1. thejasondunbar

    Instructional Design and Development Blog

    by

    EdTech Magazine has named IDDblog as one of the 50 must-read instructional technologies blogs in higher education. Contributors of this blog include award-wining instructional designers and EdTech experts within the industry. The blog offers a perspective of teachers and students in relation to instructional design, eLearning, MOOC’s, web tools, and more.

    The blog is maintained by the Faculty Instructional Technology Services (FITS) department at DePaul University.


    Some examples of good articles include:

    What to expect when you’re expecting to teach online

    Story-Telling Tools – Beyond PowerPoint

    Strategies to Enhance Virtual Conversations

  2. ekeating

    First Ever Post!

    by
    This is officially my first blog post ever!  I have been known to be somewhat of a late adopter, my favorite marketing term from college, and I am always one step behind the rest of the world.  I just got my first iPhone 5 (right before the 6...
  3. edwyer10

    Modern Family Shoots a ā€œModernā€ Episode

    by
    This week the tv show modern family shot their entire episode using mobile apps. It showed the mother character on a laptop while she is waiting for a flight calling her family using facetime, checking the gps location of an iphone on icloud… very cool episode for those like me who are interested in that […]
  4. lishna68

    Above Treeline 2015-02-09 18:09:00

    by

    Y=MX+B

    A SALES REP'S TALE


    Preface   

        I hate math. I am the antithesis of a “math” person. I don’t get it. Here is a tale of overcoming great odds, of enlightenment, of redemption. This is my story.
       

    Act One

        Years ago I accepted a sales position with Key Curriculum Press (Key) a publisher of high school math and science programs. The position required me to discuss the qualities of our products with teachers of math and to engage in the formal presentation of our products to teachers of math. Obviously, I was desperate for a job. Once I realized what I’d committed myself to, fear consumed me.
        The company embraced a “reform” approach to mathematics instruction. The approach focused on teaching abstract mathematical concepts by way of hands-on experiences that tapped into the learner’s prior understanding of basic math. Skills practice (solving equations etc.) then supported the conceptual learning. Math taught in context.

    Act Two

        Sales meetings are a necessary evil that all sales reps must endure. My awakening occurred at the first of these gatherings that I attended. One of our consultants (a former teacher of math) led us through a lesson from the Algebra book. The lesson covered the concept of linear equations. A linear equation is essentially (ahem) a pattern of numbers that increases or decreases by the same amount every step of the way.
    During the lesson, we experienced this by reconstructing the pattern on a graphing calculator. It was tedious. 

         Afterwards, our fair leader introduced the algebraic representation that condensed the pattern into one easy equation (i.e a linear equation). “Wait!” I exclaimed. “This makes sense to me!” After years of living in the darkness, could it really be so simple? The clouds parted, and the sun shone upon my face. I heard the faint singing of angels in the distance. It was a glorious “a-ha” moment. I felt smart.

    THE END

  5. whcalhoun

    Intervening

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    While writing my last post, on pseudoteaching, I was compelled to change my Teaching Framework a little in response.  I was thinking about when and how the learning actually happens in my classroom.  According to Frank Noschese's concept, tea...
  6. amalthea13

    Southern Pacific Railroad Depot

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    In less than two weeks, the Southern Pacific Railroad Depot will make a three mile journey to it's new home at the Willow Springs Park in Long Beach. This hallmark of Long Beach transit history as originally contstructed in 1907 to replace a previous railroad station along Broadway Boulevard, between Cedar and Pacific Avenue.   The late 1800s expansion of the rail system in the Western United States included connections from Los Angeles to San Pedro and Long Beach, and was a popular mode of
  7. amalthea13

    Southern Pacific Railroad Depot

    by
      In less than two weeks, the Southern Pacific Railroad Depot will make a three mile journey to it's new home at the Willow Springs Park in Long Beach. This hallmark of Long Beach transit history as originally contstructed in 1907 to replace a previous railroad station along Broadway Boulevard, between Cedar and Pacific Avenue.   The late 1800s expansion of the rail system in the Western United States included connections from Los Angeles to San Pedro and Long Beach, and was a popular mode of
  8. whcalhoun

    Legibility and Pseudoteaching

    by
    One of my favorite parts of the 1989 movie "Look Who's Talking" is when the infant tries to figure out how to drive a car.  You just put the little stick into the hole, move your foot back and forth, and move the big circle around.  We've all seen it done, how hard can it be?

