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by Stephen Downes
Dec 09, 2016
Presentation
The Future Trends Forum at the Campus Technology conference, 2016
Stephen Downes, Dec 09, 2016, Bryan Alexander, Boston, Massachusetts
Presentation
The Value and Price of Open Online Courses
Stephen Downes, Dec 02, 2016, OEB2016, Berlin, Germany
If open online learning can be equivalent or even superior to face-to-face education, what does this mean for the value and the price of MOOCs for institutions, for learning communities, for learners and for the creation of new knowledge. Oanel notes are avauilable as an MS Word document here.
Share | Reality vs the portrait of EdTech - #edtalk
Dean Groom, Playable, 2016/12/09
Dean Groom comments circumspectly about a phenomenon that has long existed in ed tech, the self-promotion of people in social media by people seeking to become recognized as authorities by dint of claiming ownership over words and inventions, forming self-referential circles of non-competitive entrepreneurs, and domination of various Twitter hastag discussions He writes, "It is a deliberate practice of seeking illusory power and influence based on nothing more than entertainment, names and naming." And it causes real harm. "The explosion of media messages these people flood into the media discourse is deliberate. It ensures there is no way to reconcile conflicting claims about what is good."
Common Sense Media Census Measures Plugged-In Parents
Michael Robb, Common Sense Media, 2016/12/09
This is a nice corrective to the recent panic about children's screen time. Their parents account for more than their own fair share! "On any given day, parents of American tweens and teens average more than nine hours with screen media each day. Eighty-two percent of that time (almost eight hours) is devoted to personal screen media activities such as watching TV, social networking, and video gaming, with the rest used for work." It has not helped them spot fake news. The full report (52 page PDF) is available, but you may have to go through an intrusive spam info collection registration process. See also coverage on KidScreen.
Online Learning Consortium Unveils Expanded Quality Scorecard Suite for Benchmarking Online and Blended Learning Programs
Press Release, Online Learning Consortium, 2016/12/09
According to this news release, "the OLC Quality Scorecard uses research-based benchmarks and standards of excellence to help higher education institutions evaluate their online and blended learning programs." By demail, Jennifer Mathes wrote, "OLC has announced that our Course Design Review (through a partnership with SUNY) and the new Quality Course Teaching and Instructional Practice (QCTIP) Scorecard are available on the OLC website with our full Suite of Quality Scorecards. These tools are available in a PDF format for anyone to download." These should be useful to a wide audience.
Educational Content Development Process in "CleverUniversity": Our Dynamic Adaptive Hypermedia Environment
Ahmed Bouchboua, Rabah Ouremchi, Mohammed El Ghazi, International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (IJET), 2016/12/08
This is a pretty good paper, though readers will no doubt find significant flaws. The authors propose an architecture for a CleverUniversity learning management system based on modeling and then matching resources across three sets of models: the domain model, which classifies and orders the subject of enquiry; the learner's model, which classifies learning styles, and the pedagogic model, which proposes a set of teaching frameworks. Now none of these models is without problems (I have argued in the past that the model is just the wrong sort of approach for this sort of work). But surely the mapping across these three dimensions isn't flawed, not even (and perhaps especially not) for informal and self-directed learning. By the same authors see also this article on learning styles and this article on learner models.
Factors Affecting the Acceptability of Online Degrees: Evidence from Two Arab Countries
Alaa Sadik, International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (IJET), 2016/12/09
When I've worked in the Arab world the question has come up frequently about the public perception of the quality of online learning. This study of respondents from the business sector in Oman and Egypt confirms that there are doubts about the quality of online learning in the region. "Traditional degrees are still more preferable than online degrees in the Arab world for many reasons, such as the reality of online interaction between students and the instructor and among students, accessibility resources, credibility of online universities, and quality of content."
Frederick County’s Call to Administrators: Focus on the “Innovator” and “Early Adopter” Teachers, First
Kevin Cuppett, EdSurge, 2016/12/08
I am asked this question a lot: how do we convince staff in our institution or district to adopt an innovation? This article describes exactly the response I give: focus on the early adopters and enthusiasts, support them by bringing them together and providing resources, and have them serve as the model and insiration for the remainder of the staff. It's only when people decide for themselves to implement change that new technology or processes can be implemented. Sure, you can force people to comply, but you can't force innovation and enthusiasm. Related: Change takes time.
CoverGirl's Influencer Chatbot Is Smart, Funny and Responsive
Emma Hall, Advertising Age, 2016/12/08
These developments usually ripple into education. "Mobile commerce will be colossal using bots," said David Jones, former Havas global CEO and founder of You & Mr Jones. "In 12 months there will be thousands of these. Traditional ads can cost thousands per click -- this is a conversation on Kik." Take a teaching chatbot, give it the background intelligence of something like Wolfram Alpha, and you have a wonderful teaching tool for young learners.
