeing huge excitement around the possibility of what this can do for enabling the workforce," said APX Labs CEO Brian Ballard.
to now, Google's smart eyeware, Glass, largely has been considered a diversion for gadget lovers, but the company on Tuesday announced a new program to encourage its use in the workplace.
Read more.
http://www.technewsworld.com
Technology March/April 2014
Technology March/April 2014
Technology
> Most Users Still Abandon MOOCs
> Yale Launches 'Next-Generation' MOOCs
> Career Planning Gets Gamified
> Big Data Gets Bigger on Campus
Read more.
http://www.bizedmagazine.com
Technology
> Most Users Still Abandon MOOCs
> Yale Launches 'Next-Generation' MOOCs
> Career Planning Gets Gamified
> Big Data Gets Bigger on Campus
Read more.
http://www.bizedmagazine.com
Translating the MBA
By Emmanuel Métais March/April 2014
As the number of Asian students enrolling in U.S. and European business programs continues to grow, many business schools are intensifying their marketing and recruitment efforts to capture the attention of this growing demographic. At the same time, however, it's important for educators to rethink the academic product they have to offer these students. Is it adapted to their linguistic, cultural, and educational needs? Does it suit their employment objectives?
At EDHEC Business School in France, where I serve as director of the Global MBA program, we are reviewing our pedagogical approach, course offerings, and student support services to provide our Asian student population with the best management education possible. We want to make sure we prepare them for successful careers, whether they work in New York or London, or back home in Shanghai or Seoul, Tokyo or Delhi. It's a challenging time for business schools, but also one filled with great promise for internationalization and student recruitment.
Read more.
http://www.bizedmagazine.com
As the number of Asian students enrolling in U.S. and European business programs continues to grow, many business schools are intensifying their marketing and recruitment efforts to capture the attention of this growing demographic. At the same time, however, it's important for educators to rethink the academic product they have to offer these students. Is it adapted to their linguistic, cultural, and educational needs? Does it suit their employment objectives?
At EDHEC Business School in France, where I serve as director of the Global MBA program, we are reviewing our pedagogical approach, course offerings, and student support services to provide our Asian student population with the best management education possible. We want to make sure we prepare them for successful careers, whether they work in New York or London, or back home in Shanghai or Seoul, Tokyo or Delhi. It's a challenging time for business schools, but also one filled with great promise for internationalization and student recruitment.
Read more.
http://www.bizedmagazine.com
Friday, April 11, 2014
Forget wearable tech, embeddable implants are already here
By Keiron Monks, for CNN
Editor's note: Make, Create, Innovate is a new science and technology series that tells the stories behind the inventions and technological breakthroughs that are reshaping our world.
(CNN) -- Smartphone mapping features are great for getting directions, until you lose signal. But you could avoid getting lost in the woods with a guiding system embedded in your body.
Electronic engineer and biohacker Brian McEvoy has designed the first internal compass, and will be the first test subject. The 'Southpaw' -- inspired by the North Paw bracelet - works by sealing a miniature compass inside a silicon coat, within a rounded Titanium shell, to be implanted under the skin. An ultra-thin whisker juts out, which is activated when the user faces north, to lightly brush an alert on the underside of the skin.
Read more.
http://www.cnn.com/
Editor's note: Make, Create, Innovate is a new science and technology series that tells the stories behind the inventions and technological breakthroughs that are reshaping our world.
(CNN) -- Smartphone mapping features are great for getting directions, until you lose signal. But you could avoid getting lost in the woods with a guiding system embedded in your body.
Electronic engineer and biohacker Brian McEvoy has designed the first internal compass, and will be the first test subject. The 'Southpaw' -- inspired by the North Paw bracelet - works by sealing a miniature compass inside a silicon coat, within a rounded Titanium shell, to be implanted under the skin. An ultra-thin whisker juts out, which is activated when the user faces north, to lightly brush an alert on the underside of the skin.
Read more.
http://www.cnn.com/
Thursday, April 10, 2014
No Classrooms, Just Experiences: “free thinking” the future of higher ed
By Brian Mathews
I’m serving on a “Student Experience Task Force”— which among other things is exploring the relationship between residence halls, classrooms, laboratories, dining facilities, student centers, libraries, gyms, and outdoor spaces across my campus—with an eye toward long-term strategies. This is a yearlong process.
Our first assignment was to “free think” one possibility twenty to thirty years from now. These ideas were not expected to be grounded in reality— but to intentionally be provocative, disruptive, or transformative.
Read more.
http://chronicle.com/
http://chronicle.com/blognetwork/theubiquitouslibrarian/
I’m serving on a “Student Experience Task Force”— which among other things is exploring the relationship between residence halls, classrooms, laboratories, dining facilities, student centers, libraries, gyms, and outdoor spaces across my campus—with an eye toward long-term strategies. This is a yearlong process.