    We've all seen what teachers do, too, thanks to years of schooling.  As with the car-driving baby, our picture of what teachers do was formed when we were children, but that doesn't stop us from thinking that we know what teaching is.  How hard can it be?  We know what it looks like, or, more to the point of this blog post, we know it when we see it.  We know what it should look like.

    Legibility

    I first encountered the concept of legibility in a blog post by Venkatesh Rao in his blog Ribbonfarm.  The concept was originally expressed in a book by James C. Scott called Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed.  I'll quote Rao's excellent summary of how the failure comes about:
    Here is the recipe:
    • Look at a complex and confusing reality, such as the social dynamics of an old city
    • Fail to understand all the subtleties of how the complex reality works
    • Attribute that failure to the irrationality of what you are looking at, rather than your own limitations
    • Come up with an idealized blank-slate vision of what that reality ought to look like
    • Argue that the relative simplicity and platonic orderliness of the vision represents rationality
    • Use authoritarian power to impose that vision, by demolishing the old reality if necessary
    • Watch your rational Utopia fail horribly
    The big mistake in this pattern of failure is projecting your subjective lack of comprehension onto the object you are looking at, as "irrationality."  We make this mistake because we are tempted by a desire for legibility.

    The Illegibility of Teaching

    I read this article just as I had started teaching again after a 25-year hiatus.  I was being reminded of what I love about teaching and what annoys me about teaching.  I realized that I had found the perfect concept for describing what annoys me: though everyone thinks they know what teaching is, teaching is largely illegible, even to other education professionals.

    This illegibility is never attributed to the observer's ignorance.  It is always seen as a sign of chaos in need of order.  The preferred order is for the classroom and the teachers and the students to have a certain "look."  This might mean signs of "discipline," an atmosphere of "quiet, steady diligence," or the appearance of "motivated" students led by an "engaging" teacher.  Whatever signifies legible order for the observer is the ideal, even if that order results in no actual learning.  One of my school principals insisted that he could poke his head into a classroom and tell at a glance if a teacher was "getting it done."  Legibility is more important than education.  More to the point, education is to be found in the legibility of the enterprise rather than the results.

    I don't mean to complain, I'm just trying to understand.  Certainly there are bureaucratic, political, and commercial forces pushing education in directions that suit their various non-educational agendas.  This happens in all spheres of life, and it is easy to spot and understand.  What bothers me is when intelligent and well-intentioned people confuse complexity with irrationality.  It is very difficult to correct this misperception.

    *   *   *

    Pseudoteaching

    This brings me to a related concept called pseudoteaching.  This concept is defined by Frank Noschese in his blog Action-Reaction:
    The key idea of pseudoteaching is that it looks like good teaching.  In class, students feel like they are learning, and any observer who saw a teacher in the middle of pseudoteaching would feel like he’s watching a great lesson.  The only problem is, very little learning is taking place.

    What is so seductive about pseudoteaching is its legibility, not its effectiveness.  Everybody is happy: the teacher feels great, the students know exactly what is expected of them, any visitor to the classroom is suitably impressed.  What makes everyone happy is that no-one's misconceptions or misperceptions are being seriously challenged.  And that's also why so little learning is taking place.

    Here we have a mutually-agreed-upon legibility, what Timothy Slater has called the Hidden Contract.  Inasmuch as we all agree that a classroom should look like this, and as long as the classroom in fact does look like this, then everyone is comforted by the apparent order (or apparent lack of chaos).

    One of the guest pseudoteaching entries in Action-Reaction is Khan Academy and the Effectiveness of Science Videos by Derek Muller.  He describes the phenomenon of student satisfaction with pseudoteaching this way:
    Research has shown that these types of videos may be positively received by students.  They feel like they are learning and become more confident in their answers, but tests reveal they haven’t learned anything.
    And what is meant by "not learning anything?"
    Students have existing ideas about scientific phenomena before viewing a video.  If the video presents scientific concepts in a clear, well illustrated way, students believe they are learning but they do not engage with the media on a deep enough level to realize that what is presented differs from their prior knowledge.
    (Read more about Muller's research here: What Puts the Pseudo in Pseudoteaching?)

    Rationalizing Teaching

    One way to "rationalize" teaching so it is more legible is to simplify the end result.  As Rao points out,
    . . . a reality that serves many purposes presents itself as illegible to a vision informed by a singular purpose.  Any elements that are non-functional with respect to the singular purpose tend to confuse, and are therefore eliminated during the attempt to "rationalize."
    If the end result of teaching is reduced to, say, students passing a certain test, then teaching itself can be rationalized and made quite efficient and effective.  The IQ test, for instance, was originally developed as an expedient military management tool.  It has become the very definition of intelligence in the minds of many, reducing a complex human trait to a single legible number.