My Adult Learning Principles for the 21st Century
Kristin Glavis, HASTAC, 2016/12/07
I like this article by Kristin Glavis, a student at Saint Joseph's University. She outlines three major principles of adult learning that have guided her through her education:
Self-confidence - "confidence in their abilities, good self-esteem, support from others, and trust in others" (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner). Experience - "people draw from their experiences in all aspects of their life—not just in the formal education setting." Adaptability - "Adult learners seek out educational opportunities because they want to learn- they’re self-directed."These are not going to be found on any formal curriculum, but they are at the heart of effective learning at any age. In a seminar last night I discussed differences between previous and current generation learners, and the difference comes down to these three elements with respect to new and digital technologies. We should be looking at how to instill these at younger ages and across more disciplines.
Students Want Their Personal Data to be Used to Improve the College Experience, Survey Says
Meghan Bogardus Cortez, EdTech, 2016/12/07
This is the sort of survey that gets repeated uncritically in news media like Ed Tech magazine. All we know of the methodology is that is was conducted "among" 1,000 university students in the U.S. who were sent email invitations and answered an online survey. We don't know how many of them answered. And it's not their "personal data", exactly: the survey "defined personal student information as any data the school manages about a student, from application to meal plan." So, in other words, not personal data.
In Search for the Open Educator: Proposal of a Definition and a Framework to Increase Openness Adoption Among University Educators
Fabio Nascimbeni, Daniel Burgos, International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 2016/12/07
In an article dedicated to definition careful word use is most important, so it's not a good sign when the title says "in search for..." instead of "in search of...". And the definition of an 'open educator', offered about half way through, though strong in concept, suffers from similar word usage flaws. One part refers to "past and potential students" but omits current students. Another says "Uses open educational content" and then describes the creation and release of OERs. It advocates "allowing learners to contribute to public knowledge resources" when there's no real way an educator could prevent them from doing so. A shorter, sharper and clearer definition would be more appropriate.
Introducing Gomix
Anil Dash, Medium, 2016/12/06
I've spent the last few hours wrapping my mind around GoMix. As Anil Dash says, "Think of Gomix as sort of an App Store connected to CodePen connected to Heroku." And if that doesn't help you, well you understand why it's taking me a bit. The idea is that you have an interface to write applications, in an environment where you can search for and copy other people's applications, and run them and share them with your friends, like this multi-user quest game. It's weird (to me) not having a server to set up and host my application; it feels like working without a net. Except that the code is portable, and I could run it pretty much anywhere in a similar environment. This isn't my first go at this; I messed around with it last June while it was still called HyperDev.
PISA 2015 Results: Excellence and Equity in Education
OECD, 2016/12/06
The PISA 2015 results are in, announced with a big splash this morning. Topping the charts across the three disciplines are Singapore, Japan, Estonia, Finland, and Canada, along with four Chinese cities and states. Interestingly, three Canadian provinces - Alberta, Quebec and British Columbia - are at the very top of the rankings. In addition to the tables - which of course all media will focus on - there is a lot of interesting reading in this report, especially with regard to the importance of social equity to achievement in education, the influence of parental income and education, the non-influence of the size of immigrant population, and the role of attitudes and self-efficacy in learning. There is also an associated speech and sample questions set (which you have no excuse for not getting perfect).
December 2016 Preview Clips
, , CC BY-NC-ND, Ecampus Research Unit | Oregon State University,
Take a listen to our December 2016 preview clips!
Ria #36: Hannah Gascho Rempel On Citation Management
, Ecampus Research Unit | Oregon State University,
In this episode, Hannah discusses her experiences with citation management tools and shares some best practices for organizing research citations.
Making A Large Wheel Skeleton Clock
Clickspring Chris, Clickspring, YouTube, 2016/12/06
Before the internet you would never ever have seen something like this; the closest you would get would be the furniture-making shows on public television. This is a gorgeous set of videos describing the building and assembly of a large-wheel brass skeleton clock by hand. The explanations are good, and the video is crystal clear. Could you do it yourself merely by following these videos? Probably not; the show assumes knowledge of how to set and use the drills, taps and sanders. But they could inspire a similar project and help you visualize the work you need to do when you do it yourself. If you watch only one part of the 23-part series, watch the last one; it gives you the best flavour of the series as a whole and an appreciation for the final product. Via Metafilter.
Questioning 'Identity Liberalism'
Colleen Flaherty, Inside Higher Ed, 2016/12/05
This is a good article dealing with the implications of the backlash against diversity in the wake of recent populist victories. The premise of the anti-diversity argument is that " liberals must appeal 'to Americans as Americans.' But of course, "Lilla 'overlooks the fact that Americanness itself is a particular constructed identity." So is Britishness. Etc. So I don't think the populist appeal opposes diversity, notwithstanding the clumsy way is is supported by its proponents. It is an appeal to the support of 'people like us' who are getting a raw deal. These people are, variously, white, or poor, or lowlanders, or Oceanians.