Our first assignment was to “free think” one possibility twenty to thirty years from now. These ideas were not expected to be grounded in reality— but to intentionally be provocative, disruptive, or transformative.
Read more.
http://chronicle.com/
http://chronicle.com/blognetwork/theubiquitouslibrarian/
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
The problem is not the students.
By Robert Talbert
Last week I posted what I considered to be an innocuous and mildly interesting post about a proposed formal definition of flipped learning. I figured it would generate a few retweets and start some conversations. Instead, it spawned one of the longest comment threads we’ve had around here in a while – probably the longest if you mod out all the Khan Academy posts. It was a comment thread that made me so angry in places that it has taken me a week to calm down to the point where I feel I can respond.
It takes a bit of backstory to explain why I was so emotionally worked up over some of the comments in that thread, so bear with me for a minute.
Read more.
http://chronicle.com/blognetwork/castingoutnines/
http://chronicle.com/
Last week I posted what I considered to be an innocuous and mildly interesting post about a proposed formal definition of flipped learning. I figured it would generate a few retweets and start some conversations. Instead, it spawned one of the longest comment threads we’ve had around here in a while – probably the longest if you mod out all the Khan Academy posts. It was a comment thread that made me so angry in places that it has taken me a week to calm down to the point where I feel I can respond.
It takes a bit of backstory to explain why I was so emotionally worked up over some of the comments in that thread, so bear with me for a minute.
Read more.
http://chronicle.com/blognetwork/castingoutnines/
http://chronicle.com/
Could wearables become bigger than tablets?
The market forecast for mobile gadgets worn on your wrist, hip, or head is stellar, and tech's biggest players are preparing for the rush.
By Peter Suciu
FORTUNE -- Mobile gadgets won't just be tucked into your purse or your pocket. Soon, they'll increasingly be on your wrist, as part of your glasses and even in your clothing. While still in its infancy, wearable technology is poised to take off. The market for the wearables business is expected to exceed $1.5 billion in 2014, double its value last year, according to a report from Juniper Research.
Unlike other parts of the consumer electronics market, the wearables category is made up of many small segments, with wearable fitness bands currently leading the way in consumer adoption. But the wearable band market is growing fast, according to a forecast by Canalys, and more than 17 million wearable fitness bands will be sold this year. That figure is estimated to reach 23 million by 2015 and more than 45 million by 2017.
Read more.
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/
By Peter Suciu
FORTUNE -- Mobile gadgets won't just be tucked into your purse or your pocket. Soon, they'll increasingly be on your wrist, as part of your glasses and even in your clothing. While still in its infancy, wearable technology is poised to take off. The market for the wearables business is expected to exceed $1.5 billion in 2014, double its value last year, according to a report from Juniper Research.
Unlike other parts of the consumer electronics market, the wearables category is made up of many small segments, with wearable fitness bands currently leading the way in consumer adoption. But the wearable band market is growing fast, according to a forecast by Canalys, and more than 17 million wearable fitness bands will be sold this year. That figure is estimated to reach 23 million by 2015 and more than 45 million by 2017.
Read more.
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/
Monday, April 7, 2014
How Augmented Reality Can Enhance Learning in Higher Ed
Kristen Hicks
Every year seems to bring us new technologies that once fit more neatly into science fiction stories than reality. Augmented reality sounds pretty futuristic, but with the help of mobile technology, it’s made its way into everyday life for some of the population.
With Google Glass, augmented reality technology will likely come to more closely resemble the versions of it people picture from movies and tv shows. In the meantime, it works as an overlay of the picture you see on the screen of your mobile device. Point and click, and the image in front of you (as seen through the screen) changes according to the overlay, or aura, someone’s created for it.
http://edcetera.rafter.com/
Educause and UCF Launching Blended Learning MOOC
Educause is teaming up with the University of Central Florida to offer a free massive open online course on Instructure's Canvas Network. The first MOOC for Educause, "BlendKit2014 - Becoming a Blended Learning Designer" will cover the merits and methods of blended learning, providing an introduction to key issues and step-by-step guidance in producing materials for a blended course. Participants, expected to be mostly educators and instructional designers, will come away with best practices for developing design documents, content pages and peer review feedback tools, according to a press release.
http://campustechnology.com/
The 4 Components of a DIY Professional Development Toolkit
Dave Guymon
Education has always been a reflection of broader cultural values. As such, the roles of teachers and students have evolved as our models of education have moved from one iteration to another. Teachers who once traveled to town to instruct a heterogeneous room full of passive learners on matters of rote memorization have come to adopt new roles and philosophies toward learning. As these new models have emerged, educators have been required to hone their skills and adapt to ever changing sets of priorities, needs and expectations.