    There is a kind of learning called procedural learning.  Procedural learning is the first step toward acquiring a skill, and it usually involves practicing a procedure, recipe, or algorithm until it can be performed correctly and automatically.  It is a favorite goal for teaching because the path to successful learning is quite straightforward.  Procedures, even complex ones, are ultimately rational, and thus legible.  A classroom that is focused on procedural learning is also legible. 

    There are those who would like to define education as being simply this: learning how to successfully execute a procedure.  I, for one, would prefer a definition that encompasses a great deal more.  As a physics teacher I value rational thinking, the interplay of perception and concept, creative problem-solving, and the exercise of judgement when executing procedures.  I also value observing, dreaming, and play.  Can any of these preferences of mine be successfully taught?  Should I even try?  When does the goal become so complex that it becomes illegible to me, and I fall into the traps of rationalizing or pseudoteaching?

    Maybe I could define education as simply this: learning how to convert an illegibly complex experience into a legible one without falsely rationalizing it.
  9. rmsalas72

    Benefits of Close Captioning in Learning a Second Language

    by
    Recently I created a Pecha Kucha presentation with the purpose to promote knowledge and respect for diversity and traditions of different cultures. One comment I received was to consider creating the presentation in Spanish and adding subtitles in English to provide a strong sense of cultural heritage and identity. The nature of the assignment didn’t […]
  10. thejasondunbar

    Pecha Kucha…Gesundheit

    by

    A Pecha Kucha is a simple presentation format where you show 20 images, each for 20 seconds. The idea is that you strip down all of the fluff and filler normally within a PowerPoint presentation. Likewise, the images used within the presentation should be powerful enough to convey your message - hence the limited use of narration.

    
I was recently tasked to create a Pecha Kucha presentation for one of my graduate classes. I thought “hey, a PowerPoint presentation in 6 min, 40 seconds…no problem!”. However, once I started to outline my presentation I struggled to confine my content to only 20 seconds. It was extremely difficult to convey the messages I needed within such a confined amount of time. I must have recorded over 30 drafts of my presentation, running over the allotted time for each occurrence. I tried to revise sentences, cut out text, and speak slower, but some slides still when over.

    
Although the idea of keeping presentation short and direct, I am not sure the Pecha Kucha format is entirely necessary. Like any instructional/informative content, only time can measure whether your instruction made an impact on our audience, regardless of the delivery format.

  11. whcalhoun

    Adding WOWSlider to Blogger

    by
    I've been wanting to add a WOWSlider slideshow to my blog. WOWSlider is a little application that creates many different kinds of very cool sliders. The application generates a collection of files:an engine folder which holds the CSS, JavaScript, and...
  12. whcalhoun

    Physics Toys, Games, and e-Learning

    by
    Physics educators have been developing and employing digital simulations for decades. Over time these simulations have evolved into sophisticated toys and games, and have become a regular part of the physics teacherā€™s repertoire of instructional resour...
  13. amalthea13

    Does Privacy Exist in the Digital Age?

    by
    Privacy in the digital age is complicated. The same tools that we can use to connect with friends and develop a professional network can also be a point of potential damage to those relationships we take care to grow and manage. Blurring of the line between private and public spaces is a condition of these tools, but when your identity is mindfully managed you can maintain some semblance of control of your content.   In a world of invisible audiences, where many use social networking as a means
  14. amalthea13

    Does Privacy Exist in the Digital Age?

    by
    Privacy in the digital age is complicated. The same tools that we can use to connect with friends and develop a professional network can also be a point of potential damage to those relationships we take care to grow and manage. Blurring of the line between private and public spaces is a condition of these tools, but when your identity is mindfully managed you can maintain some semblance of control of your content.   In a world of invisible audiences, where many use social networking as a means
  15. rmsalas72

    Online Games for Second Language Acquisition

    by
    Recently I was reading about incorporating online games in the classroom experience. From an strictly teacher perspective the games must enhance students learning experience according with the goals and learning objectives. Is it possible to have fun when we learn and teach a second language? In my opinion gaming can be incredibly beneficial to learning […]
  16. thejasondunbar

    Microsoft Word vs Adobe InDesign

    by
    When it comes to creating learning publication many people choose the tool that they, or their company, have at their disposal - which is either Microsoft Word or Pages for Mac.Both of these graphical work processing programs are just fine for creating...
  17. lishna68

    Above Treeline 2014-10-20 18:11:00

    by

    Skype Qik 

    Breathing life into a discussion thread

                                                                                                   
     






    What it is. The technology group Skype Technologies presents Skype Qik (pronounced “quick”). As the spelling of the name suggest, this is hip. An instant video messaging tool designed to change the way we think about instant messaging. Adding the all-to-popular video element, Skype taps into the heart of Generation Z’s communication desires. The designers based the app on major industry movements such as mobility, a surge in communications and a trending of asynchronous discussions. By incorporating the spur-of-the-moment element of instant messaging and the intimacy of face-time calling, Skype paved the way to online discussion thread bliss (and they didn’t even know it).