But the best bit is in the comments by cb-king1: "the question then becomes: How do we, from the place of BEING a woman, or a black person, or gay, or whatever, relate to OTHER kinds of identities, but always from within that coverall political umbrella, and where we all can pursue a vision of the common good--from the general to the particular in our own lives and as history moves forward?"
What You Can Learn From the Social Media Crisis That Wasn't
Ken Wheaton, Advertising Age, 2016/12/06
When I was the editor of a student newspaper so many years ago I was amazed how sensitive people were to every word we wrote. I knew our influence was far less than people thought. The same is true today of social media, as this item shows. And the conclusion is good advice generally: "Don't do anything offensive or hurtful. Don't say anything offensive or hurtful on social media. And if you do do something stupid, especially if it's an accident, sit tight and give it a chance to blow over."
The hi:project
Hi:project, 2016/12/05
Readers are probably familiar with the distinction I've drawn between personal and personalized learning. This proposal draws a distinction along very much the same lines, as follows:
User Interface - the user must fit to the machine Surveillance Interface (personalization) - fitted to the individual Human Interface (personal) - fits to the individualAs the author writes, "We each have our own specific digital, numerical, information and visual literacy. We may have disabilities, and become disabled as we age. We each still need domain over our unique personal data, created in part by our unique interactions with our unique environs, and the facility to make sense of it to help in some way make sense of our unique lives. And many of us relish the opportunity to do that without intermediation, with unfettered personal agency, and appreciate from a societal point of view others having similar facility."
This isn't only about learning. It's about a lot more than that. It's about who we are, and what kind of society we want. Blog. Via Cooperating Systems.
Chinese MOOC learners to top 10 million by year end
Beckie Smith, The PIE News, 2016/12/05
Only a few months after passing the 5 million user mark a new white paper projects that XuetangX, China's largest MOOC provider, will have 10 million users by year's end. "The white paper estimates that some 1,200 MOOCs have so far been developed by around 30 universities and an unspecified number of colleges, with a much greater focus on higher education rather than vocational courses." Class Central ran a background report on XuetangX a few months ago.
LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn, 2016/12/05
I think this is a pretty important development. LinkedIn has been collecting professional and resum data through its social network service for a number of years and is now marketing its learning services (I got the promotional email again today). The course selections are of course tailored to my profile, and designed to match my career aspirations. But it's not cheap; more than $25 Canadian per month. It won't let you see the courses without credit card or PayPal authorization. The courses appear to be mostly video content presentations, but I'm signing up and I'll probably report back. Or f I really like it, maybe I'll offer a course via the service.
Experimenting with alternative social networks
D’Arcy Norman, D’Arcy Norman Dot Net, 2016/12/05
As readers know, I dropped out of Facebook at the end of the summer. It felt lonely but it was a good move - the people who were missing my posts on Facebook came back, and viewership on downes.ca went from the 25K per month it had averaged to more like 40K per month. That's a big difference compared to the single-digit reads I was getting on Facebook. Anyhow, D'Arch Normal is also lookibg at alternatives, having dropped off both Facebook and Twitter. He lists four services he's been looking at: Known, Mastodon, Quitter.no, and GNO Social. I've set up my own account on Mastodon; you can find me here: https://mastodon.social/users/Downes
Inside IFTTT's Plan For A More Harmonious Internet
Jared Newman, Fast Company, 2016/12/05
I've been using IFTTT as a useful tool to connect my various social network services for several years now. As it migrates from a free service to something more self-sustaining, though, IFTTT is shifting its focus. It remains an open question whether it will continue to be useful. According to this article, "IFTTT has been backing away from its do-it-yourself roots, and catering more to the companies whose services it connects... 'We want to become a PayPal for access,' says Linden Tibbets, IFTTT's founder and CEO. 'A trusted third party that facilitates an exchange from one service to the next.'"
Videonotes
Nik Peachey, PayHip, Digital Classrooms, 2016/12/05
Nik Peachey has written a new guide to a lovely application distributed around four years ago by Clément Delangue and Arnaud Breton. It allows the user to view a YouTube video and take time-stamped notes in the same environment. The notes can be saved, shared, reviewed, or exported to Evernote. It's the sort of thinking that will eventually lead toward a proper personal learning environment (PLE). You can download Peachy's PDF and video guides here. Or even better, go straight to videonot.es, sign in with your Google ID, and start using it right away. The code is open source and is on GitHib. Peeach also offers additional articles in his Digital Tools Series on PayHip (scroll down).
Limitless learning plenary #OEB16 on owning learning
Inge de Waard, Ignatia Webs, 2016/12/05
Good summary of the Friday plenary at Online Educa Berlin. What strikes me most about the four speakers - Alec Couros, Diana Laurillard, Martin Eyjolfsson and Mark Surman - is their incongruity. Couros talks about open and connected learning, Laurillard advises we let teachers direct us, Eyolfsson talks about Iceland and Surman talks about digital literacy. The topic of the seminar was 'owning learning' but nobody seemed willing to embrace that concept.
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Copyright 2016 Stephen Downes Contact: [email protected]
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