Read more.
http://www.edutopia.org/
Education has always been a reflection of broader cultural values. As such, the roles of teachers and students have evolved as our models of education have moved from one iteration to another. Teachers who once traveled to town to instruct a heterogeneous room full of passive learners on matters of rote memorization have come to adopt new roles and philosophies toward learning. As these new models have emerged, educators have been required to hone their skills and adapt to ever changing sets of priorities, needs and expectations.
Read more.
http://www.edutopia.org/
Discussion Board Best Practices
Discussion boards are common tools in online education.
Below are some ideas for implementing successful Discussion Board activities in your online course.
- Use peer review
- Provide discussion board guidelines
- Define roles
- Interesting topics
- Provide regular feedback
- Encourage group participation and collaboration
- Create and maintain a safe environment
- Encourage proper grammar
- Define acceptable communication styles
- Moderate but don't micromanage
- Keep discussion on track (moderate, intervene as needed)
By Charles Wachira
Study: MOOCs Viewed Positively by Employers for Hiring, Training
Newswise — RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – Many employers are still unfamiliar with massive open online courses, called MOOCs, but once they learned about them, they generally viewed them positively for recruiting, hiring and training employees, according to a new study by researchers at Duke University and RTI International.
The study, funded by the Gates Foundation, is the first to evaluate employers’ knowledge, experience and attitudes toward MOOCs. MOOCs are free online courses with unlimited participation offered through the internet.
Newswise.com
E-Learning Platform Lynda.com Buys Compilr To Add In-Browser Coding Tools, Price Around $20M
by Ingrid Lunden
Lynda.com, the online education platform that raised its first and only round of $103 million about a year ago, is today announcing an acquisition that will further Lynda.com’s reach with developers and expand the kinds of services it can offer to users. It’s acquiring Compilr, a Halifax, Canada startup that runs a cloud-based platform for people to learn, write and test code from within a browser. The companies are not commenting on the terms of the deal but we have heard that it is for around $20 million.
Read more.
Tech Crunch
Lynda.com, the online education platform that raised its first and only round of $103 million about a year ago, is today announcing an acquisition that will further Lynda.com’s reach with developers and expand the kinds of services it can offer to users. It’s acquiring Compilr, a Halifax, Canada startup that runs a cloud-based platform for people to learn, write and test code from within a browser. The companies are not commenting on the terms of the deal but we have heard that it is for around $20 million.
Read more.
Tech Crunch
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Creating learning objectives, flipped classroom style
March 5, 2014, 2:37 pm
By Robert Talbert
In my last post about the inverted/flipped calculus class, I stressed the importance of Guided Practice as a way of structuring students’ pre-class activities and as a means of teaching self-regulated learning behaviors. I mentioned there was one important difference between the way I described Guided Practice and the way I’ve described it before, and it focuses on the learning objectives.
Read more.
The Chronicle of Higher Education - Blog Network
By Robert Talbert
In my last post about the inverted/flipped calculus class, I stressed the importance of Guided Practice as a way of structuring students’ pre-class activities and as a means of teaching self-regulated learning behaviors. I mentioned there was one important difference between the way I described Guided Practice and the way I’ve described it before, and it focuses on the learning objectives.
Read more.
The Chronicle of Higher Education - Blog Network
Toward a common definition of “flipped learning”
April 1, 2014, 2:34 pm
By Robert Talbert
We’ve seen a significant ramping up of interest in – and exposure to – the flipped/inverted classroom over the last few years, and it’s been nice to see an uptick in the amount of research being done into its effectiveness. But one thing that’s been lacking has been a consensus on what the flipped classroom actually is. If a professor assigns readings to do before class and then holds discussions in class, is that “the flipped classroom”? I’ve said in the past that it is not (necessarily), but that’s just me. Now, however, a group of educators and others interested in flipped learning are proposing a common definition of flipped learning, and it’s pretty interesting.
Read more.
The Chronicle
By Robert Talbert
We’ve seen a significant ramping up of interest in – and exposure to – the flipped/inverted classroom over the last few years, and it’s been nice to see an uptick in the amount of research being done into its effectiveness. But one thing that’s been lacking has been a consensus on what the flipped classroom actually is. If a professor assigns readings to do before class and then holds discussions in class, is that “the flipped classroom”? I’ve said in the past that it is not (necessarily), but that’s just me. Now, however, a group of educators and others interested in flipped learning are proposing a common definition of flipped learning, and it’s pretty interesting.
Read more.
The Chronicle
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