    What it does. Qik offers a simple functionality: video messaging for groups of people. The app is free, very easy to use and supports multiple platforms (Android, iPhone, and Windows Phone). A simple swipe of the home button and the user is ready to record a video message. Once recording, a tap of the camera-rotate icon changes the camera view from front to back allowing a seamless transition from action to running commentary.
    One of the great features of the phone is the grouping tool. Qik pulls the list from your contacts then you select the members of your discussion pool. Once selected, the groups can be labeled and saved for future conversations.

    In the spirit of modern mobile communication, the designers included a Qik Fliks feature. These mini-clips are five-second videos the user generates and saves for instant responses (what Skype calls “a more personal smiley”). Up to twelve Qik Fliks can be saved for the user’s video emoticon reportoire.


     



     The possibilities. I foresee the end of the humdrum discussion thread. Or so I hope. Currently, the weak point of online instruction lies in the use of text-based discussions. This format tends to be tedious, time-consuming and lifeless. Part of this is possibly due to the user group since many learning management systems do provide an audio or video option. Qik, however, ups the bar with mobility. No longer tied to a desktop or laptop, students engage in live-action discussions. For example, an instructor begins a mathematics conversation on rotation to which one student responds with a video of his brother doing a backflip (cool!) at the BMX track. The video demonstrates the topic in action and the student’s comprehension of the concept. A far more captivating expression of understanding than a text-based response.

    Let me sum up. Skype Qik, I want to say, embodies the future of the eLearning discussion thread. But, in reality, we’re just playing catch-up. The endless, interactive, and engaging possibilities of Web 2.0 is situated at our fingertips. Yet, text-based discussion threads are still the norm in online education. Skype Qik pulls us smack into Generation Z. It’s mobile, instant, easy and, of course, video-based. This is a tool I highly recommend for kick-starting the online discussion thread.
  18. amalthea13

    Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter…repeat as necessary!

    by
    Keeping up with managing multiple social media sites can be a little exhausting, but it feels like a necessity to stay informed and relevant in today's digital world. I recently came across this article Cross Promoting your Facebook Page and relized that I haven't quite been using my social media sites to their fullest potential. When you manage a Facebook Fan page, every like, comment, and share on your page helps you to get more exposure and thus more likes, comments, and shares. If you create
  19. amalthea13

    Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter…repeat as necessary!

    by
    Keeping up with managing multiple social media sites can be a little exhausting, but it feels like a necessity to stay informed and relevant in today's digital world. I recently came across this article Cross Promoting your Facebook Page and relized that I haven't quite been using my social media sites to their fullest potential. When you manage a Facebook Fan page, every like, comment, and share on your page helps you to get more exposure and thus more likes, comments, and shares. If you create
  20. thejasondunbar

    Kirkpatrickā€™s Level 3: Measuring the Application of Learning Content

    by

    Donald Kirkpatrick’s training evaluation model has four levels:

    Reaction - measuring how your learners reacted to the training

    Learning - measuring what your learners learned

    Behavior - evaluate change in behavior and determines how the learners apply the information

    Results - analyze the final results of the training to determine effectiveness

    The intent of this post is not to discuss Kirkpatrick’s model in its entirety, rather one specific aspect - level 3.

    Several weeks ago a fellow trainer and I were tasked with implementing a level 3 for one of our core classes. We already have a level 1 (Satisfaction Survey) and level 2 (Knowledge Check). The ask was to create a real-time assessment to measure whether the learners can apply the concepts in a work-related situation.

    With the use of Articulate we created a series of scenarios that required the learner to research his/her system to find the answer and apply the best solution to the problem. This may sound like a level 2, however it is much more than a true/false or multiple choice response.

    We piloted the level 3’s last week and received mixed results. Like any new learning plan we will need to evaluate the scores and feedback to determine whether the questions require rewording or further instruction is needed.

    Beyond revising the assessment I feel that having new hires, who have not been in a production environment,  take a level 3 is pointless. Advocates for Kirkpatrick’s model argue that a level 3 should take place weeks or months after initial training. At that time observations and interviews may be suitable to see if the learner truly understands what is expected of them?

    Here’s my question: have you implemented a level 3 assessment during or immediately following a training session? If so, did the data reflect true application in a production environment? Was a follow-up assessment performed?

  21. whcalhoun

    How Well Do MOOC’s Teach?

    by
    The short answer is - they don't! Sebastian Thrun, the founder of Udacity, was upset and puzzled to find that only 4% of students who paid to take a course actually completed it. The first time I heard this, I immediately knew why. It's the same rea...
  22. whcalhoun

    Social Media-phobe

    by
    I'm not a big social media guy. I don't see the Internet as a place for hanging out or socializing, activities I prefer to do with actual people in real time. But I'm beginning to appreciate how these social tools, the so-called Web 2.0, are capable of so much more than online partying.

    I have an assignment to create a Networked Learning Space, and I have been thinking of how to set it up. There needs to be a hub of some sort at the core of this NLS, but which social tool would be best for my purposes? I have been checking out various LMS apps (Canvas, Edmodo) and existing network spaces (edWeb, Google+), but the answer has been in front of me all the time.

    I don't have a Facebook account (I know, I know, it's a long story . . .), but my band does. The account is maintained by our musical director, and of course I visit it all the time, and send him things to post. It dawned on me that the band page is not like a regular Facebook page, so I did a bit of research and discovered that Facebook pages are quite different from Facebook profiles. I'll need a FB profile to create a page, but I can ignore that if I want and use the FB page for my NLS. Cool! Plus I'll be able to be another editor of my band's page, so I can help out.

    Here's the link to my band's page - the Marching Milkman Band!



  23. whcalhoun

    Satellite Blogging

    by
    Probably the most amazing Twitter account I have ever seen is the account of an inanimate object - a space satellite, to be specific. This satellite (and its companion satellite) tweets its exploits on a daily basis. The satellite belongs to the Euro...
  24. thanh76

    MOOC’s they’re great!

    by
      What is my opinion on MOOCs? I think they are fascinating and beneficial towards a world that is getting more connected on an everyday basis. What fascinates me is that people no longer have to sit through traditional learning and now have the ability to learn on their own pace. Yes, I understand there are negative sides concerning MOOCs especially from a business standpoint, however can education truly be bought and sold? I would like to bring up the Maker’s Culture because people are
  25. thanh76

    MOOC’s they’re great!

    by
      What is my opinion on MOOCs? I think they are fascinating and beneficial towards a world that is getting more connected on an everyday basis. What fascinates me is that people no longer have to sit through traditional learning and now have the ability to learn on their own pace. Yes, I understand there are negative sides concerning MOOCs especially from a business standpoint, however can education truly be bought and sold? I would like to bring up the Maker’s Culture because people are
  26. thanh76

    More than just a game

    by
    As I am writing this the League of Legends World Championships for 2014 is going to take place in 3 hours in the country of South Korea. Hundreds of thousands have flown in to see the final two teams face off one another in this Esport and millions aro...
  27. thanh76

    More than just a game

    by
    As I am writing this the League of Legends World Championships for 2014 is going to take place in 3 hours in the country of South Korea. Hundreds of thousands have flown in to see the final two teams face off one another in this Esport and millions around the world are standing by at their computers waiting for the live stream to take place. Internet gaming has become more than just a game and has provided many with more meaning in their lives. Many have even given up their livelihoods in
  28. thanh76

    Let’s Talk About Depression

    by
    Depression is a topic that is not discussed openly for many reasons. There is a fear to discuss your feelings because many do not want to show their weaknesses. However, depression is very serious and has led to many tragedies before as many of us have seen either through the news or social media. So if we recognize that depression does exist then why is it that we never talk about it until it is too late? I believe everyone has gone through some kind of depression one point in their lives and
  29. thanh76

    Let’s Talk About Depression

    by
    Depression is a topic that is not discussed openly for many reasons. There is a fear to discuss your feelings because many do not want to show their weaknesses. However, depression is very serious and has led to many tragedies before as many of us have seen either through the news or social media. So if we recognize that depression does exist then why is it that we never talk about it until it is too late? I believe everyone has gone through some kind of depression one point in their lives and

UMW Spring 2024 (Bond & Groom)

Welcome to Paul Bond and Jim Groom’s Spring 2024 ds106

Student Blogs

(9 posts)

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